which was aptly termed "the Queen of Laces." Old Mechlin was wondrously fine, and transparent. It is often spoken of as "Point de Malines" which, of course, is entirely wrong, as it is not Point at all--being made entirely, all at one time, or in one piece, on the pillow. Much of the lace known under the general name of Flemish Point is really Malines or Mechlin, the only difference being the fine silvery thread which runs all through the designs of real Mechlin. The earliest date of the manufacture of Mechlin is unknown, but in 1681, it is recorded, that the people of Malines busied themselves with making a white lace known as Mechlin. It became a fashionable lace in England in 1699, Queen Mary using it considerably and Queen Anne buying it largely, in one instance purchasing 83 yards of it for L247. It has always remained a favourite lace with English royalties, Queen Charlotte almost exclusively using it. The other day I discovered in a bric-a-brac shop about twenty yards of it, old and discoloured, it is true, which came directly from Queen Caroline, the ill-used wife of George IV. In the earlier Mechlin, although pillow-made, the introduction of the "brides with picots," and also the may-flower patterns of Brussels, helped to make it more decorative. The ground or reseau was very similar to Brussels hand-made, but the hexagonal mesh is shorter, as reference to the diagram of reseaux will show. The exquisite "lightness" of Mechlin, so specially adapted to "quillings" and "pleatings," accounted for its popularity. It was specially suitable to the lawns and muslins of the eighteenth century, but little of this lace is left owing, no doubt, to its great favour except the ubiquitous "lappets," for which it was no doubt "the Queen of Lace." The immediate cause of its extinction was the introduction of Blonde laces, and later its final overthrow came from its being the easiest lace to reproduce by machinery. [Illustration: MARIE ANTOINETTE, QUEEN OF LOUIS XVI., SHOWING HOW MECHLIN LACE WAS USED. From an old fashion plate.] IX OTHER CONTINENTAL LACES IX OTHER CONTINENTAL LACES Spanish lace; Gold and silver laces of Spain--German laces--Russian laces--Maltese silk and thread laces. Outside the great lace-making countries of Italy, France, and Flanders, little lace was ever made, and that little of less consequence. _Spanish Lace._