The death of Mr. Harold Frederic, the well-known author and journalist, occurring, as it has done, so soon after that of Major Lester, brings Christian Scientists into rather unenviable notoriety. Tu both cases prayer instead of medicine was resorted to, with unfavourable results, and it almost seems that the time has arrived when people who hold such peculiar views must be protected against themselves, The evidence of Mrs. Mills, the lady lentist, who attended both cases, is, to the minds of most people, simply childish, and that clever men of the world can be found to accept such doctrines seems incredible. When Mrs. Mills was asked "What would you do if you brok your leg?" She replied: "God takes care of a broken leg. Ho is a good surgeon! One cannot help noticing that the faith of these people in the Almighty is not so great that they entrust Aim with the management of their temporal affairs. The charge for the ministrations of the Christian Scientist me guinea a week, for which sum the faith-healer will reside in the house and pray as often as is desired. This does not seem to show such reliance upon the Divine powers as we should have expected. When asked: "Why did you charge?" the witness replied: Is not the labourer worthy of his hire?" The Coroner likewise elicited the fact that the text book of Christian Science is priced at 17/6 and that "quite a number" of copies have been sold—in fact it is now in its 150th ion. The enquiry into Mr. Frederic's death has not yet ended, so th verdict of the jury is unknown, but the ime has certainly arrived when some. thing should be done to stop the all too frequent occurrence of these cases, and we will hope the present opportunity may be embraced and that something will, at any rate, be done to test the sincerity of these religious enthusiasts.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.