Once Queen Victoria hosted a...
Illustration
Once Queen Victoria hosted a state dinner for a visiting African king. The dinner was laid out in the most elegant of settings: hundreds of honored guests seated at long tables, the men in white-tie or dress military uniforms, the women in evening gowns. Tiaras glittered on many women's heads.
Laid out before them were the finest of china, and utensils of pure gold. In front of each guest the servants had placed a finger bowl: a tiny container filled with water, with a piece of lemon rind floating in it. The finger bowl was there for the diners' convenience in washing their hands when they got greasy.
The visiting king from Africa came from another culture altogether. Finger bowls were not part of his experience. Not knowing what else to do, he reached down, picked up his finger bowl, and proceeded to drink the contents.
The room fell silent. Everyone had seen what the guest of honor had done, but nobody knew what to do about it. It was an unimaginable breach of etiquette. This was a state occasion, one of those times when deep meaning could be read into the smallest of gestures. There seemed no way to recover gracefully, without the king being publicly embarrassed.
Queen Victoria knew exactly what to do. She didn't miss a beat. Reaching for her own finger bowl, she lifted it to her lips and swiftly drained the contents. Moments later, hundreds of other finger bowls around the room were raised, and drunk dry. A minor diplomatic crisis may have been averted, as an honored guest was made to feel at home. The queen understood the spirit of the law, not merely its letter.
Laid out before them were the finest of china, and utensils of pure gold. In front of each guest the servants had placed a finger bowl: a tiny container filled with water, with a piece of lemon rind floating in it. The finger bowl was there for the diners' convenience in washing their hands when they got greasy.
The visiting king from Africa came from another culture altogether. Finger bowls were not part of his experience. Not knowing what else to do, he reached down, picked up his finger bowl, and proceeded to drink the contents.
The room fell silent. Everyone had seen what the guest of honor had done, but nobody knew what to do about it. It was an unimaginable breach of etiquette. This was a state occasion, one of those times when deep meaning could be read into the smallest of gestures. There seemed no way to recover gracefully, without the king being publicly embarrassed.
Queen Victoria knew exactly what to do. She didn't miss a beat. Reaching for her own finger bowl, she lifted it to her lips and swiftly drained the contents. Moments later, hundreds of other finger bowls around the room were raised, and drunk dry. A minor diplomatic crisis may have been averted, as an honored guest was made to feel at home. The queen understood the spirit of the law, not merely its letter.
