Hello Mike,
I very much enjoyed the vigorous advice on bringing up young men dispensed
by the bishop of London ('Punishment in school' 22 Oct.). The reference to
'beastliness' as warranting an immediate thrashing perhaps needs a
scholion, given that the euphemism has entirely disappeared from the
language. It is, I assume, an allusion to "the secret vice which gets hold
of so many fellows. It is called in our schools 'beastliness', and that is
about the best name for it". (R. Baden-Powell, Scouting for boys (7th ed.
London 1915) p.196, under the heading of 'Continence'. The 7th ed. is
available at archive.org (http://bit.ly/2zA3ELh); first ed. was 1908.)
All the best,
Neil [O'Sullivan]
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