23 MAY 1969, Page 30

This kind of thing must stop

Sir:- I hope that I am not the only admirer of Oscar Wilde's writings who resented Mr Barry Humphries's nasty little piece (9 May). Mr Humphries's literary discrimination is illus- trated by his 'wondering why Oscar Wilde ... should be more fascinating than Ernest Dow- son' (amongst others); his sensitivity by his view that Wilde was 'a supremely sympathetic vul- garian,' and that the celebrity of his downfall is 'irresistible to acneous bibliophiles and poetic pederasts.' Wilde endured both the plaudits and the humiliations of society with great dignity: nor did he ever commit to paper sentiments one quarter as vulgar as those dis- played in Mr Humphries's characterisation of him.