THE SCENE: When in the presence of a King, most etiquette guides emphasize the importance of blamelessly appropriate behavior at all times. But it sometimes pays to break the rules, as in the below anecdote where the notable poet Ben Johnson decided to slip in a joke when he was asked to say grace.
THE TEXT: A Grace by Ben Johnson, extempore, before King James:
Our king and queen, the Lord God bless.
The Paltzgrave, and the lady Bess,
And God bless every living thing
That lives, and breathes, and loves the king.
God bless the Council of Estate,
And Buckingham, the fortunate.
God bless them all, and keep them safe,
And God bless me, and God bless [Raeph].
The king was mighty inquisitive to know who this [Raeph] was. Ben told him ‘twas the [artist] at the Swan tavern, by Charing Cross, who drew him a good canary.
For this drollery his majesty gave him an hundred pounds.
– Brief Lives, John Aubrey, 17th Century AD
