CLOTH, ETC. 575 



1592 Lord Pembroke buys some at 8s. a yard, a price which 

 I have found nowhere else. In 1611 Shuttleworth buys it at 

 3y. $d. a yard, and at is. yd. in the same year ; in 1620 at 3^., 

 and in 1621 at $s. id. In 1633 Lord Spencer gives 4^. I do 

 not find it again for nearly fifty years, when (1681) it is 

 bought again at 4^. In the three years 1688-1690 it is bought 

 at 5.?. 6d. or 6j., and is described as fine by Lord Lovelace, 

 and in 1692 at $s. It is certain that the later article must 

 have been of very different quality from the earlier. In 1617 

 Shuttleworth buys ' Indies frieze ' at 3$. 8< 



Baize is also a common material. I have found it in twenty- 

 six years. It is also of very various quality and price. It is 

 generally between 2s. and 3^. a yard, and is occasionally em- 

 ployed for lining. In 1617, Shuttleworth buys Stamel baize 

 at 5^. 4*/. and black baize at 6s. the yard. In 1626, scarlet 

 baize is qs. a yard. In 1650, purple baize is *js. a yard, red 

 4^. $d. It is thenceforward generally cheap ; but in 1692 pur- 

 ple baize is at 3^. 6d. In 1592 it is bought at is. id. the 

 yard, to cover globes, by All Souls College. It is probable 

 that this article, once the staple manufacture of Colchester, 

 was generally a much lighter and finer stuff than that with 

 which we are now familiar. 



Serge is another common fabric. I have found it in twenty- 

 seven years, but it does not occur for nearly the first fifty 

 years. Baize is dearer than frieze, and serge is dearer than 

 baize. The highest price at which I have found it is in 1634, 

 when it is described as scarlet, and costs 75. 6d. a yard, all 

 scarlet-dyed goods being dear. In 1666 it is bought for the 

 Winchester boys, to supply their annual suit or gown, and at 

 the usual price, 5^., which Winchester gives for the boys' doth. 

 In 1647 Master gives 6s. a yard for it. These are the highest 

 prices. Serge decidedly falls in price as time passes on. In 

 the earlier period it is between 3*. $d. and 4s. lod. a yard ; 

 in the latter it is between 2s. and 35. 4^. Serge was used for 

 lining. Serge is sometimes called Padua. 



Another common cloth is kersey, carsey, or cursey. It is 



