Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/153

and was erected on a 20½-foot stone pedestal, on the queen's birthday, 9 Dec, 1803, in the main square of Mexico. In 1822 it was re- moved to the uni- versity, and since 1852 it has stood on the Paseo de Bucareli, at the crossing of the Calzada de la Re- forma. It is one of the finest in America, and, ac- cording to Hum- boldt, second only to the statue of Marcus Aurelius in Rome. When England declared war againstFrance and Spain in 1803,

Tolsa established a

foundry in Mexico where many cannon for coast defence were successfully cast.

TOM (known as Blind Tom), musical prodigy, b. near Columbus, Muscogee co., Ga., 25 May, 1849. He is of pure negro blood. His parents were slaves, and called him by the name of a member of their former owner's family, Thomas Greene Bethune. He was born blind, and the only sign of intelligence he gave in infancy was the interest he showed in sounds, such as the cries of animals, the moaning of the wind, the rushing of waters, and the pattering of rain. He could speak at an earlier age than other children, and with greater distinctness; but his words had no meaning for him, and while he was able to repeat entire conversations, he expressed his own wants by inarticulate sounds. When he was four years old a piano was brought to his master's house for the use of the young ladies of the family, and one night they were awakened by hearing him play one of their pieces. This was his first effort, yet he played with both hands, using the black and white keys. After this he was allowed the use of the instrument, and in a short time he was able to render with accuracy all the airs he heard. He also made some essays in original, or rather imitative, composition. He would run about the yard or fields, return to the piano, and, when asked what he was playing, would reply: “What the birds said to me,” or “What the trees said to me.” He has sometimes been compared to Mozart in childhood, but there is no instance recorded in musical history comparable to Blind Tom's attainments in phonetics and the power of reproduction and retention of sound at the same early age. Tom was brought to the north by his master, and made his first appearance in New York, at Hope chapel, 15 Jan., 1861, since which time he has travelled widely in this country and Europe. His musical feats, whether they are the result of mnemonic and imitative powers, or a genius for music, are astonishing. He plays one air with his right hand, accompanies it by another air in another key with his left, and sings a third air in a third key at the same time; and he can name any combination of notes that he hears struck on the piano, no matter how disconnected and puzzling the intervals. Not only can he play from memory any piece of music, however elaborate, after a single hearing, but he imitates the improvisation of another, note by note, then gives his own idea of it, and accompanies that with variations. His capacity for the most difficult musical performances since he was first brought to the north by his master has been subjected to the severest tests. He can only play what he hears or improvises; but he has about 5,000 pieces at the disposal of his memory, embracing the most difficult selections from Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Gottschalk, and Thalberg. During his performances he indulges in curious antics, and he applauds himself at the end by clapping his hands. He recites with ease in Greek, Latin, French, and German, besides imitating numberless musical instruments and all sorts of sounds. He has partially acquired the power of vision, and can now see a luminous object within a very small space. But while Tom's powers of memory, manual dexterity, and imitative faculties are great, his renderings are devoid of color and individuality.

TOMES, Robert, physician, b. in New York city, 27 March, 1817; d. in Brooklyn, N. Y., 28 Aug., 1882. He was graduated at Washington (now Trinity) college in 1835, and, after spending some time in the medical schools of Philadelphia, went to the University of Edinburgh, where he received the degree of M. D. in 1840. He then studied in Paris, and on his return to the United States settled in the practice of his profession in New York, but after a few years was appointed surgeon on a vessel belonging to the Pacific mail steamship company, and made several voyages between Panama and San Francisco. In 1865 he was appointed U. S. consul at Rheims, France, which office he filled until 1867. Returning to the United States, he spent most of his life in literary occupation. He wrote for journals and magazines, and his series of papers in “Harper's Magazine” on American manners and society were widely popular. He published “The Bourbon Prince” (New York, 1853); “Richard the Lion-Hearted” (1854); “Oliver Cromwell” (1855); “Panama in 1855” (1855); “The Americans in Japan” (1857); “The Battles of America by Sea and Land” (3 vols., 1861); “The Champagne Country” (1867); and “The War with the South: a History of the Great American Rebellion” (3 vols., 1864-'7; German translation, 2 vols., 1864-'7). Dr. Tomes also translated works from the French and German.

TOMLINSON, Gideon, senator, b. in Stratford, Conn., 31 Dec., 1780; d. in Fairfield, Conn., 8 Oct., 1854. His grandfather was an officer at the capture of Ticonderoga. He was graduated at Yale in 1802, became a lawyer, and practised at Fairfield. He was elected a member of congress in 1818, serving from 1819 till 1827. He was chosen governor of Connecticut in that year, and continued in this office till 1831, when he resigned and was elected U. S. senator, serving till 1837.

TO-MO-CHI-CHI, Indian chief, b. in Georgia about 1642; d. there, 5 Oct., 1739. He was the chief of a tribe of Creeks that dwelt near Yamacraw bluff, the site of Savannah. He met Gen. James Oglethorpe in 1733 at the fort that the latter built on Savannah river, and with the aid of an interpreter satisfactory arrangements were made with the neighboring tribes by which the English acquired sovereignty over the country that lies between Savannah and Altamaha rivers and extends westward as far as the tide-waters. The Creek chief is represented as ninety-one years old at the time, dignified and grave in manner. Although he had been expelled by the lower Creeks, he was still very influential throughout the confederacy, and this influence he exercised then, and during the remainder of his life, in favor of the English settlers. He presented Oglethorpe with a buffalo-skin on which the head and feathers of an eagle