* * * * *
_Queen Elizabeth's Christening Cloth_.--The mention (in the first No. of
your 3rd Vol.) of some damasked linen which belonged to James II. reminds
me of a relic which I possess, and the description of which may interest
some of your readers.
It is the half of Queen Elizabeth's christening cloth, which came into my
possession through a Mrs. Goodwin. A scrap of paper which accompanies it
gives the following account of it:
"It was given by an old lady to Mrs. Goodwin; she obtained it from one
of the Strafford family, who was an attendant upon the Queen. The other
half Mrs. Goodwin has seen at High Fernby, in Yorkshire, a place
belonging to the family of the Rooks, in high preservation. In its
original state, it was lined with a rose-coloured lutestring, with a
flounce of the same about a quarter deep. The old lady being very
notable, found some use for the silk, and used to cover the china which
stood in the best parlour with this remains of antiquity."
The christening cloth is of a thread net, worked in with blue and yellow
silk, and gold cord. It must have been once very handsome, but is now
somewhat the worse for wear and time. It is about 21/2 feet wide and 31/2 feet
in length, so that the entire length must have been about 7 feet.
Can any one inform me whether the remaining half of this interesting relic
STILL exists; as the notice attached to it, and mentioning its locality,
must now be fifty years old at least?