27 MAY 1989, Page 26

Savage refusal

Sir: Mr John Moore might be interested to know of Dr Johnson's rebuke to those who objected that giving alms to beggars merely enabled them to indulge in gin and tobac- co. 'Why should they be denied such sweeteners of their existence?' he asked.

It is surely very savage to refuse them every possible avenue to pleasure, reckoned too coarse for our own acceptance. Life is a pill which none of us can bear without gilding; yet for the poor we delight in stripping it still barer, and are not ashamed to show even visible displeasure if even the bitter taste Is taken from their mouths.

Caroline Tettenborn

Corn Cottage, Kings Ripon, Huntingdon