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A history of lace / by Mrs. Bury Palliser
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ordinance, which extended to gold and silver lace, was suspendedduring the matrimonial visit of Prince Charles of England; 10 indeed,the Queen of Spain herself sent him, on his arrival at Madrid, tentrunks of richly laced linen. The prince had travelled incognito,and was supposed to be ill-provided. \\ liether the surmises other majesty were correct, we cannot presume to affirm; we onlyknow that, on the occasion of the Spanish voyage, a charge oftwo dozen and a half laced shirts, at twelve shillings each, for theprinces eight footmen, appears in the wardrobe accounts. 11

The best account of Spanish manners of the seventeenthcentury will be found in the already mentioned Letters of aLadys Travels in Spain (1679).Under the vertingale ofblack taffety, she writes, they wear a dozen or more petticoats,one finer than the other, of rich stuffs trimmed with lace ofgold and silver, to the girdle. They wear at all times a whitegarment called sabenqua; it is made of the finest English lace,and four ells in compass. I have seen some worth five or sixhundred crowns; ... so great is their vanity, they would ratherhave one of these lace sabenquas than a dozen coarse ones; 12 andeither lie in bed till it is washed or else dress themselves withoutany, which they frequently enough do. Describing her visit tothe Princess of Monteleon, she says, Her bed is of gold andgreen damask, lined with silver brocade and trimmed with pointde Spain. 13 Her sheets were laced round with an English lace,half an ell deep. The young princess bade her maids bring inher wedding clothes. They brought in thirty silver baskets, soheavy, four women could only carry one basket; the linen andlace were not inferior to the rest. The writer continues toenumerate the garters, mantles, and even the curtains of theprincesss carriage, as trimmed withfine English thread, black,and bone lace.

Spain was early celebrated for its silk, 14 which with its

10 Mercure Framjois.

" Tlioy have also provided

14 ruffs and 14 pairs of cuffslaced, at 20s. . . . £ 14

For lacing 8 hats for the foot-men with silver parchment

lace, at 3s.1 4s.

Extraordinary Expensesof His High-ness to Spain, 1623. F. R. O.

15 Doctor Moncjada, in 1660, and

Osorio, in 1686, reckoned more than throemillions of Spaniards who, though welldressed, wore no shirts. Townsend'sSpain.

13 Speaking of the apartment ofMadame dAramla, Beekford writes,Herbed wns of the richest blue velvet, trimmedwith point lace.

M As early as the Great WardrobeAccount of Queen Elizabeth, 1587,