This period is characterized by a peculiar liking, or pretended liking for everything relating to the fields and to nature. Books of _Idylles_ and _Bergeries_ are multiplied; _l’homme de champs_ has appeared in literature; and the word “_sensible_” is very fashionable. The works of J. J. Rousseau, Berquin and Bernardin de Saint-Pierre are now being widely read. Ornamentation includes all the pastoral attributes (such as shepherds’ crooks, shepherds’ and shepherdesses’ hats, scythes, rakes, spades, watering-pots, pipes, flutes, Basque drums, and bird-cages), knots of ribbon, wreaths of roses, bunches of flowers, baskets of flowers, falling garlands, sheaves of wheat, architectural eggs and pearls, or beads, parallel groovings, the thyrsus, quivers, torches, the lyre, the broken column, the grooved shaft, the little open galleries or rails on the tops of pieces of furniture (see Plates XLVIII. No. 1; XLVII. and XLIV.) and round, oval, elliptical, or long square medallions containing pastoral subjects. Acanthus scrolls with slender stems support the tablets; and the mouldings are almost invariably bordered with pearl headings. The laurel leaf in the form of a wreath, or a swag, is often used; and the husk, or bell-flower, drops down the pilasters and legs of furniture. (Typical legs appear as Nos. 6 and 7 on Plate XLVII.) The vase is exceedingly prominent. Sometimes it holds flowers, sometimes a pine cone or a flame; the shield is also evident; the woodwork is often oak painted white; the walls are divided up by pilasters delicately carved and painted in colours, and often the mouldings are gilt. The chairs and sofas are covered with rich silk or tapestry. Pastoral subjects, flowers and trophies are worked for the backs and seats. Cabinets and tables are inlaid with woods of various colours: tulip-wood, rosewood, pear, holly and ebony are all in use; and bright colours are obtained by chemical treatment. A critic has asked: “How is this? Should a decorator lose all sense of appropriateness and invite you to sit down upon a pigeon, to obliterate a love scene, and lean your back against a panier of fruit, or a basket of flowers?” The answer was: “Is it not as absurd to eat from a plate decorated with flowers which will mingle with the sauces, or to drink from a cup decorated with butterflies which might fly down your throat! If the pigeons, baskets of flowers and pastoral scenes delight the eye, that is sufficient.” The materials used in this style are principally white marble, bronzes covered with a soft burnished gold, woods painted white, or in pale delicate hues, such as grey, with which is mixed a little blue, green, or red. To these numerous shades of grey the name “celadon” was given.