"Comfort our souls with love,Love of all human kind;Love special, close in which, like sheltered dove,Each weary heart its own safe nest may find;And love that turns aboveAdoringly; contented to resignAll loves, if need be, for the love divine."—D. M. Mulock Craik.
Grace looked very lovely, as she stepped into the carriage, when Mr. Carrington called for her. A suggestion of reserved feeling gave an added lustre to her beautiful eyes, and the faintest wild-rose tint in her cheeks made her a fit study for any artist.
She looks like Psyche just awakened. Can it be possible, that with all her charms, she was sleeping, before to-day? he thought as he took his seat beside her, thrilled with new hope.
He drove into one of the broad, quiet avenues that led out of the city and into a country road. "I thought you would like to visit 'The Glen,' and see its autumn dress," he said, as they came in view of the river over which lay the "Glen" road.
"I have been wishing I might go there, before the leaves fell, and this is exactly what I enjoy," replied Grace, looking out over the scene before her with a keen pleasure.
"Perhaps this is an answer to your wish. Sometimes I think our wishes are answered because of theirintensity," said Mr. Carrington, looking meaningly into her face.
"George Eliot says: 'The very intensity keeps them from being answered.'" What gave him the sudden, triumphant certainty that he could bide his time? She had lost all her haughtiness, apparently. He had never seen her in the mood of to-day.
"Aproposof wishes," he resumed, "which are properly thoughts, I have two friends in Boston, who can communicate with each other, no matter how far apart they may be. They call it the power of thought."
"Yes, thought transference. I am quite interested and fully believe it," said Grace, glad to have the opportunity of sounding him on this and kindred themes.
He glanced at her in polite surprise. "Indeed," he said, "are you acquainted with the subject?"
"Somewhat; I have seen enough to know it is founded on law," she replied, briefly.
"What law?" he asked, wonderingly, with a slight smile of incredulity lighting his face.
"Mental law, of course."
She then went on to explain to him something of her study of mental healing. At first he was rather skeptical, but on seeing her seriousness, he very soon grew sober and gave the most respectful and apparently absorbed attention. By the time she finished, he was really interested.
"I have often thought that some day there would be more light upon the philosophy of thought, but I was not aware it was so close upon us," he finally said.
"It is certainly much needed now," she replied, looking dreamily at the white clouds floating in the bits of blue above the trees. She was thinking how much it had been worth to her in her trial last night. He noticed the far-away look and wished he might know her thoughts.
What would have been his surprise, could he have been told at this moment how much he was already indebted to Christian Science? for had it not softened the cruel pride that had so encrusted her before? He knew nothing of this. He perceived a change in her manner and even character since he last saw her two years before, although even then his great love had been able to condone all weaknesses, or what others would call weaknesses. To him they were part of her lovableness.
When she so coldly rejected him, unlike most men, he had determined to wait patiently for her indifference to turn into reciprocation. He had recognized but one thing, the simple, supreme fact that he loved Grace Hall. In regard to her, there was and never could be any other thought. Inspired with such love as this, such sublime patience, such infinite hope, is it any wonder he looked into her eyes and read a hint of victory?
The time was drawing near. His two years of waiting surely gave him liberty to ask, and the right to receive.... As for that, love, such love as his, had royal rights and it would win its own way when the moment came. He would approach the subject gradually, talking about his coming departure, although he had mentioned that in his note, had evendared to tell her this must be his excuse for requesting an answer sooner than she wished to give it.
"Oh, what a lovely group of colors!" exclaimed Grace, involuntarily, pointing to a tree decked in the most gorgeous foliage.
"Shall I get some leaves for you?" he asked, anticipating her desire, and descended from the carriage.
Presently he returned, with his hands full of small branches. "They are lovely hues. Is there not something else you would like? I saw some beautiful ferns over yonder," he said, pointing to the spot.
"Will we have time? Iwouldlike to get out," she exclaimed eagerly.
"Time! 'There's time for all things,' Shakespeare says," laughed Mr. Carrington, as he assisted her to alight.
Grace was in her element amid the speaking grandeur of Nature's hills.
"Have you a sharp pencil, Mr. Carrington? I seem to have lost the one I always carry with me, and that grand oak tree I must have as a model."
He quickly sharpened one and gave it to her.
How beautiful she looked! He delighted to watch every movement of the deft fingers, to study every expression of the beautiful eyes and mobile mouth. He revelled in her beauty, because to him she was the personification of all that was lovely and noble and great. Her character he would have loved just as much had she been plain instead of beautiful, for his ideal was the inward, not the outward beauty, except as the two blended into one, as they did with her.
"You seem to be partial to the oak, Miss Hall. Is there any reason for it?"
"Yes, I am. It is a grand symbol of strength and firmness of character," she replied, still sketching rapidly. "I like to paint trees, for they express so much. Some show such kindly benevolence, with their broad, spreading branches and friendly shade, some are so graceful, with their tall trunks and delicately veined leaves, as though showing a fine, tender nature; while others are stunted and rough, with coarse, thick foliage. I place each one as to character and station, and they teach me many beautiful lessons."
"And they will teach me many after this, Miss Grace."
He wanted to say something more, but she was so innocently unconscious of anything but her work that he must wait for a better opportunity.
Having finished her sketch, Grace looked up. The self-consciousness that had scarcely left her, save these past few moments, now returned with painful suddenness. Her eyes met his, and a vivid flush overspread her face, but she said nothing.
"Shall we go?" he asked, holding out his hand to assist her. His eyes expressed the question his lips could not frame, but she did not see them. They went to the carriage in silence.
The road presently left the woods and turned into a broad country lane. Both had forgotten the proposed trip to "The Glen," but it made no difference. At last the undercurrent of feeling had burst through all reserves.
Mr. Carrington awaited the final answer, and what did she say?
It was the sacred page in a maiden's life that is read but once.
Grace had found in her lover a man who was broadminded and liberal enough to fairly consider these matters from a woman's standpoint. They freely discussed a married woman's rights and privileges, and both agreed that a wife should have an individuality after marriage as well as before. "I desired to express myself on this point before, my dear Grace," said Mr. Carrington, "because to my mind it is a mutual life, and should be a mutual development."
"It is, indeed. I have never looked at it in the right way, till the last few weeks. I used to feel that marriage was degrading rather than elevating, because it seemed as though a woman had to give up so much that really belonged to her, her name, her property, her freedom as an individual. But now I see that true marriage should bring freedom in the fullest sense of the word."
"In love there is no bondage," he replied, admiring her independent thought.
"Yes, but the world has a faint conception of love, the love that saves to the uttermost, and endures forever," said Grace.
"With such love there would be no danger of marriage degrading the individual, no need of divorce."
He spoke strongly for he felt strongly. Any one speaking from the depths of a heart-conviction, speaks with authority.
"The world needs to be lifted to a higher standard on these matters. The subject of marriage is too sacred to jest about, and people in general think it no harm to toy with the word and all that pertains to it with the utmost carelessness."
Grace was more like herself now. She was very happy in the thought that Mr. Carrington understood this as she did, but she was not a little surprised to find herself giving such free expression to her opinions.
"Indifference and laxity is the result of the trifling. My theory is that these things should be sacredly spoken of in the family, when boys and girls are growing up. That is the way my mother did," said Mr. Carrington reverently.
"Yes, the family is more responsible than society, for it makes society," she replied, secretly touched by the allusion to his mother.
She felt more and more confidence in Mr. Carrington. It seemed surprising to find how rapidly her love for him had increased since she gave it permission to grow. She did not realize that it had been a smothered plant before, trying to live without sunshine. Now it could grow in the warmth and brightness of beautiful day.
It was early twilight when they returned. Kate was waiting for her. The joyous light in Grace's eyes, though she tried to veil it, told the story. Kate put her arms about her, saying, as she caressed the rosy cheek:
"Lilybell is bloomed at last."
"Be cheerful: wipe thine eyes:Some falls are means the happier to arise.
Before the curing of a strong disease,Even in the instant of repair and healthThe fit is strongest; evils that take leave,On their departure most of all show evil."—Shakespeare.
For two days no letter came, and then Mr. Hayden received two, which he handed to the girls as he met them on the street the same evening.
"Can you spare them both?" said Kate, holding out her hand eagerly.
"Oh, yes; I am especially engaged to-night, and besides they are better together. I am rather glad for the delay. I was afraid the first one had miscarried," he replied.
The waiting had only increased their interest, and on reaching home they at once sat down to read the the two letters handed them by Mr. Hayden.
"Marlow, October ——.
"Dear John: I suppose you, like the rest of us, are anxious to know how the patient feels after such a vigorous denial of the seven evils. It is quite necessary to know what to do at this stage.
"After the treatment for special sins, James Martin comes with bitter complaints that he is worse instead of better. He tells a doleful story of how he sufferedall night; had chills and fever exactly as when he had the ague long ago; how he coughed and choked and broke out with something like measles, and was all the while so vilely sick it seemed as though he was about to die.
"As he is telling his pitiful tale, with perhaps a gleam of hatred, disgust or helpless anguish in his eyes, we are to sit calmly by and very soothingly give him the mental information that 'there is nothing to fear.'
"When he concludes his mournful story, we assure him in quiet tones that there is no occasion for alarm, as we know how to deal with these symptoms. Then, very gently and slowly, with a most self-possessed attitude of mind, we talk to him mentally something after this fashion:
"'There! James Martin, it is all right. Oh, no; nothing has hurt you, nor can hurt you. You are not afraid of anything; you know there is no reality in sickness; you are not suffering any inharmony because of fear or remorse for sin. It can not be possible for you to reflect fear or remorse from your parents, or the race or your daily associates. Neither is it possible for you to suffer from your own fear or remorse, nor mine. Remember, you are spiritual and not material, and can fear nothing. God is your intelligence, and you know that truth is all-powerful. Now, listen! You are happy, you are content, you are filled with blessed peace, 'the peace that passeth all understanding.' You know the Lord is your shepherd. He leadeth you beside the still waters. He maketh you to lie down in green pasturesnow, this moment. There is no future to God'spromises; they are in the eternal present. There! James Martin, a sweet ease comes to you, the burden is taken away; you are in the gentle care of Truth, which ever whispers, 'Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' Sh—h! Gently the arms enfold you, sweetly peace and love embrace you, and you are at rest; sleep if you like. Softly come sweet words of divine love to your waiting ear, 'fear not, fear not, for I am with thee.' Peace ... peace be with you, Amen.'
"This stage is called chemicalization, because our words of truth, dropped into the mind filled with error, produce a fermentation similar to the effect produced by the union of different chemicals. Sometimes the patient chemicalizes after the first treatment, in which case the second and third treatments are omitted.
"When the patient first comes to be treated, he might be likened to a last year's garden. His mind is filled with the roots and rubbish of the beliefs he has sown, and some of them are noxious weeds, deeply rooted in the mental soil.
"Cutting and keen are the words of Truth, and like a burnished plowshare, it enters the unsightly field and uproots everything in its path. We now do not mention sickness, because his mind is so unsettled and his active beliefs of disease all on the surface, so we gently soothe him into forgetfulness of his trouble, and quietly assure him there is no occasion for alarm of any kind. Thus, with the word of peace and assurance we smooth the rough, uneven soil, until it is pulverized and preparedfor the new seeds which are to grow and blossom into fair truth-flowers.
"To deny errors for him who believes so absolutely in them, is to dig down into the unconscious mind and rake up even the memories that are imbedded, hence his symptoms of ague, or measles or whatever beliefs he may have had.
"Because mortality dislikes to be told of its faults and consciously or unconsciously resents such telling, the violence of chemicalization only marks the degree of conscious or unconscious mental opposition, of which the bodily symptoms are the picture. There is no law for chemicalization, for some patients pass through this period without even noticing it.
"Sometimes instead of an excited feverish condition, which requires the soothing quieting thought, the patient is dull and sluggish, perhaps unconscious, as in fainting, spasms or something similar; then vigorous, rousing thoughts should be given—sharp, decisive and emphatic, as when awaking a heavy sleeper.
"When called to treat any one suffering from fever or any acute condition, we give the soothing, or peace treatment as it is sometimes called. Little children may be compared to mirrors, reflecting every thought around them. In treating them it is necessary to make the law—and the true word is always law—that they do not or can not reflect fear or belief of disease from their parents or relatives, taking pains to name each person strongly holding thoughts of fear for the little one. If it is a contagious and dangerous sickness, according to mortal thought, besides the near ones inthe family, deny that any thought of fear from the neighborhood or world can be reflected upon the child or manifested in this belief of sickness.
"Sometimes children are treated entirely through the parents, that is, the parents are quieted and assured of the truth concerning their little one—that it is living in the current of infinite Love, where no fear can touch it, no sickness come near it, no pain destroy it.
"Such cases require frequent or long-continued treatments, or rather long-continued thought of the Good, mostly affirmation, for very little denial is needed to cut the chains of error from a babe. Denial is to be applied more to the parents—the denial of fear.
"If we feel at all doubtful or fearful concerning our work, we are not at one with the divine Love, and must treat ourselves before we treat the patient. Be at one with omnipotent Law, and the Law will prove itself through you.Knowtruth and do not tamely believe it, then you may have marvelous proof of the difference between knowledge and belief, God-like understanding and blind faith.
"Mrs. Pearl very clearly answered the question which was asked concerning the meaning of Bible passages implying eternal punishment.
"There is always punishment so long as we are in mortal belief, but it is only in mortal belief we can suffer, for the spirit made in the image and likeness of God can not suffer, neither know suffering.
"The word everlasting should be translated age-lasting, to give the original meaning. Fire is a symbol of purification, and in the language of ancient times it was customary to use strong figures of speech.
"In the fifteenth chapter of John, wherein Jesus explains about the vine and branches, what could be plainer than his illustration of the dead branches? 'Every branch that beareth not fruit, he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit.'
"Every false belief is a branch that beareth not fruit, hence must be taken away and destroyed even as dead limbs are burned. Falsity or evil, being nothingness, can not exist because it is not of the real creation and is necessarily cast into the fire of purification, an illustration well understood at the time, since all the city refuse was taken to Gehenna, a place outside Jerusalem, where fire was always kept for the purpose of burning this waste matter.
"'Every branch that beareth fruit is purged'—that is, if you are a mixture of good and evil beliefs, you will have to be cleansed of the evil, before you can do much with the good. This cleansing process is quite properly named purging. This is what we undergo in suffering.
"'He whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,' means the good in us chastens us, cleanses us for the further working of the Good. Punishment, then, there must be, just as long as we believe in, and fellowship with error.
"Mrs. McClaren, a staunch Presbyterian, did not seem satisfied with this explanation, but Mrs. Pearl told her not to let the question trouble her, for if she would do the best she could with what she knew, in due time the solution would come to her.
"In the night it came. After she retired, the question kept pressing upon her so that she could not sleep.
"About two o'clock it seemed as though a great flood of light came, and with it the clearance of the whole problem. The texts on that theme became illumined as it were, and she could see how impossible it is for the spirit to suffer or be punished when it is like God who can not 'behold evil.' She came over this morning and told me about it. I will give you her explanation of Matt. xxv: 31, 32. 'When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.'
"The Son of man, consciousness of Truth, shall come (be developed) with all glorious thoughts (angels) and judge us in all our ways (nations) and shall discriminate between the false and the true, the evil and the good, then the good motives or good thoughts (sheep) shall coalesce or be set on the right hand with Truth, and the evil or erroneous beliefs (goats) shall be relegated to the left, the negative or no-side, and swallowed up in their native darkness which is nothingness.
"This is the key to the rest of the chapter, and it is in the same line with Mrs. Pearl's explanation, but Mrs. McClaren is delighted that it came toher. Now she feels as though a mountain had been lifted from her heart, so great has been her fear that Christian Healing would make her disbelieve in eternal punishment, which she had learned was an incontrovertible doctrine. Nowshe realizes that nothing but Truth itself is being revealed to her, and it seems that her heart will burst for joy. This may seem extravagant, but it is just what she said, and after all, you are used to enthusiasm since your wife is an enthusiast.
"Is it not wonderful? I ask myself over and over, and echo answers 'wonderful'! But oh, how ignorant we ever will be, unless we stop and wait for the spirit to tell us what is true! It is ignorance and foolishness that we have to contend with as much as anything else, for it is one of the thickest clouds that hide knowledge. Until we have learned to turn to the hidden fountain of wisdom, we are helplessly bound to error's ways.
"Even after we go forth from a class, and feel that we have been baptized with the spirit, we are afraid we will not be wise enough to answer the world's questionings of our faith, are afraid we may not know just how to proceed with a certain problem, afraid we will be too weak to do the things that come to us to be done.
"'Oh ye of little faith,' says the rebuking Christ within us—'why doubt your knowledge, when God is your wisdom? Why doubt your intelligence, when God is your intelligence? Why doubt your strength, when God is your strength?'
"As we realize there is but one Mind, and that it is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, the influence of all other thoughts will fade quite away. It is because we recognize the carnal mind whose thoughts are frivolous, vain, wretched or miserable, that we are unsettled and dissatisfied. There can be no foundation, no sense of security, to the one who is continually listening to other than the Good.
"Know all wisdom through the universal Mind, and whoever draws his knowledge by inspiration from this source shall become as one with you, and we all shall be as one with the supreme Mind.
"There is an indelible but invisible stamp of truth marking the utterance of those through whom this Mind is expressed, and the invisible something within us, sometimes called the 'Spirit itself,' sometimes the 'light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world,' will recognize and appropriate its own. If we keep this judgment faculty unbiased, it will lead us to choose the books we read and teach us how to separate the wheat from the chaff. It is best to read the thoughts of one writer until we understand the root, branch and growth of his inspiration. It is not well to go from one author to another while we are young in the thought, any more than it would be well to take a music lesson from a different teacher every week.
"We must remember that 'he that doeth the will shall know of the doctrine,' and to start out with the Divine will as our guide, as we do when we say, 'God works through me to will and to do,' is to grow in knowledge of all that pertains to the doctrine of the blessed truth that sets us free.
"Never talk of failures, or be discouraged by them, because many times the discouraging outlook is but the prelude to a bounteous harvest. Work with an undaunted faith in the mighty Invisible, knowing that you serve the only Power, are governed by the onePrinciple, Infinite Justice, that ever rewards according to service. Doing your best, the Best rewards you.
"Under all circumstances we declare our unfailing wisdom because we ask of the Good. We can not foolishly be led away because judgment to do is always with us.
"This is the fifth stage in the patient's progress, and we treat him for ignorance and foolishness as possibly reflected from the five different sources. Deny that he can be ignorant of the truth, or foolish in believing error. Affirm all strength and courage and steadfastness. He comes to-day with an uncertain ring in his voice. He is undecided as to what to do; is weak and nerveless; can not tell whether he is better or worse. The treatment for strength and courage will bring him back to Truth, and he will brighten and revive under the warm influence of your sunny faith.
"One more lesson! I shall be glad, yet sorry, when it is over. Oh, what an experience this has been! Surely, I shall never be such a weak, impatient woman again. Thank God! Now I know what there is for me in this beautiful world.
"Good bye,"Marion."
"Build on resolve, and not upon regret,The structure of thy future. Do not gropeAmong the shadows of old sins, but letThine own soul's light shine on the path of hope,And dissipate the darkness. Waste no tearsUpon the blotted record of lost years,But turn the leaf, and smile, oh smile to seeThe fair, white pages that remain for thee."—Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
"Marlow, October ——.
"I suppose this is the last letter I will write on the lessons in Christian Healing, but I will be faithful as ever, even though I tell it all over again when I see you.
"Everybody looked regretful enough when they went into the class room to-day, but a hundred fold more so when we went out and the good-byes were said. It means so much to us all. We have passed through twelve lessons which may symbolize twelve epochs or stages through which we proceed from ignorance to understanding, and understanding to complete demonstration.
"We have been together scarcely three weeks, and yet so much has been uncovered that we stand face to face with our real selves. All that was conventional has been laid aside in our intercourse, and the best and sweetest and most sacred phases of our lives laid bare, so that we have had a clear glimpse of God's childrenas they are, not as they usually appear; and indeed it gives us better courage and stronger faith to go forth into the world again, knowing that the possibilities of one are the possibilities of all, for 'God is no respecter of persons.'
"I know, perhaps better than some of the rest, that we shall be walking in the valleys many times when our eyes are on the sun-crowned heights, but if we can be patient and earnest, our feet shall reach the fertile slopes and sunny grass lands of well attained effort. My experience of the past shall be only a stronger incentive to perseverance in the future, and while it seems human to fall, it is divine to rise, and knowing the divine privilege of proving divinity, I trust God to work through me in my daily effort. So said we all when we left the class room to-day, and with a holy consecration to our new-born faith, we trust we shall ever grow in grace and wisdom as God's children, according to the promise.
"Mrs. Pearl spoke of our method as the science of silence, and told us not to be zealous without judgment, not to speak when silence would be golden, not to act so as to bring reproach upon our cause or ourselves, but remember to 'avoid even the appearance of evil.' She said many in their first joyous enthusiasm and overwhelming conviction would indiscreetly tell people 'there is no matter,' for instance, so eager were they to bring everybody into the sweet liberty of the spirit; but the world not being ready to properly consider the subject, would of course ridicule and argue hotly against such a statement, so that false opinions wouldspring up and most absurd practices and claims be attributed to Christian Healing.
"Our system should have a dignified place in the world's opinion, and if we want to help give it that place, we should aim to be living representatives of the principles, maintain a dignified attitude regarding it, and if we can answer any questions pertaining to it, let our answer and manners be ennobling and Christ-like.
"We never argue audibly with unbelievers. Argument kills the spirit of any religion, and the person who desires to prove his position by argument is not ready to be convinced by the spirit. If you are obliged to carry on a conversation with an argumentative person, silently deny all his statements of error, and with calm positiveness affirm for him intelligence, wisdom, and a desire to know truth. In other words, recognize his spiritual self, which is in perfect peace and harmony, and the outward disturbance or inharmony, which is simply nothingness expressed by him, is annulled. Possibly you may seem obliged to submit and listen to him. Never mind. Carry on your silent thoughts scientifically, and constantly think truth. Thus you will plant a seed that shall bring forth beauteous blossoms, excellent fruit.
"Whenever you hear error talked, deny it. This is 'shutting your ears from hearing of blood, and your eyes from seeing evil.'Anyerror must be denied in order to see the proof of its opposite truth.
"If everybody would learn to deny all the slander or gossip they hear, we should soon have a new socialworld. Cruel tongues would cease their wagging, timid hearts could breathe again, and fair names bloom in every home.
"This would be the beginning of a much needed reform in the daily press. Poor editors, they are obliged to fill orders, like the cooks and waiters serving the gentlemen and ladies in the elegant dining-room, ladies'ordinaryand ground-floorcafé. Alas! that the discovery should not be made by everybody, so they could send in different orders. How gladly would the bill of fare be changed!
"But there is nothing more certain to change it, than the little leaven of truth dropped in the highways and byways of daily life. We must 'be diligent in season and out of season,' silently as a rule, but at times audibly, perchance forcibly, for some minds seem so dull and sluggish as to need a startling thunder-clap to awaken them from their slumber of ignorance. Thus some patients that come to be healed must be told sharply and definitely how to think or what to say, for sometimes it is necessary to make them say their own word of healing, they are so completely absorbed in material beliefs.
"We grow more in wisdom and spiritual judgment as we proceed faithfully along our way of scientific thought and living, and thus have an unerring insight into what we shall do and say in order to give to each the healing gospel.
"When we go to church we ought to acknowledge and emphasize every true statement made by the clergyman with our silent affirmation, and as emphaticallydeny every erroneous statement, that we may turn the tide of Truth into a broad stream of spiritual uplifting for the whole congregation.
"Should the minister be inclined to speak about the awfulness and power of God's wrath and punishment, we can silently assure him that God is a God of love, not wrath, and tell him he desires to present only thetrueside of religion. Some people might say this would be wrong, to dictate to any one how they should talk, but you will notice that it is not dictation of action, but rather recognition of motive—the true motive of the true self. We have a right to recognize the highest and best of every person. Indeed, we are going directly opposite God's commands if we acknowledge any but the good creation, which is the spiritual.
"What can the spirit, which is perfect, made in God's image and likeness, have to say of God's anger or punishment, when it knows neither, inasmuch as it is pure as the Father in heaven? 'Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?'
"Not only in the social circle and in the church, but in all kinds of work, in all affairs of business, and above all, in the home, must we thus live up to our principles which soon prove our sublimest theory by our sublimest practice. And, blessed privilege, we do not need to understand all, before we can begin to demonstrate our precious religion.
"We need not worry about the burden of to-morrow and thus drop that of to-day, but only carry that of to-day with the strength that is given for the day. 'Consider the lilies of the field,how they grow;' dailyappropriating their portion of sunshine and air and dew, they unfold and blossom, exhale their fragrance, display their matchless beauty, thus fulfilling their appointed mission; so we may unfold and blossom into rare excellence and strength of character. Refreshed by the dew of a pure purpose, nourished by the sunlight of true thoughts, fed by the all-abounding manna—the living word, we soon grow strong enough to withstand driving tempest or boisterous gale.
"Mentally we are quickened, learning to discern the opposing force in ourselves, and meeting it with the sharp sword of truth, lay it low at once. But it requires practice to wield this spiritual weapon; it takes judgment faculty to discover whence comes selfishness that exhausts and weakens; whence comes the material or sensual thought that sickens and wearies, or the jealousy that poisons and embitters the life-forces.
"Faithfully and diligently do we use the word of denial, that sets us and our patients free from these subtle enemies; faithfully and earnestly we affirm all truth and purity and goodness as our portion, as our strength, our refuge, and our defense.
"By the blessed law, when we have thus cleansed ourselves, we become at one with the one Life. We intuitively draw to ourselves the best quality of friendship and give forth the best; we seek the most uplifting and spiritual literature, because it gives us a fresh baptism of spiritual light, which in turn we give to others, so there is a continual receiving and giving, a continual blessing and being blessed.
"'Henceforth I call you not servants, but friends,' said the Master before his departure. Now 'the servant abideth not in the house forever, but the son abideth forever.' We came as servants to be taught. While in our ignorance, we were the servants or inferiors; knowing the Truth we became free, and henceforth are brothers, sisters, 'heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.' We now claim our inheritance, the privilege to enter into the kingdom and possess the land, our royal birthright. In this kingdom are 'hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.'
"The patient who comes to us must on this day be told of the royal gift of health, and we may say: 'Now are ye clean through the word I have spoken unto you.' He, too, must now become the friend, and need no longer be the servant. When he first came to us he was like a little child that had lost his way. We could not show him the way to the velvet slopes of health without taking hold of his hand and leading him through the thickets and underbrush in which he was lost. So we graciously reached down to him, by talking of things with which he was familiar, of animal passions, of selfishness, of sin. We gently and kindly showed him they were not the true, proved to him that his belief in them had led him off the right path, and talked to him of brighter, better, truer thoughts that led to smiling skies of hope, to balmy airs of peace.
"Each day we assured him of his true inheritance, and now we confidently assert that he is in full possession of it. Now he is ready to believe the affirmation without the denial, because he is convinced that theaffirmations are true, and he comes to us this day with clear, clean eyes, and a child-like joy in his recovered health. We give him the final word, the benediction, the binding assurance of his birthright.
"Realizing as we must ourselves the wondrous truth concerning his real self and all which that implies, we impressively and with the most thrilling conviction affirm for him that only health, strength, joy, courage, peace, satisfaction, can come to him as the child of God, the idea of Mindinthe power of the Thought that thinks him into being. We assure him that he can recognize and reflect nothing but Good, that he can manifest only the Father whose son he knows himself to be. Nothing but Mind can affect him. He is like a column of light against which no darkness can be thrown; like a true answer to a problem which any number of wrong answers can not change. Spiritual like God, he can only recognize and appropriate what is God-like. Henceforth he knows himself and his Father, knows that whatever he may ask (realize) will be granted unto him. Knows that he must acknowledge the Truth, and he will abide in the kingdom of Good.
"We send him forth with all the blessings he can desire, because we have realized for him the possession of those blessings. Knowing that God is all there is, and that our patient lives, is moved and has his being in God, we point with unerring finger to the sunny uplands of health. He can never more relapse as he will ever walk in the open fields of Truth. We bid him God speed on his journey, and thank God that he has comeinto the consciousness of life everlasting, into health and joy without measure. So be it forever more.
"The thought of perfection should be held steadfastly, even though the patient do not manifest health at once. No matter if the cure is not effected in one, two, three weeks, or even as many months, hold fast, with unwavering faith (even if you do not give regular treatments all the time, and it may be well to skip a week or so occasionally),knowingthat good seedmustbring forth good fruit; when, where or how, you nor no other may know. Time is unthinkable with God. We are dealing with Principle, not time. We plant the seed, 'God giveth the increase.'
"Do the best you know, and work out your own problems. No one else can do that for you. Jesus gave us the key, showed us the way; more than that he could not do. We must live our lives and maintain our place by our own efforts. It is 'he that overcometh' who receives the supreme gift of eternal life."
"May I reachThat purest heaven,—be to other soulsThe cup of strength in some great agony,Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love,Beget the smiles that have no cruelty,Be the sweet presence of a good diffused,And in diffusion ever more intense—So shall I join the choir invisible,Whose music is the gladness of the world."—George Eliot.
"Mrs. Hayden's was a joyous home-coming. No sooner was the first rapturous welcome from children and husband received, than in came Grace and Kate, who, in their eagerness to see her, had scarcely been able to let her have the first half hour to her family.
"I think you will have to include us in your family, Mrs. Hayden, for we could not resist the family welcome, said Grace, smiling with happiness, as she grasped Mrs. Hayden's hand and drew Kate close beside her with the other.
"Youareincluded my dears. There is but one family you know," was the cordial reply grasping the hand of each.
"What a change in you, Grace—Kate—why, I should hardly know you," exclaimed Mrs. Hayden, after the first excitement was over.
"Grace has lost the cloud of perplexity and doubt,and Kate the expression of fear," she added, turning to Mr. Hayden with a pleased surprise.
"Didn't I tell you they were both growing beautiful?" was his laughing answer. "But girls," he added, "don't you notice something different in Mrs. Hayden? That is quite wonderful, I think."
"Really, Mrs. Hayden," exclaimed Grace, with wonder, "you are not nearly so fleshy are you? I can hardly define the change, if that is not it, but I noticed something the moment I saw you."
"I have lost something in weight since I left home," she replied, somewhat amused at their looks of astonishment.
"Your figure is so much better proportioned, too," continued Grace.
"And your complexion clearer," added Kate.
"Do tell us what it all means. You certainly look better than I ever saw you," said Grace again.
"I am quite thankful she came home before all resemblance to my wife was lost," said Mr. Hayden, with a hearty laugh, as he looked at each in turn.
"Well, be serious now, and I will tell you something after I have put the children to bed," said Mrs. Hayden, cuddling the sleepy Jem in her arms. Fred and Mabel stood beside her, frequently interrupting the conversation, for they, too, wanted to share the good time with mamma. When Mrs. Hayden returned, she resumed.
"It may seem strange to you as it did to me at first, but I see it clearly now, that desiring, searching and living for right, brings the body into harmoniousexpression. If we think truth, we see it expressed in harmony, beauty, symmetry, because the external is the expression of the internal."
"It was particularly by the denial of matter that I lost the superfluous flesh, for since I was too fleshy to be of symmetrical form, it was superfluous and——"
"Did you know the denial of matter would have such an effect?" interrupted Kate.
"No, not till I heard some of the rest of the class speaking of it, and then I could hardly believe it, but after I understood the theory better, of course it seemed more reasonable."
"It is both wonderful and reasonable too, I think. Why didn't you write something about it?" asked Kate again.
"Oh, there are many things that can be told better than written."
"And many things that can be thought better than told," added Grace, thoughtfully.
"Another lady in the class had about the same experience," said Mrs. Hayden.
"But tell us the scientific reason for such an effect?" continued Grace.
"I will, as well as I can. Have you noticed that it is people who are materially minded in their tastes and habits that are apt to be fleshy?"
"That depends upon what you would call materially minded," was Grace's smiling reply.
"I mean those who like what the world calls the good things of life—those who think a great deal ofmaterial pleasures or environments, and find it comparatively difficult to think or realize spiritual things."
"Oh!—--yes, I believe that is true, although I have never thought of it," said Grace, slowly.
"Because the denial of matter makes all these things secondary, the effect of the new thought is to make the body more spiritual."
"Of course! Why could we not see it before?" was Kate's conclusive query.
"What effect then, has this denial on lean people?" asked Mr. Hayden, more seriously, for until now he had been inclined to regard this as a little 'far fetched,' as he would have expressed it.
"It does not effect them like the denial of evil, because material things are not so important to them, while they are apt to be pining and fretting about the evils and ills in the world, either as touching themselves or humanity in general. Denying evil and evil conditions would then have the opposite effect, and cause them to gain flesh, or grow into the expression of physical harmony to correspond with the spiritual."
"This is only a higher reading of what we have already learned, and it is lovely to know we may go on indefinitely, ever reading something new," said Grace.
"Now tell me something of whatyouhave all been doing?" said Mrs. Hayden, as she looked at Grace.
"Oh, Kate has been doing some wonderful treating among her pupils, and the patients we took up, are all doing nicely."
"Grace is very modest. She doesn't say a word ofhow quickly she cured me of neuralgia, or a horrible fit of the blues," supplemented Kate, looking fondly at Grace, who had become dearer than ever since their confidential talks.
"Mr. Hayden has a good report for himself and the children, too, though I suppose you have heard from him," Grace remarked with a smile. He looked rather pleased at her thoughtfulness, but said: "I would rather hear more from Marion. Were there many cures in the class?"
"Several. Mrs. Dexter, the lady I mentioned in my letters as having been a long while under the doctor's care, went home perfectly well, and Miss Singleton also, of whom I wrote. A gentleman who had been in a previous class told his experience. His right arm had been fractured in the army. Orders were given that it should be amputated, but by the intervention of a physician with whom he was acquainted, the arm was saved, though he had never been able to use it much. At times it was very painful. It was so weak he could scarcely lift a plate of bread to pass it at the table. After a few lessons, that arm was just as well as the other. In his joy he told everybody. When the doctors got hold of it, they laughed at him saying if that arm was as large as the other in six months, they would believe there was something in Christian Healing. In six weeks it was as large and strong and sound as the other."
"That was remarkable," said Mr. Hayden, speaking for all. "Did you hear anything about treating animals?" he added after a momentary silence.
"Oh, yes. We may think of an animal as the perfect expression of God's thought, as manifesting the true Life, the same as human beings."
"After all," said Kate, "that is something we ought to expect, for are we not promised dominion over all things?"
"Certainly, and we are not proving our right, till we prove the dominion," answered Mrs. Hayden. "It is a beautiful thought to me, and several of the class told of successful work in this line. One lady had treated a frightened horse, and made him so gentle any one could drive him. It is mostly fear that is reflected upon animals. They manifest thought, even as humanity does."
"I have often noticed horses. They are apt to show the same disposition as their masters. This explains it," said Mr. Hayden thoughtfully. "Why didn't you write about all this?"
"I was afraid it would be too strong meat for you, for I could scarcely realize it myself."
"It seems as though we have had so many wonderful suggestions it will take a life time to understand them," remarked Kate.
"There is no end to the study of Infinity," was Mrs. Hayden's reply.
"How do you account for thequickcures?" interposed Grace.
"It all depends upon how quickly one receives the consciousness of Truth. That is the healing process. But there are not very many quick cures, comparatively, though it is the quick cures we should aim for andexpect, for the cure is always in the degree of our realization of the allness of God.
"Another of the older students told of some wonderful absent healing. A lady that had been four years an invalid, and given up to die by five physicians in the place, was healed in three weeks by absent treatment."
"Is that considered as effectual as present treatment?"
"There should be no difference, because we ought to realize that with Truth there is no space nor time. All is the eternalnowandhere. Some prefer to give present treatment, especially in acute cases; with others absent treatment seems more effectual."
"I am glad to hear that, for I feel that I can do better absently," said Grace, with a look of relief.
"But tell me," questioned Kate, eagerly, "have all persons the same gifts?"
"In the germ, yes; but all are not equally developed. We enter this study in different stages of unfoldment. Some heal quickly, others slowly; some teach naturally, while others find it more difficult, especially at first. We develop the gift we desire to use by continually claiming it and using it, and bye and bye we shall marvelously prove that we have it. In Love we recognize no partiality, no time and no place, and thus we can truly say all we desire is truly ours."
Grace laid her hand on that of Mrs. Hayden, saying:
"Words can never express our gratitude to you both for your extreme kindness in allowing us to read your beautiful letters, Mrs. Hayden. They have madelife seem entirely different to us." She was deeply in earnest, and her quivering lip spoke more than a volume of words.
"Grace speaks for us both," added Kate, huskily.
"Dear friends," replied Mrs. Hayden, much touched herself, "I am glad, yes, more than glad, that you can speak so of my letters, of which the greatest merit lies in their simple earnestness—." She ceased abruptly, and for a few moments all were silent....
It was a silence too full for words. A door had opened—a morning dawned for each of them. The mysterious future verged into the mighty present. All that was grand and noble and tender filled the measure of their aspirations. The world surely might enter into their joy, for their joy surely entered into the world.
Mrs. Hayden broke the silence, saying:
"'Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.' Many years have I asked and sought for the kingdom of heaven, but never till now have I found the right knock."