He finds it necessary, upon some occasion, to write to one of his former
friends for information of importance, and is surprised that his old
associate declines to give it to a stranger, for he does not remember,
that, while he may easily retain his own identity, under any change of
name, it may not be so easy to assure it to another at a distance. It
can thus be seen how easily, and at times, how unavoidably, a great deal
of vexation may be produced by this practice, and yet it is extensively
followed.

Looking at the subject in another aspect, we find a grievance that has
borne and is now bearing with intolerable weight upon many an
individual, who would, at almost any sacrifice, relieve himself of it,
but it is saddled upon him in such a manner, and is surrounded by such
circumstances as to render it quite impossible for him to do so. It is a
practice, all too common, but none the less reprehensible, to give to
children legitimate names of such a character as to render them
veritable "old men of the sea," so graphically described by Sindbad.

They are given for various reasons, sometimes simply for their oddity,
sometimes because the name has been borne by a relative or friend, or it
may have been borrowed from the pages of some favorite author, or
suggested by accidental circumstance. A boy whose Christian name was
Baring Folly, and we should not have far to go to find its counterpart
in real life, could hardly be expected to get through the world without
feeling severely the burden and ridicule of such a name, each part
proper and well enough in its place as a surname, but particularly
unfortunate when united and required to do duty as a Christian name.

We ridicule, and it may be wisely, the old-fashioned custom of giving a