DIGITISED MANUSCRIPTS

works of art we know from the sales which now delight our collectors. Their ornaments consisted chiefly of Oriental china, which was brought to England by the East India Company. The notion of domestic comfort had not reached the pitch of the present day, unless we except the stately four-poster, on which, however, perhaps more luxury than eomfort was bestowed. Once at a lottery a bed was raffled on which 3000/7. had been expended. Need I mention that craze of modern times, Queen Anne’s plate ? It is a matter of surprise that it should be so scarce con- sidering the amount that was made, as even ordinary taverns had silver tankards. Equal luxury was bestowed on the coaches. It was not thought surprising that an ambas- sador, as the Venetian ambassador did, should on state occasions use no less than ten huge coaches, two of which had eight horses, and eight six horses each, attended by forty-eight footmen and twenty- four gentlemen and pages on horseback. The number of these servants may appear less remarkable when we hear that a footman’s wages were 6/. a-year, and that negro slaves were used in some establishments as servants. Coaches, however, were more used by men than by ladies, who preferred the Sedan chair, thus named after the town of Sedan, where they were invented.