and with all my disbelief in superstition I could not help showing
some repugnance to those who bore such names.

Equally important, if not more so, is the selection of a name
for a state or a nation. When the several states of America
became independent they called themselves the "United States of America" --
a very happy idea. The Union was originally composed of thirteen states,
covering about 300,000 square miles; it is now composed of forty-eight states
and three territories, which in area amount to 3,571,492 square miles,
practically as large in extent as China, the oldest nation in the world.
It should be noted that the name is most comprehensive: it might comprise
the entire continent of North and South America. It is safe to say that
the founders of the nation did not choose such a name without consideration,
and doubtless the designation "United States of America"
conceals a deep motive. I once asked a gentleman who said he was an American
whether he had come from South or North America, or whether he was a Mexican,
a Peruvian or a native of any of the countries in Central America?
He replied with emphasis that he was an American citizen of the United States.
I said it might be the United States of Mexico, or Argentina,
or other United States, but he answered that when he called himself a citizen
it could not mean any other than that of the United States of America.
I have asked many other Americans similar questions and they all have given me
replies in the same way. We Chinese call our nation "The Middle Kingdom";
it was supposed to be in the center of the earth. I give credit
to the founders of the United States for a better knowledge of geography
than that possessed by my countrymen of ancient times
and do not assume that the newly formed nation was supposed to comprise
the whole continent of North and South America, yet the name chosen
is so comprehensive as to lead one naturally to suspect that it was intended
to include the entire continent. However, from my observation