Tea at Trianon: An Amazing Find!

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

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

An Amazing Find!

A rare miniature depicting all four of Marie-Antoinette's children. Thanks to Anna for such a treasure. Left to right: the Dauphin Louis-Joseph (who died at age seven), Madame Royale (in pink), Baby Sophie (who died at eleven months old), and Louis-Charles (Louis XVII). Death haunted the little quartet, but for one happy moment they were together. Share

5 comments:

julygirl said...: Seems even the Royals and not just the peasants experienced a high mortality rate with their children.; August 6, 2013 at 7:24:00 AM EDT
May said...: A wonderful find indeed! It is delightful to see it. :); August 6, 2013 at 7:40:00 PM EDT
Gio said...: What a lovely image! Thank you for sharing.; August 7, 2013 at 4:30:00 PM EDT
S said...: Its a wonderful find..very rare and special :)

If anyone is interested I took the liberty of editing the photo it to its former glory

http://imageshack.com/a/img32/9643/kixk.png; October 4, 2013 at 10:59:00 PM EDT
marysong said...: A rare treasure to find indeed. One can't help but think of the devastating things that will happen in the lives of these beautiful children. So sad!; March 12, 2018 at 7:40:00 PM EDT