The Wrangell sentinel., 1922-01-12

my shoulderblade, and the worst of them is this thing of givng foreign spelling and pronunciation 10 our home grown names. There isn't a finer or statelier name in the city di- rectory than Mary. The most dis tinguished woman this world ever saw had that name and it was good enough for her.
 Any woman who tries to rear range such a name as that has some thing wrong with her intellect, and roof. At any moment she might be- come gibbering maniac.
 When I was young all the good old fashioned names were in evidence everywhere. The woods were full of EliZabeths and DorcaSeS and Matil- das. The women who had such names were proud of them. and never mon keyed with them. Had they done so. they'd have been cast into outer dark ness by polite society. Just today was glancing over the newspaper and saw some mention of a woman who calls herself Elyzabeth. Now, wonder what that v is doing there. Sane people don't spell Elizabeth with y, and in the grand old days the people wouldn't have stood for such an in- novation. But in these modern times all the institutions of our fathers and mothers are being overturned, and ii a girl is so fortunate as to receive stately name at her christening. she deyotes the best years of her life to oyerhauling it, so it will look like something escaped from a feeble-mind- ed institution.
 There is no law to prevent women from maltreating their names. so we can't rebuke them by process of war rant, but we can at least set our faces against the fool custom and close our doors to the guilty parties. l am man of hospitabe instincts, and would welcome to my abode the yeriest beg gar or social outcast, but no Marie, Kathryn or Mae will ever enter this house while have strength 10 resist. When I see them coming I'll sell my life as dearly as possible. Mrs. James, worthy.
 My sainted mother was the smoothest woman I ever knew. Tax ing her by and large, pro and con. she stacked up about as high as anyone. She never tried to cut swath in so- cial circles, for she had a profound contempt for everything that was tri- fling or superficial and she had rev erence for old ways and customs.
 Her front name was Isabella. and she wore il, without any frills or fur bellows, as long as she lived. She never sent that name to the uphOlster- CT or taXidernist to have il made over. She realized that famous queens anC other great women wore that name, and she was proud Of it. You might have argued her into having her hair shingled or her front teeth pulled out but if you had suggested rearrangine her name she'd have thought your proper place was the booby hatch. Her name was a treasured possession, all heirloom more precious than the fam fly jewels.
 .The name Isabella lends itself to mutilation and transposition more than any other Modern women, blessed with that magnificent name, can't resi- until they have telescoped il, so we have Isabels and Isbells and Isobels and half a dozen other variants, each being more idiotic than the others Whenever think of the way my moth CT hung on to Isabella I feel a new respect and admiration for that grand old woman and wish she were hert today, to make the round of the Chau lauQuas, and point out to young won en their duties and privileges.