Tea at Trianon: Afternoon in Paris

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 1, 2016

Afternoon in Paris

From Victoria:

Whether staged in a Paris garden or your own backyard, an enchanting setting is inspired by French joie de vivre—the carefree enjoyment of living that makes an everyday cup of tea or a glass of wine a delightfully special occasion. Summer invites you to pull a table beneath a sheltering tree to create a relaxing, cool sanctuary. Focus on simplicity when arranging a table for entertaining en plein air. Remix what you already have, including eclectic comfortable seating, layers of vintage linens, and elegant silver utensils and serving pieces with timeworn appeal. Beloved French pastries, such as light-as-air macarons, make teatime sublime. Touches of Gallic blue bring the serenity of a summer sky to the gathering. (Read more.)