LIASES.

An interesting meeting was held at the Memorial Hall last Saturday in
order to discuss schemes of brightening the nomenclature of British
musicians.

Sir FREDERIC COWEN, who presided, said that whereas in the last century
it was the common practice of British singers to Italianize their
surnames, we had now gone to the opposite extreme of an aggressive
insularity. He thought that a compromise between the two entremes was
feasible, by which a certain element of picturesqueness might be
introduced into our programmes without exposing us to the charge of
deliberately seeking to denationalise ourselves.

Sir HENRY WOOD suggested that the method of the anagram or palindrome
yielded very happy results. Nobody could be charged with running away
from his name if he merely turned it upside down or inside out. For
instance, Miss MURIEL FOSTER would become Miss Leirum Retsof, which had
a pleasantly Slavonic sound, while Mr. HAMILTON HARTY would reappear in
the impressive form of Mr. Notlimah Ytrah.

Miss CARRIE TUBB protested vigorously against the proposal, on the
ground that, if it were adopted, her name would sound just like Butt,
which was already that of a contralto singer. (Sensation.)

Madame CLARA BUTT supported the protest, pointing out that, if the
suggestion were acted on, her name would sound just like Tubb, which was
that of a soprano vocalist. (Great sensation.)

Professor GRANVILLE BANTOCK pleaded eloquently for calling in the
glamour of the East to illuminate the drab monotony of our Anglo-Saxon
surnames. He was quite ready to be known in future as Bantockjee or
Bangkok, if the sense of the meeting was in favour of the change--always
subject, of course, to the consent of Sir OLIVER LODGE, the Principal of
Birmingham University. (Loud cheers.)

Mr. DELIUS was strongly opposed to any change of nomenclature being made
compulsory. He was quite sure that he would not compose nearly so well
under, _e.g._, the alias of De Lara. In any case, artists should be
safeguarded against the appropriation of their names by others.

Mr. ALGERNON ASHTON (who was greeted with soft music on muted violins)
deprecated all unseemly pranks. Nothing would induce him to change his
patronymic or turn it upside down or inside out.

Mr. LANDON RONALD expressed sympathy with musicians who were handicapped
by cacophonous or undignified names. For example, a singer called
Hewlett or Ball laboured under a serious disadvantage whe