in Christ Jesus hath
made me free from the law of sin and death;" he took
pleasure in "reproaches" and "persecutions," because [20]
they were so many proofs that he had wrought the prob-
lem of being beyond the common apprehension of sinners;
he took pleasure in "necessities," for they tested and de-
veloped latent power.

We protect our dwellings more securely after a robbery, [25]
and our jewels have been stolen; so, after losing those
jewels of character,--temperance, virtue, and truth,--
the young man is awakened to bar his door against further
robberies.

Go to the bedside of pain, and there you can demon- [30]
strate the triumph of good that has pleasure in infirmities;
because it illustrates through the flesh the divine power

[Page 202.]

of Spirit, and reaches the basis of all supposed miracles; [1]
whereby the sweet harmonies of Christian Science are
found to correct the discords of sense, and to lift man's
being into the sunlight of Soul.

"The chamber where the good man meets his fate [5]
Is privileged beyond the walks of common life,
Quite on the verge of heaven."

CHAPTER VII. POND AND PURPOSE.

[Page 203.]

Beloved Students:--In thanking you for your [1]
gift of the pretty pond contributed to Pleasant View,
in Concord, New Hampshire, I make no distinction be-
tween my students and your students; for here, thine
becomes mine through gratitude and affection. [5]

From my tower window, as I look on this smile of
Christian Science, this gift from my students and their
students, it will always mirror their love, loyalty, and
good works. Solomon saith, "As in water face answereth
to face, so the heart of man to man." [10]

The waters that run among the valleys, and that
you have coaxed in their course to call on me, have
served the imagination for centuries. Theology religiously
bathes in water, medicine applies it physically, hydrology
handles it with so-called science, and metaphysics appro- [15]
priates it topically as type and shadow. Metaphysically,
baptism serves to rebuke the senses and illustrate Christian
Science.

_First:_ The baptism of repentance is indeed a stricken
state of human consciousness, wherein mortals gain [20]
severe views of themselves; a state of mind which rends
the veil that hides mental deformity. Tears flood the eyes,

[Page 204.]

agony struggles, pride rebels, and a mortal seems a [1]
monster, a dark, impenetrable cloud of error