A. Answer the following questions :
1. Where was St. Peter's Church located ?
Ans- St. Peter's Church was located at Neville Square .
2. What was the name of the verger of St. Peter's Church ?
Ans- The name of the verger of St. Peter's Church was Albert Edward Foreman.
3. Who were in the vestry besides the verger and the vicar ?
Ans- The two churchwardens were there in the vestry besides the verger and the vicar .
4. At what age did the verger begin working ?
Ans- The verger begin working when he was twelve.
5. What did the verger want to buy while walking in the street ?
Ans- The verger wanted to buy a cigarette while walking in the street .
B. Answer the following questions in a few words:
1. What was the discovery that astonished the vicar ?
Ans - The discovery that Albert Edward Foreman , the verger , could neither read nor write , which astonished the vicar .
2. What occupation did the verger take up after resigning from the church ?
Ans - After resigning from the church the verger took up the business of cigarette .
3. What impression did the verger have about the new vicar ?
Ans- The verger did not have good impression about the new vicar . He was a man who wanted to have his finger in every pie . The verger never liked him .
4. How did the verger treat his gown ?
Ans- The verger treated his gowns with much care , pride and dignity . He wore his gown with complacence as it was the dignified symbol of his office . He took pains with it; he pressed it and ironed it himself . He never threw away his old worn out gowns . Rather , he wrapped them up in brown paper and put them in the bottom drawers of the wardrobe in his bedroom.
5. What was the verger told by the vicar in the vestry ?
Ans - In the vestry the vicar told the verger that he had fulfilled the duties of his office to the satisfaction of everybody concerned . But he was astonished to find that the verger could neither read nor write . In that case, the vicar said , the verger must learn to read and write within three months or leave his office .
C. Answer the following questions in your own words :
1. What thoughts came to the verger's mind as he sat in the vestry with the vicar and the churchwardens ? How did the verger react to the vicar's announcement ?
Ans - As the verger sat in the vestry with the vicar and the churchwardens he thought that the vicar had been nagging them . He must have jockeyed them into doing something but they did not like it .
The vicar announced that Albert Edward would be given three months time and if at the end of that time he could not read and write , he would have to leave the job of verger . At this the Albert Edward reacted with confidence . He said that there he was too old a dog to learn new tricks . He had lived a good many years without knowing how to read and write . He further added that he would be happy to hand in his resignation as soon as they found somebody to take his place .
2. In your opinion , what kind of a person was the verger ?
Ans - In my opinion Albert Edward , was a very confident man . He was quite sure of himself . Even when the vicar told him that he had to leave the job of verger if he did not learn to read and write within three months , he did not feel shattered . Rather he told him that he would not be able to learn to read and write at this old age and that he would be happy to hand in his resignation as soon as they found somebody to take his place .
The verger was also a man of great business acumen and common sense . His decision to open cigarette shop in a street without a shop selling cigarette , made him a successful businessman. All told , the verger was a dignified person who served the church for sixteen years . He had ascended to the respectable position of the verger by dint of hard work and dedication .
3. " The manager stared at him as though he were a prehistoric monster "
(a) Who is the 'he' referred to in the question ?
(b) Explain what made the manager stare at that person ?
Ans- (a) The 'he' refers to the verger .
(b) The revelation that Albert Edward , who built up a huge business of cigarettes and amassed a fortune of thirty thousand pounds , could neither read nor write made the manager stare at him.
D. Give suitable answer to the following :
1. Attempt a character sketch of the verger ?
Ans- Albert Edward Foreman was the verger of St. Peter's Neville Square . he had been in service before he as appointed to his office , but only in very good houses . Started as page boy in the household merchant of a prince he had risen by due degrees form the position of fourth to first footman . For a year he had been single-handled butler to a widowed peeress . And before being appointed at St. Peter's he was a butler with two men under in the home of a retired ambassador .He looked , if not like a duke , at best like an actor of the old school who specialised in dukes' parts. He had tact, firmness and self - assurance . His character was unimpeachable.
Albert Edward was a very confident man . He was quite sure of himself . Even when the vicar told him that he had to leave the job of verger if he did not learn to read and write within three months , he did not feel shattered . Rather he told him that he would not be able to learn to read and write at his old age and that he would be happy to hand in his resignation as soon as they found somebody to take his place .
The verger was also a man of great business acumen and common sense . His decision to open cigarette shop in a street without a shop selling cigarette , made him a successful businessman . All told , the verger was a dignified person who served the church for sixteen years. He had ascended to the respectable position of the verger by dint of hard work and dedication.
2. Narrate the circumstances under which the verger had to lose his job in St. Peter's Church ?
Ans- Albert Edward Foreman , the verger of St. Peter's Neville Square , was a dignified person . He had served the church for sixteen years . He had ascended to the respectable office of the verger by dint of his dedicated service . Foreman had been serving with all dedication and everything was going fine till the new vicar came.
The new vicar was an educated person . When he came to know that the verger did not know how to read and write he was really shocked . So one afternoon , after a christening at St. Peter's Church , the vicar asked the verger come to the vestry . When the verger reached the vestry along with the vicar , he found the two churchwardens already sitting there . He wondered with slight uneasiness what the matter was . He thought the vicar must have jockeyed the two church wardens into doing something that they did not want to. When he was wondering about the situation the vicar told him that they had got something very unpleasant to say to him . He said that he discovered to his astonishment that the verger could neither read nor write . He could give the verger three months time to learn reading and writing . And if he failed to do so in that given time he would have to leave his job .
It was under this circumstances the verger had to lose his job in St. Peter's Church.
