26 JANUARY 1968, Page 26

Home thoughts afloat

Sir: The Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English defines the word 'offer' as: 'hold out, put forward, to be accepted or refused; say what one is willing to pay, give or exchange.' So what is Sir Denis Brogan (29 December) grumbling about? If he does not like the seven guineas offered to him, it is his prerogative to refuse the offer. The pub- lisher, I conclude, did not force the manuscript down his throat, or at gun-Point! And then he would not need to think about surtax and all the long hours of work with insufficient rewards. (But I do agree that an offer of two guineas is on the low side.)