must be used with great discretion.  American Empire furniture was far simpler and is better suited to many American homes.  In buying it, however, one must be careful to select copies from the earlier part of the time, for it fast deteriorated into heavy and vulgar curves.  This American Empire furniture is often shown in the shops under the name of Colonial, which is a misnomer, as we had ceased to be colonies years before it came into existence.  It was used during the first half of the nineteenth century.

[Illustration:  These chairs are reproductions of designs by the Adam Brothers.  They are of satinwood, covered with damask.  This design was also used by Hepplewhite.]

[Illustration:  The first day beds, or chaise longue, were made during the Jacobean period.  As will be seen, this “stretcher,” as they were also called, has Charles II influence in its carving and Spanish feet.]

When we come to English furniture, I think we all take heart of grace a little, for there is something about its sturdiness that seems to appeal to our American sense of appropriateness.  By inheritance we have more of the English point of view about the standards of life and living and we seem to settle down with more comfort in a house furnished in any one of the English periods than we do with any of the other great styles.

The English Renaissance is often called the age of oak, and all through the long years of its slow development this oaken bond, so to speak, gave it a certain unity which makes it possible to use much of the furniture of its different divisions together.  There are many fine reproductions made of the Tudor and Elizabethan times, but from the early Stuart days, the time of James I onward, good reproductions become more plentiful.  This does not mean, however, that one is safe in buying anything called Jacobean or Queen Anne or Georgian.  One must still be careful and go armed with as much knowledge as possible.  For instance, do not buy any Tudor, Elizabethan, Jacobean, or Charles II furniture made of mahogany or with a high polish.  Do not buy any with finicky or delicate brass handles.  This may seem an unnecessary warning, but I have seen dainty oval Hepplewhite handles used on a heavy Jacobean chest.  This does not happen often, but a word to the wise—.  The handles which were used were some times of iron and sometimes of brass, often with a little design etched on them, and the drop handles were either oblong or round rings, or pear- or tear-shaped drops with either a round or oblong plate.  H-hinges of iron were used.  Chairs of the time of James I, which are much like those of Louis XIII in France, were square and strong with plain or spiral turned legs, and stretchers, and had seats and half backs covered with needlework, leather, velvet, or damask.  They would make very comfortable dining chairs and would harmonize with sturdy gate-legged tables, or the long narrow tables which show the influence