ocks, bracket clocks, and banjo clocks, when there are so
many excellent books on the subject. I plead for the graceful clocks of
old France, the _objets d'art_ so lovingly designed by the master
sculptors of the Eighteenth Century. I plead particularly for the wall
clocks that are so conspicuous in all good French houses, and so unusual
in our own country.

[Illustration: A PROPER WRITING-TABLE IN THE DRAWING-ROOM.]

Just as surely as our fine old English and American clocks have their
proper niches, so the French clocks belong inevitably in certain rooms.
You may never find just the proper clock for this room, but that is your
fault. There are hundreds of lovely old models available. Why shouldn't
some manufacturer have them reproduced?

I feel that if women generally knew how very decorative and
distinguished a good wall clock may be, the demand would soon create a
supply of these beautiful objects. It would be quite simple for the
manufacturers to make them from the old models. The late Mr. Pierpont
Morgan gave to the Metropolitan Museum the magnificent Hoentschel
collection of _objets d'art_, hoping to stimulate the interest of
American designers and artisans in the fine models of the Seventeenth
and Eighteenth Centuries. There are some very fine examples of wall
clocks in this collection which might be copied in carved wood by the
students of manual training schools, if the manufacturers refuse to be
interested.

Wall clocks first came into France in the early part of the Seventeenth
Century, and are a part of the furnishing of all the fine old French
houses. A number of the most interesting clocks I have picked up were
the wooden models which served for the fine bronze clocks of the
Eighteenth Century. The master designer first worked out his idea in
wood before making the clock in bronze, and the wooden models were sold
for a song. I have one of these clocks in my dining-room. It is as much
a part of the wall decoration as the lights or the mirrors.

The wall clocks I like best are fixed directly on the wall, the dial
glass opening so that the clock may be wound with a key. You will notice
such a clock in the photograph of one of my dining-rooms. This fine old
clock is given the place of honor in the main panel of the wall, above
the console table. I often use such a clock in a dining-room, just as I
use the fine old French mantel clocks in my drawing-rooms. You will
observe a very quaint example of the Emp