"La, ma'am, I shouldn't like to have the washin' and handlin' of 'em." Imagine the ease with which the possessor of this treasure would preside over his table, with his property at the mercy of careless or hurried waiting-men; his most elegant courtesies cut short by the imminent danger of a soup-tureen, valued at fifty dollars; the point of his choicest _bon mot_ lost by the capsizing of a gravy-boat. Better a dinner of herbs, from white stone ware, so far as equanimity is concerned. As a work of art--for only a true artist could design these graceful shapes and trace the exquisite designs--the set cannot be too highly valued, and the owners of the palatial residences on Fifth Avenue, who have their billiard-rooms and bowling-saloons, their picture-galleries, and their stables grained in oak, might thank the good taste of the importer, who has placed such a gem within their reach. Rare china, in these luxurious days, is a fashion and a taste which our fashionable circles are just beginning to cultivate. Collecting it has long been a favorite pursuit abroad with those whose wealth would permit so expensive a hobby. What will be thought of a sale like this, which we copy from an English print?-- "The chief attraction of the sale at Bedford Lodge, the late residence of the Duchess of Bedford, was a collection of rare old Sèvres, Dresden, and other porcelain, and some magnificent specimens of the now almost obsolete Chelsea ware, together with a number of very fine old marqueterie cabinets. Among the more remarkable lots sold may be instanced a set of three small toilet-cases of rare old Chelsea ware (measuring only four or five inches square), mazarine blue ground, richly embellished in gold, with birds and flowers, which realized, after an active competition, two hundred guineas; a pair of fine old Chelsea china vase-shaped candelabras, painted in figures and flowers, on a turquoise ground, sold for seventy guineas; a pair of elegant small Sèvres vases, with handles, on white fluted pedestals, forty-nine guineas; a cabinet of turquoise Sèvres, consisting of plateau, a two-handled cup and saucer, and a sugar-bowl and cover, delicately painted, with cupids, camaien pink, fifty-five guineas; a superb Sèvres vase, with handles, lapis blue ground, richly decorated with gold, and painted with medallion portraits, in grisaille, and garlands of flowers. This beautiful vase, which stands about thirteen inches high, realized one hundred and fifty-six guineas; two Dresden vases, with handles of elegant form, and painted with flowers, forty guineas; a Palissey ware candelabra, for four lights, and supported by néreides and masks, sold for fourteen guineas; a sculptured hand, with a bunch of grapes, in statuary marble, realized seventeen guineas; a jewel casket, with ormolu enrichments and Sèvres plaques on each side, painted with landscape and figures of a female at a fountain, forty-two guineas;