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and feed stables, Offer} thipu'i' I'ljfimt in s .u i - ances and moat polite and courteous drivers The best stock of horses and mules oi< .■‘.de co stantly. V F HANSON. NORRIS N. SMITH. 2 BINSON SUPPLY CO. J nbing and Tinning. 5 rs’ and machinists' ? . Stoves, rangesand ® . Gas and electric fix- c NSURANCE gasoline S Water meters. 3 ad st. Phone 32. • 000000 JQ©UQ©OQ©©©©C - ■ I To Musical Peple of Koine It is with pleasure that we introduce to our readers the pri( of a new and complete stock of JIBS, KUB AND Small Musical Instrumen ■ n the new Moseley building, 327 Broad street where we would be pleased to have you call and examine our goods. The stock consists of some of the best mikes n|t pianos and organs on the market today. We keep a full line of everything pertaining to a first class music store —Something Rome has needed foi a long time. Give us a call and you will find a music store that Romans may be proud of We are determined to close 0 - BICYCLES the earliest possible date. £. SLWiILB-EsD 327 Broad Street. S. P. Davis, Manager. -XX X X.X X X XX X X X.x XX XX X XX X XXX X x We keep on ha n d at all times a full stock of Sheet Music‘ Conwwfen Como. Wis., H y an ? is ’ Jan. 10,1898. Jan ' 2 ’ 1898 ’ I would not be - without PISO’S 2nEwmKi ß^ C tlw CURE for CON- ALItISEFAUS. S ' U <IS SUMPTION for any thing. For a bad cine on the market. Cough or Cold it is ■ having used it for beyond all others. y ears< Mrs C. REYNOLDS. J> AWESTOVER “The Best Cough Medicine.” ~ AJVE HAVE NO AGENTS *** 1' ' ■_ __ j.J" but have gold direct to the con- I —. i Miner for 25 years at whole- ,k i\ 11a aale pricw, saving him the .A' '* V T - ' n dealer's profits. Ship any- Jk 7 1 TH { where for examination. •71 nP®* Everything warranted. \ l\ 118 atvlca <»f Vehicles, I. I(1 t n will 55 Bt y lea cf Harass I I r I\V //\)W Top Buggies, |36 to «7O ' X /\LaZ>! wSz *> 1 )) // llw Surreys, SSU to i 125. Carria- \ '\/ » jQi P' lfte t ons ’ Traps, Wagon- »»■«. 1.rr.,1„v„ Prt 5 ..Jit00. ’v»K->w’ r ’sendfor iMg/ftw So f«l “for'wSi loud as sells Cer |25. Catalogue of all our styles, shade, apron uuiirfendsrs, »60. c ILKHART I’AIUMAUK AND HAUNKHH MJKW. CO. W. B. PKATT, EUiHAKT. IND. TQM ID HIS” g 4 gqmdowble home, a! After the Johnstown flood a colored man, who was one of its victims, was identified by a woman as Thomas Wiggius, and was buried as such. That the writer spent the day with Thom as Wiggins a few weeks ago is proof that the inscription on the Pennsylvania tombstone is sin gularly incorrect. The name Thomas Wiggins, means nothing to the majority of readers, but “Thomas Wig gins is “Blind Tom,” a name familiar to hundreds of tnou sands in this country and abroad who have heard the piano play ed by this wonderful negro. The impression that he is dead is a pretty general one. As a matter of fact, Blind lorn has never been ill a day in his life, and is now enjoying an existence more full of comforts and happiness than falls to the lot of most mortals. On ?he banks of the Shrews bury river, in a domain of over 200 acres of woodland, stands a picturesqe two and a half story wooden house with a broad ve randa. Here Blind Tom is at home. The day the writer called the negro pianist was expectin g a tuner who could correct a faulty Ain his concert grand. When I reached the house and pressed the annunciator button the door was Hung open by Blind Tom himself. For a moment he stood there, a big, burley fellow of nearly 50, his black broadcloth trousers braced up high on his capacious girth over a white outing shirt with a narrow pink stripe. His head raised, his large dark eyes uplifted, he waited till I announced myself as a visitor who had an appointment with Mr. A. J. Lerche, his guardian. My voice told him that I was not the tuner. With a childlike droop of disappointment he shut the door in my face. He will always be a child, and his ac tions are sometimes saved from rudeness only by his simplicity. While playing he moves his body very little ; his head is at an angle of 45 degrees, the eyes upturned, the heavy lower lip pendulous, and there is a sense of utter absorption in the music. He has an odd way of bringing this lower lip up and letting it fall at short intervals, as a fish works its mouth while breathing He uses only one foot in pedaling —his right—and nearly al wavs it was the loud pedal that he pressed. When the passage call ed for no pedal he stuck the front of his foot under the ped al. This was invariable. After finishing bis piece he stood up and his right hand habitually went up to his face. Tom played one of his own compositions next, “something that the birds and wind told him.” It was a simple, fresh, melodious thing, with a good dash of the sprightliness which colored people are so fond of in music. “When did you compose that?” asked Mr. Lerche. “That, sir, I composed when I was 7 years of age,” replied Tom with the same impressive gravity. “Do you play anything of Rubinstein’s?” I inquired. “I play Rubinstein’s melody in F,” he replied, and then, as usual, began at once’ to play it. I His technique, expression and correctness were perfect, but in nothing that he played was there evidence of any interpreta tion of his own of the piece. But it was marvelous enough without that. One need not ex aggerate the wonders of this j simple negro’s mastery of the! piano. They are miraculous | enough in a weak minded man] who knows theoretically nothing of bis art. . Tom never drinks, swears, nor shows any vicious inclinations. He is scrupulously neat and most regular and methodical in his habits. He rises at 7. has breakfast at 9, dinner at half past 1, and supper at 6. He goes to bed at a little after 9. He has an attendant who looks after him at meal time, as | he has to have his meat cut for! him. He find his napkin and , tucks that in around his neck himself. He has a good appetite, although by no means is he a heavy eater. He is fond of fruit —watermelons preferred—likes all kinds of pie except mince, and is very fond of sugar. lie never drinks coffee. He is sensi tive to cold. Sometimes when he feels a strong breeze blowing on him he will say : “Tom’s in draught. He may catch cold and die. Wouldn’t that be terrible?” He has this artles* fear of death, yet he has composed a funeral march for himself, in which there is one movement so cheer fully brignt as to be almost pathetic. This march was played at the funeral of his master, John G. Bethune, was killed in a railway accident in 1883. When I rose to go he shook ■ hands and bade me goodbye and I as the carriage bore me off I j heard him again at his belovod !■’ piano, the unwearying solace of , his life. The soft music from the t weak minded negro escaped * through the shades of the room , * and the breath of the honey- ' suckle was wafted in upon the $ blind child of nature as he sat j there in the dim apartment | alone, yet companionied as few mortals are. g The strongest impression I bore | away was that o f ths sweet, con - I tented life the poor, blind negro is leading. There was pathos m it. I i had expected to find a wonder at ; the piano, and 1 did. for his un—, taught mastery of the instrument * is marvelous and admits of no ex- 1 | planation. It is a gift of nature’, i pure and simple. From the time when the Bethune family left the - dinner table to se« who could be playing on the pianc, and dis covered the sightless pickanniny of 4 years perched on the stool, ( his little hands plucking uncanny ’ melody from the keyboard—from that time until now he has had an unwavering devotion to the in- ’ strument whose music is his life. He has made fortunes, first for Colonel Bethune, who bought his mother, Charity Wiggins, when the blind baby was “thrown in”, then for John S. Bethune, and lastly for the widow of John Beth une, who is now the wife of the lawyer, Albert J. Lerche, at whose residence I saw the wondertui ne gro Blind Tom has all that he wants Os how few of us can as much be said? There is even dignity, pathos and sweetness aboutthisbig fleshy negro, now in his forty-eighth ■ year. His old mother is still aliv-'.!’ a wilhered wrinkled “mammy," • 85 years old. —Lady’s Home Journal. 1 Successful Physicians. We heartily recommend Dr. Hathaway & tlx I of 22>4 8 Broad St., Atlanta, Ga.. as bain,? j er fectly reliable and remarkably successful in Clio treatment of chronic diseasesof men and women.. They euro when others fail. Our readers if iir need of medical help should certainly w pite these eminent doctors and you will receive a fi’ee and expert opinion of your case by return mau. | without ctjet. ’PUBLIC | «« I 1 ,zi ' ll 'j ') H 11) JJ Jj mMI | I We will Sell New j I Books wholesale I I PRICES.' I <<« o FOR CASH. Second Hand | Books cheaper uhan the B || cheapest. Give me a call, t ' H. A. SMITH, | THF OLD RELIABLE BOOK STORE. || • H, P. WOOTEN & BRO., -c* Successors to -5 ROME PHARMACY. M 309 Broad st. —New Clark Building, > We have bought the entire stock of the Rome Pharmacy and are prepared to supply your wants in the drug, piescription and patent medicine line. Our stock is complete and of the very highest grade. We solicit a part of your patronage and shall eii- Aeavor to the best of our ability to please you at a •C. times. We should be pleased to have you call on u Full line of druggist’s sundries, toilet articles a such things as are usually carried in a first-class dr store. Cigars and tobacco. Come to see us. ■ '■ ■' "" ~ - * hS J i S. M. Stark, g xo K LIDIEJ Ml! GENTLEM's tM S y Ki S 3 Dougherty Bldg, 2nd Ave « • ‘ HL? AiHiaiHHiiHHHHHiHHOftW $i.3 5 and $i s« Negligee shirts for »t J. A. GAMMON & COMPANY ARE . for everyone in Rome to come in and see the magnificent stock f Jk on raon s an d b °y’ s clothing, F r V* A bicycle and golf suits, is what ___ IfSAa we are doing, but we are hus- fcjS tling while we wait. We will yshow you the finest stock o IO clothing, made from the newest styles and patterns in fabricks, perfect fitting and haudsome, to be found in Georgia, and they are above competition in values forjthe price. - The greatest line of negligee 1/ ever shown in Rome. J, A. GAHMON&CO