gnomon—a column or pin on a sundial that casts a shadow indicating the time of day.
simony—the buying or selling of sacred or spiritual things, as sacraments or benefices. Roman Catholic teaching defines simony as an infringement of natural law.
Catechism—a handbook of questions and answers for teaching the principles of a religion.
stirabout—porridge.
faint—the crude, impure spirits given off in the first and last stages the distillation of liquor.
worm—the coil of a still.
Rosicrucian—any of a number of persons in the seventeenth or eighteenth century who professed to be members of a secret society said to have various sorts of occult lore and power. The boy’s uncle is implying that his relationship with Father Flynn was secret and possibly dangerous.
simoniac—a person guilty of simony.
Drapery—a shop selling cloth.
July 1st—the date, in 1690, of the Battle of the Boyne, in which the Protestant forces of William III of England defeated the Roman Catholic Jacobites of James III, resulting in the downfall of Catholic Ireland.
High Toast—a brand of snuff.
catacombs—any of a series of vaults or galleries in an underground burial place. During the first and second century, persecuted Christians hid in the catacombs beneath Rome.
vestment—an ecclesiastical garment worn by a priest, choir member, and so forth during services.
venial—not causing spiritual death; said of a sin either not serious in itself or, if serious, not adequately recognized as such or not committed with full consent of one's will.
And everything . . . ?—apparently the boy’s aunt seeks to establish that last rites were bestowed upon Father Flynn by a priest before death; only a profoundly disgraced priest would be refused last rites, so the fact that she has to ask implies much about Father Flynn’s misbehavior.
Freeman’s General—here, the Freeman’s Journal and National Press, an Irish newspaper.
breviary—a book containing the Psalms, readings, prayers, and so on of the Divine Office.
rheumatic wheels—a malapropism for pneumatic wheels.
