It is interesting to note, in connection with these old-time mirrors, the influence of the period reflected in the framing, and also how graphically the frame depicts the social life of its date of manufacture, and the country in which it was designed. There is a marked flamboyancy in the Venetian designs of the early eighteenth century, changed in the middle of the same century to a heavy splendor and inartistic grandeur. England, slightly earlier, gave examples of fruit which many think were designed by Gibbon, but which materially lack the freedom of his work. Scrolls and angles, arabesques and medallions, belong to the second half of the eighteenth century. Many such came to New England, and one of these mirrors is still seen in a Salem home. Its decorations hint of the influence of the Renaissance, and it shows medallions decorated with grotesque figures on either side of the upper panel. [Illustration: PLATE XLV.--Mirror, 1770; Lafayette Courting Mirror, Osgood Collection; Empire Mirror, 1810.] Perhaps as interesting as any of the old mirrors is the Lafayette mirror, one excellent example of which is seen in the Osgood house at Salem. This is small in size, surmounted with a painting of Lafayette, and is one of a great number designed in compliment to the beloved Frenchman's visit to Salem in 1784. It is known as the Courtney Mirror. Many of the fine old specimens to be seen in Salem were brought to New England at the time of the old seaport town's commercial glory, about the period of the Revolution, and previous to the restrictions following the War of 1812. These were halcyon days in Salem, "before the great tide of East India trade had ebbed away, leaving Derby Street stranded, its great wharves given over to rats and the slow lap of the water among the dull green piles." Probably there are few of these old-time mirrors but have been connected with interesting traditions and events, and it seems a pity that their histories have never been compiled, but have been allowed to pass unrecorded, leaving the imagination to conjure up scenes of joy and sorrow that have been reflected in their depths. Still, for all their unwritten stories each and every one possesses a glamor of mystery that makes the work of collecting them most fascinating. The personal note so prevalent in nearly all workmanship of past centuries is particularly noticeable in the looking-glass, and perhaps it is this very attribute more than anything else that lends so great a degree of charm and attractiveness to them. CHAPTER XII OLD-TIME CLOCKS There is something quaintly pathetic about an old colonial clock. Its sociability appeals to all home lovers, as it cheerily ticks the hours away, with a regularity that is almost human.