Sir, - In his thought-provoking letter n the Battle of the Boyne (August 18th), Ian R. Cox wrote: "The conduct of King William who, in the words of Lord Macaulay, `was seen wherever the peril was greatest', is in direct contrast to James, who surveyed the battle from the safety of Donore and plotted his escape routes before his offensive."
While it is just possible that this is a fair description of events during the 1690 battle, it is also worth noting that Earl Cowper's Preface to Lord Melbourne's Papers states: "I wish I was as cocksure of anything as Tom Macaulay is of everything." And Matthew Arnold wrote: "The great apostle of the Philistines, Lord Macaulay."
On the other hand, I recall a teacher, more than 50 years ago, who used to say, (quoting I think G K Chesterton), "It may be true, even though Macaulay said it." Yours, etc.,
Myles Crowe,
Seapoint, Co. Dublin.