Two years ago, when Spanish influenza first broke out on the Pacific coast, I was attending college. I knew at this time that a student of Christian Science had nothing to fear, so after I had declared the truth as we understand it in Christian Science, I dismissed the thought of Spanish influenza and went about my college work as usual. Toward the end of the first week, when the number of cases had greatly increased, the rumor went abroad that it would be necessary to quarantine the campus. I had been spending all of my weekends away from college and I looked forward to those weekly vacations with keen anticipation. I resented the idea of being quarantined on the campus and expressed myself against the injustice and foolishness of such a proceeding.
That afternoon I seemed to manifest some of the symptoms of influenza; toward night the signs were unmistakable. I was rather alarmed at first because I had considered my work complete. I went to my room and decided to solve the problem if it took all night. I opened our textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, and read. It was not until the real meaning of the word quarantine was unfolded that the healing was accomplished. I realized that man was always alone with God and that the only thing that he could possibly be kept from was evil; that I had associated with nothing but good, consequently I could only manifest good, God. At three o'clock in the morning the case was met, I arose at the usual time perfectly well and ready to attend my classes. When Friday came I was free to leave the campus and there was no quarantine during the epidemic.
The Christian Science Monitor was invaluable to me in my college work. The material found therein could be used to advantage in the classes, and the news was always reliable. I used it constantly as a source of reference and often in writing a theme or working out some problem of the day the Monitor would be my only source of information. Later in my experience as a teacher I found Christian Science an ever available source of good. Even though I seemed to be a great distance from a church or a practitioner, I found that I could always have direct communication with Mind, and every problem was solved when worked out in accordance with the teachings of Christian Science. The recognition of the relationship between teacher and pupil, the understanding of what teacher means and pupil expresses was worked out along the line of Christian Science. I had never been able to use my voice to any great extent without feeling the strain, and often during my first year as teacher my throat would ache so at night that I could not speak without severe pain. This condition was absolutely overcome in one treatment and I have suffered no return of this trouble.— Ketchikan, Alaska.
