Glossary
accomplishments: social and ornamental arts suitable for show by a young lady in a drawing room, such as singing, playing the piano, flower painting, etc; accomplished (of a young lady) skilled in such arts.
arithmetic: calculations with numbers.
bark: the noise made by an excited dog; to bark (of a dog) to make this noise.
Bible: the Holy Book of the Christians.
bride: a woman just married or going to be married; bridal of a bride or her marriage.
clergyman: a priest of the Christian religion.
coach: (formerly) a large kind of carriage drawn by horses; coachman the driver of a coach.
colonel: the officer in command of an army group (a regiment).
disgrace: dishonour, shame.
drawing room: (formerly withdrawing room) a room used especially after dinner, for sitting in and for entertaining guests.
features: the parts (nose, mouth, eyes etc.) that combine to form the face.
forehead: the part of the face that is above the eyes.
fortune: to tell someone's fortune to tell a person's future, especially by examining the lines on the inside of the hand; a fortuneteller one who claims to be able to do this.
gloomy: sad, dark, feeling or causing low spirits.
governess: a lady who looks after and teaches children in a private family.
grammar: the rules concerning the use of words in sentences, in their proper form and place.
guardian: someone who, by law or otherwise, has been put in charge of a (usually young) person.
heir: one who by law receives the property of another after that person's death; heiress a female heir, especially one who receives a great deal of money.
jug: a deep container for liquid, having a handle, and shaped for easy pouring.
labour: continual hard work; labourer a man who does rough hard work.
ma'am, madam: a formal way of addressing a woman to whom respect is owed.
Madeira: the chief of a small group of islands to the north-west of Africa.
maid: a woman servant; often combined with another word, as in nursemaid or nursery maid, lady's maid (who looks after a lady's clothes, helps her to dress, etc.), housemaid.
mama, mamma: mother (as used by her children).
miss: a formal way of addressing, or a title given to an unmarried woman or a girl.
missionary: one who tries by persuasion and preaching, to bring people in foreign lands to his own (usually Christian) beliefs.
missis: a servant's way of speaking of her mistress.
mistress: a woman at the head of a household.
nun: a woman who with others of the same kind leads a religious life away from the world.
nursery: a room for children and their nurse.
orphan: a child who has lost one or both parents through death; orphanage a home and place of education for orphans.
passion: strong or violent feeling of love, hate or anger; passionate showing such feeling.
patient: a sick person under the care of a doctor or nurse.
pillar: a metal or stone post that supports a roof, arch, etc.
porridge: a breakfast food made by boiling a kind of grain.
purse: a small bag for carrying money, especially coins.
St John: St is a shortened form of Saint (a title given to a holy person). When used as here with the name John, as a man's name, it is pronounced /"sIndPHn/.
stile: a kind of step by which one can climb over a hedge or a fence.
storey: a set of rooms in a house all on the same level. The first storey is on the ground level, the second above the first and so on.
twilight: the faint light that continues for some time in northern countries after sunset.
wedding: a marriage ceremony.
witch: a woman with magical powers.