Chapter 5—Parentage and Early Life
[Note: Pages 1-130 are not E. G. White material.]
At the age of nine years an accident happened to me which was to
affect my whole life. In company with my twin sister and one of our
school-mates, I was crossing a common in the city of Portland, Maine,
when a girl about thirteen years of age, also a member of our school,
becoming angry at some trifle, followed us, threatening to strike us.
Our parents had taught us never to contend with any one, but if we
were in danger of being abused or injured, to hasten home at once. We
were doing this with all speed, but the girl followed us as rapidly, with
a stone in her hand. I turned my head to see how far she was behind
me, and as I did so, she threw the stone and it hit me on the nose. A
blinding, stunning sensation overpowered me, and I fell senseless.
“When consciousness again returned, I found myself in a mer-
chant’s store; my garments were covered with blood which was pour-
ing from my nose and streaming over the floor. A kind stranger offered
to take me home in his carriage, but I, not realizing my weakness told
him that I preferred to walk home rather than soil his carriage with
blood. Those present were not aware that my injury was so serious and
allowed me to have my own way; but after walking only a few rods I
grew faint and dizzy. My twin sister and my school-mate carried me
home.
“I have no recollection of anything further for some time after the
accident. My mother said that I noticed nothing but lay in a stupor for
three weeks; no one but herself thought it possible for me to recover.
For some reason she felt that I would live. A kind neighbor, who had
been very much. interested in my behalf, at one time thought me to be
[132]
dying. She wished to purchase a burial robe for me, but my mother
said, ‘Not yet,’ for something told her that I would not die.
“When I again aroused to consciousness, it seemed to me that I had
been asleep. I did not remember the accident and was ignorant of the
cause of my illness. As I began to gain a little strength, my curiosity
4