Thanks Skip (and CAF) for the old-fashioned Christmas wish. Don't think too much of my Christmas will be old-fashioned but my kids and grandkids make all their gifts which is pretty special. Have a wonderful week!

Whether Mrs. Eddy wrote "Taking Offense" or not, it is clear that she LIKED it, calling the author "wise" and adding it to the first ever Christian Science Journal, then again in a later Journal, then putting it into Miscellaneous Writings, so that's always been good enough for me! Thanks once again, Skip, for an amazing and comprehensive list.

Have you seen the book "A Most Agreeable Man" about Brackett by Peter Hodgson? He was a wonderful musicologist as far as I know - at least I always enjoyed his company at Asilomar and in Boston!

Thank you for spending your Saturdays in this way, so that I can spend Sunday morning enjoying and learning from what you have put up on Saturday! Such unselfishness - I love it!!!

WOW - what a treasure you are! This has been so much fun to read since almost all of it is new to me. I do have a few questions: What was the print date for the first pamphlet by Lyman P. Powell on Christian Science, entitled The Anarchy of Christian Science? Are all the letters from these catalogs now known and recorded, or are some still "missing"? Where is the first copy of Science and Health off the press, specially bound in morocco leather, presented by Mrs. Eddy to Daniel H. Spofford? Have you ever seen the Bible, dated 1865 from Philadelphia, inscribed by Mrs. Eddy (then Glover) to Geo. H. Allen? Thank you again and again for sharing your life work!!!!

Skip, Where was the reply published by CAF and Buswell? Was it also in the Woman's Journal?

Me too! I'm interested in it all :-) Is there still a good collection at 1st Church Pasadena?

I was hoping you would have some pictures of these books so that people who are not familar with them could see how beautiful they are...

I've never seen "Fruits of the Spirit" but I'm fascinated by it, as the reason for the "Obnoxious books" by law. I've enjoyed going through all of the correspondence about the book and the bylaw at the Mary Baker Eddy Library. Also, the MBEL mentions the book in an article they did on copy books recently. They record that the poem "Constancy" was originally written in one of Eddy's copybooks with the title "To My Absent Husband." There are two versions in the same copybook, the second one with the heading "Written Feb 1856 during sickness." So, she did repeat it - first with no indication of when it was written and second in 1856. Less than three years into the marriage, she certainly could have been looking at Patterson's empty chair wishing he was there. Maybe we'll never know the answer to that one... Thanks for the discussion!

Thanks, Skip (and Craig) Reading this, I not only found out about a lot I didn't know, but it pushed me to get out "The Life of Asa Gilbert Eddy" and keep reading. I had put it down right after Christmas and not picked it up again. So much to read as you both know... Some day I hope there is more available, especially on the supressions. Since I'm fairly new to all this, I've had the MBEL the whole time, for which I am extremely grateful!

Hey Skip - Ralph told me about Google alerts which I signed up for and this came up this morning on the one for MBE. What an amazing job you did on this. Thanks so much!