DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67419#0029
INTRODUCTION.
7
bound round the edge; his stockings woven or
knitted ; his shoes soled and stitched and tied : nei-
ther must we debar him a pocket-handkerchief and
a pair of gloves. And see what this man—as great,
nay, a greater anchoret in his way than St. Paul,
for he had the world and its temptations all around,
while the saint had fled from both—yet see what he
thought absolutely requisite in lieu of the sheepskin
which was St. Paul’s wardrobe. See what was re-
quired “ to cover and keep warm” in the eighteenth
century,—nay, not even to “keep warm,” for we
did not allow either great-coat or comforter. See
then what was required merely to “cover,” and then
say whether* the art of needlework is a trivial one.
Could we, as in days of yore, when sylphs and
fairies deigned to mingle with mortals, and shed
their gracious influence on the scenes and actions of
every-day life—could we, by some potent spell or
by some fitting oblation, propitiate the Genius of
Needlework, induce her to descend from her hidden
shrine, and indulge her votaries with a glimpse
of her radiant self—what a host of varied remi-
niscences would that glimpse conjure up in our
minds, as-
- guided by historic truth,
We trod the long extent of backward time ! ”
She was twin born with necessity, the first neces-
sity the world had ever known, but she quickly left
this stern and unattractive companion, and followed
many leaders in her wide and varied range. She
became the handmaiden of Fancy; she adorned the
train of Magnificence; she waited upon Pomp; she
7
bound round the edge; his stockings woven or
knitted ; his shoes soled and stitched and tied : nei-
ther must we debar him a pocket-handkerchief and
a pair of gloves. And see what this man—as great,
nay, a greater anchoret in his way than St. Paul,
for he had the world and its temptations all around,
while the saint had fled from both—yet see what he
thought absolutely requisite in lieu of the sheepskin
which was St. Paul’s wardrobe. See what was re-
quired “ to cover and keep warm” in the eighteenth
century,—nay, not even to “keep warm,” for we
did not allow either great-coat or comforter. See
then what was required merely to “cover,” and then
say whether* the art of needlework is a trivial one.
Could we, as in days of yore, when sylphs and
fairies deigned to mingle with mortals, and shed
their gracious influence on the scenes and actions of
every-day life—could we, by some potent spell or
by some fitting oblation, propitiate the Genius of
Needlework, induce her to descend from her hidden
shrine, and indulge her votaries with a glimpse
of her radiant self—what a host of varied remi-
niscences would that glimpse conjure up in our
minds, as-
- guided by historic truth,
We trod the long extent of backward time ! ”
She was twin born with necessity, the first neces-
sity the world had ever known, but she quickly left
this stern and unattractive companion, and followed
many leaders in her wide and varied range. She
became the handmaiden of Fancy; she adorned the
train of Magnificence; she waited upon Pomp; she