tter, who thought that a cure was in
his reach, and on January 11 Thress commenced a fast that has
been absolute up to yesterday, the only things passing his lips
being water, a little lemonade, and rarely the juice of an
orange. Learning through the _Chester County Times_ that we were
interested in Dr. Dewey's discovery, he invited us to come and
see the cases now under his care, and on Friday of last week we
gladly availed ourselves of the opportunity to see the living
proof of what we believed but had never seen. We were very
cordially received at Mr. Ritter's home, and instead of meeting
a pompous, egotistic, big man, as we might expect, we met a
young gentleman of small stature, like ourselves, modest,
retiring, and claiming no credit for his own part in these
remarkable cures; but insisting that he is only observing the
progress of cases, following in the line of truths discovered
only by Dr. Dewey, giving such advice as he is enabled to do
from his thorough knowledge of chemistry, anatomy, and hygiene.
He took us to the house of Mr. Thress, and the startling
impressions we received can never be effaced. We seemed to be in
the presence of one who had arisen from the dead, and could not
realize the truth of what we saw and heard from him and his
estimable wife, who shows the happiness she feels in receiving
her husband back to life. Impossible as it seems, yet on the
previous day, as well as many other days, that man had walked
three miles after six hours given to his business as a baker,
which he now attends to personally. All traces of dropsy have
disappeared, and his weight is now less than one hundred and
thirty-five pounds, having lost this nearly seventy-five pounds
of water through the natural channels at the rate of five or six
pounds per day at times. His eyesight has grown younger and his
hand is firm. He sleeps soundly several hours out of each
twenty-four, and is almost a cured man, although the curative
action is still going forward throughout his system, and his
many friends are now awaiting the arrival of his normal healthy
appetite, which in these cases does not arrive until the cure is
entire, and then it comes in such a way as not to be mistaken.
On Monday of this week we again visited him, taking a friend who
has long suffered similarly to what he did