As you know, after leaving Chattanooga in February, 1900, we were under small-pox quarantine for sixty days. Three of us escaped entirely; one had a slight attack which was conquered in three days; only the father of the family going through with the full claim in regard to that dread disease. It is of him I wish to write you more particularly. Since boyhood he has been troubled at times with a breaking out from poison oak. Since coming into Science it has appeared less frequently and was not so bad. When he first began breaking out with what afterwards proved to be small-pox, he thought it a return of the old trouble. It did not give way to treatment as usual, assuming a different form, which we then thought was chicken-pox. The case seemed much aggravated and we engaged help. Then came an investigation from materia medica, which pronounced it small-pox. We all submitted to vaccination, but it did not hurt us a bit—did not even know it was there. We had no treatment but Christian Science (what more did we need?) and used no material aids whatever.
You all know what the claims are in such cases; but each one was promptly met and overcome, the patient being confined in bed only three days. His hair came off, but grew again very quickly. Although there was a strong claim of loss of eyesight, his eyes, which had, previous to this, troubled him about reading fine print, were made perfectly whole. His weight was increased from one hundred and fifteen to one hundred and thirty-five pounds, and he is now in perfect health.
The slight attack of the youngest son and a very moderate case of varioloid was all that resulted from about five hundred exposures. Owing to our being in a county not prepared to care for such cases, we were all compelled to stay in one room, eat at the same table, and use the same things. How fortunate we were all Scientists! After a time we were "turned loose." We went on our way rejoicing and since have had many beautiful demonstrations.
