Page:The Life of Mary Baker G. Eddy.djvu/477

Rh head. In another, Christ is represented as hand in hand with a woman who bears a tablet inscribed "Christian Science." Mrs. Eddy wrote the text of this grim gift-book, and a fly-leaf accredits the pictures to "Mary Baker G. Eddy and James F. Gilman, artists."

In 1891 Mrs. Eddy published Retrospection and Introspection, a volume of autobiographical sketches in which many of the events of the author's life are highly idealised.

At Pleasant View the members of Mrs. Eddy's household led a life vastly more peaceful than ever they had known in Columbus or Commonwealth Avenues. But discipline was by no means relaxed. Mr. Frye still had his bad quarter of an hour when it was good for him. Mrs. Eddy "turned against" the faithful Martha Morgan and packed her back to Maine. She tired of Mrs. Anne M. Otis, whom she had called to build up a Christian Science church in Concord, and sent her back to the West. Eventually even her adopted son went the way of all her favourites. There is no doubt that Mrs. Eddy was fond of Foster, and that his personality was extremely agreeable to her. She may even have dropped a tear upon his death-warrant, but she signed it none the less. The story of Foster's rise and decline is as follows:

At the close of 1892 Mr. William G. Nixon resigned his post as Mrs. Eddy's publisher, and was succeeded by E. J. Foster Eddy. Dr. Foster had had no experience whatever in publishing, but the position was a lucrative one and Mrs. Eddy desired her son to have it. She saw, too, a way to increase her own profits. Science and Health sold for $3.18 a copy. The