INGENUITY AND LUXURY 



instance, the ark of bulrushes in which, in the days of 

 the sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt, it is recorded 

 the infant Moses was placed. 



"What more natural than that the flags from the 

 river should be used for floor coverings? These 

 would be strewn about the floors of the tents and dwell- 

 ings of the people, as rushes were in this country only 

 two or three centuries ago. It would not be long before 

 Egyptian mistresses and Ethiopian maidens would 

 devise means of utilizing them for decorative purposes; 

 especially as when by so doing their durability would 

 be enhanced, and the comfort obtained from their 

 use increased. Indiscriminately thrown upon the 

 floor they would be trampled up, to avoid which the 

 first plan adopted would probably be to place them 

 longitudinally side by side. In this we get the first 

 step in the art of weaving: a parallel arrangement of 

 reeds and flags. The next, the introduction of trans- 

 verse ones, would speedily follow, as an ornamental 

 effect would be obtained by laying others across those 

 first placed in parallel order. 



"The second step is thus arrived at: longitudinally 

 and transversely arranged flags; but still no weaving 

 has taken place. As now supposed to be laid, they 

 would be liable to derangement every time a person 

 moved across the floor, which would destroy the orna- 

 mental effect. To prevent this it may be assumed that 

 various expedients would be resorted to before it 

 dawned upon any one's mind that the transverse flags 

 should be made to pass alternately over and under 

 those laid in a longitudinal direction, in order to secure 



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