Tea at Trianon: Merry Christmas!

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

Monday, December 25, 2023

Merry Christmas!

The Nativity by Giotto

And a Happy New Year! Thanks to everyone who has visited this blog in 2023~ I will pray for you all this Christmas Day in the morning. Please pray for me.

Welcome, all wonders in one sight!

Eternity shut in a span;

Summer in winter; day in night;

Heaven in earth, and God in man.

Great little one, whose all-embracing birth

Lifts earth to heaven, stoops heav’n to earth.
~ from "In the Holy Nativity of Our Lord" by Richard Crashaw

Anonymous said...: You and your family are in my prayers, as well! Merry Christmas!; December 25, 2011 at 3:15:00 PM EST
Gio said...: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family!; December 25, 2011 at 3:21:00 PM EST
julygirl said...: God Bless you and thanks for the insight information and inspiration your Blog has provided. May God continue to bless your endeavors in the coming year!; December 25, 2011 at 8:41:00 PM EST
Dymphna said...: What a lovely card.; December 26, 2011 at 9:38:00 PM EST
Sansa said...: MERRY CHRISTMAS, Elena and everyone. As Christian's we all have to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. I understand we do not know the exact birth, but 25 December is a date set and we should celebrate.; December 25, 2020 at 10:18:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Same to you, my dear! Yes, #Decemberthe25th is a great day to celebrate Our Lord's birth, for several reasons. https://teaattrianon.blogspot.com/2019/12/defense-of-traditional-date-of-christmas.html; December 25, 2020 at 10:30:00 AM EST
John Wing said...: Thank you for your inspiring writings over the course of this year, as well as past years! I thoroughly enjoy your blog, and wish you much peace, joy and health in the New Year.; December 25, 2020 at 11:42:00 AM EST
julygirl said...: God Bless you and this Blog and all the encouragement, information and blessings it has provided for all us readers! Christ's peace be with you throughout the coming year.; December 26, 2020 at 2:14:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Thanks to you all, my dear friends!; December 26, 2020 at 2:39:00 PM EST
Camille (TH) said...: Merry Christmas, Miss Elena.; December 26, 2022 at 1:35:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Same to you, dear.; December 26, 2022 at 2:56:00 PM EST