So excited was I, by the thought of my father's discomfort on reading those lines, and so eager was I to wave them under his nose, that I dared to assume the great Keats was not above such humour. I cut and paste WW's post and dashed off a mail with maximum speed. Will now have to eat very humble crow. Serves me right, I suppose! [sigh]

tsuwm and WW, where do you find all these loverly things! I thoroughly enjoyed both posts. Thanks much. What struck me most about the letter was the quiet unassuming way in which he moved from H.Smith's lines to his own verse, with not so much as the smallest of critical comment to pass about the former.