During the battle of Waterloo a British artillery officer rode
up to the Duke of Wellington and said, “Your Grace, I have a
distinct view of Napoleon, attended by his staff; my guns are
well pointed in that direction; shall I open fire?” The duke
replied, “Certainly not; I will not allow it; it is not the
business of commanders to fire upon each other.”--EDWARD
COTTON, “A Voice from Waterloo.”
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* * * * *
The home is where the missionary spends most of the time during
the first year. A native of the country to which you go comes
in to call, and the first thing noticed may be pictures upon
your walls. They may or may not violate the sense of propriety
of your caller, but in general one may say that statues, or
any pictures approaching the nude, are decidedly out of taste.
I recall coming in one Sunday and finding Mrs. Beach hard
at work. She was painting, and as we had been brought up as
Presbyterians, I was surprized to see her working on Sunday.
“Well,” she said, “I must go out to my Sunday-school, and the
last time I went they struck. I have been teaching the story
of Joseph, and these cartoons of the Religious Tract Society
of London represent him with bare calves, and the women simply
will not endure them. I have nothing but water-color paints,
and I have painted Chinese trousers five times on these legs,
and they are bare yet.” We used to have picture-cards sent out
by Sunday-school children to help us on in our work. We had to
censor those picture-cards, there is no question about that.
You can not use every kind of picture-card and preach a pure
gospel.--H. P. BEACH, “Volunteer Student Movement,”
1906.
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See RELIGIOUS INFRACTIONS OF PROPRIETY.
=Propriety a Matter of Religion=--See RELIGIOUS INFRACTIONS OF
PROPRIETY.
=Propriety and Taste Violated=--See MISSIONARIES’ MISTAKES.
=Propriety, Lack of=--See ACCOMMODATION.