The Somerset reporter., 1900-02-01
Or, Smiths Pills
a Story of the Mind Cure Doc
trine.


bad cold. These symptoms are merely
the externallzlng on the physical plane
of improper thought"
This was In reply to DR.. Smiths com
miseration on the lamentable appear
ance of the patient Mrs. Hollis was
a member of the local ethical society.
who had lately absorbed some leading
features OF the mind cure doctrine.
but who had not advanced SO far as to
discard all medical advice. In minor
ailments she adhered to the school,
bit her courage failed when disorders
were more ominous; hence her pres
ence in the consulting room.
The resemblance was so extraordi.
nary as to mislead me-" replied the
doctor. 81 have never seen a more
perfect stimulation. now perceive
the power of thought to produce phe.
nomena In matter. Your thought must
be very bad" he added reaectivey,
gazing again at the redeemed face and
strea ming eyes of the sufferer.
Mrs. Hollis WINGED little at this.
Not as bad as If | had pneumonia"
She returned. with a touch of asperity.
But how are you going to treat meT'
with thought pills." said the doc
tor.
Thought pills" exclaimed Mrs. Hol-
lis.
YES" said he. with thought pills.
| should not feel justified in stopping
at anything short of them"
Il never heard of them. Are they
to he taken internally"
"Of course" replied the doctor.
Your thoughts are inside of you, and
SO must be the pills We have got
to go to the root of the matter. And
now" he went on. II will ask you to
excuse me few moments while pre-
pare them In the pharmacy | will not
be long. Do not give thought to the
pills while | am gone. That will come
later on"
IT was all very well to decree that
the pills were 10 he excluded from Mrs.
Hollis mind. but this was soon found
an impossibility. Struggle as she might,
no other topic could be maintained.
She tried to think of the chldrens din
ner and of the trimming of her new
gown. but In vain. The pills swept ev-
erything before them. SO to speak.
What they were like, how they We're
compounded. what was the rationale of
their operation. these were questions
which succeeded each other in Mrs.
Hollis brain and excited thrills of
speculation Whatever may have been
the doctors motive in prohibition. the
pills had certainly effected Judgment
and were by no means TO be expelled.
\ slight misgiving did for moment
rise as she remembered that DR.. Smith
had some reputation as wag, but he
was too evidently serious at the time
for the misgiying to enlarge into sus
picion. 1t was at this moment that he
returned.
II will explain to you exactly what
you must do said the doctor. as he
seated himself by the patient and open
ed II little box. 1t contained four pills.
three of quite ordinary size and color,
but the fourth much larger and very
dark. "rhe three smaller pills are not
to be taken until bedtime, but their ac
ton begins at once. The great point is
that YOU are to follow unhesitatingly
any course to which they prompt
They are thought pills, remember. AT
dinner. for instance. you will find no
repugnance to plate of soup or to any
quantity of fruit, but the instant any
other dish is before you and you think
of the pills you will have no wish to
eat it. Before going to bed take the
three pills and put your mind upon
them. The fourth is to be taken before
breakfast. Probably you will be una
Bile to go beyond coffee and fruit. Come
and see me late in the afternoon"
But what is the philosophy of the
pills. doctorI" asked Mrs. Hollis.
They have twofold aspect" he re-
piled Il should not like to use the
word duplicity'-this with hardly
perceptible twinkle of the eye-'We
will call it duplexness. They project
into the concrete objectiyity the es-
sences and powers of the supra physi.
cal plane and thus show matter as a
pole of the immaterial But it is the
reflex action on which | lay most
stress. They. as II were, restore the
concrete to the abstract Thought is
everything; matter is mere nothing
If the universe can be mirrored in an
atom. much more so In pill"
This certainly had the orthodox
sound. The ring of the true mind
cure doctrine was there. Even unn
telligibility was fairly well preserved
Mrs. Hollis was TO some extent reas.
sured. She hardly liked to ask the
doctor whether he also was a disciple.
hut II was clear that he was student
"Rut how about the rest of the
time?" she inquired. Am TO think
of the pills all the whileW
II should not consider that essen
tial." said the doctor after a moments
reflection. But thought at meals and
at night is vital"
81 am not quite sure whether !
ought to be tax ing medicine Of p Y
kind" Mrs. Hollis remarked as she
held the box irresOlutely in her hand.
But these are thought pills" said
the doctor.
oh" said she
Dinner turned out precisely as Or,
Smith had foretold The soup vas
certainly palatable. but thought of the
pills was bar to fish