"Paul Clifford", Chapter 2, by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Imagination fondly stoops to trace
The parlor splendours of that festive place.
Deserted Village.

----

Sorry I still haven't settled on a voice for either Mrs. Lobkins or Dummie. I can't even really settle on the accent for either of them! Ugh.

Only a couple of footnotes on this one, but there were a ton of words I had to look up, mostly slang or argot, so I provide all the ones I had trouble with in addition to the couple of footnoted words:

transportation: a form of punishment by which the guilty was shipped off to some remote part of the Empire, such as North America, or after the American Revolution, to Australia

objurgation: a harsh rebuke

form, in the context of seating: a backless bench used for seating in dining rooms

Hollands and water: Hollands, known in Dutch as Jenever, is gin! In this case, under this specific name, a junipter-flavored liquor of the Netherlands

This is the first time I've ever heard Scotland referred to as the Land of Cakes. Is that still a commonly known expression in the UK today?

delf, a.k.a. Delft: a style of tin-glazed earthenware, usually blue and white, traditionally made in the Netherlands

ben cull: friend or pal. Often this would be used in an ironic sense against a mark, so someone the user actually sees as gullible or foolish. I can only assume in the case of a woman using it with her child, it is meant in an affectionate way, but that's speculation on my part

tape: slang term for a fiery drink, apparently usually gin or brandy

to shove the tumbler: be whipped at the cart's tail

blowen: prostitute

scragged: killed by hanging

kittychism I believe is an alternate of catechism? If you know this one, leave a comment below

to go snacks: Another obscure one, I believe it means to split evenly?

cove: boy or man

to diddle, in the early 19th century, means to cheat or swindle. Edgar Allan Poe has an entire short story on diddling. It's quite entertaining - consider looking it up on my channel here to give a listen :)

tobyman: highwayman

the topping cheat: gallows

crotchet: an odd fancy or whimsical notion

bob: shilling

A half-crown would have been 1/8 of a pound, or two shillings and sixpence, or 30 pence (bearing in mind at time of the story 1 pound = 20 shillings = 240 pence; a farthing was 1/4d)

quids, as used here, are guineas, which at the time of this story would have been worth 21 shillings

blunt I believe is just a word for money generically, not a specific denomination. I've never heard it used, again perhaps a British listener can fill us in on this one

I can't find anything for "to score lush", although you can guess a plausible meaning from the context

Surgeon's Hall appears to be too specific a reference, again we'll need some Brits in the audience to help out here

die game: as best I can figure out, to die after a brave struggle. In any event, that would comport with her not being ashamed of them, as she says in the next clause

lagged: transported (see above entry on transportation)

panny: burglary

gemman, of course, is a shortened form of gentleman

The picture used is "Inside a Country Alehouse" by George Morland. Of course, Lobkins' alehouse is in London, not in the country, but getting a depiction of the interior of any alehouse at all circa 1800 is unfortunately difficult. So this is what you get.

Morland has a lot of nice paintings of late 18th century Britain. If you are into that kind of thing, definitely look up his works!

To follow along: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/7735/7735-h/7735-h.htm#link2HCH0002

This proved an exceedingly difficult chapter to record, between much awkward language, the slang, the argot, and some obscure names, it was bloody hell to get through this one. And I still had a few errors I let through because of the triviality ("his errand" should have been "this errand", but it still makes sense either way). Ugh. Here's to hoping it gets easier the further we go along.