or CHAMBLER, a stuff sometimes of wool, sometimes silk, and sometimes hair, especially that of goats, with wool or silk: in some, the warp is silk and wool twisted together, and the woof hair.

The true or oriental camblet is made of the pure hair of a sort of goat, frequent about Angora, and which makes the riches of that city, all the inhabitants whereof are employed in the manufacture and commerce of camblets. It is certain we find mentioned in middle-age writers, stuffs made of camel's hair, under the denominations of cameletum and camelinum, whence probably the origin of the term; but these are represented as strangely coarse, rough, and prickly, and seem to have been chiefly used among the monks by way of mortification, as the hair-shirt of latter times.

We have no camblets made in Europe of the goats' hair alone; even at Brufels, they find it necessary to add a mixture of woollen thread.

England, France, Holland, and Flanders, are the chief places of this manufacture. Brufels exceeds them all in the beauty and quality of its camblets: those of England are reputed the second.

Figured CAMBLETS, are those of one colour, whereon are stamped various figures, flowers, foliage, &c. by means of hot irons, which are a kind of moulds, passed together with the stuff, under a press. These are chief- Cambrics ly brought from Amiens and Flanders: the commerce of these was anciently much more considerable than at present.

Watered-Cambrics, those which, after weaving, receive a certain preparation with water; and are afterwards passed under a hot-press, which gives them a smoothness and lustre.

Waved-Cambrics, are those whereon waves are impressed, as on tabbies; by means of a calender, under which they are passed and repassed several times.

The manufacturers, &c., of cambrics are to take care they do not acquire any false and needless plaits; it being almost impossible to get them out again. This is notorious, even to a proverb: we say, a person is like cambric, he has taken his plait.