land of Arabian nights Egypt.
limekiln a furnace or kiln used to turn limestone into lime. Though Dickens places this near the sluice-house, it is unlikely a limekiln could have burned so close to water. It most likely was further inland.
weazen an obsolete word for weasand, meaning throat.
plummet something heavy.
coal-whippers men who operated the whips or pulleys that raised coal onboard ships.
hempen hawsers rope cables.
bowsprit a large, tapered spar extending forward from the bow of a sailing vessel, to which stays for the masts are secured.
capstan an apparatus around which cables or hawsers are wound for hoisting anchors, lifting weights, and so on.
gunwale the upper edge of the side of a ship or boat.
lightermen bargemen.
fenders material, such as timber or old cables, hung over the side of a ship to protect it from banging around while in port.
thowel primitive sort of rowlock or oarlock.
