Tea at Trianon: A Road Rediscovered

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, June 12, 2014

A Road Rediscovered

From Peru This Week:

Archaeologists have discovered a new section of Inca Road— and this one leads right to Machu Picchu.

According to Andina news agency, the newly discovered road is about one and a half kilometers long, and varies between 1.2 and 1.4 meters in breadth, depending on the terrain. The road begins at Wayraqtambo and leads up to a platform from which travelers can see parts of the complex at Machu Picchu.

Right now, much of the road is covered in vegetation and therefore difficult to sée. El Comercio reports that specialists are working to clear the road.

Fernando Astete, director of the Machu Picchu archaeological site, told Andina that “This road should be restored […] in a short time, due to its patrimonial value.”

Astete added that the road “offers an impressive view of the llaqta inka [village area] at Machu Picchu, from a different angle than everyone usually sees it, and could help to decongest the tourist flow at Machu Picchu.” (Read more.)