The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-01-20

other reason why Christian Science should
be treated with respect by right-thinklng
people. 1t is a religious Interpretation
instinct with moral idealism, dominated
by strong living faith-by love, hope
and courage. In a word, it Is importing
deep religious fervor and moral exalta-
ton to thousands of lives that had been
religiously moribund.
while the New York World was en-
gagged in its alleged expose of Mrs hgady,
Joaquin Miller, the famous poet Of the
Sierras, was visiting in Boston. Knowing
that the World was favorite daily with
Mr., Miller, | placed a copy each morn
ing in his hand One day he said:
While l am in Boston l wish to see
the christian Science temple and if L can
should like TO attend service there.
replied that the next meeting would
be held on the following evening, it being
the regular Wednesday evening testl-
mony meeting
Then let us CO. he replied.
Inc night was peculiarly disagreeable.
1t had rained all day long and was rain
Ing and blowing a gale when the time
arrived to go to the church. Still the
poet insisted on going. I expected there
would be few present, owing to the in
clement night, and I tried to imagine
how they would appear In the vast audi
forum; but what was our amazement
when We found 1000 people gather in the
church. Mr. Miller expressed his amaze
ment several times l asked him how
he explained the fact that so many peo-
pie were out on such a night and he, re-
piled:
These people are sincere. They be-
lieve and they feel their religion. l thank
you for bringing me here. as l have sell
dom felt so restful an atmosphere. :"
Mr.. Flower then touches upon the prac-
tlcal side of Christian Science. In writing
of its healing work. he states that
A large number, and indeed, | think,
a great majority of the members of the
Christian Science communion have first
become interested in its teachings through
being healed after they had vanly sought
health from many physicians, often being
under treatment for years and in many
instances being cured by Christian Sci
enee after doctors had passed on them
the death sentence by declaring that they
had incurable Diseases"
He cites three cases out of scores, as
he says, of scores that have come under
his own personal observation during the
past ten years. The most interesting case
Is that of Charles Klein. the famous
American playwright Mr.. Flower writes:
The final case / shall cite is that Of
Mr.. Charles Klein, the famous American
playwright. | take this case because MI {.
Klein, owing to his three great plays
which at the present time are the most
phenomenal successes of the day-'The
Lion and the Mouse The Daughters of
Men and The Music Master'-is one of
the best known men in the literary and
dramatic centers of America. No one who
witnesses these distinctly great plays
will doubt either the mental or moral
strength of the author. Mr.. Klein has
given the story of his wonderful cure,
which was so important to the American
stage in detail and from this story I
quote as extensively as space permits,
that my readers may have the great play
wrights own words:
L was born Jew, and brought up in
the Jewish faith. but I was unable to
reconcile it's ancient formula law, and
symbolism with the metaphysical and
scientific advancement of the age
therefore became at the age of fifteen n
confirmed skeptic, and as years went on
this skeptcism mellowed into agnosti-
cism, the plane of consciousness on which
Christian Science found me.
Being in the. world and of it, it re-
quired no special effort on my part to
accept matter as my basis of thought,
and thus God was logically excluded
from my basis of reasoning. Having no
faith In GOD, 1 naturally had no faith IN
good, in things unseen, but gradually ac-
quired belief in the power of evil this
belief being based on the testimony of
my personal senses. l became grossly
material and utterly selfish My highest
ideals, my gods, were success, fame,
wealth, beauty in externalized forms
arD. 1 nourished anger, revenge and
envy, was easily offended, and brooded
over supposed injury. | drank deeply and
often, I smoked continuously, gambled
and swore. According to the world 9
standards | was rated a good fellow, for
1 lived well within the pale of the civil
and social laws-in short. L lived a con-
ventional life. Thus l went on, life was
one round of mingled pleasure, PAIN
work, play. enjoyment, misery, health,
and sickness-making existence a chaos,
a self-evident contradiction, a burden. |
often asked myself what was the object
of my existence, what 1t meant. Theoi-
ogy, philosophy and science had spoken
but their replies had only increased my
perplexity. and ! endeavored to solve the
problem of existence myself by plunglng
deeper into the game of mortal life.
I was fairly successful in my profess
sion Chat of writing for the stage), and
had no financial worries, but my health
began to give way, my nervous system
broke down, and in a very short time I
counted among my assets, liver COM
plant, insomnia, dyspepsia, nervous ir-
ritabipty, and a constant dread of some
impending danger. an almost absolute
hopelessness, which state made not only
me but my family exceedingly unhappy. [
consulted physicians, specialists, alienists
even druggists, as to the possible REM
edy for my multifarious diseases I took
nearly all their advice, and as much ~
their medicine as my stomach would
stand.
Incpient melancholia set in, and I
took saddening pleasure. a morbid In
terest in thinking of the joys of oblivion.
Life had completely lost it's interest for
me. In addition to my own troubles,
my wife was almost an invalid. She suf-
fered from general debility, pulmonary