"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 the London newspapers:-- "GRAY'S INN.--At a _Pension_ of the Hon. Society of Gray's Inn, holden this day, Henry Wm. Vincent, Esq., her Majesty's Remembrancer in the Court of Exchequer, was called to the degree of Barrister at Law." {135} I have inquired of one of the oldest benchers of Gray's Inn, now resident in the city from which I write, for an explanation of the origin or meaning of the phrase "pension," neither of which was he acquainted with; informing me at the same time that the Query had often been a subject discussed among the learned on the dais, but that no definite solution had been elicited. Had the celebrated etymologist and antiquary, Mr. Ritson, formerly a member of the Society, been living, he might have solved the difficulty. But I have little doubt that there are many of the erudite, and, I am delighted to find, willing readers of your valuable publication who will be able to furnish a solution. J.M.G. Worcester. _Stars and Stripes of the American Arms._--What is the origin of the American arms, viz. stars and stripes? JARLTZBERG. _Passages from Shakspeare._--May I beg for an interpretation of the two following passages from Shakspeare:-- "_Isab._ Else let my brother die, If not a feodary, but only he, Owe, and succeed thy weakness." _Measure for Measure,_ Act ii. Sc. 4. "_Imogen._ Some jay of Italy, Whose mother was her painting, hath betrayed him." _Cymbeline_, Act iii. Sc. 4. TREBOR. King's College, London. _Nursery Rhyme._--What is the date of the nursery rhyme:-- "Come when you're called, Do what you're bid, Shut the door after you, Never be chid?"--Ed. 1754. In Howell's _Letters_ (book i. sect. v. letter 18. p. 211. ed. 1754) I find-- He will come when you call him, go when you bid him, and shut the door after him. J.E.B. MAYOR. _"George" worn by Charles I._--I should be glad if any of your correspondents could give me information as to who is the present possessor of the "George" worn by Charles I. It was, I believe, in the possession of the late Marquis Wellesley, but since his death it has been lost sight of. Such a relic must be interesting to either antiquaries or royalists. SPERANS.