I heard of Christian Science over ten years ago, while I was staying with friends in Canada. I did not know at first that they were Christian Scientists, but soon understood that they had something I lacked, something that seemed so peaceful that when I learned they were Christian Scientists I just walked into Science without hesitating; and since then I have known only blessings.
Five years ago our little boy, then a baby just able to walk, fell down the stairs, first two steps with his face on a hard fiber footmat, then nine steps, bumping his head heavily on every step. I picked him up and found him looking white, and took him indoors, holding him in my arms. I was at a loss just at first, and presently the landlady came in. It had seemed hard to live on peaceful terms with her. I thought if she would only retire I could treat the child, but soon the right thought came, and this was how it occurred. She offered first a glass of water, then asked if I would go downstairs into her garden for a while so as to be in the fresh air. Presently the words of the Bible came to me from Acts, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee." I said to myself that this woman was offering with a kind heart all she had, a glass of cold water, and I would take it—and the baby at once recovered. Later in the morning, however, as I looked at him I saw one of his cheeks all blue and purple. But at once I denied the error, and the discoloration promptly disappeared.
A few weeks later the same baby poured over his head a bowl of boiling soup. I picked him up and started to sing, "O gentle presence" (Poems, p. 4). When I started the second stanza the child was singing with me, all pain having stopped in less than five minutes; and all the burned spots were perfectly healed within four days.
