264 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 

11 September 1964

As you no doubt know, Houghton Mifflin are now busy re-setting Tree and Leaf. On Sept. 8 I received a large parcel containing proofs for my attention. No doubt this was a courtesy; but since it cost me £1. 7. 6 to return in time for their deadline, I am afraid a certain acerbity crept into my comment on the block designed for their p. iii: a ghastly thing, like a cross between a fat sea-anemone and a pollarded Spanish chestnut, plastered with lettering of indecent ugliness.