McGrath - Thanks for the clarification. Now I have another question: did Fowler write "Rev" like that ("the Rev Septimus's surplice"), without a period after the the "v"? As I recall, he was quite clear in his entry on abbreviations that a period is required for an abbreviation that cuts the word short, so to speak, as opposed to an abbreviation that squeezes out some middle letters but retains the final letter (e.g., "St" for "Saint").