thought gaiety had vanished from the . realm of political discussion.
I am heartened; although I must confess that until I reached the word ' feudalism' in Henry Fairlie's article on ' True Conservatism' I was on the wrong track. Perhaps if one could have seen the twinkle as lie penned the word True' at the beginning one would have sooner shared his intention.
One read the metaphor of the stag at bay with resignation; old stuff I The sentence ending ' . . . which gives the conservatives the most promising opportunity they have had since 1789 ' should have cautioned the reader, but many of us, I suspect, were slow off the mark. References to Mr. Crossman's Fabian lecture, and ' socialist recantation' were to be expected. But then Mr. Fairlie shows us his true ironistic colours. The true (the revealing, adjective appears again) con- servatives must repair ' the fabric of society which the liberals, radicals and socialists have continually tampered with since 1789.' (How we all enjoyed that ' tampered with ' !) With feudalism (real feudalism, not what is loosely and popularly called feudalism) . . .' the
reader is now in a position to enjoy Mr. Fairlie's tongue-filled cheek. The questionable joke about equality of opportunity and ' killing all children at birth,' although of
Swift's flavour, perhaps offends our taste, but the remarks about Africa and the glorious ' What, in the name of Burke, are the conser- vatives doing ? ' sustain the article to the end.
Several possibilities in this genre present themselves; also a variety of styles. But it is to be doubted whether such a Buster Keaton- like seriousness will pervade the whole article (how many of your readers, Sir, were taken in ?) as did so in Mr. Fairlie's little master- piece.—Yours faithfully, R. 0. SALMON 43 Bootham, York
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