11 APRIL 1941, Page 13

AUTHOR WANTED Sue,—From a very rare Irish tract, labelled "Upon

apprehension of the late intended INVASION," I cull this sentence, which seems worthy of reprint: "It was a worthy observation of a great statesman upon the British nation: that it was a vivacious animal that could never die, except it killed itself" (Cork, 1719).

Who was the great statesman? SHANE LESLIE. Tinker's Corner, Winslow, Bucks.