The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-27
MENTICULTURE in VOGUE.
MANY WOMEN INHET YoRK THINK
INC THEM Ills LTLJ.

who have time to devote to IL. IL ISM anything
like the Cinderella dances or the Horse Show,
and you don't play 1t, as you do golf OF tennis.
You Just think II. Tho harder ono thinks. the
further one advances in menticulture, and the
things that are promised with advancement are
no wonderful that in these promised rewardsles
the incentive for thinking and tho fascination
oft.
Tho prncticinr Of menticulture has been wax
ing over since people came back to town in tho
foil. Once started, II spread like the measles
BY the time tho Horse Show came nearly oil but
the young and frivolous were thinking. Now,
Il 10 said, even the frivolous have ceased TO
frivol and begun to think.
It all began, according to the best Information
obtainable. In this way: Mrs. Blank spent oc-
tober at Lenox. In the library OF the house
where she was visiting she CHANGED to find a
monograph writton BY the late Prentice Mul.
ord, who was found dead in a canoe down
Coney Island way on May 30. 1891. milford
was Hrst o sailor, then Q newspaper writer In
San Francisco and Now York, and finally be.
came a spiritualist and q medium. He gave up
novspaper work to write pamphlets on topics
akin TO what Ia known now as Christian Science.
In the pamphlet which Mrs. Blank picked up
sho found this text from Emerson:
"Hitch your wagon to q star"
The sentence caught her. She read 1t aloud
and liked the way il sounded. Then she read
further. The author of the monograph main
tainod that q man who would make up his mind
hard enough could accomplish anything he sot
his mind on. Mrs. Blank was interested and
rot some more Of Mulford's books. From these
she learned some very alluring things about
thought. She learned that. IL one was
III. all no or she had to do was TO
think hard that he or she was we'll and
health was restored. Now that struck
Mrs. Blank very forcibly. She had long been
q sufferer from dyspepsia. Physicians hadn't
helped her and she had settled down to the
Thought of being q chronic dyspeptic. Now she
had found n cure for the i'll. Straightway she
began TO think she was perfectly well. That
l fsIhs. f fer %innsr to @ ri sto hsf f host "ss 9 ma sSTsi d
At her temsrity. Mrs Blank smiled sweetly and
"6hh. I haven't been bothered with indigestion
That struck the, hostess as a bit queer. inns;,
much as Mrs. Blank had complained of her old
n maihaay S ana in a few days Mrs. Blank returned
the top Of her visiting list late in October ~ her
friends rcmarked on how well she ives looking.
She teId about the books she had read. tho
thinking she had done and the cure that had
ance seemed to have something the matter with
them and they became greatly interested In the
They Iantea to know more about it. and one
day Mrs. Blank gave q luncheon to about a doz-
sS,n friends tb AND xa esld tb an be sae Gnsw e o,ber h lonc 10
con parties were given by other women Of Mrs.
Blanks acquaintance. and at these the women
told of their experiences at thinking. These
think luncheons have now become a fixture.
A woman in upper Fifth avenue became in
cessors of Prentice Mniford still in the flesh.
She searched for one and finally found one. a
Of thinking oneself into u desired condition of
mind or body. She called IT menticulture, and
aq litt fea aiffs Ment f fnsS Il MS fai, d; H she ef Ssid T the
doctrine Of thouRh
tr AssSaaanf from sS . one MIND rahShe to anotser as esn rap Ts
idly as The teleRraph transfers words; All that
Is necessary ean y Is to think , hard nsr.o enough snir,t she 49, 49,.
may be made better by resolute thinking. Think
Of Chris, and HHis example. Continue to think
moral Me OF the thinker VIII Improve. As he
thinks, the thought crystaliizes in action. The
Easm%a 1a EsSfT% ns only %ot bsf e e a Ref as0 D ssts Ct tas
according to this philosophy. Is the lack of abil.
What is true of the spiritual life, according to
the reasoning Of this woman. is true of the
improving your physical condition. In this as.
distance comes in the thought.transferenee. 4
p any other M: The well person begins TO
a s1lPt Of Snd e sun aSss1 a ssilt hGSildRs sFsS With HI his f fTis n9
thinking about his own healthy ideal OF health.
sains n e si%s o. ahe this sT pSysie whs p per II, ss1 person "a
Then tho notion becomes clearer and finally he
sssiiy an pe aPsiSu %sn. m onee h tpio has t Il th id es'ssi e
can think OF no unhealthy person and that he
cannot think Of himself as otherwise than per
Sectly well. As pain or illness of any kind is
experienced only as the sensation Is 4 transmitted
% the brain, the person who can think only of
the physically perfect ideal cannot experience q
This is the menticulture that is interesting the
women so nightly and some Of the men, too.
At q luncheon of one of the devotees on Friday
the parlors OF her big house on North Wash.
had come to sit at the feet Of the teacher; IL
the company. was a wellknown ex-collegs Presi
lecture began, the lecturer said:
Now there must be absolute quiet. 1t ID
f tssss 10 the peF t leass no s9 answer You 'n esn re ~s95
Imagine how impossible it would be for q tele
treat hubbubIn his ONCE. Sol is with thought
Noise breaks the thread"
Then a great silence fell. The lecturer began bel
talk on menticulture and continued for nearly
an hour. Then she told those present, each O.
ssG some psFff fisns wfi1' w Se i III. Sos ne ts Sc; Il tR Rer1
al. but inst a little III. with rheumatism or govt
S sSin sGn "boua health eiStih a"a Th be, th sfSsi ans wasp Is con e
tinue as long as one desired to stay. ana thos,
~h TSs wen me o tssip %ass DO Sss 90 IN s Ne onc know, no,
long 1t would have continued had not the pro
ceedines been interrupted in a most DISTRESSING
meditations OF the thinkers were interrupted b.
my starsl My train leaves in ten minutes!
Tho exclamation was in a loud whisper. an,
everybody. all the women at least, turned to Sc
thought. Those who looked up quickest hs'
Just time to see the figure OF the former colleg
president disappearing through the door
psrhere waR CONSERVATION on the faces of tn
thinkers for a fow moments. and then the lee
tHurer said:
"Those who think the catching of trains c
,lnore importance than the benefits OF thes
II think SO. too" said 9 woman who sat mex
that my sick headache was leaving me. Me
are a nuisance when thinking Is to be done, an
way"
"1f such a disturbance occurs again I sha
have to refuse to continue my lectures befor
this circle said the lecturer severely.
This declaration met with n storm of protest
and promises that such a thing shouldn't occu
again, and the meeting broke up. Although tn
ex.college President has become greatly int
ested In the subject, he may have difficulty l
gaining admission to another lecture.
SO great has the interest In thinking becom
that the thinkers have divided themselves u
into circles or cliques. Two or three of these 81
Giles are knowne as the Prentice Milford brancl
They stick to Mulfords teachings. much TO III
delight of the publisher OF that writer's work
The pamphlets which no wrote and which unit
recently have had only u moderate sale are no
almost In as great demand as "Trilby" WAS