Tea at Trianon: The Belvoir Castle Gardens

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

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

The Belvoir Castle Gardens

From Victoria:

Lauded Edwardian architect Harold Ainsworth Peto designed the hilltop oasis, and each duchess in the lineage has added her influence to the picturesque setting. Further strengthening the sense of history, recently discovered documents have provided an even greater window into generations past. In the Japanese Woodland, native plants mingle with hardy exotics grown from seeds collected during long-ago expeditions to the Far East. More than 250 camellias flourish in the fertile valley, along with rhododendrons, azaleas, and bamboo. Framed by yew hedges, the Rose Garden echoes appreciation for Asian culture. Peto laid out the fragrant parterre in the shape of a boat, crowned at the bow with a statue depicting a Chinese horse. (Read more.)