12 s. vu. OCT. so, i92o.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
349
with which any brief has ever yet been mark3 I .
I have personal knowledge of what was its atnounc.
It was twelve thousand guineas and t>co."
Is the latter assertion absolutely con- clusive and final ? F. C. \V HITI<J. 14 Esplanade, Lowestoft.
(SJrrerhs.
\Ve must request correspondents desiring in- formation on family matters of only private interest to affix their names and addresses to their queries, in order that answers maybe sent to them direct.
HIGH CONSTABLES. Where can I find an
account of the duties, form of oath, &c., of
the High Constable of a Hundred ? I
require something similar to Dalton's ' The
County Justice ' and Lambarde's 'The
Duties of Constables, &c. ' Also what series
of records, if any, will give the names of the
High Constables for Buckinghamshire during
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries ?
Local Quarter Session Records earlier than
1C80 are not preserved.
A. C. CHIBNALL.
Cedar House, Chiswick Mall, W.4.
SUR OSCAR OLIPHANT. I have the ' Collected Poems ' of Sir Oscar Oliphant, Kt. (London : J. F. Hope, 1856) ; dedicated to Herbert Williams, Stinsford House, Dorset. Can any one supply me with particulars of 'this poet ? From the following sonnet, 'England,' which appears worthy of repro- ducing here, Sir Oscar was evidently an Irishman. There is a portrait in colours prefixed to his poems in which the author is wearing the kilt, and seems to have a black face, hands and knees (presumably the fault of the colour process used !).
Forgive me, England ! if, while yet within
The imperial isle, supreme o'er earth and sea, My spirit often wander far from thee ;
Nor all thy loveliness and grandeur win
My charmed fancy, that it not begin
To picture often other scenes for me, And other sights, the wealth of memory,
To the outward eye long lost in distance thin.
I love thy glory, England ! sudden tears Of an unenvying admiration start,
Not seldom, as thy radiant form appears,
And the world's stage presents thine honour'd part ;
But Ireland is my birthplace ; there youth's
years
Were passed, my home is there, and there my heart.
This contains the only piece of biographical information I can discover from the internal
evidence of his poetry.
R. M.
R. DALTON BARHAM. Was he a re'ation
of Richard Harris Bar ham ? Some poems
by him appear in 'The Bentley Ballads,'
much in the style of the ' Ingoldsby Legends, '
excellent imitations, but not quite bearing
the hall-mark with consistency. Biographical
information would be greatly appreciated,
especially as to birthplace, dates, and
whether his collected poems were ever
printed in book form. R. M.
BENSON: CELEBRATED GAMBLER. 1 shall be greatly obliged if you or any of your readers can help me to obtain information about a celebrated gambler, named Benson, popularly dubbed "The Jubilee Plunger." I believe he flourished in the year of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, and that some time after he wrote his life story either as a book or magazine article, but so far I have failed to get any definite information. What I am specially anxious to know is : (a) what was the particular event that brought him before the public ; (b) what was the date ; (c) what is his Christian name or initials ; (d) if he wrote a book, what was the title and who published it, and when ; (e) if a magazine article, in what magazine it appeared, and the date.
G. MANCHESTER.
557 Green Lanes, N.8.
EDWARD DIXON. Edward Dixon died Aug. 29, 1854, at St. Peter's Square, Leeds, and was buried in Leeds Parish Church, Sept. 1, 1854, set. 76 years. I should be obliged if any readers of ' N. & Q.' residing in Leeds could supply me with the parentage, place of birth and date, date and place of marriage and to whom, and any information as to the antecedents of the above. Was he of the Dixons of Beeston ?
H. HARCOURT-DIXON, Lieut. -Commander (late R.N.Div.)
ROBERT ROE OF CAMBRIDGE. Robert Roe of Cambridge (born 1793, died 1880), was a son of Joseph Roe of Ipswich. Up to the present I have been unable to trace his baptismal entry, and should welcome any clue. Robert was a miniature painter, and is said to have received tuition in this art from one of the Wagemans. I should like to hear from collectors possessing examples of his work, with a view to com- piling a catalogue. He also practised as an engraver. The following plates by him are known to me : 'The Schoolmaster,' after Dou (1827); 'Amy Robsart ' (a white
