Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-12-12

| "faith cures' have been effected. Theseii-
Illustrations unquestionably are all Daseo
upon fact, but there Is no MYSTERY what
ever surrounding the benent oo'aInsu'
In plain, non-technical terms 'ne 80
nation Is easily found In the fact 'tna'
| mental IMPRESSIONS have sometimes--but
| not always. mind you--such powerful
| and marvellous effect upon the b0qy tha'
IL a physically afflicted women-womeh
forming the most impresslonaDle sex
believes that she will be cured through
the efficacy Of prayer, In numerous IN
stances the desired result Is acc0mph-
shed.
| But bear in mind that the same end can
be attained with the same subject by
simply telling her that at certain mo-
| rnent prayers are being offered IN her De-
half I'm a distant church. even though no
| such event was taking place. 30, you
see. IL Is the mental impression ana not
the prayer that produces the eject
These experiments succeed only WIN
persons Of peculiarly impressionable ais
positions, and that Is the reason why
| women figure most frequently as the re-
covered patients. Hundreds of authnetc
| cases could be cited in support OF inns
position. Nor is ii even necessary 'hat
these workings OF the imagination should
play alone on the nervous system, which,
! of course. is the most susceptible. Even
the involuntary muses are actuely sub
iect TO Impressions OF the mind. Here
are some applicable examples taken from
| DR.. Tukes work on the Influence OF
the Mind Upon the Body
you may see a person with govt
says Abernethy in his lectures, VINO -
almost unable to move with PAM D"t
lt
! Inv telling him the house - on hre ana
he will scamper about like a lampIsht-
or, smollett tells ms i'm one of his movers
Of q Captain Iismahago. who went INTO
q house and cried out 10 an Ola hai
with the govt. Mad dog! Mad cog.
when he Jumped up and ran out oil the
house even into pond OF water oppo-
site" in such examples 1t Is lininalelia'
whether the terror arises from "a Ieai vi
imaginery cause; the remarkable though.
familiar fact is that strong mental Inn
age or impression infuses new power INTO
the nervous and muscular systems. The
very fear which in a healthy person may
nroduce excessive muscular contraction
a convulsiOn-will serve 10 nerve the
limb OF the cripple podagric just suiiici-
emily TO enable him 10 escape from udh-
ger But we could not deduce TINS occur
9nce as an Illustration Of the cure or the
rout. an obstacle to loc0motiOn beng
temporarily overcome but the disease
remaining. in the second case, however
adduced in the following illustrations
an actual cure would appear to nave
been effected.
"a cantain of n British ship-of-war,
savs DIR. Rush. "who had been confined
for several weeks TO his cabin by Sc
we're ft of the govt in his feet, was sud
denly cured by hearing the cry Of FIRE.
on hoard his ship. This fact was COM
municated to Inc by gentleman VINO
was a witness OF 1t. Many similar cases
are upon record in books of medicine
shall in another place insert an account
of one in which the cure erected ny
fright eradicated the disease from the
system so completely as ever afterwards
TO prevent its return Here Is the case
communicated by Judge Rush, the doc
TORS brother: Peter Fether, the per
son cured. Is now alive, householder
in Reading. % years of age, native OF
Germany, and a very hearty man. The
first fit OF govt he ever had was about
the year 177s, and from that time until
l,S5 he had q regular attack IN the
spring of every year. His feet, hahds
and elbows were very much swollen ana
innamed; the fits lasted long and were
eXcruciating. IN particular, the last III
in 1875 was so severe as 10 induce an
apprehension that it would inevitably
carry him off, when he was suddenly re-
lieved by the following accident: As he
Law i'm a small back room adjoining the
yard II happened that one Of his sons, In
turning a wagon and horses, drove the
tongue of the wagon with such force
against the window near which the old
man lay stretched on q bed as TO beat
in the sash of the window and 10 scatter
the pieces of broken glass all about him.
TO such a degree was he alarmed by the
noise and violence that he instantly
leaped out Of bed, forgot that he had
ever used crutches and eagerly inquired
what was the matter. His wife, hearing
the uproar, ran into the room, where, 10
her establishment she found her husband
on his feet, bawling against the author
OF the mischief with the most passionate
Vehemence.
From that moment, continues DR..
Rush, "he has been entirely exempt from
the govt; has never had the slightest
touch OF it and now enjoys perfect health;
has u good appetite and says he was
never healthier in his life TO those who
have been long accustomed 10 explore
diseases / leave the task of developing
the principles on which this mysterious
restoration from the lowest decrepitude
and bodily wretchedness 10 state OF
perfect health has been accomplished. |
well know that toothaohes, headache,
hiccoughs. ETC., are often removed by
the sudden impression Of fear and that
they never return again. But to see
debilitated, equity frame Instantly re-
stored 20 vigor; 10 see the whole system
in moment, as il were. undergo a per-
feet and entire change, and the most
inveterate and incurable disease radi-
cally expelled, is surely a different thing,
and must be acknowledged very singu-
lar and marvellous event. If an old man,
languishing under disease and infirmity,
had died of mere fright, nobody would
have bsen surprised at it; but that he
should be absolutely cured and his con-
stitution renovated by il is a most ex-
traordlnary fact, which, while / am COM
PEELED TO believe by uneXceptionable evil
dence, | am totally at a loss TO account
for"
That Is not q faith cure" of course.
No, but it is still stronger example OF
the power OF mental impression. OF the
sans class, and more akin 10 the faith
cure deception, are those numerous,
well-authenticated cases OF the cure OF
scrOfua by a kings touch. ana hence
the disease being 50 frequently termed
kings evil" Browne, OF NOrWish sur
geon to King Charles H.. published a
book called Observation-Disclosures: or.
Treatise Of Glandules and the Royal
Gift of Healing Them" II is the ac-
count OF the case of a child. told quaint
~ as follows: "A non-conformist child
in Norfolk. being troubled with scrOfu-