" JUDAS "
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR]
Linklater's complaint that in my review of Iudas I have deliberately (and I suppose maliciously) misquoted him is a mere quibble. The words " bloody " and " bastard " may not actually occur in conjunction, but we have "bloody Romans," "bloody fools," "bloody knaves," "bloody stool- pigeon," "bloody lion," "bloody armies," " son-of-a-bitch of a Pharisee," "the Pharisee, the bastard," &c. It is hardly necessary, I should think, to be either " saintly " or " pious " to perceive that such expressions are undesirable in a story dealing with the Christian tragedy. When I described the novel as " little " I referred to its length, and it is very short ; when I described it as "vulgar" I, seeking the mot juste, referred to its manner and treatment.—Yours faithfully,
FORREST REID.
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