Omaha daily bee., 1883-12-05

home. He used to seriously talk of in
venting an electric machine to kill them
with, and for all l know he has, for there
isn't a thing that Tom Edison wanted TO
do with machinery that he couldn't do.
Like all men of delicate nervous or
ganization, he was extremely irritable at
times. He had to eschew tea and coffee.
and often said hat he verify believed
that a drink Of whisky would set him
crazy.
edison was as considerable as q woman
of the feelings of Others, and | never knew
him to say a harsh word about anyone.
He was one of those shrinking, timid,
pale-faced men whom you sometimes
meet, with the keenest sensibility and
the most retiring modesty. You could
be with him for a lifetime and he would
never allude to anything he did or intend.
ed to do.
81 often used to wonder what his feel
ings were toward his beloved machines.
He used to hang over n network of wheels
within wheels, and cogs within cegs.
adjusting, changing, fitting in new ones,
and removing old ones, and | have sat by
the hour watching the rapt, tense look on
his face. / believe he regarded this cold
iron as a living, breathing creature, to
which all the love and tenderness of his
nature was given. These masses of inert
matter must have assumed all sorts of
fantastic shapes to his busy mind.
IF Edison was backward among men
he was absolutely helpless among women.
Our landlady had a pretty daughter,
who, by the way, still lives here, and that
girl, | think, caused Edison as much
trouble as his much-hated feline enemies.
He used to sit near her at the table, and
she took especial pains to please him. He
got to loving her, as much as he could
love anything that was not in the machin-
cry line, and it was curious to see his
passion struggling with his ditfidencc.
The girl, with true feminine coquetry,
would keep the poor fellow in hot water
all the time by %staving off the great con.
fession. One day he met her on the
stairs, and nerved himself up to- othrough
the fearful ordeal of having to tell his
love. She was fairly caught, and, before
she could escape, Edison blurted out the
old story.
"'Why, Mr.. Edison, you surprise me-
said the little rogue. il like you.ever so
much as a friend, but l can't marry you
because Mr. is going to marry me to-
night
Edison just went back to his machinery
with more energy than ever. But i doubt
if he has to this day forgiven the girl
for leading him on, though he has a
sweet-faced little woman for a wife and
several handsome children. That was
his first love, he afterward told me. And
it did not seem to have much of an effect
on him.
HE would have been a fine operator
if he had kept to his business, but he
was forever trying to devise methods of
shortening the work. 1 believe Edison
was always sorry the Almighty didn't
call him in at the creation 80 that he
could get up an improvement on the
plan of the universe. He was one of the
best receivers [ ever saw. He could take
thirty-five words a minute and think
nothing of it. But his mind was not in
his work, and if he ever did think of
sending or receiving it was only to plan
scheme by which it could all be
done by some patent arrangement. He
never made much money here. Indeed,
he didn't care for money. Although he
was as frugal as an anchorite, he never
saved money, for almost anyone, on
almost any p~retense, could get his last
cent from him.
81 never saw him but once since he
left here. l was in New York, and felt
myself suddenly jerked by the coat tail.
l looked around and there was Edison a
little paler and thinner in the face, but
just as natural Hooking as ever. He took
out to his little cottage heme, intro
duced me to his wife, and, l suppose,
spent several thousand dollars worth of
on me. He is frightfully busy, and
does more work than ten ordinary men
could do. He is making a barrel of
money, they say"
OF the many remedies before the public for
Debility and weakness of Nerve
Generative System, there is none equal to Al