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 BOSTON 
 
 THE BALL PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 1908 
 
37 
 
 Entered at Stationers' Hall 
 
 Copyright^ igo8t by 
 The Ball Publishing Co. 
 
 COLONIAL PRESS 
 
 Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Siniottds &* Co. 
 
 Boston, U.S.A. 
 

 ^-\ m^ 
 
 MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 Where there is a big effect there is a big 
 cause. When you see flame, lava, and dust 
 coming up from the mouth of Vesuvius, you 
 know there is power below the crater. 
 
 When you see millions savagely fighting 
 in the name of one leader, or patiently sub- 
 missive and gentle in the name of another, 
 you know that there was power in those 
 men. 
 
 When you see tens of thousands of mod- 
 11 
 
 175091 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 ern, enlightened human beings absolutely 
 devoted to the teachings of Mrs. Eddy, 
 their leader, and beyond all question made 
 happy and contented by her teachings, you 
 know there is a cause underlying that won- 
 derful effect. 
 
 Millions of people in this country will be 
 interested in the personality of the very 
 remarkable woman who founded Christian 
 Science, and gathered together the great 
 Christian Science following. 
 
 This is written to describe an interview 
 with Mrs. Eddy which took place in her 
 house at Concord, New Hampshire, at 
 about two o'clock in the afternoon of Satur- 
 day, June 8th. 
 
 Carlyle would not forgive the old monk 
 
 who talked to the medieval English king on 
 
 his travels and then failed to describe the 
 
 king accurately and in detail. The first 
 12 
 

 J^^^Z^"^^ -r- 
 
 ^ 
 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 duty of a writer who sees a personality 
 interesting to the world is to tell what he 
 has seen, rather than what he thinks. For 
 what one man has seen another would see, 
 whereas one does not think what another 
 thinks. 
 
 Mrs. Eddy's house at Concord is ex- 
 tremely simple and unpretentious, a plain, 
 little frame dwelling, situated rather close 
 to a country roadway on the side of a most 
 beautiful New Hampshire valley. The 
 view from her windows is across this valley 
 to the blue hills. Behind those hills, a very 
 few miles distant, is the spot where Mrs. 
 Eddy was born. 
 
 Mrs. Eddy's thought has spread all 
 around this world. It has found expression 
 in heavy stone churches and great audiences 
 from Maine to California, and across the 
 oceans. This distant work her mind has 
 
 14 
 
PLEASANT-VIEW 
 CONCORD NH 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 done; her frail body dwells in peace and 
 quiet in the simplest, most modest of homes, 
 almost on the spot where her physical life 
 began. 
 
 Around the frame dwelling runs a broad 
 veranda. And above are balconies on 
 which Mrs. Eddy sits or stands, looking 
 down to the miniature lake dug with the 
 contributions of men and women deeply 
 grateful to her, or across the wide fields 
 toward the city and the busy world to which 
 she voluntarily said good-by long ago. 
 
 The house is furnished very plainly. In 
 
 the room on the right of the entrance the 
 
 chief ornament is a large illuminated 
 
 hymnal presented by the Earl of Dunmore, 
 
 one of Mrs. Eddy's British . followers. In 
 
 that room and in the room on the left of the 
 
 entrance the furniture is extremely simple. 
 
 There are a few pictures, and on one of the 
 17 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY, 
 
 walls is a bas-relief of Mrs. Eddy in white 
 marble. 
 
 These rooms down-stairs are kept scru- 
 pulously neat. They are evidently used 
 rarely. Mrs. Eddy occupies almost ex- 
 clusively her living-rooms one flight above. 
 
 The home of the Christian Science leader 
 has been called by writers of strong imagi- 
 nation " A House of Mystery." 
 
 As a matter of fact, the house is about as 
 mysterious as the average little New Eng- 
 land home. It could be reproduced, 
 furniture and all, for a good deal less than 
 ten thousand dollars. All the doors, down- 
 stairs and up-stairs, are open. It is the very 
 peaceful, quiet abode of an old lady ten- 
 derly cared for by devoted women, earnest 
 followers of Mrs. Eddy*s teachings. These 
 Christian Science ladies, who greeted the 
 writer at the top of a narrow flight of stairs, 
 18 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 were not in any way different from ordinary 
 women, except that all three had very 
 peaceful, happy expressions. Among three 
 ordinary women, you usually find one or 
 two whose expressions make you feel sorry 
 for them. 
 
 These devoted friends of Mrs. Eddy 
 were dressed very plainly, in light, cotton 
 gowns. And they seemed as deeply inter- 
 ested and excited about a visitor from the 
 outside world as though they had been 
 three eighteen-year-old schoolgirls watch- 
 ing the arrival of some other girl's brother. 
 
 One of them came forward to say. 
 " Mrs. Eddy is very glad that you have 
 come and will see you. Please come into 
 her sitting-room." 
 
 She led the way into a corner room at the 
 rear of the house, with wide windows over- 
 looking the valley and the distant hills. 
 19 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 Beside a writing-desk, in an armchair, 
 sat a white-haired woman who rose and 
 walked forward, extending her hand in 
 friendly greeting to a stranger. That was 
 Mrs. Eddy, for whom many human beings 
 in this world feel deepest reverence and 
 affection, and concerning whom others 
 have thought it necessary or excusable to 
 write and to say unkind and untruthful 
 things. 
 
 It is quite certain that nobody could see 
 this beautiful and venerable woman and 
 ever again speak of her except in terms of 
 affectionate reverence and sympathy. 
 There are hundreds of thousands of Chris- 
 tian Scientists who would make almost any 
 sacrifice for the privilege of looking upon 
 Mrs. Eddy's face. It is impossible now for 
 her to see many, and it is therefore a duty 
 to make at least an attempt to convey an 
 20 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 idea of the impression created by her per- 
 sonality. 
 
 Mrs. Eddy is eighty-six years old. Her 
 thick hair, snow-white, curls about her 
 forehead and temples. She is of medium 
 height and very slender. She probably 
 weighs less than one hundred pounds. But 
 her figure is straight as she rises and walks 
 forward. The grasp of her thin hand is 
 firm ; the hand does not tremble. 
 
 It is hopeless to try to describe a face 
 made very beautiful by age, deep thought, 
 and many years' exercise of great power. 
 The light blue eyes are strong and concen- 
 trated in expression. And the sight, as 
 was soon proved, is that of a woman one- 
 half Mrs. Eddy's age. 
 
 Mrs. Eddy's face is almost entirely free 
 from wrinkles — the skin is very clear, many 
 a young woman would be proud to have it. 
 
 21 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 The forehead is high and full, and the 
 whole expression of the face combines 
 benevolence with great strength of will. 
 Mrs. Eddy has accumulated power in this 
 world. She possesses it, she exercises it, 
 and she knows it. But it is a gentle power, 
 and it is possessed by a gentle, diffident, 
 and modest woman. 
 
 Women will want to know what Mrs. 
 Eddy wore. The writer regrets that he 
 cannot tell. With some women you see the 
 dress; with Mrs. Eddy you see only the 
 face, the very earnest eyes, and the beauti- 
 ful, quiet expression that only age and 
 thought can give to a human face. She 
 wore a white lace collar around her neck, 
 no jewelry of any kind, and a very simple 
 dress. That much is remembered. 
 
 In reporting this interview with Mrs. 
 Eddy, it must be understood that no attempt 
 
 22 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 IS made to give her words exactly. Every 
 statement attributed to her is her ov^^n, but 
 the exact phraseology must not be con- 
 sidered hers. Christian Science and Chris- 
 tian Scientists have a language of their ov^n, 
 and any but a stenographic report of it 
 might be misleading. 
 
 Mrs. Eddy talked first of her regret that 
 the farmers about her, and so many others 
 all over the country, should be disturbed 
 and injured in their prospects and pros- 
 perity by the unseasonable spring weather. 
 The sun happened to be shining brightly 
 and warmly on the day of the interview. 
 She spoke of this, of the beautiful view 
 from her window, of the little boat-house, 
 the tiny artificial lake, and other evidences 
 of affection which she owes to her followers. 
 
 She spoke simply of her own life and 
 23 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 work and of her absolute happiness in her 
 peaceful surroundings. She smiled pleas- 
 antly at the women who share her home, 
 and who occasionally came to look through 
 the door. 
 
 When she was asked to discuss the law- 
 suit affecting her, and other matters now in 
 the public mind, she became very earnest, 
 absolutely concentrated in expression, 
 voice, and choice of words. She spoke 
 sometimes leaning back in her chair, with 
 her eyes turned upward, sometimes leaning 
 forward, replying to questions with great 
 intensity. She said to one of her friends, 
 " Please close the door," and then talked 
 fully on all the business matters that affect 
 her. In addition to the writer of this 
 article, there was present General Streeter, 
 Mrs. Eddy's principal attorney in her legal 
 
 matters. 
 
 24 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 Asked why the lawsuit had been started, 
 seeking to take away from her control of 
 her money and of her actions, Mrs. Eddy 
 replied in a deep, earnest voice that could 
 easily have been heard all over the biggest 
 of her churches : 
 
 " Greed of gold, young man. They are 
 not interested in me, I am sorry to say, but 
 in my money, and in the desire to control 
 that. They say they want to help me. 
 They never tried to help me when I was 
 working hard years ago and when help 
 would have been so welcome." 
 
 General Streeter, as counsel for Mrs. 
 Eddy, wished the writer to ascertain, for 
 himself positively, that Mrs. Eddy is 
 thoroughly competent to understand busi- 
 ness matters and to manage them. There- 
 fore, detailed questions were asked with an 
 
 insistence that in the case of a woman of 
 25 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 Mrs, Eddy's age would be most unusual 
 and unnecessary. 
 
 Mrs. Eddy's mind on all points brought 
 out was perfectly clear, and her answers 
 were instantaneous. She explained in de- 
 tail how impossible it was for those about 
 her, even if they wished to, to control her or 
 her fortune, and her statements confirmed 
 those which General Streeter had previously 
 made to the writer. 
 
 She gave clearly and earnestly her reasons 
 for executing a recent deed of trust by 
 which she has voluntarily given over to 
 three of her most trusted friends the man- 
 agement, so far as is possible, of her ma- 
 terial affairs. She explained the character 
 of each of these men, Henry M. Baker, her 
 cousin and a lawyer, Archibald McLellan, 
 the editor of the " Christian Science 
 
 Journal " and one of her most trusted 
 26 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 assistants, and Josiah E. Fernald, of the 
 National State Capital Bank in Concord. 
 
 In praising her cousin, a former congress- 
 man and at present a member of the legis- 
 lature, Mrs. Eddy laughingly described 
 him as a very good man " and as honest as 
 any lawyer can be." She laughed more 
 like a young girl than a woman of eighty- 
 six as she said this, looking quizzically at 
 her thoroughly trusted lawyer, General 
 Streeter. 
 
 Mrs. Eddy said : " I have entrusted to 
 these three men, so far as I possibly and 
 properly can, the management of my ma- 
 terial interests. My constant effort has 
 been to give more and more of my time and 
 thought to that which I consider really im- 
 portant. And I have given to these three 
 men to do for me the worldly work which is 
 
 of least importance in my eyes." 
 27 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 Mrs. Eddy started to speak of her son, 
 who is made a factor in the legal action 
 against her. She told how she had once 
 asked him to live with her, saying: " I 
 offered him all that I had except one five- 
 thousand-dollar bond which I meant to 
 reserve for myself. That was long ago, and 
 he would not come to me then." She 
 spoke of her son's entering the army, and 
 the effect that the army life had had upon 
 his character — he was only sixteen years 
 old when he enlisted. There was motherly 
 pride of the ordinary, human kind in her 
 reference to the number of battles in which 
 he had been honorably engaged. But she 
 was obviously much affected by the fact 
 that he had joined the legal action against 
 her. Her eyes filled with tears, her voice 
 became indistinct, and she could not go on. 
 After a while she turned to General Streeter 
 
 28 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 and said, trying to smile, " You know what 
 they say, General, * A mother is a mother 
 all her life ; a father is a father till he gets 
 a new wife.' " 
 
 Mrs. Eddy's discussion of her business 
 matters lasted for at least half an hour. 
 There was no sign of weakness of mind, 
 voice, or body. The quality of Mrs. Eddy's 
 voice is really extraordinary. The writer 
 picked up a periodical, the " Christian 
 Science Journal " for June, 1907, just 
 issued, and asked Mrs. Eddy to read from 
 it, having heard of the quality of her voice 
 which had done so much in influencing her 
 following long ago. It was the writer who 
 selected at random the following extract 
 from page 169, read aloud by Mrs. Eddy: 
 
 " The skeptical and unbelieving may 
 shake their heads and ask with Nicodemus, 
 29 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 * How can these things be ? ' But the 
 sick who have been healed, the sorrowing 
 who have been comforted, and the sinning 
 who have been saved, can look up and 
 answer in the words of Paul, * I know 
 whom I have believed, and am persuaded 
 that he is able to keep that which I have 
 committed unto him against that day/ As 
 of old, it may be said that ' the preaching 
 of the cross is to them that perish foolish- 
 ness; but unto us which are saved it is the 
 power of God.* When we remember that 
 the teaching for so many centuries has been 
 that the real individuality of man is ma- 
 terial, and that he is dependent on matter 
 for the gratification of his senses and even 
 for the very sustenance of his life, we can- 
 not wonder that so many hesitate to accept 
 the teachings of Christian Science, since 
 this Science demands the abandonment of 
 30 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 all belief in materiality. It is, nevertheless, 
 true that only as we lose our belief of life 
 in matter, and our dependence on matter as 
 a source of sustenance and satisfaction, are 
 we enabled through Christian Science to 
 grasp the true sense of Life, verifying 
 again the words of Truth as spoken by 
 Jesus, ' He that loseth his life for my sake 
 shall find it/ '' 
 
 If any Christian Scientists have worried 
 about Mrs. Eddy's health and strength, 
 that reading would have ended the worry, 
 could they have heard it. Among young 
 public speakers there are few with voices 
 stronger, deeper than the voice of Mrs. 
 Eddy at eighty-six years of age. She read 
 the ordinary magazine type without glasses, 
 as readily as any woman of twenty-five 
 
 31 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 could do, and with great power of expres- 
 sion and understanding. 
 
 In the course of the afternoon the writer 
 had three separate talks w4th Mrs. Eddy. 
 Once, after the first talk ended and again a 
 second time Mrs. Eddy said that she had 
 some other things to say. 
 
 Aside from the legal matters in which 
 
 " next friends " seek to disturb her old age 
 
 and her peace, Mrs. Eddy talked chiefly of 
 
 Christian Science matters. She was much 
 
 interested in the statement made publicly 
 
 by a granddaughter of Henry Ward 
 
 Beecher, who is now a Christian Science 
 
 practitioner, that her grandfather if alive 
 
 would be a Christian Scientist. The name 
 
 of Beecher means of course a great deal to 
 
 Mrs. Eddy, who was a young woman at the 
 
 height of the great preacher's fame. She 
 
 spoke of the work that he did to free the 
 32 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 slaves and said, as though thinking aloud, 
 " Yes, he would indeed work to free the 
 spirit as he worked to free the body of the 
 slave." 
 
 Mrs. Eddy gave the writer permission to 
 publish a photograph of herself which has 
 not before been seen. Upon this photo- 
 graph, in the writer's presence, she wrote 
 her own name as reproduced with this 
 article. And she wrote also in the pres- 
 ence of the writer a short note, which is 
 facsimiled here. This she did at the writer's 
 request, by way of furnishing visible proof 
 of her good physical condition. There are 
 certainly few women of eighty-six that look, 
 talk, think, or write with greater force and 
 power than does Mrs. Eddy to-day. 
 
 As she said good-by to the writer, rising 
 from her chair to hold his hand in both of 
 hers, and to talk with pathetic simplicity 
 33 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 and conviction of the good that the visit 
 was to do him, she presented a very beauti- 
 ful picture of venerable womanhood. Her 
 face, so remarkably young, framed in the 
 beautiful snow-white hair and supported by 
 the delicate, frail, yet erect, body, seemed 
 really the personification of that victory of 
 spirit over matter to which her religion 
 aspires. 
 
 Forty years ago, when Mrs. Eddy lived 
 in a garret-like room and told what she be- 
 lieved to be the truth to a world that would 
 not yet listen, stones were thrown through 
 her windows. She spoke of this with sad 
 patience and forgiveness. 
 
 To-day, when all the world knows her 
 
 name, and when many thousands bless that 
 
 name, Mrs. Eddy finds herself still with 
 
 enemies eager and energetic against her. 
 
 They do not throw stones through her 
 34 
 
, HOME-OFMRS. EDDY AT- LYNN MASS 
 WHERE 
 
 SCIBNCE AND HEALTH 
 
 WITH KB Y TO THE 
 
 SCRIPTURES » 
 
 WASWRITTEN 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 windows — that was at the beginning of 
 her teaching. With legal arts and ingenious 
 action they try to control her and the success 
 that she has built up in spite of the early 
 opposition. 
 
 The lawyers who oppose her would like to 
 show that Mrs. Eddy is not fit, mentally 
 or physically, to take care of herself or of 
 her fortune, which is considerable. They 
 would Hke to remove her from her present 
 surroundings, and make her physically 
 subject to the will of others appointed to 
 control her. Success in this effort, in the 
 opinion of the writer, would be shameful, a 
 degradation to all womanhood and old age. 
 
 Mrs. Eddy said in her interview, " Young 
 
 man, I made my money with my pen, just 
 
 as you do, and I have a right to it." Mrs. 
 
 Eddy not only has a right to it, but she has 
 
 the mind to control it. 
 37 
 
 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 Those that attack Mrs. Eddy legally, and 
 perhaps sincerely, propose to show that she 
 is " the victim of hallucinations." They 
 will not show this unless American law 
 shall decide that fixed religious belief is a 
 hallucination. 
 
 The Turkish minister at Washington, if 
 any court asked him, would say he firmly 
 believes that Mohammed rode up to see God 
 on a galloway named Al Borak, that the 
 intelligent Al Borak bucked and pranced 
 until Mohammed promised him a seat in 
 paradise, that Mohammed studied an in- 
 teresting angel with seventy thousand 
 heads, " in each head seventy thousand 
 tongues, and each tongue uttered seventy 
 thousand distinct voices at once." The 
 same Turkish gentleman, or any other Mo- 
 hammedan, would swear to his belief that 
 Mohammed " arriving within two bow- 
 38 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 shots of the throne of God, perceived His 
 face covered with seventy thousand veils," 
 and also that " the hand of the Almighty 
 was so cold that, when laid upon his back, 
 it penetrated to the very marrow." 
 
 The Turkish minister might testify to 
 these things without being adjudged in- 
 sane. He has a right' to believe in his re- 
 ligion. The ordinary American, not a 
 Christian Scientist, believes that God has so 
 arranged matters that great numbers of his 
 children will be burned for ever and ever in 
 hell fire. Mrs. Eddy beUeves God has so 
 arranged matters that humanity can cure 
 itself of imagined evils, and escape from 
 all suffering, pain, and " error " through 
 Christian Science teachings. 
 
 If the law would refuse to take away the 
 Hberty or the property of Christian old 
 ladies because they believe that millions 
 39 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 of human beings have been damned from 
 all eternity, it is hard to understand why 
 that law should take away the liberty or the 
 money of Mrs. Eddy because she chooses to 
 believe that eventually nobody will be 
 damned at all. 
 
 In substance, Mrs. Eddy's doctrines 
 merely take literally this verse from the 
 fourteenth chapter of John : 
 
 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that 
 believeth on me, the works that I do shall 
 he do also; and greater works than these 
 shall he do; because I go unto my Father." 
 — John xiv. 12. 
 
 It is difficult to see why taking literally a 
 statement which this nation as a whole en- 
 dorses should be construed into a hallucina- 
 tion. 
 
 40 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 Mrs. Eddy's mind is clear, her health 
 is good for an old lady of eighty-six, her will 
 is strong. She is protected by a very able 
 and absolutely honorable man in the person 
 of her trusted lawyer, General Streeter. 
 She is cared for in her home by women in- 
 tensely devoted to her. She is able to 
 manage her affairs as much as she may 
 choose to do, and if she were not, no greater 
 crime could be committed against her than 
 to take her from the surroundings that she 
 loves and the friends that make her happy. 
 Very few women of seventy have the busi- 
 ness intelligence, power of will, and clear- 
 ness of thought possessed by Mrs. Eddy at 
 eighty- six. 
 
 The day after the interview, Mrs. Eddy 
 
 sent to the writer with a friendly note her 
 
 recent writings. These " Miscellaneous 
 
 Writings " have been studied with interest 
 41 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 by this writer, who is not a believer in 
 Christian Science, but a believer in ma- 
 terial science, in non-sectarian government, 
 and in the absolute right of Christian 
 Scientists to believe whatever they choose. 
 The preface of these miscellaneous writ- 
 ings, which indicate much thought, begins 
 with this interesting quotation from one of 
 the old Talmudic writers: 
 
 ** The noblest charity is to prevent a man 
 from accepting charity; and the best alms 
 are to show and to enable a man to dispense 
 with alms." 
 
 Mrs. Eddy says " this apothegm suits 
 my sense of doing good." 
 
 Mrs. Eddy answers the question, " What 
 do you think of marriage ? " as follows : 
 
 " That it is often convenient, sometimes 
 
 42 
 
INTERIOR- OF 
 
 FIRST 
 
 CHURCHOFCHRIST 
 
 SCIENTIST 
 
 BOSTON 
 
 OF THE 
 
 *V£RSITY 
 
 OF 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 pleasant, and occasionally a love affair. 
 Marriage is susceptible of many definitions. 
 It sometimes presents the most wretched 
 condition of human existence. To be 
 normal, it must be a union of the affections 
 that tends to lift mortals higher." 
 
 In sending the book Mrs. Eddy marked 
 for the writer some verses by her on page 
 389. They are reprinted here, because a 
 great number of men and women that love 
 Mrs. Eddy and follow her teachings will 
 like to see the words that evidently express 
 Mrs. Eddy's feelings of consolation at this 
 moment when, in her old age and after a 
 life that has given great happiness and com- 
 fort to many, she finds herself the object of 
 an attack from which her years alone 
 should suffice to protect her. 
 
 45 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 THE mother's evening PRAYER 
 
 Oh I gentle presence, peace and joy and power — 
 Oh ! life divine, that owns each waiting hour, 
 
 Thou Love that guards the nestling's faltering flight 
 Keep Thou my child on upward wing to-night. 
 
 Love is our refuge; only with mine eye 
 Can I behold the snare, the pit, the fall: 
 
 His habitation high is here, and nigh, 
 His arm encircles me, and mine, and all. 
 
 Oh ! make me glad for every scalding tear. 
 For hope deferred, ingratitude, disdain I 
 
 Wait, and love more for every hatej and fear 
 No ill — since God is good, and loss is gain. 
 
 Beneath the shadow of His mighty wing; 
 
 In that sweet secret of the narrow way, 
 Seeking and finding, with the angels sing: 
 
 " Lo i I am with you alway " — watch and pray. 
 
 No snare, no fowler, pestilence or pain; 
 
 No night drops down upon the troubled breast. 
 When heaven's aftersmile earth's tear-drops gain, 
 
 And mother finds her home and far-off rest. 
 
 46 
 
Mrs. Eddy's Home at Newton 
 
MRS. EDDY S HOME AT NEWTON 
 
 When the foregoing account of his visit 
 was written by Mr. Brisbane, Mrs. Eddy's 
 home was at Concord, N. H. Since then 
 it has been transferred to Newton, Mass., 
 in the suburbs of Boston. Mr. Alfred Far- 
 low, in his notice to the press, stated the 
 fact that it was not a sudden decision on her 
 part, but that she had been contemplating 
 a return to Boston for some time. Her 
 purpose in moving was to be more con- 
 venient to the Mother Church and nearer 
 to its headquarters. 
 
 It was on Sunday, Jan. 23, 1908, that 
 the thousand of Arguses who had fastened 
 49 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 their myriad eyes on Pleasant View for 
 months discovered that Mrs. Eddy had 
 performed something very much in the 
 nature of a miracle. So successfully was the 
 secret kept that there has probably never 
 been a more surprising bit of news than 
 that published by the newspapers on Mon- 
 day, January 24, 1908, that Mrs. Eddy, 
 with her entire household, had transferred 
 her home from Concord, N. H., to the 
 suburbs of Boston; had done so between 
 sunrise and sunset of one day. It was not 
 until she was safely installed in her new 
 home that the public were apprised of it. 
 The wisdom of the entire proceeding is 
 apparent to all who know the esteem in 
 which Mrs. Eddy is held and who can 
 readily understand what a mass of people 
 would have blocked the way to catch a 
 
 50 
 
MRS. EDDY'S 
 PRESENT HOME 
 
 NBWTON-MASS 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 glimpse of her had they been aware of 
 
 what was to happen^ 
 
 In October, 1907, Mr. Robert P. Walker 
 
 of Chicago had purchased a magnificent 
 
 piece of property at 384 Beacon Street, 
 
 Newton. Artisans were engaged and 
 
 worked day and night for weeks making 
 
 extensive changes. At first the residents 
 
 supposed that Mr. Walker was fitting up 
 
 the house for his own home. Then it was 
 
 reported that it was to be used as a college 
 
 for students of Christian Science. This 
 
 property, which was purchased by Mr. 
 
 Walker for the new home of Mrs. 
 
 Eddy, is situated in what is known as 
 
 Chestnut Hill, and is about twenty minutes' 
 
 ride by electric cars from the Mother 
 
 Church. It may be reached by the Boston 
 
 and Albany steam trains by purchasing 
 
 tickets to the Chestnut Hill Station; by 
 53 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 taking the Chestnut Hill, the Worcester, 
 the Framingham or the Auburndale elec- 
 tric cars. When going by electric cars the 
 passenger should alight at Hammond 
 Street. A walk of fifteen or twenty minutes 
 from either Boylston Street or Common- 
 wealth Ave. will bring one to Beacon 
 Street. The residence is near the corner 
 of Beacon and Hammond Streets. 
 
 The house is a three-story, dark-colored 
 stone structure surrounded by a large tract 
 of ground and sheltered by magnificent 
 trees. It stands back from Beacon Street 
 about three hundred feet and a deep semi- 
 circular driveway leads from one iron gate- 
 way to the portico and ends at another gate 
 after passing by the stable. The rear of the 
 house sets up high above Old Orchard 
 Road and Mrs. Eddy's apartments and the 
 
 54 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 balcony connected with them command a 
 fine outlook from this point. 
 
 There are twenty-eight rooms in all, of 
 which four are on the lower floor and ten 
 each on the second and third floors. 
 
 On the first floor are two parlors, a 
 library and a dining-room. These are on 
 either side of the front hall. 
 
 Hung on the first floor are a number of 
 large and valuable paintings, some of which 
 were brought from Pleasant View. Lead- 
 ing from the hallway is a wide staircase of 
 steel and built into the walls at the two 
 landings are large steel vaults. 
 
 The reception rooms, library and din- 
 ing-room are all very large and they are 
 handsomely furnished, the general color 
 scheme being gold and rose. 
 
 Mrs. Eddy's private apartments are at 
 
 the southeastern corner of the house and 
 55 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 are elegantly though modestly decorated 
 and furnished, the general effect being one 
 of rich comfort rather than of magnificence. 
 
 It would seem that the designer and 
 decorator, knowing Mrs. Eddy's love of 
 peace and quiet, had chosen the furnish- 
 ings with this idea in mind, and the result 
 js delightful and restful such as must be 
 pleasing to her. 
 
 The first room of Mrs, Eddy's private 
 suite is a very large apartment. The furni- 
 ture including the large flat desk at which 
 she does her writing is of light colored 
 mahogany. The color scheme harmonizes 
 with the furniture even to the cord of the 
 window curtains. There are two electric 
 push buttons, one at the desk and one con- 
 venient to the hand of the person lying on 
 the couch so that Mrs. Eddy may instantly 
 
 66 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDT 
 
 summon one of her secretaries or attend- 
 ants. 
 
 Next to this room is Mrs. Eddy's sleeping 
 apartment which is furnished in old- 
 fashioned mahogany. 
 
 The third room may be used as a cham- 
 ber or for work if desired. 
 
 Outside of Mrs. Eddy's suite is a wide 
 iron balcony. There is no roof to this but 
 it is provided with a wooden frame work 
 over which a canvas can be stretched to 
 protect it from the sun. It is provided with 
 electric signal bells so that at any time, any 
 member of the household may be sum- 
 moned. From a cabinet close to Mrs. 
 Eddy's room the heat in any part of the 
 house may be regulated or the electric 
 lights turned on in any or all parts of the 
 building. On the third floor are the sleep- 
 
 67 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 ing rooms of the other members of the 
 household. 
 
 The house is provided with all the con- 
 veniences and comforts that modern house 
 furnishing suggests, among them a noise- 
 less electric elevator which runs from the 
 first to the third floor. 
 
 For nineteen years Mrs. Eddy had re- 
 sided at Concord, near her birthplace 
 among associations made dear to her by 
 childhood. When she left Boston to take up 
 her abode there the religious movement of 
 which she was the founder was repre- 
 sented by 45 churches with a membership 
 of 450. At the time of her return, the 
 number of churches had grown to 1059, 
 the membership of the Mother Church had 
 increased over one hundred fold and the 
 number of adherents was estimated to be 
 one million. 
 
 68 
 
The Christian Science Publishing House, 
 completed in August, 1908, is situated 
 across the way from the Mother Church 
 and is built of Bedford stone, the same ma- 
 terial as that used in the construction of 
 the church. It has a length of sixty-seven 
 feet on Falmouth Street and of one hun- 
 dred and twenty-eight feet on St. Paul 
 Street. It is set back twenty feet from the 
 line of the side-walk, leaving a space for 
 
 a decorative grass-plot. 
 59 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 On the first floor are the general busi- 
 ness ofllice for Mrs. Eddy's books and 
 two other rooms which are occupied by 
 her pubhsher. There are also rooms for 
 stenographers, bookkeepers, etc. 
 
 On the second floor the Trustees of 
 The Christian Science Publishing Society 
 have two rooms and the committee on 
 preparing Bible Lessons occupy commo- 
 dious quarters adjoining. 
 
 The third floor is devoted to the edi- 
 torial oflBces of The Christian Science 
 Sentinel, The Christian Science Journal 
 and the composing and proof-reading 
 rooms. There are also on this floor five 
 large rooms for the use of the associate 
 editors and a reception room for stenog- 
 raphers. The packing and shipping rooms 
 
 are in the basement. 
 60 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE DATA 
 1866 Christian Science proclaimed by Mrs. Mary 
 Baker Glover 
 
 1875 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures 
 
 published by Mrs. Mary Baker G. Eddy 
 
 1876 First Christian Science association formed. 
 1879 First Church of Christ Scientist formed with 17 
 
 members. 
 
 1 88 1 Mrs. Eddy ordained as pastor of First Church 
 of Christ Scientist. 
 
 1883 Christian Science Journal established. 
 
 1886 National Christian Science association formed. 
 
 1886 First Church edifice of the Christian Scientists 
 erected at Oconto, Wis. 
 
 1892 Sept. 23, First Church of Christ Scientist, Bos- 
 ton, organized. 
 
 1894 First Christian Science Church erected in Bos- 
 
 ton at cost of ;^25o,ooo 
 
 1895 The Bible and Science and Health ordained as 
 
 pastors of the Churches and other preach- 
 ing abolished. 
 
 1895 By-laws of the Church published under title of 
 " Church Manual of The First Church of 
 Christ, Scientist, Boston." 
 
 1898 Official board of lectureship established. 
 
 1898 September i, Christian Science Weekly first 
 
 issued. 
 
 1899 January 26, Name of Christian Science Weekly 
 
 changed to Christian Science Sentinel. 
 1903 Der Christian Science Herold in German first 
 published. 
 
 61 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 STATISTICS OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE, 1908 
 
 
 Chartered 
 
 Organized 
 
 Total 
 
 Reading 
 
 Authorized 
 
 
 Churches 
 
 Societies 
 
 Churches 
 
 Rooms 
 
 Practition- 
 
 Alabama 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 ers 
 
 9 
 
 Alaska 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Arizona 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 13 - 
 
 California 
 
 39 
 
 17 
 
 56 
 
 38 
 
 318 
 
 Colorado 
 
 18 
 
 7 
 
 25 
 
 18 
 
 130 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 II 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 13 
 
 43 
 
 Delaware 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 Distr. of Col 
 
 1. I 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 24 
 
 Elorida 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 18 
 
 Georgia 
 
 8 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 19 
 
 Hawaii 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 Idaho 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 II 
 
 Illinois 
 
 57 
 
 22 
 
 79 
 
 57 
 
 443 
 
 Indiana 
 
 30 
 
 7 
 
 37 
 
 25 
 
 114 
 
 Indian Ter. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 Iowa 
 
 35 
 
 21 
 
 56 
 
 28 
 
 106 
 
 Kansas 
 
 33 
 
 II 
 
 44 
 
 22 
 
 113 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 Maine 
 
 14 
 
 6 
 
 20 
 
 15 
 
 35 
 
 Maryland 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 23 
 
 Mass. 
 
 36 
 
 II 
 
 47 
 
 37 
 
 398 
 
 Michigan 
 
 34 
 
 20 
 
 54 
 
 34 
 
 122 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 23 
 
 5 
 
 28 
 
 16 
 
 98 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 Missouri 
 
 18 
 
 I 
 
 19 
 
 17 
 
 166 
 
 Montana 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 62 
 
 II 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 Nebraska 
 
 17 
 
 6 
 
 23 
 
 12 
 
 68 
 
 Nevada 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 New Hamp. 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 II 
 
 29 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 II 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 n 
 
 New Mexico 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 New York 
 
 51 
 
 25 
 
 76 
 
 sz 
 
 325 
 
 N. Carolina 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 N. Dakota 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 Ohio 
 
 36 
 
 15 
 
 51 
 
 35 
 
 168 
 
 Oklahoma 
 
 10 
 
 5 
 
 15 
 
 10 
 
 27 
 
 Oregon 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 16 
 
 10 
 
 36 
 
 Penn. 
 
 27 
 
 10 
 
 n 
 
 26 
 
 116 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 15 
 
 South Carolina i 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 South Dakota 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 Texas 
 
 16 
 
 2 
 
 18 
 
 15 
 
 59 
 
 Utah 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 35 
 
 Vermont 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 5 
 
 15 
 
 Virginia 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 Washington 
 
 13 
 
 5 
 
 18 
 
 12 
 
 72 
 
 West Virginia 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 27 
 
 II 
 
 38 
 
 25 
 
 114 
 
 Wyoming 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 CANADA AND 
 
 OTHER COUNTRIES 
 
 
 British Col. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 Manitoba 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 II 
 
 New Brun'ck 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 Nova Scotia 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Ontario 
 
 14 
 
 5 
 63 
 
 19 
 
 10 
 
 39 
 
MARY BAKER G. EDDY 
 
 Prince Ed. Is 
 
 . I 
 
 o 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 Quebec 
 Mexico 
 
 2 
 I 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 I 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 England 
 Ireland 
 
 9 
 
 2 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 2 
 
 22 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 Scotland 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 Bahama Is. 
 
 O 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Denmark 
 
 O 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 France 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 
 Germany 
 Holland 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 23 
 4 
 
 Italy 
 
 Norway 
 
 Sweden 
 
 O 
 O 
 O 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 Switzerland 
 
 O 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 India 
 
 O 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 China 
 
 O 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 Australia 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 21 
 
 Total 
 
 742 
 
 3^7 
 
 1,059 
 
 698 
 
 3»793 
 
RETURN TO the circulation desk of any 
 
 University of California Library 
 
 or to the 
 
 NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 BIdg. 400, Richmond Field Station 
 University of California 
 Richmond, CA 94804-4698 
 
 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS 
 2-month loans may be renewed by calling 
 
 (415) 642-6753 
 1-year loans may be recharged by bringing books 
 
 to NRLF 
 Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days 
 
 prior to due date 
 
 DUE AS STAMPED BELOW 
 
 JUN251991 
 
 by 
 
 JUN181991 
 
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 J I) 2l-'iU(»t-(5,'y- 
 
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