"I see by The Observer they are going to open cod and whale fisheries in the great lakes of the Northwest," Lady Howe said to him.
He answered very gently: "Your Ladyship, has it never occurred to you that it would be a sublime spectacle to stand at the foot of the great falls of Niagara and see the whales leaping over them?"
"What do you regard as your most important discovery?" one of the ladies inquired.
"Well, first, I naturally think of the hospitality of this house and the beauty and charm of the Lady Howe and her friends," Franklin answered with characteristic diplomacy. "Then there is this wine," he added, lifting his glass. "Its importance is as great as its age and this is old enough to command even my veneration. It reminds me of another discovery of mine: the value of the human elbow. I was telling the King's physician of that this morning and it seemed to amuse him. But for the human elbow every person would need a neck longer than that of a goose to do his eating and drinking."
"I had never thought of that," Lady Howe laughingly answered. "It surely does have some effect on one's manners."
"And his personal appearance and the cost of his neckwear," said Franklin. "Here is another discovery."
He took a leathern case from his pocket and removed from it a sealed glass tube half full of a colorless liquid.
"Kindly hold that in your hand and see what happens," he said to Lady Howe. "It contains plain water."
In half a moment the water began to boil.
"It shows how easily water boils in a vacuum," said Franklin as the ladies were amusing themselves with this odd toy. "It enables us to understand why a little heat produces great agitation in certain intellects," he added.