o English as Peter, and he was called Peter Flint ever
afterward.

People may change their names in the United States by application to
Congress. They have a story hardly worth relating, although considered
a good one in America, having been told me by a member of congress. A
Mr Whitepimple, having risen in the world, was persuaded by his wife to
change his name, and applied for permission accordingly. The clerk of
the office inquired of him what other name he would have, and he being
very indifferent about it himself, replied carelessly, as he walked
away, "Oh, anything;" whereupon the clerk enrolled him as Mr _Thing_.
Time passed on, and he had a numerous family, who found the new name not
much more agreeable than the old one, for there was Miss Sally Thing,
Miss Dolly Thing, the old Things, and all the little Things; and worst
of all, the eldest son being christened Robert, went by the name of
Thingum Bob.

There were, and I believe still are, two lawyers in partnership in New
York, with the peculiarly happy names of Catchem and Chetum. People
laughed at seeing these two names in juxtaposition over the door; so the
lawyers thought it advisable to separate them by the insertion of their
Christian names. Mr Catchem's Christian name was Isaac, Mr Chetum's
Uriah. A new board was ordered, but when sent to the painter, it was
found to be too short to admit the Christian names at full length. The
painter, therefore, put in only the initials before the surnames, which
made the matter still worse than before, for there now appeared--

"I Catchem and U Chetum."

I cannot conclude this chapter without adverting to one or two points
peculiar to the Americans. They wish, in everything, to improve upon
the Old Country, as they call us, and affect to be excessively refined
in their language and ideas: but they forget that very often in the
covering, and the covering only, consists the indecency; and that, to
use the old aphorism--"Very nice people are people with very nasty
ideas."

They object to everything nude in statuary. When I was at the house of
Governor Everett, at Boston, I observed a fine cast of the Apollo
Belvidere; but in compliance with general opinion, it was hung with
drapery, although Governor Everett himself is a gentleman of refined
mind and high classical attainments, and quite above such ridiculous
sensitiveness. In language it is the same thing. There are certain
words which are never used in