Louis XIV, informed that England's ambassador Lord Stair was among the best-bred men in all of Europe, endeavored to put him to the test.
One day, as the men were setting off in his coach, Louis gestured for Stair to precede him into the vehicle. Stair obediently bowed and climbed aboard. "It is true what they say of Lord Stair," Louis later tartly remarked. "Most men would have troubled me with ceremonious objections."
Sources
G. Colman, Circle of Anecdote
