16 JUNE 1894, Page 16

"CAPARISONS ARE ODOROUS."

[To rim EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] Sie,—The accomplished writer whose interesting letter, under the above quotation, appeared in the Spectator of June 9th,. errs, with many others, in referring to it as one of Mrs. Malaprop's utterances. Sheridan has introduced no such expression into The Rivals. Shakespeare, in Much Ado About Nothing, makes Dogberry say, "Comparisons are odorous" (not "caparisons"), when replying to Verge's exclamation, "Yes, I thank God I am as honest as any man living,—that is, an old man, and no honester than I." The mistake to which k refer is of frequent occurrence.—I am, Sir, &c., A. E. Mc G.