Tea at Trianon: Maria

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

Friday, July 24, 2009

Maria

A rose can be crushed and destroyed but the fragrance will remain. Share

7 comments:

Lindsay said...: Thank you so much for these little glimpses into the lives of these royals. These links to the stories of the Romanovs have truly moved me!; July 24, 2009 at 9:42:00 AM EDT
Caroline said...: "Love is greater than death." I am sorry to say I don't remember the actual source. I am told it comes from the scripture.; July 24, 2009 at 10:28:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Thank you, Lindsay. I did most of my graduate school work on the Romanovs and came to feel quite close to the Grand Duchesses, almost as if they were my own sisters. It is difficult for me to write about them myself and so I am blessed that Matterhorn is doing such a great series of posts.

Thank you, Terri, the verse is from The Canticle:

"Put me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy as hard as hell, the lamps thereof are fire and flames. Many waters cannot quench charity, neither can the floods drown it: if a man should give all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing."

The Canticle of Canticles 8:6-7; July 24, 2009 at 10:42:00 AM EDT
May said...: My goodness! You must be a real expert on them, I'm humbled and all the more grateful to you for linking to my posts- it's actually quite a new topic for me!; July 24, 2009 at 11:26:00 AM EDT
Julygirl said...: I have read almost every book written about the family but still found these posts interesting regarding specific details about the girl's personalities.; July 24, 2009 at 4:18:00 PM EDT
Lorraine said...: so very pretty.... all the Romanov sisters were very tragic, especially since they probably carried the hemophilia gene, so no matter there would be tragedy in their lives.; November 30, 2011 at 10:26:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: I never thought of it that way but you're right.; November 30, 2011 at 10:29:00 AM EST