Ninian's chief horror was of "making an ass" of himself. It seemed that there was less likelihood of him doing this at engineering than at anything else.
"And a very good engineer you'll be," Gilbert said encouragingly. "You're always messing about with the insides of things, and I can't see what good that habit would be to an ambassador, or a parson, and anyhow you can't speak French for toffee, and that's the principal thing an ambassador has to do! Well, Quinny," he continued, turning to Henry, "what about you?"
"I used to think I'd like to be a clergyman," Henry answered.
"Oh, did you?..."
"And then," he went on rapidly, "I thought I'd like to be an actor!..."
They rose at him simultaneously. "A what?" they shouted.
"An actor," he repeated.
They gaped at him for a few moments without speaking. Then Ninian expressed their views. "You're balmy!" he said.
"Clean off your chump!" Gilbert added.
"It seems an odd choice," Roger said, quietly.