The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1878-05-23
EDISON rs IN EATER.
The Groat Inventor Believes the Stom.
och to be the Seat Of WISDOM

VI Oi1C AlllClilllttGl IONtUtCFCttG
Edison, tho inventor, whose namo
is now in everybody's mouth, and
whose talking phonograph I told
your readers something Of a few
weeks ago, camo in from Menlo
Park, yesterday, and no accepted
my invitation to lunch with me.
His eating is as peculiar as is every
thing else about the man.
had heard his assistant asso-
ciate, Prof. Edward IL. johnson,
tell how difficult it always is to
entico Edison to cat when tho
frenzy of new invention is on him,
and how they have to study his
moods and deposit tho food around
on the benches where no will dis
cover it, and I was not disappointed
in not finding him an epicure.
81 hate this eating business" said
Edison, as we went mp stairs. 81
always avoid it when [ can"
ut is waste of timc," T replied !;
sit seems as if tho body ought to
get nutliment in somo moro
economical way" He cut off O.
suggestion about on eating machine
by saying:
'It isn't SO much the waste Of
time, but T don't like food. I have
generally been in first rate health,
but don't remember when I really
liked the taste Of food. I never cat
tor any reason except because nature
abhors vacuum"
"What'll you havoc"
"Anything,' said he, "I don't care
d cent what it is. Anything but
meat. 1 generally take pastry of
some sort at this time of day"
lie took the bill of fare and told
the waiter to bring him some straw
berry shortcallc, strawberries and
cream, and an apple dumpling.
You won't last long on such
fuel" said, as the waiter moved
away, with an astonished expression,
to fill our orders.
ooh, yes; that's good for mo-" he
replied. "Occasionally-that is; L
don't give that identical order often.
You see, Jerome, I have a theory of
eating. Variety--that is the secret
of wise eating. The nations that
eat the most kinds of food. arc the
greatest nations. They always have
been, too, and always will be-"
The waiter brought tho straw
berry shortcake, tho strawberries
and cream, and the apple dumpling,
and arranged thom in semi~circlo
around his plate, and received his
negative to the laughing question if
there was anything more.
AS we proceeded with our lunch,
Edison proceeded "The rice eating
nations never progress they never
think or act anything but rice, rice,
rice, forever. Look at tho potato
and black broad caters of Ireland;
though naturally bright, the Irish
in Ireland arc enervatcd by the
uniformity of their food. Look at
the semi >savages who inhabit tho
Black Forest. On the other hand,
what is, take it all in all, tho most
highly enlightened nation, the most
thrifty, graceful, cultured and ac-
complished? Why, France, Of
course, where tho cuisine has
infinite variety. When the Roman
Empire was at it's height the table
was marvel of divcrsity-they fod
on nightingales' tongues, and all
sorts Of dainty dishes. SO when
Carthage was in her glory"
"You think, thcn, do you, as the
Ph0mcians arc said to have taught,
that tho stomach is the seat of
wisdom?'
eyes. Some say I got the cart
before the horse, and that tho
diversified food is the result of O.
high civilization rather than it's
cause; but think I am right about
it. A nation begins to decay,
philosophically and morally, as soon
as cooking is degraded from an art
into an occupation"
."You try not to repeat the same
dishes 2"
"Oh, + don't live up to my theory,
but I would like to live SO that I
could change my diet u thousand
times year"
The editor of the Farmvillo (Va.)
Me, c,try, who recently visited the
New England States, says that
neither at Yale nor Harvard did be
see any colored students, nor was
the African brother visible in the
churches Of tha white Deop1e. nor