The wooden framework is of comparatively little importance, after the correct proportions have been assured. The _ciel_, or canopy, which is supported by four posts must never quite touch the ceiling of the room. The posts are covered with the same material as the curtains, or painted in harmony, and occasionally they are left plain. Iron rods surround the canopy beneath the valance for the support of the curtains, which may be drawn up or down by means of cords and pullies. When closed, the _lit en housse_ has the appearance of a square box. The _lit en housse_ consists therefore of the four posts, the canopy or _ciel_, the headboard and the base around which the lower valance is fastened. The canopy is always lined and surrounded by a valance, which is repeated around the base. The straight curtains that hang from the canopy in rigid lines behind the headboard (or bolster if there is no headboard) are known as _bonnes grâces_. From the canopy and underneath the valance hang the three outside curtains. The counterpane, called _courtepointe_, or _couverture de parade_, is generally of the same material as the curtains or their linings. The bolster is always long and round. Pillows never occur. [Illustration: PLATE III] The _lit en housse_ is particularly easy to reproduce. It is merely necessary to be sure of the correct proportions and the appropriate materials. As we have already remarked in the days of Louis XIII., there was a great variety of rich textiles. A _lit en housse_ was covered with any material from tapestry, brocade, damask, silk and velvet, to serge, or cloth, or even linen, or East Indian goods. The fringe, galloons, braids, laces, tassels, etc., for the ornamentation of the curtains and counterpanes are legion. When tapestry or striped goods were not employed, the silk, velvet, serge, or damask, etc., was usually decorated with handsome braid put on in the form of stripes, or squares, as shown in our Frontispiece and on Plate III., No. 3. The linings of the bed-curtains were, as a rule, of different material, and frequently of different hue from the curtains. The valance was of the same material as the curtains; but the lining of the canopy, the covering of the headboard (if there was one) and the _bonne grâces_ matched the linings of the outside curtains. The braids preferably were gold or silver lace with gold or silver fringe to edge the curtains, the upper and lower valances and the rich counterpane. The valance and curtains may be arranged as shown on Plate III., No. 3, or as in the Frontispiece; but, in all cases, the four corners must be decorated with a bunch of plumes or _panache_, a “bouquet,” of silk ornaments, or a carved or turned wooden knob, the “_pomme_.” The _courtepointe_, or counterpane, must cover the entire mattress and fall to the floor on the three sides. The beds, to which we have just referred, also show the peculiar square and rigid shape of the bed when made and the long round bolster that always