Article July 6, 1940 Issue

The March, 1889, Primary Class and Other Memories of Mary Baker Eddy

By Mrs. Emma Easton Newman

Still vivid in memory is the picture of our loved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, as she addressed the March Primary class of 1889. This class assembled on Monday, February 25, at 10 a.m., at 571 Columbus Avenue, in the house which was known as "The Massachusetts Metaphysical College." A limited number might board and room there during class, and my parents and I were happy to be among the number.

The class was held in a large room at the rear of the house. The sixty-five students were representative of our Cause at that time, coming from many parts of the United States and Canada. Some had already been taught by Mrs. Eddy in a Primary class; some had been through a Normal class; some had studied under qualified teachers, and others, like ourselves, had not studied under a teacher.

Our Leader's appearance at that time was of a woman many years younger than the recorded number. The hair was still dark, the eyes glowing with the inner fire of spiritual inspiration. The delicate complexion permitted her color to vary in response to her thought. The reproduced photograph used in the latest edition of "The Life of Mary Baker Eddy" by Siby1 Wilbur gives a good idea of her appearance at that period. There could be incisiveness when occasion demanded. One member of the class, a retired minister inclined to controversy, asked Mrs. Eddy how, if people took cold mentally, his little two-year-old child could get cold by walking about with bare feet when too young to be conscious of breaking a so-called material law. Mrs. Eddy vehemently replied, "You took cold for him." She asked one woman what she would do if she were treating a case that did not yield. The answer was, "I would examine my own thought." Mrs. Eddy then asked her what she would do if she were treating a case that did not yield. The woman answered she would handle animal magnetism. Again Mrs. Eddy repeated her question, and the woman said, "I suppose I'd give it up." "And that," Mrs. Eddy said, "is just what you should not do." Of course no notes were tolerated, and she questioned each one individually.

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