And mend a ruined face?"—Lord Dorset.
Up to the present time our mention of lace, both in the Statutes and the Royal Wardrobe Accounts, has been but scanty. Suddenly, in the days of the Virgin Queen, both the Privy Expenses and the Inventories of New Year's Gifts overflow with notices of passaments, drawn-work, cut-work, crown lace,[[814]] bone lace for ruffs, Spanish chain, byas,[[815]] parchment, hollow,[[816]] billament,[[817]] and diamond lace[[818]] in endless, and to us, we must own, most incomprehensible variety.
The Surtees' Wills and Inventories add to our list the laces Waborne[[819]] and many others. Lace was no longer confined to the court and high nobility, but, as these inventories show, it had already found its way into the general shops and stores of the provincial towns. In that of John Johnston, merchant, of Darlington, already cited, we have twelve yards of "loom" lace, value four shillings, black silk lace, "statute" lace, etc., all mixed up with entries of pepper, hornbooks, sugar-candy, and spangles. About the same date, in the inventory taken after the death of James Backhouse, of Kirby-in-Lonsdale, are found enumerated "In ye great shoppe," thread lace at 16s. per gross; four dozen and four "pyrled" lace, four shillings; four quarterns of statching (stitching or seaming?) lace; lace edging; crown lace; hollow lace; copper lace; gold and silver chean (chain) lace, etc. This last-mentioned merchant's store appears to have been one of the best-furnished provincial shops of the period. That of John Farbeck, of Durham, mercer, taken thirty years later, adds to our list seventy-eight yards of velvet lace, coloured silk, chayne lace, "coorld" lace, petticoat lace, all cheek by jowl with Venys gold and turpentine.
To follow the "stitches" and "works" quoted in the Wardrobe Accounts of Elizabeth—all made out in Latin, of which we sincerely trust, for the honour of Ascham, the Queen herself was guiltless—would be but as the inventory of a haberdasher's shop.
We have white stitch, "opus ret' alb," of which she had a kirtle, "pro le hemmynge et edginge" of which, with "laqueo coronat' de auro et arg'"—gold and silver crown lace—and "laqueo alb' lat' bon' operat' super oss'"—broad white lace worked upon bone—she pays the sum of 35s.[[820]]
Then there is the Spanish stitch, already mentioned as introduced by Queen Katherine, and true stitch,[[821]] laid-work,[[822]] net-work, black-work,[[823]] white-work, and cut-work.
Of chain-stitch we have many entries, such as Six caules of knot-work, worked with chain-stitch and bound "cum tapem" (tape), of sister's (nun's) thread.[[824]] A scarf of white stitch-work appears also among the New Year's Gifts.
As regards the use, however, of these ornaments, the Queen stood no nonsense. Luxury for herself was quite a different affair from that of the people; for, on finding that the London apprentices had adopted the white stitching and garding as a decoration for their collars, she put a stop to all such finery by ordering[[825]] the first transgressor to be publicly whipped in the hall of his Company.
Laid-work, which maybe answers to our modern plumetis, or simply signified a braid-work, adorned the royal garters, "Frauncie," which worked "cum laidwork," stitched and trimmed "in ambobus lateribus" with gold and silver lace, from which hung silver pendants, "tufted cum serico color," cost her Majesty thirty-three shillings the pair.[[826]]
The description of these right royal articles appears to have given as much trouble to describe as it does ourselves to translate the meaning of her accountant.