22 APRIL 1960, Page 15

EL DORADO

SIR. In your April 1 issue, Penelope Gilliatt has written a chatty article on 'El Dorado,' marred slightly for me by the nagging overtones of bitterness toward things 'American.' I assumed she meant the US rather than the Americas—until the dead give- away . . . 'the rumba rhythm of a barman shaking (!) a Martini for an American' . . . surely, if she is this well acquainted with the US she must know that passports have been taken up for lesser crimes than shaking a Martini. Is her allusion to 'American' meant to represent South America or simply a flimsy pseudo-world-weariness?—Yours faithfully,

DEIRDRE MEAD RYAN Time. Time and Life Building, New York