A brilliant conversationalist

As we follow the story of Mary Baker, who became Mary Glover and then Mary Patterson, it seems that she is more and more alone. With whom could she confide her deepest thoughts and share her inmost dreams?

1866

The year 1866 was a landmark year for Mary Patterson (later, Mary Baker Eddy). Her husband, Daniel, had been unfaithful too many times and now the “marriage was over” (p. 62, A World More Bright: The Life of Mary Baker Eddy by Isabel Ferguson and Heather Vogel Frederick). But her unexpected recovery from unconsciousness following a fall on the icy pavement in Lynn, Massachusetts—a fall which had been deemed to be fatal—marked a turning point in her life.

At work

Subsequently, her “days were spent absorbed in the Scriptures as she searched and pondered” (ibid. p. 75) the substance and meaning of her recovery. In this work, she was alone with God, conversing with her heavenly Father-Mother. Meanwhile, she found lodging wherever she could and participated in family life with gusto.

The Wentworth family

At one point, Mary boarded with the Wentworth family—parents Alanson and Sally, daughters Celia and 13-year-old Lucy, whom “Mary [often] went to meet … on her way home from school” (p. 74), and 17-year-old son Charles. They welcomed her warmly and she left quite an impression.

“Charles later described Mary as cheerful and sprightly, ‘a woman of culture and refinement’ who was a brilliant conversationalist. He looked back on the 18 months she spent with his family as ‘one of the brightest spots in my life” (ibid, emphasis added).

Conversation and friendship

In his book Conversation: A history of a declining art, Stephen Miller writes that: “The art of conversation is the art of pleasing others.” (The Christian Science Monitor 21^st March 2006—“A Conversation Starter about how we converse”. Here Monitor contributor Tom D’Eveyln writes that “The art of conversation is a branch of an even bigger topic: friendship. Above all, friends listen to one another.”

D’Eveyln also quotes Virginia Woolf:

It may be that the art of pleasing has some connection to the art of writing. To be polite, considerate, controlled, to sink one's egotism, to conceal rather than to obtrude one's personality may profit the writer even as they profit the man of fashion.

We have fine examples of conversations that uplift and heal, in both Christ Jesus and Mary Baker Eddy, who would later write: “…a tender sentiment felt, or a kind word spoken, at the right moment, is never wasted” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896, p. 127).

Norma Palmer Adler writes (Christian Science Sentinel, Sept. 23, 1961)*:

The authorized biographies of Mrs. Eddy repeatedly bring out that her words were always a blessing to those with whom she spoke. She enjoyed interesting and constructive conversations as well as a sense of humor. Irving C. Tomlinson says in his book "Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy" (pp. 170, 171): "Whether conversing in her study with a single student, or entertaining hundreds of her followers on the lawn at Pleasant View, she radiated a love that made her guests feel free from all restraint and at ease in her company. Mrs. Eddy was a rare conversationalist, and an hour spent in her company was a blessing never to be forgotten."

Today, we too can experience “a blessing never to be forgotten” as we spend time with the Bible and the writings of Mary Baker Eddy. And we too can work on the art of conversation, the art of friendship, in our relations with our fellow man.

Julie Swannell

*For those with a subscription to JSH-online.com, see Tenderly, Divinely Talk. Those without a subscription are invited to call their local Christian Science Reading Room to ask for a copy of this article.

 

A faithful couple

Caroline and Edward Bates are two of my favourite characters in the annuls of Christian Science. They were so practical, efficient, and expectant of solving problems. We hear about them in Joseph Armstrong’s book, The Building of The Mother Church, where we are given a rather sketchy story of their work. In Chapter 17, 'A “Prayer in Stone”', of A World More Bright: the Life of Mary Baker Eddy, their stories are presented in much fuller and exciting detail.

Caroline donated the beautiful “rose” window for The Mother Church building (see page 138).

Edward was a businessman who contracted for the heating and ventilation systems of the new church. Responding to a “feeling that his church needed him” (ibid), he further offered his services as on-site manager, “setting his own business concerns aside” (ibid).

The metaphysical work of these two fine students of Christian Science wrought the working out of various problems in the build. For instance, it was found that a chandelier obstructed the view of the platform from the balcony. Caroline designed a sunburst skylight for the ceiling to bring the light from the right angle.

At a crucial moment, Caroline received a message from Mrs. Eddy: “Finish the tower and plaster the church” (page 139). These tasks were the two most daunting at the time. 

The stonemasons, bricklayers, and steel men couldn’t agree on how to finish the church’s tower. Caroline volunteered to climb up the 120 feet high tower on long ladders. The ladders swayed in the icy wind with every step, but she was under orders to “[f]inish the tower.” She came up with a solution to the problem as she saw it and the workmen followed her instructions on how to do it.

Caroline was healed by reading the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, and both her father (a physician) and mother took up the study of Christian Science. During class instruction in Christian Science they were both healed of a need for eyeglasses.

Joyce Voysey

PS In case anyone has been waiting with bated breath to hear the dimensions of my Bribie Island schoolhouse, (see my previous post), I have now been provided with the original 1924 drawings. It was 21 feet square, and the desks and stools were 7 feet 6 inches long.

A book and a wedding

I have just finished Chapter 10, “Writing Her Book”, and Chapter 11 “A Wedding” of A World More Bright: The Life of Mary Baker Eddy by Isabel Ferguson and Heather Vogel Frederick. 

I made quite a few notes, so here they are.

Wycliffe Bible

It was good to see a reproduction of Wycliffe’s Bible* showing the words “science and health” from Luke 1: 77 (page 82). Mrs. Eddy was unaware of Wycliffe's phrase until well after having named her major work Science and Health.

My interest is in one of the notes on page 82 which speaks about that Bible. It shows a portrait of John Wycliffe, who was dubbed the “Morning Star of the Reformation” and who was persecuted by the Roman Catholic church for translating the Latin Vulgate Bible into English. One is reminded of how Mrs. Eddy was persecuted by the church at large for presuming to give the world the Key to the Scriptures and Christian Science.

The attic room

Page 84 gives us a photo of the attic room where Mrs. Eddy worked on the writing of her textbook. I love that her only natural light in the room is from above. One can compare her working conditions to those of to-day. That room had no heating or cooling; she wrote every word with nib pen and ink. Other writers of her era were working under similar conditions – the Bronte sisters come to mind. I have read that they read by the light of the fire.

Science and Health

Science and Health went through more than 400 printings in Mary Baker Eddy’s lifetime. See page 86.

One of Mrs. Eddy’s pupils was in charge of the advertising for the sale of the book. A side note on page 87 gives the graphic wording, including “It is a mine of wisdom” and “It enables you to do good to all”.

Asa Gilbert Eddy

Mary became Mrs. Eddy when she married Asa Gilbert Eddy one of her students. Mrs. Eddy called her husband Gilbert. Page 88 reproduces a copy of the wedding notice where Gilbert is recorded as Gilbert A. Eddy.

There is also a copy of Gilbert Eddy’s business card. He was the first person to advertise as a Christian Scientist. The card says, “No Medicine, Mediumship, or Mesmerism.” It is interesting to see what was important in the public’s perception of healing in that era.

There is a portrait of Gilbert. Oh, that hairdo! It seems that in normal life his hair was more natural, “with bangs that fell over his left eyebrow” – page 90.

A gentle man, he did well in the practising of healing in Christian Science. He told the mother of a child he healed: “Why, your child was all right all the time, only you could not see it. Truth never changes, it is only ourselves that change, only the human, mortal consciousness, and when we stop being afraid, God’s law is manifested” (page 91).

Mary Baker Eddy in the pulpit

A quote from page 94: “…Clara Choate described her teacher’s presence in the pulpit as ‘one of restful serenity,’ her faith ‘forcible in her every word.’”

I wonder if, when I was a First Reader in a Christian Science church, I could have endeavoured to better emulate those qualities.

 Joyce Voysey

 *Ed. “Olde Englyshe Byblys” is the name of an article by Edward P. Bates in the September 1901 issue of The Christian Science Journal, which offers some information about the Wycliffe Bible.

Bates writes: “It is not definitely known when the first partial translation into Anglo-Saxon was made, but its date is conceded to be as early as the seventh century. …. The best records available show that different students translated certain books of the bible or chapters therefrom, and that the Scriptures as a whole were not produced in the English tongue until about 1383, when John Wycliffe, the parish priest of Lutterworth, issued his Bible in manuscript form.”

This manuscript preceded the invention of the printing press. Bates notes that “It is worthy of note that the Bible was the first book to be issued from the printing press.”

School and schoolhouses

One-Room Schoolhouses - see page 11 side bar in A World More Bright – the Life of Mary Baker Eddy, by Isabel Ferguson and Heather Vogel Frederick.

I know about one-room schools. I attended one at Bribie Island from the age of 6 to 12. I hold the experience very dear and consider that I received a good primary education there.

Mind you, we learned nothing about music – our music consisted of singing and we were required to actually sing as a group at some functions: probably Dance and Euchre evenings. 

Our exercise activity was marching and pulling up bracken fern from the black sand.

And, there was no sewing or other domestic-type work for the girls, nor manual work for the boys. The teacher’s wife was not interested in teaching, I guess. I am sure others in the community could have been given the opportunity – my guardian, for one, with sewing. There was a teacher’s house, so families in the community were not required to board “Sir” (the teacher), as, we are told, was the case in Bow, New Hampshire.

In my youth, schools in Queensland were built on “stilts,” so there was space under the building for playing when it was raining, and shelter from the sun. This allowed for the playing of “beam”. This game had nothing to do with beams of light. Rather it was a tennis ball game of two players throwing a ball against one of the beams under the building, the point being for the ball not to miss the beam over or below it.

This was a time (the 1930s/40s) when Queensland homes were very prone to white ant infestation, so the high wooden stumps were capped with metal plates, and there was wonderful space underneath the house for laundry, for men’s workshops, for children’s play, and for storage.

Anyhow. The writers of A World More Bright have given us delightful side-information columns. One (page 11) tells us that there were seven of these one-teacher schools in Bow. Now, I had thought of Bow as being a village, so how do seven schools relate to that? In fact it is, and was, a town.

The Bow schoolhouse was likely to have been 22 feet square. I will try to figure out the measurements of our building. There was a verandah the length of the southern side, and lots of windows on the northern side which warmed us in the winter; there was no other warming or heating of course. Maybe our building was of a similar size or a little smaller than School #3 which was “a mile from” the Baker home.

The furniture in our school consisted of the teacher’s table/desk, the blackboard, long desks and backless stools. The desks were equipped with ink wells, probably five to a desk, one for each pupil. Memory doesn’t quite give me an accurate number of desks. Perhaps there were five.

Of course, all ages were catered for by the teacher.

Joyce Voysey

Sweet-tempered family companion

Co-authors Isabel Ferguson and Heather Vogel Frederick mention that, when Mary Baker was a child, the family owned a Newfoundland dog called Hunt. See page 8 of "a world more bright: The Life of Mary Baker Eddy".

It is said that Newfoundland dogs are working dogs, "sweet-tempered, gentle and trainable". They can be trained to rescue people from the sea - they are strong, have webbed feet and they excel at kindness! They can be black, brown, grey, or black and white.

I found a fascinating video about the Newfoundland dog at The Newfoundland Dog - the world's most powerful. 

 One of the notable characteristics of this dog is its empathy for humans. It is therefore possible to surmise that these qualities would have been a present example for the Baker family, and in particular for Mary Baker, who would later write:

"Whatever holds human thought in line with unselfed love, receives directly the divine power." Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 192: 30.

Julie Swannell