"'Very astonishing, indeed! strange thing!' (Turning the dumpling round, rejoin'd the King). ''Tis most extraordinary then, all this is, It beats Piretti's conjuring all to pieces, Strange I should never of a dumpling dream, But, goody, tell me where, where, where's the seam?' "'Sir, there's no seam,' quoth she, 'I never knew That folks did apple dumplings _sew_'-- 'No,' cry'd the staring monarch with a grin, 'How, how the devil got the apple in?' "On which the dame the curious scheme revealed By which the apple lay so sly concealed; Which made the Solomon of Britain start: Who to the Palace with full steam repaired, And Queen and Princesses so beauteous scared, All with the wonders of the Dumpling Art. "There did he labour one whole week, to show The wisdom of an Apple-Dumpling maker: And, lo! so deep was Majesty in dough, The Palace seemed the lodging of a Baker."[203] [203] Peter Pindar: _Ode upon Ode; or, A Peep at St. James's_. The King's folly was most clearly seen in his pronouncements upon scientific questions. He had some liking for mechanics, and, it is said, directed the construction of some interesting clocks; but certainly, apart from mechanics, he was wofully ignorant, and as obstinate as he was ignorant. "Well, I suppose all your chickens are dead," he said to Beckford, alluding to the fact that his house was roofed with copper, an experiment which the King had declared must infallibly kill everything under the roof with verdigris.[204] George took an active part in the question which arose about 1778, whether lightning conductors, which at this time were ordered to be placed near all the powder magazines, should have blunted or pointed ends. A great dispute was raging: Sir John Pringle, President of the Royal Society, Dr. Franklin, and many men of light and leading advocating points, a view controverted by Sir Joseph Banks and some others. It was obviously a question for scientific experts, but the King, as a wit put it, "being rather _partial_ to blunt conductors," thought to put an end to the matter by giving his peremptory decision, and announcing to the world the superiority of nobs. Not content with carrying out his theory in the lightning conductors at Buckingham House, he desired Sir John Pringle to publish his belief as the opinion of the Royal Society! Of course to this amazing demand, there could be but one answer, and Sir John regretted "it was not in his power to reverse the order of nature." [204] _Conversations with the late Mr. Beckford._ [Illustration: _Caricature by R. Newton_ LEARNING TO MAKE APPLE DUMPLINGS]