This sentence is rich in epithets. The epithet is a word or a group of
* Bon Dieu! (Fr.) – боже мой!
** Jeames and Chawles – cockney forms for James and Charles
*** Vehmgericht (German) – тайное судилище
**** Raggles – a former domestic of the Crawleys, now Rebecca’s landlord
***** that kep him up – that kept him up
words giving an expressive characterization of the object described. Grammatically epithets commonly appear as attributes. They disclose the emotionally coloured individual attitude of the writer towards the person or thing qualified. Thus Thackeray speaks of little Rawdon as ‘a fine open-faced boy’, calls him ‘generous and soft in heart’.
2. … Molly, the cook, who crammed him with ghost stories at night, and with good things from the dinner…
‘Ghost stories’ and ‘good things from the dinner’ are treated by the author as word combinations of the same rank. The parallel use of these word combinations so different in meaning helps the author to create a humorous effect.
3. He was a fine open-faced boy, … fondly attaching himself to all who were good to him – to the pony – to Lord Southdown … - to Molly, the cook, … - to Briggs … and to his father especially…
Note the reverse way in which little Rawdon’s attachments are listed. First comes the pony, then Lord Southdown, who gave him this pony, then Molly, the cook, then Briggs, who actually brought him up, and finally the father. This reverse enumeration helps in creating a humorous effect.