rce to any part of
the body. Occultists have known this for many centuries. Joy, hope,
faith: these are very potent factors in improving the health
conditions--simply because they act upon the sympathetic nervous
system, and this latter acts upon the circulation. Happiness dilates
the blood-vessels. Fear contracts them. Thus, unbounded faith; renewed
hope; sudden joy; enforced will-power; all have a marked effect upon
bringing about an equilibriated condition of the circulation--just the
same as a hot bath does, though not so rapidly or so perceptibly.
Further, we must remember that all disease more or less is a stasis, a
congestion, somewhere; we have only to dissipate this; to separate the
cells; to expand the part, as it were, and "resolution," as we call it
in congestion of the lungs, takes place. So that it seems to me that
we can fairly claim a strictly scientific basis for Mental Healing. I
have always, however, maintained that the attitude of the patient's
own mind has much to do with the result: in his consciousness there
must be faith and hope in order to get the best effect.

Judging, then, of the very remarkable and palpable changes which
anyone can see occur on such superficial parts as the face and
extremities, I can see no reason that, by an enforced mental action,
the deeper parts--including any hidden diseased part--should not be
altered for good. I am very confident that it is upon these lines,
coupled, as they can always be, with advice as to clean feeding and
right living generally, the physician of the future will largely
depend for his cures. Thus we are fully justified in not only trying
the system on "functional," but also for "organic," cases.

J. STENSON HOOKER, M.D.

A SIGNIFICANT CASE.

ACCOUNT OF A FAST, UNDERTAKEN FOR THE CURE OF A PROFOUND BLOOD
DISEASE.

The following account of a fast is worthy of attention. It is rigidly
accurate _in principle_, as far as I could make it so, and I am
responsible for its truthfulness. But the subject of it, feeling that
he is engaged in a duty and "labour of love," as he expresses it, is
yet naturally anxious to prevent his identity from being discovered;
and so, while the facts of the narrative are true in principle they
have been varied in a few details for the purpose of preventing the
recognition of the subject of them.

They occurred in the history of a man of about 40 years of age, who
fell ill of an infectious disease some 20 years