● ● ● stimulated by her first acquaintance with Quimby a year earlier to put down “my Philosophy,” so she was now moved to pour out in writing the thoughts that were stirring in her.126
What she wrote during those long night hours has never come to light. She herself spoke later of leaving certain manuscripts with Quimby. Annetta Dresser wrote in 1895, “Those interested would in turn write articles about his ‘theory’ or ‘the Truth,’ as he called it, and bring them to him for his criticism,” but there is no record of anyone’s actually doing this but Mrs. Patterson.127 George Quimby wrote of the latter as “sitting in his room, talking with him, reading his Mss., copying some of them, writing some herself and reading them to him for his criticism.”128 Perhaps only George Quimby knew what eventually became of the writings she read to his father.
Mrs. Eddy also spoke later of “correcting” for Quimby some of the manuscripts which he lent her.129 When she first visited him in 1862 she noted that he withdrew from time to time to write at a desk in the next room. She asked to see his writings, but what he showed her at that time were merely notes on the individual cases he was treating, including her own.130 Soon afterwards, when she wrote the Portland Courier, she expressed a hope that the master hand would elucidate his theory more fully, and added, “May it be in essays instead of notes, say I.”131
It is a curious fact that in none of the many newspaper articles about Quimby which appeared from the beginning of his career till his death is there mention of any manuscripts by him, except for this passing reference by Mrs. Patterson and another one in her second letter to the Courier a few days afterwards. In this she offered to furnish “some quotations from P. P. Quimby’s theory of Christ (not Jesus) if ● ● ●
126 [Publisher’s note: This reference to “my Philosophy” is apparently based on an inaccurate transcription of “my Photograph” in Mary Baker Patterson to Mrs. Williams, 8 March 1863, P. P. Quimby Papers, LOC.]
127 Annetta Gertrude Dresser, Philosophy of P. P. Quimby, p. 49.
128 Horatio W. Dresser, Quimby Manuscripts, p. 438.
129 Mary B. G. Eddy, “A Reply to a Recent Letter in the Boston Post,” Boston Post, 9 March 1883, p. 2.
130 Mary Baker Eddy, manuscript, n.d., A10408, pp. 12–13, MBEL.
131 Mary M. Patterson, “What I do not Know, and what I do Know,” Evening Courier (Portland, ME), 7 November 1862, clipped in Mary Baker Patterson, scrapbook, n.d., SB001A, p. 12, MBEL.