Tea at Trianon: Osborne Cottage

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 13, 2024

Osborne Cottage

From Country Life:

Queen Victoria's children and guests lived for years in the exquisitely detailed Osborne Cottage, which offers its buyer the opportunity to own a unique piece of British heritage.

‘You will I am sure be pleased to hear that we have succeeded in purchasing Osborne in the Isle of Wight,’ wrote Queen Victoria in 1845 to her uncle, King Leopold of Belgium. ‘It sounds so snug and nice to have a place of one’s own, quiet and retired.’

The Queen’s description makes Osborne House sounds like cute little beach hut rather than the fabulous palace that visitors today still marvel at. So perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised to find that when the Queen asked for a guest cottage to be built in the grounds, the result was a 4,000sq ft masterpiece with a grand hall, library and spectacular cupola lighting up a winding staircase. (Read more.)

funkyfantom said...: "We could buy a cottage on the Isle of Wight if it's not too dear,
We shall scrimp and save
Grandchildren on our knee
Vera, Chuck and Dave"

Some English troubadors; May 15, 2024 at 5:43:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Charming!!; May 28, 2024 at 6:41:00 PM EDT