Page:The Life of Mary Baker G. Eddy.djvu/413

Rh From time to time members had asked to have their names withdrawn from the roll of membership, and for that reason had been expelled for "immorality." This dissenting faction had no mind to risk such dismissal, and, in the absence of Mrs. Eddy, and of Mr. Johnson, the secretary, they resorted to high-handed measures. Calling at Mr. Johnson's house, they persuaded his wife to give them the Association books. These they put in the hands of an attorney, and then told Mrs. Eddy that the books would not be returned to Mr. Johnson until she directed him to give them a letter of honourable dismissal from the Association. Mrs. Eddy attempted to patch matters up, and had Mr. Johnson send out to all the members a circular letter, in which she asked them to meet her and state their grievances. This letter reads, in part:

Our self-sacrificing Teacher, Mrs. Eddy, says: ". . . After learning a little, even, of the good I have achieved and which has been demanded and been associated with all of my movements since God commissioned me to bring Christian Science into this world of iniquity, they will learn how to estimate their [her movements] wisdom instead of traducing them. . . . At the first special meeting called in behalf of Mrs. Corner I was absent, not because unready or unwilling to help her, but that she needed no help, and I knew it. I was not at the second special meeting, because it was impossible, if I got ready for the trip to Chicago; also I wanted this conspiracy to come to the surface, and it has, and now is the only time for us to meet in Christian love and adjust this great wrong done to one [Mrs. Eddy] who has given all the best of her years to heal and bless the whole human family."

The dissenters, however, stood firm; refused to go to the Association meetings or to surrender the books. The matter dragged on for about a year, until they finally received their letters of dismissal, signed by Mrs. Eddy as president of the Association, and William B. Johnson as clerk. Thirty-six