Show A gastronomic he la possessed of a most be laar kable appetite hit favorite dishes queer and unheard of mixture would sicken an erdl 1 nary person A very remarkable case of a j perverted and artificial taste is found in the person of charles L cummings a thriving procer of west philadelphia the queerest combinations offord imaginable mixtures asich would an ordinary person arc his favorite dishes it is not that he likes food prepared different from the usual style but it is alie manner in which he mixes ordinary dishes which excites so much wonder and has giyen rise to so many conjectures and attempted explanations for instance says the philadelphia times mr cummings batters 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 bi to tickle his palate which are nothing if not unique one of his favorite dishes is rare steak breaded with fruit cake with a dressing of jelly in winter a regular morning meal of this gentleman is lettuce fine with a 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 ha excited the curiosity of mr cummings friends for many years and even the neighbors have indulged in comments ss to the cause of such a striking phenomenon hearing about the case reporter visited mr cummings Cum minga at his home the gastronomic freak is a i pleasant man of forty of ordinary appear ance he was found in his comfortable biome surrounded by an interesting family r he told theT following story of the way he acquired his remarkable appetite 1 I dont know that I 1 am more stubborn than other men he said with a smi leas he lit a fresh cigar but they tall me that I 1 was as perverse as old nick when a child no matter what other people did L wanted to do just the opposite out of pure cussedness and so among other things I 1 took to mixing my food into unheard of dishes I 1 can even remember that when I 1 began this thing I 1 did not find it pleasant but the devil in me would not let beback down and so I 1 really had a relish for what I 1 ate indeed it was not long before I 1 became indifferent to dishes prepared in the usual style and today to day they are really distasteful to me mr gumming continued QS if there was no possibility of anyone doubting his veracity the moat curious thing about this matter one of my children has inherited my acquired taste and stranger still that this child should be my youngest mr cummings went oct and brought in a pretty child of four years this child sir the father as he put her on his knee has been a puzzle to a loi of physicians and physiologists they all say that they never heard of such a remarkable case of heredity you see that she does not look like me but is the image of her mother and yet she has inherited from me a taste which even with me is acquired 1 have not met a man yet who can explain the thing even to his own satisfaction the little girl soon became tired of the conversation and demanded her supper and what do you think her supper will be sliced peaches and cold bean As nis 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 i i 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 A |