JKBOSE 9th Class English Solutions chapter – 23 A BASKETFUL OF SEA – TROUT
JKBOSE 9th Class English Solutions chapter – 23 A BASKETFUL OF SEA – TROUT
JKBOSE 9th Class English Solutions chapter – 23 A BASKETFUL OF SEA – TROUT
Jammu & Kashmir State Board JKBOSE 9th Class English Solutions
Jammu & Kashmir State Board class 9th English Solutions
J&K State Board class 9 English Solutions
SUMMARY OF THE PLAY
It is a play in which the supernatural has been used to create a sense of mystery and suspense. There are four characters in the play. One is Lord Findhorn who is a Scottish judge. He has a friend who is a Scottish landlord. His name is William Brodie. The third character is Colonel Allardyce who is the Chief Constable. The fourth one is a peasant woman named Jean Lomond. She remains a mystery in the play. We are kept in suspense whether she is a real living being, a ghost or a spirit. There are two other characters, but they don’t appear on the stage. One is a lady named Nellie Salter. She has been murdered and the whole play tries to solve the mystery of this murder. Jean Lomond’s son loved this lady and he was arrested on suspicion of Nellie’s murder. But then he was set free because no proof was found against him. The other character who does not appear on the stage is Inspector Soutar. He rings up Colonel Allardyce during the course of the play.
When the play opens, we find Lord Findhorn with his friend, William Brodie. The two is in a lonely place of a valley.
are sitting and drinking at Lord Findhorn’s lodge which The judge, Lord Findhorn, is a bachelor and he says that he loves living in lonely places. All of a sudden, the door of the room in which the two are sitting, opens and Mrs. Jean Lomond enters. She says that she is Hector Lomond’s mother and has come to thank the judge for setting her son free from the charge of murdering his beloved, Nellie Salter. She says that she has come with a basketful of sea-trout for the judge as a gift. The judge does not want to accept the gift, but she forces it on him in an innocent and winsome manner. She places the basket on the floor and then starts narrating the story of Nellie Salter’s murder. Though the judge and Brodie are in no mood to listen to her story, she forces them to listen in a surprising manner.
Jean tells the judge that Nellie Salter had been a bad woman. She enjoyed ensnaring young men, doing them evil and then ruining their lives. She enjoyed seeing men giving away their lives for her sake. She then gives every detail of the way how Nellie Salter was murdered. She says that on the day of the murder, Nellie was dressed up nicely and was going up the hillside. On her way, she took out her make-up material and beautified herself. Talking to herself in front of the trees, she said that she was more powerful than anybody else in the world, and that she could do anything with men. Jean says that then Nellie came down the hill following the path called the Path of the Red Deer.
The judge listens to all that Jean has to say and then asks her to rest in the adjacent room. But before going into the room, she takes an assurance from the judge that the law would not arrest her son if the case was reopened.
After Jean has gone to rest in the adjacent room, the two men start discussing about what Jean has said. They talk in a low voice so that Jean may not overhear them. The judge feels stunned and surprised over the way Jean had entered the room without knocking. From the descriptions given by Jean, the two men also conclude that it could be none else than Jean who had murdered Nellie in order to save her son from the clutches of that wicked lady. At the time of the trial, no one, not even Jean could tell the path Nellie had followed while coming down the hill.
While the judge and Brodie are analysing the whole situation and thinking of the future action, there is a loud knock at the door. Colonel Allardyce, the Chief Constable comes in. He tells the judge that he has come there to give him some news. He says that Mrs. Jean Lomond, Hector Lomond’s mother, has committed suicide on the beach by drowning herself. The judge and Brodie can’t believe this. They tell the Colonel that Mrs. Jean was resting in the adjoining room and that the news he has brought is wrong. Brodie opens the room for calling in Mrs. Jean, but to his surprise, she is not there.
The Colonel thinks that the judge and Brodie were drunk or they had been napping after dinner. He can’t think of any mental disorder in them. But the two explain it to the Colonel that they were neither drunk nor had they been napping and that they were in a sound state of mind. They narrate the conversation Mrs. Jean had with them and also give a description of Nellie’s actions on the evening of her murder as told by Mrs. Jean. Just then, the telephone bell rings. Mr. Soutar, the Colonel’s subordinate has phoned him for conveying a message. He says that Mrs. Jean has left a letter for him admitting the crime and describing the way she had killed Nellie. He also confirms the death of Mrs. Jean. The description given in Mrs. Jean’s letter agrees with what Jean had told Brodie and the judge. Thus it is proved beyond doubt that Mrs. Jean had murdered Nellie..
The judge tells the Colonel that Mrs. Jean had come to thank him for saving her son and that she had brought a basketful of sea-trout as a gift for him. The Colonel admits that Mrs. Jean and her family were good at catching sea-trout, but says that the fishing of sea-trout in that season was not possible.
All three of them agree that Mrs. Jean was afraid lest her son should be re-arrested. Because of this fear, she wrote the letter to the Colonel and then committed suicide. However, the mystery of Jean’s coming to the judge’s lodge could not be solved.
It is quite late and Brodie offers to accompany the Colonel with a torch, but the Colonel says that he has his own torch and would go by himself. He flashes the torch and all three of them are horrified to see a basketful of sea-trout lying on the floor. Thus another mystery is added to the story. If Mrs. Jean was dead in the afternoon, then who it was who had left the basket there. Brodie and the judge feel terrified to imagine that they had been talking to a spirit !
SUMMARY IN HINDI
यह एक ऐसा नाटक है जिसमें रहस्य तथा कुतूहल के भाव की रचना करने के लिए अलौकिक घटनाओं का प्रयोग किया गया है। नाटक में चार पात्र हैं। एक लॉर्ड फाइंडहॉर्न है जो स्कॉटिश मूल का एक न्यायाधीश है। उसका एक मित्र है जो स्कॉटिश मूल का एक ज़मींदार है। उसका नाम विलियम ब्रॉडी है। तीसरा पात्र कर्नल एलरडाइस है जिसका पद चीफ़ कांस्टेबल का है। चौथा पात्र एक किसान स्त्री है जिसका नाम जीन लोमौंड है। वह पूरे नाटक में एक रहस्य बनी रहती है। हमें इस दुविधा में ही डाले रखा जाता है कि क्या वह एक वास्तविक जीवित प्राणी है, एक प्रेतात्मा है या फिर एक आत्मा है। नाटक में दो अन्य पात्र भी हैं, किन्तु वे मंच पर नहीं आते। उनमें से एक नैली सॉल्टर नाम की स्त्री है। उसकी हत्या हो चुकी है और पूरे नाटक में इस हत्या को सुलझाने का प्रयत्न चलता रहता है। जीन लोमौंड का पुत्र इस महिला से प्रेम करता था और उसे नैली की हत्या के सन्देह में गिरफ्तार कर लिया गया था। किन्तु बाद में उसे स्वतंत्र कर दिया गया था क्योंकि उसके विरुद्ध कोई प्रमाण नहीं मिला था। एक अन्य पात्र, जो मंच पर नहीं आता, इंस्पैक्टर सौटार है। वह नाटक के दौरान कर्नल एलरडाइस को एक बार फोन करता है। > जब नाटक शुरू होता है तो हम लॉर्ड फाइंडहॉर्न को अपने मित्र, विलियम ब्रॉडी के साथ देखते हैं। वे दोनों लॉर्ड फाइडहॉर्न के उस बंगले में बैठे मद्यपान कर रहे हैं जो एक घाटी के एक एकांत स्थान में स्थित है। न्यायाधीश, लॉर्ड फाइंडहॉर्न, अभी कुंवारा है और उसका कहना है कि उसे एकांत स्थानों पर रहना बहुत अच्छा लगता है। अचानक ही उस कमरे का दरवाजा, जिसमें वे बैठे हुए हैं, खुलता है और उसमें से श्रीमती जीन लोमौंड प्रवेश करती है। वह कहती है कि वह हैक्टर लोमौंड की मां है और वह न्यायाधीश का धन्यवाद करने आई है जिसने उसके पुत्र को अपनी प्रेमिका, नैली सॉल्टर, की हत्या करने के आरोप से बरी कर दिया है। वह कहती है कि वह न्यायाधीश के लिए उपहार के रूप में समुद्री ट्राउट (एक प्रकार की बढ़िया मछली) की एक टोकरी भी लाई है। न्यायाधीश उस उपहार को स्वीकार नहीं करना चाहता, किन्तु वह स्त्री एक मासूमियत भरे तथा दिल को जीत लेने के अन्दाज़ में उसे जबरदस्ती वह उपहार दे देती है। वह टोकरी को फ़र्श पर रख देती है और फिर नैली सॉल्टर की हत्या की कहानी को विस्तार से बताने लगती है। यद्यपि न्यायाधीश और ब्रॉडी उसकी कहानी सुनने के मूड में नहीं हैं, वह स्त्री एक आश्चर्यजनक ढंग से उन्हें सुनने पर मजबूर कर देती है।
जीन न्यायाधीश को बताती है कि नैली सॉल्टर एक बुरी स्त्री थी। उसे नवयुवकों को अपने जाल में फंसाने, उनके साथ बुरा काम करने और फिर उनका जीवन बर्बाद करने में बहुत आनन्द आता था। उसे यह देखने में भी आनन्द आता था कि पुरुष उसकी खातिर अपनी जान तक दे दें। फिर वह उस तरीके का हर छोटे-से-छोटा ब्यौरा देती है जिससे नैली सॉल्टर की हत्या की गई थी। वह बताती है कि हत्या वाले दिन नैली बढ़िया वस्त्रों में सजी-धजी हुई थी और वह पहाड़ी रास्ते पर ऊपर जा रही थी। रास्ते में उसने अपना मेक-अप करने वाला सामान निकाला और स्वयं को सुंदर बना लिया। पेड़ों के सामने स्वयं से बातें करते हुए वह बोली कि वह दुनिया में किसी भी अन्य व्यक्ति से अधिक शक्तिशाली थी और यह भी कि वह पुरुषों के साथ जो भी चाहे कर सकती थी। जीन कहती है कि उसके बाद नैली उस रास्ते पर से होती हुई पहाड़ी से नीचे उतर आई जिसे लाल मृगों वाला रास्ता कहा जाता था।
न्यायाधीश वह सब कुछ सुनता रहता है जो भी जीन के पास कहने को है और उसके बाद आराम करने के लिए उसे बगल के कमरे में जाने के लिए कहता है। किन्तु कमरे में जाने से पहले वह न्यायाधीश से एक आश्वासन ले लेती है कि कानून उसके पुत्र को गिरफ्तार नहीं करेगा यदि मुकदमे को दुबारा चलाया गया।
जब जीन आराम करने के लिए बगल के कमरे में चली जाती है, वे दोनों उस पर चर्चा करने लगते हैं जो कुछ जीन ने उनसे कहा होता है। वे धीमे स्वरों में बात करते हैं ताकि जीन उनकी बातों को न सुन सके। न्यायाधीश यह महसूस करके स्तब्ध और आश्चर्यचकित रह जाता है कि किस तरह बगैर दस्तक दिए जीन उनके कमरे में आ गई थी। जीन द्वारा दिए गए वर्णन से दोनों व्यक्ति यह निष्कर्ष भी निकाल लेते हैं कि वह व्यक्ति जीन के अलावा कोई नहीं हो सकता था जिसने अपने पुत्र को उस दुष्ट स्त्री के पंजों से मुक्त करने के लिए नैली की हत्या कर दी थी। मुकदमा चलने के दौरान कोई भी व्यक्ति, यहां तक कि जीन भी नहीं, उस रास्ते के बारे में नहीं बता पाया था जिस रास्ते से पहाड़ी से उतरते समय नैली आई थी।
उस दौरान, जब न्यायाधीश और ब्रॉडी उस पूरी स्थिति का विश्लेषण कर रहे होते हैं और आगे की कार्यवाही के बारे में सोच रहे होते हैं, दरवाज़े पर ज़ोर की दस्तक होती है। कर्नल एलरडाइस, चीफ़ कांस्टेबल, अंदर आ जाता है। वह न्यायाधीश से कहता है कि वह वहां उसे एक सूचना देने के लिए आया है। वह कहता है कि श्रीमती जीन लोमौंड, हैक्टर लोमौंड की मां, ने स्वयं को डुबा कर समुद्र तट पर आत्महत्या कर ली है। न्यायाधीश और ब्रॉडी इस पर विश्वास नहीं कर पाते। वे कर्नल को बताते हैं कि श्रीमती जीन बगल के कमरे में आराम कर रही थी और यह भी कि (इस कारण से) वह सूचना, जो वह ले कर आया है, ग़लत है। ब्रॉडी श्रीमती जीन को अंदर बुलाने के लिए कमरा खोलता है लेकिन चकित रह जाता है जब वह उसे कमरे में नहीं पाता। कर्नल सोचता है कि न्यायाधीश और ब्रॉडी नशे में थे या फिर रात के खाने के बाद हल्की नींद ले रहे थे। वह उनके दिमाग़ में किसी खराबी के बारे में नहीं सोच पाता। किन्तु वे दोनों कर्नल को समझाने लगते हैं कि वे न तो नशे में थे और न ही खाने के बाद झपकियां ले रहे थे, और यह भी कि उनका दिमाग पूरी तरह से ठीक था। वे विस्तार से उस बातचीत के बारे में बताते हैं जो श्रीमती जीन ने उनके साथ की थी । वे उसे नैली की हत्या वाली शाम को नैली द्वारा किए जाने वाले क्रिया-कलापों का ब्यौरा भी देते हैं, जैसा कि श्रीमती जीन ने उन्हें बताया था। ठीक उसी समय टैलीफोन की घंटी बज उठती है। मिस्टर सौटार, जो कर्नल के नीचे काम करता है, ने एक संदेश देने के लिए उसे फोन किया है। वह कहता है कि अपराध की स्वीकारोक्ति करती हुई श्रीमती जीन उसके लिए एक पत्र छोड़ गई है जिसमें उसने उस तरीके का वर्णन भी किया है जिससे उसने नैली को मार डाला था । वह श्रीमती जीन की मौत की पुष्टि भी करता है। श्रीमती जीन के पत्र में लिखा वर्णन उस वर्णन से पूरा मेल खाता है जो जीन ने ब्रॉडी और न्यायाधीश को दिया था। इसलिए अब किसी भी संदेह से परे यह सिद्ध हो जाता है कि श्रीमती जीन ने ही नैली की हत्या की थी ।
न्यायाधीश कर्नल को बताता है कि श्रीमती जीन अपने पुत्र को बचाने के लिए उसका धन्यवाद करने के लिए आई थी और यह भी कि वह उपहार के रूप में उसे देने के लिए समुद्री – ट्राउट की एक टोकरी भी ले कर आई थी। कर्नल यह स्वीकार करता है कि श्रीमती जीन और उसके परिवार के लोग समुद्री ट्राउट पकड़ने में माहिर थे, किन्तु वह कहता है उस वक्त चलने वाले मौसम में समुद्री-ट्राउट पकड़ना संभव नहीं था ।
वे तीनों मानते हैं कि श्रीमती जीन को डर था कि कहीं उसके पुत्र को दुबारा न पकड़ लिया जाए । इसी डर की वजह से उसने कर्नल को पत्र लिखा था और उसके बाद आत्महत्या कर ली थी । किन्तु जीन द्वारा न्यायाधीश के बंगले में आने के रहस्य को सुलझाया नहीं जा सका।
अब काफ़ी देर हो चुकी होती है और ब्रॉडी एक टॉर्च ले कर कर्नल के साथ जाने की पेशकश करता है, किन्तु कर्नल कहता है कि उसके पास स्वयं की एक टॉर्च है और वह अकेला चला जाएगा। वह टॉर्च को जलाता है और वे तीनों समुद्री – ट्राउट से भरी एक टोकरी को फर्श पर पड़ा देख कर भय से भर उठते हैं। इस प्रकार कहानी में एक और रहस्य जुड़ जाता है। यदि श्रीमती जीन की मृत्यु दोपहर में हो चुकी थी तो फिर वह कौन था जो उस टोकरी को वहां छोड़ गया था। ब्रॉडी और न्यायाधीश यह कल्पना कर के बहुत डर महसूस करते हैं कि वे एक आत्मा से बातें करते रहे थे !
IMPORTANT PASSAGES FOR COMPREHENSION
PASSAGE-1
(Page 118) JUDGE : I didn’t free him. The jury found him not guilty. And therefore I had no alternative but to set him at liberty.
JEAN : It was you, my lord. As soon as you entered the court and sat down on your seat of justice, you looked at Hector and I said to myself, “My son is safe.”
JUDGE : Mrs Lomond, I ought to point out to you that I never discuss any cases, particularly criminal cases and above all a trial for murder, with any interested parties. Allow me, however, to say this. I had no prejudice one way or the other. Your son was found not guilty by the jury, and so I set him at liberty.
Questions
(A) (i) ‘I didn’t free him.’ Who does ‘him’ refer to ?
(ii) How was Jean’s son freed ?
(iii) How was Jean sure that Hector would be safe ?
(B) Choose the most appropriate options :
(i) What or who was behind Hector’s being set at liberty ?
(a) The judge. (b) The jury.
(c) The law. (d) His mother.
(ii) ‘Hector was found not guilty.’ It means that ………. .
(a) he was a good boy
(b) he had obeyed the law
(c) he had a strong case
(d) he had not committed the murder.
(iii) The expression ‘ought to’ is ………..
(a) an adverb (b) a linking verb
(c) a modal (d) an exclamation.d
(C) What did the judge point out to Jean ?
Answers
(A) (i) The word him’ refers to Jean’s son who has escaped a death sentence.
(ii) The jury didn’t find him guilty. So the judge says that he had no choice but to set him at liberty.
(iii) According to Jean, as soon as the judge the court and looked at
Hector, she said to herself that Hector would be safe.
(B) (i) (b) The jury. (ii) (d) he had not committed the murder (iii) (c) a modal.
(C) He pointed out to her that it was not his habit to discuss any cases with the interested parties. And he had set her son at liberty only because the jury had found him not guilty.
PASSAGE-2
(Page 119) BRODIE: I should say she was a bad woman.
JEAN : She was out to ruin men, my son Hector and other lads who came her way. I shouldn’t have minded if it was just her wiles. But it went deeper than that. She planned day and night to do evil. She rejoiced in evil. She was ready to see men lose their reason and their lives for her sake, even at the risk of her own life. [quietly] It is good she is dead. She wanted to see men killing. Killing one another, killing even herself.
JUDGE : And she was killed.
Questions
1. Which play has this passage been taken from? Who is the writer ?
2. Who is Brodie in the play ?
3. Whom did the woman want to ruin ?
4. How evil was the woman, according to Jean ?
5. What did the woman desire strongly ?
Answers
1. The name of the play is ‘A Basketful of Sea-Trout’. The writer’s name is Neil Grant.
2. He is a Scottish landlord.
3. She was intent on ruining men; Mrs Jean’s son, Hector, and the other young men who came her way.
4. According to Jean, the woman thought only of evil. She planned to do evil day and night. She even rejoiced in evil.
5. She was ever ready to see men lose their reason and their lives for her sake.
PASSAGE-3
(Page 121) JUDGE: I am a lawyer. [He takes a step or two and then goes nearer BRODIE] The last person who saw Nellie Salter alive was the farmer at Dykes Farm. About a hundred yards farther on, the road divided at a spot invisible from the farm. One path goes by the side of the loch, the other, the Path of the Red Deer goes up the hill and rejoins the loch path about a mile farther west. Nobody knew whether Nellie Salter took the low road or the high road. Her body was found two hundred yards from the west junction of the two paths.
Questions
(A) (i) Who, according to the judge, had last seen Nellie Salter alive ?
(ii) How was the road divided ?
(iii) What did nobody know ?
(B) Choose the most appropriate options :
(i) Who said, “I am a lawyer.” ?
(a) Brodie. (b) A farmer.
(c) The judge. (d) A stranger at the court.
(ii) The letters ‘-in’ in the word, ‘invisible’ are called …….. .
(a) a suffix (b) a prefix
(c) a conjunction (d) a qualifier.
(iii) The Path of the Red Deer ……… .
(a) went up the hill (b) went by the side of loch (c) divided the road (d) was the shorter route.
(C) Where was the body of Nellie Salter found ?
Answers
(A) (i) According to the judge, it was a farmer at Dykes Farm who had last seen the woman alive.
(ii) It was divided into two paths, popularly known as the low road and the high road.
(iii) Nobody knew whether Nellie Salter had taken the low road or the high road while going down the hill.
(B) (i) (c) The judge. (ii) (b) a prefix (iii) (a) went up the hill.
(C) It was found about 200 yards from the west junction of the two paths.
SOLVED TEXTUAL EXERCISES
Thinking About the Text
Q. 1. The atmosphere is eerie and makes even the judge jumpy. Let us see how the eerie atmosphere is built up.
(i) the wind : Does it moan or does it blow gently ?
(ii) the lodge: Is it in the heart of a village or is it isolated ?
(iii) servants : Do servants live in the lodge or not?
(iv) glen: Is it silent or is it full of strange sounds ?
(v) time of the day : Does the action take place at twilight or when there is pitch darkness outside ?
Ans.— (i) The wind moans.
(ii) It is isolated.
(iii) No, servants don’t live in the lodge.
(iv) It is full of strange sounds.
(v) When there is pitch darkness outside.
Q. 2. Nellie Salter ‘rejoiced in evil’. How does Mrs Lomond describe Nellie’s character? If so, why ?
Ans.— Mrs. Lomond paints Nellie as an evil character. She says that Nellie rejoiced in ensnaring young men and then ruining their lives. She felt happy to see men giving away their lives or killing each other for her sake. Mrs. Lomond thus tries to justify her action of killing Nellie Salter.
Q. 3. “I have lost my son.” Why did Mrs. Lomond make this statement ?
Ans.— Mrs. Lomond had already committed suicide. And it was for the shake of her son that she first killed Nellie and then killed herself. Thus she was in a way right that she had lost her son. Death had separated her from her son.
Q. 4. The judge did not believe that Hector was tracking Nellie. Why ?
Ans.— Nobody could tell during the trial what way Nellie had taken while coming back down the hill or the way in which she had been murdered. That was why the judge did not believe that Hector was tracking Nillie.
Q. 5. Why, do you think, Mrs. Lomond committed suicide ?
Ans.— She committed suicide for the sake of her son. She did not want that her son should be rearrested if the case of Nellie’s murder was reopened. So she wrote down a statement confessing Nellie’s murder and then committed suicide.
Q. 6. While leaving the judge’s lodge, the Chief been a most interesting experience.” Why does he say so ?
Ans.— It has been proved that Mrs. Lomond had committed suicide in the afternoon. But it also seems certain that she visited the judge’s lodge that very night and had left a basketful of sea-trout there. That is why the Chief Constable says, “It has been a most interesting experience.”
Q. 7. Why has the play been given the title, ‘A Basketful of Sea-trout’ ?
Or
Why is the play titled ‘A Basketful of Sea-trout’ ?
Or
Discuss the title of the play, ‘A Basketful Of Sea – trout ?
Ans.— The whole suspense and mystery of the play centres round the basket of trout. Without it, there could be any explanation of Jean’s visit to the judge’s lodge. It could be said that the judge and his friend were merely hallucinating. That is why the play has been titled ‘A Basketful of Sea-trout’. It is both the centre and the climax of the play.
Q. 8. How did the judge and Brodie deduce that Mrs. Lomond had killed Nellie Salter ?
Ans.— Mrs. Lomond’s own descriptions lead the judge and Brodie to deduce that it was she who had committed the murder. She knows each and every detail of Nellie’s activities on the day of the murder. She knows every detail of the way Nellie had taken while going up the hill and also while coming back down the hill. She also knows that Nellie, while going up the hill, had taken out her make-up material, and beautified herself. And then there is the dark paint in which she paints her character. She says that Nellie was a wicked woman. She enjoyed ensnaring young men and then ruining their lives. She felt a great joy to see men giving away their lives or killing each other for her sake. Mrs. Lomond’s own son had fallen in love with her and she feared a sad end for him also. All these details given by Mrs. Lomond leave the judge and Brodie in no doubt that it was Mrs. Lomond who had killed Nellie while she was coming down the hill and was following the path known as the Path of Red Deer.
Q. 9. Why did Mrs. Lomond come to the judge’s lodge ? Give two reasons.
Ans.— Mrs. Lomond visited the judge’s lodge for two main reasons :
1. She wanted to thank the judge for having set her son free from the charge of murder. She also wanted to have from him an assurance that the boy won’t be arrested again if the case was re-opened. In order to express her sense of gratitude, she brings for the judge a gift also. It is a basketful of sea-trout.
2. Mrs. Lomond also wants to explain to the judge that her son was really innocent and that Nellie was a wicked lady. Mrs. Lomond tells the judge that Nellie enjoyed ensnaring young men and then ruining their lives. She felt a great joy to see men giving away their lives or killing each other for her sake. Mrs. Lomond’s own son had fallen in love with her and she feared a sad end for him also. All these details given by Mrs. Lomond leave the judge in no doubt that it was Mrs. Lomond who had killed Nellie. Mrs. Lomond deliberately does won all this so that her son is not implicated once again in the old case of murder.
Q. 10. Does Mrs. Lomond evoke sympathy or horror? Give a reason for your answer.
Ans.— Mrs. Lomond doesn’t evoke in us any horror. She evokes in us a deep sense of sympathy. The poor lady has to commit a murder in order to save her son from the clutches of a wicked lady. And then she commits suicide to save herself from the ignominy of having to go to the gallows.
Q. 11. Suppose the spirit of Nellie Salter enters the judge’s lodge. What do you think she would say or do ?
Ans.— I think Nellie Salter’s spirit would tell the judge what fires of hell she was being subjected to. She would confess all the evil actions she had been doing in her life and tell the judge not to convict anybody for her murder.
Q. 12. A person having a rational, scientific outlook does not believe in ghosts and spirits. What incident in this play would such a person reject, not believe in ?
Ans.— Mrs. Lomond’s visit to the judge’s lodge is not a believable thing because she had committed suicide that very afternoon and there was sufficient proof of it. Both the judge and his friend must have been hallucinating on that dark night. As for the basket of trout, someone else could have left it there and not told the judge about it.
Language Work
• What do the following phrases in the lesson mean ?
1. Wind is dying down-The wind is changing into a gentle breeze.
2. My cup of tea- What I like or am interested in.
3. Solitary sort of fellow- One who loves to be alone.
4. Untidy end- An unpleasant result.
5. Take one’s word- Believe someone.
6. Go wrong- Get spoilt.
7. Clean sheet- Paper having no writing on it, having no ugly spot.
8. Wide awake- Fully cautious and alert.
9. Get in- Arrive at a place.
10. Break one’s heart- Be sorely disappointed.
• Find other words which can be used instead of the word / words in italics without changing the meaning of the sentence. Your words must begin with P.
1. The wind makes a strange sound as it blows through the desert.
2. A group of farmers have come to Delhi to visit the Trade Fair.
3. A judge who is honest has no feelings for or against a criminal.
4. He asked me specially to convey his greetings to you.
5. The Colonel carefully organized the campaign which led to the overthrow of the enemy.
6. There is a small way through the fields which will take you to the next village.
7. The officer thinks he is strong because he can appoint and dismiss clerks.
8. The weather is fine today. It is neither too hot nor too cold.
Ans.— 1. peculiar 2. peasants 3. prejudice 4. particularly
5. planned 6. path 7. powerful 8. pleasant.
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