While I am not a member of the Christian Science Church, I am very much in earnest when I say that it has done much for me. I became interested in Christian Science about sixteen months ago. I was, on account of business, separated for nearly a year from my wife, she being in Missouri while I was in New Orleans, La., and during the time I received a letter from her requesting me to attend, if only mice, one of the meetings of the Christian Science Society in New Orleans, and to write to her what I thought of them, as she had become very much interested in Christian Science and thought of joining their church if I did not object.
My first thought was, "Is my wife going crazy?" We had, both of us, heard of such a society, but considered its members weak-minded and silly; yet, as she had requested me to attend one of their meetings, I took pains to look up the place where First Church of Christ, Scientist, gathered together for worship. I found it in the third story of a business block on Common Street.
It was a hot Sunday morning in June, and I almost regretted the step I had taken; however, I was ushered into a very neatly furnished room with about thirty worshipers in attendance; the Readers' stand was decorated with the choicest flowers, and everything in the room looked cheerful and bright; besides, all the faces looked bright, cheerful, and happy. I saw at once that I had judged them wrongly, for it was plain to be seen that the company showed refinement, culture, and intelligence, and did not consist of weak-minded and silly persons. The service was grand, and the teachings were clear and in perfect accord with the Bible. It was all very different from what I had expected. I was captivated, and at the close of their service, I was approached as a friend and acquaintance, and not as a stranger. It was all quite different from what I bad expected; that, together with the happy faces, made me feel that there must be much good in such people. While the next Sunday was very hot and rainy, it found me on time in attendance at their rooms in the third story, and I must say, from that time on, there was no place where it seemed so near Heaven as that room, the atmosphere seemed so different.
