19 SEPTEMBER 1947, Page 17

NEAR AND DEAR?

Snt,—A Spanish proverb is a very pungent variation of Mr. Harold Nicolson's quotation ; it is "God gives us our friends, but the devil gives us our relations." Perhaps this means that relations too often presume on their rights, without returning an equivalent in unselfish consideration. Mr. Harold Nicolson's Marginal Comment is a continuous delight.—I am,