Article December 28, 1929 Issue

Will you kindly allow me to make a brief reply to a...

Miss E. Mary Ramsay, Committee on Publication for Midlothian, Scotland,—Edinburgh

Scotsman

Will you kindly allow me to make a brief reply to a letter about Mrs. Eddy which appeared in Wednesday's Scotsman?

While I do not doubt for a moment that the writer wishes to be perfectly fair to Mrs. Eddy, it is perhaps hardly possible at this date for anyone to understand her character thoroughly who has no practical experience of Christian Science. On the other hand, it is far too soon for any legendary history of Mrs. Eddy to be entertained by her followers, while there are still among us so many who knew her personally. I myself had an interview with her many years ago, and can speak of the effect produced on me by this woman, who united with the tenderness of age the bright innocence of a little child, and the serene dignity which comes only from dwelling habitually in the highlands of thought. I know, too, of the love and respect she inspired in those who had the privilege of forming part of her household. This is indeed the highest praise, for we are all familiar with the saying that no man is a hero to his own valet.

As to the persecutions to which Mrs. Eddy was exposed all her days, these were, of course, not physical persecutions in a land of religious freedom. But invective, calumny, and mental persecution may be harder to bear than bonds and imprisonment. It may interest your readers to hear what that distinguished mental specialist, Dr. McLane Hamilton, had to say of Mrs. Eddy when, to refute a charge of mental incapacity, she asked him to visit her. "The allegations concerning Mrs. Eddy's belief in 'malicious animal magnetism' are ridiculous. I am convinced that the words are only used synonymously with 'malign influence,' 'malignant' or 'mendacious animal magnetism' and is therefore a Fagon parler (sic), as the French say. She certainly has been subject to sufficient annoyance to entertain the fear that she is to be subjected to further disturbance. False reports that she was dead are among these, and her home has been broken into and valuable documents have disappeared." Again Dr. Hamilton says:

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