Eddies

“ This was it;” and keeping time with his fore-finger, he slowly repeated—
“What is marred, make right;
What is severed, unite;
And leave where’er you pass love’s golden thread of light!” The hard features of the old man softened as he listened to the lisping child. “That’s the song, is it?” said he, stroking Eddy’s locks in rather an abstracted manner. “What is severed, unite,” he repeated to himself;—“here 118it is, What is united, sever!” and he glanced at George and his mother.
“That won’t do at all,” said Eddy, overhearing him; “that sounds bad—shocking bad!” ”

“ All this that I say of you, is true of me as well, Eddy. Unless it was, I might not be bold enough to say it. Only, the difference between us was, that by little and little there crept into my mind a habit of thinking about it, instead of dismissing it. My life is not so busy as yours, you see, and I have not so many things to think of. So I thought about it very much, and I cried about it very much too (though that was not your fault, poor boy) ; when all at once my guardian came down, to prepare for my leaving the Nuns' House. ”

“ Making fun of that shameless old swindler, Mother Eddy, is the only thing about it I take any interest in. At bottom I suppose I take a private delight in seeing the human race making an ass of itself again​—​which it has always done whenever it had a chance. ”

“ Eddy looked more thoughtful than usual, and, after a pause, his aunt went on: "And what return do many of us make for all this goodness and love? What is the conduct of many of those who bear the name of Christians? Do they care to please the Lord, or only to please themselves? When God invites them to His house of prayer, do they not neglect his invitation, and prefer any place of amusement? Would they not rather read any light book than the Bible, which is the word of God, and contains His gracious message? ”

“ Edred soon died, and left the kingdom to his little brother Edwy, a lad of fifteen, who soon married Elgiva, a young lady of good family, and took his wife's mother home to live with them. On the day of his coronation he had given a party, and the gentlemen, including Odo, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Dunstan, the monk, were still sitting over their wine, when Edwy slipped out to join the ladies. ”

“ Eddy’s standpoint, the less mind, the better; the less mind, the more Christian Scientists; the more Christian Scientists, the more revenue; the more revenue, the greater glory for impostors and charlatans. And, oh, wonder of wonders! God here informs us, if Mrs. Eddy speak the truth, that the loss of a human leg will be but a temporary inconvenience when man has advanced to the high stage attained by the wholly mindless lobster! ”

“ Eddy caused the world to wonder what she could have in mind to accomplish by this change of base for her household. The average commenter regarded the move as hazardous for one of her advanced years and believed that she could find no contentment in a new home after her long residence in Concord. But such commenters were basing their judgment on the facts of an ordinary life. An ordinary life has ceased to be concerned with the affairs of this world after entering the eighties and is willing to drift quietly with the tide. ”

“ Edred, the reigning king of England, was the brother of the murdered Edmund, and, in accordance with the custom of the day, had ascended the throne on the death of his brother, seeing that the two infant sons of the late king, Edwy and Edgar, were too young to reign, and the idea of hereditary right was not sufficiently developed in the minds of our forefathers to suggest the notion of a regency. ”

“ I can hear the splashing.”
“Some royal messenger, perhaps, from Edgar or from Edwy, my son. I fear such may be the case; yet I wish I could be left in peace, afar from the strife which must convulse the land, if the ill-advised brothers cannot agree to reign—the one over Mercia, the other over Wessex.”
“We have repeatedly said that we should be quite neutral, father.”
“And yet, my son, we offend both parties, and, I fear me, we shall be forced to defend ourselves in the end. But God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. ”

“ There was an Arden, child, whose blood is in your veins, who fought and fell at Barnet, crying shrill and fierce, 'Edward my King, St. George and victory!' And the young Edward, near him as he fell, called to a knight to lay hand to his heart, for Edward knew and loved him well, and had received of him money for a long-forgotten debt which young Edward's father would not press. So Edward called to a knight to lay hand upon his heart. ”

“ Eddy is not dictating servilities from her throne in the clouds to her official domestics in Boston or to her far-spread subjects round about the planet, but is down on the ground, she is kin to us and one of us: sentimental as a girl, garrulous, ungrammatical, incomprehensible, affected, vain of her little human ancestry, unstable, inconsistent, unreliable in statement, and naively and everlastingly self-contradictory-oh, trivial and common and commonplace as the commonest of us! ”

“ Eddy further says of her Science and her ministry:
Above the fogs of sense and storms of passion, Christian Science and its Art will rise triumphant; ignorance, envy, and hatred—earth's harmless thunder pluck not their heaven-born wings. Angels, with overtures, hold charge over both, and announce their principle and idea. ”

“ Eddy ably directed her students by love that was wise and counsel that was firm in the midst of dereliction, stubborn opposition, revolt, and schism to that state of mind and that perfection of organization that they found themselves self-operative under provisos which would prevent their straying from her teaching. And in doing this she succeeded in withdrawing her own personality from the clashing world of events, leaving only Truth enthroned for ruler. What wonder that with one accord the church bestowed upon her the loving title of Leader! ”

“ Burns, with a glance of meaning; "is not my photograph like?"
"What on earth do you mean?" exclaimed the astonished Eddy, opening his eyes wide, and fixing them on his aunt.
"Is not the likeness that of every soul that forgets and neglects the greatest of Benefactors—the best and kindest of Friends? Oh, Eddy what hath God done for us, can we number up a thousandth part of the benefits received from His love? Think of the heavy debt of sin, that sin which, unpardoned, is death! ”

“ You are really behaving splendidly, Eddy.”
“God! he thought we were cads!” cried Edward, in husky indignation.
“No—no—no—no,” murmured the older man, soothingly. “I only want you to grasp the thing as it is. You know me. You do not regard me as a foolish person who goes off half-cock. Well, I tell you that Christian here is the son of my nephew Ambrose, born in lawful wedlock, and that there is not a shadow of doubt about it. The proofs are all open to your inspection; there is not a flaw in them. ”

“ Eddy were related by the students which show her never to have forgotten those sterling habits gained from the guidance of a mother remarkable throughout her life for housewifely virtue.
Though occasionally entertaining her students at table and serving them with the food she prepared with her own hands, she was ever the teacher, writer, lecturer, organizer. If she sometimes walked on a pleasant evening with them to her favorite retreat on the beach, she never relaxed into the idleness of mere diversion. Spiritual realization was the constant theme of her conversation. ”

“ Eddy suspected a wasp, or a dragon-fly.
“No; a lovely little fairy, with gossamer wings, all spangled with silver and gold; and she held in her hand a fine glittering wand, not half so big as the tiniest needle!
“‘Oh, foolish children!’ she cried, in a soft, sweet voice, which sounded like the tinkling of a bell, ‘do you think life was made only for a plaything, and time given to be thrown away in folly! There is work in this world for every one to do, and everything is created for some use. ”

“ Edith was deeply agitated, and her cheek grew pale, as she murmured: “You are right in obeying your father, Edward; happiness never yet waited on one who was deficient in filial duty.”
“And is this all you can say, Edith,” exclaimed Edward passionately. “Is this cold approval all I can hope to receive from the object of my first and only love? Have not my every look and tone told you how deeply I loved you, and can you let me depart without one word of tenderness or regret? ”

“ It turned upon the subject of hunting and war, and the enthusiasm of young Edwy quite captivated the thane, who seemed to see Edmund, the father of the young prince, before his eyes, as he had known him in his own impetuous youth. Dear, indeed, had that prince been to Ella, both before and after his elevation to the throne, and as he heard the sweet boyish voice of Edwy, his thoughts were guided by memory to that ill-omened feast at Pucklechurch, where the vindictive outlaw Leolf had murdered his king. ”

“ And to mention but one thing more, that precious portion of time, the Lord's Day, which God has reserved in His wisdom to be an especial blessing to the soul, the time which he commands us to hallow—do not many rob him of it lot their own purposes; their business, their trade, their amusement? If ingratitude be hateful towards man—oh, what must it be towards God!"
"Aunt, you are hard upon me," said Eddy. ”

“ Eddy suddenly left Boston, driven from home, so she declared, by malicious mesmerism. The fear of it had for a long time completely dominated her, and it was now interfering seriously with her work in the college and church. She spent her time in talking about it; in treating and fighting against it, and in discovering and thwarting imaginary plots. She felt it reaching out to her, not only from her enemies, but from her most trusted students and friends. ”

“ He went up to Edward and laid a hand upon his shoulder.
"My young friend, when you are as old as I you will realize that in cases like this the less a man thinks the better for his nerves. Circumstances have removed you from the realm of intellect and heart. You are now simply the highest type of an animal, bound to preserve self by a formula, and that is the blunt fact." ”

“ It was rather a sad smile that the old man gave him, and yet it was very tender.
“‘My dear Edric,’ he said, ‘never say, when I am a man I will do good. There is hardly any kind of good work that a child may not help forward, or help to keep back. Will you wait till you are a man, Edric, before you begin to love Christ?’
“‘I think I do love him now, grandfather,’ said Edric. ”

“ But a careful analysis of the motives and experiences of the boy will show that the particular feature that Eddy admires in his hero is far removed from the ones that shock you. The boy is dreaming of travel and adventure, of the excitement of chasing or of being chased, of trying his ingenuity in conflict with the professionally ingenious minions of the law, of being brave in the face of danger, of testing his fortitude in the time of trouble, of the loyalty of his comrades to himself as leader, or of his loyalty to his chief when the latter is beset by his enemies. ”

“ At length the messenger looked up, and pushed his wooden platter aside.
“I have come to be the bearer of good tidings to you, noble thane. Edwy, your king, with a small troop of horse, his royal retinue, proposes honouring your roof with his presence, and asks bed and board of his loyal subject, Ella of Æscendune.”
“The king’s will is my law; and since it pleases the son of my late beloved master, King Edmund, to visit me, he shall find no lack of hospitality. But may I ask what sudden event has brought him into the heart of our country?”
“He comes to chastise rebellion. ”

“ In the first year of King Edmund the lady Edith presented her lord with his first-born son, to whom in baptism they gave the name Elfric, and a year later Alfred was born, and named after the great king. One daughter, named Edgitha, completed the fruits of their happy union, and in their simple fashion they strove to train their children in the fear of the Lord. ”

“ Now, little girl or boy, can you guess why I have written this story for you? It is that you may be grateful to God, who has given you a pleasant home and enough to eat; that he has given you friends to teach you about the Saviour, and that you may learn to do as the kind lady did—to pity and do good to those who are poor and distressed.
Eddy and His Fishes.
CHAPTER I. THE CRUEL BOY.
"EDDY! ”

“ The vividness of an old impression may also outshine a new one."
"And if this young man recalls the face of a woman, who we believe it possible—nay, probable—is his mother, and then the face of one we know to be her father, as a reasonable man, would you consider the story of this negro woman substantiated beyond the shadow of a doubt?"
"Beyond the shadow of a doubt."
"We shall try," said Edward, and then, after a moment's silence: "He is shy of strangers and you may find it difficult to get acquainted with him. ”

“ Edwy, King of England, and Elgiva, his queen, gave a great feast at their royal palace in London, a month after the events recorded in our last chapter; and a numerous company had assembled to do honour to their hospitality. Yet the company was very different from that which had assembled round the same hospitable board in the days of King Edred. First, the Churchmen were conspicuous by their absence; and secondly, all the old grey-headed counsellors, who had been the pride and ornament of the reigns of Edmund and Edred, were not seen ”

“ Eddy is the head and front of a powerful and rich organization, the leader of a movement that numbers many thousands of adherents, amongst them some thousands of more or less masculine men. She is Christian Science, and Christian Science is Mrs. Eddy. Anything that money can buy or fanaticism give is constantly at her disposal, and back of her, as behind the greatest and the humblest, stands the sovereign law. Whoever offends another, is accountable to the law ”