The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1870-04-14
NUMBER 40.
THE HISTORY OF DODDLETOWN.
lCONTINUED.l

DoDDLETowN, April 6, 1870.
DEAR JOURNAL; In accordance with the origi-
nal plan marked out for my History of Doddletown,
proceed, next, to description OF its
SURROUNDINGS.
Schoonick, the celebrated Persian Philosopher, in
his elaborate g Treatise of Smlarities" volume
II, page SCI of his Complete Works-I quote from
the edition published in 1892 B. c. remarks
VIA t0d0mfo olgouar enot toge tJours hare,s
hueitsgo ing'; which, being we'll soaked in Eng
lish and wrung out means, ''thare no things on
the face of the earth, or in the eyes of the sky.
which have not a surrounding"
How much there is of truth and wisdom i'll the
remark! The Sun-the great central eye of the
planetary system-haS its surrounding luminous
atmosphere, Jupiter has his satellites, Saturn his
belts, the Earth the element in which it rollicking-
ly revolyes. To descend to minutia, the lake is
surrounded by land-the island by water-eyery
full-grown member of the female persuasion by q
hoop-skirt every individual pill of Dr.. Ayers
sugar coated" and every cham, until he is ''shuck-
ed out" has a surrounding; and so has Doddletown
and more so.
Its northern surrounding is the western decvty
of Nutmeg Ridge and Sheep Valley into which II
It's SEtu waters Oh lilG uttD
blue sea" into which with almost imperceptible mo.
ton glides Snake river bearing the wealth drawn
from the nmost recesses of its gentle and gr cefullv
swelling bosom. The eastern surrounding is Day
break, and its western the almost impenetrable
forest of the Ichthyophagists.
Who are the Ichthyophagiss? may be the inquiry
of some, very small portion, probably, OF your
readers. 1t is so seldom that meet any one in
Doddletown who does not know much more than
do, that cannot refrain from furnishing reply tt
the inquiry sat the earliest possible moment" Up
on this occasion that moment happens to be The pre-
sent one.
The master who taught our "Dutch Gap Higl
School, last winter-so called in honor of that dis.
tlngulshed military cheftain who won his greenest
aurels at that locality and still preserves them
" bottled up'-intorms me that the name il derived
from two Greek words, ichttus, a fish, and phago,
to eat, hence the name Ichthyophagist; defined by
Worcester, zone that feeds on fish"
There many pecuiaiities about this branch Of
the human family; an alton of some of then
may interest you and perhaps induce some ''devot
ee of Nature to investigate the perplexing ques
tions of their origin, and the place they We're in
tended 10 occupy in the animal economy The lin
tied exploration thus far made of the wilderness il
which they are supposed to dwell dscoseS the fol
lowing facts:
That there are no females among them hence very
few children that they have no dwelng-ho
and sleep on boughs that the only culinary utens
ever used by them resembles the trving-pan of cy
lied life that they eat beef, and use pork on
ly as medicine that, unlike every other branch
of the human family ever discovered they use al
coholic drinks for mechanical purposes Oulv--hat
the only musical instrument known to them is the
pipe, that they are of conemplatiyc east of mind,
seldom speaking unless spoken to;-that when
seen they are usually in couples, never in crowd
that they seldom at their homes in the forest in
winter, and always absent in summer; that they
are idoater1, almost uniformly carrying their idol
With them suspended by string from the end Of a
long pole and that they rlvenou4ly fond Of fried
potatoes.
Their principal diet, as their name implies, is
fish; hence they are very subject to disease called
IchMyOSis;; defined by the learned Dungisson (see
Worceser's Dictionary Quarto Edition. as thick
ness of the skin, portions of which become hard
and scaly, and occasionally corneou~. with tend
ency to eXcrescences." :"
There is popular belief that they pass the larg-
Vs. Ioiti'i " tHtH IN YES III tnc NNiHlN OF lakes.
ponds and brooks and ont of this grows the i'm
preston that they are disciples of the 'Ancient
Mariner whose creed was
1Water- -water-cvcrywhere,
Nor any trap to ,}riRk"
My limited space compes me to pass over with
out notice other interesting peculiarities of this
very interesting race. On your next annual visit
to Doddletown | Shall he happy TO Join you i'll a
careful exploration of the territory they inhabit,
and Ascertain, so far as personal safety will admit,
their favorite haunts; but will here make the re-
mark, explanatory, that they are not by any means
regarded rs dangerous neghborS.
The eastern surrounding of DoddIetoWn, as
already remarked, is Day break but here day never
breaks until after SUNRISE An article in a recent
number OF your Journal treating Of the dangers of
early rising, meets our views precisely. Reducing
the same theory 10 practice, our Superintending
School Committee, with the appreciation of the town,
at very early date in its existence, passed an
order-known with us as the "N Nermilugc Edict'-
that the following should be the first ''copy' in the
writing-books used in all our schools: 'Thc early
bird catches the worm.
The precept nculcaed by the copy has not been
without effect on the infunile nina Of Doldetown.
The melancholy fate of the poor 1rorln, and the
danger to be apprehended from the e0rly bird,
taught us all that il was the dictate of wisdom, as
well as prudence, not to venture out in the morn
ing nnt-to draw ii mitlest-the dew was off the
grass. To guard against she contingency that some
thoughtless individual might forget the copy in his
writng-book, and suffer the natural consequences
of the ndscretion Of early rising, at of the first
town-meetings held after our incorporation it was
-''Vo oted, that day shant break in Doddletown
till after SUNRISE
After this statement You will readily perceive tha
the most amicable relations exist between Ms and
our eastern surrounding -day-break; probably
from the fact that we never come in contact.
Our northern surrounding, made up of the west
ern decliylty of Nutmeg Ridge and Sheep Valley,
is not devoid of interest," truth compes me 10 admit
it, although, as you may well infer from my former
communication, Nutmeg Ridge is my abhorrence--
''The spider
Crawling upon my startled hopes"
had occasion to visit that locality rathcr late in
the night few weeks since, in search of Il female
whose presence in the bretest time possible was
deemed Of vital importance to the well being of
Mrs. Dodiles. On b., we propose to call him Re-
publican journal Doddles.) 1t bright moon
light; and as the individual in pursuit of whom
came and self We're descending the eastern slope of
the Ridge, was so entranced with the silent beau-
tv If tho snana th0t I rpnaatau o1Ou1