Miranda found the whole spectacle slightly ridiculous
Latest update:
"Becoming increasingly anxious about protocol as Catherine's arrival
neared, his friends [Potemkin & Co] arranged for Miranda to obtain a
dress uniform and sent out for a special sword, prompting the amused
Venezuelan to exclaim, "Great Heavens! What trifles and absurdities!".
Miranda caught his first glimpse of Empress Catherine the Great of
Russia in a Kiev cathedral on February 13, 1787. [...]
At the ceremony, the archbishop covered her in kisses and professions
of loyalty and faith. Miranda found the whole spectacle slightly
ridiculous and claimed that he used the time during the long service
to study the cathedral's construction and architecture."
"Miranda toured schools everywhere he went; he visited the
universities in Moscow and Kiev, and learned that the government
sponsored several public schools that were "of tremendous utility" to
the nation, although one schoolmistress he saw was "more heavily
painted up than a clown."
(From Francisco de Miranda: A Transatlantic Life in the Age of
Revolution by Karen Racine)
Tags: spain, quote
Authors: ag