Page:The Life of Mary Baker G. Eddy.djvu/442

386 Arens, and Buswell, each in his turn, but to the eager listener it was always new.

By the spring of 1889 Mrs. Eddy had come to a crisis in her affairs. In spite of the brave fight she was making against those who had gone out from the church, and whom she chose to consider her enemies, she began to show the wear and strain of the eight preceding years. She had now reached the age of sixty-eight, the trembling palsy which affected her head and hands was growing more pronounced, and her fear of mesmerism amounted to a mania. Yet now, more than ever before, there was work for her to do. It was a critical moment in the history of her church. The movement was spreading rapidly, and new problems, incident to the growth of Christian Science, were presenting themselves for solution. In nearly every state the healers were coming into conflict with the law and public opinion, and her followers everywhere needed advice and direction. The "conspiracy" which had come to light the year before had shown her that the Boston church was not so completely under her control as she had believed, and she determined that something should be done to insure her domination of it in the future.

Mrs. Eddy had decided, too, to revise Science and Health, and to get out a new edition. In Boston her work was subject to continual interruption, and she was often irritated beyond endurance by the people about her. Mrs. Woodbury and Mrs. Stetson, in particular, had begun to wear upon her. Although Mrs. Stetson's success in building up the church organisation in New York made her indispensable, Mrs. Eddy distrusted her and was annoyed as well as pleased at her progress. Soon