Tea at Trianon: Cazeneuve

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, May 14, 2019

Cazeneuve

From Epoch Times:

Chateau Royal de Cazeneuve is shaped somewhat like an irregular polygon, and it’s strategically located on sheer cliffs at the confluence of two rivers along the Gorges de Ciron. The old mediaeval fortress built on this site was founded back in the 11th century, was extended in the 14th century, and restored in later centuries. The castle was frequented by many monarchs, including Edward I, Louis XIII, and Louis XIV.

The castle is surrounded by a moat (now dry) and was defended by two rectangular towers. Within its walls, there’s a large interior courtyard and a terrace that overlooks the moat. In the lower yard of the castle, I discovered medieval cellars where delectable wines are aged. There are several underground rooms, passageways, and caves as well.

As I walked through the wooded park on the grounds, I came across a fountain, a picnic area, an arboretum, a bamboo plantation, a pond, a waterfall, a mill, gardens, and Queen Margot’s famous cave in Queen Margot’s Wood. (Read more.)