me visited the old French cathedrals with their interesting
windows; and saw in the Louvre much glass of early French make as well
as many beautiful Venetian mirrors with all sorts of unique histories.
One mirror was that famous seventeenth century possession of Marie de
Medici, a looking-glass set in a frame which represented a fortune of
over thirty thousand dollars. This mirror was of rock crystal combined
with cut and polished agates, and around it was a network of enameled
gold. Outside this inner frame was a larger one formed entirely of
precious stones. Three large emeralds as well as smaller diamonds and
rubies adorned it.

"Probably," said Mr. Cabot, "this is but one of many such examples of
ancient luxury. Unfortunately, however, most of these extravagant
affairs have been melted up by avaricious monarchs who coveted the gems
and gold. Such ornate mirrors are a relic of the Renaissance when each
object made was considered an art work on which every means of
enrichment was lavished. I do not know that I think it any handsomer
than are the simpler mirrors with their Venetian frames of exquisitely
carved wood, of which there are many fine specimens in the Louvre."

"Is the mirror that was given by the Republic of Venice to Henry the
Third in the Louvre?" asked Giusippe.

"No, that is in the Cluny Museum. You have heard of it, then?"

"Oh, yes; often in Venice. I have seen pictures of it, too," Giusippe
replied.

"We must see it before we leave France," declared Mr. Cabot. "It was,
as you already know, presented to Henry the Third on his return from
Poland. It is set in a wonderfully designed frame of colored and white
beveled glass, and the decoration is of alternating fleur-de-lis and
palm leaves, which are fastened to the frame by a series of screws. It
is quite a different sort of mirror from that of Marie de Medici."

"I should like to see it," Jean said.

"You certainly shall."

How rich France was in beautiful things! One never could see them all.

One of the sights that especially interested Jean and Hannah was the
imitation gems displayed in the Paris jewelry shops. These exquisite
stones, Uncle Bob told them, were made in laboratories by workmen so
skilful that only an expert could distinguish the manufactured gems
from the real, the stones conforming to almost every test applied to
genuine jewels. They were not manufactured, however, for the purpose of
deceiving people, but rather to be sold t