FLANDERS.

87

the threads woven by the strange power of the hand, threadswhich t)ie dropping spider would in vain attempt to imitate, and

Fig. 45.

Lace-making. After Martin de Vos.

vaiivipjfti

which Pallas would confess she had never known; ” and a dealmore in the same style . 5

s It goes on : “ For the maiden, seatedat her work, plies her fingers rapidly,and flashes the smooth halls and thou-sand threads into the circle. Often sitefastens with her hand the innumerableneedles, to bring out the various figures

of the pattern; often, again, she unfastenstlicm; and in this her amusement makesas much profit as the man earns by thesweat of his brow ; and no maiden evercomplains even at the length of the day.The issue is a fine web, open to the air