and were faithfully renewed by the housekeeper. 

 Houses were then painted "archil" or vivid blue, 

 combined sometimes with yellow. During Elizabeth's 

 reign floors were so rough that a covering of rush or 

 of tapestry was used, "defending apparel, as traynes 

 of gownes and kertles from the dust." In the seven- 

 teenth century the old Roman floor was revived in 

 England; this was made of hard white stones, about 

 an inch thick, laid in cement. 



Staircases were often made a sumptuous decoration 

 in the house of antiquity, but in England, prior to the 

 reign of Henry VII, they were secreted in towers, 

 and considered merely as a means of ascent. They 

 were then called turnpikes. But in the reign of Eliza- 

 beth they became a feature of great magnificence. 

 A contemporary thus describes the stairs at Wimbledon 

 palace: "The east stairs of Wimbledon lead from the 

 marble parlour to the great gallery and the dining- 

 room, and are richly adorned with wainscot of oak 

 round the outsides thereof, all well gilt with fillet and 

 stars of golde. The steps of these stairs are in number 

 thirty-three, and one six feet six inches long, adorned 

 with five foot paces, all varnished black and white and 

 checquer-worke, the height of which foot pace is a 

 very large one, and benched with a wainscot benche, all 

 garnished with golde. Under the stayres, and eight 

 steps above the said marble parlour, is a little complete 

 roome, called the den of lions, floored with painted 

 deal checquer-worke." 



The doors of ancient dwelling-houses were low; the 

 pyramidal shape, popular in Egypt, was sometimes 



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