Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-08-10
DIR. D0RRITTS FATE.

Judge Garnett's family errand boy,
Fonny, came to the parlor door. saying
Miss Alice, IL you don't want me for any
thing Mrs. Garnett says may 60 and SEE
| DR.. Dorritt You need met"
mo; you can go; but don't bring DR..
Dorritt back with you, no matter how
badly he wants to come"
"Dr. Dorritt is pig" she explained to
her guests-"a pet pig, the property, or
rather the friend. of Fonny. The boy
dotes on him, and the pig returns the dot
| ing with interest. You should see him
follow Fonny about like dog when we
are at home He can do several smart
little tricks, too; but he will obey nobody
| but Fonny. He was named in honor of q
stubby little doctor in q picture book.
Fonny traced resemblance to this gen.
tleman In the pigs face and figure, and
christened him accordingly. He is GER
| tainly the most unattractive of his race;
but is perfect in Fonnys eyes. Intellectu-
ally. he ranks high for pig. Before we
came to this place Fonny wept for days
because he was told that he could not
bring DIR. Dorritt. Father relented at
last. and said the pig might come II
Fonny would find home for him in the
country. Accordingly DR.. Dorritt bosrds
at the Wildly McGeary's, mile or more
directly west"
Foany went away light of heart,
"whistling foolish tune. and thinking
of the joys in store for him. 1t would De
no exaggeration to say that DR.. Dorritt
was his bosom friend. No other creature
looked up to him as to a superior being.
Dr. Dorritt did And where is the human
being, male or female, ON whom this does
not have its effects 1t is something to be
worshiped even by pig.
DR.. Dorritt was one of the chief figures
in the boys mental kingdom today. 1t
pleased Fonny to assume that the doctor
ably sustained his title. When he felt
like sitting at the feet of wisdom he pro-
pounded the deepest and most unanswer-
able questions to him, and the doctor al
ways threw light upon them.
"Dr. Dorritt has deepness in him" the
boy would say, when others ventured to
doubt the pigs mental ability. When
together Fonny and the doctor spent
much time in this kind of dialogue:
"Dr. Dorritt. what do you think of the
expostulation of science as elevated by
the discumbency Of prehensile astronomy
and disgorged By the integrity and to-
tality of the theological universeY'
Although this was q question which no
man could either understand or answer,
the learned doctor cleared 1t right up.
His small eyes would almost close and
his nostrils go upward In snorts of dis
dain at the ignorance which was unable
to cope with so simple a problem. His
opinion then came forth in succession Of
decisive grunts. These Fonny translated
as a most lucid explanation of the ques-
tion, whatever it was. Indeed, if the
boys opinion of the pigs wisdom was cor
rect, he was able to throw light on the
darkest problems which affect the race Of
men. He was equally learned in law,
logic. theology. philosophy and all the
physical sciences; but in law he was abso-
lutely without peer.
Fonny's interrogatories were generally
made up from the big words he heard in
Judge Garnett's home or Office and in
church, thrown together without regard
To conference or relevancy. As in the case
of all who assume learned attitudes, this
triiing obscurity of style was no draw
back to the doctor in expOunding his
views thereon.
Sometimes a question would take this
form: What's your opinion of philos-
opher who rode q cucumber to the horse
fair and came home without his supper
The grunts which followed this query
would be echoed by Fonny in this form:
"A fool fool! fooll quite agree with
you, doctor"
Fonuy was an unconscious satirist. The
doctor and his wisdom satirized the hu-
man family terrifcally; but the boy took
curious pleasure in pretending that both
questions and answers were correct and
serious He always came away from q
long talk with the pig greatly stimulated
in mind and fairly bullying with learning.
The doctor was also his oracle on the
small affairs of every day life "Will it
come out so and SO, or will it happen
thusf" he would ask of his four footed
friend, and the reply was always to his
entire satisfaction. In fact it could not
be otherwise when he acted as interpre-
ter. In this way all the boys perplexi-
tics were made plain. And who shall say
that his oracle was less wise than that of
many presumably learned men, who go
sometimes for guidance in temporal affairs
to advisers of as questionable ability as
Dr. Dorritt?
When Fonny was deprived of the COM
forting society of his pet and mentor, and
needed counsel, he caAed him up in
Imagination and propounded his questions
with much the same result. Have we
not been told a thousand times that beauty
is in the eye of the beholders That we
see in others what we have within our
salvesf Truly the imagination has power
to make its own world. It can even
endow an animal Of the grossest tastes
and coarsest instincts with the attributes
of superior being. Fonny was not the
first of his race to idealize pig, nor will
be be the last.
Today he had many things to lay before
his wise friend. So as he ssuntered along
and imagined himself accompanied by the
doctor, and they exchanged opinions very
freely. Mark you. when he was with the
doctor, either in fancy or reality, he was
no longer the humble serving boy, ready
to fetch and carry and run at the call Of
another. A grave and reverend seignior,
. Roman statesman, or mighty monarch
was he; and the pig, though so learned
and infallible. was somewhat beneath him
IN rank.
This assumption of greatness made him
happy and in no way displessed
the pig. Is it remarkable that strong
existed between them? Each |
had his self respect fostered by the defer |
ential attitude of the other. Each felt |
that the other saw him as he really was, |
and not as the dull and commonplace |
beings about them saw him. Each for |
the time believed himself the great per-
sonage he assumed to be.
Are not most friendships built on Q
similar foundationr We seek the society |
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