Mrs. Eddy Playing Editor
In its early years the Journal of Christian Science was almost as much Mrs. Eddy as was the Massachusetts Metaphysical College. At sixty-two Mrs. Eddy fell to playing editor with the same zest with which she had entered upon the activities of her church and college. She wrote much of the Journal herself, and what she did not originate she selected and largely rewrote, keeping a sharp eye on the articles and editorials written by her assistants and revising them very thoroughly. She was especially solicitous about the articles which dealt with herself, and she was almost equally anxious that the articles should deal with little else. The Journal of Christian Science was then scarcely more than the monthly gazette of Mrs. Eddy's doings - the diary which chronicled her thoughts and activities, and which minutely recorded the tributes of her courtiers. She no longer had to get out a new edition of "Science and Health" to give vent to her feelings about a newly discovered mesmerist. Once a month she audited her accounts, and the Journal was her clearing-house. Through its columns the new favorite was exalted and the old relegated to his place among the mesmerized. In one column we find, in large type, a card of thanks for a 21-pound turkey which some one had sent for Mrs. Eddy's New Year's dinner; in another a tirade upon animal magnetism; and in still another the following acknowledgment of Christmas gifts:
"From Bradford Sherman, C.S., and his wife Mrs. Mattie Sherman, C. S. of Chicago, - Wild Flowers of Colorado, a large elegantly bound and embellished book, containing twenty-two paintings of the gorgeous flowers of the Occident.
"From Mrs. Hannah A. Larminie, C. S., of Chicago, - a book with a sweet, illustrated poem, and a very elegant pocket-handkerchief.
"From Mrs. Mattie Williams, C. S., - a large, fine photograph of her beautiful home in Columbus, Wisconsin. ON the piazza are herself and husband; on the grounds in front, her children with their bicycles.
"Mary B. G. Eddy" (footnote: Christian Science Journal, January 1886)
This annual acknowledgement of Mrs. Eddy's Christmas gifts in the Journal grew more formidable as the years went by. In 1889 Mrs. Eddy listed her presents as follows:
"LIST OF INDIVIDUAL OFFERINGS
"Eider-down pillow, white satin with gold embroidery. Eider-down pillow, blue silk, hand-painted, and fringed with lace. Pastel painting of Minnehaha Falls, with silvered easel. Silver nut-pick set. Painted Sevres China tea-set. Book Beautiful Story, 576 pages, with steel engravings and lithographs. The Dore Bible Gallery, embellished. Brussels-lace tie. Silken sofa-scarf, inwrought with gold. Pansy bed, in water-colors, with bronze frame. Stand for lemonade-set. Silver combination-set. Silk and lace mat. Embroidered linen handkerchief, in silken sachet-holder. Chinese jar. Silk-embroidered plus table-scarf. Connected reclining-pillows. Work of art, White and Franconia Mountains. Transparent painting of Jacqueminots. Satin and lace pin-cushion. Barometer. Cabinet photograph-holder. Perfumery. Large variety of books and poems. Face of the Madonna, framed in oak and ivory. Moon-mirror, with silver setting, and 'the Man in the Moon.' Hand-painted blotter. Embroidered linen handkerchiefs. Blue silk-embroidered shawl. Plush portemonnaie. Openwork linen handkerchief. Charm slumber-robe. Bible Pearls of Promise. Large white silk banner with silver fringe. Sachet bags. Two velvet table mats. Silver holder for stereoscopic views. Two fat Kentucky turkeys. Hosts of bouquets and Christmas cards."
The following year, 1890, her publisher, Mr. William G. Nixon, tried to persuade Mrs. Eddy to omit a detailed list of her Christmas offerings, and she wrote him:
"I requested you through Mr. Frye to reinstate my notice of my Christmas gifts, for the reasons I herein name.
"Students are constantly telling me how they felt the mental impression this year to make me no presents, and when they overcame it were strenghtened and blessed. For this reason - viz., to discourage mental malpractice and to encourage those who beat it - I want that notice published."
In its early years the Journal of Christian Science was almost as much Mrs. Eddy as was the Massachusetts Metaphysical College. At sixty-two Mrs. Eddy fell to playing editor with the same zest with which she had entered upon the activities of her church and college. She wrote much of the Journal herself, and what she did not originate she selected and largely rewrote, keeping a sharp eye on the articles and editorials written by her assistants and revising them very thoroughly. She was especially solicitous about the articles which dealt with herself, and she was almost equally anxious that the articles should deal with little else. The Journal of Christian Science was then scarcely more than the monthly gazette of Mrs. Eddy's doings - the diary which chronicled her thoughts and activities, and which minutely recorded the tributes of her courtiers. She no longer had to get out a new edition of "Science and Health" to give vent to her feelings about a newly discovered mesmerist. Once a month she audited her accounts, and the Journal was her clearing-house. Through its columns the new favorite was exalted and the old relegated to his place among the mesmerized. In one column we find, in large type, a card of thanks for a 21-pound turkey which some one had sent for Mrs. Eddy's New Year's dinner; in another a tirade upon animal magnetism; and in still another the following acknowledgment of Christmas gifts:
"From Bradford Sherman, C.S., and his wife Mrs. Mattie Sherman, C. S. of Chicago, - Wild Flowers of Colorado, a large elegantly bound and embellished book, containing twenty-two paintings of the gorgeous flowers of the Occident.
"From Mrs. Hannah A. Larminie, C. S., of Chicago, - a book with a sweet, illustrated poem, and a very elegant pocket-handkerchief.
"From Mrs. Mattie Williams, C. S., - a large, fine photograph of her beautiful home in Columbus, Wisconsin. ON the piazza are herself and husband; on the grounds in front, her children with their bicycles.
"Mary B. G. Eddy" (footnote: Christian Science Journal, January 1886)
This annual acknowledgement of Mrs. Eddy's Christmas gifts in the Journal grew more formidable as the years went by. In 1889 Mrs. Eddy listed her presents as follows:
"LIST OF INDIVIDUAL OFFERINGS
"Eider-down pillow, white satin with gold embroidery. Eider-down pillow, blue silk, hand-painted, and fringed with lace. Pastel painting of Minnehaha Falls, with silvered easel. Silver nut-pick set. Painted Sevres China tea-set. Book Beautiful Story, 576 pages, with steel engravings and lithographs. The Dore Bible Gallery, embellished. Brussels-lace tie. Silken sofa-scarf, inwrought with gold. Pansy bed, in water-colors, with bronze frame. Stand for lemonade-set. Silver combination-set. Silk and lace mat. Embroidered linen handkerchief, in silken sachet-holder. Chinese jar. Silk-embroidered plus table-scarf. Connected reclining-pillows. Work of art, White and Franconia Mountains. Transparent painting of Jacqueminots. Satin and lace pin-cushion. Barometer. Cabinet photograph-holder. Perfumery. Large variety of books and poems. Face of the Madonna, framed in oak and ivory. Moon-mirror, with silver setting, and 'the Man in the Moon.' Hand-painted blotter. Embroidered linen handkerchiefs. Blue silk-embroidered shawl. Plush portemonnaie. Openwork linen handkerchief. Charm slumber-robe. Bible Pearls of Promise. Large white silk banner with silver fringe. Sachet bags. Two velvet table mats. Silver holder for stereoscopic views. Two fat Kentucky turkeys. Hosts of bouquets and Christmas cards."
The following year, 1890, her publisher, Mr. William G. Nixon, tried to persuade Mrs. Eddy to omit a detailed list of her Christmas offerings, and she wrote him:
"I requested you through Mr. Frye to reinstate my notice of my Christmas gifts, for the reasons I herein name.
"Students are constantly telling me how they felt the mental impression this year to make me no presents, and when they overcame it were strenghtened and blessed. For this reason - viz., to discourage mental malpractice and to encourage those who beat it - I want that notice published."