Get here the summary of the short story “The Verger” written by William Somerset Maugham as well as questions and answers for the upcoming HS Final Exam 2023 and Previous Question Paper Solution here.
Summary of the story The Verger: William Somerset Maugham’s short story The Verger is about the circumstances that led Albert Edward Foreman, the Verger of St Peter’s Neville Square, to resign. Foreman was a gentle and dignified man who had spent sixteen years serving St. Peter’s church. He rose to the position of church verger as a result of his hard work and dedication. Albert began his professional life as a page boy in the household of a merchant prince. But he rose through the ranks from footman to single-handed butler to widowed peeress.
Later, he became the verger at St. Peter’s Neville Square; however, with the appointment of the new Vicar, the Verger’s eligibility was called into question. One day after the christening, the new vicar summoned the verger to the vestry, where two elder churchwardens awaited them. The vicar praised Albert for his sincerity and ability to do the job, but he ignored his long years of dedicated service and wisdom gained through experience because of Albert’s illiteracy.
Albert was taken aback, but he defended himself by claiming that the previous vicar didn’t mind. He went on to say that he could manage everything well without any formal education. But the vicar was adamant. He gave the verger the option of learning the letters in three months, failing which he would lose his job. The proposal was turned down by Verger, who preferred to resign, believing that it was too late to learn. The Verger was depressed after resigning. He didn’t want to be a servant again because he’d been his own master. While going home, he took a wrong turn and needed a cigarette but couldn’t find one on the street. This gave him the idea of setting up a tobacco shop there.
Foreman chose to work as a tobacconist and a newsagent. He began with a small shop and later opened a second shop with a manager. Within ten years, he had acquired at least ten stores. He made a lot of money and put it in the bank. He was a phenomenally successful businessman. Years later, when Foreman was asked to sign some papers and invest his money at the bank, he discovered that he was illiterate. The manager was astounded by what this man had accomplished despite his inability to read. When he asked Foreman what he would have done if he could read, Foreman simply replied, “I’d be a verger.”
A. Answer the following question in one or two words?
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 was in the vestry besides the verger and the vicar?
Ans: Besides the verger and the vicar, the two Churchwardens were in the vestry.
4. At what age did the verger begin working?
Ans: At the age of twelve.
5. What did the verger want to buy while walking in the street?
Ans: While walking on the street the verger wanted to buy a packet of Gold Flake cigarettes.
B. Answer the following question in a few words.
1. What was the discovery that astonished the vicar? (2017)
Ans: The discovery that astonished the vicar was that Albert Edward Foreman who served the Prestigious St. Peter’s Church could neither read nor write.
2. What occupation did the verger take up after resigning from the church?
Ans: After resigning from the church, the verger took up the profession of tobacconist and newsagent.
3. What impression did the verger have about the new vicar?
Ans: The verger did not have a good impression of the new vicar as he was fussy and wanted to have his finger in every pie. The verger could not appreciate the new vicar from East End but felt that he would take some time to fall in with the discreet ways of the fashionable congregation of St. Peter’s Church.
4. How did the verger treat his grown? (2016, 18, 19, 20, 22)
Ans: The verger treated his gowns with much care, pride, and dignity. He wore his gowns with complacency as it was the dignified symbol of his office. He took pains with it, pressed it, and ironed it himself. He even preserved the old worn-out gowns, wrapped neatly up in brown paper, and kept 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 something unpleasant to say to him. The vicar admitted that the verger had accomplished the duties of the office to the satisfaction of everybody concerned. But he was astonished to find the verger to be an illiterate person. In that case, the verger could not be allowed to continue his job in a prestigious church like St. Peter’s. Hence, as the vicar said, the verger must learn to read and write within three months or leave his office.
C. Answer the following question briefly 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 wondered with slight uneasiness what could be the matter. He noted that the two churchwardens were sitting at the handsome refectory table and he recalled that the table had been bought by the earlier vicar from Italy. He realized that something was bothering the vicar and the two churchwardens. The troubled look of the two churchwardens led the verger to think that the vicar had been nagging them and might have jockeyed them into doing something they did not like it.
The vicar made the announcement that an illiterate verger like Albert Edward Foreman could not be allowed to continue his job in a prestigious church like St. Peter’s. Hence the verger must learn to read and write within three months or leave his office. At this, the verger was not at all embarrassed, rather he reacted with confidence. He bluntly expressed his inability to learn reading and writing at this age as he was too old a dog to learn new tricks. Hence he happily offered his resignation saying “as soon as you’ve found somebody to take my place”.
2. In your opinion, what kind of 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 happily offered his resignation saying “as soon as they found somebody to take his place”.
The verger was also a man of great business acumen and common sense. He decided to open a cigarette shop in a street with a shop selling cigarettes, which made him a successful businessman.
3. “The manager stared at him as though he were a prehistoric monster”.
i. Who is the ‘he’ referred to in the question?
Ans: The ‘he’ referred to here is Albert Edward Foreman who was once the verger of St. Peter’s church and is now a successful businessman.
ii. Explain what made the manager staring at that person.
Ans: Being sacked from the job of the verger, Albert Edward Foreman set up a business as a tobacconist and newsagent and in a course of ten years he owned ten shops. He began making money hand over fist. Every Monday he deposited the week’s earnings in the bank. One day the manager of the bank advised Foreman to invest the money which was a little over thirty thousand pounds. He even assured that the bank would help Foreman to choose the securities, only he would have to sign the transfer. But when Foreman asked the manager how would he know what he was signing, the manager replied that of course, he could read the papers. Foreman disclosed that he was an illiterate man, neither he could write nor read. Hearing this, the manager was taken aback. He was shocked to know that a man who could have a mass fortune of thirty thousand pounds was an illiterate man. That is why the manager stared at Foreman as though he were a prehistoric monster.
D. Give suitable answers to the following.
1. Character sketch of the verger.
Ans: William Somerset Maugham has portrayed the character of the verger. Albert Edward Foreman though an illiterate person served as the verger of St. Peter’s Neville Square for 16 years. He began his life as a page boy at the age of twelve in the house of a merchant prince. He then rose from fourth to the first footman and later he had been single-handed butler to a widowed peeress. And before being appointed at St. Peter’s, Foreman was a butler with two men under him in a retired ambassador’s house.
Albert Edward Foreman was a man of confidence and self-respecting nature. When the vicar discovers that the verger could neither read nor write and instruct him to learn reading and writing within three months nor leave the job of the verger, 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 happily offered his resignation.
Albert Edward Foreman was a realistic and proud man with great business acumen and common sense.
2. Narrate the circumstances under which the verger had to lose his job in St. Peter’s church.
Ans: Albert Edward Foreman served St. Peter’s church as a verger for sixteen years. He accomplished the duties of the office to the satisfaction of everybody concerned. Everything was going on smoothly until the new vicar came.
The new vicar was an educated man. When he came to know that the verger was an illiterate man he was shocked. So, one afternoon the vicar asked the verger to come to the vestry. In the vestry, the verger wondered with slight uneasiness what could be the matter as he found the two churchwardens already sitting there with the vicar. The troubled look of the two churchwardens led the verger to think that the vicar had been nagging them and might have jockeyed them into doing something against their will while he was wondering about the situation, the vicar told the verger that he had something unpleasant to say to him. The vicar admitted that the verger had accomplished the duties of the office to the satisfaction of everybody concerned. But he was astonished to find the verger to be an illiterate person. In that case, the verger could not be allowed to continue his job in a prestigious church like St. Peter’s. Hence, as the vicar said, the verger must learn to read and write within three months or leave his office. But the verger refused to take the offer and preferred to resign believing that it was too late now to learn.
It was under these circumstances the verger had to lose his job in St. Peter’s church.
Previous Years Paper Notes
1. For how long had the Verger been working at St. Peter’s? (2016)
Ans: The Verger had been working for sixteen years at St. Peter’s.
2. Where had the new vicar come from? (2016, 19, 20, 22)
Ans: The new vicar had come from the East End.
3. How did the Verger regard his official dress? (2016, 18, 19, 20, 22)
Ans: See Above Qno. 4 (B. Answer the following question in a few words.)
4. What business did Albert Edward Foreman set up and where? (2016)
Ans: Albert Edward Foreman set up in business as a tobacconist and newsagent in London.
5. Why was the bank manager in Mangham’s tale surprised? Why did it seem the most extraordinary thing he had ever heard? (2016)
Ans: The bank manager in Maugham’s tale was surprised because Edward Albert Foreman, the former verger of St Peter’s Neville Square, informed him that he was unable to read or write except for his name and that too he had learned it when he set up his business.
For the bank manager, this seemed to be the most extraordinary thing that he had heard because Foreman had accumulated a large sum of money through his business as a tobacconist and a newsagent. It is generally thought that a handsome amount of money can be earned only by people who are literate and as Foreman was an illiterate person, the manager found it very extraordinary that Foreman could earn such a big sum of money.
6. “The last vicar knew that sir,” he replied. “He said it didn’t make no difference. He always said there was a great deal too much education in the world for ‘is taste.” (2016)
Ans: The quoted lines are an extract from the short story ‘The Verger’ written by William Somerset Maugham. The lines are spoken by Albert Edward Foreman, the verger of St Peter’s Neville Square, to the new vicar.
The new vicar had been recently appointed at St Peter’s church. Albert Edward Foreman was the verger of that church for the last sixteen years and he did not know how to read and write. The new vicar found it very strange that the verger of a church located in such a respectable locality as Neville Square should have an illiterate verger. So he called Foreman to the vestry one evening after the formalities of the church were over and enquired about his incapability to read and write. The vicar said that it was rather unpleasant that he had to disclose to Foreman that the latter’s illiteracy was an extraordinary circumstance and that a respectable church like St Peter’s cannot afford to have an illiterate verger. Such a disclosure could not embarrass the verger who replied that the former vicar was aware of this and he had told Foreman that there were too many things in the real world outside formal education that would be enough to educate anybody and satisfy people. And therefore, for the former Vicar, Albert Edward Foreman’s illiteracy did not make much difference.
7. What is the full name of the verger in the short story by the same name? (2017, 19)
Ans: The full name of the verger in the short story by the same name is Albert Edward Foreman.
8. Where does the verger work? (2017)
Ans: The verger works in St peter’s church, Neville Square.
9. What was the discovery that astonished the vicar? (2017)
Ans: See above Qno. 1 (B. Answer the following question in a few words.)
10. What was the verger told by the vicar in the vestry? (2017)
Ans: The vicar told that he was rather surprised to know that the verger was an illiterate person and that St Peter’s church, located in a respectable locality could not afford to have an illiterate person as its verger. The vicar also said that the church was ready to allow the verger three months’ time so that the latter could educate himself, failing which he would have to resign from his job.
11. Narrate the circumstances under which the verger had to lose his job at St. Peter’s. (2017, 22)
Ans: Albert Edward Foreman was the verger of St Peter’s church at Neville Square, a respectable locality for sixteen years. He loved his position in the church and was dedicated to his work. However, he was an illiterate person. This lapse on his part made no difference to the previous vicar who believed that the verger’s lack of education would hardly affect the affairs of the church. But when the old vicar was gone and a new vicar joined the church, he became disappointed to learn of Foreman’s illiteracy. So he met Foreman and offered him three months’ time so that Foreman could educate himself. But the verger disagreed with the vicar’s proposal as he believed that he was too old to learn something then. Then the vicar responded by saying that under such circumstances Foreman would have to lose his job. Thereafter, Albert Edward Foreman informed the vicar that he would be happy to give his resignation as soon as the church found someone to replace him. In this way, the verger lost his job.
12. “He’s been nagging them he’s,” said the verger to himself” (2017, 19)
Ans: The quoted lines are an extract from the short story ‘The Verger’ written by William Somerset Maugham.
These lines are a reflection of what Albert Edward Foreman, the verger was thinking as he went to meet the new vicar in the vestry of St Peter’s church. The new vicar was rather unhappy to know that the verger was an illiterate person and so he had asked the latter to meet him in the vestry one evening after the christening ceremony was over and the guests were gone. As the verger entered the vestry along with the vicar, he found the two elderly churchwardens, who were his colleagues for the last sixteen years, already present there. This was rather surprising for him because he did not see them enter the vestry nor did he expect them to be there. Although the churchwardens gave pleasant nods to the verger on seeing him in the vestry, he could understand that the churchwardens were anxious about something. The vicar on the other hand displayed a kind of resolute kindness which was in contrast to of the troubled look on the faces of the churchwardens. It is in this context that the verger thought to himself that the vicar must have said or done something unpleasant that made these two elderly churchwardens anxious.
13. At what age did the verger begin working? (2018, 20)
Ans: The verger begins working at the age of twelve.
14. What did the verger want to buy while walking on the street after losing his job? (2018)
Ans: The verger wants to buy a packet of Gold Flakes
15. In your opinion, what kind of a person was the verger? (2018)
Ans: The Verger Albert Edward Foreman was a simple man. He did his duties with honesty and dedication. He had been the verger of St. Peter’s church for sixteen years, doing all the menial and manual duties. He loved his job and there were no complaints about him until a new vicar discovered that he could not read and write. But Verger was a man on his own. When the vicar told him to learn the letters failing to do so he would lose his job. The verger maintained his dignity and refused the vicar’s proposal. He preferred to resign believing that it was too late to learn. He realized that his illiteracy would never interfere with his duties. Foreman then started a tobacco shop and was amazingly successful. Even the banker was astonished to see his caliber without education. He had no less than ten shops. In fact, the verger was a strong man who adapted to his problems by becoming a successful businessman.
16. What occupation did the verger take up after resigning from the church? (2018)
Ans: The verger takes up occupation as a tobacconist and newsagent after resigning from the church
17.”I can tell you that sir”, said Mr. Foreman, a little smile on his still aristocratic features. “I’d be verger of St. Peter’s, Neville Square”. (2018)
Ans: These lines have been quoted from “The Verger” written by W. Somerset Maugham.
These are the concluding lines between the bank manager and the verger. The bank manager was surprised to know that Alfred Edward Foreman, the tobacconist had amassed a fortune of thirty thousand pounds without being literate. He could never imagine an illiterate man earning so huge a sum of money. He was surprised at what Albert Foreman had accomplished without the ability to read and write. Upon being asked by the manager what Foreman would have been if was a literate man. Foreman smiled and replied that he would be the Verger of St. Peter’s Neville Square.
18. What impression did the Verger have about the new Vicar? (2019, 22)
Ans: The verger did not like the new vicar. He thought that the new vicar wanted to control everything according to his own way. The verger regretted his predecessor because the new vicar always wanted to rule every activity of the church.
19. Foreman, will you come into the vestry for a minute? I have something to say to you.” (2019)
Ans: These lines have been quoted from ‘The Verger’ written by W. Somerset Maugham.
These lines were uttered by the new Vicar on the day of christening when he called the verger. When the new vicar came to know about the Verger’s illiteracy, he called him in presence of two other churchwardens. It was very surprising that being a verger of this church, Edward Foreman did not know how to read and write. He was also told that they would give him three months’ time to learn how to read and write and if he would fail to do that, then he had to leave the job.
20. Why did Albert Edward decide to set up a tobacco shop after resigning from the church? (2020)
Ans: After resigning from the church Albert was said. He did not know what to do next. He took the wrong road out of his sadness. He wanted to smoke a cigarette. He searched for a shop to buy a cigarette. He could not find a shop to buy a cigarette. He stopped and looked reflectively up and down. Then he decided to set up a tobacco shop.
21. Describe how did Albert Edward prosper in his business as a tobacconist and newsagent. (2020)
Ans: Albert Edward started his business as a tobacconist with a little shop. He did very well in business. In a year he took a second shop and put a manager in it. He open these shops in a long street where there was no tobacconist. It was a success too. Then he thought that if he could run two he could run half a dozen so he began walking about in the streets of London and whenever he found a long street without any tobacconist and a shop to let, he took it. Within ten years he acquired no less than ten shops and he was making money hand over fist. In this way by dint of his practical thinking, ability for hard work, and dedication he expanded his business.
22. Who is Albert Edward? (2022)
Ans: Albert Edward Foreman was the verger of St Peter’s church at Neville Square, a respectable locality for sixteen years. He loved his position in the church and was dedicated to his work.
