322

HISTORY OF LACE.

to which were attached long floating pieces of French lace,demanding of the Lords redress, and the total exclusion of foreigngoods. On receiving an answer that it was too late, they must waittill next session, the assemblage declared they would not be putoff by promises ; they broke the Duke of Bedford’s palings on theirway home, and threatened to burn the premises of Mr. Carr, anobnoxious draper. At the next levee they once more assembledbefore St. James’s, but, finding the dresses of the nobility tobe all of right English stuff, retired satisfied, without furtherclamour.

The papers of the year 1761 teem with accounts of seizuresmade by the customs. Among the confiscated effects of a personof the highest quality are enumerated: “ 16 black a-la-modecloaks, trimmed with lace; 44 French lace caps; 11 black lacedhandkerchiefs; 6 lace hats; 6 ditto aprons; 10 pairs of ruffles;6 pairs of ladies’ blonde ditto, and 25 gentlemen’s. ” Eleven yardsof edging and 6 pairs of ruffles are extracted from the pocket ofthe footman. Everybody smuggled. A gentleman attached tothe Spanish embassy is unloaded of 36 dozen shirts, with fineDresden ruffles and jabots, and endless lace in pieces for ladies’wear. These articles had escaped the vigilance of the officers atDover, but were seized on his arrival by the coach at Southwark.Though prime ministers in those days accepted bribes, the custom-house officers seem to have done their duty. 3

When the body of his grace the Duke of Devonshire wasbrought over from France, where he died, the officers, to theanger of his servants, not content with opening and searching thecoffin, poked the corpse with a stick to ascertain if it was a realbody; but the trick of smuggling in coffins was too old to beattempted. Forty years before, when a deceased clergyman wasconveyed from the Low Countries for interment, the body of thecorpse was found to have disappeared, and to have been replacedby Flanders lace of immense value—the head and hands andfeet alone remaining. This discovery did not, however, preventthe high sheriff of Westminister from running—and thatsuccessfully—6000Z. worth of French lace in the coffin of Bishop

3 “1767. An officer of the customsseized nearly 4001. worth of Flanderslace, artfully concealed in the hollow ofa ship’s buoy, on board a French trader,

lying off Iron Gate.”—Annual Register.

“1772. 27,000 ells of French (Blois?)lace were seized in the port of Leighalone.”— Gentleman's Magazine.