Page:The Life of Mary Baker G. Eddy.djvu/344

296 to his father's house—the family had moved to Lawrence in the early '60's.

The Fryes were all calm, slow, and inarticulate. They kept to themselves, both in Andover and in Lawrence, and never went anywhere except to the Congregational Church, of which they all were members. In their church relations they were as quiet and unassertive as in their secular life. They went to service regularly, but evinced no special interest in the church. Indeed, their solitary manner of life seemed to come about from a general lack of interest in people and affairs, and they stayed at home not so much because of an absorbing family life as because they felt no impulse to stir about the world. The men were all good mechanics, regular and steady in their habits; Lydia, the daughter, was patient, industrious, and self-sacrificing. As a family, the Fryes were long-lived. Enoch III. lived from 1799 to 1886. His brother Andrew, now living, is between ninety-five and ninety-six years old, and a sister also lived to a great age. Careful, regular living and a systematic avoidance of any excitement long preserved the Fryes in health of mind and body. Certainly the forbears of Calvin Frye had done their best to sheathe his nerves for the uneasy office to which he was to be called and chosen.

Calvin and Lydia Frye first became interested in Christian Science through their sister-in-law, Mrs. Oscar Frye. Mrs. Clara Choate, a prominent healer in the Boston church, was called to treat the insane mother, whom the family believed was benefited by the treatments. Calvin took a course of instruction under Mrs. Eddy, after which both he and Lydia practised a little. After Calvin joined Mrs. Eddy in Boston, Lydia