ccounted for its popularity. It was
specially suitable to the lawns and muslins of the eighteenth century,
but little of this lace is left owing, no doubt, to its great favour
except the ubiquitous "lappets," for which it was no doubt "the Queen of
Lace."

The immediate cause of its extinction was the introduction of Blonde
laces, and later its final overthrow came from its being the easiest
lace to reproduce by machinery.

[Illustration: MARIE ANTOINETTE, QUEEN OF LOUIS XVI., SHOWING HOW
MECHLIN LACE WAS USED.

From an old fashion plate.]

IX

OTHER CONTINENTAL LACES

IX

OTHER CONTINENTAL LACES

Spanish lace; Gold and silver laces of Spain--German
laces--Russian laces--Maltese silk and thread laces.

Outside the great lace-making countries of Italy, France, and Flanders,
little lace was ever made, and that little of less consequence.

_Spanish Lace._

Much of the old lace known as "Spanish Point" is not Spanish at all, but
the best of Italian Rose Point on a large scale, being the variety known
as Gros Point. It was not extensively used for dress purposes, as
contemporary portraits show, but Spain being such an ultra-Romanist
country, vast quantities of it were imported into Spain for church use.
When Spain fell on unhappy days, in 1830, and the religious houses were
dissolved, this lace was eagerly bought by connoisseurs and collectors
and became known as Spanish Point. It is not unlikely that the Italian
lace was copied by the nuns of the Spanish convents; indeed, at South
Kensington Museum there is a set of church altar lace which is
admittedly Spanish work and is a distinct but far off imitation of
Italian Point.

Spain made gold and silver laces of fine quality and gorgeous design.
Blonde laces in both cream and black are almost indigenous to the soil,
and a particular kind of black Blonde, embroidered with colours,
specially appealed to the colour-loving people.

_German Laces._

Perhaps at the present day more lace is made in Germany than at any
other period. An enormous manufacture of good machine-made lace is
exported yearly, the variety known as Saxony being both popular and
cheap.

Germany has no national lace, the clever _hausfraus_ caring more to
decorate their table and bed-linen than their persons, and using the
substantial and practical embroideries of the cross-stitch patterns more
than the elegant frailties of lace trimming. Lacis network darned into