Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-08-16
PEN.NAMES,

sufferlngs, and the successes OF men of letters.
/ and not unreasOnably, the same interest may
be thought to surround minor branch OF the
! same theme.
Let US imagine that some one has written q
/ book, and has been SO fortunate as to find a
/, publisher Threatened publicity does not affect
| all alike. 1t is related of one writer now known
! the world around. that on first seeing his name
! In print at the head of a magazine article he
though walking in the crowded Strand in Lon
don at the time, tossed up his hat in the air. and
| then kicked it, football fashion, across the
street for joy.
/ If our friend is we'll known. or has already
made for himself reputation. he will probably
feel no scruple at seeing his real name on the
title-page of his forthcoming work. But if he
/ be modest or d!fiident (and what young author
is not and especially if this is the first shallop
he has launched on the sea of literature, it is
very likely the blood will fly up to his cheek and
! a succeeding cold chill will run down his spine
/ at the thought of announcing plainly and I'M
/ mistakably that the new book is ''by J. Smith ~
| So he decides to publish under pen-name,
and Oh what sleepless nights and nervous days
! he passes till he makes one to suit his fancy!
| For these and for many other reasons it has
/ become quite common for authors and especially
writer's for the daily press. to assume q pen
/ name (nom dc phtme) or pseudonym (''false
name under which to conceal their identity.
|
| tionary OF pseuGonyms was compiled In Ger
many. the list comprised less than five hundred
| names for ali Europe. To-day it is many times
| that number. The writer has collected upward
OF hve thousand pen-names OF English authors
alone, from the short and celebrated "BOZ" of
/ Charles Dickens to the notwithstanding "Alde-
bOrontiphOscOphOrniO' of James Ballantyne.
| Pen-names may be divided into three classes.
the chieftwO ofwh:ch are pseudonyn,S and anon
GINS. he first includes all fictitious desiGna-
! fnr 10 lilo
or John Search" The second term (meanng
! literally without name") embraces such
| phrases as by Layman." or by a Lady"
! The third group are neither pseudOnyms nor
an0nyms. and consist only of the initials of the
writer's true names, as 81. E. L. that is, Lett
! tia Elizabeth Landon.
| 1t is of some interesting and Out-Of-the-way
gossip respecting the first class CT pen-names-
| pseudonyms-that We propose to write
| The various modes o. choosing or Of forming
pen-name seem to be as diverse as are the
characters Of authors OF Of their books The
grotesque has been the aim Of many writer's In
this spirit the Countess of Morley introduces
herself as Richard Suckiethumb Spruggins, ~
Robert Southey. the poet. appears as clumsy
Abel Shuft!ebottOm," while Isaac Disrae
father the late Earl of Beaconsfield is kno wn
in the republic of letters as .'Messrs. Tag. Rag.
and BObta'
writer on religion calls himself IA Sinner
Saved; several laymen take refuge under the
title Reverend" after the fashion of REV Dr.
Dryasdust." really Sir Walter Scott: number OF
diyines sign themselves "A Iayman;" and ''Mrs
| Gilman" Mrs. Glasse, +" "Mrs. Margaret eau
| die. "''Mrs. PartngtOn"and Mrs '.Ramsbottom''
are the pen-names respectively Of Hosea Ballou,
Sir John Hill. Douglas Jerrold. B. p. Shillaber
and Theodore Hook-all men,
Several female writer's. too. have taken refuge
under masculine titles. The George Eliot of
MRS: LeWes and the 'GeOrge Sand of Madame
Dudevant will occur to every one. Others. not
so well known. are the christopher Crowfield'
of Harriet Beecher Stowe. the German Cabal-
lero' OF Dona Felicia Arrom the Spanish novel
lst, the ARTHUR Dudley of the Countess of
Bury, and the Howard Glyndon" of Laura c.
II. Soaring.
Anagrammatic pseudOnyms form large class
Perhaps the earliest known is that of the great
French satirIst Francois Rabelais, who turned
his name into ''Alcofrbas Nasier'' Barry
Cornwall. poet, is the good though imperfect
anagramniatic reil-name of Bryan Waller Proc
Ter. and the trio. BENJAMIN. Austin and .Lgran
ADh0tt. once wrote iii a sort of literary partner
ship under the title 'Ienaulv"
Other wel-knGwn anagrams used by authors
are: "Olphar Hamst' for Ralph Thomas ..John
Drallock" for John Coliard Il. Pylodet' for
f. Leypoldt, ana James Hasolle'' for Elias
Ashmole-in which last the anagrammatist's
privilege OF turning all into q J is made use Of
There are several well-known acrostic rseu-
dohyms the initials of the writer's real or as
sumed names happening to spell some other
Word Excellent examples are the ..Talvi'' of
Iherese Albertina Luise TOn .Jakob the '.E
d. E. N" of Emma D. Z. Neville (Southworth)
ana the "A L. o. E Ga Lady OF England
of Miss Charlotte Tucker
Under this class. too comes the &C T. q ~
OF Joseph Addison. whose essays i'm the .Spect0tor
appeared under each or all OF these four initials
the Whole forming the name ''Clio" There is
story to the effect that these four letters were
merely memoranda to indicate the place of COM
position of each essay. Thus stands for the
club, l. for London" /. for "IsIington,"
where he sometimes resided and O for the
office" There is no certain proof. however.
that this legend is true.
The choice Of a pseudOnym has often grown ont
OF fondness for some character bearing the
name chosen.
When Charles Lamb wrote his sEssays." and
cast about him for a fictitious signature to an
pend thereto. he bethOught him of an eccentric
deceased friend named Ella who had been q
fellow-emplOye of his in a government office
and thus the Essays of Ella were given to the
world. VIM
The Boz of Dickens was a "Reminiscences inf
chlidsh days. and grew out of facetious attempts
In the home circle to say Moses quickly while
holding the nose between the thumb and fore
finger. -0
1t is not surprising that there have been many
repeated uses of different pseudonyms Three
authors call themselves "John Search four
"Phliaiethes, twenty-seven "a Layman," three
Peter Plndar," two ''Nmrod," five 'Stella."
six "ScrutatOr." five ''Publicola," two Edward
Search" two John Clifford" and two ..Isaac
Bickerstaff'
There are several writer's who answer TO moro
than one pen-name, but Sir Waiter Scott prob
ably appears under greater number of dis
guses than any other. Here are some of them:
.-Chrystal Croftangry,'' Malachi" .Jedediah
CieishbothaEi." Lawrence Templeton." MA.
lachi naiagrowther, and 'Rev. Dir. Dryasdust."
''SylvaEus Urban may be styled an inherited
pseud0nym. nasmuch as the editor of the Gem
tenants Magazine. whoever he NAV be has
always written under that title 1t is sunnosed
to Indicate familiarity with both country and
city affairs. The editors Of the Dublin Unicersit,,
Ndgazane always use the pen-name ANTHONY
Poplar"
1t used to be the fashion to turn ones name
into foreign tongue and then adopt the new
rendering as pen-name. So we have '.Paoanus
Piscator Latin for Payne Fisher, an English
poet OF the seventeenth century, and the Can
dGus OF Thomas White, c0ndidus meaning
white" in Latin. In the same vein Charles
Crozet Converse uses the pseudonym Carl Re-
den." Karl is German for Charles" and recien
speech, -" talking" is literal German render.
ing of his surname.
Then there are the funny psendonyms-names
that invariably make US smile as we read them
among which may be named the 'Michael An
geio Titmarsh" Of William Makepeace Thrack-
cray. the Timothy Tickler'' of Robert Syme
the Petroleum Vesuvius Nasty" of David r.
Locke, the 20. X. Philander Doesticks p. B."
(Perfect Brick. of Mortimer NJ Thomson the
.Gridiron Gabble' of Joseph Haslewood. the
English photographer, and decentralization"
OF Rev. John Eagles; not to forget the s.Timo-
thy Titcomb" OF our own Dr. j. G. Holland