Marble term a post that marks the boundary, often in the shape of a pillar topped with a head and torso.
teave (dialect) work or struggle.
“Clogged like a dripping pan” reference to a pan, used for roasting, in which the drippings of fat have been allowed to congeal.
“dust to ashes” from Job 42:6.
Hontish (dialect) haughty.
Robert South English divine and minister (1634–1716).
“old double chant ‘Langdon’” a chant in the Anglican Church double the normal length, in this case named after the English composer, Robert Langdon (1730–1803).
Heliolatries religions in which the sun is worshipped.
“a stranger in a strange land” in Exodus 2:22, Moses in Egypt refers to himself as a stranger in a strange land.
quadrille a square dance of French origin, consisting of several figures, performed by four couples.
“Tuscan saint” a reference to the images typical of Florentine art during the Renaissance.
Aholah and Aholibah two sisters who were prostitutes: Ezekiel predicts that not only they but their children will be punished (Ezekiel 23).
Stopt-diapason note suggests Tess’ voice, which, like an organ with stops, or tuned sets of pipes, is characterized by a full range of harmonious sound.
“sin, the world and the devil” a reference to “the world, the flesh, and the devil,” traditional temptations to sin mentioned in The Book of Common Prayer (Anglican Church).
Gnomic texts gnomic means wise and pithy; full of aphorisms; here, a reference to texts that express general truths in a wise manner.
“Jeremy Taylor’s thought” reference to The Rule and Exercises of Holy Dying (1651) by Jeremy Taylor, a seventeenth-century Anglican divine.
Babylon ancient city noted for wealth, luxury, and wickedness.
stile a vertical piece in a panel or frame, as of a door or window.
texes (dialect) texts.
Conjecturally being inferred, theorized, or predicted from incomplete or uncertain evidence.
Deal box a fir or pine board of any of several sizes; fir or pinewood.
