Tea at Trianon: The Little Cook

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

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The Little Cook

Here is a fascinating Spanish statue of the Christ Child and the story behind it:

One of my favorites is this Niño Cocinero, from a cloistered convent in Madrid. The original figure is a rather non-descript 18^th century polychromed wooden statue of a naked Child. The figure was probably kept in the monastery kitchen, since Spanish monasteries had an abundance of Niños. Unknown kitchen nuns of some 200 years ago dressed the figure in the clothing of their oficio, that is, their trade, and even gave him a platter of roasted chicken to carry! But this reflected what St Teresa of Avila said, "también entre los pucheros anda el Señor," that is, the Lord is also to be found among the pots and pans, in the midst of our daily duties and not only in church.

Thanks to Terry Nelson for the link. More on devotion to the Child Jesus HERE. Share

3 comments:

EC Gefroh said...: Thank you for sharing! I love devotions and different images of the child Jesus. Mother Angelica has a devotion to child Jesus from Colombia right now the title escapes me.; December 11, 2008 at 9:21:00 PM EST
Alexandra said...: I'd love to have a reproduction of the Niño Cocinero for the sink window sill! Que linda! And I must reuse that reflection. I've posted about this before, just couldn't remember the quote, thanks!; December 12, 2008 at 5:33:00 PM EST
Victoria Thorne said...: this is just absolutely wonderful!; December 18, 2008 at 2:08:00 AM EST