The actor _Macklin_ was softened down by taking in the first and last syllables of the name of _Macklaughlin_, as _Malloch_ was polished to _Mallet_; and even our sublime Milton, in a moment of humour and hatred to the Scots, condescends to insinuate that their barbarous names are symbolical of their natures,--and from a man of the name of _Mac Collkittok_, he expects no mercy. Virgil, when young, formed a design of a national poem, but was soon discouraged from proceeding, merely by the roughness and asperity of the old Roman names, such as _Decius Mus_; _Lucumo_; _Vibius Caudex_. The same thing has happened to a friend who began an Epic on the subject of _Drake's_ discoveries; the name of the hero often will produce a ludicrous effect, but one of the most unlucky of his chief heroes must be _Thomas Doughty_! One of Blackmore's chief heroes in his Alfred is named _Gunter_; a printer's erratum might have been fatal to all his heroism; as it is, he makes a sorry appearance. Metastasio found himself in the same situation. In one of his letters he writes, "The title of my new opera is _Il Re Pastor_. The chief incident is the restitution of the kingdom of Sidon to the lawful heir: a prince with such a _hypochondriac name_, that he would have disgraced the title-page of any piece; who would have been able to bear an opera entitled _L'Abdolonimo_? I have contrived to name him as seldom as possible." So true is it, as the caustic Boileau exclaims of an epic poet of his days, who had shown some dexterity in cacophony, when he chose his hero-- O le plaisant projet d'un poète ignorant, Qui de tant de heros va choisir _Childebrand_! D'un seul nom quelquefois le son dur et bizarre Bend un poème entier, ou burlesque ou barbare. _Art Poétique_, c. iii. v. 241. In such a crowd the Poet were to blame To choose _King Chilperic_ for his hero's name. SIR W. SOAMES. This epic poet perceiving the town joined in the severe raillery of the poet, published a long defence of his hero's name; but the town was inexorable, and the epic poet afterwards changed _Childebrand's_ name to _Charles Martel_, which probably was discovered to have something more humane. Corneille's _Pertharite_ was an unsuccessful tragedy, and Voltaire deduces its ill fortune partly from its barbarous _names_, such as _Garibald_ and _Edvidge_. Voltaire, in giving the _names_ of the founders of Helvetic freedom, says, the difficulty of pronouncing these respectable names is injurious to their celebrity; they are _Melchthal_, _Stawffarcher_, and _Valtherfurst_.