The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-11
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

| d rose By any other name would smell as sweet But in spite of Shakespeare's query, there is great deal in name, and no one knew it better than did he, for If 1 it had not been that so much value was , basis upon which to hang his immortal love play.
 And yet, the unfeigned petulance and longing which Juliet. the fourteen-year- old Capulet poured out to Romeo. the Montague, was silent testimony to the fact that shesknew tha, names were keeping them apart, and that the feud between the two leading families both alike in dignity, in fair Verona was an obstacle that was very real to their courtship. Tn the very title, Romeo and Juliet. is there not reflected all the deliciousness
 of the soft Italian skies," says one who points out the fact that to call the play John and Tabitha," for instance, would be enough to cause the illusion of TO- nance to vanish and leave the impress lsion of very commonplace hero and he- roine, but the mere mention of the names given them by the playwright conjures Iup pictures of moonlight nights and bal- cony scenes.
 The same line of thought has also been applied to Goethe's play of Faust" Gretchen, the name the great German lpoet bestowed upon his heroine, is just the caressing dminutive. suggesting sim plicity and purity and innocence. But jjust translate it into the English Maggie and it loses all of it's poetry and charm. and in way it's moral significance, for tsomehow the betrayal is robbed of it's lvileness when the name is Anglicized- Really, there is great art in naming lone's heroines. and there are names which in one language are appropriate in every way, but in another are out of Iplace, and jar on the ear or give offense to the fitness of things. To illustrate: If Gretchen seems vulgarized in the Eng fish Maggie, in the Marguerite of the French it becomes too aristocratic and naughty and at once becomes dssociated
 from the clinging appealingness of the
 trusting German maiden who was caught
 in the net of Faust
 There is a real psychological reason. therefore, when we unconsciously to our
 selves form mental picture of people
 whom we read about in history or hear of in 'conversation, and not only is this true of real persons. but also in the realm
 Of poetry and fiction. It is fact that we do not all see them alike. This is
 shown in the various, treatment given to
 the same subjects by artists and illus
 trators. No two painters give to Juliet the same features any more than the
 same dress.
 This is one cause why authors and
 actors so particular in choosing pen
 names and stage names for themselves ' sonorous. mouth-flling name has a , value both in the literary and dramatic world. Herbert Lythe becomes. famous |, as Maurice Barrymore, John H. Broo- ribb becomes Henry Irving. simply to
 choose one actor from the American and
 the English stage. Speak of James B. Matthews, and few would know of whom you were talking but merely say Brandef Matthews and you recognize an old friend immediately. Instances taken from , authors and actors could be multiplied in- : definitely.
 I daresay a few of the initiated would recognize Samuel Clemens without his
 nom de plume. but a friend of mine,
 young telegraph operator at vicksburg in the early sos, did not, and was there- by put to confusion. He told me of it
 shortly after it happened. Said he: "A
 tall, quaint looking individual came in
 and picked Up a day telegraph blank
 and wrote regular letter, and signed 1t
 Samuel Clemens. and marked on 1t Cor lect.' It was to a party in New Or 5 leans. In reading it as I counted the } number of words. it was the rankest non- 3 sense, and Hearing that the person to , whom it was sent would refuse to re- ceive 1t, I demanded the cash: but he . hnerely scratched out Samuel Clemens and inserted Mark Twain..' and remarked in
 his inimitable dra~l Sonny, reckon , that'll fix it. and I blurted out You bet
 1t will"
 Every author knows that while it is : hard to choose the night name for the
 characters in his novel, drama, or poem,
 the success of his effort will be
 largely influenced by his choice. and so
 much care is given to the subject as can
 be learned from the autobiographies of
 some of the literary celebrities who have let us see their books in the making.
 The novelist goes the rule that if the influence of a Tight name is felt in r real life. how much more so in fiction } In real life it is a matter of chance tor of lucky accident if the baptismal name proves just and happy one. suited
 to the personal appearance character , and circumstance of the owner If has
 been pointed out by student of names
 both as to individuals and heroes. that
 the natural parent may claim forgiveness for nisnaming his progeny on the score ' that he could not divine the future and
 see his child as it would look on reach ing manhood or the career it would adopt
 On the other hand. there is no such