CHAPTERXXV
THELABORATORYATORANGEANDTHESTAFF
ALIVINGinterrogation-pointandaborninvestigatorfromchildhood，Edisonhasneverbeenwithoutalaboratoryofsomekindforupwardofhalfacentury。
Inyouthfulyears，asalreadydescribedinthisbook，hebecameardentlyinterestedinchemistry，andevenattheearlyageoftwelvefeltthenecessityforaspecialnookofhisown，wherehecouldsatisfyhisunconvincedmindofthecorrectnessorinaccuracyofstatementsandexperimentscontainedinthefewtechnicalbooksthenathiscommand。
Ordinarilyhewaslikeothernormalladsofhisage——fullofboyish，heartyenjoyments——butwithalpossessedofanunquenchablespiritofinquiryandaninsatiabledesireforknowledge。Beingblessedwithawiseanddiscerningmother，hisaspirationswereencouraged；andhewasallowedacornerinhercellar。Itisfairtooffertributeheretoherbraveryaswellastoherwisdom，forattimesshewasinmortalterrorlesttheprecociousexperimenterbelowshould，inhisinexperience，makesomeawfulcombinationthatwouldexplodeandbringdownthehouseinruinsonhimselfandtherestofthefamily。