ed-matts, or Door-matts of, or to serve for Beehives,
Corn-scuttles, Chairs, or Corn-tubs, it being not unlike that kind of work,
wherewith in many parts in _England_, they make such Utensils of Straw, a
little wreathed, and bound together with thongs of Brambles. For in this
Contexture, each little filament, fiber, or clew of the Silk-worm, seem'd
about the bigness of an ordinary Straw, as appears by the little irregular
pieces, ab, cd, and ef; The _Warp_, or the thread that ran crossing the
Riband, appear'd like a single Rope of an Inch Diameter; but the _Woof_, or
the thread that ran the length of the Riband, appear'd not half so big.
Each Inch of six-peny-broad Riband appearing no less then a piece of
Matting Inch and half thick, and twelve foot square, a few yards of this,
would be enough to floor the long Gallery of the _Loure_ at _Paris_. But to
return to our piece of Riband: It affords us a not unpleasant object,
appearing like a bundle, or wreath, of very clear and transparent
_Cylinders_, if the Silk be white, and curiously ting'd; if it be colour'd,
each of those small horney _Cylinders_ affording in some place or other of
them, as vivid a reflection, as if it had been sent from a _Cylinder_ of
Glass or Horn. In-so-much, that the reflexions of Red, appear'd as if
coming from so many _Granates_, or _Rubies_. The loveliness of the colours
of Silks above those of hairy Stuffs, or Linnen, consisting, as I
else-where intimate, chiefly in the transparency, and vivid reflections
from the _Concave_, or inner surface of the _transparent Cylinder_, as are
also the colours of Precious Stones; for most of the reflections from each
of these _Cylinders_, come from the _Concave_ surface of the air, which is
as 'twere the foil that incompasses the _Cylinder_. The colours with which
each of these _Cylinders_ are ting'd, seem partly to be superficial, and
sticking to the out-sides of them; and partly, to be imbib'd, or sunck into
the substance of them: for Silk, seeming to be little else then a dried
thread of Glew, may be suppos'd to be very easily relaxt, and softened, by
being steeped in warm, nay in cold, if penetrant, juyces or liquors. And
thereby those tinctures, though they tinge perhaps but a small part of the
substance, yet being so highly impregnated with the colour, as to be almost
black with it, may leave an impression strong enough to exhibite the
desir'd colour. A pretty kinde of artificial Stuff I have seen, lookin