Mary Baker was the daughter of Mark and Abigail (Ambrose) Baker, and was
born in Concord, N.H., somewhere in the early decade of 1820-'30. At the
time I met her she must have been some sixty years of age, yet she had the
coloring and the elastic bearing of a woman of thirty, and this, she told
me, was due to the principles of Christian Science. On her father's side
Mrs. Eddy came from Scotch and English ancestry, and Hannah More was a
relative of her grandmother. Deacon Ambrose, her maternal grandfather, was
known as a "godly man," and her mother was a religious enthusiast, a
saintly and consecrated character. One of her brothers, Albert Baker,
graduated at Dartmouth and achieved eminence as a lawyer.
MRS. EDDY AS A CHILD
As a child Mary Baker saw visions and dreamed dreams. When eight years of
age she began, like Jeanne d'Arc, to hear "voices," and for a year she
heard her name called distinctly, and would often run to her mother
questioning if she were wanted. One night the mother related to her the
story of Samuel, and bade her, if she heard the voice again to reply as he
did: "Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth." The call came, but the little
maid was afraid and did not reply. This caused her tears of remorse and she
prayed for forgiveness, and promised to reply if the call came again.
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