Dear Journal:—I was brought up in the Presbyterian Church, but its creed failed to satisfy me in any degree, and at the age of seventeen I had turned away from all religion and found myself "without hope or God in the world." I had always been strongly opposed to Christian Science.
In 1891 I became one of Dr. Barrows' assistants in his preparations for the Parliament of Religions, and continued in this work throughout the Parliament. My opportunities were such that I had access to the audience halls at any hour. I met many of the foreign delegates and listened attentively to a majority of the addresses delivered by the representatives of the various great religions of the world, but still found nothing to satisfy me. My prejudices prevented me from attending the Christian Science Congress.
After the Parliament I was actively engaged in the publication and sale of the book "The World's Parliament of Religions," and in this work my attention was first called to the business methods of Christian Scientists, who very soon gained a reputation in our office for meeting their financial obligations more promptly and writing more courteous and concise business letters than any other of the many denominations with which we had to deal. But I still kept to my old attitude of opposition to Christian Science.
