the carvings in
wood of their neighbours and co-religionists, the Hindoos, represented
figures of men and animals in the woodwork of sacred buildings or palaces;
and the marvellous dexterity in manipulating wood, ivory and stone which
we recognize in the Chinese of to-day, is inherited from their ancestors.

Sir William Chambers travelled in China in the early part of the last
century. It was he who introduced "the Chinese style" into furniture and
decoration, which was adopted by Chippendale and other makers, as will be
noticed in the chapter dealing with that period of English furniture. He
gives us the following description of the furniture he found in "The
Flowery Land."

"The moveables of the saloon consist of chairs, stools, and tables; made
sometimes of rosewood, ebony, or lacquered work, and sometimes of bamboo
only, which is cheap, and, nevertheless, very neat. When the moveables are
of wood, the seats of the stools are often of marble or porcelain, which,
though hard to sit on, are far from unpleasant in a climate where the
summer heats are so excessive. In the corners of the rooms are stands four
or live feet high, on which they set plates of citrons, and other fragrant
fruits, or branches of coral in vases of porcelain, and glass globes
containing goldfish, together with a certain weed somewhat resembling
fennel; on such tables as are intended for ornament only they also place
little landscapes, composed of rocks, shrubs, and a kind of lily that
grows among pebbles covered with water. Sometimes also, they have
artificial landscapes made of ivory, crystal, amber, pearls, and various
stones. I have seen some of these that cost over 300 guineas, but they are
at best mere baubles, and miserable imitations of nature. Besides these
landscapes they adorn their tables with several vases of porcelain, and
little vases of copper, which are held in great esteem. These are
generally of simple and pleasing forms. The Chinese say they were made two
thousand years ago, by some of their celebrated artists, and such as are
real antiques (for there are many counterfeits) they buy at an extravagant
price, giving sometimes no less than L300 sterling for one of them.

"The bedroom is divided from the saloon by a partition of folding doors,
which, when the weather is hot, are in the night thrown open to admit the
air. It is very small, and contains no other furniture than the bed, and
some varnished chests in which they keep the