TITLES AND NAMES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1290, 19 November 1896, Page 9

TITLES AND NAMES.

Fair Juliet was quite right when she maintained that “ a rose by any other name would smell as sweet," but events proved that there was more in the cbcumstance of Romeo being called a Montague than she desired to believe. In truth it would be a mistake to suppose that there is nothing in a name, whether in the ease of a book, a play, or a poor innocent baby unable to protest against (he wrongs so often thoughtlessly inflicted by godmothers and godfathers. Indefatigable Southey, in that marvellous “ Commonplace Book,” gives a queer list of names he has met with among his acquaintance. Mrs Gar/ick was called Eve, another friend Ulysses, but the climax was surely capped when a parent deliberately baptised hi 3 child “ Brute." An old French chronicler relates that when a witch or a sorcerer was called in to a sick person they frequently advised a change of name, “ so that death and sickness, riot knowing the patient might leave him." Steele, the mad Limerick agitator, changed the name of the Clare Mountains to the O’Connell Mountains, just as in Paris streets are relabelled with every fleeting government. Only in this instance the priests of Limerick and Killaloe countenanced the farce and held solemn services to re christen in their churches these hills.

About two years since a literary journal invited the opinions of its readers as to the best titles for books ever invented. The verdict was curiously unanimous. “ The Scarlet Letter" and “ Vanity Fair " headed the list by hundreds of vx>te3. It is said ihat there are persons in London who sell titles to authors who find a difficulty in deciding such for themselves. In truth the modern titles are queer enough to warrant such a statement. It would be rather interesting to find out whether the ordinary subscriber to a circulating library is tempted by the eccentric fashions of the nomenclature of the moment. “Emma,” “ Jane Eyre," and “ Pendennis" are plain enough. Perhaps their writers felt that such good wines needed no “bush" or sign. But to glean a few recent examples at hazard, what can be said for “ The Worst Woman in London," “Perchance to Dream,” “He that will not when he may," “A Devil in Nuns veiling.” “ The Power of the Dog" is not only an instance of a title evoking much criticism, but a proof thattheaveragecritic, even if he be Scotch, does not study his Bible very closely. For the phrase occurs in the twenty-second Psalm, and is, therefore, a quotation, though the good taste of scriptural title is always open to doubt. The Puritans were the worst offenders of all in this respect, and whatever their moderation might be in other respects they were prolitic in verbiage. “Pill 3to Purge Melancholy” and “The Sixpenny worth of Divine Spirit” are brief compared with the following : “ Some fine Diskets baked in the oven of charity, carefully conserved for the chickens of the church, the sparrows of the spirit, and the sweet swallows of salvation." A treatise on purgatory is called a “ fan to drive away flies.” Rhodomontade title-pages found favour in the days of good Queen Anne, and for a long time after. The republic of letters was overbuilt with “Palaces of Honour,” “Theatres of Human Life," “Temples of Memory.” “ Pleasures of Hope,” “ Pleasures of Imagination,” wereanother favourite development. For first-class names for newspapers it has never been found easy to surpass the Tatler , the Spectator , the Rambler , and the Idler. Du ring the French Revolution the Daily Thermometer , the Bulletin of the Friends of Truth, the Break of Day , and the Midnight Ncivs enjoyed short Jived careers. Eccentric titles for plays have not proved a success, though Mr Henry Arthur Jones, Mr Pinero, and Mr Grundy have tried to attract by very singular experiments. The ordinary theatre goer, however, will be more inclined to patron-* let ns say, “The Prisoner of Zenda,” than “ Michael and his Fallen Angel,” “The Greatest of These," or “The Notorious Mrs Ebbsmith." There is something m names like this apt to frighten the simple Philistine, old fashiontdenuugh t consider the society of persons with too pronuunced a past unsuitable for his young daughters in the present. Thus a clever novel with a sound moral was judged dangerous because rashly labled “Corruption.” It is not easy to fix upon a title, but so much depends upon it that an author may well hesitate before putting his final decision into print. “ Give a dog a bad name and hang him ” is a sound old proverb it may be well to bear in mind.— Shields Daily News.