THE VERGER -SOMERSET MAUGHAM
The
Verger is a short story, written by Somerset Maugham. The story explains
that education contributes to certain purposes but in money-making, it is
commonsense that plays a vital role.
Albert Edward, had been the verger of
St.Peter’s church for sixteen years. He was a man of distinguished features,
who did his job in a dignified way with great dedication. He rendered his
service to the best satisfaction of the fashionable parishioners. After the new
vicar was appointed, the verger came in trouble with him. The verger was
uneducated so the new vicar called the verger and gave him three months time to
learn to read and write. But the verger was not ready to learn anything new. He
was satisfied with what he had. The new vicar compelled him to resign his job. So
the verger resigned his job left the church.
While he was walking on the street slowly,
he was thinking about his future. To fulfill his basic needs he was badly in
need of a job. Because of frustration he wanted to smoke a cigarette. He looked
for a shop in the long street. There were no shops nearby. There would be many
like him who would like to smoke cigarettes. So he planned to open a shop in the
street. He consulted this idea with his wife. First, his wife did not accept
his idea, later she accepted it. Soon he opened a shop and turned into a
shopkeeper. He worked sincerely to develop his business. In a short span of time,
he opened another shop in the next street. In a decade, he owned a chain of
shops in London. He became very rich.
Edward deposited his money in the bank. One
day the bank manager called Edward and informed him that he had thirty thousand
pounds in his account. He also advised him to invest the amount in shares. To get
Edward’s concurrence, the manager asked him to sign in an agreement. But Edward
told him that he could neither read nor write. The manager was surprised and
wondered. The manager asked Edward that what would he had been if he was
educated. Edward replied that he would be a verger at St.Peter’s church.
