The art of rug-weaving was first introduced into the West by the Moors when they conquered Spain. With the advance of civilization it proceeded to the land of the Gauls, where during the reign of Henry the Fourth it was brought from Persia. An inventor named Dupont was placed in charge of a workroom by the King, in the _Palais du Louvre_ about the year 1605. In the year 1621 an apprentice of Dupont's, named Lourdes, was instructed to establish the industry of weaving in a district near Paris, where was the _Hospice de la Savonnerie_, an institution for poor children. The factory was called _La Savonnerie_ because the building had been previously used for the manufacture of soap. Since 1825 _La Savonnerie_ has been consolidated with the Gobelins manufactory. In 1664, Colbert, minister to Louis the Fourteenth, founded the establishment at Beauvais which is owned by the French Government, as is also that of the Gobelins, which Colbert bought of the Gobelin family. But it is to the Saracens that France ultimately owes the origin of her famous tapestries, and it is to the Saracens, through France, that Western and Northern Europe trace their obligation. The industry has attained large proportions in France. At Aubusson alone over two thousand work-men are employed in rug-weaving. A fine specimen of the work done there is a rug of Oriental design made for a collector in New York. The piece-work system is now generally used throughout the weaving districts of France. The manufacturers themselves usually place the rugs on the market. France buys the greater quantity, although many are exported. Austria-Hungary, Germany, Holland, and Italy have also had some experience in rug-weaving, and even little Switzerland at one time attempted its introduction, but with unsatisfactory results. Belgium, however, was more successful, for Brussels still produces a large number of rugs. THE UNITED STATES The United States is largely occupied in rug-weaving, and the centre of the Eastern section of this manufacture is Philadelphia. But in various sections of the country there are rug factories, both large and small. The _Abenákee_ rug is made at Pequaket, New Hampshire. It is the result of a desire on the part of Mrs. Helen R. Albee to give profitable employment to the women of the rural community where she lives. Her success is now assured, and the reward for much labor and thought has come in a lively demand for the rug.