Those who have been fortunate enough to see the original vase in the British Museum--where, restored, it is now safely guarded in the Gem Room--will appreciate how much can be accomplished in the hands of a skilful mender and restorer, and will realize, too, the value of “saving the pieces” when accident appears to have destroyed a rare specimen of pottery, porcelain, or glass. CHAPTER XIX LOUNGING FURNITURE Should any one with a taste for antique furniture also find interest in old-fashioned verse, he might some day come across Cowper’s lay which elegantly hints at the evolution of lounging-furniture, culminating in the development of the delectable sofa. I suppose few read old Cowper nowadays. I myself confess to no propensity in this direction beyond a liking for the ballad of “John Gilpin.” Poor, gentle, melancholy Cowper, who tamed hares for diversion and gave to English poetry of the late eighteenth century a cast more earnest and more simple than had come to be its wont before his pen expressed his gift! But Cowper, mild and quiet though he was, had yet a keen sense of humor. This crept into certain lines that the lover of antique furniture may enjoy having brought to his notice: Ingenious fancy, never better pleased Than when employed to accommodate the fair, Heard the sweet moan with pity and devised The soft SETTEE, one elbow at each end And in the midst an elbow, it received United, yet divided, twain at once. So sit two kings of Brentford on one throne; And so two citizens who take the air. Close packed and smiling in a chaise and one, But relaxation of the languid frame, By soft recumbency of outstretched limbs, Was bliss reserved for happier days; so slow The growth of what is excellent, so hard To attain perfection in this nether world Thus, first necessity invented stools, Convenience next suggested elbow chairs, And luxury the accomplished SOFA last. The couch has an ancient and classical ancestry. The Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans utilized it extensively. The settee evolved from the double chair--love-seat, it was often called--while the “accomplished” sofa combined, or was supposed to combine, all the advantages and virtues of couch and settee, not omitting the attractiveness of the love-seat! An understanding of these relationship adds not a little to the interest of collecting.