en inches by six.

PLATE II.--_Two Heads from a XIVth Century English Cope preserved at
Steeple Aston, Oxfordshire._--The cope is not now in its original state,
for it has been divided into two parts and used for the decoration of
the altar. The background is composed of a thin greyish white silk
backed with a stronger material. The white may have been originally some
other colour; it is, however, in its present state, very beautiful and
harmonious. The drawing of the features in this cope is remarkably
refined and true to nature (the reproduction does not do full justice to
the original). The ancient method, of working the faces in split stitch
commencing with the middle of the cheek and continuing spirally round,
then afterwards pressing the centre down by some mechanical means, is
plainly to be observed here. The effective drawing of the tresses of
hair in alternate lines of two colours is well seen in the left-hand
example. The gold thread which is freely made use of all over the cope,
upon the draperies, nimbi, and surrounding foliage, is marvellously
bright and sparkling, although nearly six hundred years old. The
manufacture of untarnishable gold for embroidery purposes seems beyond
present day enterprise.

Width of nimbus, two and a half inches.

PLATE III.--_A small portion of a Quilted Coverlet, probably of Sicilian
work. Date about 1400._--In this interesting example of quilting, which
is exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum, the ground is composed
of a buff-coloured linen. The raised effect is obtained by an
interpadding of wool. The background is run over irregularly with white
thread, in order to keep it more or less flat, and the design, which is
in fairly high relief, is outlined with brown thread. The entire
coverlet is embroidered with scenes from the life of Tristan. Tristan
frequently engaged in battle against King Languis, the oppressor of his
country. This detail represents "How King Languis (of Ireland) sent to
Cornwall for the tribute."

Size of detail, two feet by three.

PLATE IV.--_A portion of an Altar Cloth Band, embroidered in coloured
silk threads upon a white linen ground._--This is a piece of German XVth
century work exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum. It is
embroidered almost entirely in one stitch, which might be described as a
variety of herring-bone. The design is made up of two motives which
repeat alternately along the band--a square shaped tree and a cir