Monday, December 18, 2017

Bridge to Nowhere



Brief walk in park this morning. Nothing to see here - move along. LOL I've taken pictures of just about all worth looking at. There were no significant birds. (Sorry, ducks.) No shots to be had. This one from the other day, nothing much at all. 


Am settled down in coffee place for duration. Get briefed. Get Romans finished. Get some apps loaded onto new phone. A conversation or two depending on who drops in. If the fancy strikes me, I'll write something up for Facebook. 

Am finishing up Carlyle's history of French revolution; a dense read. I did get a better understanding of the conflict between the Girondists and the Jacobins, not to mention the havoc caused by Royalist counter-revolution and the attempted invasion by Brunswick, all of which lead to The Terrors. Carlyle is sympathetic to republicans but appalled at the blood lust. He makes a pathetic portrayal of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette more or less wearing the pants. The final chapters takes us to Napoleon, who, at first, ameliorated the deadly situation before he too became a despot.

Wait a minute. They didn't wear pants. How does one say 'knickers' in French.
Oh, I remember... breeches. Culotte. Elle portait le pantalon; Louis était indécis.

Elle est morte fièrement. Just recalling a sketch of her going to guillotine.
Internet a bridge to the past, to wonder. But, still a sense of nowhere here. Now.

No comments:

Post a Comment