The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-02-18
Cities and their Godfathers.

lLOhuon GloDe.l
Most cities were founded by accident. There
was no deliberate plan. A hut or two grew
into village, a village into a town, and a
town into city. London, for instance, had no
godfather. The first barbarian who landed
from his canoe and fixed his habitaton under
the hill now crowned by the cathedral of ST.
Paul, little knew he was founder of city to
which Rome at the height of its glory was in
significant in its proportions, its numbers and
its wealth. A place sometimes derived its
name from the physical features which dis
tinguished it. Oxford, Cambridge, Milford
Newport, Redhill, Blackwater, Yarmouth, are
instances in point. At times some natural ad-
vantages it possessed was the occasion of its
name. Thus the Spaniard, Pedro de Mendoza
named the capital of the State which
he founded in South America, Buenos Ayres,
to celebrate the excellent climate; and VAL
paraiso was SO called as an intimation that it's
position is such as to be the very valley of
Paradise.
The cities founded by the godfathers after
whom they were named are the most famous
in existence. No man seems to have been
above the ambition of perpetnating himself in
this way. Alexander the Great gave his name
to the Egyptian city which he founded, and
which the Ptolemies made one of the most
magnificent of tue ancient world. In Canda-
har, too, we recognize the Asiatic name, U.s.
kander) of the great conqueror who founded it.
Cologne (Colonia Agrippina), which has come
to be regarded as the symbol of German unity,
owes its name to the incestuous mother of Ne
70, who was born there Saragossa, capital
of the old kingdom of Arragon, is only a cor
ruption of Casaria Augusta, who rebuilt the
Carthagenian town formerly on its site, and
named the new city after himself. This re-
founding an old town and giving it a new
rian restored what the ancient writers called
Uscudama he imposed upon it his
own name, and thenceforward it was
known as Adrianople, just as when Philip
Ill. of Macedon formed a new city on the site
OF Eumolpias, it was converted into Philippop-
oils. In the same way Constantine, when
transferring the seat of empire to Byzantium,
renamed the city on the Bosphorus Constanti-
nople. The representative of the modern By.
Zantine Empire has his seat in a city also
called after its founder-St. Petersburg When
adventures from this country named the chief
town in Nova Scotia, they were virtually ad-
dressing predatory dedication to the Earl of
Halifax, first commissioner of trade and plan
tatlons. Charlestown was SO named in honor
OF Charles H., the reigning monarch. Balti-
more received its name in I768 after Lord Bal
timore. 1t was only just that when, in 1898
the foundation stone was laid of the federal
capital of the United States. the forthcoming
city should be named after the father of his
country Washington. In the same way the
capital OF Victoria was named after the prime
minister OF the time-Melbourne; that of
South Australia, Adelaide, after the queen
dowager; that OF New South Wales after the
then secretary for the colonies, Sydney; and
that OF New Zealand after Lord Auckland.