In the spring 2010 Nabokovian, Alex Roy points out that according to the Index to PF, Gradus should appear in the note to line 12; however, he is not explicitly mentioned there. Roy finds him in an anagram of Angus MacDiarmid, which he refigures as "Gradus, ici madman" (ici = institute for the criminally insane, Jack G's last address). Anagram-hunting is not my sport (it's hard to tell the difference between chance and intent) but were I to play that game, I would point out another anagram directly following the MacDiarmid one. Paired with our man Angus is "Southey's Lingo-Grande," which, anagramized, comes out as "see Gradus, loony thing." Or, if you prefer a more index-like entry, "Gradus, see loony thing." So, does this double incidence confirm intention, or does it make the opposite point--that anagrams occur by chance all the time, so we should be wary of assigning intent?

Matt Roth