[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.") SIR, —It is a
most unwelcome identification—this of the dear and delightful name, Isabel—to which one of your corre- -spondents has been unfortunate enough to draw our attention. And he seems to be supported, too, though with natural hesitation and reluctance, by Miss Yonge in her " History of Christian Names." May 'I mention how, in the case of a yet -dearer and more delightful name—Mary—a somewhat similar difficulty used to be dealt with in our Selby Abbey Church Schools ? Truth compelled us (at least, we then thought so) to teach that " Mary " meant "bitterness." But we always added that there have been such a multitude of sweet Marys that the name has long since acquired a new meaning, just the opposite of its original one.—I am, Sir, &c., F. W. HARPER, ex-Vicar of Selby.
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