osition. The style of the Regency with its use of
musical instruments for decorative motifs is also attractive. The chairs
should be comfortable, the lights soft and well shaded side-lights, with
a plentiful supply near the piano.

[Illustration: A beautiful doorway in the bedroom of the Empress,
Compiegne. The fastening shows how much thought was expended on small
matters, so the balance of decoration would be kept. The chairs are
Louis XVI.]

[Illustration: An exquisite reproduction of the bed of Marie
Antoinette.]

[Illustration: A simple but charming Louis XVI bed in enamel and cane.]

A piano is usually a difficulty, for they are so unwieldy and dark that
they are quite out of key with the rest of the room. We have become so
used to its ugliness, however, that, sad to say, we are not so much
shocked by it as we should be, thinking it a necessary evil. If we walk
through the show rooms of one of the great piano companies we shall see
that this is a mistake, for there are many cases made of light colored
woods, and some have a much more graceful outline than the regulation
piano. Cases can be made to order to suit any scheme, if one has a
competent designer. A music room should not have small and meaningless
ornaments in it; the ideal is a restful and charming room where one may
listen with an undistracted mind.

The modern dining-room with all its comforts is really of English
descent. In France, even in the eighteenth century, only the palaces and
great houses had rooms especially set apart for dining-rooms. Usually a
small ante-chamber was used, which served as a boudoir or reception room
between meals. To our more established point of view it seems a very
casual method. At last, late in the century, the real ideal of a
dining-room began to gain ground, and although they were very different
from ours, we find really charming ones described and pictured. The
walls were usually light in tone, paneled, with graceful ornamentation,
and often there were niches containing wall-fountains of delightful
design. The sideboards were either large side-tables, or a species of
side-table built in niches, with a fountain between them which was used
as a wine cooler. These fountains where cupids and dolphins disported
themselves would be a most attractive feature to copy in some of our
rooms, in country houses especially. The tables were round or square,
but not the extension type which came later from England, and the chair