IT is by no means an easy task to write about the personality of any one who has become known to the world through his or her achievements, for the latter always seem to eclipse the former; and yet it must ever be true that the achievements spring from the personality, that what one does is the result of what he is. Long ago the great Teacher said that a tree is known by its fruit,—not by its stem, its leaves, its branches, or its root; and whatever we may choose to think or say, the test of the Master is inevitably the final test for every human being.
Of Mary Baker Eddy much has been written by both friends and foes; in all cases because she is the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science and the author of its text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." No one, however, can truly know Mrs. Eddy who does not understand in some degree this Science to which she has devoted her life, she herself having for long years given priority to her work over all personal considerations, these receiving attention only when their relation to this work was obvious.
It is not the purpose of the present article to deal with the question of Mrs. Eddy's earlier years, but to speak of her at her maturity, as she appeared when actively engaged in the work of the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, in the '80s, and also in later years. Her personal appearance at that time was very remarkable. Although she was then over sixty-five years of age, her hair was abundant and beautiful, of a rich brown color, while her complexion was as fresh as that of a woman of twenty-five, her figure erect and graceful, and her arms and hands exquisitely molded. It would have been extremely difficult to have guessed her age at this period, as there was a freshness not always seen even in very young persons, but there was also a sort of mental maturity to which few people attain, and that spiritual poise which is not swayed by the passing of the years, but which betokens a reflection of the changeless life of the Spirit. We have St. Paul's word for it that when the veil of material sense is taken away, those who behold the glory of the Lord "are changed into the same likeness;" and while the primary signification of this likeness is undoubtedly that of mind and character, it must also be expressed by the face, as in the case of Moses, when he caught foregleams of man's immortality in the holy mount.
