One of the most incredible anecdotes that are told about literati is the following that gives a good account of the incredible ingenuity of Francis Quevedo.
It is said that in times of Mariana from Austria, who reigned in Spain and who had an ostensibly visible limp, some friend of the poet challenged him to see if he had the courage to call his majesty a limp with whom in theory he had confidence. Neither short nor lazy, Quevedo He told his shocked friend that he would not only call her lame but that she would thank the writer for doing it.
The funny thing is that he won the bet....
The thing was like this:
Quevedo approached the queen with a white carnation and a red rose that he showed to the queen. Leaving her in the middle of the two flowers he nodded "Between the white carnation and the red rose, your majesty is lame."
The queen opted for one of the two flowers and was sung with the "compliment" that she perceived where in reality there was only one malicious but brilliant cramp which made the writer win the bet with his friend and write one of the most ingenious pages in the history of literature.
More information - Quevedo on the web
Photo - EDU
There is an error with the queen, it is not Mariana of Austria, but Isabel de Borbón, the first wife of Felipe IV. Take into account that Mariana of Austria would marry Felipe IV in 1649, and that Quevedo would have died 4 years earlier in 1645 😉
That anecdote is known and I tell it on my tours
That cartoon is mine LOMBILLA and was published in the World of Andalusia. It has been put here without my permission. I beg you to remove it.