Page:Cyclopedia of illustrations for public speakers, containing facts, incidents, stories, experiences, anecdotes, selections, etc., for illustrative purposes, with cross-references; (IA cyclopediaofillu00scotrich).pdf/689

 SHINING AS LAMPS

The British Weekly prints this: His lamps are we,   To shine where He shall say, And lamps are not for sunny rooms,   Not for the light of day, But for the dark places of the earth, Where shame and wrong and crime have birth; Or for the murky twilight gray, Where wandering sheep have gone astray; Or where the light of faith grows dim, And souls are groping after Him. And as sometimes a flame we find  Clear shining through the night— So bright we do not see the lamp,   But only see the light, So we may shine—His light the flame, That men may glorify His name. (2935)   Shining Wherever You Are—See. Ships, Watching the—See. SHORING UP  When building a house it is common for the carpenters to insert timbers under the ground-sills pending the time when the stone foundations can conveniently be placed. Similarly we may employ expedients in character-building. Children may not be ready as yet to grasp principles of conduct; but meanwhile we give them rules, detail commands, and minute precepts; these serve to "shore up" the life while the principles are being formed. (2936)  SHRINKAGE  If a man tries to live on his own moral resources, without new supplies of divine grace, he will experience a shrinkage of character like that of the sun, as described in this extract:   The sun is gradually falling into itself, the outer layers are falling toward the center; the sun is shrinking, growing smaller; and this contraction, this falling in of the outer particles, produces the immense outflow of energy. The whole sun contracts, every particle of its whole mass falls toward the center and contributes its mite to the total supply of heat. The surface particles move, of course, through a much greater distance than do those within the sphere. On account of the tremendous mass of the sun a very slight contraction will suffice to maintain its supply of heat. A shrinkage in the solar diameter of some 300 feet a year is all that is necessary to account for the great outpour of energy.—, "The Solar System." (2937)  "SHUT-IN" MISSIONARY WORK   In 1891, Miss Mary Ashton, a "shut-in," zealous for the spreading of the gospel in foreign lands, and desirous to do her share, began the sale of ribbon bookmarks and leaflets on which were printed Scripture texts and choice poems. With a few helpers, the sales and her income increased from year to year, so that, at her death in 1899, she was supporting a Bible woman in China, another in India, and four missionaries in those countries. After her death, Miss Theodosia Haine, of Warren, O., also a member of the "Shut-in" Society, volunteered to undertake Miss Ashton's work. This she is successfully doing and much literature is being disseminated through her efforts. The profits resulting from the sale of Miss Haine's work go to the Mary Ashton Fund of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church.—Record of Christian Work.

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SICK, MIRROR AN AID TO THE

The looking-glass, whether a plus or a minus quantity, plays a more important part in the sickroom than most nurses and physicians give it credit for.

"All things considered, I think it a good plan to give a sick person a chance to look at himself occasionally," said a prominent doctor, recently. "Of course, the indulgence must be granted with discretion. If a patient is really looking seedy, a turn at the looking-glass is equivalent to signing his death warrant; but if taken at a time when braced up by some stimulant or a natural ebullition of vital force, a few minutes of communion with his own visage beats any tonic I can prescribe. It thrills the patient with new hope. It makes him feel that he isn't quite so far gone as he had thought, and that possibly a fight for life is, after all, worth while. Being thus sensitive, a per