Tea at Trianon: Martha at Macy's

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Martha at Macy's

On a lighter note...I don't always like Martha Stewart, but I really like her stuff, now on sale at Macy's. Share

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: Why is it that there are some people folks love to hate. I admire Martha Stewart. She works hard and she offers quality products at reasonable prices for the ordinary budget. Plus she took her punishment, (underserved as it was), made the most of it, and did not whine.; September 13, 2007 at 12:52:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: I don't hate her; I just don't like everything she says and does. I do think she was unjustly punished, though, considering that there are dangerous, convicted predators roaming free. I also love her taste and admire the way she has helped to restore a sense of dignity and creativity to homemaking, at an era when everyone was looking down on womanly crafts.; September 13, 2007 at 1:39:00 PM EDT
Terry Nelson said...: I agree. (She took her mom to see the Pope in Cuba you know.) She has very high standards, something popular culture doesn't understand - plus she is a terrific business woman. She was unfairly victimized - to be sure.; September 13, 2007 at 9:32:00 PM EDT