The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-03-07

! home that he was in the railroad ac-
| cident to which he alludes in a letter
| which I quoted in the last number Of
| these "reminiscences, saying that his
heart had never been in good condition
| since that accident. II occurred on the
9th of June, date which. five years
| later. was the day Of his death. Then
| follows a letter written by himself. de-
scribing in detail the accident from
which he escaped in a marvellous way:
y haVe-T don't know what To call it
constitutional q suppose) presence of
/ mind and was not in the least futteTed
/ at the time. but in writing these scauty
/ words of recollection I feel the shake
] and am obliged to stop" Miss Dickens
further explains: I'VE heard afterward
I how helpful he had been AT the time.
| ministering to the dying. How calmly
! and tenderly he cared for the suffering
/ ones about him. But he never entirely
/ recovered from the shock" More than
| wear later the novelist wrote: 1T is
remarkable that my watch "a special
chronometer) has never gone quite cor
reCtlv since. and 70 this day there some
| times comes over me i'm a railway train
or any sort of cOnvcVauce for a few
seconds. vogue sense of dread that
| have no power TO check 1t comes and
| passes. but | cannot prevent its coming"
Miss Dickens adds: u have often
, seen this dread come upon him. and on
one occasion my father suddenly
clutchcd the arms of the railway car
riaEe seat while his face grew ashy
/ pale and great drops Of peTspiTatiOn
stood upon his forehead: and though he
tried 10 master this dread. il was so
1 strong that he had To leave the train
! at the next station.
The accident had left it's impression
| upon the memory and it was destined
/ never to he effaced. The hours spent
| upon railroads were thereafter often
| hours Of pain to him. | realized this
| often while travelling with him. and no
| amount of assurance could dispel the
feeling
! BY the statements concerning his last
| hours it is thought that from the time
| Of his sudden illness to it's close in
/ death his mind was centered upon the
| scene Of this accident.
! Fear being less active caused by either
| impending danger or the apprehension of
| evil and disaster. in which the effects are
| net so violent and visible are
none the less certain and proportiOnatel
! 'ieleterious in its action. Its most read
| lily perceived effects being palpitation of
| the heart, with increased circulation Of
the blood. causing intense fever. and an
! increase Of muscular strength as shown
/ by the lifting and carrying of ponderous
! weights and in rapid running when under
/ It's influence. Also organic arrangements
/ as Of the kidneys. heart stomach brain
I
/ And il is a wel-attested fact that fear
| of the consequences of disease aggravate
| and increase the malady; therefore the
| first effort of the physician is to adjust
| the mental atmosphere of the patient.
| Another fact in the experience of all.
| In various degrees is that most easily
| expressed in the words Of job who said:
/ The thing which | greatly feared is
! come upon me. and that which / was
afraid of is come unto me-" While
/ many attribute these results TO a law or
! outside influence over which they have
| no control. will. by a careful investiga-
! tiOn along the line of mental action see
| that fear is far more instrumental in
/ bringing about these conditions than is
| generally supposed.
! Those who least fear disease and dis
! aster form a mental barrier against
| their approach Also pain and disease
| have been known to be wholly banished
| by a greater fear in other directions
| which for time predominated to the ex-
| clusion of all else in the mind
| a simple illustration Is that of tooth
/ ache. How many have been relieved
! oftimes wholly. Of intense pain in a
! tooth from no other cause than the fear
| of its extraction As to that of disease
! | VIII quote a case given by DIR. Evans
| on this subject. He said: The wife of
a tailor in New Hampshire who had been
| confined TO the bed for years as help
| less and hopeless invalid, was awakened
| in the middle Of the night by the flames
| in her room. The house was on fire. and
there was no time for debating the ques-
| ton whether she could rise and walk or.
/ could not walk. The aII-absorbing
| thought Of the impending danger effaced
| from her mind the idea of disease and
| this suddenly dropped out of conscious
| ness, and in spirit she ran out of doors
and the body went with it. In her case
| the cure was permanent"
Of Ia
/ that we may possess fear that is not al
! ways present in our consciousness. but
/ lies in our sub-conscious mind or the
| dormant state of mental action SO that
! physical disease and vital disturbance
| may not be the result of immediate ac-
ton of fear in the mind
! As fear in its greater intensity is
| shown 10 produce dreful effects on the
J physical body, so must all fear produce
| proportionate effects. There is fear
diligence. correspondingly work its insidi-
Gus mischief i'm vital disturbance. nerv-
( Gus arrangement and chronic ailments of
| every description. beside great weakness
of intellect and character
1 We Will note some of these fears that
| man is subject TO. Perhaps the most
! prominent is the fear of public opinion
| to which he daily caters. He bows 70
| all forms of customs. fashions and con-
| ventionalitieS in fear OF unpopularity and
/
! truthful and unSelffsh. lest he miss some
| imagined worldly happiness; fears his
fellOwman lest he cheat. rob or murder
| him. and fears TO trust himself Is
| afraid to form political opinion with
| out the sanction of his party; afraid to
| form religious opinion without the
| sanction Of his church; afraid TO inves-
/ tigate and search for truth without first
| the sanction of priest or preacher:
! afraid 70 accept a new thought or idea
| unless recognized by the masses. lest he
be thought to be a crank: afraid to be
| true 10 the dictates of his highest CON
| sciousn ess-the intuition of his own soul
! in the face of opposition.
Ffe fears to eat and to drink without
| the council If a physician; he fears the
elements lest storm, flood or fame
destroy him on his possessions: he fears
| the influence of the sun, moon and stars
! he fears the very air he breathes lest it
be poisoned with mia sTna or filled with
! microbes. He fears the cold and the
| heat. disease and death. and. perha ps
more than all else, fears eternal punish
| ment after death and an angry God.
/ Mans bondage TO fear IL indeed great
: In the face u all this is 1t any wonder