Each of the lace-making towns of Belgium excels in the production of one particular description of lace: in other words, each has what is technically called its own _point_. The French word _point_, in the ordinary language of needlework, signifies simply _stitch_; but in the terminology of lace-making, the word is sometimes used to designate the pattern of the lace, and sometimes the ground of the lace itself. Hence the terms _point de Bruxelles_, _point de Malines_, _point de Valenciennes_, &c. In England we distinguish by the name of Point, a peculiarly rich and curiously wrought lace formerly very fashionable, but now scarcely ever worn except in Court costume. In this sort of lace the pattern is, we believe, worked with the needle, after the ground has been made with the bobbins. In each town there prevail certain modes of working, and certain patterns which have been transmitted from mother to daughter successively, for several generations. Many of the lace-workers live and die in the same houses in which they were born; and most of them understand and practise only the stitches which their mothers and grandmothers worked before them. The consequence has been, that certain _points_ have become unchangeably fixed in particular towns or districts. Fashion has assigned to each its particular place and purpose; for example:—the _point de Malines_ (Mechlin lace) is used chiefly for trimming nightdresses, pillow-cases, coverlets, &c.; the _point de Valenciennes_ (Valenciennes lace) is employed for ordinary wear or negligé; but the more rich and costly _point de Bruxelles_ (Brussels lace) is reserved for bridal and ball-dresses, and for the robes of queens and courtly ladies.