Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-07-24

his meal, he would steal the sugar left
and hide it. He was so helpless that he
had to be dressed and even to have his
face washed. 1t was not every one that
he would allow to attend to his toilet
On one occasion his manager had to
leave him in the hotel, and before
leaving him explained how he could
regulate the heat in the room. Nov"
said he, "if this room gets too hot
turn this radiator this way, and If too
cold turn it the other way" and he IL
lustrated what he said by guiding
Toms hand Then to find out if Tom
understood he asked what he would
do If the room was hot Tom had his
fingers on the radiator and with ease
pulled it out.
When very young Tom used to like
to hurt other children so that he might
hear them cry 1t was thought that
he did not do this out Of cruelty but
because of his fondness for all sounds.
Once he choked a younger brother
nearly to death, and at another time
burned an infant sister. This mania
lasted all his life, and any exclama-
ton indicative of pain always gave
him great pleasure, although he al
ways expressed sympathy for the suf-
ferer. Once when in small town his
manager locked him in the hall as
usual and Tom amused himself with
the piano. When his manager return
ed he was surprised to find Tom hold
ing a man down on the floor and al
most choking him. The man was yell
ing and Tom was delighted.
Another peculiar fancy Of Toms
was to stand on his head. Almost the
first thing he would do on entering
his bedroom was to jump over the foot
of the bed head first and stand on his
head on the bed. This he would do
over and over again, and then rub his
hands and chuckle.
When Tom first made his appear
ance many musicians were sceptical as
to his abilities and many visited him.
One of the first was Prof. George A.
Kelly of Pittsburg. Tom was 4 years
old at the time and in order to test
him Prof. Kelly played piece Of his
own composition which had not been
published Tom played it at once as
accurately and with as much express
sion as the professor. Thirteen years
afterward Prof Kelly saw Tom again.
Tom remembered the incident Of many
years previous and played the profess
sor's piece for him again.
Tom could name any note played on
a piano, and musicians would try to
catch him by striking keys at random,
and however discordant the chords
might be Tom would name every note
with extraordinary quickness. He did
this for Charles Halle, for Moscheles
and other noted musicians.
The Albany Argus Of January, 1866,
described Tom as "a wild, uncouth fig
ure, angular at all points which
should be curved and curved at points
that should present acute lines-loose
jointed, close woolled, thick Tipped,
sprawl footed, with forehead almost
covered with kinky locks, eyeballs
prominent and distended, and an idi-
otic, staring expression Of countenance
in short a regular specimen Of the
African in his unadulterated and bar
barous condition" 1t then described
what Tom could do, how he would
name any note struck, how he would
call off correctly twenty notes that
had been sounded rapidly, how he
played Beethoven's Sonata Pathet-
ique" without false note or discord or
omission.
Toms wonderful memory lasted
through his life. When last perform
ing in Brooklyn he was visited by the
daughter of his old manager and ask
ed if he remembered one who had
gone twenty-five years before. why,
YES" said Tom, "she used to wash my
face" and then he talked of his old
friends and seemed happier than he
had been for long time.