(2/20) Village Diary by Read Miss

Author:Read, Miss [Read, Miss]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Country life, England, Fairacre (England : Imaginary Place), Country Life - England, Fiction
ISBN: 9780618884155
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Published: 1957-01-02T08:00:00+00:00

The day of the Scripture examination dawned hot and cloudless. The children arrived looking fresh and expectant. Their mothers always take especial pains to dress them well for 'the Bishop's exam,' which they remember as an important event from their own schooldays. In many a Fairacre home the 'Bishop's Bible,' presented so many years ago, has pride of place on the front parlour table.

The boys had smoothed down their locks with wet brushes, and even Erie's crew-cut shone with some strange unguent. His normally vivid shirt had been exchanged for one of dazzling whiteness, and he presented a sober and sedate picture of American childhood. Even the Coggs family appeared to have met soap and water in a rather less perfunctory manner than was usual, and I felt sure that our visitor, even if he found our godliness a little deficient, could not find fault with our cleanliness.

At ten o'clock footsteps were heard and men's voices. Mr Partridge ushered in his friend, the Reverend James Enderby, the children leapt to their feet, and introductions were made.

Our examiner was in exact contrast to Mr Partridge, who is tall, thin and very gentle. Mr Enderby was a stocky man, short necked and red faced, and walked about the room, with impatient strides. The children watched, fascinated.

Mr Partridge made his fareweds, regretting that he could not persuade his friend to stay to lunch, and assuring him that the eleven-thirty bus to Caxley would connect comfortably with the twelve-fifteen bus, which was to carry him to a ruri-decanal conference at the other end of the county.

'Now,' said Mr Enderby briskly, as the door closed behind the vicar's linen summer jacket, 'we'd put this where we can see it.' He pulled a large silver watch, with a fussy tick, from his pocket, and propped it up against the inkstand.

After a short prayer, during which I noticed many a half-shut eye peeping at this unusually business-like visitor, the children were settled in their seats, I retreated to a chair in the corner, and the Scripture examination began.

Our syllabus had included the story of Joseph in the Old Testament and John the Baptist in the New, and it was these two particular stories that Mr Enderby concentrated on.

He gave an admirably lucid and terse résumé of Joseph's history to refresh his hearers' memories, and then began more detailed questioning. It was doubtful to me if many of the children had followed his swift account clearly, for they are used to a much slower tempo, and in any case were somewhat over-awed by the visitor and becoming drowsy with the growing heat. Ernest and Eric, however, struggled nobly with the questions, and I wished that Linda Moffat had been present to answer with her quick intelligence, instead of being far away on the sunny beach at Bournemouth. Several of the younger ones slid lower in their seats and allowed the fire of questioning to go over their heads.

The door, propped open with Mr Willet's flower-pot, gave a glimpse of the summer world outside.

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