Page:The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany.djvu/102

74 western sections of this country. Those from abroad and from the far West to a large degree are already in Boston. From now until Saturday night the inrush will be from the sections within two or three days' ride, and no doubt the night trains of Saturday will bring considerable numbers of belated church members from New York and elsewhere who will arrive in this city just about in time for the first Sunday service.

The Christian Scientists are here in force, and they are very interesting and agreeable visitors, even to those who are unable to accompany them in their triumph of mind over matter. Boston is indebted to them for one of the finest architectural achievements in this or any other city, and other denominations might profit by their example of paying for their church before dedicating it. It is a monument to the sincerity of their faith; and the pride and satisfaction that is not only evident from their addresses but reflected in their faces, is justifiable. They are an intelligent and a happy appearing body, and even if those outside are unable to believe that they have escaped from the bondage of the material world, it would be idle to attempt to deny them the satisfaction that springs from a belief in such emancipation. Our present relations with them are as the guests of the city, and as such they are welcome.

Within two weeks we have had here the representatives of the two poles of healing, the material and the mental, and each is interesting, one for its hopefulness and the other for its novelty. Whatever opinions we may