Sentence:  "I mean to inform you," answered the "Oxonian", with a grin on his face, "that those three nymphs, who have so much dazzled your optics, are three <WSD>nuns</WSD>, and the plump female is "Mother" .... of great notoriety [...]" 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A prostitute.<ref>(page=76)</ref>