substance to make Bed-matts, or Door-matts of, or to serve for Beehives,
Corn-scuttles, Chairs, or Corn-tubs, it being not unlike that kind of work,
wherewith in many parts in _England_, they make such Utensils of Straw, a
little wreathed, and bound together with thongs of Brambles. For in this
Contexture, each little filament, fiber, or clew of the Silk-worm, seem'd
about the bigness of an ordinary Straw, as appears by the little irregular
pieces, ab, cd, and ef; The _Warp_, or the thread that ran crossing the
Riband, appear'd like a single Rope of an Inch Diameter; but the _Woof_, or
the thread that ran the length of the Riband, appear'd not half so big.
Each Inch of six-peny-broad Riband appearing no less then a piece of
Matting Inch and half thick, and twelve foot square, a few yards of this,
would be enough to floor the long Gallery of the _Loure_ at _Paris_. But to
return to our piece of Riband: It affords us a not unpleasant object,
appearing like a bundle, or wreath, of very clear and transparent
_Cylinders_, if the Silk be white, and curiously ting'd; if it be colour'd,
each of those small horney _Cylinders_ affording in some place or other of
them, as vivid a reflection, as if it had been sent from a _Cylinder_ of
Glass or Horn. In-so-much, that the reflexions of Red, appear'd as if
coming from so many _Granates_, or _Rubies_. The loveliness of the colours
of Silks above those of hairy Stuffs, or Linnen, consisting, as I
else-where intimate, chiefly in the transparency, and vivid reflections
from the _Concave_, or inner surface of the _transparent Cylinder_, as are
also the colours of Precious Stones; for most of the reflections from each
of these _Cylinders_, come from the _Concave_ surface of the air, which is
as 'twere the foil that incompasses the _Cylinder_. The colours with which
each of these _Cylinders_ are ting'd, seem partly to be superficial, and
sticking to the out-sides of them; and partly, to be imbib'd, or sunck into
the substance of them: for Silk, seeming to be little else then a dried
thread of Glew, may be suppos'd to be very easily relaxt, and softened, by
being steeped in warm, nay in cold, if penetrant, juyces or liquors. And