light being almost always diffused from the centre of the composition.

The manner in which the objects are circumscribed, and the nature of the lines circumscribing each of them, contribute greatly to render a composition harmonious or discordant. For instance, squares or parallelograms, which attract the eye by their size and their brilliant colours, have a bad effect with circular or elliptical figures, especially when they are very near together.

ARTICLE 5.

5th CONDITION-Harmony of the Carpet relatively to the Objects which must concur with it in the Decoration of an Apartment.

(419.) For a carpet to produce the best possible effect, it is not enough that it be made in the best manner, that the pattern is excellent, and that the distribution of the colours leaves nothing to be desired; it is also requisite that it be in harmony with the decorations of the apartment into which it is put, or, in other terms, that it possesses certain relations of suitability, not only of size proportionate to the nature of the ornaments, the facility with which the eye seizes the ensemble of the composition, the skill which has governed the distribution of the large masses of colours, but also in the harmony of these same colours with those of the objects which concur with the carpet to furnish a given apartment; it is under this latter relation only that I shall now make some remarks, which will be concluded further on, when I come to examine the decoratious of rooms.

-

(420.) The method of rendering with respect to the colours the harmony of a large carpet as facile as possible with the other furniture of the same apartment, is at first to make the light commence from the centre of the carpet; it is therethat is to say, in the part most distant from the chairs, hangings, &c.-that we can employ without inconvenience the most vivid and strongly contrasted colours.

In placing a much less brilliant part between this vivid picture in the central part of the framing, we can also give to the framing colours so vivid as to glare upon the contiguous parts, still without injuring the colour of the chairs, hangings, &c.

SECTION IV.

TAPESTRIES FOR HANGINGS AND CARPETS.

CHAPTER I.-ON TAPESTRIES FOR HANGINGS (421.). CHAPTER II.-ON CARPETS (422.-428.).

CHAPTER I.

ON TAPESTRIES FOR HANGINGS.

(421.) GOBELINS tapestry and Beauvais tapestry for furniture, produced on the system of painting in chiar'oscuro, require in their production so much time, care, and skill on the part of the artists who execute them, that their price is much too high to permit them to become articles of commerce. Without inquiring if it be right or wrong to prefer stained papers to woollen hangings, fabrics in a single colour, chintzes, or in patterns to tapestries for furniture, I shall say, that with scales of five or six tones at most, we can execute works of the latter kind on the system of flat tints (368.), which have a good effect, and at a price such as, if I am not mistaken, would bring them into commerce if fashion adopted them.

CHAPTER II.

CARPETS.

ARTICLE 1.

Carpets on the System of Chiaroscuro.

(422.) THE taste for carpets, now-a-days so widely extended, far from diminishing, will doubtless increase, just as in modern times has occurred in respect to glazed windows in our houses. If the Savonnerie carpets are too dear for commerce, such is not the case with those others which, made in imitation of them after patterns painted on the system of chiar'oscuro, are extensively manufactured in France and other countries.

(423.) These carpets cost much less than those of Savonnerie, because they contain much less wool, which is generally of inferior quality: the colours also are not so durable; they are worked, too, with scales less varied in colour, and of fewer tones; lastly, as these fabrics are not so elaborate, they are made much more rapidly than those of the royal manufactories.

(424.) If the intrinsic qualities of Savonnerie carpets and those of ordinary carpets are really so different, we should be much mistaken if we supposed that the difference is evident on the first superficial examination, or that it can be always recognised on a more prolonged examination by a person ignorant of the difficulties of this class of works. What most persons look for in a carpet is brilliant colours. The manufacturer knowing the taste of his customers, does well to conform to it, and he attains his aim by using fewer broken tones, and more pure and vivid colours than are employed in the royal manufactories. He thus obtains greater appearance of effect at less expense, and I am convinced that in many instances where at Savonnerie they mix a great many coloured threads together, it requires much skill and knowledge in mixing their complementaries, to prevent the brilliant colours extinguishing each other: this danger does not exist, or occurs much less frequently, in the manufacture of ordinary carpets.

(425.) The considerations I have put forth on the mixing of colours, lead to the opinion that every workman who would make himself acquainted with the method of producing the carpets of Savonnerie, will, by very simple means, arrive at results the success of which appears to me certain, when, after being well imbued with the rules prescribed (380. and 405.), he will attain to a system of experience calculated to reveal to him what most of his fellow-workers are ignorant of-the value of the colours of his palette, and in this value we comprise the knowledge of the resulting colour he will obtain, either by mixing a given number of threads of the same scale, but of different tones, or by mixing a given number of differently coloured threads belonging to differ

ent scales.

The first experiments he should make will have for their

object the fixing the minimum number of the tones of his scales after he has fixed the number of woollen threads which compose his compound threads; for we know that, if he puts three threads into a compound thread, he can, with a scale of the same number of tones, obtain by mixing a greater number of mixed tones than if the compound thread was only binary. Suppose it is a scale composed of ten tones, and that we required to make a triple compound thread; two threads of the tenth tone with one thread of the ninth tone will give a mixed tone nearer to the tenth than if we were obliged to mix one thread of the tenth tone with one thread of the ninth tone to produce a binary compound thread; by which we may learn that by the triple mixture we can obtain many more mixed tones, intermediate between the first and the tenth, than we can obtain from the binary mixture.

After having determined upon the number of tones which shall compose his scales, he will next fix upon the number of unbroken scales which will be necessary for him to compose brilliant hues, bearing in mind rule first: and further, he will employ threads for a complex thread, and, other things being equal, he may contrive mixtures which will belong to other distinct scales, and which may be inserted between the scales that have been mixed.

This determination made, he will next prepare his greys resulting from the mixture of his complementary scales in conformity with our second rule: taking into account the breaking, or the greying which the complementary mixtures will give to the threads of pure colour with which they are combined.

Finally, he will see which are the scales of broken colours, as well as the greys more or less pure, it is important for him

to have.

In all the preceding it is understood that it is only the question of graduated colours, and not of colours for grounds.

ARTICLE 2.

Carpets on the System of Flat Tints.

(426.) In most cases where it is required to select a carpet for apartments of a medium size, and especially for small