A travel essay from the Catholic World in which the author, visiting Venice in early spring, follows an elderly lace-seller to her rooms to look at antique Venetian lace. Much of the text is about travel in Venice and Vicenza and about the seller herself. The lace discussion covers collars, cuffs, and flounces from albs and cottas, the thick, close texture of old Venetian point, its historic price, and the poorer quality of modern Venetian lace compared with the old and with Honiton and Irish lace.

A general magazine essay on the history and lore of lace, from its association with nunneries and church work to its fashionable and legal history. It covers royal and clerical patrons, extravagant spending, smuggling and trade restrictions between England and Flanders, and the collecting and restoration of old lace. It also describes point and pillow lace, grounds and flowers, the division of labor in Brussels and Alençon work, and the character of Venice, Valenciennes, Chantilly and Irish laces.