Muslin

“ In summer Alice always wore white, and now, as she came tripping down the long piazza, her muslin dress floating about her like a snowy mist, her fair hair falling softly about her face and on her neck, a few geranium leaves twined among the glossy curls, and her lustrous eyes sparkling with excitement, both Irving Stanley and Hugh held their breath and watched her as she came, the one jealously and half angry that she was so beautiful, the other admiringly and with a feeling of wonder at the beauty he had never seen surpassed. ”

“ In the process of making muslin, both warp and woof were sized with sizing made of flour, to make the threads more smooth and unbending; whereas plain cloth had only the warp sized, and that with sizing made of Indian-meal. [90] When thread for the muslin was beamed, and one single thread passed through the reeds of the sley, and only a slight tap of the batten given as the shuttle passed through the opening with its quill of sized thread, the texture was thin and gauze-like, and stood out like any real muslin stiffened with starch. ”

“ Their spirits are naturally damped by their disappointment, and their holiday garments by a summer shower; and though the ducks of the gentlemen take the water as favourably as possible, every white muslin presently assumes the appearance of a drab, and, becoming a little limp and dirty, looks as miserable as a lame beggar! ”

“ The word muslin, as is known, is derived from Mosul because this fabric had its origin there. But both the cultivation of cotton and the manufacture of muslin have long ceased to be the important industries they once were in this part of the Orient.
Another feature of this part of Mesopotamia, noted by historians, was its forests. It was at Nisibis “where good timber was abundant,” that the Emperor Trajan had a large fleet constructed to be used on the Tigris. [314] Now the entire country is so treeless that anything larger than a shrub is rarely seen. ”

“ One day Nasr-ed-Deen Effendi was tying a new piece of muslin for his turban, when to his annoyance he discovered that it was too short. He tried a second time, but still it was not long enough, and he spoiled his turban, and lost his temper. Much vexed with the muslin, the Khoja took it to the bazaar, and gave it in to be sold by auction.
By and by the sale began, and after a time the muslin was put up, and a man came forward and began to bid. Another man bid against him, and the first man continued to raise his price. ”

“ Pigeon-shooting is another amusement practised among the sporting men of Hindoostaun. I, of course, allude to the Mussulmauns, for most Hindoos hold it criminal to kill a crow, or even the meanest insect; and I have known them carry the principle of preserving life to the minutest insects, wearing crape or muslin over their mouths and noses in the open air, fearing a single animalcule that floats in the air should be destroyed by their breath. For the same reason, these men have every drop of water strained through muslin before it is used either for drinking or for cooking. ”

“ After dinner the Marquis said, 'Now, Sir Hugh, I hope you will excuse me if I go upstairs. I am taking the racing calendar with me, you see.'
My forerunner, the author of Muslin, should have written the story sketched here with a failing hand, his young wit would have allowed him to tell how the marriage that had wilted sadly after the death of Uncle Toby now renewed its youth, opening its leaves to the light again, shaking itself in the gay breezes floating by. ”

“ Others clap them, till nearly dry, then fold and cover, and then iron them. Iron wrought muslins on soft flannel, and on the wrong side.
To do up Laces, nicely, sew a clean piece of muslin around a long bottle, and roll the lace on it; pulling [Pg 293] out the edge, and rolling it so that the edge will turn in, and be covered, as you roll. Fill the bottle with water, and then boil it, for an hour, in a suds made with white soap. Rinse it in fair water, a little blued; dry it in the sun; and, if any stiffening is wished, use thin starch, or gum Arabic. ”

“ You need not send her. I will bring my little friend with me to-morrow afternoon when we shall be passing your shop. She will like to carry her new doll through the streets.”
Next morning when Mademoiselle Cerise was brought back to the shop after having been absent since the previous afternoon, the Sailor-Lad was struck by something very familiar about the appearance of her new blue muslin dress. At first he could not think why. Then he understood; the muslin was—so it seemed to him—of exactly the same pattern and exactly the same color as Belinda’s dress. ”

“ I have also a very singular cocoon which is made entirely of white muslin and brown elastic, although this specimen was quite unintentional as far as I was concerned. The larva was enclosed in a glass jam-jar, over the top of which I had placed a piece of muslin, with an elastic band round it, to prevent the larva from making its escape. The captive was ready to spin before I was aware of the fact, and, finding nothing in the bottle but leaves, endeavoured to escape by biting a hole through the muslin. ”

“ Tie the feet together and the wings close to the body with a broad strip of muslin, place the bird on its side on the table, calling in assistance to hold it still, and with a sharp pocket-knife make a small slit, first in the outer skin, pulling one side slightly outward, then making an insertion in the crop itself. ”

“ The skin is moulted or sloughed off, at certain times, when that which envelops the head and fore parts of the body is detached first, the separation proceeding gradually to the tail. During the process, which lasts for a day or two, the half-detached skin hangs about the animal in loose folds, resembling the finest muslin, apparently to its great annoyance. ”

“ Mind the bottom is made round, and not jelly-bag shaped with a Pg 118 point, which will ruin nearly all your captures before they are secured. Before using the net, have the muslin steeped in water for a whole night, so as to take all the stiffness out of the muslin. It will require several rinsings before the size is all removed, and it becomes quite soft. Never mind the loss of colour if green—it will only look the more workman-like. In using the net to catch the specimens, like so many other things, it requires practice to make perfect ”

“ Was it the diffused spores of the perfected Enteromorpha or of the rank Confervae upon the stones? If neither, what was its cause? Excess of light was the most obvious suggestion; and so it was supposed that its exclusion might be a potent remedy. Therefore a double curtain of glazed muslin was stretched across the window; and the tank, both top and sides, wrapped in folds of paper. A week of darkness changed the deep green to a dingy olive. ”

“ A piece of cardboard cut to fit inside the lard can with a circle cut out of the center around the top of the oyster can or nest will hide the packing and make a neat finish. Place a three-inch cushion of unbleached muslin, stuffed tightly with excelsior, on top of the lid of the nest. When the top of the outside container is placed on and hooked down, it will be tight enough to cause a pressure. ”

“ Formerly, all muslins were imported from India; but, at present, very considerable quantities are manufactured in Manchester, Glasgow, Paisley, &c. which, for fineness and durability, are little inferior to those of the East. ”

“ By the spring a number of women were watering some long-haired sheep, and five men were attending to about twenty camels. As the sister of Ḥarb had not sent us a guide, I should have liked to have hired a guide from among the men present, but they all excused themselves, saying that their camp was a long way to the northeast and that they were on the point of moving northwards for fear of the smallpox, which had broken out in the upper part of the šeʻîb of al-Ḳena’. ”

“ The Pinna, as the marine Mussel is called, has a foot which is cylindrical in shape, and has at the bottom a round tendon, almost as long as itself, the use of which appears to be to gather in and retain the numerous threads with which, when inhabiting the shores of tempestuous seas, it lashes itself fast to the fixed objects around; these threads are fastened at various points, and then drawn tight by the animal, whose instinct teaches it that its brittle shell would soon be broken in pieces, if suffered to roll hither and thither at the mercy of the waves. ”

“ As a ship by its cable, so commonly the Mussel, by its bissus or beard, is made fast to its anchorage-ground, be it pebbly or sandy beach, or jutting rock. Sometimes, however, the mollusk travels, and this is how it manages to do so; it has a stout fleshy foot, in shape something like that of a chubby child, and this it can advance about two inches beyond the edge of the shell, then fixing the point of it to a piece of rock or any other body, and contracting it, the shell is drawn onward, and sure, though slow, progress is made in any desired direction. ”

“ Others finding the first opinion a false one, and that they are endowed with power of changing place like other animals, have, upon the same foundation, gone into the contrary extreme, so far as to attribute swiftness to them, a property surely inconsistent with their being fixed to rocks. Pliny and Solinus say, that the mussel have leaders, and go in flocks, and that their leader is endowed with great cunning, to protect himself and his flock from the fishers, and when he is taken, the others fall an easy prey. This however I think we are to look upon as a fable. ”

“ At times they are unwholesome; but all the exact causes of this are not known. Mussels seem to be found on every shore, and some of the species are very widely distributed—the common edible Mussel, M. edulis, being found on every European coast, on the shores of North and South America, in the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans, and probably on the coasts of Australia.
One group of Mussels (Lithodomus, Case 144) burrow in rocks and other shells, forming holes just large enough to contain their shells. L. dactylus is sold as an article of diet on the shores of the Mediterranean. ”

“ Animals which are known to prey on the Mussels are Muskrats, Minks, Raccoons, and Hogs, the first and last being especially destructive. The freshets to which the Mississippi is periodically subject undoubtedly do great damage to the Mussel-beds, burying them under sand and mud. Shifting sand-bars are also known to cover up beds. The fishermen sometimes find extensive beds of dead shells which appear to have been recently uncovered by the current. During freshets, when the stream finds new channels, many Mussels are carried from their beds, and left dry when the water subsides. ”

“ Mullins is a rather short, rather round, smooth-shaven man of less than forty, wearing one of those round banking suits of pepper and salt, with a round banking hat of hard straw, and with the kind of gold tie-pin and heavy watch-chain and seals necessary to inspire confidence in matters of foreign exchange. ”

“ The mealy masses of dry sand beyond the river's lip are stuffed with these mussel shells. They lie all ways up, endways, sideways, on their faces, on their backs. The pearl lining shines through the sand, and the mussels gleam like silver spoons under the water. They crack and crunch beneath your feet as you step across to search the mass for the smaller and rarer shells. ”

“ We met five migrating families of the Beni ʻAṭijje, as they call themselves, though the Ḥwêṭât and other tribes camping to the north of Maʻân nearly always refer to them as Maʻʻâze or ʻAṭâwne. Each family had but one camel, upon which was loaded all its property: a tiny tent with a single main pole, torn blankets, a bag of semḥ, a small pouch of sour milk, and the smallest of the children. The other members of the family walked behind the camels, driving a small flock of goats with long, shiny, black hair. No flock contained more than fifteen animals. ”

“ In the encampment Sbejḥ had found a man hailing from the Beli tribe, who was willing to act as our guide. Having arrived at an agreement with him, I asked him to bring up his camel and to proceed with us at once. He promised to do so but asked us to wait for him a short while, as his camel was in the pasture. In the meantime Daʻsân’s uncle came up to us and invited me to remain in the camp as his guest. I thanked him for his invitation but regretted that I could not accept it, because our camels were thirsty and we were anxious to water them at the well of ar-Rawjân. ”

“ Two years ago the Rock was literally covered with patches of immature mussels, but is now completely denuded by these rapacious hordes. Some seasons the mussel spawn is pretty much in evidence here, but they never come to maturity; the white whelk takes care of that; but apart from that cause, it is doubtful if they could manage to subsist in such a boisterous situation. The workmen, while employed here in the building of the Lighthouse, in order to regale themselves with a fresh diet occasionally, made the experiment of transplanting mussels from the shore, but without success. ”

“ The young Mussels spread themselves all round the pockets, fixing themselves by means of those filaments which naturalists designate by the name of byssus. In proportion as they grow and become crowded together [186] within the pockets, they are cleared out and distributed over other poles lying somewhat nearer to the shore, whilst the full-grown Mussels which are fit for sale are planted on the bouchots nearest the shore. ”

“ At a short distance from Bussang, a little town in the Department des Vosges in France, is the source of the Moselle; trickling through the moss and stones that, [2] together with fallen leaves, strew the ground, come the first few drops of this beautiful river.
A few yards lower down the hill-side, these drops are received into a little pool of fairy dimensions; this tiny pool of fresh sweet water is surrounded by mossy stones, wild garlic, ferns, little creepers of many forms, and stems of trees.
The trees, principally pine, grow thickly over the whole ballon (as the hills are here called) ”