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Full Glossary
debauched corrupted by drunkenness or sensuality; depraved.
Dervishes members of any of various Muslim religious groups dedicated to a life of poverty and chastity. Some dervishes practice whirling, chanting, and the like as religious acts.
dock the place where the accused stands or sits in court.
dragoon trot the pace of a mounted military unit.
drawer a bartender; tapster.
dumb lacking the power of speech; speechless.
escutcheon the shield on which a family displays its crest.
eventide evening.
expiation a making amends or reparation for guilt or a wrongdoing.
fagged up a steep hill toiled up the hill slowly and strenuously.
Farmer-General a member of a rich organization that made a living off of high taxes.
farrier a person who shoes horses.
finger post a sign post.
fit of the jerks an epileptic seizure.
flambeau a torch.
flint and steel Flint is a fine-grained, very hard rock that produces sparks when struck against a piece of steel. Before the invention of matches, people used flint and steel to start fires.
footpad a highwayman who travels by foot.
forenoon morning; the part of the day before noon.
forest for the chase the wood where hunting took place.
gaols British spelling of jails.
Gazette an English government publication that listed bankruptcy announcements.
Gorgon's head in Greek mythology, a Gorgon is one of three sisters with snakes for hair. They are so horrible that a beholder is turned to stone.
Grenadier wooden measure a tall, cylindrical measuring cup.
guineas, shillings, and bank-notes forms of British currency.
hackney coach a coach for hire, oftentimes a six-seat carriage drawn by two horses.
head of the king…the head of his fair wife Louis XVI was executed on January 21, 1793. His wife, Marie Antoinette, was executed on October 18, 1793.
heavy drag a brake used to slow the carriage down as it descended the hill.
highwayman a man, especially one on horseback, who robbed travelers on a highway.
Hilary Term and Michaelmas the terms during which the courts heard cases. Hilary Term lasted from January 11-31, and Michaelmas term lasted from November 2-25.
horsehair a stiff fabric made from the hair of the mane or tail of a horse.
immolate to offer or kill as a sacrifice.
inveteracy persistence or tenaciousness.
Izaak Walton (1593-1683); the author of The Compleat Angler, a fishing manual.
jackal someone who performs menial tasks for another.
jack-boots heavy, sturdy military boots that extend above the knees.
Jacobin journal the newspaper of a society of radical democrats in France during the French Revolution: so called because their meetings were held in the Jacobin friars' convent.
Jacques the use of the name Jacques to signify French peasants began in the peasant revolts in 1358. To maintain anonymity and to show solidarity, rebels called each other by the same name. The network of rebels using the Jacques appellation is referred to as the Jacquerie.
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