The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1865-08-28

wakened by the sound of music in thu
drawing-rppm; not only the simple
, airs, lbtlt the most difficult exercise
usually played, by his daughters, ISer,
repeated again and again, tho touch o
the musician being ltimid; but singular
" brueland delicate. Going down, They
fonnd Tom, who had been 1eft hsleepiT
! the hall Seated at the pfano in an GO
I stacy OF delight, breaking out at the
lend OF eachsuccessf1lfng fngueinto Shout,
OF laughter kicking his heels and clap
] ping his hands. This was the first time
he had tonc ched the piano, 4 81. :,
Naturally, Tom became a nine days
wonder on the plantation. He las
brought in as an after-d dinner's HfiiIise.
ment; visitors asked for him as The
show of the place. There was hardly q
conceptipn3 however, ;jinf the minds OF
those who heard him, of how. deep the
H cause Tor wonder lay. The. ;plantersi
wives and daughters of the neighbor-
hood were not people AvI5 would Be apt
to comprehend music as a science, or 70
use itas language; they only saw Ia
the littl negro therefore, q remarkably
t9cillty dor repeating the bNIrs they
drummed on their gpinnos in a difEef-
ent mnnner from. theirs, it is true
which bewildered them. They noticed,
too, that, however the chiId's fingers
fell on the keys, cadenees followed,
broken, wondering, yet of startling
beauty and, pathos. The house SER
wants, looking in through tho open
doors at the little black figure perched
mp before the instrument, While uIi-
known, MlIdi harmony drifted through
the evening mir, had n better conception
of him. He was. possessed; some ghost
spoke. through him: which is n f1ir
enough definition of genius for Geor-
gian slave to offer. ~
MIR. ollVer, as we said, was indulgent.
oil
cess to the piano; IA truth, he eould'n not
live without 1T; when deprivedo dof music
now, actual physical debility iollowed:
the gnawing Something had found its
food at last. No attempt was Inade.i
hOweye-, to give him amy scientific
musical teaching; norII wish it dis
t1nctly borne in mind has he ever atnny
time received such instruction. -
The planter began to wonder what
kindiof n creature this wIis which he
had bought, flesh and soul. In what
part oil, the unsightly baby-careass Ind
been slowed away these old airs, for
gotten by every one else, and some of
them never heard by the child but once,
but Which he now reproduced, every.
note intact, and with whatever quirk or.
qqiddity of style belonged to thepersonI
wllol originally had sung or played
them? Stranger still the hnrmonies
which he had never heard, had learned
from no man. The sluggish breath
OF the old house, being enchanted, grew
into quaint and delicate Hhims of mu-
sic, never the same, changing every day.
Never Slud: uncertain, sad minors al
ways, veNing the content OF the hearer
One inarticulnte, unanswered qucs-
ton of pain in nll, making them one.
EyenE the Yulgarest listenerwas troqb=I
i LED, hardly kliewing why-hoK sorry
AT Inst fbe fitn;. e.;,1,,t, y,,,o;, f,Ss 5;,i,,
was to be opened, when some listener,
not vulgar, IiiAing the child hs God
made him, induced his master to re-
move him from the plantation. Some
thing ought to he done for him; tho
world ought not to be cheated of this
pleasure;d besides 1.-The money that
could be made! So Mr.. Oliver, with a
kindly feeling for Tom, proEid, too, of
this agreeable monster which his blan-
tation had grown, and Sensible that it
was a more fruitful source of revenue
thnn tobacco fields, set out with the boy,
literally to seek their fortune. -
The first exhibition of himwas given,
l think, in Savannah, Georgia; thence
he was taken to Charleston, Richmond,
10 all the principal ciiies and towns. ili
the Southern States. ~
This wns in 1858. From thntt timeun-
til the present Tom has lived constunt-
ly an open life, petted, feted, his real
talent befogged by eXaggerdtion, and
| opampered and coddled that one might
suppose the only purpose was To cor
rupt and wear it out. For these rea-
fsons this statement is purposely guard
ed, restricted to plain, known facts.
l. No sooner Ind Tom beea brought be-
fore the public than the pretensionsp put
lforwardIby his mastor commanded the
scrutiny of both scientific and musical
skeptics. His caplcities were subIedtad
to rigorous tests. Fortunately for the
boy: for,so ried-hnrshly; it istrue, yet
lskiltully-they not only bore the trial,
but acknowledged the t9tlch hs ski lfril;;
every day new powers were develop
ed unit he reached his limit beyond
which 1t is not probable he will ever
pass, That limit, howeyer, establishes
him as an a1iomnly in mIfsiddl ScienCe.
physically, and III animal tempera-
ment, this negro ranks next TO the low
and gross bodil " he4ltll, except In one
particular, which viii be mhntioned
hereafter In the everyday iappnrenG
intellect, in reason or Judgment, he is
| but one degree above an idiotLincapn-
BILE of comprehe ndfng the simplestcon-
lversation on ordinary topics, amused
or enraged with trities such us would af.!
feet child of three years old. On tho
other side, his affections are alive,
even vehement, delicate in their instinct
MS n dogs or an ipfant's5 he will detect
the step of any one dear to him in a
crowd and burst into tears, IL not kind
! ly spoken to. 81, .b5rtf9 ,ins
10 His memory is so accurate that he
can repeat, without the loss of sylln2
tble, n discourse of fifteen minutes in
length, of which he does not under
stand a word. Songs, too, in French or
German, after u single hearing. he rene
ders not only literally in words, but in
notes, style, and exp preston. His Voice,
however, is discordapt, and of small
compass. ol.zi ~.
In music, this boy of twelve years,
born Blind utterly ignorant of a note,
ignorant of every phase of so-calIed
musical science iuterprets severely
cfhssica1 composers with a clearness OF
conception in which he eSceIs, and i
/ skill In mechanism equal to TINT OF, our
second rate artists. His concerts. usu-
4 ally include any themes selected by the
audience from the high grades of Itll=
ian or German opera. HIS eomprehen-
sion of the meaning of musici as n pro-
i tphetic or historical voice which few
li1oi1ISj .IfEfnF oTiil. iaJihr uTdhrgtnIid IL