Litchfield enquirer., 1872-06-20
MY NAME.
L-wHAr I DID WITH MY NAME.


 It is the greatest mistake in the world to suppose there is nothing in name, ol even not much; I have found by expert ence that there is a very great deal in
 mine. It is beyond my comprehension
 how my parents, knowing that-through tbem-I should be stigmatized all my life by the surname of Ogg, could have the premeditated ferocity to add thereto
 ''Neremiah Bottletop." The only apollo gy they have been able to offer me in later years is, that this preposterous name orig mated in the person of my godfather, an
 eccentric old bachelor of good fortune. But even to be called Neremiah Bottletop, with the pleasant consciousness that thereby had earned place in my god
 fathers affections and will, was denied
 me- We lived in the Eastern Riding of
 Yorkshire, and Mir. Bottletop near the town of Chester; and I arrived at the
 mature age of twenty-five without having had the pleasure of even making his ac
 quaintance
 In my childish days at home the mis- fortune of my name had never told severe ly on my youthful spirits; among my sis ters and brother went by the undigni- fled but obvious abbreviation of Merry" and not until went to school, at the age of nine, did it really dawn upon me that my name was terrible thing. will en- gage that no merely human boy at school and college ever possessed such a collec- tion of objectionable nicknames as were founded upon my unlucky cognomen. I believe the name Neremiah is not Scrip tural one,-at least, have never met with my namesake in the Bible; but, needless of this, I was called Obadiah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Lamentation, Job, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the prophet, the seer, the patriarch; Moses, Mo, Cog and Ma gog; Boggy, Bottle, Jugs, Pots, Tops; the King of Bashan, Sihon the Amorite, the Moabite, the Hivite, the Hittite, and all the rest of the nations against which the children of Israel carried on war,-in fact, longer string than I can now re- member; but know that I hardly ever meet an old school friend who does not address me by some title coined at my expense from his own exuberant fancy.
 Still as fortunately possessed toler- ably good temper and the light heart of my age, these small annoyances became harmless through their frequency, and I went through life with youths careless serenity until fell in love.
 My father was a man of pretty good fortune, and M F. for our little town of but, as possessed an eld- CT brother and eight sisters, was very expected to earn some bread of my own. But, most unfortunately, I had no talents and less ambition, and felt an unaccountable dislike to every course of life which was pointed out to me- The position I should have preferred, and probably adorned, was that of a country squire, with big house and garden and half dozen hunters; but these good things are seldom attained-except by ac- a man is at an age to ap- preciate their blessings. I had put of my decision until was too old for the army or navy; had an unmistakable dis taste to the learned professions had no turn for art, literature, to science; and I was not clever or business like enough for 8 mercantile careeer. It was at this un- settled period of my life that took upon me to fall in love.
 The name of my enslaver was Miss Ger aldine Montague; and if any thing was calculated to strike terror into the bold est heart, it was the question which haunt ed me, e,-not, Does she love me? Will she be mine or even, How shall support her if she will? but,-How can ask her to change that name for Mrs. Neremiah Bottletop Ogg?
 Horror came over me for my name, up- on which now look back as man re- covered from illness thinks over his ray ings. I could not avoid the dreadful ne- cessity of knowing that she thought of me (when she did) by the name of MT. Ogg, as had been introduced to her be- fore my mind gave way, or I feel convinc- ed should have added syllable or two to my surname, and perhaps brought it out Ogglethorpe or Ogilvy, as subse- quently committed absurdities quite as great. .....
 I met Miss Montague and her mother at friends house in London, my own re- lations being safely at home in the wilds of Yorkshire, except my brother, who was with his regiment in India. After three days acquaintance. had seen a great deal of the Montagues, having systemat- ically dogged their footsteps in manner only possible in big city. caught at faint clews as to where they would spend the afternoon or pass Che evening, invari- sbly contrived to turn up, greatly, of course, to our mutual surprise; At the end of week, I began to think the man. ma was graciously disposed to me. Aft CT fortnight I began to hope the daugh- ter smiled upon me. I became so con- vinced about this latter and extremely part of the proceeding, that one evening at the opera (when her man. ma had dutifully gone to sleep), went to the desperate lengths of calling her "my angel Geraldine" 7" and adding 8 good deal more to the same effect, unrebuked.
 At this time had known them about Q month; and I was goaded into strong measures by the knowledge that they were about to leave town, perhaps going home to Lincolnshire, the following week. I can say now, after the lapse of years, that Geraldine was pretty and charming; but at that time she appeared to my dag zled vision everything that was beautiful, graceful, and perfect, and worth every sacrifice and exertion a man could make to win her. Not that, in a pecuniary sense, I was called upon to absolutely sacrifice anything particular When I found things were really serious, and mat rimony becoming imminent, I wrote to consult my father. For reasons of my own, much too absurd to state to him, I did not tell him the young lady's name (any English person of ordinary geograph- ical attainments will know that Lincoln shire and Yorkshire are adjoining coun- ties; my father might go to make morn- ing call on Mrs. Montague next week, and say how fortunate he considered his son ''Nerry" to have been-possibly Neremi- ah D; but told him that I knew on the best authority q had it from the best au- thority q had it from Geraldine herselD that she would have three hundred pounds g year of her own when she came of age, and she was now twenty. Now, my father allowed me three hundred pounds year; and I thought, if 1t were possible that could get some kind of employment, that, with her little fortune too, we might manage very we'll. My father wrote to me very kindly, noticing that had forgotten" to nome the lady, but saying that he would be very glad if I were happily settled in life, and that he would do his best to assist me.
 Imust say that I thought matters look ed very bright for me on this night in
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