158 THE HISTORY OF SILK 



Worms to be sold in the public market, and a tax 

 exacted both from the seller and purchaser. 



Notwithstanding the high perfection of the Modo- 

 nese in weaving silk, yet they were not possessed of 

 any throwing mills, and were, in consequence, 

 obliged to send all their raw silk to Bologna to be 

 thrown, being the only place in Italy where there 

 were mills for that purpose. 



From Italy Silk Worms were introduced into 

 Spain, where they made but little progress, owing 

 to the unsettled and idle habits of the people, who 

 appear to have preferred purchasing silk goods in a 

 foreign market rather than entering with zeal into 

 the manufacture themselves. 



It is quite uncertain when the use of silk 

 introduced into England, but it appears to have 

 of a date considerably subsequent to its being commi 

 in France. But circumstances lead us to infer that 

 it must have been shortly after the Norman Conquest. 

 The Chronicles, however, inform us, that silk was 

 pretty generally adopted amongst the nobility both 

 of England and Scotland, in the year 1251. At this 

 time, Alexander the Third of Scotland married 

 Margaret, daughter of Henry the Third of England, 

 on which occasion the princess had in attendance 

 a thousand knights dressed in cointises of silk. 



After this period, however, silk seems to have been 

 less frequently worn in Britain, but from what cause, 

 we can find no account. 



Florence had attained a high degree of excellence 

 in silken fabrics, so early as the year 1800, at which 



