A “not negotiable” cheque, in short, is analogous to an over-due bill. Any person who may deal with a a bill after its maturity does so upon the understanding, or, better, supposition, that he is acquainted with any flaw there may be in the title. He may not know of any; but the law holds that he does. It is precisely the same with a “not negotiable” cheque. Cheques, which are crossed in the manner already described, are said to be crossed generally. Cheques Crossed Specially. A cheque is said to be crossed specially when one writes across the face of it, say:-- “A/C John Smith, Provident Bank of London.” One may name, in the crossing, any particular bank, and the banker upon whom the cheque is drawn will take care that it comes through the channel indicated thereupon. In the above illustration, for instance, your banker will see that the cheque has the name of the “Provident Bank of London” stamped upon it; and should he not find it there, then he would decline to pay the document. Either the payee or the holder of an uncrossed cheque may cross it generally or specially; and if it be already crossed generally, then either can cross it specially, or add the words “not negotiable.” How to Cancel a Crossing. The drawer alone can do this by writing upon the cheque the words “pay cash,” and signing his name beneath them in full. How to Indorse or Back a Cheque. For all practical purposes one cannot do better than sign one’s name upon the back of a cheque exactly as the drawer has written it upon the face, with, of course, the omission of any courtesy title, such as Miss, Mr. or Esquire, which are merely there as a mark of civilization and progress. If one’s name be spelt incorrectly, then one should back the cheque just as it is drawn, and write one’s correct name underneath the misspelt signature. Further, do not bully the cashier if he make this request of you, for to do so is the sign of a weak mind. A cheque payable to John Smith, Esq., or to Mr. John Smith, should be indorsed:-- “John Smith.” Doctor John Smith may sign “J. Smith, M.D.”; and Colonel John Smith, “J. Smith, Colonel.” These embellishments, however, are as unnecessary as a flourish would be on the final _h_ of Smith, and, in a busy age, the sarcastic person, like the law, regards them as superfluous. A Miss Mary Smith, who has married a Mr. John Brown, would indorse a cheque made payable to her in her maiden name:-- “Mary Brown, _née_ Smith.” If the cheque be made out to Mrs. John Brown, then she signs:-- “Mary Brown, wife of John Brown,” or “Mary Brown (Mrs. John Brown)” in brackets. Certain ladies of a masterful temperament appear to entertain a strong objection to signing themselves “the wife of” such-and-such an individual, as though the designation smacks of an inferiority of which they are not conscious; and such susceptibilities may at least be soothed by placing the opprobrious term within brackets.