The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1913-03-06
"reminiscences of Belfast.

native of Belfast, of the vintage of
1914, have just read with interest the
"reminiscences of Mrs. Frederick, and
have gazed again with pleasure on the
familiar features of the Unitarian
church, little changed outw ardly in sixty
odd years. Glimpsed in retrospect, the
longest human life is short, and the span
between youth and age very brief. Lille
has been compared to circle in which
the lines join, and surely, as we round
the final arc, We draw near IN thought
and interest TO the early days, and our
records ring true with their har-
monies and discords.
Again we muster with our young com
panions at Miss Frye's little school,
where we sing the multiplication table
and chant the vowel sounds: again we
become the beneficiary of gentle Miss
Pratts motherly Kindness again We
feel the stern discipline of Mr.. Pink
hams iron rule; again we are ex orted
10y the Supt, Gen. Webster to greater
application. concentration, and higher
degree of department. and cited to the
ilustrious example of a local prodigy,
who shall be nameless
In those old days there stood on the
southwest corner of the school ground
tttlc white-washed cabin. occupied by
DADDY Robinson and his aged wife. We
boys little rufiians- would throw stones
upon his roof to annoy him. can see
the old man coming to his door to mildly
demonstrate. when pert little John Lane
would meet him with, Il didn't do IT,
Mr.. Robinson mo, no, ;" said the old
man, nobody did it, nobody did it.
Those were the days of snip building,
wheu Belfast seemed great CONNER
clal port; Of the steamers Daniel Web
ster. I. F. Secor and The Lawrence,
sometimes called the Lazy Lawrence
of timber, wood and bark of buffalo
coats, coon skin caps, sperm oil or can
dies, cheap Holsters and the ''swatest
CLANS that ever growed," for ellison
said so.
In these halcyon days the Grove was
forest, Asa Day, of fragrant memory,
was the bugbear of refractory children;
Silvereye Jackson was the strong man
of Belfast and could lift barrels of flour
and kegs of nails by their chimes with
his teeth, and the most beautiful jack
stones of varied colored flint could be
found on a crumbling little pier near
the lower bridge by those who had the
temerity to brave the perils Of Puddle
dock.
Belfast was then distinguished by one
colored citizen, Mr.. Cook, the barber, a
muscular christian, belonging TO our
church, a powerful factor in revivals.
He had two sons, Bill and Jim, mischiev-
Gus little devils, black as coal. 1t was
Cooks custom to discipline them for mis-
demeanors of the day. at night, in the
quiet and darkness of their chamber,
coming upon them often in their sleep
One night Jim, having hint that some
thing was due him, changed places with
innocent Bill, who suffered vcariously
for Jim's offense.
Among my earliest acquaintance was
precocous kid called "Dod;" later
famous as humorist, who gave me my
first lesson in natural history, and beat
Darwin to it, in well conceived, though
amazing treory and disquisition on the
e n,1a INV
bellgerent, later known as Tweed,
who led an assault, with stones, upon
Miss Barnes schoolhouse door, and,
being captured by sortie headed by one
Al. SleeI er ard carried kicking into
the Presence, reported later, urdis-
mayed, tnat he made her hair come down.
Frank Dickerson, who later laid his
yourg life upon the altar Of his country,
was the gallant commander of our snow
fort, Deseiged by barbarians from the
plains, including the Moody and Bckford
clans, led by that outlaw, Fred. Ed
wards and, among our casualties,
/ recall that one BILL, now an
eminent physician of Massachusetts,
Was hit in the eye by an 'lcey" and COW
cred himself with ignominy by shouting
EMarm."
The OLD church has special associations
for me. was born, so to speak, into
the Methodist fold. We foregathered
an = barren, converted building, below
High street TIE house was cold in win
ter the box pews void of cushions, the
seats high. The pastor was powerful
preacher ard a sweet singer. 1t sticks
in my mind" that his name was Mans
field. and when l sat posed in awe, with
my hot head filed with catechsm and
my cold feet asleep, and the pastor fixed
me with his hypnotic eye, striving to
TITC Units W