13 DECEMBER 1913, Page 15

THE SECRET OF THE SCOT.

[To THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR."1 SIR,—The ubiquitous Scot and the Imperialistic Englishman must already, six hundred years ago, have been familiar figures in the world, for Dante thus alludes to them in the Paradiso, xix., 121 :—

"LI si vedrk la superbia ch'asseta, Che fa lo Scotto e l'Inghilese folio SI, the non pub soffrir dentro a sua meta," which Longfellow translates :—

" There shall be seen the pride that causes thirst, Which makes the Scot and Englishman so mad That they within their boundaries cannot rest."