Many of Mrs. Eddy's contributions to the Journal have been collected and reprinted in the volume known as "Miscellaneous Writings." While even in the very latest edition of "Science and Health" the flavor of Mrs. Eddy lingers on every page, like a dominating strain of blood that cannot be bred out, the book has been rearranged and retouched by so many hands that the personal element has been greatly moderated. In the old files of the Journal, however, we seem to get Mrs. Eddy with singular directness and to come into very intimate contact with her. When she is angry one can fairly hear the voice behind the type, and when she bestows royal favors one can see the smile at the other end of the copy. These contributions were usually written in precipitate haste, and reached the despairing printer at the last possible moment, almost unintelligible, full of inaccuracies and errors, and, except for an occasional period, innocent of all punctuation. The copy-reader or assistant editor did what he could at editing it as he fed it to dthe compositors - and the point is that he did not do too much. In the columns of the Journal one gets Mrs. Eddy's pages hot from her hand, as if they had not been touched since the copy-boy dashed with them out the door of 571 Columbus Avenue. In her editorial function she is more at ease than in her more strictly sacerdotal one, and in her contributions to her paper she sounds all the stops of her instrument. As she says, she "commands and countermands" and "thunders to the sinner," but for happier occasions she has a lighter tone, and she is by turns peppery and playful. A student in Chicago offends, and Mrs. Eddy calls her a "suckling" and a "petty western editress." Her students send her a watch at Christmastide, and she thanks them for their "timely" gift. They give her a fish-pond, and she asks them to pond-er.
A Strictly Personal Organ
During the early years Mrs. Eddy opened each number of the Journal with a crashing editorial, and, in addition to this, she conducted, under her own name, a "Questions and Answers" column, in which she met and settled queries like the following:
"Has Mrs. Eddy lost her power to heal?
"Has the sun forgotten to shine and the planets to revolve around it? Who was it discovered, demonstrated and teaches Christian Science?" etc.
Mrs. Eddy did not hesitate to answer personal criticism and to reply to gossip in the columns of her paper. On one occasion she replies to the old story, which was forever cropping up in Lynn, that she was addicted to the use of morphine. She says that wen a mesmerist was attempting to poison her, she did take large doses of morphine to see whether she were still susceptible to poison. "Years ago, when the mental malpractice of poison was undertaken by a mesmerist, to thwart that design, I experimented by taking some large doses of morphine to watch the effect, and I say it with tearful thanks, the drug had no effect upon me whatever, - the hour had struck, 'if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them.' "* (footnote: Christian Science Journal, April 1885)
Several years later the Journal takes up some petty criticism which had been made regarding Mrs. Eddy's dress:
"Such views of Cristian Science are well illustrated in a little incident that happened to the author of SCIENCE AND HEALTH a year or two ago, when she was the active pastor of the Scientist church in Boston. She had a custom of answering from the platform, questions that were passed up in writing. On one occasion she found this inquiry, 'How can a Christian Scientist afford to wear diamonds and be clad in purple velvet?' She stepped forward and answered, 'This ring that I wear was given me several years ago as a thank-offering from one I had brought from death back to life; for a long time I could not wear it, but my husband induced me to accustom myself by putting it on in the night, and finally I came to see it only as a sign of recognition and gratitude of my master, and to love it as such; this purple velvet is "purple," but it is velveteen that I paid one dollar and fifty cents for, and I have worn it for several years, but it seems to be perpetually renewed, like the widow's cruse.' "* (footnote: Christian Science Journal, February 1889.)
But the discussion of Mrs. Eddy and her affairs by no means ends with her signed contributions. During the first five years of the magazine's existence Mrs. Eddy was the theme of almost every article, testimonial, and letter. These are the poems to the "bold innovator in the realms of thought," and scattered here and there are miscellaneous extracts of which the following, signed "Lily of Israel," will illustrate the drift and character.
"PROPHECY
" 'She existed from the beginning before all ages, and will not cease to exist throughout all ages; it is she who shall create in Heaven a light which shall never be extinguished; she shall rise in the midst of her people, and she shall be blessed over all those who are blessed by God, for she shall open the doors of the East, and the Desired of Nations shall appear.' "* (footnote: Christian Science Journal, May, 1885)
A Strictly Personal Organ
During the early years Mrs. Eddy opened each number of the Journal with a crashing editorial, and, in addition to this, she conducted, under her own name, a "Questions and Answers" column, in which she met and settled queries like the following:
"Has Mrs. Eddy lost her power to heal?
"Has the sun forgotten to shine and the planets to revolve around it? Who was it discovered, demonstrated and teaches Christian Science?" etc.
Mrs. Eddy did not hesitate to answer personal criticism and to reply to gossip in the columns of her paper. On one occasion she replies to the old story, which was forever cropping up in Lynn, that she was addicted to the use of morphine. She says that wen a mesmerist was attempting to poison her, she did take large doses of morphine to see whether she were still susceptible to poison. "Years ago, when the mental malpractice of poison was undertaken by a mesmerist, to thwart that design, I experimented by taking some large doses of morphine to watch the effect, and I say it with tearful thanks, the drug had no effect upon me whatever, - the hour had struck, 'if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them.' "* (footnote: Christian Science Journal, April 1885)
Several years later the Journal takes up some petty criticism which had been made regarding Mrs. Eddy's dress:
"Such views of Cristian Science are well illustrated in a little incident that happened to the author of SCIENCE AND HEALTH a year or two ago, when she was the active pastor of the Scientist church in Boston. She had a custom of answering from the platform, questions that were passed up in writing. On one occasion she found this inquiry, 'How can a Christian Scientist afford to wear diamonds and be clad in purple velvet?' She stepped forward and answered, 'This ring that I wear was given me several years ago as a thank-offering from one I had brought from death back to life; for a long time I could not wear it, but my husband induced me to accustom myself by putting it on in the night, and finally I came to see it only as a sign of recognition and gratitude of my master, and to love it as such; this purple velvet is "purple," but it is velveteen that I paid one dollar and fifty cents for, and I have worn it for several years, but it seems to be perpetually renewed, like the widow's cruse.' "* (footnote: Christian Science Journal, February 1889.)
But the discussion of Mrs. Eddy and her affairs by no means ends with her signed contributions. During the first five years of the magazine's existence Mrs. Eddy was the theme of almost every article, testimonial, and letter. These are the poems to the "bold innovator in the realms of thought," and scattered here and there are miscellaneous extracts of which the following, signed "Lily of Israel," will illustrate the drift and character.
"PROPHECY
" 'She existed from the beginning before all ages, and will not cease to exist throughout all ages; it is she who shall create in Heaven a light which shall never be extinguished; she shall rise in the midst of her people, and she shall be blessed over all those who are blessed by God, for she shall open the doors of the East, and the Desired of Nations shall appear.' "* (footnote: Christian Science Journal, May, 1885)