out to look for their pet lambs on the downs, but it was less with a view to broad cloths than to hose,—not knitted, for knitting was unknown, but made of a ruder kind of cloth. There were abundance of English who would have been very glad of the occupation of weaving fine cloth which the Flemings had now all to themselves; but they could not obtain it till they had adopted and accustomed themselves to the improved methods of the Flemings; and as they were slow in doing this, they were assisted by Edward III., who invited over Flemish manufacturers, to teach these improved methods. Having brought them over, the next step necessary was to guard their lives from their English pupils, who would not hear of spinning by wheel, because the wheel did twice as much work as the distaff; or of winding the yarn and arranging the warp and woof otherwise than by the fingers, because many fingers wanted to be employed; or of using new drugs lest the old druggists should be superseded, or of fulling by any other means than treading the cloth in water. If it had not been that the King was more long-sighted than his people, these Flemings would have been torn to pieces, or, at best, sent home in a panic; and the English would have lost the woollen manufacture for many a year, or for ever. Woollen cloth was very dear in those days. In the fourth year of Henry VII., it was ordered by law what should be the highest price given per yard for "a broad yard of the finest scarlet grained, or of other grained cloth of the finest making;"—viz., as much labour and subsistence as could be exchanged for 6_l._ 16_s._ of our present money. Now, there could not be any very large number of customers in England at that time who could afford to pay 6_l._ 16_s._ per yard for fine cloth, even if they had not had the temptation of getting it cheaper and better from Flanders. The manufacture must have been a very trifling one, and there must have been a sad number of sufferers from cold and damp, who, in those days of ill-built and ill-furnished houses, would have been very glad of the woollen clothing which none but the very rich could obtain. If their rulers had allowed them to get it cheaper and better from Flanders, the home manufacture would have been thereby stimulated, extended, and improved; but, under the idea of protecting the English manufacture, it was made a punishable offence to buy cloth woven by any but Englishmen, and to send wool out of the kingdom. Laws like these (and there were many such during many reigns) did all that could be done for keeping the manufacture in few hands, and preventing the spread of this great article of comfort: but nature was too strong for governments; and it was shown that while there were flocks on the hills, and sickly people shivering in the damps of the valleys, no human power could prevent their striving to have garments of wool for the day and coverlets of wool for the night. In the remote country places of Yorkshire, the