I became interested in Christian Science in this manner: As a young man I was working as a salesman in a men's clothing store. I became ill with a nervous condition that often necessitated my asking leave to go home, many times as early as ten o'clock in the morning. My employer, who was most kind and understanding, permitted me to do this. I was so full of fear that when a streetcar became crowded, I would get off, and often I waited a long time until one would come along that was not crowded. I was afraid to sleep or eat, and I was a slave to medicine.
I had been going to a nerve specialist periodically for two and a half years. After a final examination he decided that nothing more could be done for me and recommended that I find a quiet place to rest. This I felt I could not do, since I was not financially able to quit my work. This interview with the specialist occurred early one morning, and after it was over I went on to work. A fellow worker asked me to go and see his doctor that night, and I intended to do so. Later that same morning, however, a salesman who came to our store, periodically, asked me how I was feeling. When I discouragingly told him the story of my experience that morning, he said: "I want you to do something, because I know it will help you. There is a Christian Science lecture in town tonight, and I want you to go. I am not a Christian Scientist, but my wife is; and I know what it can do in a home."
I told him that a friend in the store had recommended that I go to see his doctor that night. He replied that I could see the doctor any night, but that I could not hear a Christian Science lecture any night, and he urged me to go. I called my wife and asked her to meet me that evening so that we could go to the lecture. We got there early and stood near the door. The crowd quickly gathered around us and grew large, but I was not conscious of the crowd. Recalling this fact later, I realized that my healing must have started at the time of my decision to attend the lecture.
