not heal themselves. I have many letters from
people who have been in sanitariums for years and who still have
"nerves." The sanitariums do some people a lot of good, but they cannot
remove the _cause_ of nervousness. I am certain that the very best rest
cure for women is the one Dr. Weir Mitchell first used. But such women
are sure to go down again and again and still again if that is _all_
that is done for them.

Now frankly, if Christian Science could cure such cases and make them
_stay_ cured I should want a practitioner of this cult to treat them.
But Christian Science simply cannot cure them because the underlying
cause of this trouble is _physical_, not _mental_. In other words, the
mind becomes ill because the body is made ill by certain poisons, and
the nature of the disease is so peculiar that most of these miserable
sufferers will not even try a thing unless some one brings them
overwhelming evidence of its having wrought a cure. Or, if they do try
it, they usually quit the treatment before nature has had time to do her
work and set their bodies right.

I have the most profound sympathy for such people. I want to speak
directly to them. That is the task that I have set myself in this work.
I want to talk directly to those of you who are sufferers from "nerves."
I see you in every state, in every city, in every village, and
throughout the farming districts of this country. I have received
letters from many farmers who are suffering with this "thing." To them
let me say, I know just how you feel, and from the very bottom of my
heart I pity you. I know the horrible suffering of each one of you. I
don't care what your ambition has been or is. I don't care what your
situation in life may be. I don't care how rich or how poor you are. I
don't care how much trouble you have had, or the nature of it. I want
you to know these words are being written by one who knows more about
your sufferings than you can imagine. I want you to believe this,
because it is true. If you have longed and prayed for death, remember
that the one who is writing these words also has longed and prayed for
death. But one thing you must be sure to remember: while you are waiting
and trying to get well you must have _patience_.

I recollect one beautiful day in early spring when traveling in Nebraska
I passed a little cemetery. How sweet and restful the place seemed, and
as I looked out over those little white stones I prayed silently that
the