Page:Cyclopedia of illustrations for public speakers, containing facts, incidents, stories, experiences, anecdotes, selections, etc., for illustrative purposes, with cross-references; (IA cyclopediaofillu00scotrich).pdf/691



he could give no clear idea of how it happened that he ran by the red signal. In his agony he kept murmuring: "I saw nothing!" His later testimony was somewhat confused, but it hardly added to or subtracted from the force of that short, sad lament, "I saw nothing!" Many a mortal spirit rushes through this world seeing nothing, speeding on and on toward eternity, and recklessly running by signal after signal set by merciful hands to warn it of the dangers ahead.—Grace and Truth.

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SILENCE

The purple flushing of the eastern sky; The stately progress of the sun toward even; Night's mantle dropping from the quiet heaven; The holy hush which brings God's presence nigh; The dusky woods where cooling shadows lie, Where birds are still and Nature to repose Sinks gently down; dews falling on the rose; Mountains sublime in distance looming high; The smile of friends when love surpasses speech; The hand-clasp, given when sorrow is too deep For words. Ah me, the silence of life Are mightier far, and higher lessons teach Than all its noisy clamor! Let us reap The bliss of those who keep themselves from strife.

—, The Outlook. (2944)  SILENCE AND SPEECH   A young man who was an inveterate talker was sent by his parents to Socrates to learn oratory. On being presented to Socrates the young man spoke so much that Socrates was out of patience. When the bargain came to be struck, Socrates asked him double the price. "Why charge me double?" asked the young man. "Because," said Socrates, "I must teach you two sciences; the one to hold your tongue, and the other how to speak." Silence may be as eloquent as speech. The art of the matter is practise, each at the right time and in the right place. (2945)   Silence Under Provocation—See. SILENT PROCESSES  When I was a boy the new shoe (it was a boot then) was a mortification wherever I went. It announced my coming like a brass band. It was unescapable. To a modest man it was an agony. Even an assertive man found it inconvenient at times. But now the shoes, even the newest of shoes, shoes worn for the first time, do not squeak one little squeak. They would not disturb the typical but mythical pin-fall silence. Where has the squeak gone? It has been taken up by a layer of some sort of cloth or soft fiber between the two layers of leather. It is a very simple device, and the wonder, as with so many other simple devices, is that it was not thought of before. What I want to do is to apply the non-*squeak method to my life. I want to put something between the rubbing surfaces of my thoughts and words and actions that will make them noiseless. I want the operation of my brain and the energy of my life to be silent. I shall be glad when the world sees results, but I do not care to have it see processes. I want my shoes to "get there," but I don't want them to squeak on the way.—, Christian Endeavor World. (2946)  SIMPLE-MINDEDNESS   An army examiner once had a very stupid candidate before him, who apparently was unable to answer the simplest question. At last the examiner lost his temper, and with sarcastic emphasis, quite lost on the youth before him, queried. "Suppose, sir, that you were a captain in command of a company of infantry; that in your rear was an unpassable abyss; that on either side of you towered perpendicular rocks of untraversable height; that before you stood the enemy, one hundred men to each one of yours; what, sir, would you do in this emergency?" "General," said the aspirant to military honors, "I should resign."—Tit-Bits.

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SIMPLICITY

Hon. E. B. Washburne says: "When Grant left his headquarters at Smith's plantation (a short distance above New Carthage, on the Louisiana side) to enter on the greatest campaign in history, he did not take with him the trappings and paraphernalia so common among military men. All depended on the quickness of the movement. It was im-