"Did King Charles continue to make porcelain in Spain?"
"Yes, he had a palace called Buen Retiro and here he established fabriques that continued to thrive even up to the time of King Ferdinand in 1780, and would probably have prospered much longer had not the Napoleonic wars come and the French destroyed the factories."
"And what became of the Doccia works in the meantime?" queried Theo.
"I am glad you asked that question," answered Mr. Croyden, "for I had not finished speaking about the Doccia fabrique. It was unique in its management. You know in our day how much we hear of proper factory conditions? Doubtless you have seen mills where there are neatly graded lawns, flower-beds, and perhaps a recreation ground. We consider such mill-owners very progressive and speak of them with keenest approval. Yet in our enlightened times such things are none too common. Now it is interesting to know that this Ginori family who founded the Doccia porcelain works were far in advance of anything we yet have done for our employees. Not only did they have lawns and gardens for their workmen, but they also had a park; a farm where vegetables were raised for the common good; a school for the workmen's children; an academy of music where all could go to concerts; and a savings-bank in which earnings could be deposited. What do you think of that for progressiveness?"
The boy's eyes opened wide.
"I guess we're not so civilized as we think we are," he remarked soberly.
"We are not the only people who ever lived—that's sure!" retorted the Trenton man grimly. "As you can well imagine, the men under the Ginori were very appreciative, and as a mark of their gratitude for all this kindness they set to work and made for the Ginori chapel beautiful porcelain monuments as a tribute to the dead and gone Ginori nobles. They also made a marvelous high altar all of porcelain, with magnificent candlesticks, fonts, and statues—a wonderful embodiment of their skill as well as their devotion."
"It must have taken some clay!" exclaimed Theo.
"I guess it did," Mr. Croyden assented. "Aside from this work the output of the Doccia fabrique was largely imitative. They made so many copies of Sèvres, Capo di Monte, and Majolica that it soon became a great problem to tell the real from the imitation, and this has caused collectors no end of trouble."
"Was no other porcelain made in Italy?"