Some time ago I was involved in...

Some time ago I was involved in a lawsuit, one of the main questions being whether the defendant had published a defamatory circular. The only evidence of this was the fact that one of the envelopes containing it had been addressed in the defendant's handwriting. The proceedings were based on this envelope. Unfortunately, some time after they had commenced, the person to whom the envelope in question had been sent passed on, and it was not legally permissible for any witness to give evidence of what the deceased had said. It was therefore vital that another envelope addressed in the defendant's handwriting and containing a copy of the defamatory circular should be obtained from a living addressee. A list of all the addressees was in existence, and application was made to them all, but without any result whatever. The hearing of the case by the court was now rapidly approaching, and without this vital document the defendant was bound to win the case, and justice would have been defeated.

At this juncture I put my problem to a Christian Science practitioner, who promised to give me the necessary treatment, but advised me also to take all the human footsteps. I held constantly in thought two statements from page 542 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy: "Though error hides behind a lie and excuses guilt, error cannot forever be concealed," and, "Let Truth uncover and destroy error in God's own way, and let human justice pattern the divine."

It came to me that despite my previous failure I should again approach the same addressees. Almost by return of post I received another envelope addressed in the defendant's handwriting, together with its contents (including a copy of the defamatory circular) and a promise that the addressee would be prepared to give formal evidence of its receipt by him. When the defendant was confronted with this second envelope, his defense collapsed, a suitable written apology from him was secured and circulated to all the persons to whom the circular had been addressed; whereupon the action was withdrawn, as it had accomplished its purpose.

Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE
Testimony of Healing
As a young girl of seventeen I...
November 26, 1949
Contents

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit