tgrowth of
the Italian Renaissance when all the arts such as painting,
wood-carving, sculpture, literature, glass and pottery-making were
revived. In France the attempt to imitate Italian Faenza ware gave
rise to the word _faience_, a term applied to French porcelains made
both from hard and soft paste. French potters at Nevers, spurred on by
Dutch and Chinese products, began to turn out a type of pottery not
unlike Delft, except that the method of coloring it was reversed, and
instead of having blue figures on a white ground it had white figures
on a background of blue. This innovation, however, was not an entirely
new variety of pottery. It still remained for France to invent its own
peculiar kind of ware, and this it soon did. Nevertheless you must not
make the mistake of thinking that these first attempts were very far
reaching, for on the contrary they were very limited. They are
significant only because they are the beginnings of that wonderful art
of porcelain-making which later the French carried to an amazing
degree of perfection."

There was a moment's delay in the story while Mr. Croyden rearranged
more comfortably the pillows behind Theo's head.

"Is that better?" he asked of the boy.

"Lots better, thank you," said Theo gratefully.

"All right, son. Then we'll go on. Two of the most important of these
beginnings are the Henri Deux ware, as it is called; and the enamel
work of Bernard Palissy."

"We read about Palissy in school," put in Theo.

"I am glad to hear that, for he was one of the three men whose names
have come down to us as being most vitally connected with pottery and
porcelain-making. But before we talk of him I am going to tell you
just a little about the Henri Deux ware, sometimes known as Faience
d'Orion. Very few pieces of it now remain; but for perfection of
workmanship and beauty of quality it has never been approached. Just
who made it we do not know; nor do we know anything of the conditions
under which it was manufactured. Only about fifty pieces of it are in
existence--half of them in England and half in France; and it is from
these, and from vague historic hints, that we have welded together the
rather uncertain tale that I am now to tell you."

A smile of anticipation passed over Theo's face.

"Long ago there lived in France a wealthy woman named Helene
d'Hengest, who was deeply interested in all the arts, and who owned a
beautiful home known as Chateau d'Orion. Here she ha