For instance, one of the King's pages drove his master into a corner, and said to him, "Your Majesty, make me a groom of the chamber". Nor would he let the King out until he had granted his request, and the royal word once spoken could not be recalled. Occasionally the King aired his authority in a way which his keepers did not approve, and now and then a ray of intelligence crossed his brain which found expression in satire, and made Struensee fear that perhaps the King was not quite so imbecile as he looked. One day Christian, who wished for nothing but to amuse himself, had been worried to sign commissions appointing several new conference councillors, creatures of Struensee, who had little or no qualification for their posts. The King that evening at dinner kicked his favourite dog "Gourmand," who was lying at his feet, and asked, "Can you bark?" and when the dog began yelping, the King said, "As you can bark, you shall be a conference councillor too". He thereupon rose and proposed the health of "Councillor Gourmand," to which all present had to drink. He also gave the dog a salary, which had to be paid regularly from the treasury. Struensee's enemies regarded the incident as a bitter joke on the part of the King, and nicknamed the Minister "Gourmand". On another occasion when Christian had been forced to appoint a man, whom he disliked, a chamberlain, he revenged himself by making one of the palace menials a chamberlain too. The man, whose duty it was to light the stoves, came into the royal apartment just after Christian had been worried into signing the paper. "Hullo, my good fellow, would you like to be a chamberlain?" cried the King. The man grinned sheepishly, and, to humour his master, answered that he would not mind. "Very well," said the King, "you shall be one: come with me." He took the servant by the hand, and led him just as he was, in his yellow blouse, into the great hall, where the Queen, Struensee and all the court were assembled, walked him to the middle of the room, and shouted in a loud voice: "I appoint this man my chamberlain". As the theory that the King was absolute had to be kept up at all hazards, the man became a chamberlain forthwith. Struensee, however, hit on a device next day for getting out of the difficulty, and bought the title back from the man for the price of a small farm some distance from the capital, whither he was despatched as soon as possible.