XIII

TRAINING THE VINE--A STUDY IN MRS. EDDY'S PREROGATIVES AND POWERS

A Lady with a Lamp shall stand
In the great history of the land
_Motto upon the cover of the "Christian Science Sentinel"_

At the June communion of the Mother Church, 1895, a telegram from Mrs.
Eddy was read aloud to the congregation, in which she invited all
members who desired to do so to call upon her at Pleasant View on the
following day.[1] Accordingly, one hundred and eighty Christian
Scientists boarded the train at Boston and went up to Concord. Mrs.
Eddy threw her house open to them, received them in person, shook
hands with each delegate, and conversed with many. This was the
beginning of the Concord "pilgrimages" which later became so
conspicuous.

After the communion in 1897, twenty-five hundred enthusiastic pilgrims
crowded into the little New Hampshire capital. Although the Scientists
hired every available conveyance in Concord, there were not nearly
enough carriages to accommodate their numbers, so hundreds of the
pilgrims made their joyful progress on foot out Pleasant Street to
Mrs. Eddy's home.

Mrs. Eddy again received her votaries, greeted them cordially, and
made a rather lengthy address. The _Journal_ says that her manner upon
this occasion was peculiar for its "utter freedom from sensationalism