The Express.
London, England, 1862-12-02 00:00:00

Zhe erprefifi.

TO OORR&SPONDENTS.
Advertisements intended for " The F.:prom" London Evening
Pam mast be at the once, 10, )3ouverteetrest, by Two
• clock on the day of publication.

COVENT GARDEN.
THIS kridrinci, LOVEA TRIUMPH. Mies Louisa Tyne
sad Madame Laura Baxter , Messrs. 0. Perren,
Weiss, 11. Corti, Ayusley Cook. and W. Bardoon.—Conductor,
111 r. A. Mellon.—Cummenee at 8.

RAYMARKFT.
FYINTNIA A DAUGH LER TO MARRY. Miss R. Romer.
OUR AM RRICAN cOCSIN. Messrs. Sotheru. Buckstons ; Mrs.
Fltrwitham.—DUCK lIUNTIN O. ?Ira Willdna—Axid JACK'S
=URN FROM CANTOS. The Leclereqs.

PRINCE:INS.
Ting FrinagGl, A.S.S. Mr. Fitzjnines and Mies llenderson.
TIIE TRIPLE ALLIANCE: Mr. G. Vining: Mime Aylmer.
M. Olt% et.. and Mrs. B. White.—And THE HONEYMOON.
Messrs. il. Vezln ana R. Roxby ; 3libi M. Oliver.

BRITANNIA.
nos Emma, CAST ON THE MERCY OF THE WORLD.
Yrs. S. Lune..-Blaglng by Mr. W. Rand311.—D11116111( by Willa.
C. Sleph..m.—GALE BREEZELY. THE SEVEN STr...PS
TO RUIN. Min Lsoey.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
MP. DST Morn Wm.... Afternoon, Ilti, Iom.
To.neßaoN—Mornlno. 01. Om..... Afternoon. Ola. lum

LOYDON, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2.

M. Ilarrazzi was always esteemed an able Par-
liamentary tactician. His great skill has not, how-
ever, availed to maintain him in power against the
strong feeling which his ill administration provoked
throughout Italy. But he has contrived to extri-
cate himself from a bad position with the leant
possible loss. Having made the best defence he
could, and perceiving that it would not prevail,
he has resigned, and thus escaped the weight of
that condemnation which the Parliament was about
to lay upon him, and the effects of which would
have followed him through life. The selection of
his successor will probably give the KING some
trouble ; but Vicroa Einz axuxi. can hardly find
fault with his Parliament for what is, in fact, a
demand for a policy more conformable to the in-
dependence and greatness of the nation.

OVR godfathers and godmothers have certainly
much to answer for. They often start ua in the

world with names which doom us to a life of

misery. A want of taste or imagination—a bad
ear fur music—a weak sense of the ridiculous, and
a foolish desire to flatter one or more wealthy

relatives, are at the bottom of half our absurd
christenings. They sometimes brand us with titles
which are stumbling-blocks in our business, which
often lead us to change our identity, and which
often lead us into the Court of Bankruptcy. An
unfortunate gentleman appeared in the Gazette
the other day as an insolvent debtor whose name
must surely have helped him into failure. His
full title was JOHANNES FIDELIES Enwsßnus
SEC El:s, and he was described as a general mer-
chant, of Southwark. A title that would have
figured well in a history of some Norman Con-
quest, or on the roll-call of an ancient abbey, or
on a tombstone in St. Paul's Cathedral, was
doubtless found very clumsy and unmanageable
acros., bills of exchange, and not at all impressive
at the heads of invoices. A man who started in
business with such a name as that was heavily
weighted for the race, and he would have done
well to have imitated the policy of our Polish
tradesmen. When lies PONIATOWSKY opens
his little caf,i on the borders of Leicester-square,
he transforms himself at once into Herr SOAK or
Signor PoNi. By this course he does all he can
to deserve success, and is not quite such a problem
to his creditors and the postmen.

The struggles to get rid of an ill-fitting name
are constantly finding work for our judges. The
Court of Queen's Bench is occasionally turned into
a Divorce Court, where unhappy suitors pray to
be released from their worst halves. It was not
long ago that a gentleman, pining under the de-
pressing name of Boas, came forward and begged
to be changed into HOWARD. The homely moth
_ _ . . .

wished to be transformed into the aristocratic
butterfly, and applied to the proper authorities in
that case made and provided. Some people are
pardonably discontented with their surnames, others
with their Christian names, and some with both.
The other day an attorney, who had borne the
insufferable burden of five not very harmonious
Christian names for half a lifetime, applied to the
Court of Queen's Bench for liberty to drop two of
his titles. When addressed in full he was called
EDMUND JONATHAN HORNDLOWER WATKINS
CLAUKE, and it was doubtful how many of these
titles were Christian names and how many sur-
names. He had no objection to EDMUND, nor to
IIuItNBLOWER, but he wished to be relieved at
Once from JONATHAN and WATKINS. He found
that the compulsory use of all these names in legal
documents was a great inconvenience and ex-
pense, to say nothing of their want of harmony to
a relined ear. He kept HORNDLOWER, however,
because it was a family name, though it was open
to ninny objections on the score of taste.
The Court had their little jokes while discuss-
ing tne application, and it is surprising how little
jokes tell when they are uttered from the Bench;
but Mr. EDMUND JONATHAN HORNBLOWER WAT-
KINS CLARKE was not allowed to cut off half his
tail without a scolding. The judges were evidently
not disposed to encourage these applications, and
were inclined to let a man suffer for the folly of
his sponsors.
The weight of absurd surnames is always felt in
society, as a man can often drop his first titles,
but never his last. We can all call to memory a
host of surnames which have to be softened in the
mouth for the sake of decency. Though a man,
by the mere accident of birth, may be afflicted
with one of these names, there is no reason why
he should not cast it off as he would the clothes of
his grandfather. The law is made for men, not
men f..r the law ; and it is bound to assist the
citizen in making himself and his neighbours com-