QE CALIF. UttKAK*, LOS THE RIGHT KNOCK A STORY BY HELEN VAN-ANDERSON " Go to your bosom ; Knock there ; and ask your heart, what it doth know." SHAKESPEARE. FIFTH EDITION NEW YORK LOVELL, GESTEFELD & COMPANY 125 EAST 230 STREET COPYRIGHT, 1889. ||)edicated to the World. 2125417 PREFACE. J|\ LTHQUGH most excellent food is to be found on jp^JL the table of metaphysical thought, there has never yet been a metaphysical story setting forth a picture of every-day life, in its search for, and attain- ment of satisfaction through the knowledge of Chris- tian Science. Knowing the pressing need of such a book among the many inquirers and students on this theme, and with the hope of helping to fill that need, this story is told. It is a book of facts, not fiction, although wearing the dress of fiction. Every case of healing, every seemingly marvelous experience has come under the observation of the writer and can be authenticated as a veritable fact. That there are hundreds, yea, thousands to-day, who leave their homes and go to distant cities for the sake of pursuing the study of Christian Science, or receiving the benefit of its healing ministry, is proof enough that the story of one woman's experience will be interesting and helpful to alJ. w PREFACE. "While the lessons contained in Mrs. Hayden's let- ters are not exhaustive, they are valuable for their very simplicity, and are thoroughly practical, complete in- structions for the beginning and continuance of the study of this wonderful Science. With every lesson supplemented by personal experi- ences, the reader sees not only the theory but the prac- tice demonstrated, and in this simple story he may find the mirror of his own inner hopes and aspirations, with a broader view of their possible attainment than he has yet seen. Carlyle says : " If a book come from the heart, it will contrive to reach other hearts." "The Right Knock" is presented with no other apology than this; it has come from the heart. NELLIE Y. ANDERSON. CHICAGO, May, 1889. PREFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION. "When THE RIGHT KNOCK first went forth on its mission, the writer little dreamed of the health and happiness and moral purpose it would be the means of carrying to the spiritual, intellectual and physical being of its kind readers. It seemed such a small, simple thing, this little book, and the best that could be said of it was that it came from a heart full of eagerness to be the Master's messenger, and do something towards preaching the glad gospel of healing and true living. The unnumbered letters of gratitude, the kind words, the warm hand -clasps, the many testimonials of sick beds forsaken, depressed spirits revived, vices dis- continued, of physical and moral strength regained, prove that the work of the Spirit is not to be measured by puny human standards of judgment, prove that simple things the things from which we expect the least, in which we put the least ambition or worldly desire may be those which will yield the " hundred fold " of real blessing. In this edition a supplementary chapter has been added which, like the rest, is suggestive rather than exhaustive, but which, it is hoped, will prove an addi- tional help and inspiration, inasmuch as it contains hints of some later thoughts and experiences of THE AUTHOR. CHICAGO, May, 1892. 0NTE1NTS CHAPTER. I. MRS. HAYDEN, II. THE GIRLS AT HOME, III. A FIRE AND A RETROSPECT, IV. BEGINNINGS, V. THE OLD DOUBTS AGAIN, VI. Too GOOD TO BE TRUE, - VII. A NEW HOPE, VIII. WHAT THE WORLD SAID, IX. A STRUGGLE WITH SELF, X. HINTS OP HELP, - XI. LEAVING HOME, XII. MRS. PEARL'S LECTURE, - XIII. THE TRUE FOUNDATION, XIV. QUESTIONINGS, XV. WHAT is NOT TRUE, XVI. STUDYING AND PROVING, XVII. WHAT is TRUE, XVIII. IT MUST BE So, XIX. THE SPIRITUAL BIRTH, XX. TANGLES AND TALKS, XXI. INSPIRATION AND THE BIBLE, XXII. A CHURCH COMMITTEE, - XXIII. PRAYER, XXIV. EVERY-DAY PRACTICE, XXV. UNDERSTANDING, XXVI. A NEW PROBLEM, XXVII. UNDERCURRENTS, XXVIII. THE POWER OF THOUGHT, XXIX. AN UNEXPECTED MEETIM;, - XXX. PRACTICAL APPLICATION, XXXI. CONFIDENCES, XXXII. PRACTICAL APPLICATION, XXXIII. GRACE, XXXIV. PRACTICAL APPLICATION, XXXV. PRACTICAL APPLICATION, XXXVI. FOUND AT LAST, - XXXVII. AFTER THREE YEARS, PAGE. 9 17 - 25 30 - 36 44 - 59 63 - 70 79 - 83 90 - 95 104 - 112 125 - 131 141 - 151 162 - 172 184 - 192 202 - 211 222 - 228 234 - 243 249 - 257 262 - 274 281 - 291 800 - 308 THE RIGHT KNOCK, CHAPTER I. "When you have resolved to be great, abide by yourself, and do not weakly try to reconcile yourself with the world." Emerson. HERE was a brilliant light in all the windows at Terrace Hill. Even the verandahs were gor- geous with the gayest Chinese lanterns, and every bush and tree in the lawn did duty as chan- delier. Flowers, too, festooned every arch and embowered every corner, while rare vases fulfilled their esteemed privilege of holding and show- ing fragrant blossoms. Everybody declared the decorations superb, and agreed that no one but Mrs- Hay den could display such exquisite taste and such perfect judgment in selection and arrangement. Animated groups of gayly attired guests sauntered up and down the rose-bowered walks, or promenaded the verandahs, while sounds of music and merriment from the house proclaimed the joy that reigned throughout. "Oh, how beautifully Mrs. Ilayden entertains!" 10 THE RIGHT KNOCK. remarked Kate Turner to her friend Grace Hall, as they stopped beside a marble fountain to survey the scene. " I wonder what place such a woman would take in society without her wealth," she continued. " Probably wouldn't have any place, I am sorry to say, because there are thousands of women just as capable and bright as Mrs. Hayden, yet because they have no social position, or rather no money to buy themselves one, they are unrecognized and alone," said Grace, with a tinge of bitterness in her tone. " I could never fancy Mrs. Hayden alone or unrecog- nized, although I only know her as a society lady, and that mostly through Mrs. Nottingham." " There is no telling what a person really is till, they have gone through a trial of some kind, or had some- thing disagreeable to bear. Then one of two things: happens : you will see either a saint or a sinner, and I am not sure which Mrs. Hayden would be. She hasn't yet seen a flame from the fire of adversity, I'm sure. See how wonderfully she is blessed with this beautiful home, a good husband and three nice chil- dren." " Oh ! it must be lovely to have everything you want," sighed Kate, under her breath. Poor Kate ! She was alone in the world, making the best of life with her talent for music and through a mutual friend had been introduced to Mrs. Hayden, who, after hearing her play, immediately engaged her for Mabel, and always invited her to the parties, more as a musical attraction, than out of any real regard,, for Mrs. Hayden had an abundance of friends without MRS. HATDEN. 11 troubling herself to cultivate in any warm fashion, the friendship of a poor little music teacher, thought Kate, somewhat bitterly. " But after all, Kate, life would need more than luxuries to make it my ideal of happiness. I should want every human being to be agreeably employed; every woman, no matter how much or how little she might have, should be occupied with something that she could put her heart into and speak to the world through her work, whether it be painting pictures or darning stockings." " Now Gracious, you are riding your hobby and you ought to see you can't ride with all these fine people in your path. Come down at once or I'll desert you ! Let's go in and hear that waltz," and Kate laughingly pulled the hobby-rider into the path that led to the conservatory where they could listen to the music. " What a beautiful home Mrs. Hayden has !" said Mrs. Ferris to her neighbor with the severe collar and plain hair, as they examined the exquisite frescoing on the parlor ceiling. " Yes, but she ought to look into poor homes once in a' while. She don't use her money in the right way. Just think of the good she might do for our church, if she would contribute to the charity fund, or take some poor families to look after." The fat neck folded itself over the severe collar and the face settled into rigid lines of judgment. Mrs. Dyke was a practical woman and talked in a practical way. Being a wonderful church worker she naturally con- sidered it everybody's duty to give when they did not It THE RIGHT KNOCK. work for the cause of religion. She belonged to the First Methodist Church on High St., and talked about "our church" as though there were no other. Mrs. Ferris was at a loss. She had said something that had not brought forth a pleasant result. She merely wished to be sociable, and what more convenient topic than these beautiful surroundings ? She was a meek little woman, who always wanted to say some- thing agreeable or soothing, and she felt quite fright- ened at the mistake she had made. She wished some- body would come to the rescue, but there was no immediate prospect, and she scarcely knew how to pro- ceed again, but ventured to ask if there were many poor people who needed attention no\v. " Yes, indeed there are no less than fifteen families in the mission quarter nearest Mrs. Ilayden who would consider it a privilege to pick up the crumbs from her table, and I am afraid she'll have to give an account some time when the reckoning day comes, for those who have not 'given cups of cold water, or visited the sick languishing in prison.' ' The air almost trembled with a suggestion of something. Little Mrs. Ferris looked longingly towards the door and just then spied her hus- band who was seeking her. After she was gone, Mrs. Dyke looked grimly about, and not find- ing any one to listen, she relapsed into a medi- tative silence. People always wondered what made Mrs. Dyke so popular that she received an invitation to every aristocratic party, but it was according to the old adage, ''Where there is a will there is away." MRS. HA YD EN. 13 This was a gala night for Hampton. Such large social parties were always an event, and no one refused an invitation to Mrs. Hayden's, for it always meant beautiful rooms, carpets, pictures and bric-a-brac, superb refreshments, and a splendid time generally. Mrs. Hay den was a favorite with the world because she fed the world with sugar plums, and after smacking its lips it was always ready for more. And she usually had one to drop in. To-night it was a remarkably sweet one. This was a general affair, and every big body and big body's cousins and friends were there. To be sure they discussed their hostess as freely as though they were not big bodies, but with rare exceptions the discussion was complimentary in the extreme. Mrs. Hayden, what she said, what she did, what she wore, what she served as refreshments the last time, what were the probabilities next, her children, her husband, what they all did and said and how they acted, etc., were always interesting themes. Sometimes, to be sure, there were adverse remarks like Mrs. Dyke's, but few made them. Yes, Mrs. Hayden was decidedly popular, and although no one was ever heard to tell of any par- ticularly grand or noble deed she had done, she was supposed to be doing good all the time. There were those who, in earlier years, would have pointed her out as an enthusiastic philanthropist, eagerly helping what- ever project needed her most, but gradually she had dropped it all, no one knew why, and now her principal work was to shine in society, at least this was the gen- eral verdict of the adverse few who judged from the superficial standpoint of the world. Of her inner life 14 THE RIGHT KNOCK. they knew nothing as the world knows nothing of any one's inner life. There may be depths or shallows in any character never dreamed of by the most intimate friend, much less by the babbling world. Mrs. Hayden moved about among her guests with a stately grace. She had always a pleasant faculty of adjusting the broken links of conversation, supplying a repartee or asking a question, introducing strange gen- tlemen and reviving timid debutantes with a pretty compliment or a gracious smile. "My dear, I wish you would play something," she whispered to Miss Turner as she passed her, " I think the group in the drawing room need a little change ;" and no wonder, for there was Mrs. Dyke in a hot dispute with a Unitarian over Robert Elsmere, while her pastor sat near, occasionally adding something to Mrs. Dyke's emphatic remarks. " It's a most blasphemous piece of presumption to present such a picture as that of the church. As if it were in its last stages of decay, indeed ! It was well such a weak-minded idiot as Robert Elsmere died at the beginning of his career. I could never forgive the author if she hadn't killed him," she was saying in an angry voice. " We can take it simply as a symbol of the decay of his religion, and that is comforting," added the minister, complacently. " I am not at all in sympathy with the holy Cath- erine, with her prejudice and bigotry. If it wasn't such a true picture of the many Catherines we find in real life, I should be quite disgusted, but I do love to see MRS. HAYDEN. 15 real people in novels, then I know so much better how to deal with them," said a pretty young lady who aspired to be called intellectual because she liked to study character. "Indeed, Catherine had a deep religious nature, which might be worthy of emulation in many respects, and she is certainly a high ideal of wifely love," Mrs. Hayden interposed at this critical juncture. " Well, I didn't read the book for Catherine, but for the sake of knowing Robert and what he did to make such a stir in the world. I'm opposed to novels, as a rule, and read as little of one as I can," said Mrs. Dyke, smoothing her lap and looking at the minister. Mrs. Hayden motioned to Kate to play, and presently the rooms were filled with harmony. Kate Turner was a natural musician, and to-night she fairly excelled herself. The little passage at arms just recorded had inspired her with emotions that could only be expressed in music, and she played some time to the continued delight of her listeners. She finished at last with a song that stirred every heart, and even Mrs. Dyke was visibly softened. " Yerily ' music hath charms to soothe a savage breast/ " murmured the intellectual young lady, who was sorry that discus- sion of Robert Elsmere had been interrupted. She rather enjoyed Mrs. Dyke, for she was an immensely interesting " character." This reception, like all others, came to an end at last. Everybody expressed themselves as highly delighted with their entertainment, and one by one reluctantly took their departure ; the gay lanterns on the lawn and /a- tia, but "In other words," interrupted Kate, "you would change innocence into intellect. Now, look here, Grace, just leave this dainty girl alone. She would never do to serve the gods if you gave her the aspect and bearing of a goddess. Let her alone, or the world would not recognize her as a representative woman," laughed Kate, inspecting the picture with critical eyes. "Kate, stop laughing, and tell me truly if you think it would not do to give her a little more inde- pendence." " You know it's the worst thing in the world to give a woman even an inkling that such a thing exists," said the mischievous Kate, with a total abandonment to consequences as she gave the artist an impetuous hug. " Well, let us have tea, and we'll discuss the subject later," said Grace, somewhat mollified. "I am afraid, Gracious, you are something in the same mood I was when I started home to-night, but I concluded to let 'dull care' take care of itself, and be merry while the sun shines, which means as long as THE GIRLS AT HOME. 19 we have enough to pay our rent, and the prospect of a little more next month/' continued Kate as she brought a tiny oil stove from the depths of a closet and proceeded to " put the kettle on." " I have been so full of thoughts of the nineteenth century that I found it hard to go back to the Pagan ages, but here this picture is ordered, and I must finish it by next week, so I guess this one will have to go with- out my message," said Grace, a little gloomily, for above all things she loved to put her own individuality into her pictures, which she generally did with rare success. " You mustn't have just one ideal of woman, or you'll lose the art of painting the sweetest phases of womanhood," replied the busy housemaid from the sepulchral closet. " Oh! if I have such excellent models as you make in that checked apron and dusting cap, lean do nobly." Grace laughed good humoredly as she cleaned her palette and set Hebe in one corner. " Now, my dear, isn't there something I can do to help arrange the feast ? " as she went into the little back room they used for a kitchen. " Yes, wash the grapes and open the jam while I cut the bread and pour the tea." A few minutes later they were tete-d-tete &i the little table, and as they sat down Grace said with a comical smile : "Quite a difference between our banquet of last night and this, isn't there?" " I should remark there is, but after all, Grace, I believe I am quite content. As I was passing along r.b 20 THE EIGHT KNOCK. the foot of the hill this evening a momentary dissatis- faction came over me that I couldn't have a few advan- tages like Mrs. Hay den's, not hers of course, but simi- lar ones," with a smile at the distinction, " and then I wondered how she spends all her leisure, for of course she has the whole twenty-four hours at her disposal, and well, to be brief, I would not want to live with- out some object in life, and sol thought it best the way it is now." " Very wise conclusion, Kate, that's just what I always say, and really who is there with whom we would care to exchange places? There are so many kinds of people and so many things for humanity to contend against, I don't know that I should want to change burdens with anyone." " Mrs. Dyke, for instance, would you not think yourself fortunate to be like her?" said Kate, with a merry twinkle in her eyes. " Oh, deliver me from that comparison ! Why, she carries everybody's sins on her shoulders ; I even heard she had taken .Robert Elsmere to throw at the world !" laughed Grace. "But not his wife; she didn't read about her. Wasn't it too funny to hear her go on last night, and the way she looked at the minister to emphasize her position ? " " Yes, but how many there are like her read just enough to know there are such and such characters and such and such incidents. Now of course she has heard the minister define Robert's crime, as he would call it I suppose, so she thinks she can use the whole argument," Grnce, a little scornfully. THE GIRLS AT HOME. 21 " Mrs. Hayden interposed just at the right time. I was glad she did, too. It seems she has considered Catherine's position and could speak a good word for her, " said Kate, sipping her tea, thoughtfully. " Well, if she calls her an ideal of wifely love, I don't admire the reality, " exclaimed Grace, with more vigor than elegance, as she put down her tea-cup. " I got positively impatient, " she continued, " when I read about her cruelty to Eobert, judging him in that inquisitors fashion. Poor fellow ! 1 think he died of a broken heart. " " But, Grace, she did what she thought was her religious duty, and it must have been hard for her to withdraw herself so completely when she loved him. so much, " said the more charitable Kate. "Do you call that love which would let him go tramping off alone, with not even a word of sympathy, and so afraid that her religion would be contaminated she could not even hear him preach ? I don't pretend to be religious, but any religion stands on a poor foundation if it can be s \vept away by anybody's opin- ions. " "It wasn't that; it was because she thought it was wrong to listen to heresy, as she supposed it was, and " "How did she know ? Had she taken pains to find out? Did she study it carefully and have a reason for her cruel judgment?" interrupted the wrathful Grace. "Well, she was conscientious and was doing what she had been taught was right. " " Kate, if there is anything that makes me out of t* THE RIGUT KNOCK. pntionce with people it is when they hang all their actions on what somebody else says, and that excuse is simply barbarous in this case. " "Remember that in religion one must follow what he thinks to be right, and Catherine Elsmere repre- sents a large class of people; in fact, the majority of religious people. " Kate was naturally inclined to be charitable, and this, added to her early training in a religious home, as well as her position as a church member, made lur understand Catherine's position from a conscientious standpoint much more than Grace. She could readily appreciate the fixed law of conscience Catherine had made for herself by pledging her sacred word of honor to her father, whom she revered as an infallible authority, as most people revere the legends and doctrines of the church. " I admit that it is right to follow the dictates of one's own conscience, but I believe in having an enlight- ened conscience, and a reason for opinions. For that matter, so did .Robert have a conscience, and while I don't understand his religion,! respect his honesty and effort. There are a great many beautiful things in what he says, but there must be a mistake somewh.-iv in a religion that can not save to the uttermost, and his didn't. I haven't found one that does," said Grace, with some irony. " Nevertheless, Grace, there is nothing to warrant your assertion in the Bible. The Christian religion is full of the most blessed promises of salvation in every- thing" said Kate, gently, but flushing a little as she THE GIRLS AT HOME. S3 spoke, for she disliked talking religion with Grace, who was so skeptical, although if compelled to do so, it was a matter of duty to stand up for her Christian princi- ples. " Yes, I admit it gives many wonderful promises, but where are they realized ? It seems to me the very fact that the church has not proven them, made such people as Robert Elsmere doubt them even as possible of fulfillment/' " Why Grace, surely you don't disbelieve in the power of God to fulfill the promises? " exclaimed Kate, deeply pained. " I am talking from Robert Elsmere's standpoint," answered Grace, evasively. " My sympathy is with Catherine, for to her, relig- ion was a living answer to her deepest needs and feel- ings, and to doubt that answer was nothing less than sacrilege," said Kate, with a bright red spot on either cheek. " Well," answered Grace, throwing down her nap- kin, " I want to see a religion that will stand infinite investigation without falling into ruins, and Robert reasoned himself away from the old beliefs and dogmas because he investigated them. He used his God-given reason, and I think that is to be used as well as the blind, unquestioning faith of Catherine." " There are times when we need faith and times when we need reason, but faith applies to religion and reason to the things of the world," replied Kate, recall- ing what she had heard a few Sundays before. " Well, to me the ideal of religion is a marriage, 94 THE RIGHT KNOCK. a union of faith and reason but this is idle talk. What does anybody know of such perfection as I demand anyway ? " Grace impatiently pushed her chair away from the table, and went to look at her picture again, in a decid- edly gloomy mood. CHAPTER III. " Such is the world, understand it, despise it, love it ; cheerfully hold on thy way through it, with thy eye on highest loadstars." Carlyle. ~W)T was a week since the party. Mrs. Hayden |L had been to the opera and returned late. Her husband was absent on a business trip, and she felt a vague uneasiness come over her as she entered the room. She knew not why, but it seemed unusually lonely without him. She seldom went out alone, but to-night she had gone out as much to while away the time as to hear the music. After pa} T ing her usual visit to the nursery, she went to bed, but slept little for several hours. About 4 o'clock she was awakened by stifling fumes of smoke and startling cries of fire. Was it too late ? She sprang up and ran to the nursery stairs, but the scorching flames met her, and she retreated to the win- dow, shrieking for help, only to get a glimpse of some- one through the smoke climbing toward her. " Hold on ! " cried the fireman, and reached out his arms for her just as she fell back fainting. Grasping her firmly, the brave man dragged her out of the win- dow, and began his perilous descent. When about half way down, the ladder fell, but its burden was expected, and mattress and bed-clothing saved them from what might have been worse. As it was, the fireman escaped with a few bruises and slight scorching, us S6 THE EIGHT KNOCK. and Mrs. Ilayden with a broken limb. First they feared she was dead, but after a few moments she revived and moaned feebly for husband and children. Little Mabel clung desperately to her mother, and sob- bingly told her '' only the house was burnt. Fred and Jamie were safe, and now she must get up and be glad." Poor child, instinctively she knew the value of life above all other things. " How did it happen, where did it start, and who saw it first?" were the queries on every side. Some one down at the foot of the hill had seen a tiny blue flame licking the corner of the roof. The fire alarm was touched, the bells set to ringing, and the observers leaped up the terraced stairways and arrived at the top just as the whole house burst into flames. The fire company had not arrived in time to do anything, as it was impossible to climb the hill with their heavy trucks, and their hose was not long enough to reach the flames, so the house was gone. Many people had gathered from all quarters in the fashion peculiar to fire crow T ds, but now they had seen the spectacle, and, as there was nothing further to see or do, they slowly dispersed. Mrs. Ilayden and the children were removed to the hotel and a telegram sent to Mr. Ilayden, informing him of the catastrophe. "When he arrived, twelve hours later, he found his wife confined to the bed with a nervous fever and a broken limb. The children were safe and well cared for, and though his elegant home was in ruins, John Hayden was deeply thankful. Marion would, of A FIRE AND A RETROSPECT. 27 course, get over the trouble, and things were much better than they might have been, he said. So he tried to look on the bright side, and after a few cheering words and a loving kiss he left her, to run up the hill and view the ruins. It was early twilight, and as he beheld the smoulder- ing debris, and realized that the comforts and luxuries, possibly the necessities of life had gone up in the smoke that even now curled in sullen wreaths from the black- ened heaps, he bowed his head and wept. It was but a moment, but that moment was the bitterest of his whole life. He knew better than any- one else that this was probably the beginning of finan- cial misfortune, for a very important transaction was even now pending that he feared would take his all. As a merchant he had an honorable reputation and position, but this unfortunate speculation would ruin him. Failure seemed inevitable. But he hoped to save enough to pay every debt and still be able to live, even though in a modest way. Now he would not even get his insurance on his house, for in his financial embarrassment he had failed to renew his policy, which had expired but few days before. He would now have little besides this spot, this beautiful hill. Yes, it was valuable, and in time could be sold for what it was worth, but not now, and in the meantime what should he do? How would Marion take it? "Why had he not told her before he went away ? But he had known it himself only a few days. " Oh, my dear wife, would that we could commence life as we did when we were first married!" he groaned. S8 THE RIGUT KNOCK. His mind went back to the past. He looked again into her sweet, girlish face, into her clear, earnest eyes. He remembered how they had both desired to live a religious life, how he, having been brought up in a religious home, undertook in vain to explain the Bible where it was dark and unreasonable to her. He remembered how fruitlessly she had tried to be con- verted, and that he had found even through her earn- est seeking that he had naught but the letter of relig- ion and was also as helpless as to the manner of salva- tion. And then they had given up trying. She sought, for a while, to satisfy herself by doing for others, giv- ing her time and energy to the poor that found her out and besieged her for favors, while he had been satisfied to let religion alone and believe with the majority con- cerning the doctrines and dogmas. As the years went on, and prosperity came to them, he had grown more and more indifferent, and finally, when they moved away from their early home and entered a new city, they had begun a new life, as it were. He remembered, regretfully, that she had entered the competitive ranks of society, at his wish at first, because he thought it would add to his popularity as a merchant and increase the number and quality of his customers. Too well he remembered that the elegant parties and party costumes were first his own instiga- tion, and now that these were likely to be taken away, he felt responsible for her happiness, and had a secret misgiving, born of his early religious training perhaps, of retribution and judgment. He hoped indeed that A FIRE AND A RETEOSPECT. W she would be able to rise above circumstances, but he was utterly at a loss to know how she would take it, for although he knew that deep down in her heart were still traces of the early longings, he felt vaguely there was no way to satisfy them any more now than in the past, and probably they would only increase the diffi- culty of finding happiness. John Hay den was kind-hearted and upright in all his ways, strictly honest and conscientious, but apt to be a little one-sided in his judgments, simply because, as a rule, he reasoned from one standpoint, thought in one groove. He had never considered the questions from this point of view, and therefore they were seriously perplexing. Like many another he lived within his own world, and knew naught of any other. In the later years of their married life he and Marion had grown a little apart in the closest confidences, but it was caused by circumstances more than anything else, and notwithstanding the present misery he was sure of her love. " Poor girl, I must hasten back to her," he mur- mured, as he rose from his uncomfortable position. " After all, I can thank God for my family, my health, my honor, for no matter how much we may suffer, no one else shall suffer through me." There was a little pang at the thought of the pri- vations in possible store for the family through him, but he had resolved to make the best of circumstances and be brave as possible. Once more he looked over the scene, but there were only dim black shadows in the starlight, and he went down toward the twinkling lights of the city below. CHAPTER IV. " Society is like a piece of frozen "water ; and skating well the great art of social life." Letitia Elizabeth London. WOO bad about Ilayden, isn't it \ " said one busi- ness man to another after the crash came. " Yes, I am sorry for him, but he is coming out hon- orably, and I hope he'll commence again before long." " Well, he is made of the right stuff if he did make one mistake, and I guess he will never make the same blunder again. Too bad though about his house. Ko insurance at all, and that was a magnificent property." "Indeed it was, and I hope for his wife's sake he can sell the lot and get another home for her." " Can't do it now though real estate is too low for any use in Hampton." "Yes, that's so. The only way is to mortgage, and that seems a pity in this case "and they passed on out of hearing. John Ilayden, standing within the doorway of the open store, had overheard the remarks, and while they pained, they cheered him. From that moment his resolve was taken, and as soon as everything was hon- orably settled ho applied for credit of his old friends in the wholesale houses and they gladly gave it, forhis reputation was unimpeachable. Then he rented a modest little store and began anew. Mrs. Ilayden lay sick seven weeks, and arose a so BEGINNINGS. 31 weak and nervous invalid, " doomed to carry a stiff limb all her life," the physicians said. They could not dis- cover why her limb was stiff, but there was no help for it. How did she bear the change in her life and cir- cumstances ? When her husband told her, she just put her arms around his neck and whispered; "All right, John, I shall do the best I can to help you bear it." And from that moment they began life again. She did not even complain when they were obliged to move into a small cottage in the suburbs, but it was hard for her to be ignored and forgotten by the elegant social world, where she had so recently been an acknowledged leader. Alas ! she had no sugar plums for society now, so it soon forgot her existence. There were, however, some exceptions among her former friends, and she was glad to welcome among her few visitors, Kate Turner and Grace Hall, who had grown to love Mrs. Hayden more than they would have thought possible when she seemed so high above them in the social scale. " She is turning out a saint rather than a sinner/' said Kate one evening, as they were discussing the Haydens and recalled the conversation of the night of the party. " Just wait awhile. Many people can be heroic in great things, but are sadly deficient when it comes to the little things," said Grace, with her usual caution. "I believe I could be a heroine myself, if some grand op- portunity came," she added, smiling. S3 THE RIGHT KXOCK. " Oh, Grace, don't trifle so ; you know this is a very serious matter with Mr. and Mrs. Hayden, and they are both doing jiobly," cried Kate, with tears in her eyes. " Well, queen Katherine, I don't mean any harm, and you must not think anything of my brusque speeches. As you know, there is a tinge of skepticism in me which I can not help, and my ideals are so much higher than the realities of life, that I am always pain- fully conscious of the difference." " Well, what would you wish Mrs. Hayden to be like, for instance, in order to come up to your ideal of the heroic woman?" asked Kate in a softened tone. " Kate dear, I love Mrs. Hayden as much as you do, and would not for a moment disparage her virtues, but it strikes me as a philosophical fact that as a rule, human nature can and does display wonderful courage in great emergencies, but fails miserably in details, and this ought not to be so. Nothing would please me better than to see one life prove that I am wrong." " That is all true, Gracie, about humanity in general, but she is lovely, and I am sorry for her having to be lame all her life. It's a perfect shame that she must lose even her health, for of course she will never be strong again." " Another defect to be noted somewhere in the uni- versal economy. It seems to me we are pretty help- less creatures, generally speaking, for it all appears to be a matter of chance whether we get well or not, when we do get sick," mused Grace, bent upon drawing her own conclusions. Poor girl ! Life had been rather hard for her, and 33 she judged it as it appeared, and there did seem a great flaw somewhere which she was trying her best to solve by noting every phase of life as she found it. Natural- ly bright, keenly intellectual and very independent, she was a philosopher as well as an artist, and always ready for a tilt with the world on its most petted opinions. Hers was a reasoning mind that observed all inconsis- tencies and discrepancies in anything she studied, and there was generally a little acidity in her judgment of the world and its bigoted ways. " I ca/i't see why Mrs. Hayden should not be cured completely," continued Kate, ignoring her companion's last shot, " for it wasn't so bad that anybody knew of until she got up." " My dear madam," said Grace, striking an owlish attitude, " you have not read the latest opinion ex- pressed by one of the most learned professors in the Allopathic school of medicine in Paris. He stood before the class of graduating students and said: ' Gen- tlemen, you have done me the honor to come here to listen to a lecture on the science of medicine. I must frankly confess I know nothing about it, and, more- over, know of no one who does. Any one who takes medicine is fortunate if it helps him, but more fortu- nate if it does not harm him.' Whether our friend is fortunate or unfortunate is a question hard to decide. I move we discuss another subject/' Kate laughed in spite of herself, and Grace got up to take another view of the " Modern Hvpatia," which at last was growing into a visible creation under her skillful brush. 34 THE RIGHT KNOCK. " Isn't that a woman for you ?" she said, pointing to the picture admiringly, as she held it under the gas light. " Yes, I like her better than Hebe. She has a look of reserved power about her that is captivating, but there is something in her face that makes me sad, some- thing that is lacking." " What is it ? Tell me, for 1 can see nothing ! " Grace questioned impetuously. " Wait a minute, perhaps I can define it. There ! hold it so. Let me see," and Kate walked *ff a few paces. " Yes, it is dissatisfaction, an incompleteness, as though she had not found what she sought." " Can you see that, Kate ? Then I am at the same time the most happy and unhappy creature alive," cried Grace, breathlessly dropping into a chair and holding the picture fondly near her face. " Why ? " said the astonished Kate. "Don't you know I am forever putting myself into my pictures? And I've succeeded too admirably with this one. The poor thing has caught my unconscious fault of finding defects everywhere. Oh, I must get it out of her some way ; how shall I, when to me she looks so perfect?" " You better get it out of yourself first, if that is the trouble," replied Kate, with a great wave of pity in her voice. " I wish I could. Oh, why do I have to see every- thing in the wrong way? It seems to me life would be heavenly, if I could know only the good in every- BEGINNINGS. 35 thing.'' Grace put down the picture and gazed at it with stern, accusing eyes. " I shall leave this one and begin another to-morrow," she finally announced in a subdued tone. " I am glad you won't rub this out, for she is too lovely," said Kate, softly, as she went about, gently putting things in order, picking up her music and arranging the books. Grace sat there brooding over her life problems with a new thought in her mind. She dimly realized that a woman must have a genuine message herself before she tries to give it to the world. And alas, her message was sadly deficient, she found. Mechanically she took a book from the table and opening it at ran- dom, read : " If the whole is ever to gladden thee, That whole in the smallest thing thou must see." "That is not bad philosophy, whose is it?" she thought. She looked at the book. It was Goethe's poems, but she was not in the mood for reading, and she sat thinking till late at night. This was a new sentiment. She would digest it and test its practical truth. CHAPTER V. Take up the threads of life at home, Let not the stitches drop; The busy world will know 'tis done Though ne'er it pause nor stop. " Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles." Emerson. YEAR passed away, and Mrs. Ilayden gre\v no better. She was not as cheerful as she had been at first, and instead of growing into the brave, patient woman she longed to become, she had grown fretful and irritable, and was in many ways different from the Mrs. Hayden Kate and Grace had talked about so enthusiastically. None knew better than she, how miserably she had failed to live the life that was soul satisfying the life that brought forth fruits. In all the years of her prosperity, in the midst of the gay- eties and luxuries, she had secretly longed for some- thing she never found, and in one sense it had not been hard for her to give up the life of ease and idleness, because she had hoped to find in the new duties a new peace and satisfaction, had hoped to live up to her ideal of a noble woman, and it was with her whole heart she had promised her husband her help and sympathy, but in all the eighteen months, she had been but a burden ; even calm forbearance and cheerfulness had ceased to be virtues. The children, not having a nursery, must THE OLD DOUBTS AGAIN. 57 needs be anywhere and everywhere, and in spite of her efforts to the contrary, their noise annoyed her. To-night she sat thinking it all over, in one of her most despondent moods, for be it said to her credit, things did not always appear as gloomy as she repre- sented them to herself. The ruddy firelight flickered over her in fitful gleams of light and shadow. The children were out romping in the twilight, enjoying the first snow of the season. Her husband had not yet returned from the store. What was the use, anyway, pursued the relentless conscience even the wish to be good was always choked by a complete forgetfulness ; and before she could catch her breath the words were out, so, although she had believed nearly all her life that one might grow into goodness, she was quite rebellious to-night with the thought of its impossibility, and she felt bit- ter, too, to think of the long years of uselessness stretching out before her. Scarcely thirty-five and yet she felt like a cross, crabbed old woman, and shud- dered to think of all the years to come, if they were to belike the past, and there seemed no help for it unless she could conquer herself. The doctor had done what he could to cure her dyspepsia but she was a veritable slave to her capricious stomach. She felt one of her oft-recurring sick headaches coming on and every thought grew blacker and more disconsolate. Oh ! she wished supper were over and the children safe in bed, so she could be free from their noise, and here they come ! she thought, as a great stamping and laughing was heard in the hall. S8 THE RIGHT KNOCK. "Oh, mamma! such lovely snowflakes, just like a fairy's quilt, and they have been falling all over us till we're like people in frost land. Just look, mamma !" cried Mabel, who liked a romp as well as the boys, although she was thirteen. Three-year-old Jamie and five-year-old Fred came trooping in behind. " Well, mamma, God has turned on the snow faucets," announced Fred, with characteristic impor- tance. "An' all 'e f ewers is tummin' do\vn fum 'e 'ky," shouted Jamie at the top of his voice. "And mamma, can't we have a sled and go coasting this winter?" queried Mabel, not noticing in her eager- ness that her mamma was very sick. "Oh, don't make so much noise. Take them away and keep quiet, Mabel. I can not endure so much con- fusion." They went out clanging the door behind them in spite of their efforts to keep quiet, and as their voices grew fainter, she thought with another remorseful pang: "I have sent them away again. Why must I yield always to self instead of overcoming?" Pres- ently, however, all attempts at thinking were lost in the efforts to get the camphor, bathe her head and find some comforting spot whereon to rest her aching tem- ples. A subdued family gathered around the table that evening and everyone felt the necessity of being quiet as possible. Even Fred and Jamie understood that they must keep still, and managed to keep their voices down to something less than a shrill whisper. THE OLD DOUBTS AGAIN. 39 Mrs. Hay den partook only of a small cup of tea and was then assisted to her room, where she expected to remain for at least two days the usual time. Her husband spent the evening rubbing her head, bath- ing it with camphor and keeping the house quiet as possible. The next day dawned cloudy and grey, with a faint mildness in the air, indicating a thaw. Mabel went to school, Fred and Jamie amused themselves in the back parlor until they were tired and then flat- tened their noses against the window, trying to see how many drops of melted snow fell from the porch roof. "I want a snow man," wailed Jamie, suddenly remembering what papa said about the snow long ago. " Well, you can't have it," said Fred, with great decision, who generally opposed anything on principle. " Yes, we can. "We can go out and make one," per- sisted Jamie. " Jack Frost'll bite your fingers." " No he won't," " He will " "He won't eever " " He will, 'cos mamma said so," said naughty Fred. Jamie's little face clouded and the lip began to quiver; then a sudden thought striking him, he jumped up, beaming with delight, and cried, as he ran towards the hall : " Mamma said Jack Frost couldn't find me when I had my overcoat and wed mittens on, and my wed cap." 40 THE RIGHT KNOCK. " You can't reach your coat an' you've lost your mittens," insisted Fred, with perseverence worthy a better cause. " O, yes I can. I can 'tep on my high chair," drag- ging it after him. "I can get my things on first," said Fred who sud- denly decided in favor of the snow man, and hurriedly suiting the action to the word, rushed to get his coat which hung under Jamie's, just as Jamie reached his little hands up to get his. Fred gave a tremendous flirt and pull at his coat which overbalanced his little brother and down came the high chair and Jamie plump upon the luckless Fred, whose angry squeals and kicks, mingled with Jamie's loud shrieks of terror made a commotion that brought Anna, the housekeeper, to the rescue. " What is the matter ? " as she plucked Jamie from, the general debris. " Fred pulled me down " " Jamie jumped on me," said both at once as soon as they could get their breath. " An', I aint lost my wed mittens, an' my little white leg is broke off," cried Jamie suddenly, spying the oft-mended leg of the high-chair, which in this melee, had completely severed company with the rest of the chair, and now mutely appealed for help to be put on again. " There, there, papa can mend it all right again. Don't cry, little man. Now Fred, you must stop crying and play nice with Jamie and not quarrel so much. There ! I hear mamma's bell ; I must go see what she THE OLD DOUBTS AGAIN. 41 wants. Run away and be quiet, for mamma can't stand a bit of noise to-day," and Anna left them again to their own devices. Jamie carefully laid the little white leg away in his box of playthings, and then both children went back to the window to watch the drops again. " I see one, two, three, seven, four, ten " slowly counted Jamie as the crystal drops fell. " Oh, I see a ice berg, an' I'm goin' to get it for candy," shouted Fred as he ran out on the porch and seized an icicle. It seemed so nice out there that he stayed and called Jamie to come, too. They were delighted with the new plaything and new sights, and any thought of being cold or needing their coats never entered their minds, so the icicle, -the beautiful drops, and finally the snow claimed their attention until they were at last happily engaged in the much- desired occupation of making a snow man. It was near noon and the sun had finally rifted the grayest clouds, and was sending such warm smiles on the snow-laden earth that trees and fences, roofs and ridges burst into tears of joy. So, of ten does the sun- shiny smile melt the ice-bound prison of discontent or misunderstanding. Fred and Jamie were in the midst of their interest- ing creation when Mr. Hayden came home to dinner. " Boys ! boys ! " he called from the gate as soon as he saw them. " You'll catch vour death of cold : run m into the house, quick ! Why haven't you something on your heads and rubbers on your feet?" and without waiting to hear their vociferous reply, he hurried them into the house. 4i THE RIGHT KNOCK. " Oh, but it was such fun, papa, an' we was goin' to put two coals in his head, cos' his eyes was black, you know, an' your old mashed hat for his head, an' " "An' me foun' a 'tick for his arm," interrupted Jamie, who must be sure papa knew all about this won- derful man. " Yes, he looks very promising, and I guess I'll have to finish him for you ; but you must not go out again to-day. Just think what would we do if you should be sick while mamma must be in bed. Poor mamma, she would feel bad and cry because she couldn't help you, and it would make her feel very sorry indeed to know her little boys went out without somebody saying they might." " Well, papa, we didn't mean to go 'thout our things on, but two of the beautifullest icebergs bunged down an' we played they was candy an' all the pretty drops said stop, stop, stop, an' " " Yes, an' the 'no was full of 'tars 'at sinned right up at us an' laughed an' played hide an' seek wiv each other." "An' Jamie wanted to make a snow man," sud- denly remembered Fred. "Cos papa did when he was a little boy, an' he telled me sometimes so could I "Oh, you little rogues, it is well you can trace it back," laughed papa, catching each small man, and placing upon his knees. " Why, look here, your shoes are all wet, and your fingers red, and your clothes sprinkled with water. This will never do. Take off your shoes, Fred. Here, THE OLD DOUBTS AGAIN. tf Anna," he called, as he heard her in the dining room, " bring some dry stockings and aprons. These boys have been out in the wet snow, and must be changed right away. Put a flannel round their necks, too. I'm afraid they'll have the croup to-night." With as much haste as possible, he stripped off their wet clothes, chafed their hands and feet, and with an anxious look left them, to go and speak to his wife who, when suffering from headache could allow no one to enter the room except her husband or Anna. That night the whole household were aroused by the hoarse and unmistakable cough of croup. Jamie had taken cold, as his father feared he would. The doctor was sent for in wild haste, and after several hours of watchful care and frequent taking of hive syrup or ipecac, Jamie was at last sleeping quietly, and every one felt that after this, at least, those chil- dren should be so well guarded that escape would be impossible, and the dreaded enemy kept out. This was always a result of exposure, and Mr. and Mrs. Hayden had often wished for the time when Jamie would outgrow the attacks as that really seemed the only thing in which lay any hope. CHAPTER VI. " Build thee more stately mansions Oh my soul, As the swift seasons roll, Leave thy low vaulted past. Let each new temple nobler than the last Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, Till thou at length art free: Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea." 0. W. Holmes. MOW do you do Mrs. Hayden ? You see I come in without ceremony as usual, but I heard you'd had one of your headaches again," and Mrs. Reade seated herself cosily on the sofa near which Mrs. Hayden sat languidly trying to read. " Oh, I have about recovered my usual strength, but of course I must be careful and not get excited or overworked, though my work I am sorry to say, does not amount to much." After a few moments common- place conversation, Mrs. Reade said, carefully: "Now Mrs. Hayden, I believe there is a help for you somewhere. Wouldn't you like to try something new '." " Why, you know I would try anything that would give relie'f, but I have exhausted everything that ever was heard of, and now every remedy seems very transient or of no effect at all." Mrs. Ilayden leaned wearily back in her chair and seemed to think there was no use discussing the subject TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. 45 any longer. After a few moments thoughtful silence, Mrs. Reade looked up at her friend and said, timidly: "Mrs. Hayden, have you ever heard of Christian Science?" " No. What is it ?" "I can't tell, only that it is just the most wonderful panacea for all ills that ever was discovered and they say it can be learned, and applied by everybody." " Do } 7 ou mean that I could learn it and could then cure myself ?" " Yes, that is what they claim." "Why, Mrs. Ileade, what is all this wonderful news, and if it is true, why hasn't the world heard of it before ?" exclaimed Mrs. Hayden with an amused smile. Mrs. Reade did not return the smile but a still more earnest look came into her eyes. She bent over her bit of sewing for a moment and then looking up, as though resolved to speak the truth at any cost, she went on : " Mrs. Hayden, it is the fulfillment of the promises in the Bible, that to them, that believe, these signs should be given. You remember the passage don't you, where Jesus gave His disciples the same power to heal that He had ?" " Well, but that was long ago, and the promise was for the disciples, I suppose." " No, it was for everybody ; and do you know, Mrs. Hayden, I can hardly wait to learn, this new science, I am so interested." " How did you hear about it ?" 46 THE RIGHT KNOCK. " When I was down to Mapleton last summer I heard something about it through a friend of mine, who was cured of chronic congestive headaches, and now my cousin, Miss Greening, from Norfolk, has come on to spend the holidays with us, and strange to say, she has been cured of weak eyes just came straight from Princeton where she was treated, and and well, the fact is, I want you to come over and see her and may be you can be cured." Mrs. Reade was quite frightened for having said so much, but was reassured by the growing interest in Mrs. Hayden's eyes. " And you know these things to be true ? Why, it is wonderful. How is it done, by prayer ? " " Not exactly, but it is by some process of think- ing. Oh, I can't begin to tell you, only that it is won- derful, and you must come over and talk with cousin Helen." "I am afraid to trust myself out in this uncertain weather. Can't you both come and take tea with us to-morrow? I hope to be well enough then, and it would be a great pleasure, for if there is any trutli in this, I want to know it. Do come." This was a good deal for Mrs. Hayden to say, but she was very earnest when aroused to interest. " Yes, we will," said Mrs. Reade, as she rose to go, looking straight into her friend's eyes with joyful ear- nestness, "and I am so glad. Good bye," and she retreated as unceremoniously as she had come, leaving Mrs. Hayden to wonder why she should be so childishly pleased over that invitation. It never occurred to her TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. 47 that Mrs. Reade should be so glad to come merely to tell more about this new way of getting well. Mrs. Eeade was a young housekeeper, who, living just across the street, was in the habit of often running in to Mrs. Hayden with her little vexations, her tri- umphs of cookery, her questions of how to manage little May, or what to do in matters of household fur- nishing. She was a very progressive little woman, and, perhaps owing to the influence of Mrs. Hayden, was ready at least to give everything a fair hearing. This new " craze," as some called it, had been presented to her in a way that compelled her attention and. commanded her respect, and especially since her cousin's coming had she been intensely interested. Particularly was she desirous of enlisting the atten- tion of Mrs. Hayden, who not only needed the physical help to be obtained, but who would be an excellent advocate of the principles, providing she could endorse them, as Mrs. Reade was sure she would, if she could only be made to understand. So it was with great anticipated pleasure Mrs. Reade introduced her cousin to Mrs. Hayden as they went in the next day. " Now, Cousin Helen, just tell Mrs. Hayden how you were cured. lam so anxious to set. the ball roll- ing, " said Mrs. Reade, with an arch look at Mrs. Hayden after they were comfortably settled for their talk. " Yes, indeed, " added Mrs. Hayden ; " if you have half as wonderful a message as Mrs. Reade fondly imagines I shall be delighted to hear it, but I would 48 THE EIGHT KNOCK. first like to ask -what was the trouble with your eyes, and something as to their condition when you first looked into this method of healing. " " I had been obliged to leave school because they were so weak. They were inflamed and bloodshot. I could not bear to go out in the wind, ride on the cars, or have any excitement whatever. The occulists said the trouble was caused by a physical defect that could not be remedied, so you may imagine my despair. Father and mother came home from a visit in Kansas, and while there they had heard of a lady in Princeton who was having remarkable success with mind-cure, as they called it. They coaxed me to go and try it. I had no faith, but to please them thought I would go. It could do no harm, they said. The journey, though only sixty miles from home, was very hard for me. When I arrived at Mrs. Harmon's it seemed as though I could hardly bear the pain caused by the journey. "Mrs. Harmon allowed me to stay right at her home, and though only there a week, I was not only cured, but learned the principles and how to apply them. After the first treatment I felt so well and happy she told me I could use my eyes to read an hour or so. From the second treatment I could use them all I wished. It was perfectly wonderful. When I went home I was cured. That is now three weeks ago, and I have been using my eyes constantly, have taken several journeys on the cars, and gone out day and night." Mrs. Hayden had listened with the greatest inter- est, her mind filled with varying thoughts. Sudden TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. 40 glimpses of wonderful might-be's, mingled with doubts and hopes, had chased each other in wild confusion through her bewildered brain. '' Tell me, " she found breath at last to ask, " what is it, and how is it done, and can anybody do it ?" Miss Greening was delighted to find so willing an audience, for in spite of her remarkable cure, most of her family and friends ridiculed her new " science. " " Oh, I wish I could explain to you as Mrs. Harmon does. I am so very new in the science, but I will do the best I can to give you some idea. The main thing in the beginning is to know that you know nothing," continued Miss Greening, with a smile. " The world believes in the character as it appears, to be the real character, that the person who suffers sickness, sorrow, disappointment, anger or pain is the real self. We have always taken the people of the world, as they appear, to be the children of God. This science teaches that the real child of God is in His image and likeness and in Him lives, is moved and has His being. Accord- ing to the laws of thought, the thought of one indi- vidual affects another, and on this principle the treat- ments are given, but it is the omnipresent life Principle that does the work. " Oh, it is perfectly wonderful, and if you could see what I saw while I was with Mrs. Harmon, you would not doubt a moment. She was busy from morning till night with patients. Hardly had time to eat or sleep. It seemed like the times of the New Testament come back again. Mrs. Harmon cured a man of rheumatism, where the joints had been stiffened and contracted for 50 THE RIGHT KNOCK. years, in seven treatments. The first week the treat- ments did not seem to have any effect, but the second week he suddenly recovered the use of his arm and limbs, so that he could run and jump or do anything else that a healthy man can do. "One young girl, who was suffering from lead poi- soning so that she was given up by three or four promi- nent physicians, received nine treatments and, although not perfectly strong and robust, was able to walk several blocks and was so well that she did not need further treatment. " Mrs. Harmon treated an old lady of seventy, so that she laid aside glasses and could see to sew on black cloth. A lady who had been an invalid for sixteen years was cured so that in a week she was able to ride a mile and a half to the lectures. "All these things I saw with my own eyes, and if the evidence had not been enough in my own case, there were all these proofs. And the teaching ! Oh, it is beautiful. If we could only live up to that the millenium would surely be here." In her enthusiasm Miss Greening scarcely noticed the effect of her words, else she would have seen Mrs. Hayden's expressive eyes full of a yearning, silent and strong. " Can it touch anyone's character or moral life ? " she asked after a moment's pause. " Yes, indeed ; there is not one thing in life that is not amenable to its discipline. Mrs. Harmon says it is a great advantage in governing children, that every mother ought to know it, for the help in that direction, even if not for their health." TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. 51 " What a wonderful thing it must be ; and yet I always thought the clays of miracles were past, if indeed they ever were," said Mrs. Hayden, thoughtfully. " These are not miracles, as the ordinary under- standing of that word would imply, but are done in accordance with Divine Law, the highest law, not the setting aside of any law," interposed Mrs. Reade, who had been deeply interested in the conversation, but hitherto had been a silent listener. "Oh, mamma, I wish supper was ready; I'm so hungry ! " cried Fred, bursting into the room, followed by Jamie and Mabel. " Mamma, can't we have some " began Jamie, and then stopped, abashed at the size of the audience. "No, dears; mamma don't want you to eat any- thing before supper. You know what Doctor Jackson said about the little stomachs that were overworked. Now, run away and be good; when everything is ready mamma'll call you." " But we want it now. Doctor Jackson don't know everything. It's only God that knows everything," said Fred, with unanswerable argument. " Come away, Fred," whispered Mabel, giving him an impatient twitch. "It's so, anyway; mamma told me about God just the other night." " He knows I want some ginger 'naps," whimpered Jem. "Never mind; run out, as mamma says," said Mrs. Hayden, resolutely, and the aggrieved trio reluctantly departed. 59 THE EIGHT KSOCK. "It would be an immense help to me if I could learn to manage these three irrepressibles without getting tired all out/' said Mrs. Ilayden, with a little sigh. "Wouldn't it be splendid? I think, Mrs. Ilayden, you better let Cousin Helen treat you, and get you all cured, and then you can go somewhere and learn how, yourself,'* said Mrs. Reade, as she demurely wound up the ball. Mrs. Ilayden looked up with interested surprise. " Do you think anything could be done for me. Miss Greening ? " "A great many worse than you have been cured, why not you ? " " Well, I don't know ; it seems so far away and so intangible some way.'' " Now, Mrs. Ilayden, try it. Let Cousin Helen treat you," interposed Mrs. Reade. "What must I do, any mysterious unheard-of thing?" was the answer, with a look of evident amusement. " Oh, no ! Just sit quietly passive, and be as hopeful as possible during the treatment. The only thing that iiii^ht seem hard is to give up all medicine andmaterial applications while you are under treatment." "That will not be hard at all, for I have lost all faith in medicine anyway. When do you want to begin, Miss Greening '. " " Well, I am willing to try my best to help you, Mrs. Ilayden, but you must understand, in the first place, that I take no credit to myself, for it is God's work. TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. 63 Then I have really not tried to heal any one ; since it was so recently I was cured myself, there has beaen no opportunity, but as I said, I will do what I can." Miss Greening spoke earnestly and reverently. It seemed rather new to her to be called upon to prove her principles, and yet she had such perfect faith in them, she never thought of wavering. " Then it's all settled, and you can take your first treatment tonight," spoke up Mrs. Reade, volubly. " I'm so anxious to see you strong and well like the rest of us," she added half apologetically. " It will seem too good to be true. I can not realize such a possibility." A thoughtful silence fell upon the little company for a few moments, and when they resumed their con- versation, it was about something else. At their usual tea time, Mr. Hayden, accompanied by Mr. Keade, came in, and all were presently called to the dining room. Mr. and Mrs. Hayden had dropped all pretention of style in their present circumstances, and lived like their neighbors, in a modest but comfortable way. The children came trooping in when they heard the supper bell, and delightedly filed out to the dining room with their elders. "Well, I hope you ladies have been enjoying your- selves this afternoon. I notice ladies have that faculty whenever they meet for an hour or so," said Mr. Hayden, with a genial smile, as he passed the plates. " Oh. we have indeed had a lovely time, and a profit- able one, too, I hope," said Mrs. Reade, impulsively. 64 THE RIGHT KNOCK. " You have about converted Mrs. Hayden to your ideas, you and Helen together, I presume," remarked Mr. Reade, as he spread his napkin out to its fullest capacity. "I should certainly like to be converted, if so many wonderful things are possible as I have heard about this afternoon," and Mrs. Hayden showed by the unusual energy in her manner and the brightness of her eyes that something had inspired her to an unwonted degree. " Well now, tell me what all this is about. You seem to have conspired to talk in riddles," exclaimed Mr. Hayden, with an injured air. "Why, it is this new 'craze' they call Christian Science that seems to have taken hold of our worthy partners, Mr. Hayden," explained Mr. Reade, with a half -believing, half-skeptical air. He really believed much more than he cared to acknowledge, but until he was better informed of Mr. Hayden's opinions, he thought "discretion the better part of valor." Someway we often stumble upon such characters in life. Good-natured souls they are, and eo anxious to please everybody. " I am not sure but there is a good deal in that, Reade. I heard some gentleman talking about what was being done in Chicago, and it is trulv wonderful. After all, we know that the mind has a great influence over the body, and why shouldn't we discover new abilities and powers in that as we develop in other directions?" " To be sure ; just what I have always said, and TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. 55 now I am having an opportunity to prove it since my wife is willing to listen," replied Mr. Keade, with graceful diplomacy. " Oh, there is something far beyond what you gentlemen see something so spiritual and beautiful, that mere intellect can not recognize it. But you will come to that after awhile, if you only seek to know for Truth's sake, though the recognition of what you see often comes first," interposed Miss Greening, with a warm flush of enthusiasm on her face. "Certainly. I believe our capacity to recognize higher phases of thought grows with our eagerness to receive. That is true of any branch of study," said Mrs. Hayden, with conviction. She was well pleased that her husband was so favorably inclined to hear, and expressed himself so cordially. While she was quite independent in her own way of thinking, it was still a keen pleasure to have her husband on the same side. He, on the other hand, had great confidence in her judgment, and generally allowed himself to be con- vinced, even if he had an opinion in the beginning. They had been especially near to each other the last year. Miss Greening was mentally congratulating herself on having found such a ready audience, and felt as though she could do anything in the way of healing, as she talked on and on, telling them the many things that had happened in Princeton. She finished by say- ing, enthusiastically : " When I had such wonderful proofs right before my eyes, do you wonder that I looked with awe and 66 THE RIGHT KNOCK. astonishment and wanted to know the secret of this power? Can you wonder that I felt anxious to go forth into all the world and preach the gospel ? Oh, how delightful, I thought, to carry such blessed news and be able to give such blessed proof ! So when Cousin Ruth's letter came, asking me to make IKT a visit, I felt that perhaps an opportunity would oifer in which I might demonstrate the truth of my precious science, and here it is ready for me, the very work I wanted. Yes, just as far as possible will I use my knowledge, though as yet it is but little, to help Mrs. Hayden." Miss Greening had waxed eloquent in her uncon- scious enthusiasm, and seeing the whole company gaz- ing at her in astonished admiration, she paused sud- denly, with a vivid flush on her face, saying: " Pardon me. I did not mean to monopolize the conversation." " That apology is entirely unnecessary, for we have been listening to something so new that its very new- ness and unconventionality is quite refreshing, and certainly interesting," said Mr. Hayden, warmly. " Surely, there must be some healing virtue even in your talk, for I feel remarkably well to-day," was his wife's delighted addition. ' How glad, oh, how glad I am," fluttered Mrs. Reade. A movement from Jem caused Mrs. Hayden to notice his extra dish of sauce and huge piece of frosted cake. " No, Jem, dear, you mustn't eat any more to-night, and you know mamma don't want you to have any cake." TOO GOOD TO HE TRUE. S7 " O-o-o-h, ]>eaze, tan't I have some more ?" " Not any more to-day. You know you had to be sick all night, not long ago, and mamma had to give you some medicine. You don't want to have to take paregoric, do you ? " " No-o-o, but I want e take !" " Mamma said you couldn't have any. You're too little, anyway. Didn't I tell you I ought to have the biggest piece 'cause my stomach's the biggest, an' I'm not afraid of stomachache. Give me your sauce, if you can't eat it," said shameless Fred. Papa and mamma Hayden looked upon their oldest son in dismay, as he thus openly delivered his sentiments. "Hush, Freddie, you mustn't want any more, either, nor talk that way to Jem. You have had enough for to-night." "Well, I've had six biscuits any way," and Fred settled himself back with a satisfied air as though he could stand anything if necessary, while poor Jem was taken away from the table crying as if his heart would break at the loss of his coveted sweets. " You see, we seldom have company, and the chil- dren are unused to sweet things as a rule, because the doctor always says their diet must be carefully attended to, in order to avoid inflammation of the bowels, which Jem once had," explained Mrs. Hayden with the old look of weariness for a moment settling back on her face. " Just wait till you have studied Christian Science and then see how to manage," said Mrs. Reade with sparkling eyes. 58 TILE RIGHT KNOCK. " Have you taken such a fancy to this too Mrs. Reade?" asked Mr. Iluyden, rather teasingly. " Oh, she's almost a crank now" answered her hus- band, with a merry twinkle. "Well, it is very good to have such an article in the family. It keeps things lively and announces the world's progress with unerring certainty," she retorted, and with this good-natured sally they rose from the table. The evening was spent in a mixture of small talk and earnestness, and before they departed Mrs. Hayden received her first treatment. CHAPTER VII. "Like an ^Eolian harp, that wakes No certain air, but overtakes Far thought with music that it makes, "Such seemed the whisper at my side ; ' What is't thou knowest, sweet voice? ' I cried ; ' A hidden hope,' the voice replied." Tennyson. 'HE second morning after this Mrs. Hayden awoke, feeling much better than she had for months. A strange, happy feeling possessed her. All that had seemed dark and hopeless now appeared as nothing but gossamer fog- wreaths. The world seemed so joyous and beautiful. God seemed so near, so lov- ing, so all-protecting. Why had she ever doubted the possibility of health ? Surely it was easy to feel well when she felt happy ; and yet. would this last ? Had this delightful change any connection with Miss Green- ing's treatment ? No, surely not. It would be too unreasonable to expect any benefit so soon, besides, she was probably no better physically, that is, her lameness and dyspepsia were not touched as yet, if indeed they ever could be. Well, how it would astonish everybody if she really were cured, and could walk like her old self again. Her stiffened limb would have to undergo a marvelous change, but time would tell it seemed nothing was beyond reach of this extraordinary Power. Miss Greening was so sin- cere and earnest, she could not for a moment doubt the 69 60 THE Ri<;nr KXOCK. truth of her statements, besides Mr. Hayden himself confessed to having heard of the wonderful works, though he had never mentioned it before, strangely enough. At the time it probably appeared so vague and visionary, that he had thought best not to excite her curiosity and hope without cause. How glad she was that he had at last allowed her to try this without ridiculing or scolding her. How beautiful this theory was, but it seemed too good to be true. She would not be carried a. way with it until she had demonstrated beyond doubt, until she could see the reason and understand it. The clock struck nine. Why, it was time to rise, ami she really felt hungry, so hungry that dry toast and hot water had no attractions for her. She won- dered if there would be anything on the table she dared not eat; it would be hard to resist if there were. Thus musing she dressed' with more alacrity and energy than she had displayed for many months. Her husband stood in the doorway as she left her room, and remarked as they went down stairs: ' You must have had a good sleep last night, you are so bright and spry this morning. " " Yes, indeed, I can scarcely remember when the night has passed so quickly and the morning seemed so exhilarating ; please help me down this turn, won't you ? It is ;il \vays so hard to get down stairs/' The cane was brought into requisition, and with Mr. Ilaydrn's help, the stairs were descended, but the refractory limb was forgotten again in the interest with which she viewed the breakfast table. A NEW HOPE. 61 " Mamma, we've waited and waited till we thought we'd have to eat something, so we each took a dough- nut to save time," was the explanatory greeting of Fred, who acted as spokesman for the three hungry culprits, who had this time at least, disobeyed the imperative injunction not to eat cake the first thing in the morn- ing. " Whv, children, don't you remember how Dr. Jack- son " " "Wei!, mamma, I heard that lady 'at was here, say 'twould n't hurt us to eat if you wasn't so 'fraid 'bout our stomachs ; an' she's a doctor, too, an' ladies know 's much 's men, 'cos you said so," interrupted the irre- pressible, as usual, with unanswerable argument. 'Well, we'll see this time, but you must be more careful to remember what mamma wishes you to do," said Mrs. Hayden more mildly than usual, while her eyes smiled a little. The breakfast was brought in, and, much to thtf astonishment of all, she recklessly disregarded the dry toast and hot water, mutely appealing to her from the side of her plate, and ate heartily of beefsteak, pota toes and pan cakes. " I am so hungry, and will risk it on the strength of Fred's reminder," she apologized, as she sent her plate the third time for cakes. " Don't tell me you've no faith in Fred's newly acquired wisdom," laughed Mr. Hayden, and then added, with some concern, " but, really, my dear, you ought to be careful. Remember the condition of your stomach." " That is just what she told me to forget." 6S ' THE RIGHT KNOCK " "Well, it beats all how things can be turned upside down," mused Mr. Hay den, as he rose from the table preparatory to going to the store. " It certainly is strange about this, for you remem- ber yesterday, I even walked over to Mrs. Reade's and back without any unusual fatigue." "Oh, yes ! I've noticed various daring breaches of the old code, and, more than all, I've seen the best color in your face that has been there for many a month," and he went out with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Mamma's well now," said little Jem, timidly, '"cos she puts me to bed." "Yes, an' we can make a noise when we dress, an' talk 'bout Christmas," added Fred, as he was walking about, wiping his hands, in his usual restless manner. CHAPTER VIII. " There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." Shakespeare. course Kate and Grace were told about the new way of being healed, and Grace looked on at first with her usual incredulity, but when she saw Mrs. Hayden getting so well and looking so happy, she be- gan to wonder and then to exclaim. Then she wanted to learn something about this new "doctrine," and Mrs. Hayden had Miss Greening come over and meet the girls one evening so they could hear her explain a little about it. Grace was delighted, saying that was more reasonable than anything she had ever heard. " I really should like to learn it," she said for the third time as they walked home. " Why, you are really enthusiastic about it," said Kate, giving the artistic arm a gentle squeeze. " I must confess, Kate, that it is nearer my idea of religion than anything I ever heard, and it is marvelous to see Mrs. Hayden. Did you see how bright she looked to-night? More like her old self than since her sickness. I can't understand it." "She said her limb was actually growing natural again so she could bend it," added Kate. "If she could be cured, it would be a wonderful demonstration or proof of the theory," remarked Grace. " Oh, I don't know Grace, I am afraid, after all, 64 THE SIGHT KNOCK. it might be wrong. You know it says in the Bible we are to beware of false doctrines, and the miracles of anti-Christ, and this may be that very thing," said Kate, with a sudden smiting of conscience and re- proaching herself that she had not thought of this be- fore. She had been brought up a strict Methodist, but had grown rather careless of religious matters, till all at once she realized the mighty import of her back- sliding. "I don't think if there is such a thing, it could do so much good, and good power must come from the God of goodness." answered Grace, with unusual gentleness. They walked on in silence, each pondering her own thoughts. Three weeks after, Mrs. Hayden was known as a restored invalid, was daily answering a thousand questions as to how it was done. Was it really so? Could she walk as well as ever? Didn't she get tired ? Had she any faith after all ? etc. She patiently told them the truth of the matter, that her limb had become well and pliable as ever, that her stomach was perfectly sound, her head free from nervous aching, her nights a joyous rest and her days a round of delightful labor. For the first time she learned there had been many cures, and several classes taught in Hampton, but no case had excited the attention, public and private, that hers had. The various members of society wagged their wise heads, and cast mingled glances of pity, wonder, ridicule or disdain upon the poor deluded victim, of the WHAT THE WORLD SAID. 65 " latest humbug." Even the select circles heard of it as a report finally reached the daily paper, which appeared with a glaring head and ridiculous com- ments. One of the weeklies contented itself by reprinting a scathing denunciation from a prominent religious paper. Another contained clippings from an Iowa paper giving an account of the arrest and trial of a so- called Christian Scientist for illegal practice. But it failed to add that " the judge instructed the jury to return a verdict for the defendant," remarking that "under the constitution and laws of Iowa it is no crime for a person to pray for his afflicted neighbor." Among the worthy M. D.'s, a miniature storm arose and spent itself in the characteristic fashion of storms, now carrying everything before it, in its impetuous fury, now quietly subsiding into a ripple of condescending concession, or languid comment, now breaking out with renewed force into explosive epithets or vindictive rage. Dr. Grouse expressed his astonishment that any- body should have the audacity to practice medicine without a diploma, as this woman evidently did, and demanded that the authorities enforce the law at once with the utmost rigor ." Such quacks ought to be dealt with without mercy, as an example to other upstarts !" and with an angry growl the doctor recklessly spat the whole width of the sidewalk. Dr. Jones admitted that the mind had a great deal to do with the body, and possibly this mind cure might help nervous prostration or hysterical women, but if 66 THE EIGHT KNOCK. Mrs. Hayden's limb was healed, depend upon it, the medicine taken all those months was the cause. Dr. Bundy considered the matter too absurd to even mention. Dr. Hone went up and down the streets, loudly denouncing such "humbugs," while his partner, Lap- land, laughed at the preposterous idea of learning all about materia medica in three weeks! "It is simply ridiculous, sheer nonsense! Ha, ha, ha!" and the office fairly shook at the outburst of merriment. On the other hand, Dr. Wilson was deeply inter- ested, and went so far as to call on Miss Greening, and to her he frankly admitted there was an unaccount- able power in the mind some way, and if it did the work for suffering humanity he was quite ready to welcome it, and anxious, for his part, to investigate the matter. Kind, liberal Dr. Jackson, Mrs. Hayden's former family physician, shook his head wonderingly, but said nothing. He was a careful thinker and needed time for his conclusions, but as every one well knew, he had the friendliest, most charitable heart that ever was, and very candid, withal, in his judgments, and fair in his investigations. So in time they would know what he thought. It was whispered about that he had already invested in some books, and was quietly study- ing Christian Science in his leisure moments. Among the churches no less of a tumult raged. Rev. Rush preached a stirring sermon about the evil days in which even the very elect should be deceived by the miracles of anti-Christ, and warned his hearers against being beguiled. WHAT THE WORLD SAID. 67 Rev. Long openly denounced Christian Science as but another form of spiritualism, and admonished his flock to beware of ravening wolves. Rev. Morton mildly preached about being steadfast to the old faith, avoiding investigation in anything new, while from the gentle, spiritually minded Prof. Mill was heard an eloquent disquisition on the promises and the all-abiding power of God. All shades and phases of ministerial sentiments were expressed, and whatever was grand and Christ- like sprang up as dainty, fragrant blossoms amid the wayside weeds of falsity and Pharisaical bigotry. The ladies' sewing societies discussed the subject to its fullest extent with widely varying opinions, some exclaiming with wonder and awe that it certainly must be a higher power that would perform such miracles ; others that it was nothing but mesmerism. A few rev- erently expressed their conviction that Mrs. Hay den- was extremely fortunate to be chosen for such a favor, while still others of quite a contrary mind declared it was nothing more nor less than the devil, who was stealthily taking possession of the weak. One timid little woman ventured to say that it could not be Satan, for he was never known to do any- thing good. Another said there must be something uncanny about it, for she had experienced the most peculiar sensations when shaking hands with Mrs. Hayden. Mrs. Dyke had waited for a more practical time to give her opinion, and now she concluded the Avhole matter for herself, at least, by saying in a most practi cal way: 68 THE RIGHT KNOCK. "It is the devil's work from first to last, and I am not surprised that that woman, Mrs. Hayden, lias got into his clutches, for she never did her duty to the church, and such people can't expect he will always let them go their own way. Christian Science has no right to its name or its pretentious. It is only the magician's rod, and I, for one, don't propose to look at it," with which profound announcement she went to the other room to oversee her charge of sewing girls. " Oh, how righteous we are !" giggled one very young lady, with a mock look of reverence. "Well, now, see here ladies!" declared Mrs. Grant, another "practical" woman, but of adifferent type from Mrs. Dyke, " we may as well look at this matter in a sensible and candid light. Here are the facts : Mrs. IJayden is a lovely and reliable woman. She has, as we all know, suffered everything from her headaches and dyspepsia, besides the limb that was broken at the fire. We see her well, and ought to believe w r hat she says. They often say, 'Truth is stranger than fiction.* An example has come to our door, and why should we refuse to believe, when the proof is so plain ? For my part, I can believe though I do not understand, and I want to know what there is in Christian Science." Mrs. Grant had spoken, and as she usually did, turned the tide of thought in her direction. " Why, yes, we all want to know if there is anything in it, but there is an if " If! There it is again ! I've no patience with people who always tumble over an if. Toucan bar the very gates of heaven with that nipping little word. WHAT THE WORLD SAID. 69 It means doubt, and doubt is the destroyer of faith which we must have in this world, if we live at all." Mrs. Grant unwittingly preached a little sermon, which not only served to quell the confusion, but gave them a helpful thought to carry home. Scattering good seed seemed to be her mission, and many a good word dropped into fruitful soil, and took its time to bring forth. CHAPTER IX. " Soul, receive into thyself the warm and radiant life of heaven, to breathe it out again as spiritual fragrance over other lives, and so change this wilderness-world into the garden of the Lord ! This is the lovely moral which hides within the roses of June, and makes more than half their sweetness." Lucy Larcom. Mrs. Hayden ? The old expressions of joy seemed utterly inadequate to describe her feel- ings. It seemed that she was veritably dreaming of heaven, such a sense of largeness, of freedom, had come over her, so much wider was her horizon, so much more clearly could she see and understand the hard questions that had always puzzled her, and yet she had, as it were, just come to the edge of the beautiful flower-dotted, dew-besprinkled field that seemed spread- ing out before her. So long hopeless, so long hungry as she had been after this taste, she only hungered the more. Wonderingly she looked at herself walking about without pain; with an elastic step and the spring- ing freshness of health ; wonderingly she remembered the dull, nervous throbbing headaches, contrasted with the refreshing clearness, the joyous comfort and peace of mind which made thinking a tonic, and labor a luxury. What a glorious strength of exhiliration seemed flowing in to her with every breath ; how it expanded and thrilled her with its power! If this was life, what joy to live, to know and feel the gladness and beauty 10 A STRUGGLE WITH SELF. 71 of God's beautiful world, and it must not be for her alone, but for all hungering, thirsting mankind. She must impart it to those who had been suffering and helpless like herself. It was even now flowing into her own family. Although Miss Greening had given her but the first and fundamental principles of the science, she had in many instances already demonstrated their worth and power. It soon grew to be a regular matter of course to treat every one in the family who seemed in need of a remedy for anything. Mr. Hayden had frequently come home with neu- ralgia in his face, but after one or two attacks the un- welcome intruder vanished. The family medicine case, which had recently been replenished for the winter, was left to its own devices, and dust gathered on the necks and shoulders of the cough remedies, paregoric and hive syrup bottles, until they would have looked quite pitiful in their desertion, if anybody had seen them. Jamie's one attack of croup yielded more readily to his mother's silent treatments than it ever had to hive syrup, and it was with a deep thankfulness, not un- mixed with awe, that Mr. and Mrs. Hayden felt their little one at last free from his old, dreaded enemy. Never before had the children been so free from colds or ailments common to childhood, as this winter. Never before had there been such a seemingly reckless care- lessness in wrapping them up, keeping them out of the draughts, or letting them eat just what was on the table. " Why, it is like living in another world altogether," said Mr. Hayden, enthusiastically to one of the neigh- 7* TIL? R[;};if KtfOCK. bors. " The children are so much happier, quieter, more peaceable. I tell you, it is like getting free from prison to come into this way of living, and my wife is getting stronger all the time. Of course you want it," he con- tinued. "Come over some time, and we'll tell you more about it." Saying good night he walked away, leaving his friend to wonder if the entire family had not turned lunatics. Enwrapped in the seamless robe of Truth, the sharp winds of worldly criticism seldom reach us, because we are no longer susceptible to their sharpness. A gentle mildness beams from every face, for beyond the veil of outward appearances we learn to discern the pure, perfect holiness of God's child the divinity behind the bars. Not, however, till we know how to put on this wondrous robe are we invulnerable. Although Mrs. Ilayden had learned much and lived much in these last few months, there came a time, as the summer drew near, when it seemed that everything was slipping away from her. Not her health, except that her old headache occasionally threatened her, but things did not seem as clear to her. Many problems were only in a partial state of solution, and a vague dis- satisfaction, a helpless discouragement took possession of her at times, very hard to bear, especially when con- trasted with the light she felt had so long guided her. Of late even her treatments seemed almost fruitless. Her old-time impatience had manifested itself on several occasions, and one warm June morning she went about her work in a decidedly old-fashioned mood. A STRUGGLE WITH SELF. 73 It \vas Monday, and in addition to the washing to be seen to, the little extra help to be rendered the girl, her husband had sent her a large case of strawberries to be put up, manlike, forgetting that this day at least was full. She was hastening to get them ready before the dinner hour, and the " picking up " of the sitting- room, so essential Monday mornings, had been left till a more convenient season. Mabel had gone to school, while Jamie and Fred were playing in the sand in the back yard. With her hands in the berries, and her thoughts busily engaged, she was suddenly roused from her reverie by the noisy entrance of Fred, who just came in for a drink of water. As he turned to go out, he threw his arms around his mother's neck and gave her a boy's impetuous hug, and a kiss that ought to have rejoiced anymother's heart, but this morning it annoyed her. "Run away, now; mamma hasn't time this morning," and she pushed him impatiently away. Just then the door bell rang, and Fred sprang to answer it. In another moment he ushered into her presence a shabbily dressed, poor, miserable looking woman, who immediately asked for a drink of water. " I can get it," said the ready Fred. While he was gone, the woman began her request: " Plaze, Ma'am, would you be wantin' some garters to-day? They are warranted by the very man as made 'em. My boy is layin' sick, and his father is dead, and all my health has been took away carin' for him, and a friend of mine, she has been in this business a long time, and says it's very good some days, and she let me 74 THE RIGHT KNOCK. take her place to-day, so if you could take a pair or two to-day it would be very thankful I'd be, and I'm sure this boy would need a pair ; they are only 25 cents, and will just fit ; ain't they nice, my boy ?" She poured her story out, as though there were no end to it, as she held up some brilliant red and blue elastics that quite dazzled Fred, who claimed them at once. " I have not time to examine and choose this morn- ing, and Fred, you do not need them now," said Mrs. Hayden, with some annoyance in her tone. " Now, mamma, you didn't see my old ones, they ain't red and blue, nor stretchy, an' my stockin's come down all the time. See how wrinkly they are," and he held up a dusty little shoe with a sadly demoralized stocking above it, rich in holes as well as wrinkles. The stocking had been torn on a nail, he volubly explained. In his excitement Fred raised his voice, thus summoning Jamie to the scene with a rush that upset the dish of berries just picked over. "/didn't mean to, and I can pick them up again," and he swept his dirty little hands into the soft mushy pile, gathering berries, dust, stems or whatever hap- pened to be in the way, dashing the miscellaneous mess into the clean berries that had escaped. " Jamie, you careless child ! how can you be so naughty ? Go and wash your hands this minute ! Fred, leave those things and stay out with Jamie, I can not have you around when there is so much to do ! " and with an impatient gesture she brushed Jamie aside and began sorting the berries as best she could. Fred started toward her with the elastics, saying : A STRUGGLE WITH SELF. 75 " But, mamma, you haven't looked yet;" " Well, you see my hands are full, and I can tell you just as well without looking." " You always tell me to do as I am told," pouted Fred as he reluctantly departed. Mrs. Hayden was ashamed and yet reckless with discouragement, and scarcely noticed the anxious ped- lar, who stood waiting for some decisive word from her. " I have no use for the supporters at present," she said at last. But as she noticed the look of despair slowly settling on the woman's face, she added, " but, if you are in such distress, I will let you leave two pairs. Take the 50 cents lying there on the shelf," pointing to the place. The woman was very grateful and soon went away with a brighter face. For a long time after she was gone, her picture remained in Mrs. Ilayden's remorseful memory, though she put it away as much as possible and went on with her work. Jamie and Fred had quarreled several times, but even in peace, the fires of war were likely to burst out afresh, for it was always so when she felt this way. As Mrs. Hayden sat in her own room that evening^ reviewing the events of the day, which seemed the culmination of many days, it seemed that the Marion Hayden who had been so happy these last few months, improving in health and strength and ability to live a more useful life, and the Marion Hayden who had so miserably disgraced herself to-day, were far apart in fact irretrievably separated. Where, indeed, had gone 76 THE 1UGIIT KNOCK. her power of self-control, her wisdom and tact in gov- erning the children ? Why had she so harshly told Fred to run away from her when the dear child was only showing his affection according to his own nature? Such an active, impulsive yet loving child must be wiselv dealt with, and she had often realized that with Fred, love must be the governing power, not force. To give way as she had to-day would be to lose her influence over him, not only because of repulsing the child himself, but because his critical eyes noticed every weakness and failure in her, to live up to her own code of morals laid down for him to follow. Her accusing conscience asked why she had not questioned and tried to help that poor woman who, with all her ignorance, was doing the best she could, to solve life's problem. After all, what had she> Marion Hayden, to offer the world while she had not yet conquered herself ? Oh, the bitterness of regret, the repining for \vasted moments and lost opportunities ! but here she was in her old groove of thought. Could she not try the new way, now that she so sorely needed it? She would try; she would begin to look on the other side of these questions. She would regain her footing in spite of her humiliating downfall, although there might still be a lingering sense of shame over her defeat. Later, her husband came home. He tossed her a paper saying: u Here is something that will clear you up. Head it aloud. I just glanced over it, and found it very good." He threw himself upon the sofa, wait A STRUGGLE WITH SELF. 77 ing for her to begin. Mechanically she took up the paper. " ' The Ubiquity of Good;' is this the article ?" " Yes, there are several just as strong as that one." " Oh, I see ; yes I can hardly wait to read aloud," she exclaimed, running her eyes over the pages, instantly imbibing the spirit of the writer. She began with an awakening interest which increased till she was fairly electrified with delight. Her husband looked at her in astonishment although it had much the same effect on him. " I thought you needed something like that;" he said, sitting bolt up- right and looking at her. "You see, Marion, if you could only be as enthusiastic all the time as that woman is, you could do the works that she does and be as positive too." " I know it, and if I understood as well as she does, it would be different, but I know so little comparatively. Oh, if I could take lessons of the teacher she had just listen, she says : 'I have just had the privilege of going through a class in metaphysics taught by one who is conceded to be the best teacher in the world' but," continued Mrs. Hayden, " I've looked all over the paper and can't find the name of the teacher ; queer, isn't it? Mayn't I subscribe for this paper, John, and I will ask her who this teacher is, when I send the subscription ? " " Well, yes I think if you could get the benefit from every number you have from that, it would be money well invested," replied Mr. Hayden. In fact he was as much interested in mental science as she, and 78 THE SIGHT KNOCK. desired her to "go to the bottom if it," as he expressed it. That night she retired with a new hope. If others could learn and demonstrate and keep, why could not she? CHAPTER X. " Oh, thou that pinest in the imprisonment of the Actual, and criest bitterly to the gods for a kingdom wherein to rule and create, know this of a truth, the thing thou seekest is already with thee, ' here or nowhere, ' couldst thou only see ! " Carlyle. WHE very next morning the letter was written and the money sent for the new paper. */ 1 J. Mrs. Reade came over on one of her bird-like errands, and of course, must hear something of the great help that had come so unexpectedly. " How fortunate it came just now, for I have noticed several weeks you have been losing courage, and as for myself, I don't seem to know what to do in any case any more, " she exclaimed, after hearing a few extracts read from the paper. Now you will find out who the teacher is and " " I shall go away to take lessons as soon as pos- sible, " interrupted Mrs. Hayden. "Yes, I must go," she continued, "and see what there is in it. I have already experienced too much physically and spir- itually to be able to give it up. " " Indeed, you have certainly had as much of a proof as one could wish. If I could only do as much as you have, I should feel that it would be better to go without many other things rather than this. " Mrs. Reade forgot that she had been able to keep little May in perfect health ; that she herself had ceased worrying over trifles and learned to make the 80 THE EIGHT KNOCK. best of everything. To her, the change had been so gradual that she hardly knew in what it consisted. In the meetings held by the few who were interested she had, unconsciously almost, given many glimpses of her private efforts and success, which showed how faith- fully she used what light she had. " I wonder what Mrs. Grant would say to this, " she resumed, after looking over the paper. " I think she ought to take this paper, too. Of course, I expect to read yours, " with an arch smile. "As you certainly may, I will let you have this number this afternoon ; I can't spare it yet. You can't imagine the abyss I fell into yesterday. It seemed that I had not only lost the ability to hold myself up, but the self respect that would help to regain my footing." " 'It is always darkest before the dawn', they say," quoted Mrs. Keade, merrily, "and now the dawn of our delivery is at hand, we shall know what to do before the twilight comes again. But I came after your jelly mold and must not stand, nere all day talking about things so utterly unlike well, good-bye ! I can hardly tear myself away when I talk with you," and she ran out with a gay smile. Nearly every week these last few months Mrs. Hayden, Mrs. Heade, Mrs. Grant and occasionally one or two others had met to read and talk on the all- absorbing topic and gain confidence and strength by an exchange of ideas and experiences; but they knew not how to draw from the fountain of knowledge itself, and while they had learned much and gained HINTS OF HELP. 81 much, there was a lack which, in the moment of trial, they knew not how to supply. In a few days Mrs. Hayden received the coveted information as to the identity of the wonderful teacher, and that she was to teach several classes in Mario w, only two hundred miles away, which quite set her on . fire with impatience to go at once. But circumstances were not propitious. There were many details to be arranged, much to be considered. "What should be done with the children ? Could she afford it? What could she wear? In her eagerness, she could have overcome every obstacle within an hour, but her better judgment told her to be patient a little longer, a decision her husband quite approved. In the meantime she tried to live more faithfully up to the light she had received, but the first flush of faith that had brought forth the works, seemed gone, and she knew not how to bring it back. Not that she was not just as earnest, not that she had lost a whit of her faith or interest, but the fire of impulse, unclouded by doubt, had disappeared. She thought about it every leisure moment, but concluded at last to let go such intense effort that must necessarily be blind, and live more in the "holy carelessness of the eternal Now," as George MacDonald so beautifully expressed it in his book she was reading. In one respect she fared as comparatively few women do, who hunger after spiritual things ; she had her husband's full sympathy and co-operation. After- ward, when she had seen more of the world and knew more about other women's lives, she realized the 8S THE RIGHT KNOCK. value of it, realized that without it she would have starved before she could have feasted. Oh, the sweet influence of a sympathy that unites and harmonizes two natures, no matter how opposite in character and tendencies. CHAPTER XL " As out of a dream, paths impossible to sense and every day show plain and sudden transit into distant places, so from your shut souls widens out an entrance way into God's everlasting joy!" A. D. T. Whitney. T last the time came. She was to go for the last class in Marlow. The last problem as to what to be done while she was gone had been solved. The chil- dren were to be under the kind care of Anna, who agreed to do her best in looking after them. Mrs. Hay den's wardrobe had received the necessary additions, the question of affording was not asked again, for it was like asking if she could afford food or clothing. It meant a great deal to her, going out in the world to get this wonderful knowledge. It was a new way of seeking the kingdom of heaven, and it must surely teach the right knock that would open the door. The little light that had already come to her proved that, for never before in all her years of hungry longing had she been so well fed, so visibly nourished. Surely her soul could not be mistaken in thus dictating her quest. " It seems too good to be true, John, that there is a way and that I am going to find it," she said a few days before she went away. " I am very glad, dear Marion, for your sake, that you are so happy in this. It certainly is a beautiful religion as far as we can understand it." S3 84 THE EIGHT KNOCK. "Yes, the very thing we tried so hard to find during all those years of darkness, and I have begun to act- ually feel thankful for our misfortunes, because it seems they have led us into this knowledge. "What would we have known or cared for Miss Greening, had we been living in the mansion on the hill? Or what would we have believed, even if we had read some- thing about Christian Science ? " " It is hard to tell, but if you are content I am, wifie, although I should like the old home again." Like many others he was able to appreciate the material good things, but knew not that the material are but emblems or symbols of the spiritual. " We shall posses something far better than all the palaces and kingdoms of the earth, if we get this 'pearl of great price.' I know now what it means for the rich to hardly enter the kingdom of heaven. It is because they are so satisfied in their rich possessions they feel they have everything worth having and need nothing more. That very indifference and apathy keeps them from getting spiritual treasures." "How true that is, Marion," said her husband, stroking his mustache thoughtfully. Just then the door bell rang and the girl presently ushered Grace and Kate into the room. " Why, how do you do ? I am more than glad to see you," said Mrs. Hayden, warmly grasping a hand in each of hers. " It is such a lovelv evening that we felt we should m like a walk, and as we generally gravitate toward your house, here we are," said Kate, laying aside her hat. LEAVING HOME. 85 " Do you know I am going to Marlow to take the Christian Science lessons ? " asked Mrs. Hayden, with a bright smile, as they were cosily seated for their chat. " Are you, really ? I am so glad, Mrs. Hayden," said Grace. " When are you going ? " " Monday, on the afternoon train, and I shall be gone three weeks. It seems a long time now, but I hope it will be so profitable and pleasant that it will not seem long while it is passing." Kate looked very grave. Finally she said : " Well, Mrs. Hayden, I am sorry you are going." " Why ? " exclaimed Mrs. Hayden. " Why ? " echoed Grace, and the host looked the interrogation he did not verbally express. " Because I am seriously afraid it is wrong. Just a few days ago I had a talk with the minister, and he is very decided in his denunciation of it, saying it is plainly contrary to the teachings of the Bible, and I have been reading an article this afternoon that is very convincing in its arguments against it. No, Grace, you needn't, shake your head. I have been cowardly and lazy long enough about my religion, now I shall stand up for what I think is right, and I love Mrs. Hayden too well not to warn her of what I believe to be a most dangerous heresy." She had evidently nerved herself to say this, but her voice trembled with earnestness, and when she finished there were tears in her eyes. " I thank you, dear Kate, for your sincere regard, and appreciate your motive most deeply, but of course, that can not change my mind now," said Mrs. Hayden, much touched. 86 THE RIGHT KNOCK. " That, of course, is for you to decide, but I have suddenly realized my religious responsibility as never before, and have been earnestly considering this matter. At first it seemed all right and very beautiful, but I believe it is only the work of the devil to get people into his net of wickedness." Grace was too astonished for speech ; now she under- stood what Kate had meant by her disinclination to talk on the subject since that night they had heard Miss Greening. Now her thoughtful spells were explained, as well as her eager desire to come here to-night. " I do not see why the ministers should oppose it as they do," said Mr. Hayden, after a short silence. " If you look back over the history you will find they opposed giving freedom to the slaves; they opposed the temperance movement until it was forced upon them. Many of them now oppose woman's suf- frage, though their audiences are often composed almost entirely of women. It seems a great mystery why they should oppose any of these good and neces- sary reforms, but I think it is because they are only mortal men, and have many mortal faults and a great deal of mortal ignorance," said Grace, recovering her tongue at last. " It seems to me if everybody would read the words of Jesus and follow his example they would never be harsh, or critical, or uncharitable, and above all, they would not judge anybody or anything without a right- eous reason. The whole burden of his teaching is expressed in the sentence : l Little children, love one another,' " was Mrs. Hayden's opinion. Kate looked at her gratefully. LEAVING HOME. 87 " We would have a very different world if every one followed that law, and we have never heard a better one. The only difficulty is to know how to follow it," added Mr. Hay den. " AVe must know the whole truth if we would be free from all error, and we can only get truth by ear- nestly seeking for it. is my firm conviction," said his wife. " If the truth makes us free, certainly we ought to search for it, and as we get it we can not be moved from our position, for by the nature of truth it is forever the same. Imagine anybody telling me two times two are five. If they argued and talked forever they could not prove it, for a lie can never be proved true." " That's capital reasoning, Grace," exclaimed Mr. Hayden, admiringly. " Then if these ministers are in the right," she con- tinued, " why should they need to be so active and emphatic and malevolent, as they sometimes are, in their denunciation of what they call a lie, because if it is a lie, won't it prove itself? And if their position is assured, and the truth must necessarily be assuring, since that is the essence and nature of it, if their posi- tion is assured, why is there any need of such resist- ance ? Jesus plainly taught the wow-resistance of evil, if I read my Bible correctly this morning. I have been studying religion somewhat, too, the last few weeks," she concluded, glancing at Kate rather apologetically. " It would be well if we studied it a great deal more earnestly than we have before," said Kate, flushing warmly. 88 THE RIGHT KNOCK. " "Well, Kate, isn't one of our best ways a thorough investigation of it ? " " Yes, of course." " Then I intend to look into Christian Science at my earliest opportunity, and see what there is in it. If there is nothing, it can not hurt me. If there is some- thing, it will prove itself, and I shall gladly accept the help it gives," and Grace rested on her oars. " I have a suggestion to make," said Mr. Hay den, " and that is that Mrs. Hayden write us a report of each day's lecture, and you can come down and we will read them together, or I can hand them to you after I have finished them." " Capital !" exclaimed Grace. "Will you do that, Mrs. Hayden?" " I will do the best I can, and be delighted. It will help me as well as you ; but they will be nothing but ordinary letters, for I would have neither the time nor the ability to write lectures." Then she added, turning to Kate, " You will read them, too, won't you, dear? for I do want you to understand that this is the true Christ- religion, and as Grace says, if it is true it will prove itself." "I do not object to reading your letters; indeed shall be glad of the privilege," replied Kate, with a deprecatory gesture. " You must be sure and give us the practical part, so we can learn by practice as well as theory," said Mr. Hayden, playfully. " Yes, and I will promise to be a faithful student, if that will be any inducement," added Grace; "and I know Kathie will, too; won't you?" LEA VING HOME. 89 " Don't say any more, please. You all know I want what is true and good," she replied, huskily. It seemed hard to say the good-byes, even to go on this little trip. Mrs. Hayden looked at the chil- dren and home through blinding tears as her husband helped her into the carriage. They did not say much as they drove away to the depot, and both were deeply moved. There seemed such a momentous meaning in this journey. " You must promise to write often, John ? " "Yes, dear Marion, and don't worry about us." "I shall write every day, John, and I do want you to grow with me. Bead the lessons please, very carefully." "Yes; good-bye." A kiss, and he was off. She waved her hand as the train started. Like a leaf on the rippling river, gently touching the stones or mosses in passing, but hurrying on to a broader outlook and a straighter pathway, we float in the varying current of life, now dallying with youth's pleasures and playfully touching the problems before us, then sent adrift by a deep desire to know, we go out on a voyage of discovery, and be the winds rough or gentle, we go on till harbored at last. Nor would we leave thee, gentle Truth. May thy voice guide and strengthen and cheer; thy sweet knowledge be the lamp to our path ; thy words of wis- dom our armor and shield, and all the sweet enchant- ment of thy presence be with us forevermore. CHAPTER XII. " Our weary years of wandering o'er, We greet with joy this radiant shore; The promised land of liberty, The dawn of freedom's morn we see. O promised land, we enter in, With ' peace on earth, good will to men,' The ' Golden age ' now comes again, And breaking every bond and chain; While every sect, and race and clime, Shall equal share in this glad time." E. B. Harbert. HAYDEN immediately sent a few words to her husband informing him of her safe arrival, but said nothing concerning her plans until later in the week, she wrote : " I attended a reception last night that gave me a good idea of the great interest manifested in Christian Science by people from all parts of the country as well as this great city. Many who have been attending a convention of scientists the past week were there, and I met, among others, Mrs. Harmon. She is lovely, with such a sweet pleasant face and clear mild eyes. I do not wonder Miss Greening was charmed with her. We had quite a chat about mental healing. She gave me an interesting account of how she came into the work and what she is doing. I also met many others. One thing noticeable about these people that seems pecu- liarly characteristic, was the brignt, happy faces so full of repose and trustfulness contrasted with the dull, 'JO MRS. PEARL'S LECTURE. 91 sluggish care-worn expression of people in general. It really rests and cheers wonderfully to look upon coun- tenances that carry the gospel of healing with them. " After a pleasant social time, Mrs. Pearl, in whose honor the reception was given, was called upon for an address, the substance of which is about as follows: " It is an unexpected pleasure as well as privilege to thus meet face to face so large a body of people who are working or desire to work for the uplifting and healing of humanity by this new yet old Christ- method. "While there are so many thousands of the world's best workers engaged in lifting the burdens of sick- ness, sorrow and sin, there are none who accomplish more marvelous or speedy results than Christian Scien- tists. Indeed they have already demonstrated Chris- tian Science to be a most powerful means of reclaiming the sinful and adjusting social relations as well as heal- ing the sick. " It already promises a better method of dealing with intemperance than that of any other class of re- formers. Why ? Not because earnest, devoted women do not give time, labor and hearts' blood to the temper- ance cause ; not because wise, honest men are not doing their best with tongue and pen, in legislative halls and political conventions, but because neither women nor men have learned the true principle of moral reform. " The wise mother knows that the best way to keep her child from mischief is not to talk about his temp- tation but cause him to forget it by thinking of other and better things. She encourages him to do better by 03 THE RIGHT KNOCK. recognizing his higher nature and showing him a better way. She * overcomes the evil with the good.' Thus his moral nature gradually gains ascendency over the lower. This, and this only is the true reform; but the same mother fails to carry out the same principle with larger children. She must learn that the same management which corrects and improves the child will correct and improve the sinner, for a sinner is only a child of larger growth. " Thus far, the world has been most attracted to the healing of bodily ills, and all discomforts of the flesh, but the material demand is only a forerunner or symbol of the spiritual, and the signs of the times are even now ready for the keenest readers. People are beginning to enquire if this wonderful power for healing the body can not be used for the healing of vicious minds, the curing of depraved appetites. " Since religious teachings and ethical lectures seem to be so inadequate to meet the crying need, why not try this new science which claims to be a panacea for all ills, ask the moral philosophers. " ' The world moves slowly,' it is said, but the world awakes slowly, it should be. We are ministering angels to one another, in our process of awakening. If we have not enough realization of truth to keep ourselves awake, some one comes along and wakes us up, by telling us more and we, in turn, wake some slumbering neighbor. ''Invisible and silent are the workings of Truth, and none may judge what best teaches the law. None may know what has given this or that insight into a MRS. PEARL'S LECTURE. 93 broader truth, but all at once some one has the new light, and hastens to impart the knowledge. "All effort for truth points to one end Truth. All reforms, all religions point to a higher standard of living, a clearer realization of the highest and best, a broader vision of truth, a breaking away from the false and a bringing about of the true. " Mankind is conservative and must needs consider many things in many ways. Old opinions are not easily relinquished because they are ' bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh' and not till we awake to spiritual as well as intellectual knowledge, shall we realize that we are free free to listen, learn and live. "As in the history of every reform, we find opposi- tion and persecution facing the Christian Scientists, but as time goes on, even the unbelieving and conservative shall be brought to a knowledge of the truth. Many things unaccepted and unestablished to-day shall be proverbial platitudes of to-morrow. " We who have a clearer vision of the better way, who are demonstrating our position with such wondrous signs, must realize more and more the importance of the first and only law the law of love. Judge not. Be a unit in Truth. "We come together as many, but should go away as one. We now have thousands of Christian Scientists all over the country who are striving as never before to live a higher life, to work for humanity according to the Master's teachings, and it becomes us, as true disciples of such a leader to so live that we shall see the fulfill- ment of that blessed promise: ' Greater works than I, shall ye do.' 94 THE RIGHT KNOCK. " Let us recognize the use and beauty of unity. Let us be as one, and then, like the brave and faithful Joshua, we shall be able to break down the walls of any Jericho. " Christian Scientists, truth seekers, friends ! Make use of the golden privileges of to-day, use every moment for the furtherance of good, make every silent thought or uttered word a stream of influence that shall cause the desert to blossom like the rose. Send your thoughts out to the grand reformers, the women workers and the men workers, the tired mothers and the anxious fathers, the faithful teachers and the inno- cent children. Sow the seed diligently, no matter what the soil. Never mind the coldness, the indiffer- ence, the slighting disparagements, for bye-and-bye will come the harvest. Do in all ways as you would be done by. ' Thou must be true thyself if thou the truth wouldst teach, Thy soul must overflow with truth, the true results to reach.'" CHAPTER XIII. " One Holy Church of God appears Through every age and race, Unwasted by the lapse of years, Unchanged by changing place. "From oldest time, on farthest shores, Beneath the pine or palm, One unseen Presence she adores, With silence or with psalm. " Her priests are all God's faithful sons, To serve the world raised up, The pure in heart her baptized ones, Love, her communion cup. " The Truth is her prophetic gift, The soul her sacred page; And feet on mercy's errand swift Do make her pilgrimage." Longfellow. VHE next day Mr. Hayden, with great interest, read the letter containing the first lecture, which was given the day after the reception reported in the last chapter. Pertaining to the lesson he read : " How I wished you were with me yesterday, and could see the fifty eager faces as they gathered in the class room and waited for Mrs. Pearl. " Some sorrowful and careworn, some filled with the marks of suffering and pain, some hopeless and despair- ing, some careless and gay, some merely curious, but all expectant and interested. " It matters not with what varying motives a mass 95 96 THE RIGHT KNOCK. of people meet together, there is a common chord of sympathy, which, if rightly touched, will cause the many to think and feel as one, and herein lies the secret of a teacher's power. Mrs. Pearl has this faculty of gathering and holding the thoughts of her audience, and I could not help noting the calm and satisfied expression as they went out after the lecture. "The first lesson is about The True Foundation, and while much of it is what we have known and believed, it is stated in a new and interesting way. I will give it, as nearly as possible, in her ow r n words : "It is necessary to have a common premise in order to sustain a harmonious argument, and the first thing is to find a base or foundation from which and upon which to build. Our doctrine is to be established by sound reasoning and scientific argument, and we must go back to the beginning and learn something about the First Cause of all things. " In ancient times students devoted themselves to the study of pure reasoning, and they found that by putting themselves in harmony with First Cause, they attained a power, by certain lines of thought and through the speaking of words, to perform wondrous works, healing the sick, having dominion over all crea- tion. " They discovered the different results of speaking words of science, which are words of truth, and words of error or words contrary to reason. Eight, true words brought forth right and true conditions to every- one around them, but deviation from this line of rea- son, would bring -discord and trouble and undesirable THE TR UE FO UNDA TION. 97 conditions. These wise thinkers declared Mind to be the First Cause of all creation, and announced the study of Mind and the words and ways of Mind, to be the profoundest theme that could engage the attention of man. " We find this philosophy and these conclusions corroborated by the Bible, which we shall consider and prove to contain revelations of changeless, eternal truth. " Truth is universal, and whatever is true in one part of the universe must be true in all parts. That which has been understood and conceded to be true in all ages and climes is what we call universal truth. " Because the first chapter of Genesis, then, agrees in all essential particulars with the accounts of other nations and among other peoples we consider it univer- sal truth. " Because it is so beautiful, logical and spiritual, we revere it ; because our own inner consciousness of truth agrees with its statements, we concede it to be as accurate and reasonable an account of Creation as we have, and we are therefore willing to use it as the basis of our argument. " We read : ' In the beginning God created,' but a more literal and spiritual rendering would make the pivotal statement, ' God creates.' Now we know there can be no beginning or end to Omnipotence, hence there must be a continuous creating, and thus the term ' beginning' could only refer to the manifes- tation of what had already been created. How was the creation manifested? By the Word. 'God said. 98 THE RIGHT KNOCK. let there be light, and it was so,' and by every ' God said,' was manifested the thing which He said was to be. '* The word God is an abbreviation of the Anglo- Saxon Good, the two words in that language being identical. According to that we may say the Good creates, with the same accuracy that we say God creates. This gives us a broader conception of God, and a truer idea of the Creator as Principle, not Person. " So many have erroneously conceived of God as a personal Being, with the attributes of a person or man, but how can a being with definite form be omnipresent ? I have often wondered how God looks, but now I begin to realize the words of Jesus, that ' No man hath seen God at any time.' " We can perceive the quality of God in Good, with our mind, and must perceive or apprehend God through our spiritual discernment. It is very important to dis- tinguish between Personality and Principle. (Now John, do not be too hasty and say this is too broad a statement, but just wait. Eemember, if we would learn anything we must first become as a little child.) We can easily conceive of Principle as being every- where present. The principle of music or mathematics, for instance, can be demonstrated any where and everywhere at the same moment. Good can be demon- strated everywhere, hence must be Principle, nple. " We can not prove God through the senses, for He is invisible, being spirit, and not flesh and blood, like this man of the five senses. Some things can only be known by intuition, without the aid of the senses, and because of an inherent idea in our consciousness. For THE TR UE FO UNDA TION. 99 instance, every nation worships Deity in some way. Since we cannot know God through the senses, by which we gain knowledge of visible things, how can we know there is a God ? " As Paul says : ' Likewise the spirit itself bearetb witness with our spirit that we are the children of God ; ' and what better answer could \ve have ? " Spirit, according to Webster, is : ' Life or living substance considered independent of corporeal existence vital essence, force, or energy as distinct from mat- ter. ' God is the vital essence, God is spirit, and God is substance ' the real or existing essence, ' ' the divine essence or being. ' " God, therefore, is the invisible Principle that creates and sustains all things the All-Power, the All-Intel- ligence, the All-Mind, the All-Love, the All-Substance, the All-Harmoay, the All-Life, the All-Good, omni- present, omniscient, omnipotent. This is the one Creator, * one God who is Father of all, over all, and in all. ' " Though we cannot see this God or Good Principle, we can apprehend it through the signs or manifesta- tions that we see. As we look about, we everywhere see the signs of life not Life itself, but the signs of it that tell of the presence of God or Good. Now Life is Good in and for itself. "We often see the divinest love manifested through every deed of love, every heroic act of higher living, every grand sacrifice of self-comfort, pleasure , even life itself. Jesus says : ' Greater love can no man have than to lay down his life for his friend.' Such love is a manifestation of the one, only Love, which is God Good omnipresent. 100 THE RIGHT KNOCK. " Every glimpse of Truth which the whole world seeks to know and wherever found, is a realization of the omnipresent Truth, which is God. " Intelligence, in its highest or lowest form, is but a manifestation of God as Intelligence; for whence comes our intelligence if not from the great and only Intelligence, which is ever flowing to us and through us, which is ever being generated in us, whenever and wherever we are willing to let it manifest itself. " Emerson says : ' There is one mind common to all individual men. Every man is an inlet to the same and to all of the same. Pie that is once admitted to the right of reason is made a free man of the whole estate. * * * Who hath access to this universal mind is a party to all that is or can be done, for this is the only and sovereign agent. ' " So we reason about health and strength and justice, or any of the divine qualities, which we may claim as a part of our inheritance, because they are inherent in the All, in which ' we live, are moved, and have our being.' "Having something of an understanding as to the nature of this divine Principle, we can, to some extent, apprehend that the essence of all things manifesting it, and manifested by it, must be good like itself, must be of the same quality as itself; as light emanating from light, must be of the same essence and quality as that from which it emanates. God, like light, is always the same, and cannot send forth or create anything opposite Himself. " The nature of God embraces every good quality of THE TRUE FOUNDATION 101 masculine and feminine character, as also the imper- sonal life Principle. It is therefore proper to use the masculine, feminine or neuter pronoun when referring to Deity. As different phases of the one Love, we see manifested, the strong, all-protecting, intelligent father-love, the tender, restful, patient mother-love, the innocent, confiding, trustful child-love, each complete in the whole, which can be recognized by all or one of these attributes. "The great Mind of which the ancient philosophers tell us and which Emerson so plainly realized, is the the Origin and Force of all Creation, the Mind for which we have found so many synonyms and so many offices, the Great Invisible of which all visible things are but signs or symbols. "There is but one great Mind, one great Thinker. All thoughts of this Mind, which is Infinite Goodness, must be infinitely good, and man is the crown and apex of the wonderful creation is made in the image and likeness of God. "If we concede the Creator, God, to be omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent, the only Power there is, perfect, unchangeable and eternal, we must necessarily concede that all which Be creates is good, and must remain so because everything connected with, emanat- ing from, or similar to Him is, and must be like Him in quality and essence. " The true man is spiritual, perfect like his Father, and can only be subject to perfect conditions. If we continually and persistently recognize the true creation which is invisible, we make manifest the perfect condi- 102 THE RIGHT KNOCK. tions in the sign of the true, which is the visible. In doing this, we are, in the most essential sense, acknowl- edging God, worshiping the one Deity. "Because we have so long recognized the other pow- ers we have become idolaters, and must now turn back to the only true God. ' If thou return to the almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. . . For thou shalt have thy delight in the almighty and shalt lift up thy face unto God.' "We have become filled with false beliefs, because we have judged according to appearances, and hence drawn false conclusions. How can we know spiritual truth without spiritual knowledge ? How can we have spiritual knowledge without spiritual percep- tion ; how can we have spiritual perception without recognizing Spirit, Substance, God, as the supreme Essence back of all visible forms ? "This is the fundamental principle of healing this recognition of spiritual being and spiritual law. Grasp- ing only the surface meaning of this grand truth, we recognize and admire the mental power which produces cures, hence it is frequently called mind-cure, because, through the agency of mind, the cure is wrought, as we say, water-cure or sun-cure for the same reason ; but as we proceed in the study, we will go beyond an intel- lectual to a spiritual perception of what is meant by met-a-physical, which pertains not only to a science of mental phenomena, but the science of real being, and has to do with the spiritual or real self of man. " Now John, if you don't understand, just wait and THE TRUE FOUNDATION. 103 study, for really we must study these statements, with- out prejudice, too, for that is the only way, and of course we cannot expect to understand at once. The great essential is to keep uppermost the desire for truth, but I need not tell you that, for what an earnest truth- seeker you are, nobody knows better than myself. " This is the best I can do toward giving the first lesson, but you must think well upon it and get a good foundation laid for what is to come next. This science is to be developed rather than learned. " I want to put in every moment I can get for study, so must close. Hand this this to Kate and Grace. I do hope they will be interested. " Tell me all about your progress, and the precious little ones how are they ? " Your loving MABION." CHAPTER XIV. "How shall I know if I do choose the right?" Shakespeare. " Truth is one, And in all lands beneath the sun, Whoso hath eyes to see may see The tokens of its unity." Whittier. WHAT is a very clear statement," said Mr. Hayden, as he handed the letterto Grace when she called the next evening. "Do you think we can get much of an idea from it ? " " O yes, indeed we can ; but you take it home and read it with Kate." Grace went straight home with her prize for she was more interested than she cared to admit just yet, and Kate was still reluctant and fearful about the possi- ble wrong. Grace had awakened in the night, just after Mrs. Hayden had gone and found her crying. " What is the matter, Katie ? " she asked. " Oh, Grace, I am so worried about this Science, and I am afraid I did wrong to even promise Mrs. Hayden I would read her letters," sobbed the poor child. " "Why, Katie dear, we could never know anything if we did not look into it and use the reason God has given us. Surely you are not afraid to examine into wu QUESTIONINGS. 105 what claims to be such wonderful truth. You do not necessarily accept by examining it, and I am glad we can have the privilege of reading what Mrs. Haydeu says, for she has such a fair, unprejudiced mind, and will give us the matter just as nearly right as she can ; then we can judge for ourselves." She reached over and drew Kate into her arms, but the sobbing did not cease at once. Grace was natur- ally kind-hearted, and respected people's feelings. To-night she was very gentle, as Kate gratefully realized. " Come Kate, put away your fears. There's noth- ing can change the truth you have, and if it isn't truth, the sooner you change your mind the better. What makes you feel so, all at once? Has some one said anything ? " " Yes, Mr. Narrow gave me such a talking to when I asked him if it was wrong ; for someway, I got so troubled that I did not know what else to do." " Well, what of it ; you don't see anything wrong in it yourself, do you? " " N o, not exactly." "What are you afraid of, then?" " I I don't know," with a hysterical sob. She was ashamed to admit that she was half afraid of eter- nal punishment, something she had been in vague terror of all her life. It had been impressed upon her so vividly, and now she was suffering from a keenly reproachful conscience, because for so long a time she had been indifferent and neglectful of her religious duties. 106 THE 1UOUT KNOCK. Grace finally persuaded her it would be all right to give the matter a fair investigation. Then she went to sleep, comforted, for half her misery had been caused by her indecision and wavering. "When they read the letter together, Grace was delighted and Kate not much less so, though she demurred a little about some things. " What beautiful ideas of God ! It seems plainer than anything I ever heard. To say God is Principle, not person, makes it easier to apprehend His omni- presence," exclaimed Grace, laying down the letter. " Y-e-s, in one sense," slowly assented Kate, " but in the Bible He is spoken of as Person, or at least as having personal attributes, and you know they fre- quently refer to what He says and how He talked with Abraham." " O, I think that is figurative, if it is true at all. How can a being with a definite or outlined form be everywhere at the same time ? " " But surely, you believe His thoughts can be everywhere, and that is what is meant by this omni- presence," said Kate, earnestly. " Then do you think of Him as sitting on a great golden throne, listening to the petitions of men below, and able to hear and to grant or refuse at the same moment every prayer that is sent to Him by the mil- lions of His children on earth?" " ' God's ways are not our ways, and with Him all things are possible.' " " But is it not much easier to say this is Principle, which is everywhere waiting for our recognition of its QUESTIONINGS. 107 presence to become manifested to us?" pursued Grace. " Yes, I don't know but it is." " Now Kate, I am truly in earnest and mean to study this very earnestly. I know very little about the Bible, because it has been a sealed book to me every time I ever tried to read it, but during these three weeks that Mrs. Hayden is gone, I am going to put away my preconceived opinions as far as possible and see if I can learn something, and now let us get the Bible and see what it says on these questions. You have a concordance. Let us look up the word omni- presence and read some of the passages in which it occurs." Kate was well pleased, not only to make the Bible the foundation of this study, but to find Grace so changed, and so ready to look into sacred things. " Perhaps she will be converted," she thought, and from that moment she, too, resolved to look fairly into Christian Science. She brought the concordance and found there was no reference to omnipresence. "We'll look for present or presence," suggested Grace. She glanced rapidly down the columns and found a reference to Ps. cxxxix. and turned to that. " Yes, in the seventh verse it says: ' Whither shall I go from thy spirit or whither shall I flee from thy pres- ence?' and here is a marginal reference to Jer. xxiii: 24. ' Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him ? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth ? ' Now it seems to me that carries the idea of a personal Being," said Kate. 108 THE RIGHT KNOCK. " "Well, let us look up the references to God," sug- gested Grace again. " Here's one in Deut. xxxii : 4. 'He is the rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judgment; a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.' Yes, there He is compared to a rock. Of course that is symbolical, but find another. Isn't there one that tells of Him as spirit? " " Yes, ' God is spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth,' that is in John iv: 24, and in the first chapter of John it reads: ' In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.' " " Ah ! there we have it very plain; word is not flesh and blood or person. Doesn't it say in the letter that God is Intelligence, which is only another way to express the same thing ? " " Yes, and I remember when Jesus prayed for His disciples, He said : 'Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth ;' and some place in the Bible it speaks of God as truth," said Kate, quite willing to give all the corroborative testimony she could. " Truth can only be considered as principle, so we have that statement confirmed by the Bible, and that would agree with what Pythagoras wrote," said Grace, quoting : " ' There is one Universal Soul diffused through all things, eternal, invisible, unchangeable; in essence like truth, in substance resembling light ; ... to be comprehended only by the mind.' Now it is com- paratively easy to see manifestations of the Good. By the way, I think it a volume of explanation in itself to say Good instead of God, don't you ? " . 109 " Well, yes, it does seem peculiarly expressive, but the old way sounds a little better yet." " Of course," pursued Grace, "it doesn't matter so much what we call this omnipresent power, as whether we understand it. All humanity worship the same Deity in the sense of recognizing an omnipotent Power. I once read something comparing the ideas of God among the different peoples, and it was really wonder- ful how similar they were, excepting, of course, each nation had a different name for Deity. I believe I have that book now somewhere ; " and Grace went to look for it, but presently returned without finding it. " Well, it made such a vivid impression on me that I remember a few of the principal statements. One was that the Hindoos teach of an omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent Being called Brehm who is the creator of all things, from whom all things emanate and by whom all things are sustained. The Persians, Egyp- tians, Greeks held similar ideas. The Persians called God, Ormuzd, the Greeks, Orpheus, the Egyptians, Osiris." "I did not know the Pagans held such ideas of Deity. I always thought they believed in many gods," said Kate. "They did, but as Edward Everett Hale, says: 'The innumerable Gods of the Pantheon are but mani- festations of the One Being,' that is, they had special names for the different manifestations of God, as He appeared to them in the sun, the air, the earth, and also the different qualities of human character. They all alike believed in a Supreme Being, and made 110 THE RIGHT KNOCK. statements almost synonymous with many in the Bible. That is what may be called universal truth, and if Christian Science is what is consistent with funda mental truth, it will be just what I have been wishing to find." Grace leaned back meditatively, adding, "Mythology used to have a peculiar charm for me, and many of those old stories are coming back with a new significance." " ' There is but one foundation, other, can no man lay,' " quoted Kate, earnestly. "Yes, my dear," and Grace rose and paced back and forth in deep abstraction. " There is but one Truth and we can not establish a falsity. But I want to carry my reflections a little further concerning this universal worship. To my mind, the power inherent in everything and recognized in some way by every individual is the supreme, perfect Power in different phases of manifestation. The man who trusts an unseen power to bring the seed lie plants to full frui- tion, is believing in the true God, though he may not know it. "The whole world lives on faith from one year to another, for there is not. enough food produced in one season to last more than one year, and if men did not know every succeeding season would provide, they would be desperate indeed. What is this but believing in a supreme Power? Even materialists admit that the great First Cause is beyond matter. Herbert Spencer speaks of it as the * Universal Reality, without beginning and without end.'" "All people reverence and admire the sentiments of QUESTIONINGS. Ill love and justice and truth and mercy. Let us agree they come from the same cause and are everywhere present, and we shall come nearer to worshiping God in spirit and in truth, than we ever have before. Now let's have your opinion, Queen Katherine," concluded Grace, looking at Kate with a playful smile as she finished her long dissertation. " There is nothing I can add to that, and it seems a very good conclusion to our first lesson. I did not know you had thought so much about religious things, Grace." " I always had a fondness for looking on the for- bidden side of things, and I am afraid I was more curious than religious, but I am rather glad if there is an explanation to these things that have always puz- zled me." CHAPTER XV. "A lie cannot exist it only appears. Truth is consciousness con- sistent with itself in every relation ; error is consciousness incon- sistent with itself in some relation." Judge II. P. Biddle. " And what an end lies before us ! To have a consciousness of our own ideal being flashed through us from the thought of God! Surely, for this may well give way all our paltry self-conscious- ness, our self-admiration and self-worships! Surely, to know what He thinks about us will pale out of our souls all our thoughts about ourselves ! " George MacDonald. " MARLOW, September . JOHN" : I hope you are as anxiously await- ing this letter as I awaited the second lecture. It was splendid, so comprehensive, and above all, so practical. It throws light on many puzzling points, and I am delighted so far with what seems so plain and true. " Some of the members of the class seemed quite shocked at some of the statements, but it is not strange that they should seem startling to one who has never thought on the subject, for indeed, I should think it would take a good while to get used to reasoning that is directly opposite the world's first conclusions ; still we are looking for results that are quite contrary to what the world looks for, so we can afford to collide with its opinions. When Mrs. Pearl came into the class room, all turned to look at her and every ear was ready to listen. " In yesterday's lesson we made a statement of God as the only Mind of the universe, the Great Reality lit WHA T 18 NOT TR HE. 113 beside whom there is absolutely nothing in existence ; but as we look around at the scenes of suffering and poverty and ignorance, we are mightily tempted to disbelieve such a statement. " ' Talk of omnipotent Light in the midst of midnight darkness ! ' you exclaim. Ah, but you are to remem- ber we are talking of the real creation ; the invisible and unapparent instead of the visible and apparent ; the changeless and eternal instead of the evanescent and decaying. " If God is the only Reality, His creation is the only real creation. The word real is applied to that which actually exists, which forever is, not to that which seems or appears ; therefore, in speaking of the real we mean the changeless and invisible. " If God is the only Mind, His are the only real thoughts, and thoughts are invisible to the eye, but discernible to the mind or consciousness. " If God is everywhere, there is no possible place or space in the universe where God is not ; hence He is all there is. One of our modern prophets wisely wrote : ' Has not a deeper meditation taught certain of every clime and age that the "Where and the When so mys- teriously inseparable from all our thoughts, are but superficial adhesions to thought ; that the Seer may discern them where they mount up out of the celestial Everywhere and Forever. Have not all nations con- ceived their God as omnipresent and eternal, as existing in a universal Here, an everlasting Now ? " ' Think well, thou too wilt find that space is but a mode of our human sense, so likewise Time. There is 114 THE EIGHT KNOCK. no space and no time. We are we know not what ; light sparkles floating in the ether of Deity. So this so solid seeming world, were, after all, but an air-image our vie the only reality.' " This me is the spiritual self, the individual idea of God, His image and likeness. " What then, about this body, which is not spiritual, you ask ? What about the material universe ? " Wait a moment. Think of the premise. As God the invisible is the changeless, what is the variable, fleeting, visible unreality ? The real is everlasting, the unreal is transitory. The real is called Spirit, the unreal matter. "What is Spirit? The underlying omnipresent substance that we call God. "What is matter? The counterfeit, shadow, emblem, showing that Spirit exists or is. "We read in a very ancient Hindoo Scripture: 'Those who have understanding, whose thought is pure, see the entire universe as the picture of Thy wisdom ; ' and the thoughtful Carlyle said: 'All visible things are emblems. . . . Matter represents some idea and bodies it forth.' "These thoughts are in perfect accord with the principles laid down in our premise, hence we find that as we believe matter, believe the body to be the real creation, we are believing a falsity. This is the idol we are worshiping instead of the true and only God. The grand visible universe in which we see so many beauties, so many charms, is but the mighty object lesson before us by which we may learn of the infinite, WHAT 18 NOT TltUti. 115 invisible All. As Theodore Parker said : ' The uni- verse itself is a great autograph of the Almighty.' " The characters used in mathematics do not consti- tute the science but merely represent to the senses the invisible ideas of the principle of mathematics. The visible does not constitute the invisible, but may carry its messages as we learn to read its poetic and mystic pages. The visible speaks to the mortal nature, but the invisible beyond and above, speaks to the immor- tal nature. " Since we find matter to be so totally opposite the real, there is no other name for it than as the unreal, and the unreal being a counterfeit of the real, must be a lie, as the nature of a lie is to make false claims, pre- tending they are true. "Matter is a counterfeit because it is not genuine or of God, because it is changeable and fleeting, because being limited to a visible form, it must have finite limi- tations and can merely give finite conceptions. " Taking it as a sign of something infinite, we learn of the infinite. All the students, teachers, learned men and women of the world have added to the world's spiritual ideas revealed by their study of the finite as well as their intuitive knowledge of the infinite. Charles Kingsley gives us a hint of how to learn: 'Do not study matter for its own sake but as the counte- nance of God. Try to extract every line of beauty, every association, every moral reflection, every inex- pressible feeling from it.' " Our ideas of matter must then be entirely changed, and we must learn to look bevonol the seeming:, to the 116 THE RIGHT KXOCK. true. We have believed in the reality of matter and material environment because of reasoning from the false basis that man is material or that he is a mixture of material and spiritual. To believe that the flesh and blood of our sister or brother is their real self, is to believe God capable of creating something utterly unlike himself (John iii, James i.) which may suffer, sin and die, and if He is all perfection, He can not know imperfection. If He is all spirit, He can not know or be matter. Keep before your mind the perfection, omnipotence, omnipresence of Spirit, God or Principle, and you will see more and more clearly the inconsist- ency of anything opposite Him emanating from Him. " Believing in matter as a reality, we have endowed it with all the power of the real, have ascribed to it life, substance and intelligence, when it possesses neither. " Where is the life when the body dies? If life were inherent in the physical body, could it ever cease to be ? God the eternal life principle can not cease to be. The life manifested through the body is the life which is God and can not bo affected by the decay or disappearance of the body. "The invisible essence of life is also the true sub- stance, the reliable and changeless something, upon which we may forever depend. We use the word substance in its etymological sense (from sub, under and stare, to stand), and since Spirit or Mind is the reality that underlies every material or sensible object, there is no substance to the object itself. " Plato taught that ' ideas, are the only real things.' WHAT IS NOT TRUE, 117 Ideas are expressions of thoughts, and thoughts are expressions of mind, and this reasoning brings us back to God as Mind and Mind as Cause. Admitting Mind or Spirit to be the life and substance back of or express- ing itself through the body, we may easily see that intelligence can not exist apart from Mind, and hence can not belong to matter. " That the mind or intelligence is seated in the gray convolutions of the brain, is held by the material- ists, and yet Dr. Laycock affirms ' that matter is fun- damentally nothing more than that which is the seat of motion to ends, of which mind is the source and cause.' Professor Huxley crowns the statement by saying, 'That which perceives or Jmows is mind or spirit, and therefore, that knowledge which the senses give us, is, after all, a knowledge of spiritual phenom- ena.' Professor Faraday held to the immateriality of physical objects. " In the language of Jesus the Christ, we are told, 'Spirit is all, the flesh profiteth nothing;' thus from all classes of conscientious but confessedly diverse thinkers, we find statements of universal truth, and this is what the hungry, starving world is seeking with more earnestness than ever before. " Since there is no life, substance or intelligence in matter, it will be comparatively easy to prove that there can be no sensation, for where there is no life in the body, there can be no feeling. Even the physiolo- gists tell us mind must know pain before it can be located in the body. We state therefore a theorem which is practically demonstrated; there is no sensation in matter. 118 . THE RIGHT KXOCK. " As we visit penitentiaries, reform schools and hos- pitals, as we read and hear the startling statements of press and pulpit, we grow disconsolate and heavy- hearted over the awful power and reality of evil, for- getting again that He who is perfect goodness can not behold evil or in any way permit its existence, any more than heat can permit cold, or light can permit darkness. "Granting the omnipotence of Good, where is there any room for its opposite ? " If there is but one Power, and that omnipotent and perfect, there can be no evil in reality ; hence we are dealing with another lie when we judge according to appearances, which Jesus said we should not do. It is really disloyalty to God to impute to Him all misery, pain, sickness and suffering caused by the evil and ignorance of man. We are told : ' Let your soul be subject to the higher powers, for there is no power but of God.' Because we have not done so, but have believed in every claim power, we suffer from ' evils which our own misdeeds have wrought,' as Milton wrote, or, in the words of Emerson, ' we in ;/*create our own evils.' "Jeremiah said: 'It is your sins that have with- holden the good things from you. ' " According to Webster, 'sin is a transgression of the law of God. ' There is but one law the perfect and unchangeable Truth. Any deviation from Truth is error, and error is sin. In proportion as we deviate from the strictly true, then, we sin. Because we admit things to be true which are not true, we admit, then commit sin, and hence suffer for sin. ' Know ye not WHAT IS NOT TRUE. 119 that to whomsoever ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are, whether of sin unto death or obedience unto righteousness, ' wrote Paul. We first think wrong. Sin is of the mind, not of the body. " To acknowledge the reality of sin or evil is a trans- gression of the law, because, according to pur estab- lished premise, it cannot be true. " Through a misconception of our relation to God, and a belief in the power of evil, we are obliged to admit the existence of sin, sickness, and death, neither of which can be true in the presence of God, as the only Reality, in which or in whom are all things that eternally are, not that temporarily appear. " We have believed in a mind or power of thought opposite and contrary to God, when in reality there can be nothing opposite or contrary to eternal Mind. We have believed ourselves endowed with a mind sep- arate from God, and ourselves subject to temptation from some cause not Good. "\Te have believed in minds, when there is but one Mind. " This false force, this false mind, is variously called the evil or carnal mind, the mind of the flesh, the old man, the serpent, the devil, the adversary. It is simply the opposite or contradictory of the Good, the god of evil. " Beside every true or positive statement there is a false or negative claim, and in so far as we are ignorant of the true, we are in bondage to the false. To believe the claims of error is to be bound; to know the reality of truth is to be free. To believe in a mind or power separate or opposite from God, is to be subject to any ISO THE RIGHT KNOCK. suppositions or beliefs formulated by that mind or negative thought. " That we are spiritually perfect is true, but it is necessary for us to prove that fact by ' working out our own salvation,' by manifesting the positive or God quality of thought through our life and actions, and the only way to be filled with good thought is to recognize and acknowledge the Good only as the real. "This error, tempter or devil, was spoken of by Jesus as having no truth, as being a liar, and the father or cause of lies (John viii: 44). Instead of devil (which is only another name for evil or the slanderer), or 'carnal mind', as Paul called it, we find mortal thought a better term for the expression of this power of thinking. "'Why have we this power of thinking wrong thoughts when there is but one good and only Mind? ' you ask. As God's idea, in the image and likeness of Mind that thinks, we have the power of recognition, the power to be or not to be, the possibility to become sons of God. "We have the power to distinguish, to judge, to know ; we have the spirit that ever leads us on and on in truth. " But here is where we fail. In our ignorance or limited state of unfoldment, we have mistaken the sym- bol for that which is symbolized ; we have judged according to appearances instead of righteous or strictly true judgment ; we have yielded to a belief in sin, hence are servants of sin. " This mortal thought has a counterfeit power, sim- ply because we have delegated to it a power, have WHAT IS NOT TRUE. 1*1 acknowledged it as an entity, separate from the eter- nal Mind. "Reasoning in this way we find everywhere two opposites or contradictories to be recognized and judged, as the visible and the invisible, the material and the spiritual, the false and the true, the mortal and the immortal, the unreal and the real, the negative and the positive. " Judging of the true by that which is changeless and eternal, we can decide at once on those qualities or attributes belonging to or describing what is true, and by knowing what is true, we can readily distinguish it from the erroneous. " "We have considered these great errors or nega- tives which the world has believed and still believes in, and they must be dealt with according to scientific law. " Through all the ages of Christianity have been heard the words of the Master: 'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me ; ' but who has understood it ? The let- ter of the law has indeed been observed by many earn- est followers of Jesus to a degree not considered neces- sary in this age, but what has it demonstrated ? What has come of all the fasting and renunciation, the cruel asceticism and severe discipline ? "Do these conscientious disciples give an unmis- takable proof of their discipleship by showing the signs that must follow the true believer ? How can they when they talk of sin, sickness and death ; of things contradictory to the nature, power and presence of God 2 1^ THE RIGHT KNOCK " Then they must not have understood the spiritual import of these words of Jesus to 'deny himself.' Deny means, according to Webster, 'to contradict; to declare not to be true ; to disclaim connection with ; to refuse to acknowledge ; to disown.' Jesus meant deny the mortal thought, the false self ; refuse to acknowl- edge it as having any authority ; and it is only as the Christian Scientist proves this to be the true mode of denying self, that he can speak with authority as to the scientific method of dealing with all the errors to which mortal thought gives birth. "No other way has brought the desired result; hence we confidently assert that all these mistakes agreed to and participated in by mankind must be emphatically, persistently, scientifically denied. " Systematically and repeatedly we say : " 1. There is no life, substance or intelligence in matter. " 2. There is no sensation or causation in matter. "3. There is no reality in matter. " 4. There is no reality in sin, sickness or death. " 5. There is no reality in evil. " 6. There is no reality in mortal thought. " This is denying the self recognized by the world. This is the life that must be laid down, that must be sacrificed, lost. " Humanity has proven its subjection to these errors. Now, by its faithful rejection of them, let it prove them lies, for the force of a lie is always annulled by rejection. This proves the law referred to by Jesus when he made a denial of self the first duty of his disciples. WHA T IS NOT TR UE. 123 " In denying, it is necessary to say the words over and over again ; it may be mechanically at first, but say them over, several hours at a time, if possible. " More is accomplished by concentration than any- body is aware, and the repetition of the words helps to concentrate the thought. First repeat the whole list of denials, then select one on which to spend most of the time for several days. The denial of matter, for instance, makes us more spiritually minded. "When denying, try to realize there is no space, but that anywhere you send your thought it will go, and as you think or say the words, you will be denying error for the world as well as for yourself, as every thought is world-wide in its influence, and helps to free or bind humanity, even as it is truth or error. " To deny is to put out of mind, to erase, as it were, the false beliefs. Be earnest, be faithful, and you will have an abundant reward. " This, dear John, is the substance of the lecture as nearly as I can give it. After Mrs. Pearl had finished the lesson, she requested the class to sit in silence a few moments and together hold the thought, ' There is no reality in matter;' after which we were dismissed with this benediction : ' May we realize that God is, that spirit is the only reality.' "The lessons are always opened by silent prayer, which I have forgotten to mention before. " Please, dear husband, observe these rules and study every assertion as carefully as though you were in the class. You, and Grace, and Kate, can accomplish a great deal together; but by all means don't pass 1S4 THE RIGHT KNOCK judgment till you have carefully examined all the evidence. " Tell me all about the children. Such details will greatly comfort me, for I must confess that to-night I am the least bit homesick. " Good night, " Your loving MARION." CHAPTER XVI. "God is commanding us off, every hour of our lives, toward things eternal, there to find our good, and build our rest. Sometimes He does it by taking us out of the world, and sometimes by taking the world out of us." 1J. BusJmell. WHE second letter has come," said Grace the moment Kate entered the room, after her day's lessons were over. " Has it ? Let us hurry and get the tea over so we can study it." " Don't you want to hear it first? I haven't looked at it because I wanted to wait for you, but I can't wait that long," cried Grace, pulling it out of her painting- apron pocket. " All right, then read away while I start the fire." "No; come and sit down like a good child, you can't half listen when your mind is filled with stoves and tea-pots." Kate smiled, and drawing her chair up beside Grace, she listened to the reading, while her face alternately brightened or darkened. "Well, it sounds very beautiful and very plausible, but I can't see how any one can say there is no evil when the world is full of it, and to say there is no sin, sickness or death ! why, that is blasphemous ! I know the Bible won't corroborate that," she said, in a horri- fied voice, at the conclusion of the letter. " Hold on, we must not be so fast ; there are good 125 m THE RIGHT KNOCK. reasons for every statement, and she says it is necessary to say these denials over and over. It is harder for me to believe there is no matter, but if there is a way to prove there is none, then I will submit. But first let us see what the Bible says," said the more moderate Grace. She got the Bible and concordance, but could find no reference to matter as pertaining to physical crea- tion, but she found under the word " flesh " an allusion to John i : 12-13, and iii : 6. " The first reads," began Grace, "'But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.' That evidently refers to a creation possible to all, but where is the authority for saying ' there is no matter'?" She pondered a moment, then referred to the letter " Oh, I see ! She says, ' no reality in matter,' and then goes on to explain about the real. Yes, now I see. Do you understand it, Kate ? " " I can understand that the body is not the real," replied Kate, thoughtfully, "for Jesus said 'the spirit is all, the flesh profiteth nothing,' but "That's so. Why didn't we think of that before? Besides, it was taught by the ancient philosophers as much as 4,000 years ago, that matter has no reality. Yes, its plain to see how it can be, theoretically, but where they can demonstrate it practically, puzzles me. Here is a reference; let us see if that will tell us something." STUDYING AND PROVING. 127 She read Heb. xi: 3: '"Through faith we under- stand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.' ' : " That seems quite conclusive," said Kate. " Yes, it does. Now we will consider your problem," replied Grace, running her finger down the references, " and see if we can find anything in that. Let us bear in mind," she continued, "she does not say there is no appearance, but no reality in evil. Among the first references, I find one to the twenty-third Psalm : ' I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.' How plain that is ! Of course there can be no evil where God is, and God is eve^where. God is Love. In Love there is no evil." "But jast think of the awful crimes that are com- mitted every day, and the wicked people who commit them," demurred Kate, with an incredulous look. " We haven't got far enough to solve everything ; listen to this : ' Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked,' " read Grace. " That must mean that with the carnal mind we see all things opposite God, and with the mind of the spirit we discern spiritual things; that is in Romans somewhere," exclaimed Kate, with a gleam of under- standing in her face. 'What word shall I look for?" asked Grace, intently pursuing her search. " Mind, I think ; shan't I look for it ?" "No ; here it is in the eighth chapter and tenth verse : 'The carnal mind is at enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.' 128 THE RIGHT KNOCK. That is plain enough. It means that all thoughts oppo- site God and God's creations are of the animal man, hence at enmity with God, and since there is nothing real but God and His creations, of course there is no reality in them. Now you are satisfied, aren't you, Kate?" " I suppose I ought to be, for I don't see any other way to understand those passages," she admitted, with a sigh of relief. "Just one more, and we'll go on to the next denial, which will hit me, I'm afraid," continued Grace. She turned to Isa. xxxiii: 15-16 : " I declare, Kate, here is the essence of the whole lesson," and she read : " 'He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly' (according to the true creation), ' he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hand from hold- ing of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil ; He shall dwell on high ; his place of defence shall be the muni- tions of rocks ; bread shall be given him ; his waters shall be sure.' " " I really did not know there was such a passage in the Bible, and I don't see why other people haven't found it before," said Kate, quite won over. "But how strange it seems to deny this way." " Yes, that is the most unreasonable part of it, and yet I think Mrs. Harden has explained it very clearly. Now what is next ? " asked Grace. " There is no life, substance or intelligence in mat- ter," answered Kate, glancing at the letter. " I must confess that puzzles me," mused Grace, thoughtfully. STUDYING AND PROVING. 129 " Oh, that is easy enough to understand, when you remember the spirit is all, besides, when a person dies the organs of the body may be perfect, but there is no life or feeling, and according to this new under- standing, no substance," explained Kate, in her turn. " I can see it well enough as a theory, but what all this has to do with practical every-day living, is a mys- tery to me." "'We haven't got far enough to solve everything,' somebody said to me once, and here it is for you," remarked Kate, with a spice of mischief in her tone. "All right, what next?" " No sensation or causation in matter ; but I think that is answered the same way as the other. But this last one ; I do wonder if the Bible corroborates it ?"" Kate looked troubled again, as she read : " 'There is no sin, sickness nor death.' " "The same reasoning applies to that as to all the rest. There is no reality to anything but God's creation, and that is changeless and perfect. But we will see what the Bible has to say; I. John iii: 2-10. In the second verse it reads : ' Beloved, now are we the sons of God, but it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; ' that of course is an assertion of our spiritual self. Then verse nine says: 'Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him and he can not sin, because he is born of God.' Then it seems plain there can be no sin to the spirit, neither can there be sickness nor death." " It is wonderful," murmured Kate. "What is next?" pursued Grace, with the concord- ance open before her. ISO THE RIGHT KNOCK. " That is all, except she explains the use and neces- sity of denial, and suggests to Mr. Hayden the benefit of denying for hours at a time." "Well, we can do that, too. If it is good for him, it must be for us. I mean to do it," said Grace, shut- ting her book with a snap and pacing back and forth excitedly. " Oh, well, take it calmly ; we can do that while we are getting supper, and I am hungry now. Do you know it is seven o'clock? " Kate exclaimed, looking at her watch. "Two hours we have been studying," said Grace. " Really, this is as interesting as painting. I don't see one thing but what is reasonable, do you, Kate ? " " Not the way it seems now." After everything was put away they began making earnest application of the rules. Each sat silently thinking, according to directions: "There is no realitj 7 in matter, there is no reality in matter," etc. For two hours neither spoke. Then Kate said : " I feel so light ; as though there were no weight to my body. What does it mean ? " " I don't know, unless it shows you are realizing what you say." " That is it. I can feel that there is no obstruction to spirit or thought ; that spirit is limitless and God is everywhere." She seemed lost in her new thoughts, and went to bed as though she were dreaming. Grace had experi- enced nothing but a sense of dullness and extreme sleepiness. CHAPTER XVII. "The soul is not a compensation, but a life. ThesouHs. Underall this sea of circumstance, whose waters ebb and flow with per- fect balance, lies the aboriginal abyss of real Being. Existence or God is not a relation or a part, but a whole." Emerson. " MAKLOW, September . BEAR HUSBAND : I was made very happy this morning by the messages from home, and es- pecially Fred's and Jamie's baby efforts. They wanted to send mamma their love, and the straggling char- acters meant for words, convey as much meaning as though they were in good English, for they speak to me in unmistakable language. Why do I understand so well? Ah, John, I see. Because, being filled with love for them, I recognize the same quality in what they feel for me, and only need a sign to read the meaning back of it. "As I write, new light comes to me regarding the real meaning of signs and symbols. Until we are filled with a desire and love for God, we can not per- ceive or understand the real meaning of the universe, can not read God's love for us. Until we have a con- scious apprehension that there is a spiritual knowledge, we can not recognize spiritual truth. " Oh, I can not help wishing you had been here to day ! It was simply grand ; such an uplifting, such a glimpse of the wondrous Now. We learned about 131 1SS THE RIGHT KNOCK. what is, what we are and how to prove ourselves God's children. Mrs. Pearl opened with a few words on the use and necessity of silence, after which we \vere all silent awhile, when she commenced : "Garfield said, 'The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto and every man a word. Its strains have been pealing along down the centuries, and though there have been the discords of warring cannon and dying men, yet to the Christian, the philosopher, the historian and the humble listener, there has been a divine melody run- ning through the song, which speaks of hope and halcyon days to come.' "What has made possible this divine melody but the spirit of love and truth that ever animates the children of God? Were it not for this vein, nay this wholeness of the invisible spirit, what could we have on which to found hopes of 'halcyon days?' " Not from the visible man of flesh and blood do all things beautiful and true emanate, nor from the material and unstable, but from the one source that is God, as apprehended and realized by His idea, the real, invisible, spiritual man. Beauty, worth, can only be in idea or understanding. "What made Milton, Shakespeare, Emerson, truly great was their appropriation and manifestation of the invisible inheritance of spirit, mind. "What is man without intelligence, without love, without life, without truth ? The real man is spiritual because he is the idea of Spirit, Mind, God, the only Creator. All that is grand, noble, true in an individual WHAT IS TRUE. 133 is a manifestation of the God-po\ver and presence. There is but one real Mind, and all real or positive thought or intelligence is the manifestation of Mind, which is God. There is but one real Intelligence, and the intelligence manifested by the individual is the In- telligence which is God. " God is absolutely one Verity, the primordial Essence. But how shall we know this as a fact ? How shall we prove it as an incontrovertible truth ? you ask. " By persistent acknowledgement of God and His creation, we become one with Him, and to be one with God is to know absolute Truth. We are conditioned by the thoughts we think and by the words we speak. By thinking and speaking right words we manifest true conditions ; by thinking and speaking wrong words we manifest false conditions. ' As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.' If we desire to manifest strength, justice or wisdom of God, we must ' acknowledge God in all our ways.' "'The only salvation,' says George MacDonald, 1 is being filled with the spirit of God, having the same mind as Christ.' " In order to realize the essence of these words, in order to realize the essence of any truth, we must enter into its meaning by becoming one with it, by making ourselves the expression of its harmony, the picture of its idea. " Knowing the potency of the word, we say the true words over and over again, silently or audibly we think of them in every possible way, with varied expression if we will, as it is the thought, the prime idea that we are seeking to manifest. 134 THE RIGHT KNOCK " We want the true salvation ; ' we want to be filled with the spirit;' we want the truth that makes free; we want strength, justice, wisdom. To secure these we have only to rid ourselves of the false and be filled with the true. " By the positive denial of a lie we annul the lie ; by the positive affirmation of truth we establish truth, or rather our consciousness of truth is established ; thus, as we deny error or affirm truth, are we carried for- ward and upward. These are the ' wonderful words of life' that clothe us with righteousness. " The words that we use first are statements of fundamental Truth, acknowledging who and what God is, what we are, and in what relation we stand to our Father. " 1. God is life, Truth, Love, Substance. " 2. God is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipo- tent. "3. I am the idea of God, and in Him I have my being. " 4% God is my sufficiency in all work and my will in all ways. " 5. I am subject to God's law and can not sin, suffer or die. "Over and over again we speak the words, and by marvelous law new meanings flash upon us, new thoughts are born, new interpretations come to efface the more obscure ones of the past. It may be easier to fellow every denial with its corresponding affirmation ; if so, study the lesson that way. " Hold to each .affirmation till it yields its pearl. WHAT 18 TRUE. 135 Take the first, ' God is Life ;' say the words over and over, think of them in every conceivable way. Make every tiny leaf and slender blade of grass tell you some- thing of the infinite Life. Bear in mind that every where life is manifested, whether in plant, animal or man, wherever we look there is omnipresent Life. " God is Life. This same Life is our life, which can not be taken away from us. This Life is good, and in It we live even as God lives in us. Oh, wondrous life that flows on and on, without beginning, without end, even as the river sings : ' Men may come and men may go, but I go on forever.' " God is Truth, all truth, wheresoever or by whom- soever recognized, is the everlasting Truth that must forever be. " There is not a community or church, not a society or family, but is organized and held together by some phase of the all-embracing and perfect Truth. The different sects and parties are only different because certain people see the same side of Truth, and preferring to be of one mind, they separate or unite and build their respective sanctuaries. " ' Truth is always present, and we only need to lift the iron lids of the mind's eye to read its oracles,' said Emerson. "When the ' iron lids ' are lifted we shall see as one, we shall belong to the Church of the uni- verse and the oracle shall reveal to us its deepest secrets and most sacred mysteries. " Truth is. All that we have, can have, or will have or can conceive of, exists in the ever present Here and Now. It only remains for us to recognize and acknowl- edge it. 1S6 TUB RIGHT KNOCK. " God is Love. To realize the mighty sea of om- nipotent Love that enfolds and blesses humanity, would be to plunge into the healing waters of Bethesda. Like the sick man, we wait until the majestic Christ com- mands us to arise help ourselves, instead of waiting for others to put us into the cleansing current. Let us recognize, then, the allness, the tenderness, the sacred- ness of this divine Love by submerging ourselves in it, until all thoughts of evil, suffering or hatred are lost in its embrace. " ' Lift up the gates that the king of glory may enter in,' sang David, and we too cry aloud with earnest aspiration that the gates shall be lifted away, that into our consciousness may come the high tide of omni- present Love. ' Love alone is wisdom, love alone is power, and when love seems to fail it is where self has stepped in and dulled the potency of its rays.' " God is our substance. True substance alone is reliable. God is our rod and our staff. Firmly rely- ing on the Rock of substance which is God, we can not be shaken, can not be destroyed. Though all seeming powers totter and fall around us, the One is ever the same, indivisible, unchangeable I Am. "\Vhen we are one with the eternal Substance, weakness, danger, failure shrink into cowering nothingness. " Study to know, and know to live, should be our motto. Deny all error and affirm all Truth is the way to appropriate whatsoever we desire to manifest. Deny weakness and affirm strength, deny discord and affirm harmony, deny sickness and affirm health. Why ? Because we erase the false beliefs of weakness WHAT 18 TRUE. 1S7 discord, sickness, by the denial, and appropriate strength, harmony, wholeness by affirmation. " Can the spiritual self be ignorant, weak, sick or sinful ? we argue. Impossible, for God is our suffi- ciency, is all there is. We refuse to admit any belief of dullness and ignorance, but gratefully acknowledge our likeness to God our Wisdom. We refuse to enter- tain anything contrary to the Good, but fellowship only with God-like qualities. They are ours by right of inheritance. We gladly claim them and prove our claim by our manifestation. "Cleansing our consciousness from false concep- tions, what wondrous power may we not reflect ! Our sufficiency is of God, not of ourselves, and to Him we ascribe all honor and glory. 44 The Master taught the divineness of yielding our will wholly to God, ' Not my will but thine be done,' He prayed. This is the highest conception of the denial of self. The mortal self is to be set aside, our immortal consciousness awakened into oneness with the Father. " MacDonald has beautifully said, l Oneness with the mighty All is the one end of life God or chaos is the only alternative.' We say God works through man to \vill and to do, and implicitly trust the divine Intelligence that guides every waiting child. "We choose the Good and reverently await our leadings. In every stormy trial, in every doubtful moment, in every hard-pressed circumstance we stand aside and let the divine w r ill work through us. There can be no mistaking this standing aside. It is not to 1S8 THE PJC1IT KXOCE. sit down idly with no thouglit of responsibility or effort, but it is to do the best we can so far as we know, constantly awaiting more knowledge of God's will and more strength to do. "When the will of man is at one with the will of God, when man realizes his mortal nothingness and the allness of God, there is divine and perfect healing. The poet was right when he wrote, ' Our wills are ours we know not how, Our wills are ours to make them Thine.' "'I am subject to the law of God and can not sin, suffer nor die.' The real /is governed by spirit, as an idea is governed by the mind that thinks it. The real creation, being spiritual, can not be subject to mortal beliefs or 'carnal mind which is at enmity with God.' With spirit there can be no sin, sickness nor death, for these are enemies to be overcome by the Son of God, the Christ within. 'Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee.' ' The last enemy (belief) to be overcome is death.' " Until we persistently refuse to judge according to appearances, and acknowledge the true and invisible, we will continue in our old code of beliefs and be at the mercy of the consequences. " When we recognize the Christ or God principle within, we are then truly the sons and daughters of God. Christian Science gives a logical and to some, a new meaning to the term Christ. Christ means Truth and Truth means God. 'In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God, and the Word was made manifest in the flesh, or the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.' WHAT IS TRUE. 159 " ' Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.' Jesus said of Himself, 'I am the way, the truth and the life.' But He did not speak this of His physical body, He referred to the spirit or Christ within, which was one with the Father, that was and is, literally the way, the truth and the life. If you will substitute Truth for Christ any place in the Bible, with this under- standing, you will be able to read and apprehend as never before. In this line of thought read the thirty- fifth chapter of Isaiah, the title of which is 'The joyful flourishing of Christ's (Truth's) kingdom.' With this understanding, we so much more clearly see what Paul meant when he said such things as ' Your life is hid with Christ in God,' ' Christ in you, the hope of glory,' 'Until Christ be formed in you,' and many other similar expressions. In the eighth chapter of Romans, especially the first verse, it is much clearer by reading with this new spiritual signification. 'There is, there- fore, now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus (Truth), who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit.' Who could ever believe the physical Jesus was meant? No: Christ was exactly what the first chapter of John says He was, the "Word (or Truth) made manifest in the flesh, and the name of the flesh was Jesus. " Jesus Christ means Jesus, the manifestation of Truth, and this explains many hitherto obscure passages, which are exceedingly hard to understand, when the flesh and spirit are regarded as one. "What vast possibilities unfold to the human being persistent in his search for truth! What a glorious 140 THE RIGHT KNOCK. ivulm of knowledge, what wonderful power, what bliss- ful peace, for he will have 'put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that creates him/ He will have attained the clear vision of liberty, for he will no longer be bound to the 'letter that killeth' but be filled with the 'spirit that giveth life.' "The silence at the close seemed like a baptism of peace. To me came the realization of the intimate relationship of God's children to their Father, whose love ever comes as a benediction to those who will or can, recognize and appropriate it. " With love to you all, I am, "YouR MARION. " P. S. I take great pains to have the quotations accurate, and fortunately I have made the acquaintance of the shorthand reporter in the class who sits next to me ; she takes notes and as a special favor, reads the quotations for me after the class is dismissed. " Once more, good-bye. M." CHAPTER XVIII. " Got but the truth once uttered, and 'tis like A star new-born that drops into its place, And which, once circling in its placid round, Not all the tumult of the earth can shake." Lowell. MOW are you getting on in your study of Chris- tian Science ? " asked Mr. Ilayden, meeting Kate as he was going home, and handing her the letter. " It is getting plainer, but Grace seems to catch the. reason of things much more readily than I. In fact, I am afraid I should have given up in disgust had not she helped me out, for some of the statements seemed so unreasonable." " They are rather inconsistent in some respects, I must admit ; but if we will only be patient, and not allow prejudice to color our judgment, everything will straighten out," replied Mr. Hayden, smiling. " You notice Marion is careful to warn me not to judge hastily. She knows how I am in religious matters, always insisting on the one interpretation. But I am growing some, I hope, so I trust my judgment is broad enough to make a fair and impartial investi- gation." "Do you follow directions about denying?" Kate asked, as the}'' walked along. " I am trying to, but of course my days are busy, and evenings somewhat taken up with the children. Still, I deny matter as being inert, having absolutely w 142 THE RIGHT KNOCK. no power of itself, except what is delegated to it by the senses. I know it has no life, intelligence or causa- tion of itself, but only as man in his ignorance allows it to have. This has been held by wise men of all ages. I have an idea Christian Science will help me in business as well as socially and religiously." "I am glad to hear that," said Kate; "though I must confess at first I was very much afraid to look into this; but last night I had a very clear assurance that there is something in it. Grace and I denied a long time, and I had a most peculiar experience. Such a strange, exalted feeling, as if there were no weight about me, and it was very clear that there is no reality in matter." " Kemarkable ! " murmured Mr. Ilayden. " Suppose you come down Sunday and we'll compare notes," he suggested, as he turned the corner toward home. "We will," she promised, and went on with a hur- ried step, anxious to read the letter, for she was no\v as interested as Grace. When she arrived at their rooms she found her friend had gone out, so she went about the domestic duties, resolving to have everything ready when Grace returned. "Isn't that a beautiful lesson?" exclaimed Grace, when they finally sat down to study, later in the even- ing. " Perfectly grand; but I want the Bible corrobora- tion, though I am not afraid it is not there this time." " Of course everything that proves the theory helps to establish the consequent facts, and I suspect all things prove it when we understand it. Well, here is IT MUST BE SO. 143 the first statement about God that is about the same as in the first lesson," said Grace. " Look up the refer- ences to life." " Here is one in Psalm xxvii : 1. ' The Lord is my life and my salvation, whom shall I fear?' " read Kate ; " and here is another in Acts xvii : 25 : ' God giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.' ' : "That is good; see if you can find another," said Grace. "Here is one, but I hardly understand it John xi : 25, 26. ' Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life ; he that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.' What can that mean, Grace?" u Wait a moment," said Grace, silently pondering. Then she looked again at the letter. " Why, of course ! How could we forget so easily ? I had it just a moment ago. Jesus never referred to his flesh and blood \vhen he spoke of himself as life, resurrection, truth, bread, but always meant the Spirit of God that was manifest in him, and the Spirit of God which is the Christ, is Truth, and whosoever believes or apprehends Truth, shall be whole and live." " But it says, ' shall never die,' " interrupted Kate, still unsatisfied. " I don't know, then, unless it means 'the Spirit is all/ Find another passage." Kate read John vi : 51-64, and then added, anx- iously, " it seems to grow more mysterious all the time." " Never mind, let us be patient. Read the fifty-first and sixty-third verses again." 144 THE RIGHT KNOCK. Kate read, " ' I am the living bread which came down from heaven, if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever ; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. . It is the spirit thatquickeneth ; the flesh profiteth noth- ing, the words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life.' " "That last clause is the key to all," exclaimed Grace, eagerly. " He was the Word, idea made man- ifest in the flesh. Flesh was a symbol of Word, and lie said they were to eat his flesh, which meant they were to eat his word. Now let us look up Word, since so much hinges upon that." Rapidly turning over the leaves, Kate read again, John xv : 7 : " * If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.' " "There we have it. Christ, we must remember, means Truth. If we abide in the Truth and the words of Truth abide in us, that is, in order to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, we are to abide in the spirit and speak the words of Truth. Oh, how beau- tiful!" " Yes, it is. Here is another passage, Col. iii : 3, 4 : 4 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. . . . When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.' Even I, can see that," cried the delighted Kate, "and I remem- ber a verse in Ephesians, iv : 18, that will make it still plainer. Here it is: 'Having the understanding dark- ened, being alienated from the life of God through the IT MUST BE SO. 1J ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart ' (mind). Ignorance is the opposite of truth, and one who is ignorant of truth is subject to the car- nal mind which leads to death. When we know truth, we know the opposite of death, which is life, so when Christ the Truth, which is life, shall appear, we shall be glorified with the knowledge of eternal life, and just as far as we realize truth we manifest it, do we not ? " She appealed to Grace, as if the thought were too good to be true, and must needs be confirmed before she could believe it. " Manifest it ? Why yes; I suppose so ; that means in the body," answered Grace, thinking deeply; " mani- fest truth in the body. Of course," she continued, " we will show forth a more perfect body in proportion as we acknowledge and realize more perfect thought. How strangely we lose our premise ! If this could not be reasoned out so clearly, I should get all tangled up ; as it is, I don't keep out of snarls." " Just think of poor me who seem to have no rea- soning faculty at all in these matters. What should I have done without you to help me out ? " queried Kate. Grace smiled as she replied : "In one sense you will get on faster than I, for you can get it spiritually or intuitively, while I get it only intellectually, and the intuition flies where reason walks. You had a percep- tion of the unreality of matter last night and I had nothing at all but stupidity and sleepiness. But let us go on. I am more deeply interested than I can tell, and the Bible is a new book to me. I never dreamed 146 1HE RIGHT KNOCK. there were such treasures of truth in it. ]S"o matter where I read in the Bible before, I could not understand, and then I stopped trying, but it is very different now." " What is the next point in the lesson ? " asked Kate, taking up the Bible again. " I am the child of God. Look for child." " Yes, in Kom. viii : 16, 17 : ' The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God : and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs of Christ ; if so be that we suffer with him.' " " That means," said Grace, " we puove ourselves heirs if we suffer with him, mortify the flesh, lay down the life of appetites and passions and talk continually of spir- itual things; in short, live the life that Jesus did." " Here in Gal. iv: 1: ' The heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he is lord of all,' " read Kate. "While he has a child's ignorance of his inherit- ance, of course he could not enjoy its possession, and the longer he remains ignorant, the longer will he have the station of a servant," explained Grace, readily. " But there is a seeming conflict in the two pas- sages. The first says the spirit itself tells us we are children 'and heirs, and the second says, as long as he is a child, even though an heir, he is nothing but a ser- vant," said Kate, in perplexity again. " But isn't there a place in the Testament some- where about being born again ? " inquired Grace. " Yes, replied Kate, wondering what that could have to do with it. Yes, that is where Nicodemus went to Jesus by night " IT MUST BE SO. 147 " Find it," interrupted Grace, who was determined to be thorough in this study at least. " John, iii: 3-7, reads: ' Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God. . . . That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit.' ' : " Well ! " said Kate, as she finished. " Didn't we learn that the words are spirit and life, and does it not mean we are born into the spiritual knowledge by abiding in the words of truth ? " reasoned Grace. " Why, that is it, I do believe, and one of the last verses of the third chapter of Galatians says, ' for ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.' " " By faith in the Truth," amended Grace, for the sake of the clearer meaning. " What a stupid I am ! " cried Kate. A moment later she said thoughtfully, " there is a text in the first chapter of James which reads : ' Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.' My youthful Sun- day school training is not quite in vain," she added, meekly. " It would not take us so long if we knew the Bible as some people do, provided we want to take that as sole authority," remarked Grace, referring to the letter again. " I don't know about the advantage of knowing the passages unless you can interpret them, and that is certainly essential to the understanding," replied Kate, thoughtfully, as she drew her hand sknvly over tks open page. 148 THE EIGHT KNOCK. " Mrs. Hayden refers to the liberty brought by the spirit. Suppose you look up a reference to liberty," suggested Grace. 44 Yes," said Kate, a moment later, " here in verses 17 and 18 of II. Cor., third chapter, it reads, 'Now the Lord is that spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. . . . But we all, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.' " " Why, Grace," exclaimed Kate, shutting the book in her eagerness, "I see it all now. By denial we take away falsities that bar us from looking into the face of God (Good), and by the affirmation we acknowledge Him, which is turning an open face to Him and reflecting His glory. Isn't that the \vay you understand it?" Kate's face was all aglow with enthusiasm. A new light had come to her, and she was lifted to a higher plane, both in conception and feeling. "That is a beautiful interpretation, but I don't want to stop to think about it now," said Grace, with a yawn, betraying fatigue for the first time. " Why, Grace, a little while ago you said you were ' so interested.' What has come over you ? " was Kate's rather discomfited answer. "Oh, nothing, nothing!" rejoined Grace hastily, "only you know one can be surfeited with good things, but never mind. I shall not stop till we get through with this looking up, and then 1 must have a good long think." She playfully chucked Kate under her IT MUST BE SO. 140 chin, and asked her " to go on/' but the searching was not so spontaneous as before, and in the spontaneity of study lies the acquisition of knowledge. Grace, it must be confessed, was compelling herself to a thorough intellectual investigation which, till now, had been a novel pleasure, but \vas getting a little monotonous, although she was deeply interested and more pleased with the Bible readings than she would have thought possible, because, as she had said herself, the Bible has been a sealed book to her before. She was very careful to conceal this new feeling from Kate, for at least, she would not Jay one obstacle in henpnth, and after a few moments' desultory conversation, they went on as before. " The next affirmation is about the will, what can you find for that ? " asked Grace, as they had resumed their study again. " I have found it already," replied Kate, with her finger on the passage. " In Phil, ii : 13 : ' For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.' That subordination to the will of God runs all through the New Testament." " Here is the last one," resumed Grace, referring to the letter again. " I am subject to God's law and can not sin, suffer or die," she read. " Oh, that does not sound right; I do not see how it can be right to say such things,'"' interposed Kate, darkening again. She looked up a reference to sin and turned to the sixth chapter of Romans. " I don't see very clearly yet," she faltered, after she had finished the chapter. 150 THE EIGHT KNOCK. " Yes, in the 16th verse is the key to it all," said Grace, looking over the page with her. " The idea is, if \ve admit sin or talk about it, we are committing sin, for it is wrong to do either." "I understand a little better now, but it is not an easy matter to be so good," sighed Kate. " But we are given these rules in order to know Junr to be good. Let us sit as we did last night, and say these affirmations," suggested Grace, determined to do her duty, for Kate's sake at least. Diligence and faithfulness never fail to bring forth fruit, and they were laboring hard. both, with soil and seed. CHAPTER XIX. "Each of us is a distinct flower or tree in the spiritual garden of God, precious each for its own sake in the eyes of Him who is even now making us, each of us watered and shone upon and filled with life for the sake of His flower, His completed being, which will blossom out of Him at last to the glory and pleasure of the great Gardener. For each has within him a secret of Divinity; each is growing toward the revelation of that secret to himself, and so to the full reception, according to his measure of the Divine." George MacDonald. "MA.KLOW, September . BEAR HUSBAND: Your letter seemed the only bright spot in my yesterday's experience, for, strange as it may seem, I awoke with the same old headache and pain in my limb, and felt so dull and stupid, that I was almost doubtful whether I had ever known anything. In vain I tried to treat myself, but the more I tried the more perplexed I became, until about noon, when I began to feel better, though the whole day was a novel and rather disagreeable experi- ence. "When I went into class to-day, from nearly every quarter was heard a similar story of how the day of rest had been passed. " It was more and more astonishing. Dr. Bright had hardly recovered from her sick headache ; Mrs. Dawn was still feeling stupid ; two ladies were not able to attend class ; Dr. Johnson and Dr. Lorimer actually looked angry, and the two ministers in the class were gravely discussing the knotty points and knitting their 151 IS* THE EIGHT KNOCK. clerical bro\vs over 'doubtful explanations' as they called them, while a perplexed and troubled air seemed to settle on everybody. But there are a few old students in the class, and they looked at us with a knowing smile, saying : ' This is only chemicalization ; you will be all the brighter after you get over it.' " They did not explain further, but I knew some- thing about it from the experience we have had, but had never thought of it in that light. ' It is a comfort to know there is some prospect of an end to our dark- ness any way,' said Mrs. Dawn, with a long-drawn breath of relief, voicing the sentiments of all. " The kind and gracious look Mrs. Pearl gave us as she came in, sent a wave of peace and satisfaction over me, for I felt that she understood the situation and would lift the curtains and let in the light. " After the usual silence, which seemed longer than before, Mrs. Pearl began in a calm clear voice : "We have come now to a point where it seems necessary to explain the process of growth, and the phenomenal changes which take place at certain stages of our development, whether known or unknown to the individual. "Hitherto we have recognized material ideas, ob- jects and processes. "We have looked upon our physical being as the indisputable creation subject to all changes, circumstances or conditions. Having experienced a material birth, we conceive of no other as being either possible or necessary, and like Nicodemus we go in the night of our ignorance to ask the divine Teacher, Truth, questions concerning spiritual things, only to be told THE SPIRITUAL BIRTH. 153 we must be born from above if we would know the things of the spirit. 'That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Spirit is spirit.' " We are covered with the cold, hard shell of mate- rial beliefs, which must be broken and castaway before the sweet and tender germ of spirit can spring up. We are born like the flowers, and blossom like them. 'Con- sider the lilies of the field, how they grow.' "Seed typifies the desire for truth planted in the conscious and unconscious being. The more constantly and persistently \ve hold the desire, the more rapid and perfect will be the development that produces the fruit. The hard little kernel must first lie in the dark earth, while hidden forces make it swell and sprout until the outer shell dies and falls away, leaving the pure white germ to push its way up and up through the cold dreary earth. At this period it is very delicate and tender, and yet it must pass through a trying stage, for when the white spire just peeps above the ground it has to encounter elements that at first seem bent upon its destruction. " Will the sun's rays now prove too hot for it? Will the winds be too rough and stormy? Will the cold air bite, or the storm beat and bruise it unto death ? Pointing ever skyward, does it stop to shiver at the prospect of dark and cold and heat, or windy violence? " Let us see. Bravely the young shoot goes its way. As soon as it sees the light it displays new beauty, and the reflected glory clothes it in a brighter robe the fresh, dainty green of spring's supernal dress, emblem 154 THE RIGHT KNOCK. of everlasting youth. But a storm of wind and rain assails it. Dense cloud-curtains hide the sun, and the air is cold and chilling. Sometimes for days this benumbing coldness lasts. But after the storm our lit- tle friend is greener and brighter and larger than ever. It has withstood the storm and wind, by using them for its own advancement. Everything has been turned into good by recognizing only the good. "When the sunshine comes again the little slip is baptized with dew and warmth and light, and joyously springs on toward budding time, and then another and different experience befalls. Instead of rolling every new leaf outward to be bathed in the light and kissed by the wind, there is a rolling inward, a curling up and shutting in of the new and delicate leaves. A hard, unlovely roll or lump now displays itself on the green stem, and every day the roll becomes larger and harder. The green stalk never questions, though for a time her face is veiled. She lives in the waiting silence, content with what is. One bright day she looks at her ugly bud and finds it a rare blossom of surpassing beauty and sweetest fragrance. Thus is born the fair-robed lily, pure emblem of the child of God. " But we have many and various symbols of divine thought in the many and various flowers, from which we learn divine lessons. There are the violets that come so early in the spring, with their wildwood fra- grance and dainty blue cloaks, and the lovely roses of summer, the goldenrods and asters of autumn, while among the rarer kinds we have the night-blooming THE SPIRITUAL BIRTH. 155 cereus, the beautiful but slow blossoming century plant, and many others. These are types and symbols of ourselves and our process of birth and unfoldment. " The ne\v birth is a development from material to spiritual knowledge. The individual corresponds to one or another plant, but none may know at what par- ticular stage. " Some blossom early, some late, some manifest a nature like the violet, others the rose, the water lily or the century plant. I can not tell, you can not tell, none can tell. Even the Master said, 'The wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth, so is every one that is born of the spirit.' " The wonderful seed (desire for truth) we have planted must be moistened by the water of rig'ht words, warmed by the sunshine of faith, fed by the dew of patience. "Our trials will be similar in character to the flowers, and the outcome will be the same in proportion as we follow their example of unquestioning faithful- ness. " The very desire to grow is a challenge to the ele- ments that seem to oppose growth, but the plant over comes all obstacles by its non-resistance, and herein lies one of our most valuable lessons. " In our progress we meet with many conditions and circumstances that try us, that seem indeed to call in question our earnestness in thus starting out, with new assumptions. Sometimes these adverse conditions are called trials of faith and they may come to us in 156 THE EIGHT KNOCK. one way or another, sometimes in sickness, sometimes in misunderstandings, sometimes in grief, sometimes in disagreeable duties. " Peculiarities of disposition that we thought over- come, may manifest themselves very unexpectedly and cause us great annoyance, not only because we may have congratulated ourselves on having risen above them, but because it would be a mortification to us to have our friends know that we who believe in the pos- sibility of such high moral attainments, should be guilty of these old weaknesses and follies. In every way, the tempter mortal thought may show us the falli- bility of human nature and tempt us to disbelieve in our high ideals. " The forty days' temptation in the wilderness is the soul history of every human being who starts out to lead the life of Jesus. Tempted in everything as we are, he was the type of strength, purity and faithfulness to principles, which we most earnestly should seek to follow. After his baptism, ' He was conducted by the spirit into the desert to be tempted by the enemy.' " We are baptized by the spirit when we have come into the realization of our sonship and daughtership, our true relation to the divine Father and Mother Love, and have consecrated our lives to the service of Truth. In order that we may be fully aware of the magni- tude of our desire, we are, as it were, led by the spirit to the desert which literally signifies forsaken, when? every means of comfort and companionship are gone, where we must learn to choose between the ever pres- THE SPIRITUAL BIRTH. 157 ent but invisible things of God and the transitory but gratifying pleasures of the visible world. Having a flimpse of the power and blessedness conferred by the nowledge of Truth, we are tempted to keep hold of the power, at the same time fellow shipping with the world, which by our recognition and fellowship will be greatly pleased through the acquisition of our society and talents. " When tests are required of us similar to the turn- ing of stones into bread, healing the lepers, raising the dead, will we realize our dependence on the word of God which is the 'bread of life?' Temptations to dare the protection of the power, give us an insight to the very same trial of Jesus, and when we are led up to the mountain of knowledge from which we may view the pomps and vanities of the world, realizing the superior insight that gives power, then comes the decisive question shall God or mammon gain our allegiance? Shall we forego the seductive allure- ments of mortal thought (which is really only the negative thought or the false power called the world's beliefs reflected upon us), or shall we, in ringing tones cry out, ' Get thee behind me, adversary (or opposer). Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve.' Then the enemy leaves us, and behold, angels come and minister to us.' " After the long forty days, which with some seem longer than with others, after the darkness and deso- lation of a desert night, we are ministered unto by the blessed angels good thoughts and the glory of the Most High shines round about us. The struggle is 158 THE RIGHT KNOCK. ended, the Good which is ever ready to be our guide when we choose, leads us into many sweet experiences that bring us nearer and nearer to the ' promised kind,' the true inheritance of God's children. We begin the ascent of the mount of transfiguration, and though we come to many steep places, though we sometimes stumble over rocks of ignorance, though we encounter clouds of doubt that veil the glorious peak from our longing view for a time, though we meet wild beasts, (untamed human nature), though we cross shadowy valleys and dark ravines, lighted only by the torch of faith, we shall have transcendant glimpses of the fair Beyond, shall breathe the perfumed air of Zion's Hills, and be transported with delight at the never ceasing revelations made to the true seeker after eternal wis- dom. " After faith, comes knowledge. If we w r ere over- come by the tidal wave, when wading out a little way from shore, and a rope were thrown us, we should at least catch hold the rope, hoping to be delivered from the danger. After several successful experiences, we should have faith in the rope, so when we feel the tidal wave of trial overtaking us, we are to catch hold of our denials and affirmations which correspond to the saving rope. An invariable rule in Christian Science is to deny the undesirable and affirm that which can be predicated of spirit. No matter what inharmony assails you, whether it be pain, poverty, sickness, loneliness, fear or anxiety, deny it positively and repeatedly and affirm the opposite. Like Jesus, we must speak of that which is true, but not visible. THE SPIRITUAL BIRTH. 159 Thus when called to raise the daughter of Jairus, he said : ' She is not dead but sleepeth.' The appear- ance of death was denied, and its opposite, life, affirmed. " "When talking to the Jews, Jesus said : 4 If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.' It is continuance in the word that brings the blessing, mark that. "And now let us enter into the silence with one accord, saying : ' For Thy blessed words and example we thank Thee, O, beloved Master, and with Thy words we enter now into Thy faith.' " An impressive ten minutes, and then, with rev- erent voice and gesture, Mrs. Pearl dismissed us with the words : ' It is finished. We have received that which we asked, and are filled with the peace that passeth all understanding. ' " While we sat thus, just before she spoke, I had one of those peculiar experiences they tell about, coming so often in the silence. It seemed as though I was in the cool quiet of early morning, watching the signs of a summer dawn. All at once the creeping rainbow colors shot up toward the zenith, and the most glorious sunrise I ever beheld flooded me with a dazzling glow of gold. The moment she spoke it vanished, but oh, how lovely it was! What could it mean unless the dawn of the 'Sun of Righteousness?' I must wait and see, for surely the understanding of these things will come when I am ready for it. " Several of the class have been having strange signs 160 THE RIGni KSOCE. or hints of something on which they have been studying deeply. Dr. Bright said that everything turned black before her one day when she was denying, and when she could see again it seemed as though there were no walls to the house and she was gazing into empty space. This is on account of denying till material things seem immaterial, and we begin to realize the reality of spirit. " The saying of the affirmation for strength, Mrs. Dawn says, makes her body feel almost electrified with vitality, and she can realize that the words bring to her what they claim. " One young man, who sits just back of me, told his experience in denying the reality of matter. He was quite rebellious at first about saying what seemed such a huge lie, but finally concluded to do the best he could, and so said it over and over one day till he fell asleep. Suddenly he was awakened by the words sounding in his ears, ' Be not afraid, but trust, ' and opening his eyes, he saw written on the wall the very same words, and immediately a restfulness and satis- faction came over him, so that he no longer demurred at the thought of saying the words and, though he did not yet understand, he felt willing to wait. " Oh, how I wish the great busy world would listen to this beautiful doctrine. It seems that we must com- pel it to come to the feast. I think we all feel like a child delightedly showing its new toy to everybodv. But the little experience I have had before, will teach me to withhold where there is antagonism to the truth, beautiful though it is, because my work at home THE SPIRITUAL BIRTH. 161 even with my cure, did not interest or convince some who would shut their eyes and ears to all. I remem- ber so well how I felt like shouting to everyone in my joy the glad story of my recovered health, but the cold, incredulous looks, and the averted faces chilled the tidings on my lips, and I learned that only when the world is thirsty, will it appreciate the cool and sparkling waters of truth. "Well, dear John, I have not answered your letter at all because I was so afraid I would forget the sub- stance of the lesson to-day, but I am so glad it seems plain to you as I present it, and it is such a help to know you are glad I came here. How we shall grow together when we begin together. Continue to write your opin ions and ideas of the lessons, for you have such a clear way of expressing yourself. Don't let Jamie forget to write again when you all write. Bless his dear little self ! I would so like to see him, but then, I know all is well with you, for Good is every- where. " Good night and good-bye, " MAKION." CHAPTER XX. " But when every leaf is dropped and the plant stands stripped to the uttermost, a new life is even then working in the buds, from which shall spring a tenderer foliage and a brighter wealth of flowers. So, often, in celestial gardening, every leaf of earthly joy must drop before a new and divine bloom visits the soul." Harriet Seedier Stowe. no letter came. All the forenoon Grace tried to do her duty by saying her denials and affirmations while Kate was out giving lessons, but she seemed so stupid and felt so cross that in despair she resorted to her painting, but only succeeded in spoiling the picture she had spent hours and daysupon before. "When Kate came in at the usual hour, feeling so gay and light-hearted that she scarcely knew how to contain her- self, she was astonished to hear Grace say : " Oh, I am glad you have come at last ! Such a day as I have spent! Thought I'd have so much extra time while you were gone to give Millie's lesson, and here I've wasted the whole afternoon and spoiled my 1 shipwreck' besides, and I'm in a villainous humor. Now, I'm going to pour it all out on your innocent head." She smiled grimly, as she tossed her painting apron aside and spitefully turned the picture to the wall. " What in the world ails you, Grace ? " cried the astonished Kate. " Have you lost your senses ? I was congratulating myself coming home on the good time we would have again to-night." "I anticipated it so vividly this morning I could 161 TANGLES AND TALKS. 168 nardly wait, but really, Kate, I feel ugly, and perhaps it would be as well not to talk to me. I will go out for a little walk, while you get the tea," and she went forth- with. A tumult raged within her that she had not con- quered. One moment filled with the most exhilarating sense of freedom and joy, the next the direst disgust with herself and her failings ; one moment clearly understanding the many problems that had come up for solution the past week, and the next with no ability to reason about anything. This had been going on all day. She had even felt unreasonably irritable because Kate had so quickly overcome her prejudices. What right had she to give away her own for some one else's opinions so easily ? Grace gave her glove an impatient twitch as she thought of it, but the next instant she wished she, too, might be as childlike and receptive as her companion. To Kate the Bible was final, unquestioned authority ; to Grace it was a corroboration, not a foundation. It was more interesting, she must confess, than ever before, but then she must have better reasons than had yet appeared for taking it as Kate did. After all, perhaps this Science was but another mirage that bad come into her moral vision, as many another had come in all the years she had been seeking truth and happiness. Happiness ! Had she forgotten that for two years that word had been dropped from her vocabulary ? That she had resolved to live on the best intellectual food the world could offer, without tasting its heart viands ? She walked on with an 164 THE RIGHT KNOCK. unwonted energy. No, she would not be deceived ; the best and sweetest in life was not for her, but she ought at least, to help poor little Kate. It was a calm, quiet evening. The sun was just disappearing over the distant hills. The sky was radiant with delicate pink and blue tints. She was walking toward the east, when, glancing at the scene in front of her, she saw what seemed to be a brilliant fire, not only in one place but in many. Somewhat startled, she looked more closely and discovered every window ablaze with the sun's reflected glory. Like a flash it came: "I am walking away from the glory of Truth. Oh ! how shall I turn rny face to God ? " she cried, with unspeakable yearning. An agony of suspense seized her. She looked up at the calm, beautiful sky, and its rays of radiance seemed to send down upon her a benediction of peace. Like a soft whisper the words, " Lo, I am with you always," fell upon her ear. Blessed words that filled her with a new-born awe, but they brought a realizing sense of ever-present nearness of Truth, such as she had never had before, and she was so filled with peace that all the world looked like a new world. The turbulent waves of doubt and unrest had been divinely stilled. She walked on, so filled with her new thoughts that the twilight deepened into starlight before she thought of home, and then it seemed that every star beam was an angel of love sent to guide her on her way. She entered quietly as Kate was play ing one of Beethoven's symphonies, and never had music seemed so sweet. It wraa like a welcome into heaven. It was the heaven within her that made a heaven without. TANGLES AND TALKS. 165 To Kate had come such a realization of divine har- mony, that her soul poured itself out in music she had never dreamed of before. All the struggles and pains of the past years, all the disappointments and unhappi- ness found expression through the wailing tones of the piano only to be swept away or swelled into sweeter and more joyous strains. More and more clearly a conception of joy and peace unspeakable filled her heart. She wandered again, a happy child, in coun- try pastures gathering violets and buttercups. She could scent the clover and hear the birds. The water rippled over the pebbles and the air was filled with leaf music. Now, again a child, she " walked in green pas- tures and beside the still waters." The sun of love was shining down upon her, and its rays warmed her, clothed her, fed her. " Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever," she sang softly in an awed, hushed voice, as the music grew more divinely sweet, and the realization of a nameless Presence filled her. It was the presence of impersonal, omnipresent Truth, ever flowing into the heart ready for its recep- tion, and though at first it may be but a tiny stream, it grows to a swelling tide, and all the words in the universe can not name its sweet influence, or describe its wondrous allness. Oh, Katie darling, what wouldst thou have put away from thy life, if thou hadst obstinately refused admittance to this heavenly Guest ? ... At last the music ceased. She bowed her head and gave herself up to the inexpressible thoughts that welled into her 166 THE RIGHT KNOCK. mind. For some moments she was not aware that Grace was in the room, but as she finally arose and turned around, she saw her. Their eyes met, and silently was told the story of experiences too sacred to utter A silent understanding and a heartfelt sympathy bound them by closer ties than they had ever known before. To be at one- with Truth is to understand humanity, and understanding is a voiceless language. Sunday afternoon they called on Mr. Hayden and found the fourth letter awaiting them. "I did not send it up because Kate promised you would come over to-day, and now let us have a little experience meeting," he said, as he found chairs for them, and seated himself, seemingly awaiting a reply. "First let us read the letter," suggested Grace, who was more interested than ever since her yesterday's experience. "Read it aloud," said Mr. Hay den, settling himself back to enjoy it. Grace had scarcely begun reading when Jamie came in, screaming that his finger was " boke." "Never mind, Jamie, it will soon be all right. Shall papa treat it?" taking the child in his lap. " Teat it, papa," and he laid his little head on papa's breast with perfect confidence that the pain would soon be gone. A few moments of silence and he looked up innocently, saying with the brightest smile: "It's all gone now. Papa telled the good Jamie to tome home," he explained to the girls, " and here he is, papa," he added, holding up his sweet mouth for a kiss. TANGLES AND TALKS. 167 " How beautiful is a child's faith," exclaimed Kate, after the little fellow had gone out to play again. " Indeed I have learned more than I can tell you from the children," said Mr. Hayden, thoughtfully. " Mabel is old enough to understand a good deal, but Fred and Jamie are very quick to apply what they learn. Last night Jamie complained of the stomach ache. Neither of the children knew that I was near, but I overheard Fred telling his brother that he would treat him if he would keep still. Jamie consented and I peeped in a moment later, curious to know what they were doing. Fred sat there grave as an owl, with his hands over his eyes, and Jamie in a chair opposite, his eyes shut tightly and an air of expectancy on his face." " Now you're all right," said Fred, very positively, after a few minutes. They were soon playing and not once did the child complain after that. When going to bed, Jamie told me about it, and I asked Fred what he did when he treated. "W'y," he answered, "w'y, I just 'membered what you said to Mabel that everybody has two kinds o' thoughts, and one kind thinks you're sick, and the other kind knows you're well, so I thinked about Jamie till I thinked the know thoughts, and course he got well then." " It was a lesson to me, and I have tried to emulate their receptiveness and childlike trust. I don't know how well I am succeeding, but it is pretty hard some- times to get the problems all worked out." " We wouldn't have to work them out if we had the faith of a child," said Kate, warmly. These little incidents touched her deeply. 168 THE RIGHT KNOCK " "Well, there is nothing better to learn from than living examples, and yet we can only take them as guides, they will not do our work for us. Every one of us must go through his own experience, and prove his right to an inheritance, by claiming it on trust as the child does. Now, yesterday," continued Mr. Hay- den, leaning back and stroking his chin, " I worked hard all the forenoon, and everything seemed to go wrong with me," Grace glanced at Kate " I was not willing to live a moment at a time, as the child does, with no thought or care as to where its next day's supplies are to come from, but I was tired and cross all day. The consequence was, in the afternoon my old enemy, the headache, began to assert itself. Then I got Marion's letter and that helped me, because it threw some light on the cause, but when I heard Fred's explanation of a treatment I just applied it. I ' thinked,' till the 'know thoughts came,'" Mr. Hayden con- cluded with a grave smile. " I believe that is what it means to ' work out our own salvation,' " said Grace, " and how beautiful to have the children learn ! It will make different men and women of them." " Indeed it will; I have already seen some change in the children. But are you not going to read the letter, Miss Grace ? " asked Mr. Hayden. " Yes, I am anxious to read it, but I have learned a great deal without it." She took it up again and read without interruption to the end. " Well, that is quite an explanation of your experi- TANGLES AND TALKS. 169 ence of yesterday, Mr. Hayden," explained Kate smilingly. " And mine, too," added Grace. " It is comforting to know that there is a scientific reason for it though." " I think my darkness came earlier in the lessons, for yesterday and to-day have been very bright to me," replied Kate, soberly ; " but," she continued, " there is so much about this to admire and so much to prove that the system is founded on Christ's teachings, I can not see where doubt could enter." "We might not doubt the principle where we would often doubt ourselves," suggested Mr. Hayden. " Yes," said Grace, " I believe that doubts will come as long as we consider it a personal power." " Which it is not, of course," interrupted Kate. " Certainly not, but we must grow into a realization of Truth, we can not change our old natures in a day, and it is only natural at first to feel that it is a personal power because we are given so much personal responsibility." " I see what you mean," said Mr. Hayden, quietly, leaning back as if thinking deeply. " You mean it is hard to forget self, and I agree with you. This mind of the flesh claims so much wisdom and power of its own that it is hard to attribute everything to a higher power, and let that power work through you ; but when we can do that, we have the kernel of the whole system." " It is a wonderful thought to me, that we reflect all things spiritual, as we divest ourselves of our false beliefs," remarked Grace, earnestly. no THE RIGHT KNOCK. "In other words, when we know ourselves as we are, and not as we appear, we shall recognize that all things we desire are already ours," added Mr. Hayden. " How could it be otherwise ? The sun is always shining behind the darkest clouds. All I ask is that the ignorance may be removed," replied Grace. " Well, I want to understand and believe truth, but it seems strange, after we have declared our willingness to believe and acknowledge God to be all, that we should be tempted. Why couldn't our acknowl- edgement be sufficient ? " queried Kate, in perplexity again. " Why isn't the simple act of joining the church sufficient to make Christians ? Although some seem to think it all sufficient, it is not. It is the daily life of overcoming, and denial of self that constitutes true acknowledgement," said Grace, laying her hand upon that of her friend. " Not denial of self in the old way, either," said Mr. Hayden, " but denial of the mortal thought, or as Paul would say, the ' carnal mind.' " " Yes, and in the temptation of Jesus, we read our own temptations," interrupted Grace, "and it is all im- portant that we should deal with them as he did. Over and over he met the opposing thought, represented by the tempter or opposer error always opposing truth and gave it either a plain denial or an emphatic com- mand to get out." "That is very plain and very true," said Kate, with a little sigh, " but still I can not see why God should allow us to be tempted after we have fought the battle once as Jesus did." TANGLES AND TALKS. 171 "But he fought it more than once," explained Mr. Hayden, earnestly "He was continually overcoming, and at times found it necessary to withdraw into the mountains where he fasted and prayed." " That is a good thought to carry home/' suggested Grace, rising, " for we need to follow his example." " I need it more than anyone else," said Kate, feel- ing a lack of spritual understanding, and wishing she could get on faster. " You are doing grandly Miss Kate, just think how you opposed it all at first." said Mr. Hayden encour- agingly. "Yes, I know I did," flushing a little, "but even thus far I have seen enough, or rather experienced enough to make me anxious to understand it, and I only ask so many questions because I am determined to get every speck of light I can." " If everybody would lay aside prejudice as you have, Miss Kate, they would have no difficulty in seeing the truth as you do," he replied. The tears came into her eyes. Neither Mr. Hayden nor Grace knew how much it had cost her to ' lay aside prejudice,' but she could thank God that she had done so, and indeed believed it was Providence that had led her into this study in spite of herself. "I want the truth," she said simply, and turned away to join Grace, who stood at the open door wait- ins: for her. CHAPTER XXI. People imagine that the place which the Bible holds in the world it owes to miracles. It owes it simply to the fact that it came out of a profounder depth of thought than any other book." Emerson. " MARLOW, September . |EAR HUSBAND: The first thing I heard when I went into the class to-day was Mrs. Dawn telling how she had treated a severe belief of headache last evening and how marvelously soon the terrible pain ceased. She was quite rejoiced because it was the first time she had tried to demonstrate the principles. " They all have plenty to tell now, and are growing more and more interested. Every day somebody lias some new experience. Little Mrs. Dexter, who lias been- so long treated by the old method, says she fully believes she will be cured, is feeling much better, and has such an assurance all the time that she has found the true healing. She has had several quite remarkable demonstrations with others. "The whole line of argument is unfolding so naturally and beautifully that it seems like a piece of fine mosaic, with every form and color interwoven with the most exquisite exactness. Mrs. Pearl gave us a lecture on inspiration and the Bible, which I consider one of the most useful and interesting of any she has yet given : m INSPIRATION AND THE BIBLE. 173 " In studying the very fountain springs of Truth, and basing our ideas upon a God who is the unex- pressed and inexpressible essence of Truth itself, with whom is 'no respect of persons,' and to whom we owe all knowledge, it becomes us to inquire a little into the manner and means of gaining that knowledge. " That all peoples in all climes and ages have devel- oped similar ideas and expressed them in like terms, as philology shows, is an indisputable fact, strengthened and corroborated by our broader conception and higher understanding of God, the omnipresent Good. " But how have these ideas come to them ? Have they come through what is known as inspiration or revelation? As the one fountain of Intelligence is open to all alike, this must be the case, because Truth comes only in this way. Inspiration means an 'inbreath- ing,' a breathing in of true knowledge, and because the omnipresent Good comes into every consciousness prepared to receive it, there is an inbreathing in accordance with the readiness to receive. Intelligence is like the air, to be breathed by every living being. Thus far, humanity has expanded its lungs of conscious- ness only enough to have inhaled fundamental truth, or what is recognized as such, but we are constantly receiving more, and in proportion as we receive, do we know what we receive. "All truth is inspired or revealed, because whatever is true is of the great Truth. This must be so, yet many people consider inspiration as confined to the authors of the Bible and that with them, inspiration ceased. The immortal Job said, ' There is a spirit in 774 1BE RIGHT KNOCK. man and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding.' The inbreathing of the Almighty, All- powerful Truth, giveth understanding. No truer words were ever uttered. "As inspiration is inhaling or breathing in Truth, we can readily understand that ' God, Truth, Principle, is no respecter of persons.' That it is a 'miraculous influence which qualities man to receive and communi- cate divine truth,' is in a sense true, for the works of God are always ' wonderful,' but there can be no set- ting aside of divine law, as some erroneous!} 7 suppose, for the performance of these things that seem unac- countable to human reason. It is a lack of understand- ing as to how Truth works, that has caused a belief in supernatural or miraculous ways. Could a fish judge according to appearances, he would regard the creat- ures that walk on land as gifted with supernatural power, because it would be utterly beyond his concep- tion to know how they could do so. "Revelation and inspiration are frequently used interchangeably, but that which is revealed, is the man- ifested result of inspiration rather than inspiration itself. Whenever we are ready to bieathe or absorb Truth into our consciousness, we get a reveal incut 'inspiration giveth understanding.' This brcathing- in process lifts .us above ordinary knowledge and gives refresh ing glimpses of heavenly Truth, it is like breath- ing in fresh air, after having been in a close suffocating room. We say this or that scene, person or object inspires us; we mean that some beautiful thought or conception of Truth is revealed to us, through or by INSPIRATION AND THE BIBLE. 175 our seeing these objects, because they hint of some- thing better and higher, and the moment we get the higher thought, we are conscious of knowing higher Truth. This is revelation. " Revelation and inspiration are the usual terms for expressing spiritual processes but are necessarily inade- quate to express accurate spiritual meanings. How ideas are born is a question of questions. Whether they come from without or within, they must establish the oneness of God and man in mind and idea. The only ' without' there can be is that which is without the consciousness, the only 'within' is that which is within the conscious- ness. Development, growth, unfoldment, better express spiritual consciousness. What is conscious- ness but a recognition of itself? Then would not ' recognition 'more fully describe the birth of ideas ? As we grow able to recognize harmony and love, harmony and love are revealed to us. "The more spiritual our thoughts and desires, the more spiritual our revelations. To think and talk of God, to desire knowledge of Him, creates a re- ceptivity which sooner or later brings the revealment of more truth, and that of the highest quality. But it is not always by what we see that we are lifted into this consciousness of new knowledge. In various ways is the Truth expressed to us, and whether we know how or why it should be thus and so, matters not if we re- ceive the message. " The wisdom of our Father has provided that none of His children should be without a knowledge of Him, without a power to recognize and appreciate Truth, 176 TEE RIGUT KNOCK. and in the way or language best suited to the capacity of each to understand, are the revelations made. Sometimes this knowledge comes into our conscious- ness like a direct message from God, and so vividly are we impressed, that no other words could express the nearness and clearness of it, than the expression ' walk- ing and talking with God.' Sometimes wonderful pictures appear before our mind's eye, and reading their symbolic meaning, we catch hints of higher wis- dom that would otherwise have been hidden. "By persistently ignoring the spiritual and cultivat- ing the intellectual faculties, mankind has well nigh lost the highest means of inspiration, but now that we again, like the prophets and apostles of old, seek for signs of the Infinite, we are gradually recovering the key by which they unlocked its mysteries. "As to the infallibility of what is thus revealed, we must remember that while truth is always infallible, there is a possibility of its recognition or conception being tinged to a greater or less degree, with our erro- neous judgements, and as the light, pure in itself, is colored by the glass through which it passes, so is the divinest truth colored with the quality of mind through which it comes to the world. As Heber Newton says, * Inspiration can not do away with the limitations of the human individuality.' Thus, in our discrimination of so-called inspired literature, language or thoughts, we must learn that whatever is opposite God, the uni- versal idea of goodness, is the chaff that must be blown a way. In other words it is the assumption of mortal thought instead of absolute knowledge of divine mind. INSPIRATION AND THE BIBLE. 177 "It would be an utter impossibility to describe infi- nite truth in finite language. Words are inadequate to express the grandeur of sacred revelation. "With this view of inspiration, we can readily see how far short we have come in our concep- tions of the Bible, and now that we are to use and understand this wonderful book as never before, it is well that we consider it a little more closely. " There are three general views held in regard to the Bible as an inspired book. 1. That it is verbally inspired; i. e., that every word is direct from God. 2. That it is partially inspired ; and, 3. That it is no more inspired than any other good book. The first two of these views have been and are accompanied with the idea that everything going under the name of inspiration, is infallible, hence the idea that every state- ment made throughout the entire book is absolute truth. "The Bible itself makes no claim to infallibility, though there are frequent references to inspiration and the influence of the Holy Ghost in moving men to speak, but the principal text on which is based this claim of infallibility is II. Tim. iii : 10. At the time this was written, there was only the Old Testament, includ- ing the Apocrypha, that could be referred to as Script- ure, so when we read Paul's assertion that, ' all script- ure is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,' if we take it to be infallible, we have a reasonable ground for regarding the Old Testa- ment and the Apocrypha as infallible. But a more 178 TIII-: mi ;nr /r.vor/r. literal rendering of the Greek text would be, 'all script- ure divinely inspired is indeed profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction,' etc., and by simply chang- ing the position of the little word is, we have a vastly different sentence. " Regarding the interpretation of scripture, Peter says : ' All prophecy of scripture is not of its own solu- tion.' The literal Greek is, 'all prophecy of a writing, of its own loosing not it is,' meaning, of course, that sacred writings can not always be interpreted literal- ly, but must be understood according to their spiritual meaning. Great writings are not confined to any pri- vate or local meaning, but refer more especially to great principles, to universal truth. " If we consider the origin of the Bible, we shall learn what comparatively few of us know, viz., how the Bible grew into a book. In a necessarily brief outline it is impossible to give anything but a bird's-eye view of this very interesting and important subject. " As we look back to earlier times, through the var- ious channels, we find that much of what is considered history is merely legendary ; that long before the art of writing was known, these legends and myths were handed down from generation to generation, and from age to age. Familiar as we are with human nature, we may well imagine the additions and subtractions and divergencies introduced by each succeeding nar- rator, copyist or editor in every age. This is a very important feature to be considered in interpreting ancient scriptures, but there are also others. History reveals the fact that the books of the Old Testament INSPIRATION AND THE BIBLE. 179 were not written nor arranged in the order in which they now appear in the Bible. For instance, while it has been generally considered that the first five books were written by Moses fifteen hundred years before Christ, the best authorities have found at least a por- tion of them to have been written, or compiled rather, in their present form 600 to TOO B. C. " Whether Moses or some one else wrote them detracts not the least from the value of the truth they contain, for whatever is true, can not lose its value or be effected by the authorship. This is only one of the many facts that might be produced to show that the Old Testament came in the most natural way, and not at all through a miracle or by miraculous interposition. " Referring again to the best records we have, we find the books of the New Testament were written from 50 to 175 A. D., thus showing the liability to mistakes, and the reason for many of the discrepen- cies in the New Testament. That the time between the writing of the oldest and the latest parts of the Bible covered a period of more than a thousand years, should have much significance in our judgment of both the writers and their writings. " Dr. Ileber Newton says : ' We are not to read the Biblical writers as though they were all cotempo- raries. They are separated by vast tracts of time. The later writers stand upon the shoulders of their prede- cessors and see farther and clearer. We are not to view the institutions or doctrines of the Bible as though no matter in what period of development of the Hebrew Nation, or of the Christian Church they were found, they were equally authoritative to us.' 180 THE RIGHT KNOCK " Though the prophets and apostles were inspired, we must remember that they necessarily had to use the language and methods of speech prevalent in their time in giving their divinest revelations to the people. The language was rich with Oriental imagery, strong figures of speech, and allusions to manners and customs of other nations. Unless we understand something of the literature and customs, the religious ceremonies and laws alluded to, we are very much in the dark as to the original meaning. " For instance, unless we know the custom that prevailed in ancient times of putting the sins of the people, figuratively speaking, into a white cloth, dip- ping the cloth into blood, tying it to the horns of the scapegoat, and turning the animal loose in the wilder- ness till the sun, air and rain had bleached it white, we can not appreciate the expression, ' though thy sins be as scarlet, yet shall they be washed white as snow.' Until we realize that the ideas and language as well as the customs and rites of barbarous and ignorant heathendom influence every page of the Bible, we shall not know how much allowance to make for the revela- tions of the Divine, and the suppositions and possible mistakes of the human. Until we know that the Bible has gone through many hands since its words were first spoken or written, we can not realize the possible loss of its most spiritual meanings. "Moses, Isaiah, David, John, Paul had the grandest revelations possible to man, experiences not 'lawful to utter,' not possible to clothe in words. The unspeakable can not be put into speech. To attempt it is to color it INSPIRATION AND THE BIBLE. 181 with finite meanings. To describe the Infinite is but to limit or confine God. " When we consider that no very ancient writings have reached us without the marks of many pens; when we consider the impossibility of exact translation, the difficulty of perfect copying all the years before the art of printing, the method of canonizing the books and formulating creeds, we must know that something besides God's message has come down to us. And yet a message is there notwithstanding. " Yes, the authors of the Bible were inspired. AV^hatever of Truth they revealed is infallible, but as men with finite conceptions and abilities, they could not comprehend nor reveal all of God. "' God is the same yesterday, to-day and forever,' and talks to man face to face to-day even as with the immortal Moses. " ' I know that the Bible is inspired, because it finds me at greater depths of my being than any other book,' said Coleridge. " All candid students of sacred Scriptures agree that there is a spiritual meaning back of the literal. The question with us is, how can we get at this spiritual or esoteric interpretation. " If you will let the spirit of Truth guide you, it will bless you with keener discernment, and clearer understanding, than has been possible for you heretofore. It is when you look for the spirit of religion that you find it and understand it, and the fact that so much has been said against our Bible as a book, does not and can not detract a particle from its value. ;.sv THE RIGHT KNOCK. ' There is a light that lighteth every man ! ' Every one of God's children has the power to distinguish truth from error, and only needs to assert that divine privi- lege of knowing and acknowledging truth in order to to find it. " Humanity is so under the yoke of traditional opin- ions that it has not dared think for itself, but the time has come when 'ye shall of yourselves know what is truth,' when each must prove his individual liberty by claim- ing it. Is not the wisdom to know and understand God's revelations given to every one who asks, or rather appreciates what he already has ? " There is no reason for depending upon any but the wisdom in ourselves, for searching the meanings of any Scripture. Whatever is true, we shall understand and hold as infallible. That we have a rich storehouse of precious gems, even the most adverse thinkers admit, and above all else w r e should search for them, prize them, and use them. Study the Bible for the sake of its wonderful and sacred truth, catch the inspiration of its writers, and you will soon discriminate the inspired from the uninspired. With the statements of the true is necessarily more or less error ; the Truth we want, the falsity we leave behind. Whatever is good and pure and ennobling is of God ; whatever is evil, erroneous, degrading, is from man's misconception of Him. " Goethe, who highly valued the Bible, said : 'With reference to things in the Bible, the question whether they are genuine or spurious is odd enough. What is genuine but that which is truly excellent, which stands INSPIRATION AND THE BIBLE. 183 in harmony with the purest nature and reason, and which even now ministers to our higher development ? What is spurious but the absurd and the hollow which brings no fruit.' "If you do not understand, wait. Do not judge hastily or allow yourself to be biased by the opinions of others. What may seem hard, unreasonable dogma, may later prove but a veil over the sweetest, spiritual truth. Reverence to read, patience to learn, wisdom to understand all these we ' want, and then, more brightly than before shall shine the sacred diamonds that stud inspired pages. " We refer again to what Dr. Newton says in his grand essay on the Eight Critical use of the Bible: * Suc- cessive generations of men, struggling with sin, striv- ing for purity, searching after God, have exhaled their spirits into the essence of religion, which is treasured in this costly vase. " ' The moral forces of centuries devoted to righteous- ness are stored in this exhaustless reservoir of ethical energy. At such cost, my brothers, has Humanity issued this sacred book. From such patience of prepa- ration has Providence laid this priceless gift before you. In such labor of articulation spelling out the sylla- bles of the message from on high, through multitudi- nous lives of men dutifully and devoutly walking with their God, does the Spirit speak to you, O, soul of man. Say thou : ' Speak, Lord ; thy servant heareth ! '" ***** * " Thank God, Marion has at last found the key to the Bible," murmured Mr. Ilayden, as he finished the letter. CHAPTER XXII. " Not in Jerusalem alone, God hears and answers prayer, Nor on Samaria's mountain lone, Dispenses blessings there. But in the secrecy of thought, Our silent souls may pray; Or round the household altar brought, Begin and close the day." James Montgomery. RACE was busily engaged with " lly patia." She felt for the first time she could bring out the peace and reposeful strength of character Kate had thought so sadly lacking, and one afternoon, a few days after the memorable walk, she sat down to her work with a pleasurable anticipation of bringing out her ideal. As she put the touches here and there that changed the expression, now adding to this feature, now taking from that, she was thinking of the changes needed in herself, and wondering how or by what process they would be wrought by the invisible Artist. She was mixing some paint on her palette, when a rap was heard at the door. Before she had time to say or do anything, in walked Mrs. Dyke with a timid little woman who came in like a martyr, but one re- solved to die at her post if necessary. Grace was too astonished to speak for an instant, then rising, she put down her palette, wiped her hands and went forward with an invitation to the ladies to be seated. 18U A CHURCH COMMITTEE. 1S5 "Is this Miss Turner?" began Mrs. Dyke, with a critical glance about the apartment, and then at Grace. " No, madam, Miss Turner is not in. She generally returns about five, but to-day " Very well, we can come again, for it is very im- portant business. Are you the young woman who lives with her?" asked Mrs. Dyke, as she seated herself with deliberate dignity. " This is Mrs. Linberger, and we have called as the church committee to look after Miss Turner's soul," she continued, waving her hand majes- tically toward her companion-in-arms. " Indeed," gasped Grace, bowing slightly toward Mrs. Linberger, and coughing a little as she put her handkerchief to her mouth to hide a smile. " She belongs to our church, and we have heard she is being led astray by this blasphemous Christian Sci- ence," pursued Mrs. Dyke, looking severely at Grace from under her thick grey veil which hung like a low- ering cloud just above her eyes. "Mr. Narrow requested me and Mrs. Linberger .to call and examine into the matter. I hope you don't encourage such wickedness, young woman ?" "Certainly I am at enmity with any kind of wick- ness, but I am not aware of any particular wicked- ness in Christian Science," replied Grace, bracing herself for the storm she saw brewing. " What ! you don't see anything wrong in such awful heresy ! " exclaimed Mrs. Dyke, again pushing her veil up, and looking with horrified eyes, first at Grace, then at Mrs. Linberger. '-Perhaps you don't 186 THE EIGHT KNOCK. understand about it," she added, softening a little as she settled back in her chair. " I must confess I know but very little about it, but what I do know only increases my desire to know more," said Grace, flushing, as she sat down in the nearest chair. "Let me warn you not to read or hear another word about it then, for it will simply be the means of worse than death to you," continued Mrs. Dyke, rais- ing her finger solemnly. "It destroys the most important doctrines in the Bible, even taking away the belief in the devil and hell," added Mrs. Linberger, speaking for the first time. "Yes; they even deny there ever was a devil or that there ever will be any future punishment, -h^t think of it," reiterated Mrs. Dyke. "I guess they will see, some time ! " she added with a sort of steely satis- faction. "Do you really believe they lay aside all future punishment?" asked Grace, willing to waive the appli- cation to herself, and anxious to hear Mrs. Dyke's views. " Yes, they say there is no evil and no devil, so of course there is no need for punishment." " But do they not regard the devil as Jesus did, after all 2 " asked Grace, again pursuing her advantage. " U-m, well, Jesus recognized him and talked to him, telling him to get out, and he often referred to the everlasting punishment," added Mrs. Dyke again, with a solemn face. A CHURCH COMMITTEE. . 187 "But, he did not mean a literal fire, did he, when He spoke of everlasting punishment ? " Mrs. Dyke was the catechized instead of the cate- chizer, and it was an unaccustomed role, but she bore it like a soldier. " Of course he did ; several places in Matthew he described the lot of the wicked, and referred to the danger of hell-lire. Haven't you studied the Bible, Miss HalH" suddenly turning to look straight at Grace with some severity. " I am very much interested in it, Mrs. Dyke, but when I read that 'God's mercy endureth forever,' and that ' Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil,' I am inclined to think there must be some mistake about the dreadful wrath that is to last forever," calmly replied Grace. " And you don't believe in eternal punishment ? " cried Mrs. Dyke, in a shrill voice of astonishment. " Don't believe in eternal punishment 2 " echoed Mrs. Linberger. " I did not say that. I do think there is punish- ment so long as there is sin, but when we believe Christ has destroyed or can destroy sin, sickness, sor- row or death, which are the devil's works, they will be destroyed. It must be so if we trust the words of the gospel." "Well, I am thankful to find Miss Turner in such Christian company at any rate," said Mrs. Dyke, as she adjusted her veil, preparatory to her departure. "Yes, indeed; it is a pleasure to see such an ear- nest young Christian," added Mrs. Linberger, with a sitrh of satisfaction. 188 THE RIGHT KNOCK. " But, ladies," began Grace, " I am not such a " "We shall be pleased to have you accompany Miss Turner to our meetings some time, Miss Hall," inter- rupted Mrs. Dyke, not heeding what Grace was saying. "Here is a card announcing the regular weekly services, and here are some tracts for you to read." She dealt out a liberal supply, which Grace took as she again started to explain, but a sudden haste had seized her visitors, and they left, saying they would try and call some other time, when Miss Turner was at home. As Grace turned to go back to her painting, she caught a glance of her reflection in the glass. After looking at it a moment with a quizzical expression, she suddenly burst into a merry laugh, saying : " I did not know you had turned Bible teacher. Well, well, it was funny, but I could not help it, that she went away with the wrong impression of me, for she would not listen to my explanation." When Kate came home she brought another letter from Mrs. Hayden, but before it was read Grace told her all about the call by the "church committee." Kate looked a little grave at first, but finally straight- ening up as she took off her gloves and hat, she said : " Well, Grace, it is not very pleasant to be waited upon in this fashion, but I suppose if they take me in hand I can't help myself, and so I will be resigned to fate." She smiled and spoke cheerily, but a little tre- mor of the old fear touched her, notwithstanding. " Let us read the letter now," suggested Grace, think- ing that would be the best thing to revive Kate's damp- ened courage. A CHURCH COMMITTEE. 189 " Yes, I am anxious to read it ; Mr. Hayden told me it is on the Bible, and very helpful." " I am so glad ! " she exclaimed, when it was fin- ished. " Now I can interpret more freely myself, as I plainly see we must use our judgment about the Bible, as well as anything else. But what does it mean about the creeds ? " she added suddenly, appealing to Grace with the old anxious look in her eyes. " It means," said Grace, " that the ordinary ortho- dox interpretation of doctrinal points was voted upon by bishops, presbyters and laity generally, and because the majority of votes indicated a preference for a cer- tain interpretation, it was adopted and became the established creed, and thus we have what is called the Apostles' Creed, which is the basis of all orthodox churches throughout Christendom. " And so with all creeds ; they are all established by majority vote." " I should never have known anything about this," she continued, " if I had not been searching so eagerly for some religion that would satisfy, and in my ram- bles I came across this information." "Are you sure it is reliable?" was Kate's almost feverish question. It seemed that she must hold on to something or the last straw that bound her to the teachings of childhood, would break. " It is a matter of history, and you see Mrs. Hay- den has touched upon it, though very lightly. But it is the grandest historical truth I ever read, for it gives personal liberty. I shall never forget ho\v happy I was to learn that the creeds were simply man-made or man-expressed opinions, for in that case, I too, had 190 THE RIGHT KNOCK. liberty to read and think for myself, just as well as those who voted upon these various interpretations." Grace was handsome when filled with enthusiasm, and as Kate looked at her at this moment she thought her face perfectly angelic, but one more question she must ask of this noble friend, who knew just what she needed to know and could tell it when she needed it most. "Do you think Christian Science does away with the creeds of the church ? " " No, not necessarily. So far as I can see. it merely seeks truth, and whatever of truth is found anywhere is retained. It is only the husks that are thrown away. Indeed I can see more in the church than I ever could before I knew anything of Christian Science," replied Grace, thoughtfully. " Why, how is that ? " asked Kate in surprise. "The fundamental oneness in their search after God. What is back of the creed but a desire to rever- ence Deity ? That was the origin, no matter into what it has degenerated now, and we must judge according to the spirit, not the letter. Oh, when will the world worship in the unity of the spirit ?" sighed Grace, long- ing for the time when questionings and controversies would be at an end. " Here is Mrs. Dyke, for instance," she resumed, presently, " what is she striving for but to live the true religion as she understands" it ? I can respect any hon- est people who live up to their belief, and the Christian who moans and sighs and looks doleful because he thinks it is his duty to do so, is much higher in my estimation than the one who believes it to be right, but fails to live accordingly." A CUUCR1I COMMITTEE. 191 " The spirit of religion washes away all differences in the letter," concluded Kate, with a lighter heart than she had when they began their conversation. The vague terror that had occasionally thrust itself upon her during these last few weeks had loosened its hold upon her, and she realized, as never before, that fear, more than anything else, had kept her back ; fear of deviating from the traditional and accepted opinions. The Bible lesson was especially valuable, because it touched these very points, and after this little conver- sation with Grace on the subject she was like another person. When Mrs. Dyke called a few evenings later, after a similar interview to the one with Grace, she left the battlefield a wiser soldier than when she entered it, for Kate had so beautifully proven her religious earnest- ness, and more than all had shown such a Christ-like spirit, that the "sword was beaten into a plowshare and the spear into a pruning hook." CHAPTER XXIII. " More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. Wherefore let thy voice Rise like a fountain for me night and day, For what are men better than sheep or goats That nourish a blind life within the brain, If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer Both for themselves and those who call them friend? For so the whole round world is every way Bound by gold chains about the feet of God." Tennyson. "MARLOW. September, . k EAK HUSBAND: " Your letter was so full of interest. How glad, oh how rejoiced I am that we are privileged to know this beautiful truth. Don't you ever feel like stopping in the midst of your work and giving thanks that you were bora in this age? As my eyes open more and more to God's goodness and love and power, I am so full of thanks, there is no room for petitions; indeed, I should feel as though I were beg- ging, to ask God for what He has already given me, and of course He gives every child alike, being 'no respecter of persons.' Just think of it : 'Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, to conceive the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.' Negative thought, carnal mind can not know these things, but as we are m PR A TER. 193 cleansed and purified, the new baptism ' creates 'in us a new heart,' the loving child's heart turned to its father, and love shall teach us more and more to read the signs of love. "Oh, divine mystery of childhood, of parenthood, that brings us into closer and sweeter knowledge of our Father whose love is infinite. Out of the deep silence around us, filled as it is with the all-abiding presence of God, may we ask for a manifestation of whatever gift we choose to have. These thoughts filled my mind as I went to class this afternoon, and what was my surprise and pleasure to find the lesson to be on the subject of prayer. " There is no theme or word so constantly in the mind and on the lips of the Christian Scientist as prayer. The oft-repeated injunction of Jesus was, ' watch and pray lest ye enter into temptation.' ' Pray without ceasing.' As we study more closely into the life of the Master, we find him on all occasions com- muning with the Father in prayer. Thus we find that this is the most sacred and necessary of all branches of our daily work. " Prayer is the natural turning of the better self to God, in the attitude of thankfulness, praise, suppli- cation or voiceless desire. ' It must be the spontaneous and almost irrepressible outpouring of the thoughts and feelings of the soul into the listening ear of a present God,' said an earnest thinker. " To what wonderful depths and heights our prayers lead us when they are thus spontaneous and irre- pressible ! How well David has expressed the grati- 194 THE RIGHT KNOCK. tude, the holy trust and majestic praise common to every devout child of God. ' The Lord is my shepherd,' is blessed ath'nnation of supreme trust, the naming of God's glorious gifts, the gratitude for peace, life, Jove, protection, friendship, all the heavenly blessings of God's presence in God's house. In this wonderful psalm we find, no doubt, no thought of waiting for future blessings, but a grand outpouring of thankful- ness for the present. There are no petitions, no sup- plications, no reserves of praise, but simply the glad recognition and appreciation of the omnipresence and omnipotence of Good. " It was the same feeling, tempered with a deeper solemnity, that prompted Jesus to say ' Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me,' as he was about to perform the mighty miracle of raising Lazarus. "Thanks signify the accomplishment of the desire, his request of the Father was granted before he had even preferred it, for he knew the law and realized it that God is life and knows not death but the form of words was observed because that makes the law a visible fact. " Father is the human naming for this divine Love that ever waits for the spoken word in order to be re- vealed. To Jesus it was the dearest and best name of all by which to address or speak to the one great Helper, Guide, Friend. ' Father, I thank thee,' was often on his lips, and it was to the ' Father whoseeth in secret' that he bade his disciples pray. "In the secret consciousness of oneness with the Father there may be no reservations, no concealments, PRATER. 195 no hypocritical bigotry, no thought of self, only a glad going out with all our heart and soul to the Father, a trustful acknowledgment of the Good. This is the attitude of true prayer. "The devout soul is always praying, because it con- wioiidy lives with God. There are times of praise, adoration, extolment,when thankfulness is more exuber- ant, runs over into bursting joy, and times when long- ing desire carries us into the very bosom of God. We long for comfort, for love, for peace, with an unutter- able agony of longing, and are met with an unutterable joy of satisfaction, if we but turn to Him and acknowl- edge, but an indispensable preliminary to prayer is fasting. The power of accomplishment in fasting and prayer equals a decree. " The conditions upon which hinge our use of the divine power are, first, ' putting away iniquity' fast- ing ; second, turning to God prayer. Then comes the power to decree; then we see the truth of Jesus' promise : ' All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye have received them, and ye shall have them.' Then we look into the face of the Almighty, and reflect the same power, are able to do a like work, make visible the things of His creation by speaking the word of acknowledgment, that they are already established. " It was this kind of prayer that enabled the dis- ciples to heal the sick, cast out demons and do all the wonderful works. Failure was simply a sign of un- faithfulness in prayer. 'Oh, ye of little faith!' was the Master's explanatory exclamation. 196 T1IK KTHIIT KNOCK. " Here was a most essential requisite faith in the Father, who alone is the power ; faith and trust in the invisible All. Why do we pray so much with no answer to even our most devout aspirations 2 Because, like the disciples, we have too little faith. k ' The heart-weary mother has prayed for her son, and he still goes the ' broad way that leadeth to destruc- tion,' as she thinks; but for her heart-weariness, which is but lack of faith, he might have been turned into ' paths of righteousness.' "With her mind continually burdened with fear, dire forebodings and anxious doubts, she has asked, begged, beseeched the mighty Ruler of destinies to soften the heart of her wayward boy. Thankfulness that God has given to her child the com- mon inheritance to all possible blessings, a pure spirit- ual nature, the reflection of the All-Good, has never entered her thought to express. Her mind is divided between a conception of good and a conception of its opposite evil. The result is years of hopeless praying, years of hopeless waiting. ' A house divided against itself can not stand.' " ' Pray, believing that ye have received.' Thus, ' I thank Thee, Father, for the perfect reflection of Thy- self in my son. He is whole because he lives in and of Thy wholeness. I thank Thee that Thou hast already done more than I could ask. ' It is finished.' Into Thy hands I commend my all.' " In this is the simple recognition of the All-Father, His love and His omnipotence. And after this, what* Trust unwavering, childlike trust. So the burden is truly ' cast upon the Lord,' evil is overcome, swallowed up in the Good. PR A TER. 197 " With such mighty faith, what a cleansing there would be ! what a sincere, glad rejoicing that the true relation between God and man were proven, for faith is the bond between the invisible and the visible, a ' basis of things hoped for, a conviction of things unseen.' " With what devoutness, then, would we name the needs and aspirations ? With what certainty would we assert that we have ' already received ? ' Not far off in the intangible somewhere, but here, there, everywhere may we find the Good, and ' he that dwelleth in the sec- ret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.' " To dwell in the secret place, in the pure and right- eous thought, is to be always under the protection of the Most High. To be able to say, ' He is my refuge and my fortress,' is the grand privilege given to the heir of the King, the heir that has come to the full knowledge of his inheritance and thankfully uses it. " ' The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much,' wrote the wise and righteous James. There is an infinite promise of the fulfillment of right- eousness in these words. They contain the key to all accomplishment or all failure. The righteous man is one who ' walketh righteously, speaketh uprightly, stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, shutteth his eyes from seeing evil' (prayer and fasting). The righteous man decrees magnificently and trusts infi- nitely. He does not approach God like a cringing servant, licking the dust at his master's feet, but like a Prince who enters his Father's presence with the simple statement of his wants, and knowing his Father's 198 THE Rldl IT KXOCK. takes the glorious gift with thanksgiving and praise. "Is it health lie would have manifested for himself or his neighbor? He confidently acknowledges the health, even though he can not see it, the health with which all humanity is endowed, if it would claim its endowment. Is it peace, power, strength he desires, he again goes to the royal treasury. With the right word he climbs the stair of heaven; with the right faith he enters his Father's house, where all things abound. " The righteous man is of one mind, the divine Mind that works through him. Were all the praying world of one mind, think you a Lincoln would have been martyred, a Garfield sacrificed, or tender little children lost to our sight? " God is the same forever. There is no inharmony to come from Harmony. Be of one mind ; let the divine Mind work through you; acknowledge only the divine creation, and then all beliefs in the opposite of God will be destroyed. The immaculate Christ (Truth) destroys the works of the evil (error) to-day, even as in the far away centuries of the past, ' if so be you let the Mind that was in Christ Jesus be in you.' " The practical naming of daily prayer is denial and affirmation, denying evil or undesirable conditions, and acknowledging the Good or absolute. " ' Being is the vast affirmative excluding negation, self-balanced and swallowing up all relations, parts and times within itself. Nature, truth, virtue, are the influx from thence,' said Emerson, noting the absolute- PEA TER. 199 ness of that which is. To become one with this affirm- ative Allness, is to manifest the affirmative condition of Being. " Paul says in Titus : ' The grace of God hath ap- peared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world ; ' and in the next chapter, referring to the same subject : ' This is a faith- ful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm con- stantly, that they which hath believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.' " There is no ceasing of this most necessary process. It is only by denying and affirming constantly that we fast and pray, thus fitting ourselves for the cleansing ministry. It is to ' be diligent in season and out of sea- son,' if we would gain the true reflection from Omnip- otence. What the sun is to the flower, Thou to us art every hour ; Like the dew on lily's breast Fall all blessings from the Best. Not alone in day would we Turn our faces, Lord, to Thee, But through lowering clouds of night Would reflect Thy radiant light ; Thanking Thee for all Thy care, May our lives be filled with prayer. " What an outpouring there was in the silence after this. Such a flood of reverence and trustfulness filled my heart, and instantly it flashed upon me that God requires no outward forms or ceremoniesof His children, except they be the spontaneous and involuntary expres- sion of an overflowing heart. SOO THE RIGHT KNOCK. "Kneel ing in prayer was first prompted by rever- ence and not the servile form into which it has too much degenerated. A form is only a sign at best. If there is nothing to prompt the sign, what a mockery it is! Truly, ' the letter killeth but the spirit gi vet h life.' " Exactly how these thoughts came to me I can not tell, but after the silence I knew by a great and sudden wave of understanding,things that I had never thought of before, and to attempt to tell them would be like try- ins: to catch the sunshine. The hint I have tried to O give seems very far from the reality of my experience but what are words compared to thoughts, any- way! . . . My heart is too full. I know now what 'inexpressible' means. " Good bye, with love to all. " MAKION. "P. S. I had just finished my letter when ]\Irs. Dawn and Miss Singleton came in. They too, had something wonderful in the silence. It seems too sacred to tell, but to you three who are so earnestly seeking the way of Truth, I can say what might seem sacrilege to the thoughtless world. Miss Single- ton had realized in those few moments* the inexpress- ible meaning of the Lord's prayer. 'Why,' she said, ' why, if we could realize what it means, there would be no more sickness, sin or death. It seemed to me the very heavens opened, and I looked upon a broad white shining light like a path, only it was broadened and broadened ;is I looked, till it became wide enough to cover the whole earth. This is to be wherever the PRA TER. SOI kingdom has come upon earth. Wherever the thoughts are heavenly and pure there the Father is, there heaven, wholeness, health are, and I could realize that the light is here, but ignorance keeps it veiled, so that verily the 'light shineth in darkness but the darkness comprehendeth it not.' Talk of sickness, trouble, sor- row, why, they are nothing! The light is here, the kingdom of heaven IMS come, and been here all the time. Jesus knew it, but he had to use language they could understand. lie knew if they prayed faithfully in that spirit, bye and bye the spiritual meanings would flash upon them. Oh, how much, how much it means! I can never lose this, for it means unutterable things, and I know there is no reality in sickness for I am well/ 1 " Miss Singleton is, or has been troubled for years with heart disease and a slight curvature of the spine. " It was not very light in the room, and I had not noticed her figure particularly, but as she spoke, her face fairly shone with a heavenly light (I can think of nothing else to describe it), and she was straight as any one ! She declared over and over that she was well, but more than all else she appreciated the spirit- ual uplifting and knowledge that had come. " Mrs. Dawn had no special revelation to-day, but she seems to be unfolding most beautifully. We talked a long time, and then sat in the silence. They have just gone. How I wish I could see you, but it is late and I must again close. Give my love to Grace and Kate. I am so glad Kate is getting into the light. I felt she would be all right after she begun. Of course, Kate, you will read this, but you will not care, I am sure. M. H." CHAPTER XXIV. "Not till the soul acts with all its strength, strains its every faculty, docs prayer begin." Frances Power Cobbe. HAVE always thought a great deal on the subject of prayer," said Mr. Hayden, drawing his chair up closer and bending over to look at his listeners, Grace and Kate, who had called to get the letter which had just been read, and it appears to me," he continued, " that subject has been misunderstood." "Well?" interrogated Grace. " Well, we have always been taught to pray to a God who could be informed of our wants and needs, and be induced to change His mind about the method of deal- ing with them, or be softened in His judgments con- cerning His children. Now if God is all-wise and all- powerful, why need we so carefully instruct Him? If He is all Love why need we ask Him with piteous tears to bless our sick and afflicted? If He is everywhere present, and no respecter of persons, why need we ask Him to do for one more than for another? As God is omniscient, is lie not all the knowledge there is?" "The great mistake has been to regard Deity as Per- son, instead of Principle," said Grace, as he paused a moment. "As God is changeless and eternal, the essence of Love and Life/' he went on. not heeding the interrup-' E VER Y-DA 7 PR A CTWE. SOS tion, " how can it be otherwise than that we have an inllux of this divine Life into ourselves as we acknowl- edge its eternal and omnipresent existence, realizing the truth of what we say ?" " There the trouble has been," said Kate, taking up his thought, " that we have not realized the divine Presence which we call Truth, because we have not acknowledged it." "That is exactly the reason, and it needs a constant acknowledgment of the Good to keep us from admit- ting false beliefs that beset us because of an acknowl- edgment of the opposite of the Good." "What then is your idea of the true method of prayer ?" asked Kate, much interested. "More of thanksgiving, as Mrs. Pearl teaches. I like her comparison to the servant and prince. We can not dwell too much on the thought that God is always giving us blessings. They are here, have been from the beginning of all knowledge, and our part is to take them. I often think of that comparison between the earthly and the heavenly Father, given by Jesus, when he said : ' If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven, give good things to them that ask Him ?' Here is Mabel, for instance. Passionately fond of flowers as she is, suppose some day I should bring her a rare bouquet from the florist's, and with a smile hold them out to her, saying : ' Here Mabel, are some roses for you!' How would I feel if she came with the most pathetic expression of longing and misery in her face, and dropping 04 THE mOUT KNOCK. down on her knees, should beg me to give her one flower ? But instead, like a true child that knows the father love, she would fly to take the beautiful gift and say, 'Oh, thank you, papa!' as she gives me a raptur- ous kiss, then runs for a vase to hold her treasures." "Indeed, that is like the true child we all should become, and give thanks for the beautiful gifts of (rod/' said Kate, softly, as if to herself. " What do you think of the Lord's prayer as it was revealed to the lady ? " asked Grace, to whom this part of the letter seemed a little hard to understand. "I think her revelation far exceeds mine, but I have enough to know that it is as she says: ; We must finally get the inner meaning, but I would uncover the spirit- ual ideas by clothing them in more spiritual language.' "It would be a great help if you would interpret it for us," said Kate, moving her chair closer in her eager- iiess to hear. " Wait a moment," said Mr. Hay den, as he went for the Bible. " I don't know very well how to word it, but the thought came to me this morning, and became much plainer after I had read the letter." He road the Lord's Prayer, then gave his conception of the spiritual meaning. "All-pervading Father-Mother Spirit, which art in all harmony, revered and holy is Thy name. Thy peace and love and righteousness is conceived and real- ized amid earthly environments as it is in the highest state of harmony. " Give to us eacli day the hidden manna, the living word that sustains us, and give us the truth for error as E VER Y-DA T PR A CTICE. 205 we in our divine likeness to Thee, give truth for error to those who err against us. " Leave or let us not in temptation, but preserve us from all thoughts that would dishonor Thee, for Thine is the kingdom and power and glory forever." " That is wonderful. Oh, how beautiful it all is," exclaimed Kate with -much feeling. " Isn't it ? " added Grace, " and quite in accord with the passage quoted by Mrs. Hayden, ' what things soever ye desire, that ' " " Same principle, recognizing the omnipresence of all things good, and acknowledging the gift as already given," interrupted Mr. Hayden, shutting his book and rising to put it away. " How would you construe the passage where it says, ' with prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God?' " asked Kate. " Oh, but you have not quoted it all : ' With prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known,'" replied Mr. Hayden, smiling. "It means, continue to ask, and expect to receive and give thanks, not only by word, but by proper use of what you already have. l If ye continue in my word,' was the condition, so it must be that we continue to ask and give thanks, even if our petition is not visibly answered at once." " Mr. Hayden had some advantage in his study over the girls, for these things had been more or less consid- ered by himself and Mrs. Hayden ever since her recov- ery, and it was no wonder he could explain so readily. "After all, how would you apply this way of jw TV//-: niairr K\<>CK. praying to giving treatments?" asked Grace. "I am anxious for the practical application." "Why, it is all practical, as far as the individual is concerned, but the application toothers we have yet to learn, though I imagine it is the same. It is simply being negative to false conditions, thus putting them off, and affirmative to true conditions, absorbing them as the flower does the light and heat." "Well, it is a beautiful idea of prayer at any rate," remarked Grace. They soon went home, still discussing and deeply pondering the subject. ****** " Grace, what do you suppose I did to-day ? " cried- Kate, breathlessly, as she rushed in the next evening. 'Can't imagine, unless you cured little Tim, the newsboy," laughed Grace, making her guess extrava- gant enough. "No, but really, I treated Fannie for a dreadful headache. Of course I said nothing to her, but she was stumbling so over her music, I asked her what was the matter, and when she told me I treated her. In just a few moments she brightened up and said she felt bet- ter, and before we got through it was all gone. Wasn't that delightful! " "Very, and I am so glad. How did you do it ? " "Well, I can hardly tell, but the talk we had yes terday with Mr. Hayden gave me a clearer idea than I had before, and I just denied the headache and ac- knowledged the truth that she was spiritually well; then waited a few moments and gave thanks that it was so." /: I 'KR Y-DA T PEA CTICE. 207 " How glad we ought to be for the privilege of read- ing Mi's. Hayden's letters," said Grace, thoughtfully, as she smoothed her hair and washed her hands. " Yes, and what a goose I was about it," Kate re- plied. " I would scarcely take the chance when it was offered, and if it had been any one but Mrs. Hay den, I do believe I should have refused point blank." "We know so little what is right when we judge in the old way," said Grace. "Now, if I actually hadn't seen that woman cured, and known positively how she was before, nothing would have induced me to spend my time on this, although, from the first, I rather liked the theory." "Where is my gingham apron?" called Kate, look- ing in the dark closet where she had hung it. " Kate, I'm thoroughly reformed, as you will know when I tell you I am perfectly willing to perform the culinary duties to-night, and I will be the cook while you discourse some music for my edification," laughed Grace, as she emerged from the studio with her sleeves rolled back, and the lost apron pinned around her. "What!" cried Kate, holding up both hands with a mock-tragic air. " Do you really mean it ?" " Of course, and I will show you what a talent I have for poaching eggs and making toast." The girls were in the habit of dividing their work according to their personal tastes. Kate liked to pre- pare dainty meals and wash dishes, while Grace pre- ferred to sweep and dust, and arrange things to suit her artistic eye. Each disliked the other's part of the work, so thev were well content to have it so divided. sos TUK ma JIT KNOCK. " Go on, no\v," ordered Grace, ''and plav for me. I want some music ; but, tirst of all, tell me where the e oo s are > alu ^ how l n should they boiH" " The eggs are in the tin pail on the third shelf in the closet. They should boil till they are a pivtty blue white." "Very well, now I can dispense with your com- pany." Kate laughed merrily, and sitting down to the piano, played till Grace called her out to dine. " It seems rather nice to come home and play lady," she remarked, as she went out where Grace was. " Well, really, Kate, I was thinking this afternoon that there is not so much difference in the kinds of work as there is in the thoughts you have when you work, and I resolved, that to refrain from certain duties because one does not like them is selfish, and makes a person one-sided. Then I could see no reason why I should dislike to cook, and concluded to try it." " I believe you are right about the one-sidedness," said Kate, soberly " I do want to grow into a rounded character, and am just realizing the necessity of doing things that lie nearest us, whether it is washing dishes, painting or scrubbing. If I get so I can think right about things I'm sure I shall like them." " That is true. I have already noticed a vast differ- ence in my patience in giving lessons. You know some days I would be so nervous and get so exasperated with Fannie Thornton and Jenny Miles, I didn't know what to do with myself, but the last few days I have not EVER T-DA T PEA CTICE. 209 minded them at all, in fact I got along better with Fannie than ever before, and it was just because I kept from thinking she was contrary and stupid." " Well, that is a practical application of your lesson. I think we ought to apply it to everything we do," replied Grace. " One of the chief beauties of Christian Science is that it goes into every thought and action," said Kate, thoughtfully, adjusting her hair. " Oh ! " she added a moment later, " I forgot to give you the letter that came to-day." She pulled it out of her pocket all crumpled and gave it to Grace, who glanced at her name on the envelope and then grew white about the mouth as she hastily put it into her pocket, remarking in an ordinary tone, "It will keep a little longer." Little was said by either for some time. Grace was preoccupied and Kate furtively watched her face, for this was an unaccountable procedure, although occa- sionally Grace had been affected the same way before. She insisted on washing the dishes, and was glad indeed that she had it to do, while Kate poured her thoughts into music, feeling that she could best show sympathy for her friend by this, to her, most expressive way. As for Grace, she waited till she had quite finished her work and then sat down to read the letter. She well knew it was from Leon Carrington, a suitor, whom she had rejected on the plea that she wished to be wedded solely to her art. Pride had forbidden her being frank enough to tell him the real reason, caused sin TIII-; HI cur liv an impeachment made against his diameter, by one whom she implicitly trusted as a friend. Her bitter resolve was the result, and while it wastrue she loved and desired to spend her life in pursuing her art, she had compelled herself to think she loved it best, and so told him it was first choice. Hers was a proud, deep nature, and rather than admit that she had loved or could love one whom she considered unworthy, she cut the matter short by a decided rejection. It had cost her a mighty effort to come to this decision, and when she came out of the trial, she had lost her faith in all men. On all other points but this, Grace was sound and sweet in her general disposition, but any talk on marriage she would never tolerate even with Kate. This was the third letter he had written in the two years since he went away, and as in the preceding, he fervently begged her to reconsider. CHAPTER XXV. " Life Lath its Tabor heights, Its lofty mounts of heavenly recognition, Whose unveiled glories flash to earth munition Of love, and truth, and clearer intuition : Hail ! mount of all delights ! " /. C. Gilbert. " MAKLOW, September OOP morning, dear ones all! I must tell you a little of yesterday before I go to the lesson to-day. We were not in class, and I staid in my room all day trying to solve the many questions that present them- selves to us all, and to claim a little more understand- ing. Many points became very much clearer after my long meditation in the silence. In the evening I ran down to see Mrs. Dawn, who is several blocks away. We were so interested, so completely absorbed in tell- ing our thoughts and experiences, that it was after eleven o'clock when I arose to go, and then she ac- companied me home, only intending to come part way, but as we passed a little low house about half way home, the door suddenly opened and a little girl of ten or twelve years ran out sobbing, ' The baby is dying ! the baby is dying!' " She was going up an outside stairway to inform a neighbor. We rushed into the house and found the frantic mother sobbing and wailing over her baby apparently in the last agonies of death. 211 fig THE RIGHT KNOCK. " ' What is it ? Can't we do something for you ?' we asked, not knowing what else to say. " ' Oh, my baby, my precious baby is dying ! Don't you see ? she is almost gone ! ' " Indeed, for an instant it seemed the little life had gone out, when, like a flash of lightning, the words came to my inner self, ' There is no death.' ' lie that belie veth on me shall not see death ; ' ' I am the way the truth and the life.' ' Treat,' I whispered to Mi's. Dawn, and soon the awful lie was denied by us in the peaceful silence of our own souls ; for all conscious- ness of appearances had vanished as we denied death and its power, till we could command the waves of mortal thought to subside and say, ' Peace, be still.' " It was the Master, the Christ within, who spoke for us, and we were filled with the mighty peace and calmness of Truth that worked through us and was immediately made manifest. The little face relaxed, the eyes lost their glassy stare, the color returned to the pale lips. " The mother ceased her mourning and gazed at the precious child in awesome silence. The neighbor and the little girl who had come in, stood by in hushed amazement. For a while all felt the presence of the great invisible Power that had wrought so wondrous a work in their midst, although no one knew but ourselves what had been done. Presently the mother leaned back in her chair with a sigh of relief, awaiting the doctor, for whom her husband had gone before we entered the house. We waited till he came, and then quietly slipped out. UNDERSTANDING. 213 " Mrs. Dawn came clear home with me, and we found our thoughts and feelings had been almost iden- tical in this remarkable experience, showing the oneness of truth. It is something we shall never forget, for it was indeed from the very depths of our being we were stirred and thrilled with the mighty Principle. " This morning I went to see the baby, and found it quite bright and happy, but still breathing a little heavily. The M. D. had left medicine, and of course, they were giving it ' according to directions.' I told the mother something of the Science, and she readily acknowledged that something mysterious had saved her child's life, because it certainly was dying as much as the child she had lost years ago. " 'After you left last night, the neighbor who was here said like as not you were Christian Scientists whatever that is, but she did not believe a word in it, and that it was all nonsense, but I told her I didn't care. I thought you saved my baby, and the doctor said it had grown much better since he came. ' Well/ says 1, 4 ef you had seen her condition when the ladies came in, you would say she is better.' " ' Oh, we won't argue about what made her better, whether medicine or something else; all we want now is to have the child cured/ said the doctor, very kind- like, and I really thought a great deal better of him than I had before, for most M. D.'s think they know everything,' she said. " I was so glad to find she acknowledged even this much, so I talked a little longer, and explained the necessity of perfect trust in God, and the consequences g!4 THE RIGHT KNOCK. of distrust in Him. She seemed very responsive and ready to believe, but then, who would not believe after such a demonstration ? I have felt awed and hushed all the morning, remembering the mighty something surg- ing through me. It seems hard to believe that at last my desire to have some grand sign shown me is already fulfilled. "Mi*s. Pearl talked beautifully this afternoon on understanding. I wish you could hear the lectures as she gives them, with all her grace and beauty and impressiveness. Here is the essence of the lesson : "As we evolve from material to spiritual under- standing, we put ourselves more and more into the divine current of Life, Health, Goodness, which is God. The higher our ideal, the higher our attainment. Be- lieving in God as supreme Love, we find it impossible to conceive of wrath, jealousy, revenge, as emanating from or existing in Him, Her or It. As we are filled with love, it becomes universal. Everybody is judged by its tender charity, everything is tinged with its warm radiance. "As Paul so beautifully wrote: 'Love suffereth long and is kind, love envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil, rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth in the truth. . . . Love never faileth.' If this be a standard by which to judge the love of men, how much more appropriately might it judge God, who is love itself. " In proportion as we are freed from the ignorance UNDERSTANDING. 215 and narrowness of primitive, ancient opinions concern- ing God, we shall rise to broader and tenderer and truer conceptions of Him. To the warm, sympathetic heart, that knows the deepest needs of humanity, the 'mercy that endureth forever' is an established fact of the universal Love. To understand this Love is to be at one with it, to do the works and think the thoughts of Love. It is essential, then, first to understand the law of effort, then faith, then love, then spiritual understand- ing, which is the goal toward which we all hasten understanding of all spiritual things, understanding of God, who is all spirit. As we make the effort we receive faith, as we use faith we grow in the power and capacity of love, and love brings us the fullness of all things, even understanding of infinite wisdom. Every glimpse of truth we have ever had, every glorious breath of freedom, is but a hint of what will be when we have ' awakened to righteousness.' " We gain our knowledge by and through the law of right speaking and consequently right acting. In the Bible, the New Testament especially, great stress is laid upon the power of words. Solomon wrote, * How forcible are right words.' 'Life and death are in the power of the tongue,' and from St. L'aul we hear, ' Hold fast the form of sound words ;' and James' admonition, 'Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only,' show that both considered it necessary to speak the word if they would manifest its power. " But there is another and a holier office given to the word and that is the office of atonement. The original meaning of atone was to ' make at-one, to agree, g!6 THE RIGHT KNOCK. to be in accordance, to accord.' To be at-one with a person is to be in such perfect sympathy that the thoughts of both are the thoughts and feelings of one. " Another illustration would be to say of a chip thrown into the river, it is at-one with the current. In this sense we should aim to be so at-one with the divine Principle that we may say with Jesus, 'I am one with the Father,' for did he not say: 'They are not of this world even as I am not of this world,' and ' That they may be one even we are one.' " To speak absolute Truth is to come into the true at-one-ment, to be at one with the divine Mind, to real- ize that Christ the Truth is the atoning power. The Christ is the impersonal Word of Truth which we are to speak, for 'unto us hath been committed the word of reconciliation' or atonement. " When we think true thoughts and catch true ideas, when we understand true meanings and love true knowledge, we are sustained by the living word which sustains all who speak and live it, because we are truly at one with the divine Word. "Knowing the meaning of Christ to be Truth, blood to be life or word, and sin to be error, we catch the spiritual meaning of the phrase 'sins washed away by the blood of Christ,' which is, sins or errors washed away by the word of Truth. "In that wonderful sermon in the sixth chapter of John, Jesus used the term blood as a symbol of his words, and emphatically told his disciples, when they persisted in taking his sayings literally, 't.lioflosh proflt- etli nothing, the ?/v;/v7.s- that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.' UNDERSTANDING. 217 " That the Bible writers used the figurative language of those times, must be taken into account when read- ing points that have been made foundation doctrines. Owing to the ancient custom of sacrificing animals to appease the wrath of God, whom they regarded as subject to anger, jealousy or any human passion, they used figurative language when describing Jesus as the Lamb sacrificed for the sins of the world. " In one of the inspired moments of the prophet, when he apprehended God as a God of Love, he cried out, ' I have desired mercy and not sacrifice ; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offering.' It is the knowledge of God, the word of truth, that will save, and the only sacrifice is the sacrifice of self which makes the atonement possible. " To fast from all selfishness is to keep the true fast, so beautifully described in the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. ' Is it not to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, to break every yoke? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.' Here is the fruit of atonement, the result of understanding, for understanding God and being at one with God, is in reality the same. As we under- stand God we shall be at one with Him, and to be at one with God is to be whole, for He is Holiness, whole- ness, health. ' If thine eye be single, then shall thy whole body be full of light.' To be single in recogniz- ing the one Mind, one Power, one Creation, is to be filled with light, which .is life, which is health, for as the mind, consciousness, becomes illuminated, the body g IS THE Rid II T K.\< > < 7i*. responds by recording the history of thought upon the visible page or body. 'It is the revealment of God that we seek, and our individual relation to Him. What more is there for us to know after we know Him, for is not He all there realty is? He has given many marvelous signs to His children, who must be taught in simple childish ways and the ' still small voice ' is ever near, speaking to whomsoever will listen. It is the inner guide, the 'spirit of truth that guides us into all truth.' Then we are 'clothed upon,' we have returned to our Father's house and the feast is spread, the rejoicing has begun. "For awhile our only conception of power, is invis- ible manifestations or feelings, but there comes a time when ' to be alone with silence is to be alone with God,' when joy is unutterable, and love the very potency of silence, when we wait with bated breath and let the divine Thought surge through us, when we put away all material beliefs and stand glorified in the ' secret of His Presence.' Then indeed are we bapti/ed of the spirit, and in the silent chamber of our new conscious- ness may we hear the blessed words, 'Thou art my beloved son.' "No longer 'Thou shalt and thou shalt not,' but the sweet affirmation of sonship, of (laugh tership, of the precious benediction of a Father's love. Then glad light rushes into every dark crevice of our mind. We sec as we never saw before, we understand as we never under- stood be fore, we speak as we never spoke before, we live as we novel 1 lived before, because we have been lifted outof the depths of ignorance to the radiant heights of the UNDERSTANDING. 219 Promised Land, because we hear the angel saying as of old, ' Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God . . . and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. ' Finally, oh my husband, because we have been born again, and so find our- selves within the royal gates, the palace doors open to receive us and the insignia of royalty written upon our faces, for we shall be stamped with the signs of understanding, and know, as Jesus did, ' it is not I, but the Father that dwelleth in me, lie doeth the works.' " Then, as the beauteous sunlight bathes and blesses all the world with its effulgent glory, so will the light of Truth, known as understanding, shine through us and turn pain into peace, sadness into joy, sickness into health, error into truth. 'Wisdom ripens into silence, And the lesson she doth teach, Is. that life is more than language, And that thought is more than speech.' " How I long for this ultimate experience ! How I yearn for the fullness of this knowledge now; for the ripened wisdom that shall unlock the doors of my own consciousness, but I know, dear, this will come to us if we are faithful to the few little steps we know, no matter how we stumble and fall in taking them. Oh, that we may reach out to all the world in the sweet ministry of ' peace on earth, good will to men.' 9SO THE RIGHT KNOCK. " You say ' there is a rift in the clouds for you, too, and the vague something which sometimes loomed up in your horizon is gone.' How glad I am, no words can tell. What a change there will be ! The old past shall be sweetened and sanctified by the new present, and only the good memories shall remain. "What a blessed comfort in this thought, 'the Lord shall be thy rear ward.' We have nothing to do with the past, for it shall be utterly annulled. The Truth has erased it, and it is swallowed up in the good in pro- portion as we recognize only the Good. This thought is a great consolation to me when I recall the hasty words I used to say when my temper got the better of me. Oh, that old failing! I hope it is forever van- quished but there, I must not forget to be scientific, and of course it is not scientific to talk of error in any way. " Jamie is a dear little scamp, if he did try to break the rules and get something to eat between meals by playing prairie dog. It must have been very funny to see him sitting in the attitude of a begging dog, mutely appealing for something, and being obliged at last to suggest that there was candy on the top shelf. Even my heart would have softened for the innocent little trickster. " Well, really, we must try to give the children the liberty we older children desire and insist upon having in such a headstrong way. Bless my little darlings! They shall realize the absence of fear, the presence of love in their homo, which \ve must strive more and inon> to m;ik<> typic.-il of tli<> in'rat Home in which we are all members. UNDERSTANDING. 221 " I feel that they are dearer now than ever. My love is more unselfish, and I can really feel that they are truly consecrated to the Good, because I know how to hold them in the thought of the Good, how to annul the opposite influences and fill their minds with the sweet, pure, ennobling realizations of Love. Meekly I say this, because I know not my own strength, or rather I know not how much divine strength I may recognize and use, but this is the right path, and I ear- nestly desire to walk in it. " You know some people say (in their ignorance, of course) that Christian Science breaks up families. Oh, if they could only know, on the other hand, how it strengthens the bonds, how it clears up misunderstand- ings and falsities, how it teaches us the sacredness of family relations, and brings us into spiritual oneness, which is the only true marriage. " Spiritual light has come to me on this subject which can not be put into words, but some time you will know what I know, and we shall both be blessed by the knowledge. " Peace be unto all God's children. " Your loving " MAKION." CHAPTER XXVI. " If thou art worn and bard beset, Witb troubles tbat tbou would'st forget, If thou would'st read a lesson that will keep Thy heart from fainting and thy soul from sleep, Go to the woods and hills ! No tears Dim the sweet look that Nature wears." U. W. Longfellow. was in deep perplexity. She pondered her problem over and over, and though in reality she felt more like flinging pride to the winds than ever before, she was not able to formulate or even con- sciously name her thoughts. A strange, unsettled feeling possessed her. She wondored at herself that she did not contemptuously throw this letter of Leon Carrington's into the fire, as she had the other two, but for some reason did not do so. All night she was uneasy and slept but little. The next morning she announced to Kate that she would spend the day at Rosewood, sketching. What the trouble was, Kate could only surmise, but wisely held her peace feeling instinctively that now was no time for questions. She was relieved to hear of the prospective recreation, for Grace alwavs came back from these trips with so much fresh inspira- tion, and renewed enthusiasm. It was a beautiful day, one of those mild, hazy days of October that seem made to teach humanity some m A NEW PROBLEM. of its most sacred lessons. Nature is the best of teachers if we know how to read her mystic pages, her many and varied beauties, her wide diversities of expression, her fine subtlety of language, for she is the handmaid of Truth, inasmuch as she holds before our admiring eyes pictures of Truth and its wondrous laws. If \ve can interpret the pictures, we are wiser and better and happier. Grace was ever ready to listen to the oracles of nature, but now they held a sweeter message than ever before, and she keenly anticipated the pleasure in store for her as she seated herself in the car and disposed of her sketching- materials for the half hour's ride to Rose- wood, a pretty little woodland station near Hampton. She generally walked the mile and a half to the farmhouse in the edge of the woods, where she had made the acquaintance of a kind hearted old lady, who loaned her a great Newfoundland dog belonging to the house, for company in her rambles. Mrs. Clayland was rejoiced to see her, for it had been several weeks since Grace had called, and she was eager to tell her of the great tree up in the ravine that had been blasted by the lightning, and about the beautiful little waterfall caused by the Cherry Creek freshet. Grace listened patiently as she rested, and asked questions that she had asked many times before, because it pleased the old lady to tell of all the beau- tiful spots and dainty bits of landscape in her vicinity. That was next to being the artist. Prince stood by, looking with intelligent eyes, first 224. THE RIGHT KNOCK. at the visitor and then at his mistress, wagging his tail wistfully as though eager to be off, for he seemed to realize that this was his holiday too. " Are you ready to go, Prince?" asked Grace, put- ting the dog on the head as she looked into his great brown eyes. Prince licked his mouth and pushed his nose close under her hand while his tail wagged violently. " Yes, of course he is. I wish my old limbs would let me go too, but I can't even hobble to-day for the rheuma- tism, has been dreadful the last week," said Mrs. Clay- land, as she wiped her spectacles. Grace hardly knew what to sa} r , for here was just the place for a little sympathy, and yet she must shut her eyes to false beliefs and conditions, so she wisely talked of the beautiful day, the warm air, and what not, while secretly resolving that Mi's. Clayland should be her first patient if she ever knew how to treat patients according to Christian Science. In the mean time, she would give her some thoughts. While Mrs. Clayland volubly rattled on, talking of all her aches and pains, Grace was doing her best to think of the very opposite statement, that she was well. At last, however, with Prince trotting gaily in front of her, she began her rambles in earnest. She knew of a beautiful view from one of the hills near by, and slowly wended her way thitherward. The hush and quiet of the place seemed such a relief after the troubled hours of the past night, and as she came to the gentle slope of the grassy hill, sHe threw her- A NEW PROBLEM. 225 self into the soft warm grass, in the shade of a stately elm that stood there alone, and gave herself up to thinking thinking of the deepest and most sacred problems in human experience. Prince came and laid himself at her feet. The soft autumn sunshine played here and there upon her form and face through the leaves, while the occasional note of a bird or hum of an insect were the only sounds that broke the stillness of the lonely place. What an ex- quisite pleasure to lie there and breathe in all this won- derful peace, for it was like a taste of heaven. Far away from all perplexities and cares, she could have lost herself in sweet forgetfulness but for this one theme that would persist in thrusting itself upon her. At last it had resolved itself into the form of a question. Should she or should she not write to Leon Carrington? Might it not be possible she had been misinformed, and that she was mistaken in her hasty conclusions? Life presented a different aspect now from what it had two years ago. She was more lenient in her judg- ments, more charitable in her opinions, more softened in her pride; changed more than she ever realized until she began the self-examination on this point. To be sure she had desired to change in these respects, since she had seen a glimpse of the possibilities of Christian life. She had denied all qualities of character in herself that seemed undesirable, and had affirmed charitableness, patience, wisdom, but that she could ever have changed her mind on this subject seemed incredible and utterly inconsistent. And yet, what could she say to him ? She had no W$ Till-: lilt HIT KNOCK. answer, certainly no encouragement. The only thing she could do would be to tell him frankly what her thought and judgment had been, without going into details, and learn the truth of the matter ; but that, she would never do. Whatever injury she had inHicted through her silent, erroneous thoughts should be as silently redressed by her best and most generous ones. Over an hour she lay there, no nearer the solution of her problem than when she began. It was getting late, and she rose hurriedly, shook the leaves and grass from her dress, and opening her sketch book, set to work. An opening to the left in the woods revealed a view of lovely meadows and wooded hills, clothed in all the gorgeous robes of autumn, with a misty blue ha/e enshrouding them, and gleams of a silvery river wind ing through meadow and woodland. She rapidly sketched the outlines, studied the beauteous blending of tints, and wondered meanwhile, what particular lesson she could learn or give by this beautiful picture. Again she looked at the scene before her. Suddenly there came into her mind some lines she had often admired : " Oh, the peace at the heart of Nature, Oh, the light that is not of day ! Why seek it afar forever, When it can not be lifted awny '! " Ah, here was the key. "The peace of Nature," typical of divine peace, "The Light not of day," divine Light itself. How sweet the thought, how precious the lesson ; and the divine Peace and Light are indeed A NEW PROBLEM. 227 forever here. Could she throw such a divine message into her prospective painting? Could she make every form and color, every hint of light and shadow, tell the sweet story, as this living picture told it ? Surely, the heart that overflows with an inbreathing of the divine, must be able to teach the common heart of humanity, else what is the use of inspiration? On her way back to the house, Grace passed the blasted tree, described by Mrs. Clayland, but she had no desire to study destruction or death. It was life, living things, that she would portray. Was there not beauty and grandeur everywhere, hinting of Infinity ? Even the noisy and monotonous waterfall now had a message for her as it rushed forcefully on its course, regardless of any and all obstructions. It was quite late when Grace and Prince returned, much later than she supposed, so that she missed the train and had to wait for the next, several hours later. Mr. Clayland kindly volunteered to take her to the station, an offer she was very glad to accept. The lamps were already lighted when she entered the car. She slipped into the first vacant seat, but caught a glimpse of a face several seats in front of her that made her heart beat hurriedly and her breath come quick and fast for a few moments. She resolutely avoided looking anywhere but out of the window, and at the end of her journey quietly but quickly disappeared in the surging crowd. CHAPTER XXVII. "Let me not dwell so much within My bounded heart with anxious heed, Where all my searches meet with doubt, And nothing satisfies my need ; It shuts me from the sound and sight Of that pure world of life and light Which has no breadth, or length, or height." A. L. Waring. ATE had long ago become accustomed to these K- _JM3L_ uncertain movements of Grace, and was there- fore not alarmed at her prolonged absence. She sat in a coxy chair, reading the last letter from Mrs. Ilay- den, when Grace entered. " What makes you look so sober, Gracious?" she asked, tenderly, after the hat and sketch book were laid aside and they had settled themselves for their usual chat. " Oh, Kate, I had a lovely time to-day, with all the beautiful sights out in the country ; I wish you could see how much more there is in nature since we have studied Christian Science," was the evasive reply. "1 think we see more in everything," said Kate, whose curiosity was rather piqued by the evasiveness, though she made no sign, OW EH OF THOUGHT. 9SQ fear proves passive or unconscious fear, while those suffering sickness through a conscious recognition and fear of sickness are manifesting active or conscious fear. "There are two departments of mind sometimes spoken of as the conscious and unconscious. The con- scious mind is the conscious thought, which is easily swayed or changed. It has an immediate or direct influence on the body as is shown by the the blood that rushes to or recedes from the face at some sudden change of thought. The unconscious mind is the aggregation of past individual and universal conscious thought, and is the character formed, the second nature or instinct. " As the flesh and bones are more fixed than the ever moving blood, so the unconscious mind is slower to receive impressions, and slower to show them forth. Our bodies to-day are showing a harvest of the thoughts of generations or ages of the past. The per- son manifesting consumptive tendencies is not only expressing his own conscious thoughts, but is verita- bly the picture of the thoughts of his parents, ances- tors and the entire race, concerning a belief in con- O sumption. Year by year the thoughts of this error have been writing themselves in his face, his eyes, his chest, his very walk and talk and breath. Unless he offsets them with thoughts of absolute Truth, they press him out of our sight. He yields to the belief of death, because he never said no to sin or sickness, because he was at one with the world in its false beliefs. -4U THE EIGHT KNOCK. " ' The last enemy to be overcome is death ! ' reads the inspired statement of Paul, confirmed and strength- ened by the Master's never-dying promise, 'If a man keep my saying lie shall never see death.' " There are certain fixed beliefs inherent in every mind which we call universal beliefs. They are often referred to as belonging to the unconscious mind : as, for example, the fear of pain or suffering under cer- tain circumstances will come to the surface of con- sciousness, proving that despite every feeling of confi- dence and fearlessness it has not been destroyed, but sleeps in the unconscious mind. " These unconscious beliefs and fears of sickness are ultimately expressed on the body in different forms of disease, sometimes given one name and some- times another. The material scientist calls a certain outshowing on the body cancer, the Christian Scientist calls it the picture of a belief of cancer. In this wax- disease is always the manifestation of both conscious and unconscious thoughts. " Special forms of disease are born by constant attention to the thought of disease and their svmpt< mis. It has been stated on good authority that physicians who make a specialty of certain diseases are apt to be alllicted with what they have especially fitted them- selves to cure. In a medical journal a case was cited not long since of an eminent physician who read before a great convention of doctors, what was considered to be the ablest treatise on insanity ever written. 'On going home from the convention he killed his wife. four children, and then himself, in a fit of dementia/ THE POWER OF THOUGHT.