a postal card." Then, for a moment or so, he had a miraculous spurt of
confidence, and continued rather rapidly: "I feel constrained to say
that the country of Belgian--Belgium, I mean--this country has been
constrained by the--invaded I mean--invaded by the imperial German
Impire and my subject in this debate is whether it ought to or not, my
being the infernative--affirmative, I mean--that I got to prove that
Germany is mor'ly and legally justified. I wish to state that--"

He paused again, lengthily, then struggled on. "I have been requested
to state that the German Imp--Empire--that it certainly isn't right
for those Dutch--Germans, I mean--they haven't got any more business in
Belgium than I have myself, but I--I feel constrained to say that I had
to accept whatever side of this debate I got on the postal card, and so
I am constrained to take the side of the Dutch. I mean the Germans. The
Dutch are sometimes called--I mean the Germans are sometimes called the
Dutch in this country, but they aren't Dutch, though sometimes called
Dutch in this country. Well, and so--so, well, the war began last August
or about then, anyway, and the German army invaded the Belgian army.
After they got there, the invasion began. First, they came around there
and then they commenced invading. Well, what I feel constrained--"

He came to the longest of all his pauses here, and the awful gravity of
the audience almost suffocated him. "Well," he concluded, "it don't look
right to me."

"Four minutes!" the chairman announced, for Ramsey's pauses had worn
away a great deal more of this terrible interval than had his eloquence.
"Opening statement for the negative: Miss D. Yocum. Four minutes."

As Dora began to speak, Ramsey experienced a little relief, but only