by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER II.
THE NEW MEMBER.
"Order!" said Frank Sedley, as he seated himself in the arm-chair, atthe head of the table in the club room.
At a meeting the preceding week, Frank had again been chosen coxswain ofthe club for the first official term. This had been done, not only incompliment to the noble boy to whose father the members were indebtedfor the privileges they enjoyed, but in anticipation of an exciting timeon the lake, in a proposed race with the Butterfly. Frank wasacknowledged to be the most skilful boatman among them, and under hisdirection they expected to accomplish all that they and the Zephyr couldpossibly attain. They had already learned that mere muscle was not allthat was required to insure their success. Skill, forethought, and theability to take advantage of favoring circumstances, were discovered tobe even more desirable than great power.
"Order!" repeated Frank, rapping smartly on the table.
The members suspended their conversation, and all eyes were fixed uponthe president. The affairs of the club, in connection with theButterfly, had been freely discussed for several weeks, and everythinghad been arranged for the opening of the "summer campaign," as CharlesHardy rather facetiously called it.
"There are two questions to be submitted for the action of the club atthis meeting," continued Frank, with more than his usual gravity. "Theyare questions of momentous consequence, and I have felt the need ofcounsel from our director; but my father declines giving me any advice,and says he prefers that we should discuss the questions independently;though, as you all know, if our final action is wrong, he will--hewill--"
"Veto it," added Fred Harper.
"Yes, he will not permit us to do a wrong, though he wants us to thinkfor ourselves, and do the best we can."
"Precisely so; he wants--" Charles Hardy begun.
"Order!" said Frank, with gentle firmness. "The first question is this:Tim Bunker, who has recently been discharged from the house ofcorrection, has applied to be admitted as a member of the club, in placeof Tony Weston, resigned. Shall he be admitted?"
"Mr. President, I move that he be not admitted," said Charles.
"Is the motion seconded?"
There was no response. The members all felt that it was a very delicatematter, and that it required careful deliberation.
"The motion is not seconded, and, of course, cannot be entertained,"continued the president.
"I move that he be admitted," said Fred Harper.
"Second the motion," added William Bright.
Charles Hardy felt a little nettled, and his first impulse was, to riseand express his astonishment, as Squire Flutter had done in the "Marchmeeting," at the motion of his friend on the other side of the table:but the impulsive youth had learned quite recently that a second thoughtis oftentimes much better than a first, and he reserved the expressionof his surprise till a later stage of the debate.
As no one seemed disposed to open the discussion, Frank requested FredHarper to take the chair, while he temporarily assumed the position ofone of the disputants.
"Mr. Chairman," said he, "I rise to offer a few remarks in favor of themotion which is now before the club. Perhaps I cannot better introducemy own views upon the subject than by relating the substance of theconversation that occurred when Tim applied to me for admission to theclub. He said that he had had a hard time of it in the house ofcorrection; but he hoped his long confinement had done him good. He hadfirmly resolved to be a good boy. 'But,' said he, 'what can I do? If Igo with the fellows I used to associate with, how can I keep myresolution? I know I have been a very bad boy, and I want to do what isright.' I told him that our rules were very strict; that no fellow wasallowed to swear or to use bad language of any kind and that everymember was required to keep straight himself, and help keep the othersstraight. He would agree to all this, would sign the constitution, andmy father and the club would soon see that he meant all he said. Iconfess that I felt for him. What he said about keeping company with the'Bunkers'--I suppose we must drop that name now--was true. He could notbe a good fellow with such as they are. Now it won't do any harm to tryhim, and he may be saved from the error of his ways. As it is, he hasgot a hard name, and people will shun him: and, being discouraged, hemay plunge deeper into vice than ever. This is about all I have to say."
Frank resumed the chair, and several of the members, perceiving theforce of the president's reasoning, expressed themselves in favor ofadmitting Tim; when Charles Hardy rose and "plumed himself for aspeech."
"Mr. President: I confess my surprise at the direction this debate hastaken. There's a _destiny_ that shapes our ends--"
"A what?" asked Fred Harper, with a roguish smile.
"I beg the member on the other side will not interrupt me," repliedCharles, with offended dignity. "I quote the line as John Adams used it,in his celebrated speech, 'Sink or swim.'"
"Who?"
"John Adams."
"I beg the member's pardon, but John Adams never made any such speech,"answered Fred who, it must be confessed, was rather too fond oftantalizing the ambitious youth.
"Really, Mr. President, I am surprised that the member should deny whatwe all know. Why, the piece is in our reading book."
"Daniel Webster put the speech into the mouth of Adams," added Frank;"and the patriot is only supposed to have made it."
"It amounts to the same thing," continued Charles, with a slight blush.
"But your quotation was not correct," said Fred.
"Perhaps the member will give me the correct reading of the passage."
"With pleasure; the lines are from Shakspeare:--
'There's a Divinity that shapes our ends, Roughhew them as we will.'
I fancy the lines will not suit the member now," continued Fred, as hecast a mischievous glance at the discomfited speech-maker.
"Go on, if you please," said Frank to Charles.
"As I was saying, Mr. President, 'There's a Divinity that shapes ourends'--"
"You were not saying so," interposed Fred.
"Order!" said the chairman. "Proceed."
But Charles Hardy could not proceed. Undoubtedly, when he rose to speak,he had an idea in his head; but it had fled, and he could not at oncerecall it. In vain he scratched his head, in vain he thrust his handsinto his pockets, as if in search of the lost idea; it would not come.
"You were speaking of Tim Bunker," said Frank, suggestively.
"I was; and I was about to say that--that--"
Some of the boys could no longer suppress their mirth, and, in spite ofthe vigorous pounding which the chairman bestowed upon the innocenttable, in his attempts to preserve order, they had their laugh out. Butthe pleasantry of the members, and a sense of the awkwardness of hisposition, roused Charles to a more vigorous effort, and as he was aboutto 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 thepath he will tread, and does anybody suppose he will ever abandon it? Hewill certainly die in the State Prison or on the gallows--my father saysso. We all know what his habits are, and it is as easy for an Ethiopianto 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 suchviolent language.
He saw that Charles was smarting under the effects of the ridicule whichhis companions had cast upon him, and that, in his struggle to make aspeech, and thus redeem himself from the obloquy of a failure, he hadpermitted his impulses to override his judgment.
"I forbear, then," continued the speaker. "But I beg the club toconsider the probable consequences of admitting such a fellow into theassociation. We have thus far enjoyed a good reputation, and we ought tobe very careful how we tamper with our respectability."
"Ahem!" said Fred.
"Order!"
"A good
name is rather to be chosen than--than _purple and fine linen_."
"Than what!" exclaimed Fred.
"Great riches," added Frank, with a smile, and even he was forced toadmit "that the member was singularly unfortunate in his quotations."
"You have my opinion, gentlemen," said Charles, "and I don't know that Ihave any thing more to say at present;" and, much disconcerted, he satdown.
But though cast down, he was not destroyed; and in justice to hiscompanions, it must be remarked that he had frequently annoyed the clubby his attempts to make speeches more learned and ornate than hiscapacity would allow. Frank had reasoned with him on his propensity to"show off," but without effect, so that he did not feel so much sympathyfor him at the present time as he would have felt under othercircumstances.
"The question is still open for discussion," said the chairman.
No one, however, seemed disposed to speak.
"Question!" called Fred Harper.
"Question!" repeated several others.
"Are you ready for the question?" continued the chairman.
"Question!"
"All those in favor of admitting Tim Bunker as a member of the club willsignify it in the usual way."
Ten hands were raised.
"Contrary minded."
Charles, feeling that he was on the wrong side, did not vote against themeasure, and it was declared to be a unanimous vote.
"The other matter, requiring the action of the club, relates to theproposed race between the Butterfly and the Zephyr. Several gentlemen ofRippleton feel a deep interest in the two boat clubs, and have proposedto put up a prize to be awarded to the successful club. I understandthat fifty dollars have been subscribed for this purpose. The questionis, Shall we pull for this prize?"
"When?" asked Fred.
"The clubs may choose their own time."
"It wouldn't be fair till the Butterfly has had a chance to practise awhile."
"Of course not; the Butterfly may accept the proposition or not, and theclub can select their own time."
"I move you that the offer be accepted," said William Bright.
"Second the motion," added James Vincent.
"I make the motion, Mr. President, for the purpose of bringing thequestion properly before the club. I have not thought enough about thematter yet to decide whether I am in favor of it or not," continuedWilliam Bright.
"It is generally supposed that the one who makes a motion is in favor ofit; but we won't mind that now," said Frank, with a smile.
"Mr. President, I must say, I think the proposition looks a little likegambling," suggested Charles Hardy.
"So I was thinking," added a little fellow, near the foot of the table.
"Suppose we take an informal vote," proposed Charles, who was determinedto get on the right side this time, if possible.
So an informal vote _was_ taken, and every member voted against theproposition.
Frank Sedley was surprised at this result. Probably he was the only onewho had given any earnest thought to the subject, though the offer wasknown to all the boys.
Captain Sedley, who watched over the welfare of the club with paternalinterest, had endeavored, during the winter that was now past, to renderit effectual in developing the moral and mental capacities of themembers. He had given such a direction to the exercises in Zephyr Hallas he thought would best attain this end. One of the greatestdifficulties with which he had been obliged to contend was the want ofindividuality in the boys. Each was disposed to "pin his faith" uponothers. They would not think for themselves, and exercise an independentjudgment. Like thousands in the great world, they "went with the crowd;"thought, acted, voted, with the majority.
Frank saw the operation of this motive in the "informal vote" which hadjust been taken; and he was tolerably certain that he could bring themall over to the other side, by indicating his own preference.
Calling Fred Harper to the chair again, he opened the discussion byoffering a simile, which, being a parallel case, certainly gave thequestion an entirely new aspect.
"At the Rippleton Academy three gold medals and three silver medals areawarded, every year, for the best scholarship and deportment. Is thatgambling?"
"No," replied half a dozen voices.
"Well, we are to row, in like manner for a prize. We don't put up moneyas a stake; the party that gets beaten does not lose anything."
"That makes a difference," added Charles.
"But the prizes in the Academy are given to make the scholars get theirlessons well--to stimulate them in doing their duty," said WilliamBright.
"Very true;" and Frank saw, in the faces of the members, that thecurrent had again set in another direction. "But we only want to provethat rowing for the prize is not gambling."
"That's all," said Charles.
"The Agricultural Society offers premiums for the best horses, cows,oxen."
"That's to improve stock," answered William. "Boat racing can only befor amusement."
"The Horticultural Society gives premiums for the prettiest flowers,"added Frank; "and my father got one of them last summer."
The boys were staggered again.
"Flowers are cultivated for amusement; at any rate, we don't eat them,or drink them, or sleep on them," continued Frank.
"Your bed shall be roses, besprinkled with dew."
added Fred, who never missed his joke. "Besides, we sleep on poppies.They are a sleepy plant, you know."
"But the real question," said Frank, "is, whether racing for a prizewill not excite hard and envious feelings in the members of the twoclubs. I hope we shall think well of it before we vote; and for thatpurpose, Mr. Chairman, I move a recess of half an hour."
The motion was carried, and the boys talked the matter over till themeeting was called to order again.
"Question!" called several voices.
The vote was immediately taken, and it stood nine in favor and twoopposed to the proposition. And so, on the part of the Zephyr, the offerwas accepted.
The club then adjourned for an excursion on the lake.