Page:A History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England During the Middle Ages.djvu/503

 and SefithneiJts. 483 Two are engaged at the diftaft; the old poetical emblem of the lex. Another is cutting out the cloth for working, with a pair of fliears of very antiquated form. The fliape of the three-cornered joined chair in this group is worthy of remark. The female in our cut No. 307 is alfo feated in a chair of rather peculiar conftruftion, though it has occurred before at an earher period (cut No. 245, p. 375), and we meet with it again in our next cut (No. 308). It is what was fometimes called a folding chair. This cut is taken from one of the illuftrations to the Englilh edition of Erafmus's " Praife of Folly," printed in 1676, but it is a copy of the No. 307. A Lady at the Loom. earlier originals. The great weaving eflablilhments in England appear to have commenced in the fixteenth century, with the Proteftant refugees from France and the Netherlands. The old domeftic games continued to be pradifed in the middle and upper claffes of fociety, although they were rather extenhvely fuperfeded by the pernicious rage for gambling which now prevailed throughout Englilh fociety. This practice had been extending itfelf ever fince the beginning of the fifteenth century, and had been accompanied with another evil pradice among the ladies, that of drinking. It need hardly be obferved that thefe two vices furnillied conltant themes to the dramatills and