Sèvres an exquisite porcelain made in Sèvres, France.
Louis-Quinze Louis the Fifteenth (1710–74), king of France 1715–74; a fashion style named after him.
sanguine healthy looking; optimistic.
absolution formal remission of sin after confession; in the Roman Catholic church, it is a part of the sacrament of penance.
prussic acid hydrocyanic acid; a colorless, extremely poisonous solution of hydrogen cyanide (HCN).
Patti Adelina Patti (1843–1919), world-renowned Italian coloratura soprano.
dowdy shabby; lacking style or neatness.
nil a contraction of the Latin nihil, "nothing."
asphodel a Mediterranean plant that in Greek mythology is linked with death.
conjugal having to do with marriage.
felicity blissful happiness.
Desdemona a leading character in William Shakespeare's Othello.
Ophelia a leading character in William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Jacobean relating to drama or literature during the reign of James I of England (1603–25).
Webster John Webster (1580–1625), English dramatist and tragedian whom many rate second only to Shakespeare in the early seventeenth century.
Ford John Ford (c. 1586–1639), major English dramatist.
Cyril Tourneur (1575–1626), British dramatist and tragedian.
