“How many ‘ladies’ are there in your class?” continued the judge, with a smile.
“Fifteen!” answered Ben, gravely.
“And about how many gentlemen?”
“Oh, between three and four hundred!”
“The gentlemen find it more attractive than the ladies, do they?”
“Well, they all like it,” was Ben’s reply.
The judge began to think his questions less shrewd than he had supposed, and the spectators relished his disappointment in bringing out evidence of such an innocent nature.
“Now, sir,” he continued, “I want you to tell me what sort of exercises you put these ladies through?”
This caused the crowd to break forth into a roar of laughter; but Ben, not at all disconcerted, proceeded to answer the question with all seriousness.
“Light gymnastic exercise is what I call it,” he said.