Tea at Trianon: Alone on Mountaintops

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, September 18, 2022

Alone on Mountaintops

I have been to the town where Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe is, but was not able to climb up there. But I was able to visit Neuschwanstein. From Architectural Digest:

Everyday, human ingenuity reaches new heights. And what better example to back up that statement than these buildings sitting at the top of mountains. It goes without saying that building structures is never easy, and doing it on a mountaintop only adds to the obstacle.

Still, supported by summits and engulfed in the sky, these masterpieces are also testaments to the natural world. With 360-degree views of the environment, they prove the human desire to be a part of nature—and the lengths we’ll go through to do it. From monasteries and mountaineer huts to astrological observatories and 19th-century castles, read below to learn about these 13 buildings built at the top of mountains....

Built on a 279-foot volcanic plug, the chapel of Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe is accessible via 268 stone steps. Inside, you’ll find stunning frescoes, stained glass windows, and mosaics. (Read more.)