15 NOVEMBER 1963, Page 15

`SCRUTINY'

SIR.—Dr. Leavis needs no testimonial from anyone, but Mr. Cox's memories of seminars at Downing differ so greatly from mine, and I was there just before Mr. Cox's time, that I must object to the implications of 'dingy,' old dressing-gown,' 'bare chest; 'feverish' and 'paSt disputes.' I never saw Dr. Leavis in a dressing-gown (he didn't live in College) and surely it is well-known that, for health reasons, he never wears a tic unless formality demands One of the regtilar pieces of ritual in Mill Lane was a few seconds delay while Dr. Leavis put on a tie in the corridor before entering the lecture room. I found him then, and since, a courteous and powerful teacher, tolerant of undergraduates and an inspira- tion to inquiring minds. What on earth have his sartorial predilections to do with an evaluation of his work?

Headmaster

The Abbey School, Ramsey, Huntingthm