Tea at Trianon: The Last Empress of China

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

Sunday, May 2, 2010

The Last Empress of China

Hers was a tragedy beyond words, as I recall from watching the film The Last Emperor. Share

5 comments:

Julygirl said...: And so progressed the havoc of Communism and other left wing thinking throughout the world beginning in France with the destruction, devastation and blood-letting of the French Revolution....and what was gained? The changes did not bring about a better world......only more blood-shed.; May 2, 2010 at 7:55:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Really!; May 2, 2010 at 8:40:00 AM EDT
Tristan Robin said...: Thanks for the link. I have always been fascinated by the story of the last emperor and empress - and, unfortunately, have only found incredibly dry, historical text books. Well, and the marvelous, The Last Emperor film.; May 2, 2010 at 10:30:00 AM EDT
Christina said...: Yes, a very sad story. The emperor Pu-Yi had far from a normal family life and upbringing, which certainly did not bode well for his marriage. He was also supposedly homosexual. One can only imagine the frustration and depression that drove Wan Rong into opium addiction. She is a tragic figure - I would love to write a historical novel about her.; May 3, 2010 at 10:41:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Yes, someone should!; May 3, 2010 at 11:18:00 AM EDT