The _lit en housse_ is particularly easy to reproduce. It is merely necessary to be sure of the correct proportions and the appropriate materials. As we have already remarked in the days of Louis XIII., there was a great variety of rich textiles. A _lit en housse_ was covered with any material from tapestry, brocade, damask, silk and velvet, to serge, or cloth, or even linen, or East Indian goods. The fringe, galloons, braids, laces, tassels, etc., for the ornamentation of the curtains and counterpanes are legion. When tapestry or striped goods were not employed, the silk, velvet, serge, or damask, etc., was usually decorated with handsome braid put on in the form of stripes, or squares, as shown in our Frontispiece and on Plate III., No. 3. The linings of the bed-curtains were, as a rule, of different material, and frequently of different hue from the curtains. The valance was of the same material as the curtains; but the lining of the canopy, the covering of the headboard (if there was one) and the _bonne grâces_ matched the linings of the outside curtains. The braids preferably were gold or silver lace with gold or silver fringe to edge the curtains, the upper and lower valances and the rich counterpane. The valance and curtains may be arranged as shown on Plate III., No. 3, or as in the Frontispiece; but, in all cases, the four corners must be decorated with a bunch of plumes or _panache_, a “bouquet,” of silk ornaments, or a carved or turned wooden knob, the “_pomme_.” The _courtepointe_, or counterpane, must cover the entire mattress and fall to the floor on the three sides. The beds, to which we have just referred, also show the peculiar square and rigid shape of the bed when made and the long round bolster that always adorns the head of the _lit en housse_. The bed may stand lengthwise or “_vu de pied_.” A _lit en housse_ of later date appears as a full drawing on Plate III. This is represented “_vu de pied_” and is furnished with a headboard. The latter is upholstered.
For the sake of suggestions for those who might wish to reproduce a _lit en housse_, we give a few descriptions of beds taken from some French inventories of the day. One of Cardinal Mazarin’s beds is described as a “green taffeta bed” and fortunately the dimensions are given. It was 6½ feet long and equally wide, so that it was a perfect square. It was 7 feet, 3 inches high. The _housse_ was furnished with three curtains of cloth of Holland green lined with taffeta and garnished at the base with gold and silver fringe. A smaller fringe ornamented the sides. The head-board and the cases for the bed-posts were of cloth of silver lined with green. The four knobs decorating the tops of the bed-posts were covered with velvet and trimmed with lace, and each of these was surmounted by a “bouquet” of gold and silk on wire.