Gross Tonnage Volume of all ship's enclosed spaces (from keel to funnel) measured to the outside of the hull framing (1 ton / 100 cu.ft.). inst. The current month: your letter of the 15th instant. invest Surround with troops or ships; besiege. irredenta Region culturally or historically related to one nation, but subject to a foreign government. Junker Member of the Prussian landed aristocracy, formerly associated with political reaction and militarism. Kiao-chau German protectorate from 1898 to 1915, on the Yellow Sea coast of China. It was on 200 square miles of the Shantung Peninsula around the city of Tsingtao, leased to Germany for one hundred years by the imperial Chinese government. In 1898 Tsingtao was an obscure fishing village of 83,000 inhabitants. When Germany withdrew in 1915, Tsingtao was an important trading port with a population of 275,000. kine Plural of cow. kultur German culture and civilization as idealized by the exponents of German imperialism during the Hohenzollern and Nazi regimes. lighterage Transportation of goods on a lighter (large flatbottom barge used to deliver or unload goods to or from a cargo ship or transport goods over short distances.) lyddite An explosive consisting chiefly of picric acid, a poisonous, explosive yellow crystalline solid, C6H2(NO2)3OH. mitrailleuse Machine gun. morganatic Marriage between a person of royal birth and a partner of lower rank, where no titles or estates of the royal partner are to be shared by the partner of inferior rank nor by any of the offspring. nugatory Of little or no importance; trifling; invalid. pastils Small medicated or flavored tablet; tablet containing aromatic substances burned to fumigate or deodorize the air; pastel paste or crayon. poilus French soldier, especially in World War I. pourparler Discussion preliminary to negotiation. prorogue Discontinue a session of parliament; postpone; defer. punctilio Fine point of etiquette; precise observance of formalities. rinderpest Contagious viral disease, chiefly of cattle, causing ulceration of the alimentary tract and diarrhea. Sublime Porte [French. Porte: a gate] Ottoman court; government of the Turkish empire; from the gate of the sultan's palace. Tsing-tao (Qing-dao) City in eastern China on the Yellow Sea, north-northwest of Shanghai. The city was leased in 1898 to the Germans, who established a famous brewery. Uhlans Horse cavalry of the Polish, German, Austrian, and Russian armies. ukase Order or decree; an edict; proclamation of a czar having the force of law in imperial Russia. verbund [German] Interconnection. Wipers British soldiers' pronunciation of "Ypres". Zemstvos An elective council for the administration of a provincial district in czarist Russia. [End Transcriber's notes]