Tea at Trianon: Herbal Remedies

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

Friday, July 1, 2011

Herbal Remedies

Do they really work?

Many of us have a few herbs in our garden - or wilting in a pot on the kitchen windowsill - that we use to add flavour to a sauce or roast dinner, writes Jill Foster. But these inauspicious plants may have far more significant uses when it comes to pepping up our health. It is estimated £126million is spent on herbal medicine in Britain each year, and a poll in 2008 revealed that 35 per cent of Britons have tried shop-bought natural remedies. So could the answer to common illnesses be as simple as a trip to the supermarket? We spoke to Philip Weeks, an expert in natural medicine, about the everyday herbs with healing properties. (Read entire article.)

Julygirl said...: Well St. John's Wort must work because people are cautioned against taking it with certain medications.; July 1, 2011 at 4:02:00 PM EDT