obstinate doubt that has long possessed my mind: Is the figure of the
knight in Durer's well-known print of "The Knight, Death, and the
Devil," a portrait? If it be a portrait, is it a portrait of Franz von
Sickingen, as Kugler supposes? The print is said to bear the date 1513.
I have it, but have failed to discover any date at all.

H.J.H.

Sheffield.


_Blackguard._--When did this word Come into use, and from what?

Beaumont and Fletcher, in the _Elder Brother_, use it thus:--

"It is a Faith
That we will die in, since from the _blackguard_
To the grim sir in office, there are few
Hold other tenets."

Thomas Hobbes, in his _Microcosmus_, says,--

"Since my lady's decay I am degraded from a cook and I fear the
devil himself will entertain me but for one of his _blackguard_,
and he shall be sure to have his roast burnt."

JARLTZBERG.


_Meaning of "Pension."_--The following announcement appeared lately in