glass," worth at least ten shillings.
One wonders how this bit of Roman magnificence had strayed into an
English cottage home!

[Illustration: "OLD BUCKINGHAM."

(_Author's Collection._)]

[Illustration: EARLY DEVONSHIRE LACE.

(_Author's Collection._)]

Buckinghamshire is the only one of the Midland counties which has
produced _wide_ lace; the adjoining counties confined themselves to
edgings at most some 6 inches wide. A flounce in my collection measures
21 inches, and is of very elegant design, and of fine quality. In
Wiltshire lace appears to have been made at an early date in the
eighteenth century, but little lace is left to show its quality. A
curious piece is said to belong to an old family in Dorset, who vouch
for the lace having belonged to Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III.
Like many other traditional "antiques," this is undoubtedly a fairy
story, as it claims to have been made in commemoration of the defeat of
the Spanish Armada, _at contemporary times_. It is exceedingly handsome,
showing one of Philip's ships, very suggestively surrounded by big sea
fish and apparently resting on the rocky bottom of the ocean. In the
next panel Tilbury Fort is portrayed, and another ship, one of England's
glory, proudly rules the waves. The design is undoubtedly English, and
most probably it was made in commemoration of the historic event--but
the lace is Point d'Argentan, and was most likely manufactured specially
for Queen Charlotte.

Lyme Regis at one time rivalled Honiton, the laces of both towns being
equally prized. Queen Charlotte wore a "head and lappets" made here when
she first came to England, and afterwards she ordered a splendid lace
dress to be made. When, however, Queen Victoria, in her wish to
encourage the English makers, sent an order for her marriage lace, not
sufficient workers were found to produce it.

DEVONSHIRE LACE.

As early as 1614 the lace-makers of Devonshire were known. The influx of
refugees from Flanders in the Midlands and southern counties undoubtedly
established lace-making in both parts of the kingdom. Many of the
Honiton lace-workers married these refugees, and to this day the people
are of mixed descent. Quaint names of Flemish extraction appear over the
shop doors.

In the early days both men, women, and children seem to have pursued the
art of lace-making, boys learning and working at it until the age of
sixteen, when they were either apprenticed to some trade or