Queen Victoria once remarked, with British understatement, “We are not amused.” What was she not amused by? –Mark Terry, Kailua, Hawaii
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Victoria’s comment is said to have been inspired by the Honorable Alexander Grantham (Alick) Yorke, one of her grooms-in-waiting. (A relative described him as an “elderly pansy.” Flower lover, I guess.) The job of a groom-in-waiting, or anyway Alick’s job, was to hang around the castle and be funny. As all wits know, however, you’re funnier some days than others. On one of Alick’s not-so-funny days, some say, he told a risque story to a German guest (Da war ein junger Mann von Nantucket . . .”), who laughed loudly, moving the queen to ask that the story be repeated. It was, and she wasn’t. Amused, I mean. But she was not using the royal “we”; she was speaking for the affronted ladies of the court.
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Regarding your recent answer on what constitutes a professional, the term is defined in the National Labor Relations Act, copy enclosed. –Stephen Berger, Rockaway Park, New York
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): Illustration/Slug Signorino.
