154

HISTOUY OF LACE.

disappeared. 10 Its merits were, however, recognised by the titats-(leneranx in 1789, who, when previous to meeting they settledthe costume of the throe estates, decreed to the noblesse a lacecravat. It was not till 18U1, when Xapoleon wished to “ fairerevenir le luxe,” that we again find it chronicled in the annals ofthe day: “ How charming Caroline Murat looked in her whitemantelet of ‘ point de Ilruxelles et sa robe garnie des memesdentelles,’ ” &c. The old laces were the work of years, and trans-mitted as heirlooms 11 from generation to generation. They wereoften heavy and overloaded with ornament. The ancient stylewas now discarded, and a lighter description introduced. By animprovement in the point de raccroc several sections of lace werejoined together so as to form one large piece; thus ten workerscould now produce in a month what had formerly been the workof years.

Napoleon especially patronised the fabrics of Alenfon, Brussels,and Chantilly. He endeavoured, too, without success, to raisethat of Valenciennes. After the example of Louis XIY., he madethe wearing of his two favourite points obligatory at the court ofthe Tuileries, and it is to his protection these towns owe thepreservation of their manufactures. The lace-makers still speakof the rich orders received from the imperial court as the mostremarkable epoch in their industrial career. Never was thebeauty and costliness of the laces made for the marriage of Marie-l.ouise yet surpassed. To reproduce them now would, estimatesM. Aubry, cost above a million of francs. Napoleon was a greatlover of lace: he admired it as a work of art, and was proud ofthe proficiency of his subjects. Mademoiselle d’Avrillion relatesthe following anecdote. The Princess Pauline had given ordersto the Empress Josephine’s lace-maker for a dress and variousobjects to the value of 150,000 francs. When the order was com-pleted, and the lace brought home, the princess changed hermind, and refused to take them. 3Iadame Lesceur, in despair,

10 Among these were Sedan,Charleville, " 1G49. Anne Gohory leaves all her

Mezieres, Dieppe, Havre, Pont-rEveque, personals to Madame de Se'vigne, exceptIlonfleur, Eu, and more than ten neigh- her “ phis beau mouehoir, le col de pointbouring villages. The points of Aurillac, fin de Flandres, et une juppe de satin aliourgogne, and Murat disappeared ; and fleurs fond vert, garnye de point fin d’orworst of all was the loss of the manu- et de soie.”

facture of Valenciennes. Laces were also 1764. Genevieve Laval bequeaths to

made in Champagne, at Troyes and Dom- her sister “ une garniture de dentellecilery, &c. de rniseau a grandes dents, volant nu