ago, the vernacular for Martha, and would never
imagine that "Margaret" could ever have responded to the call of
"Peggy;" "Hitty" and "Kitty," for the staid and sober "Mehitable," and
the volatile Katherine, are more easily recognized, while it might
require several guesses to establish the relationship between "Milly"
and "Amelia," or "Emily."

Stranger than either, perhaps because both the proper name and its
diminutive have become so uncommon, is that transformation which reduced
"Tabitha," to "Bertha," with the accent upon the first syllable, and its
vowel long. A curious instance of the change in this name, and the
further variation made in it in consequence of its forgotten
derivation, has recently occurred in the record of the death of an old
lady who was baptized "Tabitha," called in her youth "Bitha," and now in
her obituary styled Mrs. "Bertha," probably from the similarity of sound
to her youthful nickname. Her relatives of the present generation had
forgotten her real name and knew her only under that of an imitation of
her diminutive. The transition from "Bitha" to "Bertha" is easy, but how
is the perplexed genealogist to ascertain the original when he has only
the records for his guide?

Such illustrations might be multiplied almost indefinitely, but those
already given are enough to show what an infinite amount of trouble has
come and must still come from their continued usage. They also serve
well to show with how much care and watchfulness the historian must
pursue his work; how constantly he must be upon his guard, and how
closely and critically he must scrutinize the names that pass under his
eye.

Nor was this custom of nicknames confined to the daughters of the
family, but the boys, also, were among its subjects, perhaps in not so
great a variety, yet very general. Among the more common we only need
mention such as Bill, Ned, Jack, and Frank, to illustrate this. Nor were
there wanting among the masculine nicknames those whose derivations seem
very remote and far-fetched, as "El" for "Alphus;" "Hal" for "Henry;"
"Jot" for "Jonathan;" "Seph" for "Josephus;" "Nol" for "Oliver;" "Dick"
for "Richard," and a multitude of others equally well known.

The instances named are old and have been in general use so long that
those who are called upon to deal with them are upon their guard and not
likely to be led astray by them, but the class of pet names, now, for a
few years in use, will necessarily be more