Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1908-11-24
Tumblebowu Dick,

In the Democrat of Oct. 8, 1905, l in
quired for the origin of the name Of
"Tumbledown Dick" as applied to a
mountain In Peru, Me-, and to mount
ain in Brookfield, N. II. was not then
sufficiently familiar with the orology Of
Oxford County to know that there are
In the county two mountains of this name
besides tho one in Peru, but such is the
case, one of them being In the south
west part of Rumford and the other in
the northern part of Gilead. ION Henry
Francis Walling's map Of Oxford County,
which was published In 1858, each OF
these three Oxford County mountains Is
given with this name of "Tumbledown
Dick" and the same Is true of Walling's
map Of Maine, which was published In
1852 As mountains of this name are
so numerous in Oxford County, any
thing which will throw light upon the
origin of the name will be of interest to
the readers of the Democrat. / am in
clined to think that the name came from
its use in Great Britain as applied to
Richard Cromwell, son, and for a short
time the successor of Oliver Cromwell.
Rev. Ebenezer Gotham Brewer, LII. D.,
In his Dictionary of Phrase and Fable"
explains the term as meaning anything
that will not stand firmly. Dick is
Richard, the Protectors son, who was
but q tottering wall at best" Since the
time when this term of "Tumbledown
Dick" was thus applied to the weak
kneed Richard Cromwell, the term has,
I rather think, come to be applied not
only to anything which will not stand
firmly, but, in a secondary, derivative
sense, to anything on which one finds
difficulty in standing, for Oxford County,
Me-, and Carroll County, N. H., are not
the only parts of the world where the
term has been applied to places which
afford but an insecure footing. For
instance, on the Island of st. Eustatius,
In the Dutch West Indies, there Ia pre-
cipitous hill which bears this same name
of "Tum bledown Dick" and it may be
added that, as to the origin of the name
in its application to that hill, there is
a tradition similar to that which the
Democrat of October II, 1905, gave, on
the authority of Mrs. George Wise. as
to the origin of the name In its appli-
cation to the mountain In the town OF
Peru, viz: that . man named Dick
tumbled down there. Such traditions,
however, are not to be relied upon, for
1t often happens that what in the course
of time become such traditions were in
the first instance invented to account
for the origin of names whose origin
was unknown; and, as l have said,
am inclined to think that the term
"Tumbledown Dick" as applied to hills
and mountains came from the use of
the term as applied, by way of nick
name, to Oliver Cromwell's weakened
son Richard C"Queen Richard" as he
was also nicknamed). Can any reader
of the Democrat tell when this name of
"Tumbledown Dick" was first applied
to these three-or to any one OF these
three-Oxford County mountains which
now bear the name? What photographer
first made map with this name applied
thereon to these mountains or to any
one Of them?
In conclusion will mention the fact
that in or about the year 1875 Henry
Fielding wrote a burlesque play en-
titled "Tumbledown Dick; or Phaeton
in the Suds" first publicly acted In
l744) in which young PhaetOn receives
the loan of his father Phoebus' lantern
to establish his paternity in the eyes OF
the parish boys, but falls asleep and is
"tumb led out OF the wheelbarrow. /
can see in Fielding's play no direct
reference to Commonwealth politics,
though probably his use, in the title of
his play, of the term "Tumbledown
Dick" a. applicable to any one whose
fall from power or prominence Is like
that Of the stick in the proverbial rocket
was due to the fact that the term had
been in vogue three.quarters of century
previously as sobriquet for the weak
kneed Richard Cromwell.
ANTIQUARIAN.