Passaic City record., 1895-01-19
FAITH CURES IN AUSTRALIA.
Two Patients Near Death Who Were
Saved by Water and Imagination.


Some interesting experiments have re
Gently been made with the faith cure IN
Australia. DIR. w. J. Barkas, q physi-
clan of Sydney, who, while nota an enthu-
siastic believer in faith cure, has some
confidence in 1t, describes Il couple OF
cures which he effected recently by mere
ly playing on the imagination of his
patients.
A well-to-do woman about 60 years or
age had been suffering for years from
dozen or more imaginary ailments. She
thought that every organ in her body was
affected. She was continually complain
ing of burning sensation in her body.
She could not sleep, and she was able to
take but little nourishment The result
of such a series of nervous troubles was
that she worried herself into q critical
condition, and when DR.. Barkas was
called in she was in danger of death. At
DR.. Barkas's suggestion massage was
tried, but it did no good, and as a last
resort the physician decided to use the
faith cure. With great solemnity he
informed his patient that death was
nigh, and that she must prepare herself
to meet it. Every remedy but one had
been tried unsuccessfully, he said, and he
utSiUdbcQ W use undG OnC OAi dCScuho Va
the great danger attending it. 1t would
kill or cure her, he said. The patient In
great excitement demanded that the
remedy be tried. The docter explained
that the drug he would have to use was
tasteless and colorless, and looked very
much like water. 1t must be admins
tered by an experienced person at certain
times in the day. and if taken one second
l.,c- - .4s,f ,fAI fir-,a h
cause death. The woman was all the
more eager to try the remedy after this,
and DIR. Barkas left her, and later in the
day came in with huge bottle of pure
distilled water. At regular intervals
doses of water were given to the woman,
and as the days went by she began to get
better. Her appetite came back, flush
appeared in the cheeks which had been
pale fer years, the inability to sleep dis
appeared, and in three weeks the woman,
who had been at the point Of death, had
entirely recovered.
The other experiment was with a
woman who was III an extreme state Of
emaciation from incessant vomiting.
When DR.. Barkas was called in her
condition was so critical that, other
remedies having failed, he resolved to
Ky 1uS ldIOn cure 11o DoSHn ny tcllluB
the woman of wonderful remedy he had
for just such cases. He thus won the
woman's confidence, and began the cure
by making her sleep by means of hypo-
dernic injections Of morphine. The first
time she slept for eight hours, which was
more than she had slept on stretch for
nearly year. The second dose he gave
the woman consisted of about one quarter
II L.
first injection. This time the patient
slept twelve hours and did not voinit for
several hours after she woke up. The
third injection consisted of water alone,
and had as much effect as either of the
other two. After this nothing but water
was used. Gradually the vomiting grew
less frequent, the patient grew stronger,
and was able to take food, and in two
weeks she was riding horseback, and
taking all sorts of exercise. Now she is
in better health than she ever was.