There are many interesting things to be learnt about the drops which hang on chandeliers and table lights. The first and most surprising is that most of them, even those found on quite early Irish chandeliers, were made in England and France! Very few were manufactured in Ireland.

The genuine old Irish drops (so far as my personal observation and experience goes) were always round or almond shaped. The most characteristic distinction between them and those made in other countries is that they are very flat when viewed sideways (see illustration No. 3, page 8), whereas the English and French come to a point in the centre—sometimes on one side, more often on both—not a sharp point, of course, but still a point (see illustration No. 4, page 8, which will make the difference quite clear). No. 1 (page 6) is a very rare specimen.

All the chandeliers and lights made for my family had in every case these Irish drops, being, of course, special orders. When seen on a chandelier it is remarkable how much more graceful the Irish drops look; they are softer, more richly facetted, smoother, and, of course, deeper in colour. The large pendants (see illustrations Nos. 2, 5, 6, 7) for ornaments and stars for chandeliers were manufactured in an interesting way. They were made in ladles, designed to the required outline and size, with a long handle (see illustration below). The ladle was dipped in the pot of molten glass, withdrawn full, and after being allowed to cool slightly until the glass had set, tipped out into a "dry" furnace (known as a lehr) for some hours; by that time the glass was hard and fit to be facetted by hand.

In Italy and Spain I have watched the glass-makers at much the same work, but in these instances the glass was made in cut moulds, so that the glass was pressed into a pattern while hot, and not cut afterwards.

The illustrations are of Irish ornaments in my possession on family chandeliers, and vary in length from 5 in. to 8½ in.