The Testimony of Taliesin Jones (46 page)

Su
rely h
e'd
pr
efer s
omething a littl
e
bri
ghter, a
littl
e
m
ore c
heerful.

Th
e
pr
eacher wa
fts up th
e ce
ntr
a
l
a
isle
a
nd m
ounts
th
e
pulpit h
olding a
r
ed
b
ook in
his h
and.
H
e
l
ooks
o
ver
r
ather
th
an a
t th
e co
ngregation as h
e s
peaks.

'
Before
we
b
egin
today I
w
ould
lik
e
to
exte
nd
a wa
rm wel
come
to an
y
new vi
sitors'
.
Th
e
Blu
e-Rinse
on T
aliesin's
ri
ght s
miles
a
wrinkl
ed
smil
e
a
t h
im a
n? h
e
r
eciprocates
b
y
cl
osing
hi
s
m
outh to
on
e
o
f th
ose
stilt
ed
s
miles
t
hat his m
other
m
akes w
hen t
alking
t
o
h
er
cat.

'
Hymn numb
er 701’
"Th
ere
is a g
reen h
ill fa
r
awa
y". H
ymn n
umber
707, i
n
t
he r
ed
b
ooks.'

Taliesin
is surprised at what he hears
.
An elfin
woman who might be a girl were she not ninety, plays the piano with a fl
ourish o
f nimble fin
gers.
H
e sees
th
at
h
er
p
osture
i
s goo
d,
ev
en a
t h
er age
.
And the pe
ople ca
n
sing,
d
espite
th
eir w
rinkled thr
oats.
Th
e
Blu
e-Rinse
n
ext
t
o
him h
as a
cl
ear,
fru
ity
voi
ce
whi
ch
d
oesn't so
und lik
e
it
co
uld
co
me
f
rom h
er
fr
ail
fr
ame. On
ly th
e
pre
acher's vo
ice
s
trikes
a
n
ote
o
f
di
scord;
h
is
voi
ce
i
s
l
oud a
nd tun
eless a
nd
ca
rries cl
early to
th
e
b
ack.
H
e
r
olls
hi
s eyes
h
eavenward an
d l
eans
b
ackwards as
h
e si
ngs, th
e ve
ins
i
n h
is
n
eck sta
nding
o
ut
a
s
i
f to burst
,
h
is c
heeks h
ot as
p
ipes.
H
e s
ings
as i
f
vo
lume
e
quals h
oliness a
nd th
ere
i
s so
mething th
eatrical
in
a
ll
of
hi
s
m
ovements.

After
the hymn the congregation kneel to pray, some of them taking a long time
getting to their knees. Taliesin's pr
ayer
kn
eeler
h
as
embr
oidered o
n it
a
l
amb a
nd
a
tr
ee aga
inst
a g
reen
b
ackground.
The l
amb
l
ooks
li
ke
a
l
amb a
lthough
w
ool
i
s
n
ever
th
at w
hite and th
e
tr
ee
l
ooks
lik
e a
t
offee a
pple.

Th
e
Blu
e-Rinse's
cu
shion
h
as
a p
alm
tr
ee
an
d
a
d
ove
w
ith
a
br
anch
in
i
ts m
outh.
Sh
e
d
oesn't
u
se
th
e c
ushion,
i
nstead
s
he l
eans
f
orward
a
nd r
ests
h
er
h
ead i
n h
er
h
ands.
Th
e
p
alm
tr
ee
o
n
t
he
c
ushion m
akes
h
im
thin
k of
th
e
is
land
a
nd
t
he b
oys:
The Fli
es. T
hose bo
ys
ne
eded Go
d
.
If th
ey'd
h
ad Go
d th
ey
w
ouldn't
h
ave ki
lled P
iggy.

P
reacher
P
reece
l
eads
th
e
pr
ayer s
tarting with
a
lon
g
sil
cn
c
e t
hat
soo
n
fi
lls up
wi
th th
oughts.
Tali
esin s
till
ca
n't f
ocus O
n
Go
d
,
eve
n in
c
hapel. H
ere
,
w
here h
e
i
s
me
ant
t
o;
h
ere
in
Go
d's
ow
n h
ome.
H
e
i
s
t
oo w
orried
a
bout
o
ffending hi
s
host
to rea
lly t
alk
t
o
him
-
t
ooawa
re
of
th
e
no
velty;
t
oo awa
re
o
f hi
s
b
ody, o
f h
is
un
comfortable
p
osition; o
f th
e
Blu
e-Rinse
n
ext
t
o
h
im,
m
oving
h
er
lip
s i
n
a
whi
sper; too awa
re
o
f Pr
eacher
Pr
eece
l
ooking
m
ore
lik
e a
f
ox
th
an a
f
ox;
t
oo a
ware
o
f thi
s s
trange
se
rious pl
ace
th
at's co
lder th
an
w
inter.
H
e'
s
too awa
re
of eve
rything h
e ca
n
see a
nd h
ear a
nd t
ouch and
th
ink.

T
hen h
e
tr
ies
t
o
f
ollow t
he pr
eacher's
pr
ayers
:
'
Forgive u
s ..
.
we
pr
aise yo
u .
. .
we k
neel b
efore yo
u, L
ord .
. .
'
All th
e
ti
me
th
ere
'
s a
pr
essing
in h
is
own h
ead, a
v
oice, so
mewhere in th
ere
.
Th
e voice s
peak
s
to him but h
e
c
an't
h
ear
wh
at
it
says
.
H
e tr
ies t
o
i
magine
G
od a
nd
e
nds u
p
t
ravelling
th
rough s
pace
aga
in
wi
th
a
ll the u
sual s
tars an
d s
uns
a
nd th
e
u
sual wa
ll
a
t th
e e
nd
o
f it, th
e o
ther
s
ide of
w
hich i
s
m
ore s
pace. H
e
f
ocuses o
n his h
ands
pr
essed
t
ogether. Go
d h
as
t
ouched
h
im.
G
od's
h
a
nd
s
h
ave
t
ouched
hi
s
h
ands
.
T
aliesin
thank
s Go
d f
or s
howing him that H
e
exis
ts. H
e
pin
ches
th
e
sk
in o
n th
e
b
ack
of hi
s
h
and a
nd pr
ays
f
or a
l
ong
l
ife;
f
or a c
hance t
o se
e hi
s o
wn
s
kin
s
tick f
or
a
seco
nd b
efore
r
eturning.

Pr
eece
i
s
pr
aying
f
or
th
e wa
r in th
e
des
ert
and p
eople
are
s
ignalling
a
pproval by mutt
ering
'y
es, y
es'.
H
e
th
en
pr
ays
f
or
th
e
fl
ooding
in Am
erica;
f
or a
ll th
e
fam
ilies
in t
rouble.
That
fa
mily
s
itting
a
top th
eir
hou
se
w
aiting
for
a
b
oat
w
ere
in t
rouble
.
Ta
liesin pr
ays
f
or
hi
s fa
ther. He i
s
t
alking
to th
e ki
tchen
wa
ll. H
e
p
rays
for hi
s fa
ther. H
e
pr
ays
f
or
hi
s
m
other. S
he i
s
nak
ed
.
H
e
pr
ays
for hi
s
moth
er.
Th
en,
h
ardest of a
ll, h
e p
rays
fo
r hi
s
br
other.
H
e ca
n
se
e
a
cl
osed
b
edroom
d
oor.