bank note a promissory note issued by a bank, payable to the bearer on demand and which can be used as money.
plate tableware, often made of silver or covered with a layer of silver (plated).
Barmecide room a room in which things are an illusion. Barmecide was a prince in the Arabian Nights who offered a beggar a feast and set an empty plate before him.
purloiner a thief.
Whitefriars a dostrict of central London between Fleet Street and the Temple area where criminals and fugitive debtors lived.
personal board a person's daily meals.
choused cheated, swindled.
hackney coach a coach for hire, oftentimes a six-seat carriage drawn by two horses.
laudanum a solution of opium in alcohol or wine used as a painkiller or sleeping aid, or drunk as an intoxicant.
