Journal of Didacticts from Paola, Kansas • 1

JOURNAL ofDIDACTICS. VOL. 1. AO ANSAS; MAY i880. NO4.

the oldest of his family. lie has two brothers living, David and Harry Edison, aged seventy-nine and eighty-two years respectively, both strong and active, both managing largefarms, one in Illinois and the other in Canada. Harry Edison, the- oldest, is said to be by one who knows him well, as strong as an ox." Mrs. Saxton, Mr. Samuel Edison's aunt, is enjoying excellent health in Canada, agd ninety-livo years.

Her handwriting to-day is said to bo equal to that of a middle-aged woman for firmness. The inventor's grandfather, Samuel Edison, died at tho age of 10: years. He had a brother, Thomas, who died at the age of 101 years by an accident, having been accidentally shot by his gun going off while he was out hunting. The oldest of the, ancestry, howev- er, was the inventor's great grandmother, Mrs. -Elizabeth Ogden, who departed this life.

at the age of 107 years. From this record, and the list of the long-lived of the Edison anees- try is by no means exhausted, it is reasonable to predict a long life for the great inventor, an event calculated, if the past is any criterion of what he will produce in the future, to prove invaluable, not only to America but to the world. N. Y. Herald.

after dark, The work of the day is more of a preliminary character a getting ready for the herculean efforts that, one by one, grow and develop', until they finally reach as a whole The' midnight lunch is: a striking feature of the laboratory life." At twelve o'clock every night two men and a dog enter the laboratory laden down with baskets of edibles from aj foundland, plays as important a-part in the" performance as his biped- companions, for with a lighted lantern from his mouth he leads the way from' over the railroad track and across the" fields to the abode of the Wizard. lie also assists at times by having strapped to his back a basket or can containing some, of Uie lunch. repast without the dog'to participate would be He-seems -to know his standing and he is always to be found at post of duty. I Around the the inventor and his assistants; and' as' the good- things disappear they discuss? the day's work, tell Stories and gossip. generally, A freer or gayer set could scarcely be found.

The jovial good nature of the chief spreads to all, and fun And-fancy reign supreme. After lunch, once more "begins the work of "science, and continues until, one by-one, -the assistants drop pfLto sleep. Jew, Rtire to their homes; the larger number, however, follow "the. plan bf tje leader, And utilize "their benches for beds. Edison himself gives "in generally about 4 a.m., selecting some unoccupied spot, where, with his coat for he-sleeps soundly sometimes until ten' o'clock, other times until six, for his time of rising varies.

This mode of life, continually repeated, while calculated to wear out most men, seems to causfvEdfsou to thrive. At the present time he is the picture of good health. His height is five feet ten inches, and weight 185 pounds. The ancestry of the great, inventor for generations back has been renowned for remarkable longevity. His father, Samuel Edison, is now seventy-five years of age, and is as hale and hearty as the average of men of forty-five.

His hair and beard to be sure are snow white, but they are the only indications of age. Erect as a soldier of the "Queen's Body Guard," he stands six feet one inch in his stocking feet and can to-day run a footrace with all the vivacity of a youth. When the news of his son's great invention of the great electric light spread to his home in KANSAS NORMAL SCHOOL EDU CATIONAL AGENCY, PAOLAj EDISON'S LIFE. There are probably but few persons' in the world, outskle the crowned heads, whose probable length of life is, canvassed by the pub-lie at large, with more interest than that of Thomas Alva Ed' ton. And the interest is not without foundation when it is remembered that, although only in his thirty-second year, he has made more inventions than any man living.

In the Patent (Mice at Washington is aidepai-Uneilt jnarked where his numerous inventions are placed side by side, farming not the least of the curiosities of that Nearly two hundred and fifty patents are placed to his credit, making exceedingly ajmpos- the description given of him by late Commissioner of Patents who styled him "the young American who made the Patent Office hot with his It is no wonder, then, that the frequent exclamation is made by those who reflect on the. tremen- dous amount involved in such a rec--old, "Oh, Edison ai't lastmuch longer; he is 'working himself to death The prophecy is not a little strengthened, too; by-the of many of nature's requirements! Napoleon, it is did not average four hours' sleep out of the twenty-four. His energy was untiring and his perseverance tmcoLqitef 'His rest" was in the saddle and his. recreation lin the battlefield. The -same' is 'true, of Edison, sphere of life, llis only pleasure' is in his laboratory, where he can be found day and night from one end of the year to the other, with scarcely an intermission.

He; scarcely seeks rest in bed. A or coat among chemicals aiKlinachincny forms his couch six nights out of the H-ven. Not that there is any real necessity, perhaps, for such self- inflicted hardships, but "roughing it" is his delight. Life in the Menlo Park laboratory partakes more of the character of a camp pitched near the battle-field than of anything else. An average daily routine of the great scientist, beginning at a time when he has actually ceased work, and is at home, is as follows: At ten a.

3i. he starts for his office, where for about two hours he is intensely occtmied in attending, with his private secretary, to the mass of correspondence piling in upon him at the rate, oftentimes, of over two hundred letters a day. After disposing of his correspondence he devotes his time to a perusal of the numerous papers, pamphlets, documents and books, scientific and that come to him from all parts of the world, lie reads with great rapidity and yet with astonishing thoroughness, as days afterward he readily recalls what he has been over. By two iv m. he is in his laboratory reviewing the results of the experiments and work of his" assistants performed in his absence.

Consultations with Mr.I3atchelor, his chief assistant, next occupy him for a considerable time. After this is over he may be said to be fairly in the midst of his labor of love. A recital of the experiments he daily tries, the plans he devises, and the suggestions he offers would seem exagerated were it not that hundreds of record books in his laboratory, bearing the marks of his labor, attest the same with unimpeachable accuracy. -The hard laor of the inventor, however, begins KANSAS. The Principal of the Kansas Normal Schools live years been supplying schools with -teachers and teachers with positions.

As ev-ery one of our past recommendations have proved a success, we propose to extend our aid to teachers and school boards by inform-r ing them of the advantages of our agency, 4 the object of which is: 1st, To supply schools with teachers. 2d, To supply teachers with Gd, To give information on any subject pertaining to educational matters. Members of school boards will find it to' their interest to write us whenever they want a first class teacher. We charge school boards1 nothing for supplying teachers. Good teachers who need a position or betr ter posi tions should write to us.

Our chargesr to teachers are only the actual and necessary expenses, which in no case will exceed a dollar. Teachers who wish an answer to their' first communication must inclose the postage. Teachers, school boards and other persons desiring information on any subject pertaining to educational matters should write us; We charge nothing for our trouble. Every communication will receive prompt attention. Do not fail to send stamp or card for answer.

Address, Kansas Normal School, Paola, Kansas. 1 Enrf finitioh he mnnlnded to take .1 little run to Menlo Park, "just to see what it 1 i I looked like, as he expressed himself. Two years ago he came to see the phonograph, and at that time the inventor urgently' requested him to make Menlo Park his home, but the old gentleman could not be persuaded to submit to a life of inactivity. His interests in the west, he contended, demanded his return, and away he started. Before he left, however, it is related, he became indignant at a suggestion made by some one that he was getting along in years, and to disprove the imputation he.challenged his son to a footrace from the.

railroad track to the laboratory. The challenge was accepted and Mr. Edison, senior, came in'ahead, But, although seventy-five years of age, Mr. Edison is by no means.