The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-04-27
WHAT'S IN A Nj
Some Persons Have Found that a Eu-
~phoniOus Name Is Desirable.
DI;roJo10l;o Ny1.XI -.-


The person who is as well up in his
Dickens as he ought to be will remember
that Mr.. Matthew Bagnet, of "Bleak
House." was in the custom of hearing his
children recite their catechism on Sunday
afternoons. The ceremony went something
like this: what is your name?'' This
would be answered satisfactorily. Then
would come a period of some uncertainty,
followed by the query: How do you like
that Manner which invariably threw the
session into disorder. In somewhat like
spirit Shakespeare seems to have thought
that when he put the famous query:
question once and for all. In fact, there is
a great deal in a name, as various people
who have been Saddled with bad sounding
names have found out. And with this re-
Election go others more or less nearly al
lied to it.
One should never allow his acquaintance
to be careless in the use of his name, for
the name is often prophetic of the char
acter of the man. Mechanics, except in
closest intimacy. are permitted only by
ignorance, but ii is mischieyously common.
Some names seem like inspirations. All
men cannot hope to be so blessed in this
respect as Washington Irving, James Rus
sell Lowell. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ma
thaniel Hawthorne (this, in particu. a :, is
perhaps the most perfect of all nalnes),
John Greenleaf Whittier, William Cullen
Bryant, Robert Louis Stevenson and Ed
gar Allen Poe. But, at all events, when a
man, through chance and the wisdom of
his parents, has a strikingly rhythmical
and original name, he should make the
most Of it, and should not allow liberties to
be taken with it. 1t gives him an immense
start In and hold upon life.
Some people carry a pet or nickname
through life which creates an impression of
weakness that is always detrimental. Yet
again, Ii is hardly ~pardonable to use a sim
gle initial, such as j. Storm or G. Myers.
NJ. Field has not the character we find in
Mashall Field. All initials, indeed, are to
be questioned where the full name is
euphonious. L. j. Gage is not nearly as
strong as Lyman j. Gage. 1t used to be an
old trick of the stock company days to
double up the smaller people in long casts
and to give them for their supplemental
appearances pretended names, the better
to give the impression of a full company.
These personalities depended a good deal
on the wit and readiness of the prompter,
bills. Some of them were Mr.. r. f.
Runnion and Mr.. c. f. Loon, and the
reader had to be pretty smart who recog-
nized under these subterfuges the ''rump-
Shakespeare. But this use of initials is a
little outside the practice of real life.
Speaking in a general way, the effort
should be made to use ones name in a
fixed way on all occasions, and to establish
1t In all its strength. If it sounds best with
out a middle name or a middle letter, so
determine, but having made the choice,
stick to it,. The first initial and the middle
name IN Iull, as j.. fierpOnt morgan, is
often an effective combination, but its use
should be carefully considered. Use the
name, in short, under the best aspects of
it that seem practicable. but make a choice
and abide by 1T. Those who observe the
proprieties will address a man as he signs
himself. All characterless names in the
way of authorizations should be strictly
tabooed. 1t is not in Sood taste to wr:te
"Robt." for Robert "Wm." for vii
liam," though the President Of the United
States often uses the latter form. and
worse than being tasteless, it offers evil
dence of weakness. The subject is one os
genuine Importance. and ii should be more
of an aim of parents than it is to give Their
children a substantial start in lie by
naming them effectively.