That Naughty Bean!

One of my all-time favorite scenes from Blackadder takes place in Mrs. Miggins Coffee Shop (aka The Literary Salon) circa 1780.

(Shelley, Coleridge, and Byron are at a table. Shelley sits up holding a
handkerchief; Byron stands very erect, staring straight ahead at nothing;
Coleridge appears dead. As Shelley begins to speak, the person at the next
table stands and moves to a table as far away as possible.)

Shelley: O, Love-bourne ecstasy that is Mrs. Miggins, wilt thou bring me but one cup of the browned juicings of that naughty bean we call `coffee’, ere I die…

Mrs. Miggins: (swoons) Ooohhhh, you do have a way of words with you, Mr. Shelley!

Byron: To Hell with this fine talking. Coffee, woman! My consumption grows evermore acute, and Coleridge’s drugs are wearing off.

Mrs. Miggins: Ohh, Mr. Byron, don’t be such a big girl’s blouse!

Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Samuel Johnson

Coffee!  The nectar of life…  Staff of the gods! Good enough for the Romantics, good enough for me!

Share:

Related Articles

1 thought on “That Naughty Bean!

  1. I love Blackadder! One of my favorite lines (that I use to describe Sarah Palin) is: “Her head is as empty as a hermit’s address book.”

Comments are closed.