Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1891-12-05
|, eAsNsoNoMic FREAK.
Extraordinary Mixture of Dishes to Sat
isfy an Epicure's Appetite.

I
isfy an Epicure's Appetite.
A very remarkable case of perverted
and artificial taste is found in the per-
son of Charles ]. 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. It 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
conjectures and attempted explana
tions.
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 dressing of
molasses and red pepper. There are
many other unheard of dishes which
delight his peculiar palate, but enough
| have been mentioned,
This freak of appetite has excited the
curiosity of Mr.. Cummings friends for
many years, and even the neighbors
have INDUCED in comments as to the
cause OF such striking phenomenon.
| Hearing about the case a reporter
visited Mr. Cummings at his home.
The gastron0mic freak is pleasant
man of forty, of ordinary appearance.
| He was found in his comfortable home
surrounded by an interesting family.
He told the following story of the way
he acquired his remarkable appetite;
Il don't know that | am more stub
born than other men," he said, with a
smile, as he lit fresh cigar, but they
tell me that as child / was as per-
verse as Old Nick. No matter what
other people did, l wanted to do just
the opposite-out of pure cussedness.
And so, among other things, l took to
mixing my food into unheard of dishes.
I can even remember that when / be-
gan this thing did not find it pleas
ant, but the Old Nick in me would not
let me back down, and so l really be-
came to have relish for what ate.
Indeed, it was not long before l be-
came Indifferent to dishes prepared in
the usual style. and today they are
really distasteful to me-"
Mr.. Cummings continued, as if there
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 pretty child of four years.
''This child, SIR" said the father, as
he put her on his knee, 'shas been a puz-
zle to 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
taste which even with me is acquired.
have not met a man yet who can ex-
plain the thing even to his own salts
faction"
The little girl soon became tired of
the conversation and demanded her
supper.
"And what do you think her supper
will be9 Sliced peached and cold bean
soupw
AS his auditor looked incredulous,
Mr.. Cummings took him into the
nursery, and sure enough there was
little Lily discussing her peaches and
cold soup with the utmost relish.
All the other children have normal
tastes, and though they have made
some experiments in imitation of their
father, just for the fun of the thing,
they have not been tempted to invent
any new menus. philadelphia Times.