144, he says: "L'arbre a vernis qui est une espece de bananier, et que les Siamois appellent 'rak,' fournit ce beau vernis qu'on admire dans les petits meubles qu'on apporte de Chine."

Fortunately the Government of the Fourth of September had sent all the most precious things to the Garde-Meuble (Stores); but how can the magnificent Gobelins tapestry, the fine ceilings, the works of Charles Lebrun, of Pierre Mignard, of Coypel, of Francisque Meillet, of Coysevox, of Girardon, and of many others, and the exquisite Salon des Roses be replaced?

On one side of it is the Hótel du Garde Meuble, a superb edifice.

And then the men, all the marchands de meubles in the quartier, came upstairs, spitting and talking coarselytheir foul voices went through me.

a attiré les regards des spectateurs?De quoi cette personne était-elle couverte?De quel meuble s'est-elle approchée?Était-elle douée d'un grand appétit?Comment mangeait-elle?Qu'est-ce que les spectateurs se demandaient enfin?Gargantua aurait-il approché du gourmand du

He is a member of the Convention, and was openly accused of having been an accomplice in the robbery of the Garde Meuble.

On account of some unwarrantable proceedings, and of some words that escaped him, which gave rise to a suspicion that he was privy to the robbery of the Garde Meuble, he was arrested by the municipality of Quimper Corentin, of which place he is a native.

The affair of the Garde Meuble, was, however, again brought forward; but, most probably, many of the members had reasons for not discussing too nearly the accusation against G; and those who were not interested in suppressing it, were too weak or too timid to pursue it farther.

The French meubles de luxe, from the latter half of the seventeenth century until the Revolution, are also treated more fully than the furniture of other periods and countries, on account of the interest which has been manifested in this description of the cabinet maker's and metal mounter's work during the past ten or fifteen years.

The process of lacquering has already been described, and in the chapter on French furniture of the eighteenth century it will be seen how specimens of this decorative material reached France by way of Holland, and were mounted into the "meubles de luxe" of that time.

Thus the massiveness and grandeur of the best Louis Quatorze meubles de luxe, became, in its later development, too ornate and effeminate, with an elaboration of enrichment, culminating in the rococo style of Louis Quinze.

During the preceding reign the Chinese lacquer ware then in use was imported from the East, the fashion for collecting which had grown ever since the Dutch had established a trade with China: and subsequently as the demand arose for smaller pieces of meubles de luxe, collectors had these articles taken to pieces, and the slabs of lacquer mounted in panels to decorate the table, or cabinet, and to display the lacquer.

Without doubt, the most important example of meubles de luxe of this reign is the famous "Bureau du Roi," made for Louis XV.

in 1769, and which appears fully described in the inventory of the "Garde Meuble" in the year 1775, under No. 2541.

This description is very minute, and is fully quoted by M. Williamson in his valuable work, "Les Meubles d'Art du Mobilier National," and occupies no less than thirty-seven lines of printed matter.

(From a-pen and ink drawing by H. Evans.) Period: Late Louis XV.] There occurs in M. Williamson's valuable contribution to the literature of our subject ("Les Meubles d'Art du Mobilier National,") an interesting illustration of the gradual alterations which we are noticing as having taken place in the design of furniture.

It was made for the Trianon and the date is just one year after Marie Antoinette's marriage:"Memoire des ouvrages faits et livrés, par les ordres de Monsieur le Chevalier de Fontanieu, pour le garde meuble du Roy par Riesener, ébeniste a l'arsenal Paris," savoir Sept. 21, 1771; and then follows a fully detailed description of the table, with its price, which was 6,000 francs, or £240.

An oblong writing table, en suite, with drawer fitted with inkstand, writing slide and shelf beneath; an oval medallion of a trophy and flowers on the top, and trophies with four medallions round the sides: stamped T. Riesener and branded underneath with cypher of Marie Antoinette, and Garde Meuble de la Reine."

In the Jones Collection, at South Kensington, there are also several charming examples of Louis Seize meubles de luxe.

It may be mentioned here that, in order to supply a demand which has lately arisen, chiefly in New York, but also to some extent in England, for the best "Empire" furniture, the French dealers have bought up some of the old undecorated pieces, and by ornamenting them with gilt bronze mounts, cast from good old patterns, have sold them as original examples of the meubles de luxe of the period.

The design and execution of mountings of cabinets in metal work, particularly of the highly-chased and gilt bronzes for the enrichment of meubles de luxe, was then, as it still to a great extent remains, the specialite of the Parisian craftsman, and almost the only English exhibits of such work were those of foreigners who had settled amongst us.

The house of Fourdinois no longer exists; the names of the foremost makers of French meubles de luxe, in Paris, are Buerdeley, Dasson, Roux, Sormani, Durand, and Zwiener.

With him the styles of Francois Premier, of Henri Deux, and the "three Louis" are classic, and in the beautiful chasing and finishing of the mounts which ornament the best meubles de luxe, it is almost impossible to surpass his best efforts, provided the requisite price be paid; but this amounts in many cases to such considerable sums of money as would seem incredible to those who have but little knowledge of the subject.

And then the men, all the marchands de meubles in the quartier, came upstairs, spitting and talking coarselytheir foul voices went through me.

Ote- lui quelqu'autre meuble, s'il en a trop, mais laisse-lui cette pièce, animal.