Tea at Trianon: A Pilgrimage to Paray-le-Monial

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

Thursday, April 24, 2008

A Pilgrimage to Paray-le-Monial

Christine has a marvelous photo essay with commentary on the Burgundian pilgrimage site. My husband and I visited the charming town, remarkably clean and friendly, in 1999. That September we went to Paris for a few days, then took the train down to Lourdes, then to Toulouse. We rented a car in Toulouse and drove north through eastern France. After a misadventure in Le-Puy-en-Velay in the beautiful mountains of Auvergne, we finally made it to Burgundy. Each town we passed was more interesting than the one before but, since we were trying to catch a plane in Paris, we could only stop in a few places. Paray-le-Monial was a top priority. I am so glad we stopped there, and would like to have lingered. Perhaps someday. Share

2 comments:

Christine said...: I quite agree; it’s a pretty town. And there are so many chapels. In the Foyer where we stayed, there were two chapels, plus an oratory with the Tabernacle. It was wonderful to have Jesus everywhere...; April 25, 2008 at 4:56:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Yes, it is the perfect place for a retreat!; April 25, 2008 at 8:26:00 AM EDT