I was on a search for a story about Mrs. Eddy and her husband getting to Boston from Lynn (I thought) by public transport. It hasn’t shown up yet on the Longyear site, though I do have a copy of it somewhere.
Anyway I came across a fulsome account of the gathering of Christian Scientists at Mrs. Eddy’s home (Pleasant View in New Hampshire) and her address from the home’s balcony, where the famous photo of her was taken. It was the Fourth of July long week-end 1897, and also coincidently Communion Sunday week-end. The report has some wonderful details.
Many people were expected to gather in Boston for the Communion Service at The Mother Church, where over 1,400 new members were to be admitted. Mrs. Eddy didn’t wish to appear at that service, but she could see an opportunity. At that Communion Sunday service, just before the benediction, the First Reader, Septimus J. Hanna, read this invitation from Mrs. Eddy:
I
invite you, one and all, to Pleasant View, Concord, N.H., on July 5 (Monday),
at 12:30 PM, if you would enjoy so long a trip for so small a purpose as simply
seeing Mother.
(There is a
photo of Judge Hanna here.)
The article then tells us that the plans had been set in motion less than a week before. Judge Hanna
had received a telegram instructing him to read that invitation and to “ask
Edward P. Bates to secure from the railroad sufficient travel arrangements. Given
the short notice, this was a massive undertaking, but true to his reputation,
Bates pulled off the logistical feat. By 9.30 AM on Monday, July 5, about 1,200
Christian Scientists were ticketed, seated, and on their way to Concord, New
Hampshire.”
It was a very
hot day, 102 degrees. “There was lemonade in front of the barn and people
scooped water from the fountain with tin cups.” But the people were “unfazed”. A
total of about 2,500 people had come.
Meanwhile, Edward
Bates was inside, freshening up after his transportation work. What a surprise
when Mrs. Eddy asked him “to escort and introduce her to the crowd waiting
outside.” So, “with her hand on his arm, they stepped through the front door at
1:00 PM to a chorus of three welcoming cheers.” There were eight speakers apart
from Mrs. Eddy. The whole event took about one hour.
The article
speaks of the debuts of “up-and-coming Christian Scientists, namely William P.
McKenzie, George Tomkins, and Irving C. Tomlinson.”
Thirty-six year old William McKenzie was a member of the Bible Lesson Committee, for he had a record in that direction. He was educated in theology and had been for years a professor of both English and rhetoric. The article includes a picture of him standing with a hand on his hip. McKenzie was also a poet, and we have his heart-touching poem What brightness dawned in resurrection, set to music in hymn 381.
I was not
acquainted with Englishman, the Reverend George Tomkins, DD, but may go back to
him after I have spoken about the Reverend Irving Tomlinson, of whom we have a
lovely photo.
Tomlinson’s
book, Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy, was, in my early days, my go-to reference on Mrs. Eddy’s life. (Sybil Wilbur’s Mary Baker Eddy was
the only other biographical work available at that stage.) Having recently
re-read Tomlinson's book in its updated format, I have come to feel that his place in
the Cause of Christian Science has largely gone unrecorded and not fully
appreciated.
I must tell of
a precious quote which I think is only printed in Twelve Years, namely:
“One time she told us not to say there is too much or too little of anything.
She said: God governs. He knows best. He will do all things right” (Twelve
Years with Mary Baker Eddy, Amplified Edition, p. 87).
When I read these biographical books which have no indexes (and even those which have sometimes), I make notes of points that impress me and record the page numbers. (You should see my copy of Robert Peel’s Mary Baker Eddy: Years of Authority!)
Here are some in my original copy of Twelve Years:
·
Page
134 “Think before you act.”
·
Page
121 “The hall looks shabby.”
·
Page
76 “Exposing error.”
·
Page
156 “Home. Where sense has no claims and Soul satisfies.” [p. 211 in the Amplified version]
·
Page
74 “Resist resentment – take sides with God.”
· Page 205. Talking too much.
Tomlinson was a
new student of Christian Science. His first article had come out in the June 1897
edition of The Christian Science Journal. He had recently had Class Instruction with
Flavia Knapp, and we are told “his remarks [on the day] were prepared with guidance from
her.” Mrs. Eddy granted him a brief interview after the program. She later
recalled to him that: “From my first moments with you I have felt that you had come to help
us and weighed in the balance would not be found wanting.”
All three (William
P. McKenzie, George Tomkins, and Irving C. Tomlinson) were called to the Board
of Lectureship in 1898.
Next, the
article speaks of Mrs. Eddy’s address for the occasion*. It was of interest that
she read from a prepared text rather than extemporaneously. Our article states:
“While the particular “fire” she had faced is unclear, it is apparent her
address came together just a few days beforehand. However, some of her main
ideas and even distinct phrases were developed a number of weeks, or even
months, earlier.”
There is a
photo of Edwards Bates with a little story.
But I have
written at length. How interesting this
has all been. Thank you to our audience of readers.
Joyce Voysey
Ed. *Mrs. Eddy's address can be found beginning on page 251 of Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896.
