Historical allusions are even more frequent. We know how all Europe rang with the fame of the celebrated battle of Fontenoy gained, in 1745, by Marshal Saxe, in the presence of the King and the Dauphin. We need not then be surprised at meeting with a time-piece which recalls it. From a plinth of ebony rises the monumental case on which stands a vase ornamented with pendent garlands: the dial, which occupies the centre of the case, is surrounded by interlacings formed by a ribbon and a branch of laurel set with brilliants; on the right, Minerva, seated and holding an olive branch and a crown, rests her arm upon the entablature; on the left two allegorical figures one standing, the other floating on the clouds submit a plan to the goddess, between them is a pile of books the last of which, open, bears these legends: "Bataille de Fontenoy." - "Traite de paix." Mathematical instruments are strewn upon the ground. The meaning of this allegory is plain: it is the same as that of the timepiece ordered by Madame de Pompadour as a present to the king, and also of that of Gallien whereof mention has been already made at page 272: the subject is Wisdom crowned by Victory, presiding over France, and encouraging the Arts and Sciences.

Cartel, Louis XVI., in bronze, chased and gilt. (Collection of Sir Richard Wallace.).

But notwithstanding these instances of important works specially ordered by the great, we must not fancy that the rising middle-classes were at a loss to obtain objects not only adapted to moderate wants but of real elegance. We meet with these in the hanging clocks (cartels a suspension), of which we have already spoken, in those ornamental clocks composed of a cippus supporting a vase with flower-wreaths, a style now much sought after for the charming style of its execution; and lastly, in the clock, of which there are innumerable repetitions with some variations, in which a vase, decked with draperies and festoons of flowers around a mask, supports an allegorical figure of Truth, under the guise of a female, holding a serpent and mirror, indolently leaning on a cippus containing the dial. The plinth, which is of ebony, is itself ornamented with a rich scroll resting upon a central shell in ormoulu, as is the rest of the clock.

As regards the Louis XVI. period, to describe the creations of that epoch would be to attempt the impossible. Wherever figures predominate, it is under mythological forms, and with that affected study of the antique which produced the generation of delicate and charming nymphs ("grandes dames") with slender forms and carefully modelled arms and feet, in elegant attitudes. Falconnet, Boizot, and Clodion are the most eloquent interpreters of this style. Their designs, often retouched by themselves and always carefully finished, are in dead gold, the better to set off the perfections of the work, and combined with precious marbles, with alabaster often enriched with delicate paintings of flowers, with soft paste porcelain, and lastly, with bas-reliefs and accessories, all displaying that unprecedented perfection of chasing which is the essential characteristic of the period.

The timepiece, moreover, is no longer an isolated object; it is the centrepiece of an ornamental group, wherein companion girandoles, vases with lights flambeaux), and wall branches, compose an harmonious whole. Where the bronze plays the chief part, and the clock presents a complicated subject, candelabra, formed of female figures intwined and supporting the lights, take the place of the vases; when porcelain is employed, the clock, formed by a vase richly painted and surrounded by groups and wreaths, will have its accompanying vases also in porcelain, or else the clock is composed of a cippus of bleu de roi, bearing the dial and forming the centre of the subject, and the vases are of the same blue, ornamented with gilt-metal, unless simple rectangular or cylindrical plinths of porcelain serve as bases for the candelabra with figures.

But however varied may be these conceptions, we have still to treat of some exceptional designs. Among others we must mention that elaborate timepiece in the collection of M. Leopold Double, so well known from engravings as having belonged to Queen Marie Antoinette. From its pedestal, supported on four brackets, spring medallions, with trophies executed in incrusted diamonds, parage de diamanls; the elegant vase which surmounts it stands on a fluted plinth. It is crowned by a fir cone, and furnished with two handles terminating in bearded masks. The clock itself is enriched with brilliants, and provided with two moveable circles, one indicating the hours, the other the minutes; a serpent, coiled round the bracket-pedestal, erects itself, darts forward its head, and, with its forked tongue, marks the exact moment for which the observer is looking.

We have but a few more words to say concerning those time-pieces closely resembling in form the terminal clocks, and termed " regulators" because their principal feature is a large compensation pendulum, the weight of which, the invariable length, and the isochronous oscillations direct the movement with extreme regularity: the following may be selected for mention because of its exquisite simplicity. From a mahogany cube with mouldings and rosettes of metal-gilt of the finest workmanship, rises a case of plate-glass in a mahogany frame, upon which rests a second cube enclosing the dial, and embellished with corners of acanthus leaves : the dial is painted, on enamel, with the twelve signs of the zodiac, and bears all the indications for marking the flight of time : the glass case enables the observer to mark the movements of the magnificent pendulum enclosed within. A vase of green granite, with cover, handles, garlands, and bracket in bronze-gilt compose its crowning feature. This superb piece bears the name of Lepaute, "clock-maker to the king," and the date - 1777. It proves consequently that an extreme stiffness of outline was not an invention of the later years of the reign of Louis XVI., but commenced at a much earlier period than is generally supposed.

All regulator clocks, however, have not been thus reduced to their simplest expression. An example may be seen at the palace of the Corps Legislatif, signed by Manierc, wherein the mahogany case, adorned with bronzes richly gilt, serves as a base to a group of allegorical figures in green bronze, supporting a sphere of azure blue studded with golden stars.