20 JUNE 1908, Page 17

CHAFFERS AND LITTLER.

ITo THE EDITOR OP THE •'SPECTATOR."] SIR,—The story about " Topers" (who, of course, must be Chaffers of Brasenose, a well-known character of the time) and Mr. Littler, quoted in your notice of Mr. Sneyd- Kynnersley's book in the Spectator of June 6th, I heard from one who knew him well in the " fifties" in a somewhat different form. It was at a Thucydides lecture, and after several abortive attempts at a construe on the part of Littler, Chaffers exclaimed :—" Sir, you know nothing about Thucydides ; you know nothing about Greek ; your very name is ungram- matical." I believe that is a correct version. I remember Chaffers well, though I was at another College ; there were no end of stories about him in those days, not all perhaps strictly

Oxford.