IN a reply to a correspondent I wrote:

"Evans is a flat, dull, boring, venal, corrupt conformist who willingly sold his soul to the Devil and will be forced to keep his part of the Faustian pledge for the rest of his life; while I am at liberty to write what I want, inspired by the knowledge that there will always be free souls and spirits like yourself out there who are keen to get to the bottom of things, because not even the Evanses of this world have succeeded in destroying your natural curiosity and idealism."