The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-06-04
BLIND TOM,
a1II1I&IS1&Ig

"Hello. uncle, what's up7 Isn't yours
a queer time OF life to be getting tlpsyf
MI sec-bllndness, debility agc, and
starvation; a quartet that can npor the
best OF us. let me raise you up: now,
on this s,ep-so. Don't be afraid; the
lady inside wouldn't drive away q
NANCY cur, hard hearted as she Is. Rest
hc.e while look out for a cart; III get
you In somewhere" ID
Is a simple thing TO do, yet It 10 nor
every young man, fresh from dlsap-
pointing cali on his sweetheart, who
would have cast q second glance ut the
tattered, tottering negro ut her doorstep
'..T'any, boss: youse sho-nun gem
man, lax dey uscter be. De wull done
tuhn roun' sence freedom. Niggah
want T. be bukkra an bukkra ain got
no mo, use TO- de colorcd people. skusin'
in lection time. Nair one ain studdin'
bout glen Blind Tom bed er moutile
. O. wittles."
,BlInd Tom Ell -"
The old fellow Interrupts him resent
fully, and manages to raise his voice
half note higher.
81 know wat you gwine { say, en- Use
plum tiud year'n II. Nosslr: ain de
Blind Tom wat usetcr play de pyanner
en- cut do fool fun yere t New Yawk.
Dat Blind Tom wuz bawn silly: he
couldden chen eat human. He'd TEX a
mouf,ic In he finger en- go hopp'n al
y 'roun dc room VILE no wuz chaw'n It.
+ Does I look lax dad kin Nv niggah?"
Certainly not. The name brought
him into my mind; that's all.'
Use Nlansfiel'. De fool Blind Tom
b'long L Cinn'l Bcthune. ID got sense, "
mutters the negro, still harping on his
wrongs. Use got mo dan niggah sense,
kase diddin ! uscter bresh hats To- Ole
Morse, de smartes' lawyer in Gcorgy?"
The vigor OF his protest seems to have
absorbed his slight strength He sinks
agninst the post. The white man Is In
O hurry, yet cannot bring himself to
abandon the aged. helpless darky. The
whirr Of the sewing machine inside the
house halts a little. just long enough
for them to hear the DIR the operator
has been humming low to Its accompan-
imcnt: $500 &
1.-THE years creep slowly by, Lorena,
The snow is on the grass again;
! The suns low down the sky. Lorena,
The frost CLEANS where the flow'rs
have been. fii.
But the heart beats on as warmly. now
AS when the summer days were nigh;
For the sun can never dip so low
Adown affections cloudless sky."
II the rich and peculiar voice cannot
charm the dead 10 life, as the girls adj
mirers say. 1t can. OF least arouse the
death-stricken. Blind Tom regnins. q
sitting posture and rolls his eyes wildly
around.
Who dat sinS'n' In Marser's veice?
lLorena. too! When be wuz special
moluncholly. he allus sing Lorena. Dere
1t is. asin; de voice wild de origin note in
It; dere nebber wuz no udder. sing n lax
It. Lemme git { my marses," he con-
cludes, struggling impotently.
Quiet, old fellow: It Is a lady singing.
It's tie old song that's mixed you up.
And your 'marster' deserted you In your
blind old age. you know 3libss si,3S
Nossr, he neber," replies Blind Tom
with the little energy left him.
1T WIZ me dat couldden reich him
wen de railroad axident put my eyes
out. speck he waitin, TO- Tom right
dis minute in Texas, wey he run to after
; he kill dat bad Cap'n Banks. All dis
t.irty year bin wear'n de cap'n.s Jew
elry stones 'roun' my neck tel kin az
Marser wat t do Wild um." 49, !.
It Is the white mans turn to start.
What are YOU saying? To which
(, Mansfield did you belong. Speak quick
wy. ledge Tom Mansffel', in. co'sc,
Ain bin tell'n you? Wen Ise a biz
boy he gle me L he son, Tom, kase II
wuz a custom Ode family. Dey wuz
allus two Mansfiel's, one wife. one
black, t tntrance de wull (world) t'gerr
FOOT t foot. But me en- marser Is de
lass; freedom done change dat, too"
Inc concluding sentence Is partly
guessed. for he is very low. Courrieris
race lights up with q new intelligence. a
well-rounded hope. . AZ = :. :
II be back In a second" he saws. and
Z dashes into the little cottage without re-
membering to knock. Then out: again
Z not IN one second, but In ten. Though
the long looked-for cart at last comes
z iazily up the street, he only has the
driver to asst him In carrying the inva-
lld TO latrced piazza In the rear. where
chey place him comfortably on a hastily
1mprovised pallet, and gets his promise
L 70 send the nearest physician. What
can i doa" asks the young lady. bending
pityinsiy over the poor negro. :
ss Rave you wine, broth, or anything In
8 give htm7 It is a case OF absolute slory
S starvation. You see how weak he "a
YET more depends on him than YOU
Wine and I have long been stran.
( gers. Bun he can have my SOUP"
~ She brings It. and Courier cautIousl,
8 seeds It with excellent results. i
u anky, missy: t'anky, boss. I fer
heap bettah. You ain gotter fotch No
4 no wine, kase dey ain num- de ma,ta
wid my drink elite. Hongry ia de
Z p,ncklaress ailment wat ali me. Mussa
+ bin year sence had mo dan one gond
z eat IN two days. After I come out do
9 ha~epfttle. stay In the po'house come
Time, en- ress myself holm de, blind
i mans tin cup on de street. know
/! cain neoer git { Texas, SO sot my faee
o!s way. dess got here. You mussen
plane It on marser. Hit de black Man
ief wat desert de wife one dis time
Dough ain mean T. do It." -
The girls exclamation Is checked nv
the lovers warning gesture. =
. HOW was II. Tom? Tell US oil abou,
Hit all staht fun Cap'nt Banks. fHo
I was cap'n o blaicklalgs, but he got n
monsous pile o snake-sense, en- pass he
sen on on de quality TO- a sho-nuff
Sapn.l Marser meet UNI in Balt.mo', in
Ge d!sernct1um days. wey he wuz eow'n
MONEY 7