138
NOTES AND QUERIES. no s. x. AUG. is, im.
Mid- Victorian era. I have not yet been
able to look into Main or Miles ; but there
is quite enough in the old numbers of
- N. & Q.' to provide me with an answer
to C. C. B., who seems to doubt Ellison's claims to poetic laurels. A contributor at 5 S. viii. 51 alludes to Ellison's influence on Morris, Mr. Swinburne, and Tennyson, and says The Athenceum of 1844 favourably reviews his ' Poetry of Real Life,' praises its many beauties and merits, and refers to him as " the coming poet." Any one who has read his sonnet " A music yet unknown " must be caught by its melody and sweetness.
M. L. R. BRESLAB.
THE BONASSTJS (10 S. ix. 365, 451 ; x. 90). Many years ago I read a little collection of stories and sketches by George Augustus Sala, but, I think, published anonymously. Among the sketches was one of an ima- ginative, picturesque penny-a-liner " letting himself go," with a resulting phrase which has stuck in my head ever since : " The stately bonassus stalked from [or through] the underwood." CHARLES HIGHAM.
OLD TUNES (10 S. x. 48, 93). Mony- musk (not " Money Musk " nor " Moni- musk ") is a parish and estate in Aberdeen- shire, which gave the name to a dance tune much in vogue in that region a quarter of a century ago (and probably yet). The com- poser may have been a Monymusk man, or may have dedicated it to the laird. How its fame reached Hartford, Conn., is a puzzle. R.
WINE USED AT HOLY COMMUNION (10 S. ix. 90, 212, 432 ; x. 96). Would this not be the kind grown in the country, where there is any viniculture ? In Hungary it is the common white table wine that is used for the purpose. L. L. K.
T. L. PEACOCK : " SKYLIGHT " AND "TWILIGHT" (10 S. x. 9, 76). Has MB. MOBETON any authority for the explanation which he gives ? and if so, will he be good enough to cite it ? I suggest that " no skylight " means no light at the top of the glass, i.e., fill to the brim ; and that " no twilight " means no "half light in the glass, i.e., drink to the dreps. But these are mere conjectures. M. G. D.
SWIMMING BATH (10 S. x. 89). Lake Allen's ' History of Portsmouth,' 1817, says :
" In the year 1754 was built by subscription a ommodious Bathing-house, situated near the mouth
of Portsmouth Harbour, close to the run of the
tide, which plentifully supplies four baths of
different depths of water ; two of them are large
enough to swim in. In this Bathing-house are like-
wise not baths, and two good dressing-rooms : one
for ladies, the other for gentlemen ; and every other
necessary accommodation."
The square close by, where the Fish Market is still held, is known as Bath Square, and a .narrow passage leading from the square* to Broad Street as Bathing Lane.
F. K. P.
NOTES ON BOOKS, &o.
The, Ideal of a Gentleman ; or, a Mirror for Gentle- folks. By A. Smythe Palmer, D.D. (Routledge- & Sons.)
DR. SMYTHE PALMER'S selection of passages in prose and verse from the earliest times recalls a question often debated, What is a gentleman ? and popular in the press, since it affords ample occasion for debate, ana little for exact definition. Turning to the 'New English Dictionary,' which is as- remarkable for its analysis of meanings as for its wealth of examples, we find that a gentleman is "a person of distinction without precise definition of rank," " a man in whom gentle birth is accom- panied by appropriate qualities and behaviour ; hence, in general, a man of chivalrous instincts and fine feelings," and " a man of superior position in society, or having the habits of life indicative of this ; often one whose means enable him to live in easy circumstances without engaging in trade, a man of money and leisure." These definitions virtually exhaust the Dictionary's sub-headings,, apart from heraldic and other special usages,, such as "gentleman in waiting," and satirical references. But, admirable and thoughtful as they are, they leave unexpressed, though doubtless they imply, the first idea of a gentleman that will come to many minds the idea that some standard of education (which goes along with a moral standard)' is implied. We get this at once in German, where we find the gentleman described as " der gebildete- Mann," the man of culture. The Greek kalokaga- thos implies a similar qualification. In our own day, except in a very small portion of London society, birth and breeding have alike given way to- the advances of the plutocrat, who may, so far as heraldry goes, rank above the plain gentleman, yet remains obviously below him in such elementary points as speech and manners at table. The advance of the princes of trade, copiously be- sprinkled with the fount of honour, is one of the features of our time. We may quote here one of the few passages which are in our own common- place books, and do not figure in Dr. Smythe Palmer's collection: "Mrs. Burney heard Dr. Johnson say, ' An English merchant is anew species of gentleman ' " (Boswell's * Life of Johnson,' ed^ Hill, i. 491). Our present heraldry, Boswell remarks, " is suited to the times in which it had its origin. It is chiefly founded upon ferocious merit, upon military excellence." He goes on to ask why " the spirited hazards of trade and commerce" should
