A missionary’s son, born on the field, was making his first
visit to his parents’ home in a small Ohio town. One day a
neighbor burst into the yard with the great news. “The circus is
coming!”
“What’s a circus?” innocently inquired the young Korea-American.
“A circus! Don’t you know what a circus is? Haven’t you ever
seen a circus?” And scorn passing words filled the Ohio lad’s
voice, as he eyed in boundless contempt this queer visitor.
The boy from Korea was stung to the quick, and he retorted:
“Well, what of that? Did you ever see the Pacific Ocean? Were
you ever on a warship? Did you ever see Hongkong? Did you ever
see the diving boys at Colombo? Were you ever in India? Did you
ever see the pyramids? What do you know about London?”
Vengeance was complete. The devotee of the circus was silenced.
Before these bigger wonders his traveling tent show grew very
small indeed. Similarly, the man who follows the trail of the
missionary may lose his intimate contact with some of the
inconsequentialities of the day’s newspaper, but he will have
big and abiding compensations.--WILLIAM T. ELLIS, “Men
and Missions.”
(1735)
=Knowledge in Action=--See TEACHER, THE IDEAL AT WORK.