Tea at Trianon: A Rural Retreat

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

Monday, March 12, 2018

A Rural Retreat

From Victoria:

Illustrating their enthusiasm for travel and passion for interior design, one British couple has adorned their home with a collection of French antique furniture and exquisite vintage finds. A converted stone barn nestled in the tranquil Oxfordshire countryside has proven the ideal rural retreat for Kate and Paul Gerrish, whose desire for beautiful views and longing to live in a period property drove their search for a new residence. Pieces such as the timeworn antique corner cabinet and a contemporary hare-themed lampshade, pictured above, layer old and new. Together with Isobel, her youngest daughter and business partner, Kate runs Bliss, a shop in Chipping Norton that sells a selection of French homewares, vintage furniture, contemporary accessories, and paint. (Read more.)