2"* S. NO 61., Fbb. 28. '67.3 



NOTES AND QUEEIES. 



169 



is now held by Sir Benjamin Brodie and Mr. 

 Keate) ; and also a list of the Presidents of the 

 College of Physicians. It would be as well if the 

 College of Physicians would do as the College of 

 Surgeons does, print in their annual list a list of 

 the Presidents. C. H. 



William Robinson, Architect, S^c. — Who was 

 William Robinson, Secretary to H.. M. Board of 

 Works, and Clerk of the Works at Greenwich 

 Hospital, 174G— 1775? From Malcolm's Londin. 

 Rediv. ii. 442. I learn that he was commissioned 

 in 1767 to rebuild the west side of the Royal 

 Exchange : he must therefore have been an archi- 

 tect of some eminence. Is anything known of his 

 family or other works ? * Dunelmensis. 



JBecktashgee, or the makers of " Beclitash." — 

 The Becktashgee form a secret society in Turkey, 

 numbering many thousands of Mahoraedans in its 

 ranks ; no Christian can partake of the mysteries 

 of this brotherhood. One day during the summer 

 of 1855, an English merchant captain, whilst walk- 

 ing tlirough the streets of a Turkish quarter of 

 Stamboul, encountered an Osmanli who made 

 use of various signs of Freemasonry (the English- 

 man was a brother), some of which signs the cap- 

 tain understood, and some not. Neither party 

 could speak a single word of the other's language. 

 Query, For what purpose was this order insti- 

 tuted ? who was the founder ? and what do the 

 members profess ? I put these Queries because 

 I never was able to obtain any information in 

 Turkey respecting a society which I have been 

 given to understand exercises considerable in- 

 fluence, both social and political, over the whole 

 Turkish empire. W. B. C. 



_ The Prefix " Pi/." — Within five miles of the 

 city of Dunfermline in Scotland, there are a great 

 many places whose names begin with Pit (written 

 Pet and Peth in charters of the twelfth century). 

 I shall feel obliged to any of your readers who 

 will throw some light on the origin of this pre- 

 fix, and of the etymology of the names themselves. 

 The following is a list of the names alluded to, 

 viz. : Pittencrieff, Pitfirrane, Pitliver, Pitdinnie, 

 Pitconochie, Pitbauchlie, Pitcorthie, Pitreavie, 

 Pitscottie, and Pitatherie. Such a cluster of 

 names with the prefix Pit is nowhere else to be 

 found in Scotland. Do they refer to a Druidical 

 origin ? E.^H. 



Meaning of " In." — There are a great many 

 places in Scotland having the prefix In, such as 

 Inverness, Invergordon, Inverteil, Inverary, In- 

 veresk, Inverkeithing, Inverleithen, &c. In an 

 old document of the twelfth or thirteenth century, 



[* William Robinson died at his house in Scotland 

 Yard, Oct. 7, 1775.] 



I find Inversk is written down Infrex. Perhaps 

 the other names in this list may have been ori- 

 ginally also so written. I would feel particularly 

 indebted to any of your readers to give me the 

 meaning of this prefix In. T. S. 



The Sin of Gehazi. — In Donne's Sermons 

 (vol. i. 275, Alford,) there occurs the following : 



" Simon Magus gave the name to a Sin, and so did 

 Gehazi, and Sodom did so." 



To what sin did Gehazi give name ? I have 

 sought in vain in the various books of references 

 within my reach. J. Eastwood. 



Girtin the Artist. — Can any of your numerous 

 City readers inform me whether he was a freeman 

 of any of the City Companies ? or whether his 

 father, who Avas an extensive rope and cordage 

 manufacturer in Southwark, was a member of any 

 of those ancient guilds ? The question is asked 

 with reference to a memoir of this artist being in 

 contemplation. Inquirbb. 



Hollands, Geneva Gin. — Will some of the cor- 

 respondents of "N. & Q.," versed in the history 

 of our social progress, tell us when the spirits 

 known as Hollands and Geneva were first im- 

 ported into this country ? I presume they take 

 their respective names from the places from which 

 they were imported. I would ask, therefore, 

 when are they first mentioned in our Statute 

 Book, and for any early allusions to them among 

 our old dramatic and satirical writers ? -Let me 

 add, that before sending this Query, I have con- 

 sulted Beckmann's Inventions, Nares's Glossary, 

 S^c, without finding any information on the sub- 

 ject. Old Tom. 



Portraits of a Literary Trio. — I have a large 

 oil painting, 5f feet by 4 J feet, representing three 

 individuals in literary consultation, — one evi- 

 dently explaining some particular topic ; another 

 appears intently listening ; whilst the third is in 

 the act of reaching down a volume, as if to refer 

 and settle the point in question. The historic 

 tradition respecting this picture (for it has been 

 in one family the best part of a century) is, that 

 the three individuals are Pope, Addison, and 

 Steele, and that they are compiling The Spec- 

 tator. The likenesses of Pope and Addison have 

 been recognised by many competent judges. The 

 third person in the picture cannot be recognised 

 as Steele, as it appears that of a man about fifteen 

 years younger than either of the other two ; whilst, 

 in point of fact, Steele was I believe the elder by 

 a year or so. It has been suggested by some that 

 the third party bears a resemblance to Boling- 

 broke ; by others, that it is Thomson the poet. 

 The costume of the three is that of Queen Anne's 

 time, the period when they flourished. 



Can any of your intelligent readers give me any 



