Daily Yellowstone journal., 1891-11-13
A e-AsTRoNoMlc FREAK.
Extraordinary Mixture Of Dishes to Sat
isfy an Epicnre's AppetIte.


Extraordinary Mixture Of Dishes to Sat
isfy In Epicure's Appetite.
"a very remarkable case of perverted
AID artificial taste is found in the per.
son of Charles j. Cummings, a thriv-
ing grocer of West Philadelphia. The
queerest combination of food imagin-
able-mixtures which would nauseate
an ordinary person-are his favorite
dishes. IL is not that he likes food pre-
pared different from the usual styles,
but it is the manner in which he mixes
ordinary dishes which excites so much
wonder. and has given rise TO so many
eOniectures and attempted e~xplana-
tons.
For instance. Mr.. Cummings buffers
raw tomatoes, puts salt in his coffee.
vinegar in his milk, gravy in his ice
cream. cream on his melon. and makes
many other combinations To tickle his
palate which are nothing if not unique.
One of his ~favorite dishes is rare STEAK
Dreaded with fruit cake. with a dress
ing of currant jelly. In winter a regu
lar morning meal of this gentleman is
lettuce chopped fine, with a dressing Of
molasses and red pepper. There are
many other unheard uf dishes which
delight his peculiar palate. but enough
have been mentioned
This freak of appel O. has excited the
curiosity pf Mr. Cummings friends for
many years, and wen the ~ueighbors
have INDUCED In comment, as 70 the
cause of such a s. liking phenomenon.
Hearing about Q p case a reporter
visited Mr.. Cum lings at his home.
The gastSOnomir freak issa pleasant
man of forty. @ ordinary appearance.
He was found il his comfortable home
surrounded by an interesting family.
He told the fC owing story of the way
he acquired IA, remarkable appetite:
Il don't know that ] am more stub
born than other men,, he said. with "a
smile, as he liz a fresh cigar, but they
tell me that as a child | was as per
verse as Old Nick. No matter what
other people did, / wanted to do Just
the opposite-out of pure cussedness.'
And so, among other things, / took to
mixing my food into unheard Of dishes.
~A NhNh ANAANAAhNA AAA4A hltll 4 IE
gan this thing | did not find it pleas
ant, but the Old Nick in me would not
let me back down, and 50 | really be-
came TO have a relish for what / ate.
Indeed, it was not long before | be
came Indifferent 10 dishes prepared in
the usual style, and today they are
really distasteful TO me-"
Mr. Cnmv,fprg a.,~sr--I - n - /
was no possibility Of any one doubling
his veracity:
The most curious thing about this
matter is that one Of my children has
inherited my acquired taste. and
stranger still that this child should be
my youngest"
Then Mr.. Cummings went out and
brought in a pretty child of -four years.
This child, sir, - said the father, as
he put her on his knee. has been a puz-
Ele TO a lot of physicians and physiolo-
gists. They all say that they never
heard of such a remarkable case Of
heredity. You see she does not look
like me, but is the image of her moth
err, and yet she has inherited from me
a taste which even with me is acquired.
i have not met a man yet who can ex-
plain the thing ever 70 his own salts
faction"
The little girl soon became tired Of
the conversation and demanded her
And what do you think her supper
will be- Sliced peached and cold bean
As his auditor looked incredulous. ,
Mr.. Cummings took him into the ,
nursery, and sure enough there was 5
little Lily discussing her peaches and :
cold soup with the Stmost relish. ]
All the other children have normal
tastes, and though they have made
experiments in imitation Of their
tather, just for the fun of the thing, =
they have not been tempted TO invent I
any new menus. PHILADELPHIA Times. q