On the river at Sévres, near Paris, a manufactory is carried on, which
produces the beautiful porcelain, commonly called Sévres, china. It is
equal to all that has been said of it, and after declining, as every
other great national establishment did, during the revolution,
flourished greatly under the peculiar patronage of the emperor Napoleon.
He made presents hence to those sovereigns of Europe with whom he was in
alliance. Napoleon had two vases made of this china, which, even at this
day, form the principal ornament of the gallery at St. Cloud. These
were made at Sévres, and are valued at 100,000 francs each. The clay
made use of was brought at a great expense from a distant part of
France, and affords an instance of how much the value of raw material
may be increased by the ingenuity of a skillful artist.