Tea at Trianon: May 2026

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

Friday, May 1, 2026

Wes Moore's Key Bridge Mess

From Direct Line News:

Rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge is not just another public works project; it is one of the most consequential responsibilities Wes Moore faces. By any honest measure, it is already veering wildly off course. The numbers don’t add up: either the state’s original cost estimates, once pegged far lower, were wildly unrealistic, or the current bids are spiraling out of control, with contractor proposals reportedly well above the state’s $4.3 to $5.2 billion range.
The state’s decision to walk away from Kiewit Corporation, one of the largest and most experienced infrastructure builders in North America, after failing to agree on price is not a sign of discipline; it is a flashing warning light that Maryland’s management process itself may be breaking down.
Three Failures the Math Cannot Excuse
The first problem is the estimate itself. Releasing a $1.8 billion figure thirteen days after one of the most complex marine infrastructure disasters in modern American history was not good governance. It was financial improvisation dressed up as planning. Officials have since called those projections “rudimentary” and “hasty.” Their words, not mine. The problem is those numbers were used to set public expectations, secure federal commitments, and justify a project management timeline that simply could not hold. When a project more than triples in cost from initial estimate to revised estimate, the initial estimate was not an estimate. It was a placeholder with political utility.
The second problem is the contractor debacle. Maryland selected Kiewit Infrastructure Co. in August 2024, awarding a $73 million initial contract for pre-construction and design services. Kiewit spent months advancing design work to the 70 percent completion threshold. Then, when it came time to price Phase 2, the company’s bids reportedly exceeded $5.2 billion. State officials called that figure unreasonably high. Maybe it was. But this raises an obvious question: what was the procurement process telling Maryland about the market before Kiewit submitted those numbers? Strong contract management does not wait for a bid submission to discover that cost expectations are misaligned. It builds in rigorous interim checkpoints, independent cost verification, and transparent public reporting. Maryland’s project website reportedly went months without an update. That is not transparency. That is a door quietly closing.
The third problem is the rhetoric gap. Governor Moore has repeatedly described this project as the nation’s fastest-moving large infrastructure effort. Federal Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who has been pressing Maryland on costs since September 2025, offered a considerably more measured assessment. When asked directly about Moore’s claim, Duffy did not validate it. His department’s public communications have instead focused relentlessly on fiscal oversight and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. The contrast between state messaging and federal response is not a matter of partisan politics. It is a governance signal. When the entity writing the check does not endorse the project manager’s narrative, the public deserves to know that. (Read more.)

Shakespeare’s Lost London Home

From Mental Floss:

History never truly disappears in London. It lingers in forgotten corners and cobblestone crevices until rediscovered, sometimes in unexpectedly poetic ways. For centuries, scholars knew that William Shakespeare had owned property in the city, yet its exact location remained unknown, existing as more of a rumor than an actual record. A recent deep dive into the archives uncovered an overlooked map that transformed four centuries of speculation into fact. Instead of finding a newly built structure or sorting through debris, the discovery revived a piece of the past that had presumably been lost forever. Let's examine Shakespeare's personal life, property, and potential revelations about his later years.
Though his name is synonymous with London's theatrical reputation, Shakespeare's personal life remained rooted in Stratford-upon-Avon. He was born there in 1564 and maintained strong ties to the town throughout his life, even as his career flourished. His wife and children stayed behind while he spent extended periods in London, working as both a playwright and an actor.
By the late 1500s, Shakespeare had become a familiar presence in the entertainment world, collaborating with fellow performers and writing plays for Lord Chamberlain’s Men. Despite this, he never fully relocated his household to London. Instead, his life traced its arc across two places: one a family home, and the other a stage. (Read more.)