`Popish tricks'

From Mr Martin Hall
Sir, In the postscript to her thoughtful reflection on the Queen Mother's passing, Mary Kenny reminds us of the "politically incorrect" second verse of the National Anthem. As I recall, the expression "knavish tricks" in reference to the Queen's enemies was substituted for the "popish tricks" of the 1745 original at the insistence of King Edward VII who clearly perceived that this was insulting to his Catholic subjects. Several hymnbooks now omit this offending verse altogether.
But no marks are due to David Twiston Davies for his reference to "Easter Saturday" as the day on which the Queen Mother died. One expects such solecisms from secular journals — it is only a short step away from "Easter Bank Holiday Friday" which I have seen used on occasion in broadcast listings. Your distinguished contemporary The Daily Telegraph — for which Mr Twiston Davies works — set the record straight by referring to "Easter Eve" in its editorial earlier this week.
Yours faithfully, MARTIN HALL [email protected]