OCR Text |
Show CHATTER. (Being tho personal opinions of tho writer and for which no ono olso Is in any manner responsible) ;LaBt week tho writer had a fow words to say anent Mrs. Mary Bakor Eddy and her denial of the fact that disease germs exist. Since then every individual acquaintance who bcliovcs Eftta In Christian Sclenco lias taken a fall H out of him. Pamphlets gnloro havo flf'l been mailed through tho postofflco, ono H'S kind-hearted scientist going to tho ox- Hjfl tent of violating tho postal laws by l writing a letter on second-class mat- Q l! tor, directing tho writer to "kindly 'flj j road" tho olllclal organ, a copy of Bill which wns enclosed. Recitals of mar- iff 're vclous cures havo boon poured into his ,Bvj SI oars, tho dlscnsos ranging nil tho way j from floating kidney to short legs. Tho W i latter is a whopper. It appears that mm a young woman was born with ono leg 'Eft shorter than tho other. At tho ago of twenty tho scientists got hold of her, Bj E treated her, whereupon tho short leg Wk I proceeded to grow until it reached tho H y length of tho other log. Why It did H not' keep on growing was not ox- K jS plained. Although not born in Mis- i 9 sourl, I lived thero long enough to Eg 1 become acclhnnted. Thoroforo I will K 8 havo to bo shown tho leg, together S I with a photograph beforo taking. Now a to savo tho Christian Scientists' time, to 1 I will simply stato that sending mo ,a 9 books and papers will do no good. I H havo road Mrs. Eddy's book and it in Mil o no impression upon mo what- A , over. I havo read a bushol of docu- H ments trciUIn" of tho samo subject nnd I 9 they did mo no good cither. Porhaps 3 twonty-four years' oxporionco as an I actlvo nowspapor man has disqualified m mo, nnd I plead guilty to tho fnct that jj witnessing tho deaths of sovoral chll- G 'Iron nnd adults that I am suro modi- E cine would havo saved has prejudiced M mo to a certain extent, becauso I am w honest when I say that no sort of nr- ml gument can convince mo that tho ac- 1 Hon of mind can romovo tubercles from C tho lungs affected by acuto consump- H Hon any moro than It can romovo W worms from a cahbago without tho fluid fl-uid of a stick. j But I didn't start out to quarrel or H to ontor into a controversy. Onco H Christian Sclenco and I got into a mo- H loo thoro wouldn't bo room in tho pa- M per for anything olso. What I cspo- K dally desired to say is directed to a M certain lady who In a sconted noto, m states that I am wrong when I say jpj , Mrs. Eddy denied tho oxlstonco of m gorms; that what sho said was sho nolthor affirmed or denied. Woll, hero A Is tho question and tho answer taken m I from tho Boston Herald and verified by la J Mrs. Eddy over her own signaturo: kU "Docs it (Christian Sclonco) dony j tho exlstenco of dlseaso gorms, or jS I merely assert man's superiority over sncn forces?' "Denies tho existence thereof." With these few remarks I will pass on to some other subject. H It Isn't often that I indulge in book reviews, nor is this a review in its en- w tirety, but I want to commend to tho J reading public the current number of ; ' that excellent magazine, The Crafts- ; man, published at Syracuse, N. Y. It i- contains a description of aboriginal I American homos by George Wharton j. I James, that is a stunner. Included j fi in tho story is a description of that al- 1 most unknown tribe of Indians, living NJ I south of tho Grand canyon, known as 4l tho "Supais" but which should bo f j lj "Havasupal." Tho writer called on a I J lot of them living up Cataract Creek V II some time ago and this description ! i brings to mind some of tho export-' export-' j j ences, which will not at this time bo i j related. Perhaps some day I may rush ; 1 1! Into print with tho yarns. But tho west- ; : orner, or tho easterner for that mat- II tor, who cannot read that story with J j zest, is no good on earth. Tho maga-I maga-I j" zino contains other attractive features v j i also and Is worth twice the money. Be- lore passing I tako occasion to correct I i tho editor of the Craftsman in a quo-I quo-I I tation. It' Is not written in Holy Writ: I S "By tho sweat of their brow shall men HK earn their daily bread," but "In tho In sweat of thy faco shalt thou eat bread." It- 1 1 Mr. Henry James complains that I j Americans mispronounce many words; I I that wo say "Cubar" for "Cuba." "va-I "va-I i nillar" for "vanilla," and so forth. Tho I attention of Mr. James is respectfully, Hip but none tho less earnestly directed to HI I the fact that wo manage to understand W each other just tho same. 10 is ! "The Holy Jumpers" hnvo had a row I up in Ogden over a young woman who ' joined their "pillar of firo" aggregation ! whilo hero In Salt Lake. They say f she doesn't do her duty as sho ought to; that sho will not fast nor abstain :! from doing tho things sho ought not j do; that her parents aro infidels and i1 honco, whon sho wants to go back i homo sho is wicked and cannot bo saved. At tho risk of being dolugcd I with a lot of literature from tho "Jumpers," tho writer will assort that ho agrees with tho young woman In u that fasting business. Fasting was first ' imposed as a health measure, for tho t?; relief of a tired stomach; to give tho 'J physical being rest from too much ' gastronomic exertion. Then tho churches got hold of it and mado a .)" penanco business of it. Fasting, un- ij der certain conditions, is absolutely wicked and to fast when tho body H needs sustenance is sin. Tho templo .. which wo Inhabit on earth was given V i us by Oinnlpotonco to keep and care - for so long ns wo can, and whon one i! neglects to provide material with j ,f, which to repair tho constant wear and iX tear on tho body, ono orrs. Fast' whon tho overworked digestive apparatus t "' needs rest, or when other portions of -'; tho body need it, but do not fast when there Is no occasion for it. Why should , tho blameless body bo compelled to , ) ' suffer for tho misdeeds and errors of W tho sinful soul? No reason whatever y',' can bo advanced for it. All this talk about lust of tho flesh is nonsense. ' i Tho flesh is but tho supine abiding .1 place of tho spirit, and does whatever i tho latter suggests, whon not affected with organizations that prevent it. - i. Then why punish tho body for errors J ' of mind, or wrong-doings of spirit? r & 'l I boliovo with old Josh Billings that I ) "tho time to eat is when a man Is : hungry," and never will, whon good i food is In sight and my body craves i for tho nourishment it is entitled to, - '5 1 will I ovor last. It' is against my creed ; to do so, and I should feel guilty of I sin against my earthly habitation should I do s5. I used to know a good , little soul of a woman who was a mom- f "bor of a church that demands penanco i from Its members. Sho thought sho was an awful wicked woman, did this dear girl. Although her neighbors know her as a kind-hearted person; although want never knocked in vain at her door; although sho was a loving and devoted wife, and mother of a very largo family that she brought up in tho moral walks of life; although she was a regular and constant attendant attend-ant at Divine service, sho held to tho idea that' sho was very sinful indeed. It was Lent and sho desired to do something to cxpiato her sins whatever what-ever they were I never detected them and sho had tho choice of either saying say-ing so many prayers per diem or fasting, fast-ing, and as tho cares entailed by tho presence of her numerous brood were such that sho couldn't go about praying pray-ing all of tho time, she chose fasting. Sho fasted, too, never doubt it. For forty days sho didn't cat enough to keep a canary bird nopping. At tho end of that time sho was a sick woman, nearly a wreck of her former self, and had to bo taken to a sanitarium. It took three months of careful treatment treat-ment to restore her to herself again and then sho did a lot of penanco, self-imposed, self-imposed, because she laid her Illness to. tho fact that sho hadn't been devout enough. Poor dear, sho is gono now; tho grass is green over her grave these many years, and here is ono individual individ-ual who believes she committed religious relig-ious suicide. It Is a safe bet I will not pass away as tho result or such treatment treat-ment of self, and I wish she had not, for she was a good woman and ought to havo lived out the full mcasuro of her years. |