[Illustration: There is a special charm about this old Louis XVI bench
with its Gobelin tapestry cover.]




_Louis XVI_


Louis XVI came to the throne in 1774, and reigned for nineteen years,
until that fatal year of '93. He was kind, benign, and simple, and had
no sympathy with the life of the court during the preceding reign. Marie
Antoinette disliked the great pomp of court functions and liked to play
at the simple life, so shepherdesses, shepherd's crooks, hats, wreaths
of roses, watering-pots and many other rustic symbols became the
fashion.

Marie Antoinette was but fifteen years old when in 1770 she came to
France as a bride, and it is hardly reasonable to think that the taste
of a young girl would have originated a great period of decoration,
although the idea is firmly fixed in many minds. It is known that the
transition period was well advanced before she became queen, but there
is no doubt that her simpler taste and that of Louis led them to accept
with joy the classical ideas of beauty which were slowly gaining ground.
As dauphin and dauphiness they naturally had a great following, and as
king and queen their taste was paramount, and the style became
established.

Architecture became more simple and interior decoration followed suit.
The restfulness and beauty of the straight line appeared again, and