Pulpit and Press | Page 8

electric power. The partitions are of iron; the floors of marble in mosaic
work, and the edifice is therefore as literally fire-proof as is
conceivable. The principal features are the auditorium, seating eleven
hundred people and capable of holding fifteen hundred; the "Mother's
Room," designed for the exclusive use of Mrs. Eddy; the "directors'
room," and the vestry. The girders are all of iron, the roof is of terra
cotta tiles, the galleries are in plaster relief, the window frames are of
iron, coated with plaster; the staircases are of iron, with marble stairs of
rose pink, and marble approaches.
The vestibule is a fitting entrance to this magnificent temple. In the
ceiling is a sunburst with a seven-pointed star, which illuminates it.
From this are the entrances leading to the auditorium, the "Mother's
Room," and the directors' room.
The auditorium is seated with pews of curly birch, upholstered in old

rose plush. The floor is in white Italian mosaic, with frieze of the old
rose, and the wainscoting repeats the same tints. The base and cap are
of pink Tennessee marble. On the walls are bracketed oxidized silver
lamps of Roman design, and there are frequent illuminated texts from
the Bible and from Mrs. Eddy's "Science and Health with Key to the
Scriptures" impanelled. A sunburst in the centre of the ceiling takes the
place of chandeliers. There is a disc of cut glass in decorative designs,
covering one hundred and forty-four electric lights in the form of a star,
which is twenty-one inches from point to point, the centre being of pure
white light, and each ray under prisms which reflect the rainbow tints.
The galleries are richly panelled in relief work. The organ and choir
gallery is spacious and rich beyond the power of words to depict. The
platform--corresponding to the chancel of an Episcopal church--is a
mosaic work, with richly carved seats following the sweep of its curve,
with a lamp stand of the Renaissance period on either end, bearing six
richly wrought oxidized silver lamps, eight feet in height. The great
organ comes from Detroit. It is one of vast compass, with Æolian
attachment, and cost eleven thousand dollars. It is the gift of a single
individual--a votive offering of gratitude for the healing of the wife of
the donor.
The chime of bells includes fifteen, of fine range and perfect tone.
THE "MOTHER'S ROOM"
The "Mother's Room" is approached by an entrance of Italian marble,
and over the door, in large golden letters on a marble tablet, is the word
"Love." In this room the mosaic marble floor of white has a
Romanesque border and is decorated with sprays of fig leaves bearing
fruit. The room is toned in pale green with relief in old rose. The
mantel is of onyx and gold. Before the great bay window hangs an
Athenian lamp over two hundred years old, which will be kept always
burning day and night. Leading off the "Mother's Room" are toilet
apartments, with full-length French mirrors and every convenience.
The directors' room is very beautiful in marble approaches and rich
carving, and off this is a vault for the safe preservation of papers.

The vestry seats eight hundred people, and opening from it are three
large class-rooms and the pastor's study.
The windows are a remarkable feature of this temple. There are no
"memorial" windows; the entire church is a testimonial, not a
memorial--a point that the members strongly insist upon.
In the auditorium are two rose windows--one representing the heavenly
city which "cometh down from God out of heaven," with six small
windows beneath, emblematic of the six water-pots referred to in John
ii. 6. The other rose window represents the raising of the daughter of
Jairus. Beneath are two small windows bearing palms of victory, and
others with lamps, typical of Science and Health.
Another great window tells its pictorial story of the four Marys--the
mother of Jesus, Mary anointing the head of Jesus, Mary washing the
feet of Jesus, Mary at the resurrection; and the woman spoken of in the
Apocalypse, chapter 12, God-crowned.
One more window in the auditorium represents the raising of Lazarus.
In the gallery are windows representing John on the Isle of Patmos, and
others of pictorial significance. In the "Mother's Room" the windows
are of still more unique interest. A large bay window, composed of
three separate panels, is designed to be wholly typical of the work of
Mrs. Eddy. The central panel represents her in solitude and meditation,
searching the Scriptures by the light of a single candle, while the star of
Bethlehem shines down from above. Above this is a panel containing
the Christian Science seal, and other panels are decorated with
emblematic designs, with the legends, "Heal the Sick," "Raise the
Dead," "Cleanse