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A Widow's Prayer

by John J. Robinson

Almost a hundred and fifty years ago a
young widow wrote a prayer to thank
God for the Masonic assistance she re-
ceived in her time of greatest need. The
Freemasons should also be thankful that
she remembered, and returned their
kindness a thousand times over.

In mid-June of 1844 a young builder, a
Freemason, traveled from his home in
Charleston to nearby Wilmington, South
Carolina. He took with him his bride of
six months, who was a,ready carrying
their child . Instead of the business he had
hoped for, he met the wave of yellow
fever that swept the Carolina coast that
summer. He died nine days later.

Although not members of his own St.
Andrew's Lodge No. 10 of Charleston,
Masonic brothers in Wilmington had
gathered at his bedside, where he begged
them to look after his frightened young
wife. They buried him with a Masonic
funeral service in Wilmington, then
turned to the matter of help for his
widow.

It was help that she desperately needed.
After settling her husband's affairs she
found herself totally without funds. With
a baby due in four months time, she was
anxious to return to her family and
friends fourteen hundred miles away in
New Hampshire. But she was not alone.

The Freemasons provided money and
selected one of their number to act as her
escort on the tediousjourney. The escort,
a Wilmington Freemason named Cooke,
was apparently well chosen. He took her
by railroad to Weldon, North Carolina,
on to Portsmouth, Virginia by carriage,
then by steamboat to Baltimore. Another
steamboat took them to Frenchton, then
a train carried them across Delaware to
new Castle. They continued by steam-
boat to Philadelphia, where they
boarded another boat to Bristol. They
travelled by railroad toJersey City, took
the ferry across to Manhattan, caught a
boat to Stonington, Connecticut, then
traveled by train to Boston, where they
changed trains for Concord. A horse-
drawn stage completed thejourney to the
home of the young widow's father in
Tilton, New Hampshire, where her Ma-
sonic escort set off alone on his return
journey, to report the success of his Ma-
sonic mission to his brothers back in
South Carolina.

It is important to note that the Masons
involved had done what they had with no
expectation of reward or even gratitude.
The widow they had helped would be
living over a thousand miles away. They
were motivated only by their bonds of
brotherhood. There was no way that any
of them could have foreseen that the
young mother-to-be, widowed and with
no visible prospects for good fortune,
would one day become a world-recog-
nized religious leader whose writings -
including her expressions of lifelong
gratitude toward the Freemasons -
would be read by millions.
Her name was Mary Baker Eddy.

As the founder of the Church of Christ
Scientist (The Christian Scientists) she
had evidenced her skill with words at an
early age. Before she left Wilmington,
she had written a poem called "The
Widow's Prayer, " which she gave to the
Freemasons who came to see her off. The
poem was published in South Carolina in
the Freemasons ' Monthly Magazine, next to
the obituary of her husband, Brother
George Washington Glover:

For past trials I would not grieve,
But count my blessings o'er;

And teach the heart Thou hast bereaved
Thy goodness to adore.

Thou gavest me friends, in my distress,
Like manna from above;

Thy mercy ever I 'll confess,
And own a Father's love.

Although she thanked God for provid-
ing the Masonic assistance, Mary Baker
Eddy did not fail to thank the Masons
themselves. In her autobiography she
wrote:

"My husband was a freemason, being
a member in Saint Andrew's Lodge,
Number 10, and of Union Chapter,
Number 3, of Royal Arch masons. He
was highly esteemed and lamented by
a large circle of friends and acquain-
tances, whose kindness helped to sup-
port me in this terrible bereavement.
A month later I returned to New
Hampshire, where, at the end of four
months, my babe was born. "

Then she used her husband's civilian
title, bestowed by the Governor:

"Colonel Glover's tender devotion to
his young bride was remarked by all
observers. With his parting breath he
gave pathetic (painful, not pitiful)
directions to his brother masons about
accompanying her on her sad journey
to the North. Here it is but justice to
record, they performed their obliga-
tions most faithfully. "

Fifty years later, her new church well
established, Mary Baker Eddy had
another chance to extend thanks to the
Freemasons, and demonstrated that she
had learned more about the Craft along
the way.

The occasion was the gift of a boat to
use on the pond at her school, sent by a
group of Christian Scientists in Toronto,
whose number included several Freema-
sons. The boat was beautifully deco-
rated, with designs that incorporated
several Masonic symbols. In her thank-
you letter she wrote:

"The symbols of freemasonry
depicted on the boat wakened
memory, touched tender fibres of
thought, and I longed to say to the
masonic brothers: If as a women I
may not unite with you in freema-
sonry, nor you with me in Christian
Science, yet as friends we can feel the
touch of heart to heart and hand to
hand, on the broad basis and sure
foundation of true friendship's level
and the square of moral sentiments. "
Years after her death, members of Mrs.
Eddy's staff decided to seek out historical
documentation of her account of the
events surrounding the death of her first
husband. The job fell to a Christian
Scientist and Freemason in Charleston.
After many inquiries, he learned that St.
Andrew's Lodge No. 10 had ceased to
function years earlier. During the Civil
War its records, along with those of other
Lodges, were taken to Columbia, S.C.,
where they were subsequently burned to
keep them from falling into unfriendly
hands. The search went on, and finally a
bundle of papers was found that included
a record of the death and Masonic
achievements of Brother George Wash-
ington Glover. That record, bearing the
seal of the Grand Secretary of South
Carolina, is now a valued possession of
the Christian Science Publication Com-
mittee.

Another Freemason in Wilmington,
S.C., also a Christian Scientist, searched
the old records of St. John' s Lodge of that
city, and found the minutes of a special
meeting called on June 28, 1844. Its
purpose of final Masonic tribute to
Brother Glover is made clear in the
minutes:

"A procession was formed, which
moved to the residence of the
deceased, and from thence to the
Episcopal burying ground, where the
body was interred with the usual
ceremonies. The procession then re-
turned to the lodge, which was closed
in due form. "

The single act of kindness toward its
founder cannot be said to be the only
factor in the warm regard that Christian
Science has had for Freemasonry over
the past century, but it certainly made a
strong contribution, as did Mrs. Eddy's
expressions of ongoing gratitude
throughout her long life. Several times
the universally respected Christian Science
Monitor has called attention to the good
works of the fraternity. And it all started
with a small group of Freemasons in
South Carolina who had grasped the true
meaning of brotherhood.

Note: John J. Robinson, who is not a
Freemason, is also not a Christian Scientist.

The Philalethes, February 1992
