In Book 1 of Virgil’s Aeneid, the hero reminds his men that they’ve endured worse tribulations the current one … and that perhaps someday, even this moment will be pleasant to look back upon. Forsan et haec olim meminisse juvabit. I can’t imagine that ever happening for signs such as this one, seen when I visited The Mount in mid-2020.
The bathroom is between the bedroom and the boudoir. Old bathrooms always seem too large and too sparsely furnished … but perhaps if one were wearing a floor-length gown with half a dozen layers beneath, one would need that space to maneuver.
Back in the summer of 2020, when most museums were still in lockdown or requiring masks, I discovered the pleasures of spending time in elaborate, exquisitely planned gardens. My first excursion was to the Berkshires in western Massachusetts, where I visited the Gilded Age mansions of Naumkeag, Ventfort, and The Mount. Ventfort photos are here and here. Naumkeag is in 4 parts, beginning here.
For more Gilded Mansions and their gardens, click this tag.
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