The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-09-11

w #T T~
BLIND TOM PLAYING.
the house and pressed the annuneiator button
low Of, nearly 80. his black brqadc 81 trousers Z s.s
t 8TSaIsSd o up hIGn n, on his fith ea 9 GGiirrt,ht ' eyer a
His head, raised. his large dark eyes ga"E upiifteed,,
he waited till | announced myself. as a visitor
who had an appointment with, Mr.. A., J, Lerche,
the tuner. %it6' a tU eSfld Tx "i droo ; Of " dis aps
pointment he shut the. door in my face. He
Will always be a child. and his actions are some
times saved from rudeness only by his sim
that Mi it h @ishs h sSSD a aP PRsfiyihr I FL sHssefItfof I
would hear Toms explanation OF. the pianos
SHORTCOMINGS. and promise to let the tuner
promptly to remedy; Them n"At This I accord inTS
ens TRS 81 tie IL E5SPs,"" anal saId then T9R 2htGs rSSi ish ( B si e
little out, too" sounding another. two or three
e eesfT eot ae Sith tas t anS he Hs PFt hif FL ' spsEe IN IN
Z, rich. full voice and with much simple dignity.
There was z rsspectiplgess in his air and pose
Then at MI, Lerche'fs request he, seated him
play, 1t was indeed o wonderful exhibition.
h HIS | 6 nf i6s s are not at az nn,a1G hands; a,,d In
ONE so ., ' ofte ereI sees 'G IN ereat %eia nhHss' T TmlSs
hands are small and plump, with the thumbs
and tapcIrinR fingers quite short. They seemed
too small to do octaveS effectively. Later it
was proven that they were not so by any means.
HIS, Technique is good. He executes runs with
position is difficult or simple he sees no differ
epce In It; He plays everything with the same
Toms head and face are not wholly unat-
~tractive, He has often been described as a re-
pulsiye imbsGile except during his moments at
but we'll shaped. His features are OF a strong
African type. with low forehead. large eyes.
than weakness. His skin is not perfectly black.
In his appearance and In, his manner of speak
tnG when addressed-and during the, whole day
he made no remark to any one actually present
except when addressed-he shows Intelligence
and dignity. with quite q pride OF his own at
his head is at an angle, Of forty-five degrees.
iIoIs, and there Is a sense Of utter Absorption
II the music, He h@s az odd way Of bringing
t~ervais, as a ash works his mouth while BREATH
i4Ei Hs gS ssoF 91l Sl% Sns f { Ga in tB R%edje ona GeGhi
the pedal; This was ijnvariabie,, After finish;
habitually went up to his face.
ne Tom s pIay sfS ir one fbo Of th his hi own o S29m M}nd t01S
him. It was a Simple, fresh. meiodious thing.
with a good dash OF the sprightliness which
colGFed people are SO fond Of II music; ~.
THAT. sir. I composed when I was 7 years Of
age" replied Tom with the same impressive
Do you play anything of Rubinstein'sH I" I
II, play Rubinstein's melody in F." he re-
Piled and then. as usual. began at once to play
It. HIS technique. expression and correctness
there evidence Of any interpretation OF his own
OF the piece. But 1t was marvellous enough
WITHOUT that, one need not e&aggerate the
wonders Of this simple negroes mastery OF the
piano. They are miraculous enough in a weak
minded man who knows theoretically nothing
Tom never drinks. Swears, nor shows any
Vicious iRGiinations; He + sGrpPnl2usly neat.
He rises at I, has breakfast at 8, dinner at half
RPaafsIt !, 9nd supper at 6. He goes to bed at
met %SPt s III fI e Him. I'm; H. I Sn%sy ri, Eis ne nSp jEf T. P S u
sgood appetite although BY no means is he a
P6d Is very iend az Of k snfsf Of F H. e 1sSat 9g TInE;
coffee, He is sensitive to cold. Sometimes
when he feels strong breeze blowing on him
cold and die. Wouldn't that be terrible I" He
has this a%rtless fear Of death, yet he has com
to t be 'sd almost pathetic; This march was Played
w Who On" was lsG kiIied Il in a a Ta m%Stgf ac SGRn in n fs8s.
He has the habit OF turning his eyes M when
be plays. or when he walks about mnmb!ipg to
reetily on bis syebalis. when he, talks to him
self he will repeat n word or phrase several
Hre IN the sound or else because he Is hlling
come to his mind. For instance, he, went
wagner. Yes. Wagner. Mr.. Wagner, Rich;
Yes. " liz Is dead S Dead. Hi His T last opera rs a Yss.
III, ope r.: His last opera was 'Parsifal.' Par
When I rose to go he shook hands and babe
me Good-by. and as the carriage bore me of
wearying solace OF his life. The soft music from
the weak minded negro escaped through the
shades Of the room. and the breath Of the
alone. yet companioned as few mortals are.
The strongest impression bore away was
that Of the sweet, contented life the poor, blind
bad expected to find a wonder at tho piano, and
l did. for his ~nntaught mastery OF the instru-
ment !s marvellous and admits OF no ,explana-
From the time when the Bethune family left
the dinner table TO see who could he. playing on
the piano, and discovered tho sightless picka-
hands p~lucking unchnny melody from the key
board-from that time until now he has had an
unwavering devotion to the instrument whose
He has made fortunes. fret for Col. Bethune.
who bought his mother. Charity Virgins. when
the, blind baby was thrown I'M" then forgohn
I, B"thune. and lastly for TIE willow o. John
Albert J, Lerche, at whose residence ! saw the
Blind Tom has al, that he wants. OF how
dignity. pathos and sweetness. about this big,
fieshy negro, now IN his 4Sth year. His old
mother IL, still alive, a withered. wrinkled
nanny" 80 years old.
Apples in Minnesota.