Tea at Trianon: Country Life

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

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Country Life

Stony Creek Digest offers some reflections about rural living. I grew up in the country and totally identify with what he is saying. When you live in the country, even when you only have a horse or a pony and not a full farm, you are compelled to be outdoors a lot. Just maintaining the land requires a great deal of time outdoors. Being surrounded by nature teaches one to pray, to think and to imagine. I was outside all the time as a child and would only come in when it was dark and cold. It is a good way to live, although certainly not possible for everyone. And there are benefits of living in a city, too. But I prefer the country. Share

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: When I was a little girl there was a streetcar running in front of our house. In the distance one could see the taller buildings of the city. We could walk to many places, school, the library, shops, the grocer, and a Sunday outing was a drive to 'the country' for a picnic. I did not want this for my children and convinced their father that we needed to build a house in the country. That is where I first smelled Lilacs (i.e., your above mention of Lilacs). The area where we lived had Lilac bushes everywhere and the little country church we attended almost always had Lilacs on the alter which had been brought from someone's garden. In fact, all the flowers for Sunday were brought from someone's garden. The air was always rich with the smell of whatever wild flower was currently blooming, Honeysuckle grew in abundance, and in little shady areas violets grew wild while the fields were full of Daisys. Huge bunches of orange lilies grew along the roadside along with deep blue chickory that reminded me of cornflowers, but I was told by the locals they were called chickory. The woods were white with Dogwood and at night when the moon was full they gave off a lovely brilliance that competed with the fireflies. Every season produced its own spectacle.; May 3, 2007 at 10:22:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Oh, alaughland, that sounds like my childhood!; May 4, 2007 at 8:23:00 AM EDT
Unknown said...: There's a lot to be said about living in the country, but I probably wouldn't want to in the end, because it's nigh impossible to get around without a car.; May 4, 2007 at 3:28:00 PM EDT