by our ancestors was well
illustrated here. No draughts from ill-constructed windows or badly hung
doors could reach the sleeper in such a bed.

[Illustration: AN OLD PAINTED BED OF THE LOUIS XVI. PERIOD]

This was certainly different from our modern ideas of hygiene: In those
days furniture that could not be hastily moved was of little importance.
The bed was usually a mere frame of wood, made to be covered with
valuable hangings which could easily be packed and carried away on
occasions that too often arose in the troublous days of the early Middle
Ages. The benches and tables one sees in many foreign palaces to-day are
covered with gorgeous lengths of velvet and brocade. This is a survival
of the custom when furniture was merely so much baggage. With the early
Eighteenth Century, however, there came into being _les petits
appartements_, in which the larger space formerly accorded the bedroom
was divided into ante-chamber, salon or sitting-room, and the bedroom.
Very often the bed was placed in an alcove, and the heavy brocades and
bullion embroideries were replaced by linen or cotton hangings.

When Oberkampf established himself at Jouy in 1760 France took first
place in the production of these printed linens and cottons. This was
the beginning of the age of chintz and of the delightful decorative
fabrics that are so suited to our modern ideas of hygiene. It seems to
me there are no more charming stuffs for bedroom hangings than these
simple fabrics, with their enchantingly fanciful designs. Think of the
changes one could have with several sets of curtains to be changed at
will, as Marie Antoinette used to do at the Petit Trianon. How amusing
it would be in our own modern houses to change the bed coverings, window
curtains, and so forth, twice or three times a year! I like these loose
slip covers and curtains better than the usual hard upholstery, because
if properly planned the slips can be washed without losing their color
or their lines.

Charming Eighteenth Century prints that are full of valuable hints as to
furniture and decorations for bedrooms can be found in most French
shops. The series known as "_Moreau le Jeun_" is full of suggestion.
Some of the interiors shown are very grand, it is true, but many are
simple enough to serve as models for modern apartments. A set of these
pictures will do much to give one an insight into the decoration of the
Eighteenth Century, a vivid insight that can be obtained in