INTOLERABLE " IF " ?
SIR,--Mr. Vulliamy's'epithet in his review of Martin Tupper seems imply that he has not read Kipling's " If " carefully, or he would surely agree that, for its purpose of educating the young, it is one of the most helpful and interesting of its kind, and not only to the young. There are two lines, however, which may be considered of doubtful value :—
" If you can make a heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch and toss ".
Perhaps Mr. Vulliamy will state the lines in the poem to which his epithet applies ?
In case this suggestion is not accepted, I might add that, if " imitation is the sincerest form of, flattery," what other poet's verse has been parodied a score or so times, as is the case with " If " ?—Yours truly, 7 Tryon House, Mallord Street, S.W.3. J. H. C. BROOKING.
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