26 JULY 1986, Page 27

J. M. Synge's illness

Sir: J. M. Synge had Hodgkin's disease for several years, culminating in an inoperable stomach tumour which led to his death at the age of 37 in 1909. He never suffered from consumption. If Stan Gebler Davies wants to be sniffy about him (`Grave shortage of Protestants', 12 July) the least he could do would be to check the facts. Sue Gaisford

Bramdean, Stonegate, Sussex