150 ELEVENTH EVENING.

fa. Vheir fingers must have the touch of a spider,
hat, as Pope says,
‘‘ Feels at each thread, and lives along the line ;”

and, indeed, you recollect that Arachne was a spinster.

Lace is a still finer production from flax, and is one of

those in which the original material is most improved.

How many times the price of a pound of flax do you

think that flax will be worth, when made into lace ?
flen. A. great many times, I suppose.

Ha. Flax, at the first hand, is bought at fourteen-
pence a pound. They make lace at Valenciennes, in ~
french Flanders, of ten guineas a yard; I believe,
indeed, higher, but we will say ten guineas: this yard
of lace will weigh probably not more than half an
ounce. What is the value of half an ounce of flax P

fiew, 1t comes to one farthing and three quarters
of a farthing.

4a. Right; now tell me how many times the original
value the lace is worth.

flen. Prodigious! it is worth 5,760 times as much
as the flax it is made of.

4a, Yet there is another material that is still more
smprovable than flax.

flen. What can that be?

4a. Iron. Suppose the price of pig-iron to be ten
shillings a hundredweight; this is not quite one
farthing for two ounces; now you have seen some of
the beautiful cut steel, that looks like diamonds ?

flen. Yes; I have seen buckies, and pins, and
watch-chains.

4a, Then you can form an idea of it; but you have
seen only the most common sorts. There was a chain
made at Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, and sent to
France, which weighed only two ounces, and cost 1701.
Calculate how many times that had increased. its
value.

flen. Amazing! It was worth 163,600 times the
value of the iron it was made of,