Errata
This is the place for all those items which did not fit conveniently in one category or another. It's organized alphabetically, rather than by subject matter, and makes for fun reading all by itself.
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Cigarillo - Until Cuba started exporting cigars, the unfiltered tobacco products of Spain and Portugal were known as cigarillos, or "small rolls."
The fair Diana - reference is made to Diana, the Roman goddess of hunting (as well as the moon, and of virginity)
East India Company - (the arms are shown to the left) The
intentions of the 218 Knights and merchants of the City of London who formed the East
India Company, and those of Queen Elizabeth I who granted its Royal Charter on December
31st 1600, were rarely matched by the outcome. The venture failed to achieve its stated
objectives -- it made little impression on the Dutch control of the spice trade and could
not establish a lasting outpost in the East Indies in the early years -- and yet succeeded
beyond measure in establishing military dominance and a political empire for Britain in
the East.
The tension between the straightforward commercial aims of the Court of Directors in London, who simply desired that the Company should be able to trade profitably and peacefully, and the opportunist vision of the officers sent to implement its policies, continued through until well into the nineteenth century, and even Clive's astonishing military achievements met with a chorus of disapproval from his superiors at home.
But time and geographical distance made the attempts of the Directors to direct in reality well-nigh impossible, and ultimately it lay in the hands of its officers to make what they could of the prevailing situation in the field. That they did with a vengeance, so successfully that by 1834, whilst nominally still a company with shareholders and directors in the ordinary way, in fact the East India Company had ceased to be trading company at all, and was instead authorised ruler of the vast Indian subcontinent and numerous other possessions.Click Here for the East India Trading Company Home Page.
Fricandeau - French culinary term for a dish of minced or sliced meat served in a sauce, like a fricassee.
Gingers - a slang term for showy horses, which were all looks and no performance.
Gisarmes - A kind of medieval battleaxe.
Halberds - hanging beside the fireplace in Stanyon's Great Hall, a halberd is a 15th-16th century long spear, consisting of a sharp-edged blade ending in a point or any spear head mounted on a pole greater than 5 feet long.
Hand screen - an oblong rectangle of wood, ivory or painted cardboard mounted on a short stick, used to protect a lady's complexion from the heat of a fire.
Jacobism - Don't confuse this with Jacobitism (the movement of the pro-Stuart and James II sympathizers)! Jacobism was the ultra-democratic movement of the French Jacobins, generally pro-populace and anti-monarchy and anti-nobility.
Laudanum - tincture of opium. In the regency era, the abysmal state of medicine being what it was, laudanum was a frequently overused drug of choice, used to treat nearly anything that ailed you.
Madeira - a fortified wine, much like Sherry, produced on the island of Madeira off the coast of Portugal. Usually drunk as an aperitif or dessert wine, it is very sweet.
Metropolis - the Dowager Countess's coy, presumptious way of referring to "Town," i.e., London.
Palanquin - an Indian sedan chair, carried by two runners, consisting of a shaded seat held on two poles.
Pines - the Dowager Countess refers to "pines" from the succession houses at Stanyon; she means "pineapples."
Public Day - The traditional annual opening of a country house to the tenants of the estate (not throwing open the doors to the public at large). It was meant to offer the tenants an opportunity to greet their master, drink his ale and consume his food, and perhaps air their grievances.
Sepoys - Indian natives employed as British soldiers.
Signet ring - a man's ring, with a large carved (not faceted) stone set in it. Traditionally, the stone was carved with a reverse design, so that a man could imprint his "signet" or seal into the hot wax that sealed a document. Signet rings were frequently made of onyx, carnelian or jasper, all finely crystalline semi-precious stones which were relatively simple to carve. St. Erth's carved emerald is quite extraordinary, gemstone-quality emeralds having rather large crystals; it is easy to facet, but difficult to carve.