refers rather to the work of transposition | seen Piso died soon after of the very sickof the letters of a word, while anagram ness under which he then laboured. For signifies the result of such transposition. Piso had seemed to present to him ointSo epigram signifies the thing inscribed and not the work of inscription. The English word inscription, by the way, has the meaning of inscript.

The numerical anagrams of the Italians, which are represented by the English chronograms, are the Greek loopool; in which the numerical value of the letters of two words or sets of words is the same. The reader will understand that in Greek, as in Hebrew, letters served to express numbers.

These loooo are mentioned by Gellius. They were considered by him with disfavour. A quantity of them were brought to him by a learned friend, in a book which he was at first inclined to regard as the horn of Achelous, filled with first fruits for Plenty by the Naiads, and shut himself up that he might read it without interruption. But the book contained, "oh, Jupiter! a mere collection of strange tales; such as who was the first called a grammarian, and wherefore Telemachus reposing touched not Pisistratus reposing near him with his hand, but raised him from sweet sleep by a kick with his heel. There also were written down the loopoo or equinumeral verses of Homer, and his acrostichs. These and many other such things were contained in this book."

ments, which for a sick man was of evil omen, as with them they anoint the dead. The dream of the sailor is unlike to this. For to him asking in his dream whether he should come to Rome, a phantasm answered "No!" using the Greek word o Yet he arrived there in 450 days. For it was all the same, whether the phantasm had told him this number, or the letters which signified it. The reason of inferiority of numbers is assigned by some for the victory of Hector over Patroclus, and of Achilles over Hector.

In Daniel and Deborah Dove, written with considerable licence in Greek speling, the worthy "Doctor" found the prime number 761. Herein was a mystery. There could be no division between himself and his wife. They would continue to be in all respects as they had been "duæ animæ in carne una,' two persons with but one disposition. But when the Doctor remembered that 1761 was the year of their marriage, supplying the deficient thousand with two M's for marriage and matrimony, he became delirious with joy, which the resemblance between "marriage" and "matrimony," urged by hostile critics, diminished not a tittle.

Daniel Dove extracted the quintessence So Anuayopas (Demagoras) was compli- of his own name, finding the mournful mented with the term 2ous (pest). The result, “leaden void," which he considsum of the numbers expressed by the let-ered as inappropriate as that of Marguerite ters in the two names being identical and de Valois, "de vertu royal image." Anequal 420. A "stingless jest" in the other "vel dona dei" presented the faint opinion of Southey, and showing the mal- semblance of a less unhappy meaning. ice rather than the wit of the satirist. So Had one letter of Dove been changed, he Heliodorus says that the Nile is nothing might have become "Ovid." Thus he else than the year, founding his opinion felt like the man whose lottery ticket was on the fact that the numbers expressed next in number to the 20,000l. prize. by the letters of the Neios, Nile, are in "Such a superstition," says Southey, Greek arithmetic, N=50; E=5; 1= 10; "has been and ever will be latent in the A= = 30; 0=70; = 200; and these fig- most rational of men." So Barton beures make up together 365, the number of lieved there was some secret power and days in the year. He does not seem to virtue in names. Unfortunately, however have reflected that Nenos is not a word of for this idea, the same name makes both Greek origin. Artemidorus, in his inter- good and evil, as in the case of Eleanor pretation of dreams, warns us to beware Davies, the wife of the poet, and the Casof forming our loomoo incorrectly, lest sandra of her age. Having formed the being deceived we become inglorious. A impure anagram "Reveal Ö Daniel" on certain man, he says, lay sick, and dreamed her name, she made herself the organ of that one called Piso appeared to him. An prophecies disagreeable to the governoneirophant explained this of sure felicity, ment, a proceeding which nothing could and that the sick person would live for check, but an arrow borrowed from her ninety years longer, framing his conjec- own quiver; "Dame Eleanor Davies," ie. tures from the first syllable of Piso written "never so mad a lady." Upon this being in Greek character, which presents the sent to her by an obliging friend, who number 90. Nevertheless, he who had had the interest of peace at heart, she re

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by another of the same value. As an example of this, in Gen xviii. 2. "Lo! three men stood by him," it is said that these were the angels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, because the letters composing their names have the same numerical value as those in the original verse.

tired into private life, ceased from her third part of their art, which they call charming agony, and her voice was heard Themura, or change, is concerned with no more. So Calvin, in the title of his nothing but the process of making them. Institutions printed at Strasburg in 1539, By them they find many mysterious hidcalls himself Alcuinus, the anagram of den and extraordinary senses in the Calvinus, and the name of a person of words of Holy Writ. Out of Noah, by some learning in the time of Charlemagne, transposition of the Hebrew letters, they contributing greatly to its restoration in obtain "grace;" and out of "Messiah," that age. But François Rabelais (Alco- "and he will rejoice." These examples fribas Nasier), in whose name, written in are some of the most simple, and of those Latin, Calvin had found "rabie læsus," not revolting to the Christian reader. found for him, en revanche, an anagram The Cabbalists have also chronograms, of quite an opposite character, "Jan Cul" known in their system as ypauuareía, in There are several happy anagrams in the sense of letters representing numbers. French, as, for instance, that, historically This word is technically used to express just in sense, of the so-called daughter of an exegetical rule, according to which the Orleans apothecary, the charming every letter of a word is reduced to its "Marie Touchet," mistress of Charles numerical value, and the word explained IX., "Je charme tout." Of Pierre de Ronsard, Rose de Pindare," wherein, by an æquitas prætoria, the omission of two r's may be pardoned for the elegance of the resulting sense. Of Frère Jacques Clément, the assassin of Henri III., "C'est l'enfer qui m'a créé." Of Louis de Boucherat, chancellor, "Est la bouche du roi." That of Pierre Coton, Jesuit and confessor of Henri IV., "Perce ton roi," is undeserved, and, therefore, worthless. Of Pilatre du Rosier, an aeronant who had the misfortune to fall from his balloon on the 15th June, 1785, "Tu es proie de l'air." The reader who cares to investigate this anagram will find an omitted. It is consequently inexact. In the next an s will be found added, Louis Quatorsième, roi de France et de Navarre, "Va, Dieu confondra l'armée qui osera le résister." The temptation to add or subtract a letter in the case of a lengthy anagram, successful only if such addition or subtraction is made, must be almost irresistible; but the anagram as an anagram is spoiled.

a

The Cabbalists, it may be said en passant, have many conceits of this kind. Out of the letters forming the word "man "they compose "benediction,” and out of those forming "woman "curse." With this we may compare their anagram of "Væ" from "Eva,” because, they say, she was the cause of all our woes. Such misogynistic contrivances come meetly from the mouths of those, a part of whose thanksgiving in their order for daily prayer was once wont to be "Blessed art thou, that thou hast not made me a woman, O Lord our God."

The number of changes which may be formed out of any given word is easily found by the mathematical doctrine of permutations. In the mystic words of Anagrams are sometimes employed in the Kabbala, "Two letters build two heraldry. The House of Loraine bears houses, three letters build six houses, les "alérions" or eaglets. J. B. Rous- four build four and twenty houses, five seau, ashamed of his father the cobbler, build a hundred and twenty houses, six changed his name into Verniettes. In build seven hundred and twenty houses which Saurin discovered, what the au-... Go forth and imagine what neither thor probably least intended, "Tu te the mouth is able to speak nor the ear is renies." able to hear." — Ch. iv. Mishna iv. So when Bonaparte came into power, German anagrams are comparatively the words La Révolution Française pro- rare. They may be said, from the speciduced this anagram, " Un Corse la finira." men mentioned by Wheatley, to be as But, in 1815, party-spirit discovered in poor as they are rare. This is the specithe same words "La France veut son roi." men. At the general peace of 1814, a Both these anagrams are, however, though witty, inexact.

The Cabbalists among the Jews are, as might be expected from what has been said above, mighty in anagrams. The

portion of Saxony fell to the share of Prussia. The king, to commemorate this addition to his kingdom, issued a new coinage of rix-dollars, with the name ein Reichsthaler. The Saxons by that collat

eral species of anagram before-men- |gram which exists upon his name. tioned, divided this word into ein Reich John Abernethy was metamorphosed into stahl er (he stole a kingdom). So the "Johnny the Bear." Even "Ursa MaFrench in La Sainte Alliance found La jor," says Southey, "would not dispute Sainte Canaille. The derivations of Le- his title. Has any one who knows ben (life) from Nebel (a cloud), and of Sarg 'Johnny the Bear' heard his name thus (a coffin) from Gras (grass), are simply anagrammatized without a smile! We palindromes. may be sure he smiled and growled at the same time when he first heard it himself."

The impure anagrams of Sir Edmundtitle of "Glenelg," chosen by the late Mr. Charlesbury Godfrey, who was found murdered on the south side of Primrose Hill, “By

Rome's rude finger die," "I find murder'd by rogues," the pure ones of Horatio Nelson, "Honor est a Nilo," and of William Noy, the proposer of ship-money, "I moyl in law," may serve for mnemonic references to the student of English history.

Such are the quirks and quiddities of modern literature, which might have puzzled the old Cabiri.

But let us conclude in the terms of the learned Camden :- "It is time to stay, for some of the sour sort begin to laugh at these, when as yet they have no better Fuller concludes the life of John Whit- insight in anagrams than wise Sieur Gaugift, that mirror of prelates, largely writ- lard, who when he heard a gentleman reten in his ecclesiastical history, with an port that he was at a supper, where they impure anagram, in respect of his mild had not only good company and good proceedings upon his name, Joannes cheer, but also savoury epigrams and fine Whitegifteus, "Non vi egit, favet Jesus." anagrams: he returning home, rated and And a man of entirely different complex- belouted his cook as an ignorant scullion ion of life, Ben Jonson, in his Hymenæi, that never dressed or served up to him has not thought an anagram unworthy of either epigrams or anagrams. And as for his learning. Juno is discovered in the these sour surlings, they are to be comclear æther sitting on a throne, her attire mended to Sieur Gaulard, and he with rich and queenlike, a white diadem on her them jointly to their cooks and kitchenhead, in one hand a sceptre, and in the stuff." other a timbrel, and at her golden feet a lion's hide. Around her the spirits of the air make music, and Reason thus addresses the audience in her introduction:

His brows need not with laurel to be bound,

From The Spectator.

LORD LYTTON ON NAMES, AND THEIR
INFLUENCE.

IN the amusing opening of Lord Lyt-
ton's posthumous novel, "Kenelm Chil-
lingly," there are some admirable remarks
on the moral responsibilities of parents for
the names they give to their children. Sir
Peter Chillingly is very hard on his own
name, and ascribes his mediocrity in
great measure to it.
"Peter," he says, to
the assembled family council, "has been
for many generations, as you are aware,
the baptismal to which the eldest born of
our family has been devoted. On the al-
tar of that name I have been sacrificed.
Never has there been a Sir Peter Chil-

Since in his name with "lawrel" he is crowned. lingly who has in any way distinguished In Maunder's Treasury, "her most gra- himself above his fellows. That name cious Majesty, Alexandrina Victoria," is has been a dead-weight on my intellectutransformed into "Ah, my extravagant, al energies. In the catalogue of illustrijoco-serious, radical minister;" with ous Englishmen there is, I think, no imwhich absurdity may be compared, to its mortal Sir Peter, except Sir Peter Teahonour, the anagram on Florence Night- zle, and he only exists on the comic ingale, "Flit on, cheering angel." The stage; " and Sir Peter Chillingly might following quaint conceits have all been have added that Sir Peter Teazle is imcollected by Mr. Wheeler, to whose in-mortal only for the amusement he affords genuity in seeking words in words we to others, not for any intrinsic capacity. have been much indebted in the present One of the family council, however, sugpaper Lawyers (sly-ware); matrimony gests "Sir Peter Lely," on which Sir Pe(into my arm); melodrama (made moral); ter Chillingly replies with unanswerable Old England (golden land); soldiers (lo! force, "that painter was not an EnglishI dress); solemnity (yes, Milton); poor- man. He was born in Westphalia, fahouse (O! sour hope); telegraph (great mous for hams. I confine my remarks help); Notes and Queries (O! send in a to the children of our native land. I am request); understanding (red nuts and aware that in foreign countries the name gin); sweetheart (there we sat); charades is not an extinguisher to the genius of its (hard case); and catalogue (got as a clue), owner. But why? In other countries its

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sound is modified. Pierre Corneille was beck and call of society. It is to "James," a great man; but I put it to you wheth- even under its worst aspects, exactly er, had he been an Englishman, he could what the footboy is to the flunkey, -and have been the father of European trage- implies that respect or awe to the owner dy as Peter Crow?" And Sir Peter of such a name is simply impossible. might have added that Peter the Apostle Any one who had a taste for slipping got his weight from his Hebrew name, good-naturedly through the world, and Cephas. Cephas gives the impression of for being familiarly treated by everybody a rock; Peter the impression of common- he met, might not object to be called Jim. place respectability, with a wavering turn. It is an honest sort of name, and a passNow, Lord Lytton in touching this sub-port, as it were, to kindly treatment. But ject, touches one of the most real griev- it puts dignity and power beyond the ances which children have against rash reach of the most sanguine hope. A man parents, and he touches both sides of it. generally known among his acquaintances He not only deprecates the names which as "Jim" might be very popular and have stamp a child with mediocrity, but he great influence of the coaxing kind, but it deprecates those which stamp him with is impossible he could take up any posian impress of absurd and indecent am- tion requiring observance and reverence. bition. A crusty cousin had suggested It is worth observing that the shrewdthat Sir Peter's child should be called ness of the world has given a certain Hannibal or Charlemagne, in order to elasticity to the moral influence of names, give him adventitious grandeur, on which by inventing a good many different modiSir Peter replies, with great temper and fications of them, and modifications with justice, On the contrary, if you inflict very various nuances, especially in the on a man the burthen of one of these case of women. You can't have a much names, the glory of which he cannot rea- wider range than is contained, for insonably expect to eclipse or even to stance, in Elizabeth, Eliza, Betty, Betsy, equal, you crush him beneath the weight. Bessy, and Bess, - Elizabeth with a 2, If a poet were called John Milton, or again, being really distinct in moral effect William Shakespeare, he would not dare from Elisabeth with an s. No one would to publish even a sonnet. No, the choice dream of spelling the name of St. Elisaof a name lies between the two extremes beth-Mr. Kingsley's heroine - with a of ludicrous insignificance and oppressive; the hard grinding sound of the z would renown." This is very just, and should be altogether inconsistent with her esbring remorse to many a parental heart. sence. But Elisabeth with an s should be There is no more indelible mischief done fair and feminine, with something, perto a child than either a grandiose or a haps, a little secret and brooding in her mean name. The moral influence of nature. On the other hand, Queen Eliznames must be admitted, however, to de-abeth's name should always have the z, pend in very great degree on somewhat both for the sake of the hardness and imarbitrary and subjective influences. We periousness it gives, and for the sake, have heard a man deplore having been somehow, of the touch of awkwardness called “James" with the utmost pathos, and coarseness it throws in. This is the asserting that it had to some extent made direction in which it has developed into a flunkey of his very soul against his will. the familiarities of Betsy and Betty, the That man, of course, had been a student former clumsy, but shrewd, homely, and of Thackeray, and the subjective influ- trustworthy; the latter loud and fast. ences which worked upon his mind were Lady Betty used to be a common name of the Jeames de la Pluche order. Had enough in the aristocracy at one time, but he instead been steeped in Sir Walter it must have tended to make all its ownScott's "Lady of the Lake," and full of ers vulgar talkers and managers. And the chivalric associations with the Knight just as Elizabeth was degraded into Betof Snowdon,-"And Normans call me sy and Betty, so Elisabeth was familiarJames Fitz-James," he might have re-ized into Bessy and Bess, both fond garded his name as injurious to him, if at all, only through its too unreal, romantic associations. But who could have idealized the nickname Jim? That is, if not so flunkeyish as James, much more irredeemably descriptive of a soul at the

names, the former suggesting a touch of weakness, the latter, like all monosyllabic names, suggesting a want of atmosphere about the character, but also implying a certain practical brevity and decision.