Fonblanque. Not identified. The first item [Schobry the Bandit, H.W. XIV, 164–68. Aug. 30, 1856] recounts a hoax played on the Austrian police by the Hungarian bandit Schobry (i.e., Jóska Sobri or Zsobri, d. 1837) and his being captured and shot while attempting to carry out a "Robin Hoodish" act of generosity; contributor seems to be familiar with the parts of Hungary and Serbia where Schobry's exploits took place; is familiar with Austrian military regulations, one of which he explains. The second item [A Blank Prize [chip], XIV,395–96. Nov. 8, 1856] deals with fraudulent lottery practices of German Jews and mentions the difficulties of an honest German landlord in getting a lottery ticket redeemed for the writer.

Various members of the Fonblanque family flourished in the 1850s. The two most likely to have had an interest in the Hungarian bandit are (1) Thomas de Grenier de Fonblanque, d. 1860, for twenty years British consul-general for Serbia, stationed at Belgrade; no record, however, of his having written books or periodical articles; and (2) Edward Barrington de Fonblanque, 1821–1895, son of the consul-general; published his first book in 1857; "wrote much anonymously in periodicals" (Frederic Boase, Modern English Biography, 6 vols., 1892–1921)

Author: Anne Lohrli; © University of Toronto Press, 1971