and Honor
Will attend on thee."

Then follows a house called "The Queen's Palace," standing in an
enclosed flower-garden. This masterpiece of moral philosophy from the
hands of a child of seven years is dated 1813.

An exaggerated conception of the value of old Samplers is very widely
spread. Only the seventeenth-century Samplers are really of consequence,
and these fetch fancy prices. In the sale-rooms a long narrow Sampler
of lace stitches and drawn-thread work would bring as much as a
handsome piece of lace. They are practically unattainable, and in this
case the law of supply and demand does not obtain. It is beyond the
needlewomen of the present day to imitate these old Samplers. Life is
too short, and demands upon time are so many and varied, that a lifetime
of work would result in making only one. Therefore, the fortunate owners
of these seventeenth-century Samplers may cherish their possessions, and
those less lucky possess their souls in patience, and hoard their golden
guineas in the hope of securing one. Twenty years ago a few pounds would
have been ample to secure a fine specimen, but L30 will now secure only
a short fragment.

During the last three years I have not seen a good Sampler at any London
Curio or lace shop, and none appear in the sale-rooms. The
eighteenth-century Samplers are comparatively common, the map variety
especially so, and can be purchased for a pound or so, but these are not
desirable to the collector.

X

THE WILLIAM AND MARY EMBROIDERIES

[Illustration: JACOBEAN WALL-HANGING WORKED IN COLOURED CREWELS ON LINEN
GROUND.

(_S.K.M. Collection._)]

X

THE WILLIAM AND MARY EMBROIDERIES

Queen Mary "a born needlewoman"--The Hampton Court
Embroideries--Revival of petit point--Jacobean hangings.

One of the most convincing facts in arguments that there _is_ a revival
in the gentle art of needlecraft is that it has become the fashion to
drape our windows, cover our furniture, and panel our walls with printed
copies of the Old Jacobean needlework. Many people, knowing nothing
whatever about the history of needlework, wonder where the designs for
the printed linens which line the windows of Messrs. Liberty, Goodall
and Burnett's colossal frontages in Regent Street have been found. In
time amazement gives way to admiration for these quaint blues and
greens, roses and pale yellows, worked in great scrolls with exotic
flowers and still more exotic bir