such deep research, as to leave no stone unturned, or any want upon the subject. In all ages needlework has been applied to the same purposes, either for the adornment of the person, or the decoration of the mansions of the wealthy. For such did the maidens of Egypt ply the needle; and again, in after times, those of Greece and Rome;* yet be it remembered that they also occupied themselves with the then equally feminine labours of the distaff and spindle, and with the more toilsome mysteries of the loom, at which they were pre-eminently skilful, as is fully proved by the remains of ancient textures, which the researches of modern travellers have brought to light. It is scarcely to be imagined that any needlework, either of ancient or modern times, has ever surpassed the celebrated productions of Miss Linwood. This lady, who is now in her eighty-seventh year, commenced her labours when only thirteen years old; her last piece she completed at the age of seventyeight. The works of this accomplished artist are executed on a thick kind of tammy, woven expressly for her use, with fine crewels, dyed under her own superintendence; they are entirely drawn and embroidered by herself, no background or other unimportant parts being put in by a less skilful hand, the only assistance she received, if indeed it may be called such, was in the threading of her needles. In her collection, still exhibited in Leicester-square, London, is her first piece, the Head of St. Peter, a copy from Guido.t The "Salvator Mundi," from Carlo Dolci, has generally been considered the finest production of her needle, for which we are informed she refused the sum of three thousand guineas. In the simplest days of Greece, those occupations were not deemed unsuitable to palaces: nor did a princess degrade her dignity by superintending the labours of the loom, the distaff, and the dyeing vat. + Marked No. 24 in the Catalogue. "To raise at once our reverence and delight, Jep The "Woodman in a Storm," from Gainsborough, and “ tha's rash Vow," from Opie, also rank among her best. Her last production is the "Judgment upon Cain," "Judgment upon Cain," one of the largest pictures in the gallery. "And the Lord said unto Cain, 'Where is Abel thy brother?' And he said, 'I know not: am I my brother's keeper?" "And he said, 'What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. "And now art thou cursed from the earth which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. "When thou tillest the ground it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.' "And Cain said unto the Lord, 'My punishment is greater than I can bear." The whole collection consists of sixty-four pieces, including a portrait of Miss Linwood herself, from a painting by Russell. may Within the last few years, ornamental needlework has again attracted considerable attention, and although the modern style of the art may as yet be considered in its infancy, it has already so far progressed as infinitely to surpass the labours of the ingenious women of bygone times. Needlework may be regarded (if we be allowed the expression) as the sister art of painting; the aim of the accomplished needlewoman of the present day, being to produce as true a picture of nature as possible; soaring far beyond the common-place ideas of the ancient embroideries, which, perhaps, are more to be admired for the richness of their materials, and the labour bestowed upon them, than for any merit they possess as works of art. We would wish to see the needle and embroidery frame rescued from any doubt as to their utility, or their capability of taking a higher stand among the more elegant of female accomplishments, and worthy of occupying the elevated position in which the talent of Miss Linwood has placed them. It will, perhaps, be urged by some, that needlework, as practised at the present time, is but a mechanical art; and the recent invention of Berlin patterns may somewhat favour the opinion. This, however, we entirely disown, no one, who regards the work of the mere copyist of these designs, (as commonly done for sale in Germany, where neither taste nor judgment are displayed in the selection of the colours, nor skill in the appropriation of them) can compare it with that of the talented needlewoman, who, even though she may have worked stitch for stitch from the same pattern, produces what may be justly termed a "painting with the needle." 77 No feminine art affords greater scope for the display of taste and ingenuity than that of needlework. The endless variety of form which it assumes under the various denominations of tapestry work,-as gros point, petit point, and point de Gobelin,-in that of embroidery ;—and again in the apparently intricate, but really easy, mazes of tricot, filet, and crochet,—each in their turn serving as graceful occupations for the young, and an inexhaustible source of amusement for those in a more advanced period of life; more particularly the latter descriptions of work, as these can be, and * All descriptions of canvas work have undergone great improvement within the last few years. Even so recently as 1829, they were dismissed with the following brief account, in a work dedicated to the pursuits of young ladies. "Worsted-work, on canvas, is a subordinate description of embroidery. It is applied to the production of rugs for urns, covers of ottomans, bell-pulls, and many other elegant articles. The outline of the pattern is sketched with a pen, on canvas, strained in the middle of a frame."-!! are frequently, practised by persons even when labouring under deprivation of sight. It has opportunely been observed by Mrs. Griffiths, "that the great variety of needleworks which the ingenious women of other countries, as well as our own, have invented, will furnish us with constant and amusing employment; and though our labours may not equal a Mineron's or an Aylesbury's, yet, if they unbend the mind, by fixing its attention on the progress of any elegant or imitative art, they answer the purpose of domestic amusement; and, when the higher duties of our situation do not call forth our exertions, we may feel the satisfaction of knowing that we are, at least, innocently employed." In conclusion, to quote the words of John Taylor, the water poet, it may be said, "Thus is a needle prov'd an instrument Of profit, pleasure, and of ornament, Which mighty queenes have grac'd in hand to take. * Essays, p. 65. CHAPTER II. Tapestry. "This bright art Did zealous Europe learn of Pagan hands, DYER. "For round about the walls yclothed were As faining to be hid from envious eye; Like a discolourd snake, whose hidden snares Through the greene gras his long bright burnisht back declares." HE last quotation forms part of the description, given by Spenser, of the beautiful tapestry which Britomart saw in one of the apartments of the house of Busyrane; and the poet had probably in view the actual specimens of tapestry then frequently to be seen in the principal mansions of the nobility in England. |