Tea at Trianon: Imperial Russia

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, July 22, 2010

Imperial Russia

Rare color photos. (Via Mere Comments) Share

3 comments:

Julygirl said...: Unique country, Unique people! The photos certainly contain a Wow factor.; July 22, 2010 at 9:27:00 AM EDT
May said...: Glorious images! I wish there were more like these.; July 22, 2010 at 12:36:00 PM EDT
lara77 said...: Elena Maria, the color photos of Imperial Russia are simply amazing!! The churches are simply beautiful; the colors are amazing. I could not help look at all those faces of young and old and tremble inside for what was to come for Mother Russia. The death, starvation, desecration and destruction of so much that helped create Russia. The Communists truly were an evil force that the nation still pays a deep price for even until today. Thank you so much for sharing these priceless photos.; July 22, 2010 at 1:35:00 PM EDT