ely equalled for their
clean, winnowed columns; there is no "yellow" journalism in that great,
fair city, known as the "Quaker City."

Miss Estella Kuenzel, a lady of twenty-two years, of acutest, finest
sensibilities, born to live in June and not in March, lost her mental
health to a degree that death became the final object of desire.

She had a friend in a bright young man of the name of Henry Ritter,
chemist and photographer at the Drexel Institute, a born scientist, and
who possesses the very genius of the pains and persistence of science.
Well versed in the science of the morning fast, he believed that a fast
which would merely end with hunger would result in all-around
improvement. A fast was instituted which he thought would not last more
than a few days, but went on until the days merged into weeks: it went
on because only general improvement attended it.

I first heard of it in a letter written by him on the thirty-eighth day
of the fast, during which there had been a walk of seven miles. On the
forty-second day of the fast I had a brief letter from Miss K., in which
every line was radiant with cheer.

At the Asylum five feedings per day were ordered, and at first were
rejected; but finally she accepted them as a means to end her unhappy
life; took them in bed, and in the last weeks seemed to be fleshing up,
as there was a gain of seventeen pounds above the normal, of water--she
had become dropsical. The last professional expert in her case advised a
half-gallon of milk daily in addition to the three regular meals--making
a five-meal plan.

To carry out an unopposed fast it was necessary to take her to a home
where the parents would be ignorant of this radical means to a cure.

The following is from Mr. Ritter's letters:

"I had made my views known to the parents and daughter when the
case commenced, and after the failure of these methods they
decided to let me have charge of the case, which was on Sept.
30, 1899. I at once requested them to send her to the house of
some friends to whom I made my views known. We then discharged
the nurse who had gone with her. With doctor and nurse gone
there was free room for Nature's victory (the young lady being
as deeply interested as any). We put her upon the rest, which
was the only needed sign since her first signs of breakdown
appeared Oct. 2, at the supper table, being the last meal she
has taken up to to-day, Nov. 9