392
NOTES AND QUERIES. [io s. VIL MAY is, 1907.
flowers in church decoration : ' em quatro igrejas
em que se fez festa o segundo domingo d'Agosto de
1620, se gastaram 3000 capelas (=guirlandas) e 2000
e tantos ramilhetes, afora muitas boninas soltas, e
mangircoens e belverdes.' Let this be compared
with what Bluteau records : ' Entre nos serve de
ornar os jardins, as janelas, as portarias dos con-
ventos, e as vezes os degraos dos altares, em vasos
de barro.' He uses moreover the statements of the
commentator Faria e Sousa, who died in 1649. In
the 'Rimas,' first printed in 1685 (vol. ii. p. 319a),
it is said among other things : ' Belvederes es yoz
Italiana que el vocabulario desta nacion explica
con el latin acopia [sic] For belveder entiende
aqui el Poeta una planta con que se adonian mucho los jardines, compuesta de muchas ramas y nunie- rosas y menudas hojas con que en lo cerrado imita al cipres, y en el cuerpo y estatura a un hombre. Llamase vulgarmente en Castilla mirdble [_sic\ ; en Portugal valverde.' The Italian word-book will be the ' vocabolario della Crusca.' We must refer to the first edition (Venice, 1612). Scopia will be a misprint for scopa, or scopa regia (Plin. 21. 6 and 25. 5), or for scoparia Chenopodium scoparia (Linne* ). Mirable is a misprint for mira-bel, and is not amended by Bluteau and others (for instance, by Domingos Vieira) in their transcription. I find, for instance, mira-bel, a reproduction of bel-veder, in the 'Diet. Esp.-Franyais' of Sejournant (1790), with the explanation ' espece de Aitymale qui a la figure d'un cypres et dont on garnit les comparti- mens d'un jardin.' I cannot so quickly determine what people mean now by valverde whether Cyparissus, Cypressen-Euphorbie, Linaria belveder, Chenopodium scoparia. Bluteau (who once more brings forward the names Osyris and studiosorum herba) refers to good illustrations in Chabreo, 'Sciographia omnium Stirpium.' According to that, one is inclined to decide that one has really to recognize therein toad-nax (and indeed the broom species), that is to say, Mariei\ftacha lAnaria belveder. As for the whole sonnet, it seems to me that the occurrence of an unusually accurate name like belvedtr points to this, that the poet had in view a quite definite locality, a resting-place of the Court ladies. Situation and sense come out clearly from Storck's clever German version. In explana- tion he remarks only that Camoens distinguishes here, as elsewhere, Cupido (Passion, Lust) from Amor (Love). So far as I see, the thought has occurred to no translator that belveder may signify, as well as mirante, a watch-tow r er. In general, there is an absence of evidence from the sixteenth century for this Italianism. "
E. S. DODGSON.
RICHARD STEELE AND FREEMASONRY (10 S. vii. 268). The best account of the plate referred to is found in Lane's ' Handy Book to Lists of Lodges,' 1889, whence the follow- ing is extracted :
"Bernard Picart's 'Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Various Nations of the known World' was published at Amsterdam in seven volumes between the years 1723 and 1737 inclusive. In vol. iv., published in 1736, there is an engraving, on one sheet, of what is evidently an arrangement of the Official List for 1735. The upper and largest portion of this curious plate is divided into 129 oblong compartments, arranged in six rows, con- taining the ' Sign of the House,' the name of the
street or place where each lodge assembled, and
the number of the lodge. In the centre of the
two rows is a medallion portrait of ' Sir Richard
Steele,' surmounted by the arms of Lord Wey-
mouth, the then Grand Master. The lower part of
the engaving represents eleven persons in Masonic
clothing engaged in various occupations, one read-
ing, others apparently conversing together, or im-
parting and receiving instruction This engraved
plate appears to have been reproduced at a later period, and one of the peculiarities of the copy is that, instead of the compartments being arranged, progressively, from left to right, as in the original,, they are, curiously ejnough, so placed as to read from right to left : No. 1 being in the right-hand upper corner. The spelling, also, has in many in- stances been altered and modernized in the later issue."
Both the recognized authorities on Masonic history, Mr. R. F. Gould and Mr. W. J. Hughan, agree that, beyond the occurrence of his portrait in this plate, there is nothing known to connect Sir Richard Steele with the Society of Free- masons. W. B. H.
Mr. Robert Freke Gould, in his monu- mental ' History of Freemasonry ' (vol. ii. pp. 275-6), gives two extracts from The Tatler (of 7-9 June, 1709, and 29 April- 2 May, 1710) as from the pen of Richard Steele, mentioning Freemasons.
P.M., 1928.
TALBOT (10 S. vii. 290). Whatever it may be worth, the opinion of Canon Bardsley was that the dog acquired the name from a personal name of man, similarly to Gib (cat) and Cuddy (donkey). His opinion was, also, that Talbot was a font-name. See his ' Diet, of Surnames.' H. P. L.
TRADAGH=DROGHEDA (10 S. vii. 328). The Irish Gaelic for " bridge " is certainly droichead or droichoid, and Drogheda is Droichead-atha= bridge over ford. (Com- pare Fordingbridge in Hants.) The Old Irish is drochet. It seems impossible that tradagh can have been the original of this last word ; if it exists at all, it must be, as MR. PLATT suggests, a corruption.
C. S. JERRAM.
Miss LINWOOD'S GALLERY (10 S. vii. 281). MR. PIERPOINT will find much useful information as to the material of these " pictures " and their sale by auction, 23 April, 1846, in Timbs's ' Curiosities of London,' 1855, p. 454.
There is a brief description of this famous collection (so long one of London's lions) in 4 The Picture of London,' for 1803, p. 219. The works were then being shown at Hanover Square, but neither from this nor from Mr. Baillie's The Oriental Club and
