From the time when man first began to be sick he has no doubt been looking for some one to help him to get well again.

Cures, sanatoria, hospitals, baths, clinics, climate, solaria, doctors, nurses, medicines, serums, electricity, massage, spinal adjustments, anything, everything to assist him to get over his own little self-created afflictions.

All this with a sort of hazy idea that physical salvation, like spiritual salvation, can be secured vicariously.

But it is not so, and in the very nature of things it never can be so, for our bodies are the result of just how we, individual we, live from day to day, and no one can assume these results but us, and they can be obviated in no way except by a personal house-cleaning and such modification of our way of living as will end forever the causes that have culminated in our present physical state, no matter what this may be.

It is laughable to see the gullibility of man, the invalid, when he listens to fairy tales of cure, through the drinking of certain waters, the taking of certain drug mixtures, the transplantation of the sex glands of a monkey, to remake him vicariously and give him all the enjoyments of youth.

This last operation is not widely blazoned by the poor victim, so its devotees are not available for clinical data later, but every such case that has come under the notice of the writer was not one particle improved even after the usual year that you are told you must wait for results.

A year is a good idea, for one forgets after a year just how badly he has been bunked, and his disappointment is not so keen when he realizes that he is no better as would be the case were he permitted to look for immediate results.

If we could by transplanting organs from animals recover our own lost or depleted functions, it would be very nice, if one does not mind making himself part monkey, to secure this result, but it is simply ridiculous to think of such a thing.

The monkey glands will give up their hormones, stimulating him in just so far as his own glands are deficient but no further, and also stimulating him just long enough to permit of his writing a very cheerful check, but as soon as the contained hormones are used up there will be nothing more to expect, for the gland does not continue to function in its uncongenial surroundings, and any improvement that is apparent is simply imagination, pure and simple.

If one has paid fifteen hundred to five thousand dollars for such operation it will have deeply impressed him with its importance and its potentiality for good, of course. One is reminded of the lady who was bound to have an abdominal section and could not seem happy without this, as all her friends had enjoyed this expensive sport except herself.

No one could find anything for which to operate till she finally found a surgeon who put business before pleasure in all his work, and who agreed to operate on her for a thousand dollars. He did so, making a simple incision in the skin at the proper site, which was carefully dressed and attended till it healed beautifully, leaving a very neat scar.

He collected his fee, she received what she wanted, and both were happy, no doubt, and she pestered the other surgeons afterward by telling them that now that she had found a good surgeon she was at last all right.

She had found a surgeon who knew what the trouble was and corrected it with a harmless operation; the husband was in on the plan, paid the bill, and there was really no deceit except insofar as it was necessary to deceive this foolish woman in order to please her.

The growth principle never ceases to function in the body, the tendency being to repair all defenses as these require repair, so the tendency in all acute troubles is for complete recovery, and no matter what means have been used these will be given full credit for the recovery, so the means become famous on this account, and no . matter what they may be they will forthwith be set down as a cure for this state.

The writer is reminded of one case of Bright's disease that had come back from the south with grave apprehension on the part of friends and physicians as to his ability to make the journey alive. When he arrived at his home he was taken in charge by his old physician who administered the remedies on which he had learned to depend: the usual digitalis, strychnia, morphine, diuretics for the failing kidneys, stimulants for the burdened heart, food of all kinds high in fuel value to sustain the failing strength, but after the two weeks had passed that were predicted as the outside limit of life he still continued in about the same condition.

A next door neighbor, a patient of the writer, prevailed on this case to call in this experiment, and he consented after making sure that he would not have any freak treatment.

Arrived at his home it was then discovered that he was under the care of another physician, and he was informed that it would be necessary to have this physician present for consultation, but the patient said this would be bootless as the physician would not consider counsel, saying he knew all about the case.

No one knows all about any case, except God, and He is not always available as consultant, if one happens to be out of touch with the throne for some time, and learning the name of the physician the writer said he would go ahead with diet, but on condition that the doctor was not to be told that there was any one else sticking his finger in this particular pie.

He had previously met this same physician in consultation and realised that his education was finished when he was graduated forty years previously, so knew a consultation would be worse than useless.

Now here was the condition: a physician who would not consider the discontinuance of drugging, especially the digitalis, because it had become to him the customary treatment and he connected dropsy and digitalis in thought always.