"And Philip the Second," I said.
"Well, we must take the good with the bad. And after all the name's the thing."
"Have you thought of Christopher?"
"Yes, for one whole evening Christopher went like a gale of wind. I forget why we dropped it. Why did we drop it, Sylvia? There must have been some reason, but I can't for the life of me think what it was or what it could be. Christopher.... Yes, I think we shall have to reconsider Christopher, Sylvia."
That evening there was a ring on the telephone. "It's all right," said the voice. "We've had a brainwave. We've decided on Antony—A-n-t-o-n-y—no 'h' of course."
"You mean the sinner, not the saint. I don't like Mark Antony. Can't forgive him that affair of Cicero's head."
"Well, they all used to do things like that in those days."
"But why allude to the fellow?"
"We are not alluding to him."
"You can't help alluding to him. It's the greatest one-man name in the world. Why not go for simplicity? There's John. Glorious name, John—fits anybody—splendid traditions, John Milton, John Dryden, John Bright, John Bunyan, John Donne——"