"Paul Clifford", Chapter 16, by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

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Whackum. My dear rogues, dear boys, Bluster and Dingboy! you
are the bravest fellows that ever scoured yet!-SHADWELL:
Scourers.

Cato, the Thessalian, was wont to say that some things may be
done unjustly, that many things may be done justly.-LORD BACON
(being a justification of every rascality).

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blone: Scottish for woman; a variant of blowen

Lothario: a man who behaves selfishly and irresponsibly in his sexual relationships with women

To people in the UK today still use the term "the three kingdoms" so casually and so often as Bulwer-Lytton uses it in this story? This chapter is not the first time he's said it, but I don't know that I've ever heard it. But then I'm not in the UK, and while I do listen to a fair number of British youtubers, their content is not of a sort where you would normally expect to hear them use such a term.

potatory: of, relating to, or given to drinking

fumous: producing, full of, or consisting of fumes

So the use of potatory and fumous here would be alcohol and tobacco. Or, as stated earlier in the chapter, lush and pipes.

It's not entirely clear here what "pops" is supposed to mean. Seems likely to be pistols, but possibly fists, or brass knuckles? Daggers? Some sort of weapon, but that's all we can completely sure of. If you know what type of weapon specifically, please leave a comment below!

fork: slang word for pickpocket

"or that his love of a quid ever made him neglectful of your just aversion to a quod?": quid here = guinea, and quod = prison

fogle: handkerchief

Recall from previous chapters: blue ruin = cheap gin, and bingo = brandy

Stubble your whids: Hold your tongue

Goles: God, as used in oaths

Sir Edward Coke was an English barrister, judge, and politician who is considered the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. He's a very fascinating character whose influence on English history (and even American history!) is deep and profound and far beyond the scope of what can be included here. Worth looking him up if you fancy a fascinating history lesson.

gild the pill: an old pharmaceutical practice of coating bitter tasting pills with a thin layer of metal, i.e. to make something unpleasant seem more appealing

fustian: thick, durable twilled cloth with a short nap, usually dyed in dark colors

The picture used is "Settling the affairs of the nation", circa 1800.

To follow along: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/7735/7735-h/7735-h.htm#link2HCH0016

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