Tea at Trianon: Blackrock Farms

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

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Blackrock Farms

From Victoria:

When Helene Lewand first saw Blackrock Farm in Kennebunkport, Maine, she knew instinctively it was the place for her. Fortunately, the owner was looking for a tenant, so Helene and her husband, Dana, moved in. She felt such a strong attachment to the property, she never wanted to leave. Rather than searching for an outside job, she was determined to work from home. Channeling Helene’s mother, an avid gardener, the couple planted fields of herbs and flowers, planning to dry and transform them into gorgeous wreaths and bouquets. Except for a few essential rooms, such as the kitchen, the entire house became a huge drying barn, with bunches of flowers hanging from every ceiling. To make the business more viable, Helene also planned flower-filled weddings and began designing gardens, discovering a passion for landscape design that still fuels her days. (Read more.)