The tone of Saki's Tobermory is contradicting from pessimistic to optimistic. He starts off creating the lifeless setting, but then puts the attention on Miss Blemley's house party filled with guests. The focus is then put on Mr. Cornelius Appin who has a "negative personality." The tone is shifted once again when Mr. Appin's is seen almost as a spectacle of entertainment and is ridiculed when he explains his "scientific discovery." The talking cat, Tobermory speaks. The guests seem intrigued but with caution and then rage when he reveals the personal talk that was held in the room. They are scared of their greedy secrets being revealed. The shifts back and forth. The themes include selfishness and
"If he was trying German irregular verbs on the poor beast," said Clovis, "he deserved all he got."
I'm not really sure what this line if supposed to mean. I think this line in the context of the tone and theme is like a last laugh for Clovis at Mr. Addin for trying to show that he is better than everyone else at the house party. I also think this could mean that he got what he deserved for trying to do something, human speaking on animals, that wasn't yet accepted or experimented and trying to control things in a way that shouldn't be controlled.
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