"The elegance, taste, and power of his performances, his wonderful power of imitation, his extraordinary memory,--not only of music, but of names, dates, and events,--his strict adherence to what he believes to be right, his uniform politeness, and his nice sense of propriety, afford, to those who know him well, ample refutation of this opinion. "Tom sometimes indulges in some strange gymnastics upon the stage, which are considered by many a part of his stage training. So far from this being the case, it is but a slight outcropping of his usual exercises. If those who see him upon the stage could witness his performances in his room, and the enjoyment they afford him, they would perhaps regret the necessity of his restraint in public. He never engaged in the plays of children, or manifested any interest in them. His amusements were all his own. With a physical organization of great power and vigor, and an exuberance of animal spirits, he naturally sought physical exercise. Compelled by want of sight to limit himself to a small space, he put himself in almost every conceivable posture, and resorted to those exercises which required the most violent physical exertion. They are now necessary certainly to his enjoyment, perhaps to his health. "Tom has been seen probably by more people than any one living being. He has played in almost every important city in the United States and in a great many of the smaller towns, in Paris, and in most of the principal cities of England and Scotland.... Those who have observed him most closely, and attempted to investigate him, pronounce him a 'living miracle,' unparalleled, incomprehensible, such as has not been seen before, and probably will never be seen again." I find, in reading his biography, that in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, in England and Scotland, scientists were asked to give an opinion as to "Blind Tom's" musical genius. I select only one from these opinions. The others (from Charles Halle, I. Moscheles, and Professor H.S. Oakley, all very eminent musicians) agree with this one, and need not be given. PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 16, 1865. DEAR SIR,--The undersigned desire to express to you their thanks for the opportunity afforded to them of hearing and seeing the wonderful performances of your _protege_, the blind boy pianist, Tom. They find it impossible to account for these immense results upon any hypothesis growing out of the known laws of art and science.