15 NOVEMBER 1957, Page 15

SIR,—Henry Fairlie's acute and devastating sum- mary of 2,200 mostly

vile and vicious letters penned to Lord Altrincham and Mr. Muggeridge is no less absorbing than thought-provoking.

Nevertheless, the conclusion may be less impres- sive and alarming than at first appears. For instance, fifty million or more of the Queen's subjects doubt- less had their feelings ruffled or ideas stimulated by the candour of our leading publicists. The per- centage of self-identifying letter-writers was, there- fore, microscopic and negligible.

No one dislikes the modern English in general more than I do; but I cannot believe the 2,200 repre- sent a fair cross-section of the community, even