The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-05-26
BLIND ToMs LAST DAYS,

Of late years Blind Tom," the once famous colored piano player, has dropped out of sight. But he is not dead, as many suppose. With his mother and guardian he lives in a com fortable cottage at the highlands of Navesink, on the Jersey side of the New York bay. Blind Tom" is now gray haired His guardian is Mrs. Eliza Lerche, who was appointed ten years ago by Justice Andrews, of the Supreme court as committee of the person and | property of the mnd-clouded musician.
 She was then the widow of John G. Be- | thume who had charge of Blind Tom" l for many years, and the latter was only | given into her care after long legal | struggle with her father-in-law, James N. Bethume. He has been handed over | to Mrs. Bethune with no money and no l property, personal or otherwise, out of | the hundreds of thousands of dollars which he had earned during the previ-
 ous quarter of century So 1t was ne-
 cessary to keep him at work awhile
 longer to provide for his future mainte- | nance in case he became disabled by l age or infirmities and also to enable | him to take care of his mother, who
 was still alive in the Southern States,
 and looked to Tom for support. About 1 three years ago Mrs. Bethune, who was | then Mrs. Lerche, having married AL
 brecht J. Lerche, the lawyer who had 1 fought her legal battles in courts, had
 saved enough money to warrant the
 temporary withdrawal of Blind Tom" | from the amusement world, so that he
 might recuperate his health, and, at the | same time, familiarize himself with | modern musical compositions.
 Tom enjoys his long rest after so | many years of incessant travel and | work. He does very little visiting | among his neighbors, and receives few callers at his cottage.
 He passes hours at time at the pia-
 no, playing his old pieces and practis- | ing new ones Occasionally he at tempts improvisation, but even then the initiative faculty predominates, as the
 notes he picks out are usually the re- production of sounds that he has heard When not at the plano Tom amuses himself by initiating the small talk of | ladies and other visitors to the Lerche | cottage, to which he is a silent listener. He holds imaginary receptions, at which the weather, new styles in dress es and like topics are discussed by the I imaginary visitors. as initiated by Tom, | in way that Is very comical but he will not do it If he knows there is any
 one listening to him.
 | In spite of his advanced years and
 his reserved formal demeanor in com l Tom iS y,ern1U n |,
 child, and has to be carefully watched l by the male nurse especially hired for
 that purpose. He has all the selfishness of a spoiled child, and is jealous of any
 attention paid to any one else in his presence. He has little natural affec-
 tion, and cares only for those around
 him who minister directly to his wants. He is willing that his mother should be taken care of out of the money he has
 earned, but he does not wish to have
 her or his brothers and sisters near him,
 for fear that they may annoy him, or prevent his being the sole object of the attention of those around him. With the exception of this chldlike selfish ness, Blind Tom" Is extremely moral
 and religious in his habits and disposi-
 ton. He never eats without first offer ing prayer, and on Sunday will play
 only church music on his piano.
 It was only after the conclusion of
 Mrs. Lerche's long legal contest that
 mother and son were together again for
 the first time since Toms infancy, but
 after the novelty of their reunion had
 worn away, it was evident that their
 tastes and temperaments were so utter | ly at variance that there was little like
 lihood of their living happily together
 Blind Tom Wiggins in his home by the seashore enjoy life in his serenely
 selfish way, with his piano and his i'm | aginary visitors, and with every req
 sonable wish gratifed since the courts
 released him from the tenacious grip oi
 his old master, who few years since
 passed over the great divide into that
 other world where there are, happily, nc
 Blind Toms" to tempt mems souls.-
 Pennsylvania Grit.