Tobermory Explained

I found the death of Tobermory to be somewhat ironic. I figured he would ultimately be either killed by the poisoned food, or taken by Appin to a safer place where he could further his science.

The idea behind the story is a play on gossip, that one should not say something that they wouldn't want repeated, even if they believe there is no one else around to hear it. The last line of the story is, "If he was trying German irregular verbs on the poor beast, he deserved all he got." Which was a quote by Clovis in reference to Appin being killed by an elephant for teasing him. It was widely known that the guests at Lady Blemley's party were not in favor of Appin's experimentation with their cat. The guests did not want their personal information being spread, so they encouraged the experimentation with elephants whom they knew they would have no interaction with. I didn't quite catch what "German irregular verbs" had to do with the ending, or the story at all really. I know Clovis thought that Appin deserved what he got (death by elephant) for making fools of all his guests at his party, and thus making fools of him and Lady Blemley. I'm guessing he also views Appin's death as a type of karma; since Appin was indirectly the cause of Tobermory's death, his death was deserved as well. The theme tends to go, don't talk about what you don't want publicly repeated, and be careful what you teach to who. I do not completely understand the last line of the play, especially what part "German irregular verbs" had in the story.