The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-21 00:00:00

WHAT'S IN A NAME ?

With the Romans auspicious names were ever in the
ascendant. Amongst innumerable examples we need only
instance here Regalianus, elected emperor by the Roman
soldiers solely on account of the royalty suggested by hit,
name. But lightly won, alas I lightly lost—he did not long
wear the crown of the Camara. On an equally sudden im-
pulse the troops put their newly-elected emperor to death.
His name gave him a crown, but could not preserve to him
his life.

A still more singular instance of a name, and a Christian
name, influencing the destiny of an individual, is told by
Herrera, the Spanish historian. Louis VIII. of France,
surnamed Coeur de Lion," desiring a Spanish princess for
his bride, ambassadors were sent to the court of Madria.
The eldest and the most beautiful of the royal sisters was
the one destined by her own family to share the diadem of
France. But where was the wise fairy godmother who in
all nursery tales presides at the naming of beautiful prin-
cesses ? At the cradle of the unfortunate eldest daughter
of Spain, it would seem, there was no fairy godmother, nor
even an earthly sponsor gifted with musical ear or aesthetic
tastes—her name Urraca, harsh in sound, was in its signir
fication yet more objectionable, for in Spanish it signified a
magpie.

A magpie queen, and to mate with a lion-heart. Im-
possible 1 The dismayed ambassadors felt themselves com-
pelled to reject the young beauty. Her name had deprived
her of a noble husband and of a crown. The lovely Urraca
saw her younger sister (less fair than herself, except in
name) preferred before her, and Blanche the Fair of Castile
was carried in triumph to France to become the honoured
wife of Louis the Lion heart, and the proud mother of St
Louis.
Here is a graceful exposition of the writer's
favourite theory—
CHRISTIAN ICA:gEs•
but we may lose all on
Darlings of fortune we may be,
which we are priding ourselves; but one thing we cannot,
the en
lose—our little-regarded
sCohriesslafnlifneLmaeyso.l
passing
gowweitdh n
on
s
us in our sinless infancy, they
will still be ours, unohanr.ed
throughinto the
veryal thel
portalschanging
whofiegrave. That first and individual
name of ours, to h for good or evil we shall have
responded hundreds of thousands of times—the letters of
which we shall so oft en have traced for purposes of evil or
of good—that Christian name, alas 1 how often desecrated
in our daily, hourly use of it I—that name, a witness for us
or against us, will be engraved on
h
last earthly tenement, whether our
ctojelin door-plateb e of
lordlyo f
oak
r
or pauper deal.

Companions with us through the varied scenes of our
whole lives, our Christian names become an:actual part of
ourselves, At the sound of that name, breathed tenderly

by a mother's lips, we as babes stretch ferth our dim
pled arms all eager with delight. Ic is heard by the
maiden with crimsoned cheek and beating heart when it
is for the first time whispered by the voice she loves best ;
and it is thenceforth the only name she cares to keep.
Father, mother, brother, sister, friend ; it is by them we are
called by our Christian name, and, uttered by the lips of
our dearest ones, to it is given a peculiar music of its

own.
Ours inseparably I In absence or in death, at the familiar
sound of our names, a familiar form starts up before the
memories of all to whom we are known, clothed in the in-
dividuality of our words and deeds. Shall that undyillg
form,
,thus inseparably connected with our names, be

lovely or the reverse ?
Names are significant of many aces. Let us an
gr
to our names--so shall the answering remembrance of our-
selves be clothed with its fair characteristic graces.
The several :chapters of this work contain the
origin and meanings of most names of our acquaint-
ance, from the ancient Bible and classic denomina-
tions, down to the homely appellatives of modern
,lays. While some names are N ery significant of the
his;ories of their bearers, others are, again, equally
inappropriate. Here is an instance very beautt-
fully set forth—

MAGDALENE-MAGNIFICENT.
Magdalene (so called from the place of her birth), the
Magnificent.
Is there no lesson in her name ?
In the pride of her beauty—for the power of beauty i 5
very great—Magdalene might once have gloried in her name
—Magnificent as a stately tower. But the tower whose foun-
dations not
are on the shifting sands of time, shall i
shall
crumble away? The magnificence which is of earth,

it not yield to decay ?
It was in her other name that Magdalene's safety Was
found—Mary, which in Hebrew means bitterness.
Mary, or Miriam, a name first given to the daughter of
J-ochebed. The mother's name signified " whose glory it
Jehovah," but her child was born in the bitterness 01
Egyptian bondage, and she thence derived her sorrowful
name—bitterness as of the sea, waters of affliction, of whiell
they drank from a full cup. of
But the bondage of Mary Magdalene was the bondage
sin, and when once its bitterness was felt the hour of her
freedom was at hand : " loving much," to her "much was
forgiven." Strangely still sounds the name of Magdale--.09
ffhters
the Magnificent, applied to the sorrowing
a Lt

shame.
How gloriously from her other name has its sorrowful
meaning been rolled away. In every Christian land 01
is the name that most women love best to bear. I\l°ll
sorrow ttad the mother of our Lord, and the sweet Marys,
Gospel history, like Miriam of old, were born while their
countrymen were in bondage, but they lived to see a far
more glorious ransom accomplished. Of the waters of Natal'
they indeed also drank, but He of whom the tree was typi-
cal. was himself with them, and by Him was the bitter glade
sweet.

Many interesting fragments of history or romance
we might cull from these graceful pages, but We
have said enough to demonstrate the very excel•
lent purpose of the work, and the very felicitece
manner in which that purpose has been fulfilled'

The Moors and the Fens. By F. G. Trafford'
author of " City and Suburb," with illustrationo•

One Vol. Pp. 381. Smith and Elder.
This story principally relates to a dreary üb°dei
misnamed Paradise, situated " among the fens °
Lincolashire—in the dreariest portion of that miser-
able county," and tenanted by Sir Ernest Ivrains'
" the miser-descendant of a long line of contemptible
ancestors." This delightful old gentleman has two
sons, whom he maintains in the most penurious 033°-
ner till the younger Henry can endure it no longer'
but departs to seek his fortune in India. The elder
Ernest, fearful of losing his inheritance, continues
to drag on a miserable existence beneath 11.15
father's roof, and even brings a young Wife'
a bright damsel from the Scottish moors, to share
the dismal monotony of the miser's abode. As .1t
,
constantly happer.s, in real life, the good and evil.
influences struggle for the mastery in this draft*:
" Paradise." Mina Fraser, however, has 11°'
sufficient love and courage to enable her to over-
come the gloomy depression of her new home'
Sae lades and droops uncomplainingly, more eerie-
d.
cially when her evil genius, Cecilia Warmon
" brews mischief," and infuses doubts into her hus-
band's heart. The story concludes, however, under
happier auspices. Henry returns from India with
his bright•learted, peace-making wife, and sorroW'
and trouble open the eyes and the hearts of Ernest
and Mina to a better appreciation of each other.
The tale is clever and ably written, and various
other interesting characters take their part on the
scene; but the influence of the fens is depressing,
and we are glad when occasionally we are indulged
with a fresh breath of the breeze from the moors.

Keeping Afloat ; or the Meeting at the Morgue.

A Novel. 1 Vol. Skeet.
This is a most wild and extravagant story about
a noble family—that of the Earl of Besso, and his
son, Lord Hawkscurl, and his daughter, Lady
Bertha—which endeavours by every means, fair or
foul, to " keep afloat," and maintain appearanees
iu
the eyes of the world. Suffice it to say, that Lora
Hawkscurl does not hesitate to commit murder?
that Lady Bertha almost "proposes" to a wealth,'
plebian, and that the Earl connives at the duplicity'
of his interesting offspring—and all to " ke:P
afloat." The dead body of Lady Bertha who,
.ued-
graded and disgraced, commits suicide, is recogois6d
at the Morgue by her brother and her lover, ahle
this incident gives its second title to the tale—'s I°o
of greater improbability than any yet iniagiociu
a supplement to the " Romance of the Peerage'

A.,
Knowledge for the gime. By John Titnbs, S°1:1 0
author of " Curiosities of London," &c'

Vol. Pp. 288. Lockwood.
Ataßune en parvo should be the motto of rrl'lhr;
Timbs' marvellous treasures of compilation. ."""i
little volume now before us professes to be a man°
of reading, reference, and conversation on sbect°
of living interest, useful curiosity, and au'u6l33s
research : Histories—political information---P°-
gress of civilization—dignities and distinctions
change in laws—measure and value---progress
tic);
science—life and health—and, finally,re"gible
thought. All these multitudinous and In em "a t
matters are illustrated from " the best
are thes
authorities," conspicuous among which
principal organs of the daily and weekly P 4 r;°
Turning over the pages at random, we glean 'n-csr;
,hynes9
motion on most various topics—" How
spoils enjoyment," from Arthur Helps' 69,siTiit;
"Expense of Baronetcy and Knighthood," 0 t.
See of London," " Irregular Marriages," " Tike
Washingtoll,
of-leave Men," " The Ancestors of and
lates
&c.—subjects of all kinds and
ranging—
" From grave to gay, from lively to severe."
characteto,

BOOKS RECEIVED. EY
Sir Goodwin's Foliy : A Story of the Year 17.
Arthur Locker. 3 vols. Chapman and Hall.
Very Hard Cash. By Charles Reade. 3 vols. SatuPbs°ll

Low, Son, and Marston.
The Old House in Crosby-square. By the author of The
and
King's Mail. 2 vols. Sampson Low, Son,
Marston.
Source of the Nile. Br
Journal of the Discovery of the
By the author of The Heir of
ind it. By the Rev, u•Sport in Norway, and Where to F
R. Barnard. Chapman and
Captain Speke. William Blackwood and Sons.:
1141'
.
The Wars of Wapsburg.
Radcliffe. Groornbridge and Sons.
Arichandra, the Martyr of Truth : A Tamil Drama Trans.-
lated into English. By Mutu Coomara Swaney. Smith,
C
Elder, and o.
By Henry Stoddard. Pickering.
T'
Sampson Low, Son,, and
Marston.
The
KGinengt'tileßeLliite : Esaya. c Richard Hear
Try and Try Apin. By Old Jonathan. W. Macintosh.
The Children's Party ; or, A
S. W.Day at Upland. By Coubia
Helen. Partridge.

Punch's Almanack for 1864.

This -
Almanack is published today, and is as full
as ever of fun, frolic, grace, and grotesqueness. A
comprehensive illustration to ,4 The Calendar" is, as
t"lal, from the pencil of John Tenniel, Punch's
great cartoonist. The rest of the embellishments---
we can't count how many for laughing—being
from the indefatigable hand of delightful Jolla
Leech. And here, in these miscellaneous pictorial
comicalities of Leech, we have, littered over the
pages of Punch's Almanack for the coming New
Year, swarms upon swarms of John Lecch'is pretty
girls, chubby children. snob riders, stout vulgarian",
London street•boys, cabbies, swells, yokels, end
policemen. Thanks especially to John Leccb, and
particularly where John Leech gets among the
horseflesh, Punch's Almunack is still the rucivot bit
of fun going.