The Ghosts of the Trianon-Time Slips
On the 10th August, 1901, two English women experienced what they could only describe as a time slip, during a visit to the Palace of Versailles, Paris. The controversy over exactly what these women saw there on that day would linger on for decades.
The two women were Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain, both academics, principal and vice-principal respectively of St. Hugh's College, Oxford. They were on vacation in France and decided to spend a day at Versailles.
During the afternoon, after touring the palace, they set off for a walk around its spacious grounds. In particular, they wanted to visit another house on the property known as the Petit Trianon.
The Petit Trianon is almost a mile from the palace, and the two women were unfamiliar with its location. Although they used a map, they soon became lost. As they wandered, they passed a deserted farmhouse and noticed an old plough lying by the side of the road. Immediately, Miss Moberly began to feel strange, as if a dark depression was coming over her. There was no reason for her change in mood, as the walk was enjoyable enough, even if they had become lost.
Something wasn't right. What's more, her companion, Miss Jourdain, also sensed "a depression and a loneliness" about her surroundings. Further up the road, they came across two men dressed in long green coats with small three-cornered hats. They appeared to be gardeners, as one was holding a spade and a wheelbarrow was nearby. The women asked the men the way to the Petit Trianon and were directed down a path directly in front of them.
Shortly, after making another wrong turn, they came upon a gazebo-like structure. The dark mood hung even heavier over them here. Everything was very still. A man was standing by the gazebo. He had a dark complexion and his face appeared to be pitted, as if with small pox. However, this couldn't be right as it was 1901. Upon seeing him, Miss Jourdain's depression changed to fear. She was certain that the man was very evil, so they continued on their way quickly.
Just then someone came rushing up behind them and warned them that they were going the wrong way. He spoke quickly in French and gestured to the women, but they had trouble understanding him. He seemed to indicate that they should head right and cross a bridge. Later, though, Miss Moberly recalled that he had said something about looking for the house. They crossed the bridge and arrived at what they assumed to be the Petit Trianon.
They arrived at the rear of the building, where Miss Moberly saw a woman seated on a chair beneath the balustrade of the rear terrace. She wore a light summer dress, and a shady white hat, perched on a good deal of fair hair that fluffed around her forehead. She thought she was a tourist, but that her dress was old-fashioned and rather unusual. Again, they experienced a sensation of intense gloom.
Suddenly a footman came rushing out of the nearby building, slamming the door behind himself. The footman told them that the entrance to the Petit Trianon was on the other side of the building, and so they walked around the house. They toured the house and afterward had tea at a local hotel before returning to Paris
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