It is very curious to note that the first manufacture of hard porcelain in France was due to a chance discovery almost identical with that made in Germany. Kaolin had been found at Alençon, but the porcelain made from it was not pure in color. In 1765, the wife of a surgeon found near St. Yrieix a peculiarly soft earth of great whiteness. Being poor, Madame Darnet was also economical. Unlike Schnorr, her thoughts turned in the direction rather of keeping down household expenses than of adding to her income. The earth had a soft, oily touch, and the good lady thought that it might answer all the purposes of soap. Her husband sent a sample to a chemist, and it was soon afterward decided to be kaolin. The manufacture of hard porcelain was begun at Sèvres in 1769, the quarries of St. Yrieix supplying both the kaolin and petuntse. As illustrating the ingratitude of the world, it may be mentioned that the humble instrument by whose aid France reached its lofty eminence in the manufacture of porcelain was, for about sixty years, left unrewarded. In 1825, Madame Darnet, spending her old age in poverty, received a pension from Louis XVIII. Biscuit is the technical term applied to both pottery and porcelain before they are enamelled or glazed. In this condition, porcelain is of a dead white, and is not very well suited to receive decoration in colors which require a glaze to bring out their full beauty. CHAPTER II. CLASSIFICATION. Tabulated View.--Brongniart’s Division: Its Objections.--Classification adopted.--Leading Features and Advantages.--Distinctions between Different Bodies and Different Glazes. In order to avoid repetitions and explanations, and for the sake of lucidity, tabulated views of the different branches of ceramics are here presented. The first is least detailed, but gives the salient points of a systematic arrangement. { Unglazed Common brick. Earthen-ware. { _Soft_ { Lustrous Greek pottery. POTTERY { { Glazed Some ancient and most modern faience. { { Enamelled Robbia ware. { { _Hard_ { Stone-ware. { Fire-brick. { _Soft_ { Naturally soft English porcelain. { { Artificially soft { French porcelain, _pate tendre_, PORCELAIN { { such as old Sèvres. { { { China. { _Hard_ { Dresden. { Sèvres. The following is more full, and is to be ascribed to M. Brongniart: FIRST CLASS, SOFT-PASTE. _1st Order._ Baked clay without glaze. _2d Order._ Lustred wares with silico-alkaline glaze. _3d Order._ Glazed pottery with plumbiferous glaze. _4th Order._ Enamelled pottery, in the enamel of which tin is used.