her peroration in midair (pg. 10) -- A flowery and highly rhetorical oration.
inimical ... to change (pg. 68) -- Being adverse often by reason of hostility or malevolence
drank every drop of Jamaica ginger they had in stock (pg. 107) -- An alcoholic extract of ginger used as a flavoring.
I'm not anybody's nursemaid or typewriter, or bookkeeper... (pg. 52) -- An archaic term for one who uses a typewriter; a typist.
probity (pg. 142) -- Complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness.
reflected glory (pg. 72) -- Not one's own; received from another.
So in case a war breaks out between the United States and Japan, or the president is assassinated... -- (pg. 111) War with Japan? Wow, that's scary, this was published in 1912. President McKinley had been assasinated in 1901, though the next was President Kennedy in 1963.
>President Cuyler made speech this evening about the modern generation being flippant and superfical. He says we are losing the old ideals of earnest endeavor and true scholarship; and particularly is this falling off noticeable in our disrespectful attitude toward organized authority. -- (pg. 136) Remember, this book was published in 1912.
The only thing that keeps me from starting a collection [of toads] is the fact that no rule exists against it. -- (pg. 46)