hological subjects used in the decorative schemes. The second style
of this period was a softening and refining of the earlier one, becoming
more and more delicate until it merged into the time of the Regency. It
was during the reign of Louis XIV that the craze for Chinese decoration
first appeared. _La Chinoiserie_ it was called, and it has daintiness
and a curious fascination about it, but many inappropriate things were
done in its name. The furniture of the time was firmly placed upon the
ground, the arm-chairs had strong straining-rails, square or curved
backs, scroll arms carved and partly upholstered and stuffed seats
and backs. The legs of chairs were usually tapering in form and
ornamented with gilding, or marquetry, or richly carved, and later the
feet ended in a carved leaf design. Some of the straining-rails were in
the shape of the letter X, with an ornament at the intersection, and
often there was a wooden molding below the seat in place of fringe. Many
carved and gilded chairs had gold fringe and braid and were covered with
velvet, tapestry or damask.

[Illustration: _By courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art_

Inlaid desk with beautifully chiselled ormolu mounts.]

[Illustration: Rare Louis XIV chair, showing the characteristic
underbracing.]

There were many new and elaborate styles of beds that came into fashion
at this time. There was the _lit d'ange_, which had a canopy that did
not extend over the entire bed, and had no pillars at the foot, the
curtains were drawn back at the head and the counterpane went over the
foot of the bed. There was the _lit d'alcove_, the _lit de bout_, _lit
clos_, _lit de glace_, with a mirror framed in the ceiling, and many
others. A _lit de parade_ was like the great bed of Louis XIV at
Versailles.

Both the tall and bracket clocks showed this same love of ornament and
they were carved and gilded and enriched with chased brass and wonderful
inlay by Boulle. The dials also were beautifully designed. Consoles,
tables, cabinets, etc., were all treated in this elaborate way. Many of
the ceilings were painted by great artists, and those at Versailles,
painted by Le Brun and others, are good examples. There was always a
combination of the straight line and the curve, a strong feeling of
balance, and a profusion of ornament in the way of scrolls, garlands,
shells, the acanthus, anthemion, etc. The moldings were wide and
sometimes a torus of laurel leaves was used, but i