abdicate to give up formally (a high office, throne, authority, etc.).
the accursed son of Noah Ham, who had laughed at his father's nudity and who had been cursed by his father to be "a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren" (Genesis 9:18–27).
armies had come from the North to set them free reference to Union forces that fought in the South during the U.S. Civil War and, as they traveled between battles, freed southern slaves.
blasphemous irreverent or profane.
bleaching cream a lotion used to lighten the skin.
bondwoman a woman bound to service without pay: a slave.
chambermaid a woman whose work is taking care of bedrooms, as in a hotel.
commune to talk together intimately.
