7 MARCH 1931, Page 18

THE BRITISH MUSEUM

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—Mr. Squire, in his delightful references to some past frequenters of the British Museum Reading Room, suggests that " the silent aisles of that vast whispering-room . . . . have even led to honeymoons and country cottages." This rouses one of my most cherished memories. Long ago, perhaps thirty years, there was reported in the Press a breach of promise case, or some similar sex drama, the details of which I cannot remember, except that the parties came from Wales, and were in rather a humble position of life. But they had literary aspirations, and the consequences, as quoted in the newspaper report, I shall never forget :—" They studied together at the British Museum, and in October a child was born." Has the humanizing of our great temple of learning ever been carried to a further point than is suggested by this

delicious extract am, Sir, &c.,