Tea at Trianon: Carved in the Ground

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, May 27, 2024

Carved in the Ground

Holy wells in Ireland. From The Abbey of Misrule:

There are at least a hundred wells dedicated to St Brigid, Ireland’s second, and increasingly most popular, patron saint. We’ve visited a few on this pilgrimage already (this is one of my favourites) and there are more to come. This week, we’re in the Irish midlands. With apologies to the good citizens of Westmeath, I’d have to say that the Irish midlands are not the most exciting part of the world. Or even of the country. Ireland is shaped like a bowl: around the edges are mountains, hills and cliffs, and often long white beaches. In the west and north of the country especially these are spectacular, wild, Atlantic landscapes. The middle, though, is flat as a pancake. It’s bog for the most part, and agricultural lowlands. With the decline of farming, there are a fair number of depressed, half-empty towns strewn about. Despite the efforts of various local authorities, this is not much of a tourist draw. But this is not necessarily a bad thing. A lack of coach parties and green leprechaun hats is a plus, of course. And when you find a hidden gem in humdrum places, it feels like a special treat. (Read more.)