27 JULY 1945, Page 14

A SLIP OF THE PEN ?

S'ut,—" Janus " alludes to the signature of King John on the Magna Carta. Could he write? Is any royal autograph known earlier than that of

[" Janus " writes: It may be so ; but J. R. Green, no mean authority, wrote of the proceedings at Runnymede: " The Great Charter was dis- cussed, agreed to and signed in a single day."—A Short History of the English People, Chap. III.]