had the organ in Haddington Road—played the organ at St. Mary’s Church on Haddington Road, in south-central Dublin.
Adam and Eve’s—a nickname for the Church of the Immaculate Conception, in southwest-central Dublin.
back answers—back-talk; insolence.
screwed—(slang) drunk.
palaver—flattery; cajolery.
Guttapercha—a rubberlike gum produced from the latex of various southeast Asian trees.
Christy Minstrels—a popular nineteenth-century American theatrical troupe featuring white performers made up to look like stereotypical black characters.
the famous Mrs. Cassidy, who is reported to have said "Now, Mary Grimes, if I don’t take it, make me take it, for I feel I want it."—apparently the punch line to a popular joke of the day.
Quadrille—a square dance of French origin, consisting of several figures, performed by four couples.
the two murdered princes in the Tower—the two sons of England’s King Edward IV, put to death in the Tower of London by their uncle, most likely, who would become Richard III.
tabinet—a poplin-like fabric made of silk and wool.
man-o’-war suit—presumably a child’s costume intended to resemble a soldier’s outfit.
curate—a clergyman who assists a vicar or rector.
Lancers—a nineteenth-century quadrille.
an Irish device—a Celtic emblem.
a crow to pluck—(slang) a bone to pick.
West Briton—a sympathizer with the English in Ireland.
the University question—the issue of Irish higher education. At the time the story is set, the country’s main university, Trinity College, was Protestant affiliated, while the vast majority of the population was Roman Catholic.
go visiting—perform a particular square dance figure.
embrasure—an opening (for a door, window, and so on), especially one with the sides slanted so that it is wider on the inside than on the outside.
the park—Phoenix Park, prominently featured in “A Painful Case.”
Three Graces—the three sister goddesses who have control over pleasure, charm, and beauty in human life and in nature.
Paris—in Greek legend, a son of Priam, king of Troy. Of three goddesses (Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera), Paris chose to award the golden apple of Discord to Aphrodite; she, in turn, granted him Helen, wife of Menelaus, thus causing the Trojan War. A reference is made to golden apples in “A Little Cloud.”
An irregular musketry—a sound like many guns being fired, though not simultaneously.
“Arrayed for the Bridal”—a song from I Puritani, an opera by Vincenzo Bellini.
refractory—hard to manage; stubborn; obstinate.
the pope to turn out the women out of the choirs—Pius X, pope at the time this story is set, excluded women from singing in church choirs.
