The vicar received the second paper with an air of what was unmistakably amazement. He stared at it as if in doubt that he was not being tricked by his eyes, or his spectacles, or something.
"What--what's this?" he said.
Mr. Ingledew explained,
"It is a copy of Cam-Isis; a magazine which was edited and written by a body of Camford undergraduates some forty years ago."
The more the vicar stared at the paper, the more his amazement seemed to grow. He was beginning to turn quite red.
"Good gracious!" he exclaimed.
"The original of Mr. Plumber's verses you will find on the page which I have marked. They are quite equal to their title, 'The Lass and the Lout.'"
The Vicar's hand which held the paper dropped to his side. He looked up at the ceiling seemingly in a state of mind approaching stupefaction. As if unaware, words came from his lips.
"It's a judgment."
Mr. Ingledew rubbed his chin. He seemed to be pleased.