Tea at Trianon: Anecdotes about the Court of Napoleon Bonaparte

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, March 22, 2018

Anecdotes about the Court of Napoleon Bonaparte

From Geri Walton:

One day whilst he was breakfasting with the Empress, [Napoleon] asked one of the ladies-in-waiting, what might be the expense of a páte, which was upon the table. ‘Twelve francs to your majesty,’ replied the lady, good-humouredly, ‘and six francs to a citizen of Paris.’ ‘That is only saying I am imposed upon!’ returned Napoleon. ‘No Sire, it has always been customary for Sovereigns to pay more than their subjects.’ ‘I do not understand that,’ exclaimed the Emperor, emphatically, ‘I must inquire into this business.’ In short, he frequently entered into details of domestic economy, which are sometimes neglected by private individuals.

On another occasion, being in the Empress’s apartments, [Napoleon] found he had forgotten his handkerchief, and one belonging to Marie Louise, which was elegantly embroidered and trimmed with lace, was presented to him. He asked one of the ladies what it might cost: ‘Sire,’ said she, ‘it is worth between 80 and 90 francs.’ He made her repeat the words a second time, as though he had misunderstood her. ‘Well,’ said he, ‘if I were a lady in the service of the Empress, I would steal one of these handkerchiefs every day: why it would be worth all the emoluments of your situation!’ ‘It is fortunate, Sire,’ replied the lady, with a smile, ‘that her Majesty is surrounded by persons less disinterested than you seem to imagine.’ (Read more.)