The syllogism was greeted with loud applause. Hyacinth started to his feet. For a time he could only gasp for breath to utter a reply, and Dr. Spenser, secure in the conviction of his own intellectual and social superiority to the son of a parson from Connemara, determined to pursue his prey.
‘Does Mr. Conneally,’ he asked with a simper, ‘propose to impugn the accuracy of my induction or the logic of my deduction?’
The simper and the number of beautiful long words which Dr. Spenser had succeeded in collecting together into one sentence provoked a sustained clapping of hands and stamping of feet from the class. Hyacinth rapidly regained his self-possession, and was surprised at his own coolness when he replied:
‘I should say, sir, that a man who makes an induction holding up a lady to ridicule is probably a cad, and that the cad who makes a deduction confusing patriotism with murder is certainly a fool.’
A report of Hyacinth’s speech was handed to Dr. Henry, with a suggestion that expulsion from the divinity school was the only suitable punishment. Hyacinth did not look forward with any pleasure to the interview to which he was summoned. He was agreeably surprised when he entered the professor’s room. Dr. Henry offered him a chair.
‘I hear,’ he said—his tone was severe, but a barely perceptible gleam of humorous appreciation flashed across his eyes as he spoke—‘that you have been exceedingly insolent to Dr. Spenser.’
‘I don’t know, sir, whether you heard the whole story, but if you did you will surely recognise that Dr. Spenser was gratuitously insulting to me.’
‘Quite so,’ said Dr. Henry. ‘I recognise that, but the question is, What am I to do with you now? What would you do if you were in my place? I should like to know your views of the best way out of the situation.’
Hyacinth was silent.
‘You see,’ Dr. Henry went on, ‘we can’t have our divinity lecturers called fools and cads before their classes. I should be afraid myself to deliver a lecture in your presence if I thought I was liable to that kind of interruption.’