"I was; and I was about to say that--that--"

Some of the boys could no longer suppress their mirth, and, in spite of
the vigorous pounding which the chairman bestowed upon the innocent
table, in his attempts to preserve order, they had their laugh out. But
the pleasantry of the members, and a sense of the awkwardness of his
position, roused Charles to a more vigorous effort, and as he was about
to speak of another topic, the lost idea came like a flood of sunshine.

"'There's a Divinity that shapes our ends.' Tim Bunker has chosen the
path he will tread, and does anybody suppose he will ever abandon it? He
will certainly die in the State Prison or on the gallows--my father says
so. We all know what his habits are, and it is as easy for an Ethiopian
to change his _spots_--"

"Skin," said Fred.

"To change his skin, as for such a fellow to be like us. He will lie,
swear,--"

"The chair thinks the member's remarks are not strictly in order,"
interposed Frank, who was much pained to hear his friend use such
violent language.

He saw that Charles was smarting under the effects of the ridicule which
his companions had cast upon him, and that, in his struggle to make a
speech, and thus redeem himself from the obloquy of a failure, he had
permitted his impulses to override his judgment.