Upon entering the new atmosphere of college life, a young student of Christian Science found that now, more than ever before, the suggestions to partake of alcoholic beverages and tobacco were strong and unrelenting, and the arguments subtly convincing and persuasive. It soon became evident to this student that almost all her friends, whom she looked upon as alert, up-to-date men and women, were following the very practices which she had been taught for years in a Christian Science Sunday School were erroneous and fleeting concepts of recreation. To add to her confusion, her English class chose as its project the interpretation of the Bible; and several classmates delighted in attracting attention to the questionable acts of some of the righteous men of old. Meanwhile, however, this student studied the weekly Lesson-Sermon in the Christian Science Quarterly daily, and read the periodicals in spare moments throughout the day.
One night she was informed by telephone that her friends would be late because of car trouble; so, taking advantage of these extra moments, the student opened the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, at random to the statement (p. 21): "Being in sympathy with matter, the worldly man is at the beck and call of error, and will be attracted thitherward. He is like a traveller going westward for a pleasure-trip. The company is alluring and the pleasures exciting. After following the sun for six days, he turns east on the seventh, satisfied if he can only imagine himself drifting in the right direction."
Immediately, the student realized that divine guidance had led her to this passage, and it became clear, too, that her recent tendency to be "in sympathy with matter" and to find "the company ... alluring" and "the pleasures exciting" was marking her as an inexperienced, foolish traveler along the paths of Truth. Holding in thought the spiritual facts of being, and Mrs. Eddy's definition of "man," she looked upon these companions in a new light of loving compassion rather than with the old, envious desire to participate in their amusements. During the evening, the student was aware for the first time of the wholesome and substantial fun many equally attractive college men and women were having; and she realized then that the outlook of her present companions did not compare favorably with that of the other group.
