Tea at Trianon: Under One Roof

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

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Under One Roof

From GMA:

The 29-year-old is a mom of three. She said she made the choice to live with her 84-year-old grandmother, her mother, and her younger sister to prioritize stability and financial freedom.
"Between my grandma, my mom and my sister, they kind of all just, like, help out. And the price of rent -- I pay my mom a portion versus having my own mortgage," Jade Lowe explained.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates housing costs are still unsustainable for many households, with rent in the U.S. averaging $1,406 and the median mortgage coming in at $1,902. About 1 in 3 adults between the ages of 18 and 34 also still live in their parents' home.
Jade Lowe said it's a choice she doesn't regret at all.
"It allowed me to still live my best life in my 20s. It allowed me to honestly just be happy and not have to worry about those extra expenses. I get to keep it, and I get to put it in my savings," she said. "It means everything, honestly." (Read more.)