On the other hand, there are examiners who make it a rule to bully the candidates, or, worse still, to snub them. They will ask preposterous questions with the mere object of disconcerting them.
"[How ] long would it take the moon to fall to the earth?" I once heard an examiner ask a candidate to the baccalauréat ès-sciences.
A facetious examiner once got his due from a young Parisian candidate.
After asking him a few "catches," and obtaining no answers he suddenly said to him:
"Do you know how much cloth would be required to cover an ass?"
"I do not, sir," replied the lad, "but if you are anxious to know, I will ask your tailor."
The audience laughed heartily, and the examiner, seeing that this time the laughter was not on his side, congratulated the boy on his wit, and immediately asked him a few sensible questions, which were answered respectfully, and proved that the candidate had his subjects as ready as his wit.
I was once asked to examine the French and German classes of an important English school.