The truth was that Padre Irene, who was a melomaniac of the first degree and knew French well, had been sent to the theater by Padre Salvi as a sort of religious detective, or so at least he told the persons who recognized him.

It's one of those pedally boats.

a jointy rock; jointy slate

2009 [2006], Naomi Rosh White, “Tertiary education in the noughties: the student perspective”, in Malcolm Tight, editor, The Routledge international handbook of higher education: