The Testimony of Taliesin Jones Read Online Free PDF Page A

so unds w orse th an b eing ill .
    ' What's he g ot, Miss?'
    ' Will h e be ill for ages,
Miss?'
    'Hop e it 's serious .'
    T aliesin find s himself wishin g that he'd s at nearer the front . Th e form er teacher's obsession with church architecture had dri ven him to the back of
th e classroom
where he would r ead ra ther than draw clerestories and crockets, fan vaultin g a nd m isericords . The gaunt and aquiline Mr Tow er pr esided over a dark ag e of R E, but his replacement
promis es a
dawnin g of
a n ew a ge;
an age of beauty and light . Sh e might ev en be able to v erify the truth of the Adam and Eve story .
    Mi ss Hamilton distributes a leaning tower of crisp n ew e xercise books
-grey for RE. The unused book always offers T aliesin a chance to start again and put the poor
presentation o f th e last book behind him . He can fill the white lined space w ith beautiful blotted
answers . As
he write s, he
imitates th e m ature lean and curl of
his mother's handwriting, taking p articular care over his name .
    The
new teacher is waiting for the noise to settle, whi ch in tim e it does more out of curiosity
for a new face than re spect .
    Aft er introducing herself, Miss Hamilton s its side saddle on th e desk , very relaxed.
    'I'd lik e to s tart wi th a ge neral di scussion . Th at way I ca n get t o k now yo ur n ames ; ' s he says . ' You ca n k eep yo ur b ooks cl osed a nd yo ur p ens down. ' Tali esin sc rew s th e lid o f hi s f ountain pen b ack o n. 'I'd l ike to be gin b y t alking a bout o ur s ubject: R E . Ca n a nyone t ell m e wh y we s tudy R E?'
    N o on e sa ys a nything . Th e class a re
much b etter a t t alking
w hen th ey a ren't as ked t o. A sking them so mething is a s ure
w ay to s ilence
th em.
    ' W e ll, l et m e as k yo u a s lightly
different qu estion. Wh at i s R E? Ca n a nyone t ell m e th at?' Th ere a re a f ew c heap-laugh a nswers mutt ered b efore Juli e D yer s peaks. Juli e D yer i s ne ver w ary o f in itiating t hings .
    ' It 's t o d o w ith relig ion , M iss. L earnin' a ll a bout re ligion.'
    'Goo d . P erhaps y o u co uld give me y our n ames
as yo u a nswer. '
    ' Julie D yer, Mi s s . '
    ' I think th at's a goo d a nswer, Juli e. Wh at els e i s it a bout? S omeone el s e . . . yes, th at b oy th ere at th e bac k . '
    ' Is i t a bout Go d, M iss?' Tali esin di sguises h is answe r as
a qu estion .
    'What
is your name?' she asks.
    'Taliesin
Jones.'
    'Taliesin, ' she mulls his name as people do . ' Yes . You co uld say th at it i s a s tudy of h ow , w hat a nd w hy p eople bel ieve in
G od . '
    'Do es th at m ean th at if yo u don't believe i n
G od th en yo u d on't h ave t o do R E?' Ho oper br eaks in.
    For a n ovice, M iss Ham ilton handles him w ell.
    'T here a re m any p eople w ho s tudy RE with out n ecessarily beli eving i n Go d,' s he s ays.
    ' But no o ne b elieves in G od anymore, ' H ooper point s out.
    'I'm n ot s ure th at's true , ' s he counters. 'I'm s ure so me of yo u beli eve.'
    ' I b et y ou we don't ,' Hooper sa ys.
    'Well,
why don't we find out?' Miss Hamilton says . 'In
fac t, t hat mi ght b e an int eresting
exerc ise .' Th ere is b oth l aughter a nd co nsternation a t thi s approa ch .
    ' Let 's s tart with those who beli eve in God? All r ight , a ll t hos e w ho b elieve i n
God r aise y our h ands. O ne, t wo, thr ee, five .. . e ight . . . e ight. Any
mor e?' H aving
see n th is r e s po n se o ne o r two
moreput up th eir h ands, includin g Lu c Da niel. T aliesin i s plea sed to see hi s fri end's h and h over a g nostically f or a tim e and then commit. T aliesin
assesse s hi s f ellow v oters. H e h as to
acknowled ge th at th e g roup is co m po sed of th e l ess f ashionable el ements o f t he
cl ass, except p erhaps
for th e ea rthy Jul ie D yer. ' Now a ll tho se w ho d on't beli eve . . . o ne. . . tw o . . . f our. . . six. . . e ight . . . t e n .. . t welve . .. t welve. ' Th e a theist vote wins .
H oop e r lea ns b ack tr