10 DECEMBER 1965, Page 15

Lord Gladwyn's Quotation

Stn,-In a recent Spectator, Lord Gladwyn, 7 beginning his article on de Gaulle with a warning note, quotes from Matherbe's great poem, which begins 'Ta douleur, du Pdrier.'

His version of two of the most famous lines is so far from the original French that one wonders whether his political knowledge of France is com- parable to his grammatical or literary. His version reads: 'Le garde qui veille a la barriere du Louvre ne ddfend point le Roi.'

Correctly, it is, of course: Et la garde qui veille aux barrires du Louvre N'en &fend point nos rois.

ANNE FREMANTLE

252 East 78, New York, 2