[B] Darning stitch exists in the British Museum on a piece of material woven from flax, and found in an Egyptian tomb. And chain stitch is seen on a fragment of Greek work of the fourth century, B.C., at the Hermitage, St. Petersburg. The first mention of lace-making in Europe that I know of is an old rule of the thirteenth century for English nuns, cautioning them against devoting too much time to lace and ornamental work to the detriment of work for the poor.[C] [C] "Ne makie none purses ... ne _laz_ bute leave, auh schepied, and seouwed, and amended cherche clodes, and poure monne clodes." "Do not make no purses ... nor _lace_, without leave, but shape and sew, and mend, church-vestments and poor people's clothes." "The Ancren Riwle" (The Nun's Rule), p. 420, h. A.D. 1210. Morton's edition, Old English, 1853. This _laz_ or lace was doubtless lacis. This lacis or network, now called modano in Italy, was the earliest foundation for the work of needle-made lace "trine ad ago." We find in the Appendix to Dugdale's History of St. Paul's mention of work of "albo filo nodato" knotted white thread. This was noted at a Visitation made in 1295.[D] But pieces of this opus sfilatorium have also been found in Egyptian tombs. Early specimens often have the gammadion or symbol of the cross. _See_ Plate 4. [D] Dugdale, "St. Paul's," p. 316. A roll of the possessions of the Templars after their suppression in 1312 includes an inventory of the goods of Temple Church. One item of this is "one net which is called _Espinum_ to cover Lectern, 2_s._"[E] We must look to the specimens existing from early times in Europe, and to contemporary testimony, whether of painting or sculpture, to enable us to fix the date of these interesting productions of human industry--the early lacis and linen laces. Embroidery on silk, in which many of the lace stitches were used, has a very early record. [E] "Norfolk Archæology," vol. v. (Norwich 1859), p. 91. Here we need only cite the many magnificent examples of embroidered Church vestments, chasubles, copes, &c., so freely produced from the thirteenth century onwards, of which the wonderful Dalmatic of the ninth century in the Vatican Treasury, the Syon Cope of the thirteenth century in the Victoria and Albert Museum, together with others, are to this date in excellent and almost perfect condition.