considered the subject of their origin and construction. After
one has once studied the subject of historic carving, metal work,
embroidery, tapestry, or illumination, one can never fail to look
upon these things with intelligent interest and vastly increased
pleasure.

Until the middle of the nineteenth century art had been regarded
as a luxury for the rich dilettante,--the people heard little of
it, and thought less. The utensils and furniture of the middle class
were fashioned only with a view to utility; there was a popular belief
that beautiful things were expensive, and the thrifty housekeeper who
had no money to put into bric-à-brac never thought of such things as
an artistic lamp shade or a well-coloured sofa cushion. Decorative
art is well defined by Mr. Russell Sturgis: "Fine art applied to the
making beautiful or interesting that which is made for utilitarian
purposes."

Many people have an impression that the more ornate an article
is, the more work has been lavished upon it. There never was a
more erroneous idea. The diligent polish in order to secure nice
plain surfaces, or the neat fitting of parts together, is infinitely
more difficult than adding a florid casting to conceal clumsy
workmanship. Of course certain forms of elaboration involve great
pains and labour; but the mere fact that a piece of work is decorated
does not show that it has cost any more in time and execution than if
it were plain,--frequently many hours have been saved by the device
of covering up defects with cheap ornament. How often one finds that
a simple chair with a plain back costs more than one which is
apparently elaborately carved! The reason is, that the plain one had
to be made out of a decent piece of wood, while the ornate one was