Cristy, Animal Magnetism. 215 



and prayed, as for one soon to die. As I gazed on her face I 

 noted the purple hue of nostrils and chin, the colorless lips, 

 and the set eyes, and also the death chill of her hand. Her 

 breathing was in short quick gasps, distressing to the ear, and 

 her brief effort to notice me was followed by an apparent stu- 

 por, so that I wondered if she was at all conscious of my 

 singing. 



For the full space of an hour I sat there holding her hand 

 as described, singing, praying, or silent ; and wholly uncon- 

 scious of any thought of checking the disease, except the in- 

 tense sympathy for a suffering friend, and for the mourning 

 group about me. 



Indeed, if any idea had flashed across my mind that I 

 might be able to arrest the congestion in the lungs, it would have 

 been dismissed instantly, for I had always been assured that a 

 case of double pneumonia must necessarily prove fatal. Im- 

 agine my astonishment, then, to note that, at the end of an hour 

 of our watching, the purplish hue had vanished from the face, 

 the pinched look of death been replaced by the fullness of life, 

 and the color was returned to the lips. At the same time the 

 eyes were opened with conscious recognition, and the breath- 

 ing was far less distressing. The patient also made effort 

 to talk. 



As I had important matters to attend to, and the dinner 

 hour had arrived, I excused myself saying that she did not 

 seem so near death as we had thought, and I would return as 

 soon as possible. Two hours later I was on my way back to the 

 the sick room. Fearing that death might have ensued during 

 my absence, I stopped at the home of Dr. W. to learn if that 

 were so, and was greeted by Mrs. W. with the exclamation 

 "Why Mr. C, Doctor says that you have performed a mira- 

 cle this morning!" "Why, how is that," said I, in perplex- 

 ity. " Why, he says that you did Mrs. C. more good than all 

 his medicine, and that the disease has made no progress since 

 he was there with Dr. E. " "Well," I replied in bewild- 

 erment, "if that is so it must be due to animal magne- 

 tism, and if she has been benefitted so far I will spend the day 

 there and treat her intelligently." 



Approaching the bedside I could not help noting the de- 

 cided change in her appearance from that of the morning. She 

 was able to talk of her affairs intelligently, and, as I still had little 

 faith in my ability to cure her, I arranged some necessary 

 legal business. Meanwhile I said nothing to her of the change 



