Magna Charta or Magna Carta; literally great charter, which King John of England was forced to grant, guaranteeing certain civil and political liberties to his barons, in 1215; here "Magna Charta times" means medieval days, days of lords and serfs.
Mericky Chloe calls the baby girl "Mericky," perhaps short for "America"; in a later chapter, she will call the child "Polly."
meum tuum (Latin) mine and yours; Adolph is said to be confusing what property is his and what is St. Clare's.
Moore, Byron, Goethe Thomas Moore (1779–1852), Irish poet; George Gordon (Lord) Byron (1788–1824), British poet; Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), German poet and dramatist; here, these three are examples of writers who understood religious feeling although they were popularly supposed not to be religious.
morocco a fine, soft leather, made originally in Morocco.
Muses in Greek mythology, the goddesses that sponsored the arts and artists; "domestic Muses" would be the (humorously imagined) goddesses who oversee household arts like cooking.
necromancy black magic; sorcery.
non sequitur (Latin) a conclusion or inference which does not follow from the premises from which it is drawn; a remark that has no bearing on what has just been said.
olla podrida (Spanish) a stew; or, by extension, any assortment or medley.
"one who had 'learned in whatsoever state . . . .'" Philippians 4: 11: "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."
opera-glass a small binocular telescope.
own to acknowledge; George says he does not own the laws his pursuers refer to, meaning he does not accept them as his own.
