Tea at Trianon: Make Your Bed!

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

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Make Your Bed!

From Kevin Lee Jacobs:

For some of you, making the bed every morning might seem a total waste of time. I, however, have found the routine to be both aesthetically and psychologically beneficial. The details:

Making the bed brings an instant sense of accomplishment. And this little “win” can lead to even bigger wins! You’ll feel equipped to unravel the secrets of the universe. Or, at the very least, to pick up the socks that litter the bedroom floor. My day doesn’t begin until I’ve made my bed.

Wanna get a good night’s sleep? Make your bed first thing in the morning! A tidy bedroom emits restful, positive energy, or what the Chinese call good “feng shui.” That is, unless you have a television in your bedroom. Electronic devices produce negative, nervous energy. If at all possible, banish such appliances from the room. A tidy bedroom will make you feel empowered, man. Before you know it, you’ll feel inspired to tidy up the rest of the house. No matter what anyone tells you, a cluttered room doesn’t look “lived in.” It just looks…cluttered. (Read more.)