Tea at Trianon: Thoughts on Blogging

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

Monday, January 22, 2007

Thoughts on Blogging

I have been blogging now for about two months. It has been fun. I resisted having a blog for a long time but my husband and my friend Georgette talked me into it. It does not take as much time as I thought it would - I was writing long emails everyday anyway. Actually, having a blog helps me to organize and consolidate my thoughts. I have made many interesting contacts through this blog and have met some fascinating people. As of this moment, Tea At Trianon gets about 1600+ hits a week, 250-300 hits a day from all over the world. I had no idea that so many people read blogs; I am honored that they would take time to visit mine. Thanks to you all, and especially to those who regularly post comments. Share

1 comment:

elena maria vidal said...: Thanks, Georgette, it's because of my friends like you around the globe who pass on the good word.; January 22, 2007 at 9:39:00 PM EST