dated 1772 and 1781 respectively, which formerly belonged to Louis XVI. On his request they were sold by Governor Morris, in order to raise money, and were bought by Dr. Hosack, of New York. The scene in the medallion represents Louis XVI. in his cabinet, and the nurse bringing in the newly born Dauphin. [Illustration: Fig. 264.--Sèvres Pate Tendre (1772-1781). _Bleu de Roi_ Ground. (Mrs. C. B. Hosack Coll.)] Meantime the paste was still artificial, and the researches for a natural, or hard, porcelain were not relaxed. In 1769 the discovery of kaolin and petuntse at St. Yrieix, near Limoges, led to the introduction of hard paste into Sèvres. In 1804 M. Brongniart decided to abandon the manufacture of artificial porcelain, and soon afterward regretted having taken such a step. In 1847 M. Ebelman, Brongniart’s pupil and successor, decided to revive the _pate tendre_, and for four years made use of a body which had been prepared by Brongniart forty-five years previously. The clay, instead of being thrown away, as Brongniart thought, had been stored throughout the long period of its neglect, and both saved the new director any trouble in experimenting, and supplied a standard for the future. The production of soft paste has been continued, but the quantity is inconsiderable. Mr. Walters, of Baltimore, has in his collection a valuable _pate tendre_ vase dated 1860. To give in detail the events which led to the introduction of natural porcelain into the royal factory, we must turn back to the year 1721, when Wackenfeld was attempting to utilize at Strasburg the knowledge he had brought from Germany. Hannong was engaged in the same enterprise; and his son, Paul Antoine, after endeavoring in vain to carry on the production in competition with the artificial porcelain of the royal factory, and engaging in fruitless negotiations with Director Boileau, at last retired to Frankenthal. His son afterward took the Strasburg works in hand, but failed. All this porcelain was made from imported material. That of Paul Antoine resembles in decoration the works of Meissen, and his son followed both the Saxon and Sèvres styles. [Illustration: Fig. 265.--Charlotte Corday Vase; Sèvres Porcelain, Mounted. Red and Gold. (White House.)]