Much of our knowledge of the glass of the period is due to the discovery of the trading books and order sheets of one John Greene, who seems to have dealt in imported glass, ordering from the Venetian furnaces vessels to his own specification and design. Fortunately some specimens of these are still in existence, but it need hardly be said that examples of the seventeenth century, both home manufactured and imported, are of the extremest rarity. He would be a fortunate collector who should discover, say, “a speckled emerald coverd beere glasse” or a “milk-whit cruet” either with or without “feet and ears of good hansom fashion.” In point of shape the Venetian and English glasses of this period differ very little, but there is a considerable difference in the character of the metal. The glass from Venice is colder to the eye, whiter and softer than the English, which is more brilliant and of a peculiar steely lustre, while it is far weightier--a fact probably due to the use of a considerable proportion of lead. The English glasses, too, are heavier in appearance, with stems, thick and lumpy, of the baluster type. Often, too, the bulbous stem is blown with a bubble, [Illustration: FIG. 3.--AN EARLY GLASS FEEDING CUP.] [Illustration: FIG. 4.--A SIXTEENTH CENTURY PANEL GLASS, WITH PORTRAIT OF CHARLES II.] often of considerable size--a primitive attempt at ornamentation. Not unseldom a coin is inserted in the bulb of the stem or the knop of the cover. One famous example of Caroline glass is the magnificent posset cup in the possession of Miss Whitmore Jones, which is shown in Fig. 2. This unmistakably dates from the time of Charles II. and is a genuine example of English art. It was probably, as to design, copied from a Venetian model, but the texture of the glass and the weight of the piece are strong evidences of its English origin. With the accession of William, the craft was further stimulated by the importation of many models, and possibly craftsmen from the Low Countries. Speaking generally however, the vessels of the reigns of William and of Anne are but improved specimens of those of Charles. Some, however, have spiral lines cut round the stems, and are, to this extent, the prototypes of the twisted stems of the eighteenth century. The illustration of a feeding cup (Fig. 3) provides an excellent example of the work of this period. Its admirable shape and style and its exquisite workmanship will readily appeal not only to connoisseurs but also to all who are capable of appreciating artistic merit.