One has only to glance at the contemporary inventories to realize the wealth and luxury of the period. It is only in a few instances, such as the old Castle of Develstein, when occupied by Cornelius van Beveren, that the old simplicity rules; for the old grey town on the Merwede (Dordrecht), although the richest and oldest, was not the most luxurious in Holland. It conserved its own customs, while Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Delft and other cities vied with The Hague. One or two large chests always stood in the bedroom. In these linen and clothing were kept. As a rule, the chest was of _sacredaan_, with brass or silver mounts, and neatly lined inside with cloth. Linen was also kept in the great _kasten_. These were ornately carved or panelled, made of different woods, and often inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Some of them cost as much as 1,000 fl. Rare porcelain was always placed on the top of the _kas_. The great linen chest or coffer, and the great cupboard in which household linen and articles of clothing were kept, were among the most important articles of furniture in a Dutch household. The chest was tall and wide, and made, as a rule, of _lignum vitæ_, or _sacredaan_, or other East India wood, frequently covered outside with leather and lined inside with linen or some other textile. It was often mounted with brass or silver, sometimes richly wrought. The cupboard, or _kas_, was very broad and very tall, and was made of oak, ebony, or walnut, and stood on four heavy balls, which were often repeated on the four corners of the top, and are described by Van Nispen as “guardians of the porcelain ornaments,” which adorned the top. [Illustration: PLATE XL.—_Interior, by J. B. Weenix, Brussels._ ] As many as ten or twelve each of chests and _kasten_ have been noticed in old inventories in one dwelling, and they are described according to the wood of which they are made, or the name of the room in which they stood. Accordingly, we read of coffers and cupboards of oak, _sacredaan_, cherry, and plum-tree wood, blue and red grained East India wood, iron coffers, Prussia leather and lacquered coffers, the office coffer, the office cupboard, the kitchen cupboard, the cupboard of the green painted room, of the gold leather room, of the tapestry room, etc., etc. Let us examine some of the cupboards in the home of Sara de Roovere, second wife of Adriaan van Blyenborgh, Keeper of the Count’s Mint, and known as a Latin poet. This home is in Dordrecht.