Recently there has appeared in a daily paper an article, based upon an "investigation" by two of its reporters, in which is alleged, among other things, that for several years Mrs. Eddy's health has been such as to render her unable to leave her house, and that during this period she has been impersonated on her daily drive by Mrs. Pamelia J. Leonard, a member of her household. This latter charge was backed by the affidavit of a man who was formerly the janitor of the building in Brooklyn, N. Y., in which Mrs. Leonard and her son have offices. This man made an alleged "identification" of Mrs. Leonard as the occupant of Mrs. Eddy's carriage on Oct. 22.

The utter falsity of this charge is established by the following affidavits:—

Mr. Frost's Affidavit.

"67 Pleasant Street, Concord, N. H., Oct. 29, 1906.

"I have known Mrs. Mary Baker G. Eddy for over seventeen years, and have known Mrs. Pamelia J. Leonard for four years. I have seen Mrs. Eddy on her drive frequently during that time, as her carriage passes my house twice daily. During the last two weeks I have seen Mrs. Eddy enter her carriage every day, except once, and on that day I met her at the gate. I was engaged in painting the inside of the house. One day, while setting some glass, I saw Mrs. Eddy at her desk writing.

"I have worked at Mrs. Eddy's house more or less ever since she has lived at Pleasant View, and have done all the painting there for the last four years.

"While Mrs. Eddy has been on her drive, Mrs. Leonard has always inspected our work and conversed with myself and my men, and on Oct. 22 I remember seeing her in the house and conversing with her during the time that Mrs. Eddy was on her drive. I have never known Mrs. Leonard to enter Mrs. Eddy's carriage, nor even known her to go to the door when Mrs. Eddy entered her carriage.

"Rodolph B. Frost."

"State of New Hampshire.

"Merrimack, ss.

Oct. 29, 1906.

"Personally appeared before me Rodolph B. Frost, who, being duly sworn, deposes and says that the above statement made and signed by him is true.

"George H. Moses.

"[Seal]."

Affidavit of Mrs. Leonard.

"I have been in the home of Mrs. Eddy off and on for the last eight years. Since the 19th day of February, 1906, when last I came to Mrs. Eddy's house, I have not been out of sight of it. I have access to all parts of the house, and go about it, and know absolutely that there are no stimulants anywhere in the house.

"The statement that I have impersonated Mrs. Eddy and ridden in her carriage in her place is entirely false, for I have never stepped inside of her carriage, and have never even looked inside of it.

"There has not been in Mrs. Eddy's room, nor anywhere in the house, and is not now, any sort of galvanic battery.

"At the time Mr. Hennessy claimed to identify me as being down town, I was at home at Pleasant View. Had he taken the pains to have come out here to Pleasant View, I would have gladly seen him.

"I deny most emphatically that Mrs. Eddy has any such disease as cancer, or that she has any other disease. As I am and have been in daily contact with Mrs. Eddy, seeing her many times each day, I am in a position to know as to what I am stating. And she has not palsy of the hand. The story that a physician from Boston is attending her is without foundation, as there is no physician from anywhere attending Mrs. Eddy, nor has there been while I have been in her home.

"Mrs. Pamelia J. Leonard."

"State of New Hampshire.

"Merrimack, ss.

Oct. 29, 1906.

"Personally appeared before me Mrs. Pamelia J. Leonard who, being duly sworn, deposes and says that the above statement made and signed by her is true.

"Josiah E. Fernald.

"[Seal] Notary Public."

The Boston Herald reporter who interviewed Mrs. Leonard on Oct. 28 wrote as follows:—

"A single glance at the figure of the woman shows that all resemblance to Mrs. Eddy absolutely ceases with the color of the hair. They are totally unlike in form and feature. Mrs. Eddy is of a slight, delicate type of scarcely one hundred pounds weight, while her face is cast in a decidedly classical mould.

"Mrs. Leonard, on the other hand, weighs nearly one hundred and forty pounds, and there is no facial resemblance between her and her Leader.

"Mrs. Leonard has a much stouter figure, and while her face is perhaps not less intellectual in its features, it is decidedly fuller and rounder. In weight she is thirty or forty pounds heavier than Mrs. Eddy. It was evident to the newspaper men, all of whom have in times past had personal conversation with Mrs. Eddy, that Mrs. Leonard could not successfully impersonate Mrs. Eddy, even if the attempt should be made."

Mr. Strang, who is Associate Secretary for Mrs. Eddy, has made the following statement regarding the interview which the two reporters had with Mrs. Eddy at her residence on Oct. 15.

Mr. Strang's Statement.

"I first encountered Messrs. Slaght and Lithchild on Saturday, Oct. 13, 1906. Between 1 and 2 p.m. I was returning to Pleasant View from a walk in the direction of St. Paul's school, when I was stopped just to the westward of the Pleasant View cottage by a man who asked if all the property near there belonged to Mrs. Eddy. I told him the extent of Mrs. Eddy's estate. Later I learned that this man was Mr. Slaght.

"Perhaps half an hour later, when I was sitting in my room, which faces Pleasant Street, I saw the man who had spoken with me come from Professor Kent's house opposite with another man, who I afterward learned was Mr. Lithchild. They got into a hack and drove toward Concord.

"At noon the next day, Sunday, Oct. 14, two men called at Pleasant View. Mrs. Sargent interviewed them at the door. They asked for Mr. Frye, said they wanted to see him on business, and added that Mr. Fred N. Ladd had sent them. They gave no names. Mr. Frye spoke to them and made an appointment with them for three o'clock that afternoon. After Mr. Frye had showed them out, he called me to look at them, and I saw that they were the same two men whom I had seen the day before.

"Between one and two I drove over to Mr. Ladd's house and found out from him that they were reporters of the New York World. Mr. Ladd said that he had talked with them until very late the night before and that they had asked many foolish questions regarding Mrs. Eddy and had refused to credit anything that he said in regard to her being alive.

"At three o'clock Sunday afternoon these men returned, according to their appointment with Mr. Frye, and at Mr. Frye's request I was in the room during the interview. Most of the conversation was carried on by Mr. Slaght, and the story he told was in the main features as follows:—

Mr. Slaght said that he and his companion, Mr. Lithchild, represented the New York World. He said that the World had received many letters declaring that Mrs. Eddy was dead; that Mr. Frye was the real head of the Christian Science movement, and that money was being received—in short, that a fraud was being conducted.

"Mr. Slaght continued that these letters had interested Mr. Pulitzer to the extent of sending them here to find out definitely whether or not Mrs. Eddy was alive. They were not after a story. They were here simply to prove conclusively that Mrs. Eddy herself was alive.

"He said it was not Mr. Pulitzer's purpose to use the material they had collected, provided they could satisfy themselves that Mrs. Eddy was alive.

"Mr. Lithchild questioned Mr. Frye in regard to a deed for the Pleasant View property, which Mr. Lithchild claimed Mrs. Eddy had given Mr. Frye. Mr. Frye explained that this was a trust deed, and that Mrs. Eddy had taken it back. Mr. Lithchild said that no such action had been recorded up to June, 1901. Mr. Frye sent for a copy of the record the next day, and the date of the recording of the deed was September, 1901.

"Messrs. Slaght and Lithchild were told by Mr. Fyre and myself that Mrs. Eddy was alive and could be seen driving in her carriage every day. They replied that ours was interested testimony and not satisfactory to them, and that they were informed that the person in the carriage was not Mrs. Eddy, but a dummy.

"Mr. Frye asked them what they would consider satisfactory testimony, and they said that they would be satisfied if Professor Kent, who lived across the way, would identify Mrs. Eddy in their presence. Mr. Frye said that he would bring the matter to Mrs. Eddy's attention and let them know the day following what her decision was. This closed the interview.

"On Monday, Oct. 15, Mr. Frye did not speak to Mrs. Eddy about Messrs. Slaght and Lithchild until after she returned from her drive—about two o'clock. She immediately sent John Salchow, one of the men on the place, to see Professor Kent and arrange with him to identify her. Mr. August Mann, Mrs. Eddy's coachman, was sent to the Eagle Hotel after Messrs. Slaght and Lithchild. They reached Pleasant View about three o'clock. I received them, and while we were waiting for Professor Kent, Mr. Slaght remarked that he was glad that their business was to end in so satisfactory a manner, again emphasizing the point which they desired us to believe, that a positive identification of Mrs. Eddy was all that Mr. Pulitzer and the World were after.

"As soon as Professor Kent arrived, the three men and myself went at once upstairs to Mrs. Eddy's office. She arose and stepped to the middle of the floor to meet them. She spoke to Professor Kent, saying that she was sorry he had lost the principalship of the Concord High School and that she hoped he would be re-appointed. I introduced Mr. Slaght first. She shook hands with him, and he said that he was very glad to see her. I then introduced Mr. Lithchild. Mr. Lithchild's name escaped me for a moment, and he was obliged to prompt me. Mrs. Eddy shook hands with him. She explained in a few words that her duties made it impossible for her to receive visitors and that this accounted for her seclusion. She signified that this ended the visit, though I believe that she shook hands again with Professor Kent before he left the room. I know that Messrs. Slaght and Lithchild preceded me out of the room and went downstairs. Mrs. Eddy remained standing during the entire visit, and as the men left, turned and walked back to her desk in the bay window.

"When we were going down the stairs Mr. Lithchild said to me, with apparent conviction: "She is certainly a well preserved woman for her years.' Mr. Slaght also gave me to understand that he was thoroughly satisfied as to the soundness of Mrs. Eddy's physical and mental condition. They furthermore led Mr. Mann, who drove them back to the hotel, to understand that they purposed leaving town that afternoon, the inference being that they intended to return to New York, thus carrying to the very conclusion of our experience with them the intimation that their sole purpose was the positive identification of Mrs. Eddy."

From this interview with Mrs. Eddy these men wrote a story in which they depicted her as a helpless invalid. This story was published Sunday, Oct. 28, and on that day Mrs. Eddy was visited at her home by Mayor Charles R. Corning of Concord, and General Frank S. Streeter, also of that city. Mayor Corning is also Probate Judge for Merrimack county. General Streeter is a leading lawyer and one of the most prominent men in the State.

These gentlemen, immediately after their call upon Mrs. Eddy, gave the following statements to the press:—

Mayor Corning's Statement.

"I have known Mrs. Eddy by sight for many years and have seen her in her carriage many times, and within the past season Mrs. Eddy has passed up Pleasant Street and down Green Street daily, and I know that the sole occupant of the carriage has been Mrs. Eddy. I had never met Mrs. Eddy face to face at her residence, Pleasant View, until to-day. Mrs. Eddy received me this afternoon in company with Gen. Frank S. Streeter, who is and has been an attorney of Mrs. Eddy for several years.

"As I had heard so much concerning the precarious condition of Mrs. Eddy's health, I feared that there might be some foundation for such reports, but the fact was utterly different. I spoke to Mrs. Eddy, and I listened for nearly half an hour to her conversation. She is keen of intellect and strong in memory. She is a surprising illustration of longevity with bright eyes and emphatic expression, and of an alertness rarely to be encountered in a person so venerable. Charles R. Corning,

"Sunday, Oct. 28. Mayor of Concord, N. H."

General Streeter's Statement.

"I have been counsel for Mrs. Eddy at various time during the past twelve or fifteen years and have known her well.

"I think the last time I saw her at her home, before today, was in June of last year, but have frequently met her while driving, down to a few days ago, always receiving a cordial bow of recognition. My attention was called to the article in the New York World of this morning, and I was asked by friends to call on her, and be able to speak definitely with reference to her health. The charge that Mrs. Eddy has been physically incapacitated and unable to leave her room, for all or considerable part of three years and that some one (said to be Mrs. Leonard) was impersonating Mrs. Eddy in the carriage drive, was already, from personal observation, known by me to be false.

"Mayor Charles R. Corning drove out with me to Pleasant View about four o'clock this afternoon. I sent a note to Mrs. Eddy. asking that we be permitted to call on her, and the request was almost immediately granted. She arose and most cordially greeted the mayor and myself, exhibiting no appearance of weakness or decrepitude, but a physical activity not ordinarily to be found in persons many years younger.

"The conversation covered a variety of subjects. She spoke briefly and without bitterness of the false statement being circulated with reference to her health, and even her death, and said that she was in the hands of an infinite God in whom she had perfect trust, and that He would care for her.

"Reference was made to business transactions of some time ago, about which her memory was exact and accurate. She referred to many details of her daily work and her correspondence and study. She also inquired after a certain personal friend, to whom she had recently sent a rare and valuable present, and expressed her warm affection. After a very interesting half hour's talk with Mrs. Eddy, we returned.

"I may emphatically say that Mrs. Eddy is a remarkably well preserved woman for one of her advanced years. Her physical health appears substantially the same as when I last talked with her, something over a year ago. As shown in the talk to-day, her mind is not only unimpaired, but she exhibits the same clearness, strength, alertness, and vigor which have so long distinguished her.

"Frank S. Streeter."

Later in the day, Mayor Corning, in introducing Professor Hering, who lectured at First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Concord, spoke in part as follows:—

"Thus far I have spoken to you as one who by his official position assumed the right to tell you whether or not Concord owed anything to Christian Science. I now want to say something which a good citizen is bound always to say when the intelligence of Concord people is questioned and ridiculed. I am sure you have heard of the muckrakers. I wish I might use a better and more euphonious term: but, following the great names of John Bunyan and Theodore Roosevelt, I justify my use of it and speak of muck-raking. More than once I have received letters from many places asking me if I could inform the writers as to whether or not Mrs. Eddy was alive. I have always replied as an honest citizen who wished the truth to be known, but no reply and no assurance seemed to have effect or to satisfy those in search of the sensational and untrue.

"Recently there have been in Concord, representatives of one of the great metroplitan dailies, alleging that Mrs. Eddy was no more. Ladies and gentlemen, this is to me a painful and difficult subject. I have seen Mrs. Eddy, day after day, year after year, riding through our streets, and more recently I have seen the lady riding past my house, and yet strangers come here, foes to this religion, to assert that Concord does not know its own eyes and has lost its own senses. This afternoon, less than four hours ago, for the first time in my life, I stood face to face with Mrs. Eddy for a half hour. I listened to as bright, as vigorous, and as sprightly a conversation as I have ever listened to in my life, and I wish here to bear my testimony to this cruel, bitter falsehood directed against not only you who belong to this church, loving and devoted friends of the lady and Leader, but it is a stigma on Concord which is a sorrow and pain to one of the best and most generous friends the city of Concord has ever had."

On Monday the mayor was questioned by a reporter for the Boston Herald regarding his interview with Mrs. Eddy, and answered in part as follows:—

"But I gone expecting to find a tottering old woman, perhaps incoherent, almost senile. Instead, when she rose to greet me, her carriage was almost erect, her walk that of a woman of forty. I have seen many old ladies, but never one with the vigorous personality of Mrs. Mary Baker G. Eddy. I can think of no more distinguished woman of her years in the world to-day; that was the impression she gave me, and it was the first time I had met her face to face.

"'You have a cosey corner here, I see, Mrs. Eddy,' said General Streeter.

"'Yes, and some people would like to see me in a closer corner.' remarked Mrs. Eddy, quickly.

"I call that good repartee for a woman over eighty," continued Mayor Corning.

"She remembered local incidents and happenings of recent date, talked family matters with General Streeter, and to try her mind he asked her concerning the date of her donation of one thousand dollars annually to the State fair. She remembered within a few days when the agreement was drawn up two years ago. To say that she is mentally vigorous is inside the mark. She is wonderful for an octogenarian. Her face is not full, her figure is slight, but she looks commanding, her eyes are bright, her handclasp is firm. We talked with her for half an hour, and at the end of that time, when she rose to bid us goodby, Mrs. Eddy showed no sign of fatigue. I should certainly say she is capable of attending to her own business. As to whether she does or does not. I cannot give an opinion, any more than I could as to whether the octogenarian president of a bank here manages it directly.

"I went there entirely unbiased. I am not a Christian Scientist."

In response to telegraphic inquiries from several newspapers, Mrs. Eddy's secretaries gave statements to the press, and these statements were embodied later in the following affidavits:—

Mr. Frye's Affidavit.

"Pleasant View, Concord. N. H., Oct. 28, 1906.

"The sensational report published in the New York World of Sunday, Oct. 28, 1906, to the effect that Mrs. Eddy is physically incapable and mentally incapacitated, that 'for many months she has not left her room.' that she does not drive daily, and that she is impersonated in her carriage by Mrs. Pamelia J. Leonard, or by anybody else, is unqualifiedly false.

"My position in Mrs. Eddy's household is simply that of a paid employe. She conducts her own affairs, financial and otherwise, to-day as she always has, and the statement that Mrs. Eddy is dominated or controlled by any sort of 'cabinet' or combination is positively false—absurdly so to any one who is acquainted with Mrs. Eddy's extraordinary ability as an executive.

"Mrs. Eddy, as she herself wrote to the Boston Herald on Oct. 19, 1906. is in her usual good health. She is not slowly dying from cancer, nor has she a cancer or any chronic or organic or functional disease. She has never been visited by a cancer specialist, nor do I or anybody else provide 'old school surgeons and physicians, dentists, and the entire range of pharmacopœia' for attendance upon Mrs. Eddy, as is stated by the World.

"Had the reporters of the World really desired to learn whether Mrs. Leonard impersonated Mrs. Eddy on Mrs. Eddy's drive, it would have been a very simple matter for these reporters to have called at Pleasant View while Mrs. Eddy was driving and asked for Mrs. Leonard. Had they taken this ready way of verification, they would have had no trouble in seeing Mrs. Leonard herself and talking with her.

"When the reporters of the New York World called to see Mrs. Eddy personally, what they spoke of as stimulants was not in the room at all. There was no galvanic battery, nor any stimulants or medicines in the room or in the house. There was simply a small table on which was a silver ice-pitcher, a silver mug, and small finger-bowl that Mrs. Eddy uses. There was a wood-box in the room, but nothing else except Mrs. Eddy's own literary materials, books, and papers. Mrs. Eddy has never to my knowledge, while I have lived with her, used stimulants of any kind, nor to my knowledge have there ever been any in the house. My service covers a period of twenty-four continuous years.

"Calvin A. Frye."

"State of New Hampshire.

"Merrimack, ss. Oct. 29, 1906.

"Personally appeared before me Calvin A. Frye, who, being duly sworn, deposes and says that the above statement made and signed by him is true.

"Josiah E. Fernald.

"[Seal] Notary Public."

Affidavit of Mr. Strang.

"I came to Pleasant View on the 29th of January, 1906, and since the middle of March, 1906, one of my duties has been to hand Mrs. Eddy into her carriage daily and adjust the carriage robes about her. Since the middle of March she has not failed but one day personally to go on her drive. She did not go one day on account of the roads breaking up in the early spring.

"I have been in the house with Mrs. Leonard day after day while Mrs. Eddy was on her drive, and know that Mrs. Leonard has never in any way, shape, or manner impersonated nor attempted to impersonate Mrs. Eddy.

"While I have been at Pleasant View, neither Mrs. Eddy nor any one in the house has used any form of stimulant or remedies of a materia medica nature. There is no galvanic battery in Mrs. Eddy's room, in the house, nor about the premises, nor has there ever been while I have been here. Mrs. Eddy herself has never used stimulants while I have been here, and she has never used any sort of an electric battery.

"There is no truth in any claim that physicians have been in attendance here or that any specialist of any sort has been called from Boston or elsewhere. Mrs. Eddy is in unusually good health for a woman of her years. She has, as far as my knowledge is concerned (and I have seen her daily, almost hourly during the daytime while I have been at Pleasant View), no chronic, organic, nor functional disease of any sort. Mrs. Eddy is active, about the house more or less daily, goes up and down stairs at least once a day, when she goes to her drive, and generally more—usually twice a day. She usually goes down stairs in the afternoon.

"I was present at the interview with the New York World reporters, Messrs. Slaght and Lithchild, and Professor Kent. Professor Kent stood between Mrs. Eddy and myself, so that it would have been impossible for me to have reached my arm about Mrs. Eddy to support her, as alleged by the article in the New York World.

"Lewis C. Strang."

"State of New Hampshire.

"Merrimack, ss. Oct. 29, 1906.

"Personally appeared before me Lewis C. Strang, who, being duly sworn, deposes and says that the above statement made and signed by him is true.

"Josiah E. Fernald.

"[Seal] Notary Public."

Mr. P. A. Clifford, who has been employed at Pleasant View at various times, also made the following affidavit:—

Mr. Clifford's Affidavit.

"I. P. A. Clifford of Concord, in the County of merrimack, and State of New Hampshire, being duly sworn, depose and say that I have known Mrs. Mary Baker G. Eddy since she came to Concord, in 1889. During the past six years I have been employed at Pleasant View at various times as a plumber and stamfitter. I have been in all parts of the house and have conversed with Mrs. Eddy. I saw her at Pleasant View about three weeks ago. I have been at Pleasant View on numerous occasions when Mrs. Eddy entered her carriage for her daily drive and have seen Mrs. Leonard during Mrs. Eddy's absence. Her health is apparently as good as when I fist knew her.

"P. A. Clifford."

"State of New Hampshire.

"Merrimack, ss. Concord, N. H., Oct. 29, 1906.

"Subscribed and sworn to before me.

"A. Chester Clark.

"Notary Public."

The following statement was issued by Professor Hering, First Reader of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Concord:

"Concord, N. H., Oct. 28, 1906.

"This is to certify that Mrs. Eddy stopped at my residence, 91 North State Street, this city, shortly after one o'clock to-day and I had several minutes' conversation with her. The carriage door was open and she shook hands with me cordially. I have known Mrs. Eddy for a number of years and know that she is the same person with whom I spoke to-day. She was very evidently in excellent health and strength. I have also known Mrs. Pamelia J. Leonard of Brooklyn for a number of years, and although I have seen Mrs. Eddy's carriage on State Street almost daily I have never seen Mrs. Leonard occupy it. The occupant has always been Mrs. Eddy herself.

"Hermann S. Hering."

The Boston Journal of Oct. 30 contained the following article:—

Mrs. Eddy is not impersonated by a dummy. In her own carriage, apparently in the best of bodily health and vigor, she rode through the streets of Concord yesterday afternoon.

In view of the published stories of her ill-health, that she was dying of an incurable disease, that during her rides and drives and receptions she was impersonated by a dummy, dressed to represent her, and the interest these reports have aroused from one end of the country to the other, wherever Christian Science is known, particularly centering in Boston, the home of The Mother Church, the Boston Journal determined upon an especial effort to establish the identity of the woman who appeared in Mrs. Eddy's carriage.

If it was Mrs. Eddy, it would set at rest all rumors of her dying condition. If it was not Mrs. Eddy, then the Journal proposed to establish the identity of the person who impersonated her.

For this purpose the services of a well-known lawyer of Concord, N. H., Mrs. Eddy's home town, were enlisted.

He is forty years old. He had known Mrs. Eddy for fifteen years, since the first week she made her home at Pleasant View, in Concord. He has met her personally several times. Less than three years ago, in 1903, he, with a party, was received by her during the "Pilgrimage."

He is not an interested party. He is not a Christian Scientist. He has never had business transactions with Mrs. Eddy or the church. He is a Roman Catholic and has nothing in common with the tenets of the faith.

But he knows Mrs. Eddy and he knows her well. Also, he knows Mrs. Pamelia Leonard of Brooklyn, who, it is charged, has impersonated Mrs. Eddy in her carriage drives.

This lawyer was commissioned by the Journal to establish the identity of the person riding in Mrs. Eddy's carriage. He was given carte blanche as to methods.

He made arrangements with the contractor who laid out the Pleasant View grounds, and with the painter who decorated the buildings, both thoroughly acquainted with Mrs. Eddy's personal appearance.

All three of them took positions along the road down which the carriage must go in reaching Concord. There was no Collusion. There was no chance of the opinion of one affecting the decision of another. All three announced emphatically: "It is Mrs. Eddy. It is Mrs. Eddy, appartently in the best of health."

The Detailed Story.

This is the detailed account of the identification by the Concord lawyer:—

"I know Mrs. Eddy well. I was born in Concord and with the exception of the time I was at school and college I have lived here. I first met Mrs. Eddy when she came here to live, either fourteen or fifteen years ago.

"In those days she was not so inaccessible as she is now. She frequently walked about the town. Often she drove down in an open carriage. Her face and features have been familiar to me for years.

"The last time I saw her was about three years ago. That was at the time of the pilgrimage here. I accompanied a party that she received.

"Almost every day I have seen her closed carriage drive through the streets of Concord, and I have known that a woman was inside, but I never paid particular attention to just who it was. I supposed it was Mrs. Eddy and I let it go at that.

"When I was commissioned by the Journal to establish the identity of the occupant of the carriage, I was confident that I could tell whether or not it was Mrs. Eddy. I knew that I could not be mistaken if the woman should be Mrs. Pamelia Leonard. I know Mrs. Leonard very well.

"Yet rather than have any question I decided to establish the identity with other people, who know her as well or better than I do, if I could arrange it.

"For that reason I arranged with George W. Chesley, a well-known contractor and landscape artist, to accompany me. Mr. Chesley is a married man, about sixty-five years old. He is not a Christian Scientist, but he has done work for Mrs. Eddy for years. It was Mr. Chesley who laid out the grounds at Pleasant View, and he has kept care of them for years.

"Mr. Chesley tells me that the last time he saw Mrs. Eddy to speak to her was about six months ago. Then he discussed some change in the shrubbery with her. She was apparently in the best of health then, he says.

"Mr. Chesley and I left my office about one o'clock, for a telephone call that I had arranged for came then, that Mrs. Eddy's carriage, supposed to contain her, was just leaving her grounds. We walked up Warren Street to Liberty Street. The street there is rather rough, and we knew the driver would have to go slow. For that reason I decided to wait there.

"It was just ten minutes past one o'clock when the carriage came down the street and turned the corner into Warren Street. As we expected, the torn, rough roadway caused the driver to pull up from the comfortable jog at which he was going, and they went at a slow walk.

"Mr. Chesley had crossed to the right side of the street. I stayed on the left side. As the carriage approached we both started to cross the street. A bicyclist was ahead of it, but he paid no attention to us.

"I walked so slow that I got to the middle of the street just as the front of the carriage was crossing in a line from where I stood. Mr. Chesley had reached a place just across from me a little quicker.

"We stood as close as possible to the carriage as it passed, and we bent forward and deliberately peered into the windows. They were up, and the shades were not drawn, and we could easily see the woman.

"The woman was looking toward Mr. Chesley as I peered into the window, and as soon as she saw him she turned her head. That brought it right up by mine. She was sitting almost in the center of the seat, and as she turned she almost directly faced me.

"There is no doubt about it. There cannot be the slightest question. That woman was Mrs. Eddy. And it was Mrs. Eddy in very good health. She looked but little if any older than she did three years ago when I saw her.

"She is rather thin; so was she three years ago. Her hair is snow white; so it was three years ago. Her hands are 'skinny; so they were three years ago. But she is not emaciated, she is not a mere skeleton.

"She may be suffering from an incurable disease, but certainly she does not look it.

"She is a remarkably well-preserved looking woman. Her eyes were as bright, the poise of her head as firm, her body as erect, as in any woman I ever saw in my life.

"I should judge that I looked directly at Mrs. Eddy for about ten seconds. I even took a step forward to keep her in view. Then the carriage passed, and turned to Mr.

Chesley.

"'Well?' I asked him.

"'Why, that's Mrs. Eddy. That's Mrs. Eddy just exactly as she has looked for the last ten years. There isn't a possible chance of a mistake.'

"'You're certain of that?' I asked.

" 'I'd stake my life on it.' he answered.

"There was no more doubt in his mind than in mine. Mrs. Eddy in her carriage drove down Warren Street to Main Street. We followed it to the corner. There we met C. W. Smith, a painter who has worked on the Eddy home and who knows Mrs. Eddy.

"'Well, I guess that knocks that foolish story,' he said to me as he looked at the carriage.

"'Why?' I asked him.

" 'Why, that's Mrs. Eddy. I just looked in to see. I wanted to be sure.' His identification was as complete as either Mr. Chesley's or mine.

"We followed the carriage up Main Street to the State capital, where it turned around and started back to Pleasant View. I then hurried to my office and telephoned the Journal correspondent, who had gone to the home while the carriage was out for the purpose of interviewing Mrs. Leonard.

"Over the telephone he told me that he had just left her; that she was in the house; that he had talked with her."

Last night Alfred Farlow, head of the Christian Science publicity department here, gave out a long series of affidavits and statements which, with three exceptions, merely amplify those printed yesterday in the Journal from the inmates of Mrs. Eddy's household, etc.

The Concord Evening Monitor of Oct. 29 contained the following letters from representative citizens who are personally acquainted with Mrs. Eddy and are not Christian Scientists. In publishing these letters the Monitor commented as follows:—

It will be noted that the statements made by Concord people in refutation of these assertions are not from Christian Scientists, but from Congregationalists, Unitarians, Universalists, and Baptists; and from persons who, by reason of their opportunities to know what takes place in Concord, may be relied upon to state facts.

Letters from Representative Citizens.

"In reference to conversation had with me last evening in regard to statements made to me Oct. 13 by two representatives of the New York World, will say that they stated that they were representatives from the New York Herald, and hearing persistent reports that Mrs. Eddy was dead, and had long been so, they had come to Boston to ascertain whether they could find any one who could state with certainty that Mrs. Eddy was alive; that they had visited every town and hamlet between Boston and Concord and could not find any one who had ever seen Mrs. Eddy; that they had been unable to find man, woman, or child in Concord who had ever seen Mrs. Eddy to know her, except as I personally stated to them that I had an interview with her in the early part of the summer; that they understood, if Mrs. Eddy were alive, she was so enfeebled and helpless that she was unfit to have any control over her affairs. I made reply to this statement, that if they ever had the honor of meeting. Mrs. Eddy, they would at once ascertain that these statements were false. They also stated that they had seen papers showing assignments of all of Mrs. Eddy's property to Calvin A. Frye. her secretary. They said they did not find any one in Concord who believed that Mrs. Eddy was alive. They said that if they did not have an interview with her that they should feel at liberty to print such information as they had received.

"Of course I denied all of these statements and said that they were false, and also stated that my mother had played with Mrs. Eddy as a child and had been associated with her and had been near her for more than forty years; but they were determined not to believe any reasonable statements.

"Perhaps it would be well to state that I am not a member of a Christian Science church, but feel it my duty to contradict such false rumors. I have had the honor of being in the presence of Mrs. Eddy several times a year, and most emphatically say that she is in every way capable of conducting her business affairs.

Fred N. Ladd,

"Treasurer Loan and Trust Savings Bank."

"I am informed there is a report in circulation, coming from persons outside of Concord, that the person whom I meet every few days driving, and to whom I am always pleased to bow, is not the Rev. Mary Baker Eddy, but some other person.

"Now I have known Mrs. Eddy for a number of years, and have had business relations with her since she came to Concord and made her home at Pleasant View, which relations extend up to the present time. I have also visited her in her home, so that I can state from personal knowledge that it is Mrs. Eddy, and no other person, whom I see riding in her carriage. I will also state that she stands high in this community. I do not find those who speak evil of her in this, her home city, and believe those who come here with evil reports come with malicious intentions.

"I am not a follower of the Christian Science faith, but make this statement as a citizen of Concord who wishes to see the things that are true, the things that are honest, and the things that are just, prevail. J. E. Fernald.

"President National State Capital Bank."

"I have had the pleasure of knowing Mrs. Eddy for more than ten years, and I have had frequent occasion to correspond with her and to meet her with reference to matters of public importance in this community. These relations with her still continue, and within a very short time I have received from her long letters written from beginning to end in her own handwriting, which from long acquaintance is perfectly familiar to me, and that she is indubitably alive, both physically and mentally, is well attested by these communications.

"Moreover, I see Mrs. Eddy driving in her carriage through our streets almost every day, and I have within a very few days met her carriage and spoken to her as she drove past. That the occupant of the carriage was Mrs. Eddy in propria persona is accurate testimony which I am very glad to give, and had any of the newspaper representatives to whom you allude taken the trouble to call upon me during their stay in Concord I would freely have told them as I now write you.

"While it would be futile to assert that Mrs. Eddy is wholly without critics or opponents in Concord, it is entirely within the bounds of accuracy to say that by the vast majority of all our people, and most emphatically by those who by their position in the community are most entitled to represent that intangible spirit which we call public opinion, she is regarded easily as our foremost citizen. Her numerous good works, her constant and consistent charities here, her keen interest in all that makes for the betterment of the community, and her blameless, laborious, and useful life among us, all contribute to make her beloved and respected by the people of Concord, and we all hope that she may live long in her present full possession of physical, mental, and spiritual power to continue her good work among us.

George H. Moses,
"Editor Evening Monitor."

Both the Monitor and the Patriot—the only daily papers published in Concord—protest against the baseless attack which has been made upon Mrs. Eddy. The following extract is from the Monitor:—

"The World's story, as we are told, is the result of long investigations in Concord by the World's representatives. If this is so, their time here was ill-spent; for no honest investigator could have stayed here even so short a time as a single day without learning from indisputable sources that Mrs. Eddy is alive—and very keenly alive—to all that takes place in the world, and that she is constantly alert and thoughtful to do good to everybody, especially to the city of Concord.

"For more than fifteen years Mrs. Eddy has made her home among us; and she leads a simple and well-ordered life—as befits one who has a daily routine filled with great duties to a great cause. That she fulfils these duties to the last degree is evidenced by the growth and advance of the movement when she heads; and that she finds time for other good works,—for charity, for helpfulness, and for public-spirited co-operation in the affairs of the community where her home is fixed,—thousands of Concord people are ready cheerfully to attest. And they have now come forward with glad alacrity to refute the falsehoods of the New York World.

"Some of these refutations we are publishing in our news columns to-day. To them we can add our personal testimony.

"The editor of this paper has enjoyed the privilege of Mrs. Eddy's friendship for more than ten years. During that time he has met her frequently and has corresponded with her almost continuously. Her conversation and her letters—numbering hundreds and written almost entirely with her own pen—are pulsating with but one desire, the desire to do good,—to do good to individuals, to communities, and to the human race. Within a very short time the editor of this paper has seen Mrs. Eddy and with her taken counsel upon public affairs in Concord. She was then in a strength of spirit, mind, and body far beyond what any one would have a right to expect from a woman of her age. Her words were direct and simple, her discernment acute and sympathetic, her manner cordial and unaffected. Since then the writer has met her carriage almost daily upon our streets and its distinguished occupant has never failed to return a smiling greeting of recognition. This has happened within four days, when, in a narrow street where recognition was certain, we met the real Mrs. Eddy, the Mrs. Eddy we have known for years, almost face to face. We knew her and we were known by her.

"We are moved to believe that testimony of this sort, which arises spontaneously on every hand in Concord, is more enduring and worthy than that of any newspaper 'investigators,' whose work shows only too clearly that they trust to their own or to somebody else's imagination for their facts. Concord people may buy the New York World, but they do not believe what it says. When any one tells Concord that Mrs. Eddy is not one of our busiest, most helpful, and most beloved and respected citizens, in full possession of her illustrious faculties of mind and in bodily strength beyond what her years warrant, Concord has a prompt and impregnable answer:—

"We all know better!"

The following is from the Patriot:—

"In substance the story of The World is false from beginning to end, and the manner of telling it most vicious.

"The writer, the editor of this paper, talked with Mrs. Eddy in her home three years ago, he talked with her again in her home two years ago, and talked with her again in her private room much less than a year ago. He has seen her in her carriage and bowed to her, and has had his salutations returned many, many times within the last six months, and within as recently as four days ago.

"He knows Mrs. Eddy well; knows her face and form; would pick that face and form in a glance, from among the faces of millions, and he has not been imposed upon in any way by any substitute which, as the World claims, has been riding in her carriage.

"At the different times when he has had the pleasure of talking with Mrs. Eddy, there was no marked evidence of failing health or departing faculties, in one of her years, but on the contrary she showed a quick familiarity with current events and a wonderfully vivid recollection of happenings long passed as well as a surpassing skill in foreshadowing the future.

"During the last five years he has had many letters from Mrs. Eddy, some of quite recent date, and there has never been a doubt in his mind as to the personal autograph of the writer, and the letters themselves carry with them no evidence of an enfeebled condition, mental or physical.

"But a few months ago, at her invitation, he visited her in her private room. When he entered, she was standing in the bay window with her back to the door. As soon as she realized his presence, she turned from the desk at which she was standing, walked toward the middle of the room with form as erect as the ordinary woman of forty, and shook hands in a way indicated anything but feebleness or physical breakdown."

In a personal letter to Mr. Pulitzer, proprietor of the New York World, dated Oct. 27, 1906, Mr. M. Meehan, the well-known editor and manager of the Concord Patriot, says of Mrs. Eddy:—

"Few, if any women living have done as much to pass their names to posterity as has the Rev. Mary Baker G. Eddy of this city and State, and we of Concord, regardless of religious belief, have a great respect for this woman, and we resent any indignity aimed at her or passed upon her, and every decent man and woman in our city experiences a sense of shame on realizing that a great newspaper like the World, through the overzeal of its representatives, would annoy her or cause her discomfort by appealing to low natures or those given to gossip or envy to secure guesses and opinions unworthy of the World. unworthy of Mrs. Eddy, and unworthy of the intelligence, integrity, and manhood and womanhood of New Hampshire's capital city.

"I have met and talked with Mrs. Eddy more than once. I know her, she knows me; have been in her home, in her private room, within a few months and discussed with her many things; I have bowed to her in her carriage within forty-eight hours and my salutation has been returned by her.

"If the intent of the World's representative to Concord be carried out in its columns, the World will say in substance that Mrs. Eddy is dead and that a mummy or a substitute and not she is in the carriage each day when it passes through the main streets of our city and its occupant is greeted by our people, or it will say that Mrs. Eddy is enfeebled and decrepit and that those brilliant faculties that in the past made her wonderful accomplishments possible have departed.

"To every such a statement, or even insinuation, I, as one who knows, say, 'It is not true in whole or in part, but, on the contrary, is unqualifiedly false.'"

Mrs. Eddy Sees Reporters.

On Tuesday, Oct. 30. Mrs. Eddy consented to meet a number of reporters who had assembled in Concord in consequence of the false reports regarding her health which had been circulated of late. The following is the Associated Press report:—

"Concord, N. H., Oct. 30.—A representative of the Associated Press, who interviewed Mrs. Mary Baker G. Eddy, head of the Christian Science Church, ten years ago, went to Pleasant View, Mrs. Eddy's home, to-day, and was granted another interview by the same woman.

"Although Mrs. Eddy, who was born in 1821, shows her advanced age in some respects, her voice to-day was clear and strong and she gave no evidence of decrepitude or of any weakness not to be expected of a woman now in her eighty-sixth year.

"The interview, which was granted to half a score of newspaper representatives who had assembled in this city after the publication of the sensational stories in connection with Mrs. Eddy's health, was arranged early in the day by H. Cornell Wilson, head of the Christian Science publishing committee, at the earnest request of the reporters. In addition to these there were present Hermann S. Hering, First Reader of the local Christian Science church; Edward N. Pearson, Secretary of the State of New Hampshire; Mr. Wilson, and Calvin A. Frye, Mrs. Eddy's secretary.

"When the newspaper representatives assembled at Mrs. Eddy's home. Pleasant View, they were escorted to the double parlors on the east side of the house. A moment or two after they had been seated Mr. Frye announced Mrs. Eddy.

"The Leader of the Christian Science faith walked to the doorway and stood, unassisted, before her interviewers. She did not approach further than the threshold of the door, and when it was seen that she would not enter the room for a prolonged interview, a woman reporter, who had previously interviewed Mrs. Eddy, was delegated to talk to her to-day.

"That Mrs. Eddy was more anxious to demonstrate that she was in good physical condition than she was to answer questions was demonstrated by the abrupt manner in which she left the assembled newspaper representatives. Just three questions had been asked by the interviewer when Mrs. Eddy turned, spoke a word to her secretary, and started for her carriage, with Mr. Frye escorting her on one side and Lewis C. Strang, her publicity agent, on the other. The interviewers were left in the parlors with numberless questions on their lips, but without an opportunity to ask them.

"The brief interview consisted of the following questions and answers:—

"'Are you in perfect physical health, Mrs. Eddy?' was the first question asked after Mrs. Eddy had made her appearance.

"'I am,' was the brief reply, given with distinct enunciation.

"'Have you any other physician than God?'

"'No, indeed,' answered Mrs. Eddy with emphasis, and then she added slowly and solemnly: 'The everlasting arms are around and above me. which is enough.'

"'Do you take a daily drive?' was the next question asked, to which Mrs. Eddy replied as briefly and distinctly as she did to the first question. 'I do,' she said.

"It was at this point in the interview, and as the spokeswoman was about to continue her interrogations, that Mrs. Eddy unexpectedly indicated that the interview was at an end, for she turned without another word and walked to the porte cochere, at the front of the house, where her carriage was waiting to convey her on her usual drive about the city. She was assisted into the carriage by Mr. Strang, Mr. Frye in the mean time, garbed in a footman's uniform, having mounted the driver's seat alongside of the coachman. She was then driven away, while the newspaper representatives were escorted through her home, which they inspected with interest.

"There was an abundance of proof that the woman interviewed to-day was the woman who, ten years ago, was at the head of the Christian Science church. Secretary of State Pearson, who has been personally acquainted with Mrs. Eddy for a much longer period, assured the newspaper representatives that the woman who stood before them to-day was the Mrs. Eddy of ten years ago, and the representative of the Associated Press and the woman who conducted the interview, both of whom have talked to Mrs. Eddy on previous occasions, corroborated the statement.

"It was apparent to the most casual observer that the details of the interview had been arranged with the utmost care and with a view to demonstrating in a silent but impressive manner that many of the statements recently published were without foundation.

"The visitors at Pleasant View were not able to see whether Mrs. Eddy walked from her apartments on the floor above to the parlors without assistance, for they had been seated in a portion of the room which made such a view impossible. Their first glimpse of the Leader was when she appeared in the doorway, gowned in a beautiful cloak of ermine, which hung loosely from her shoulders and which nearly touched the ground. She wore also a hat and gloves, and in fact was attired in the manner which is customary with her when she goes for her daily drive.

"As if to dispose of the allegation that a member of her household had on many occasions impersonated her, Mrs. Eddy or some member of her household, caused to be present at the interview Mrs. Pamelia J. Leonard of Brooklyn, N. Y., who, it has been said. has been in the habit of driving in Mrs. Eddy's carriage. The contrast between the two women was so great that it was at once apparent that one could not possibly attempt to pose for the other without detection. There was but one similarity to be noted and that was the abundance of snow-white hair which adorned the heads of both women. At the point the resemblance ceased."