22 DECEMBER 1967, Page 25

:Sir: Is it possible that critics of the Keith lectures

(vide Angus Maude. SPECTATOR. 15 December) underestimate the subtlety of Dr Leach? Is he not ,perhaps a satirist as savage as, but more sophis- ;ticated than, Swift himself, whose Modest Proposal for Utilising the Children of Poor People in Ire- land (as food) was not taken so literally? By over- stating and pursuing to their logical conclusion certain trends in contemporary thought Dr Leach has made them ridiculous. Generously be has dropped a broad hint and made a mock of his :words, since in his own estimation he is too old at ,fifty-seven to merit serious consideration.

Marjorie Sisson ;Farm Hall. Godmanchester, Huntingdon