Tea at Trianon: Catholic Blog Awards

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, March 4, 2008

Catholic Blog Awards

It's that time of the year again. Voting is in full swing. It is a tricky process, since practically every Catholic blog in the world was nominated. I would like to thank whoever nominated Tea at Trianon. This blog was nominated for "Smartest" again (which I assume means "smart" as in "clever") and a few other categories as well. I still have not figured out what the criteria is for this competition, other than being relatively Catholic and begging one's readers for a vote. It can be disheartening to see blogs of superlative quality, creative, original, and artistic, being defeated by some of the others. Last year, I tried to ignore the whole thing until it was over. However, I did discover it to be a wonderful way to discover some really interesting blogs. It is how I found Rorate Caeli. No doubt, I would have encountered Rorate Caeli at some point anyway, but the Catholic Blog Awards sped up the process. So, have fun! Share