Tea at Trianon: Two Thatched Cottages

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, January 25, 2024

Two Thatched Cottages

One in Devon. From Country Life:

With trails from the doorstep, and within walking distance of Salcombe and the beach, Lower Soar Cottage is a dreamy Devon getaway. Surrounded by National Trust land on all sides, there is a certain comfort in knowing that the majestic scenery of Lower Soar Cottage will likely stay that way for some time. The three-bedroom cottage, listed Grade II, is in one of the most desirable parts of Devon and sits just a few fields away from Soar Mill Cove, a tiny beach that can be approached on foot from the property — what greater want can someone have in life than to be walking distance from the beach? (Read more.)

And one in Oxfordshire. Also from Country Life:

The aptly named Thatched Cottage is an excellent example of thatched period charm with plenty of style and character in a sought-after village. With three excellent pubs within walking distance—The Feathered Nest in Nether Westcote, The King’s Head in Bledington and The Hare in Milton-under-Wychwood—early-17th-century The Thatched Cottage needn’t be so pretty, but it is.... Little casement windows peep through rough coursed limestone walls, shining light on three beautifully kept bedrooms and two reception rooms, with charmingly higgledy-piggledy exposed timber, a window seat, wooden shutters and a sun room. (Read more.)