The place was indeed something of a treasure house for a good deal of the Chinese porcelain, the nephrite and jadeite brush pots and jars and ornaments, some of the ivories, three carved boxes of Peking lacquer, many of the bronze incense burners and covered jars, an enamel box inlaid with jewels, and a wonderful little bottle of lapus lazuli had come from the loot of the Summer Palace at the suppression of the Boxer rebellion, and by devious ways had found themselves in the hands of Dane’s father. He had, besides, a varied collection of less valuable but beautiful vases and jars of apple green and powdered blue and red porcelain, a collection of small things carved out of the hard stones, some fine bits of Foochou lacquer, and a marvellous carved box of rock crystal in which he kept cigarettes. These things stood on lacquered tables and cabinets, and the most valuable were locked in one behind glass. He had two large screens, one old Chinese in black and gold and the other Japanese in red and black. The three lamps in the room were oil set in red porcelain jars and had shades made of gay silks. A nest of scarlet lacquer tables, of which the one on the verandah was part, stood between two of the doors.
There were no pictures on the walls which were hung with Indian silks and rugs, and the floor was covered by one large and very valuable one in the prevailing colour. To tone this down the deep lounge set directly in front of the brick hearth and the two modern upholstered chairs were done in black silk, but their sombreness was in turn vivified by numerous brilliant cushions. At one end of the lounge there stood a fire-screen of fine black lacquer ornamented with mother-of-pearl.
This was the kind of thing that looked mysteriously wicked to people brought up on the Victorian antimacassar, wool work, and the ænemic proportions of spidery
