259 



been about the year 220, A. D. The Em- 

 peror Aurelianus, who died in 275, denied 

 his empress a robe of silk, because it was 

 too dear. In the year 555 some monks, who 

 had been in India, brought some eggs of the 

 silk-worm to Constantinople, where, in time, 

 they produced raw silk, which was manufac- 

 tured at Athens, Thebes, Corinth, &c. 



Charlemagne sent Offa, king of Mercia, a 

 present of a belt, and two silken vests, in the 

 year 780, which is the earliest account we 

 have of silk being seen in this country. 



In 1130 the Sicilians were taught to breed 

 silk-worms, and to spin and weave silk; 

 from whence the art was carried to Italy, 

 Spain, and the south of France. Some no- 

 blemen's ladies wore silk mantles at a ball 

 given at Kenilworth Castle, in Warwick- 

 shire, in 1286; and it was worn by the 

 English clergy in 1534. 



Stockings made of silk were first worn by 

 Henry the Second, of France, in 1543 ; and 

 in 1549 mulberry-trees were propagated 

 through all France ; and the breeding of silk- 

 worms was much encouraged by Henry the 

 Fourth of that country. 



Henry the Eighth of England received 

 a few pair of silk stockings from Spain ; but 

 knit silk stockings were not known until 



