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

The true or oriental cambray 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 cambrays. It is certain we find mentioned in middle-age writers stuffs made of camel's hair, under the denominations of caneletum 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 cambrays made in Europe of the goats' hair alone; even at Bruxelles, they find it necessary to add a mixture of woollen thread.

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

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

Watered CAMBRAYS, 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 CAMBRAYS, are those wherein waves are impressed, as on tabbies; by means of a calender, under which they are patted and repatted several times.

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