"ORION" HORNE. (Times, 17th March.)

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1853, 22 May 1884, Page 4

"ORION" HORNE. (Times, 17th March.)

Wk regrefc to record the death of Mr Richard Hoary Home, the well-known jKK-t, who expired at Margate on Thursday last, in his 82d year, Mr Home's life was a stirring and romantic one. Educated at .Sandhurst, lie entered the Mexican na\y as a midshipman, in which onpaeity he saw umsiderable service. He was present at the bombardment of Vera Cruz, and the capture of the foi tress of San Juan Uilo.i, and followed the fortunes of the Mexican Spanish war to its close. While swimming in the Biy of Vera Cruz he narrowly escaped being seized by a shark. Subsequently ha suffered from a suvcic attack of >cilo\% fexev. He next went to the United. States, visiting several Indian cncimpments. Passing on to Niagara, lie had two libs biokcn beneath the "cataract. Not long .\ftei wauls, lie was w locked in the (hilt ot St. Law leiu c At length Ik; .sailed fiom Nova- Scotia for Europe in a timbei ship, which took liic on the way attet a mutiny on boa id. The adveiitmoiib tiavcllci, howevei, knu'oa. salels in England, wheiehe now devoted himself to htciatuie. lie made Uiiiny friendships among nie:< of letter, .and 'was held in aneotionate icgaid by Mr and Mis Browning, and many otheis Among lus published woiks weio '' The iSpmt ot Peeis and People,"' which is desciibed as .1 national tiagi coined} ; " Exposition of the False Medium and Dameis excluding Men of Oeiinis fiom the Public. ' " Tne death of Marlowe," "Cosmo do Medici," " Giogoiy VII," dianias in which not a little of the Elizabethan Hie and spirit weie repiodneed ; and " 'Jnon, ' the poem by which lie is most genet ally known. This latter work, an attempt at epic poetry, was originally published at a iarthing— -.1 step taken by the anther partly to express the feeling of contempt into which epic poetiy had fallen, andpaitly with the view of obtaining a w nle ciieulation lor the fit«t tlnee editions ot thevoik, of which no peison was. allowed to obtain nioii' than one coppy " Onon "' is now 111 the eleventh edition, having appealed in vaiious towns and at vawous pi i"es. la ISIIi the deceased published a volume ot " Ballads and Romances,' which wcie distinguished tor tl>eu encigy, oiiyinalty, and sound and healthy sentiment Mi Homo was also a veiy ])iohfic piose writei. He published the Di earner and the woiker," a novel • " Austialian Facts and Piospects."' "The (Jood natured Bear— a Stoiy foi Cliildicn, ' %< The Poor Ai tist, 01 Sev en Eyesights and one Object, " &c, He made «i fuitliei exeiuaion into the diam.itic field bv his '• l'romethcus, the Fiie-biiugei,"' a lyncal drama, and " Julius Iscaiiot, a Miracle Play," which appealed in IS4S. Foi some time, too, he acted as editor of the Monthly Repo-utoiy, and he contributed nuinoroub article to the Cluuch of England Quai telly Review, the Kew Quarterly, and othei pei iodicals 'I wo essays in the totinei lcvicu, entitled lesji'ectively " Poetic il Contiasts " and "Albeitu* M.ignu 1 -, ' attiaetedinin.li attention, so did dl^o those on "Chinese (Jh uacteiistics and " 'L'he Dramatic Z\Jmtl of Euiope,"' which appealed in the New Quaiteily. In 1877 he collet ted and published th^ lcttd-> vvln-li had been nddie-sed to him by Eh/abuth l>anett Biowning. They would have appealed some jcal-. befoie but foi the authoi's ' loi)g"aliscnce fiom England, vmetyof ocLiipation, and bu"h lite in Austi.ili.i, added to motives o! dthcaty 111 the ie,u ot mtiuding on unclosed wounds fiom the lo>s of "-udi a -pint. ' Mi Home's caieer at the Antipodes is full of intciest. Jle left Kngl.ind 111 15.")2, in company with William Tlowitt, for Aesti.ilia. The two ri lends went to the goldln-lds— a stiange eiiteijnise tin biothei poets — and Howie v\as .ippointid Commandei of the (iold Escoit at Mclhoume On his hi&t ictum tup he bionyht down two ton-5 weight ot gold. His fame as a manage) and oigam/er <|iueklv spiead, and lie was ajipointcd sueeest-ivelv 1 0111inissionei in cliaigc <)f the goldhclds, a territoiial m.igistiate, commissions ot the Van can Water Supply, mining legistiai, ive , at the Blue Mountains Alw,i\s known foi his fondness foi nnisculai ixeicbe. he became one ot the chain) ion swiinmeis of Austiaha, winning the gold medal, silver medal, failvei -mounted cl.uct jug, and other tiophies at St. Kilda, near Melbourne It is stated that on one occasion he swam after heinti bound hand and foot. Being not altoge-thei satisfied with Ins tieat ment by tlie Au-tialnn (lovcmment. which filled to appu 1 late h:& -eivicti.is they deseivcd, Mi Home letumcd to England in Ihli't, and he has lesided in this (.ountiy (\ti smce Dei eased had nianiLil, shoitly befoit Ins dcpaituie foi Austiaha. Miss FFortu r t, r o, a neice of the eccentiie ai tist of th.it name. In 1871 the Kail of Beaeonsfu-hl uuifeiied ujion Mi Jloine «i Cml Li-t jjension of 1 1 00 pei anntiin. In jxisonal ihaiactii the deceased was one ot the most simple and (Ji.uming of men. though he was not devoid of ciot' bets and peculiar iLies. Jle v\as stiikmg .md li.indsome of fen tut c, an I w hen p Ist SO v, eats ot age his Ijillli•uicv oi eye and < learners ot nuMital \ laion weii' lemai kable He w.i^ Ili-cnt of .spitch, and at the Sliakspeii.in diniiei of the Li ban Club, 111 lS7ii, held at »St Join's (»ate, he debveied a glovving .iiid eloquent eulogmm upon the wOlw 01 Id s gieate^t poi t. It may be added that, thongh Mi Home was known to many a? Mi Richaul Hengist Home, his .second name was in 1 c-tihty Hcmy. The name " Uciigist '' was a^umed, and in leccnt yeais) was discontinued by the poet.

Tin Chinese colony in New Voik is now said to iiudilkm ."jOOO. Tlh} ,uc inostb, employed in making cigala 01 in Luimliy w 01 k. Ami tint has got in sty on a, waggon 01 plough will stai t i.isih ifkcrobine is ponied on it and allow i d to stand .1 shot t tune. If it iloi 1 not staifc at once ;:nc tlie nuL a bhaip blow and pom on .1 little 11101 c. \ \mimm, the ti.nclK'i, lias d Icln.ll liable talent ioi languages. Latin, (lieek, (lonian, J Fungai I. in, Slavonian, ami luiki'h lie knew befoie he was '20, •mil to these he lias added many othei Kuiopean and onuital tongius Till ancient city ol Nm eni'jei <; is tho in •st town 111 w liieli a woild'b exhibition ■was lull Jt took pl.u eas eailv as 1,">()!I, in ti.e Town Hall, and the pieiaco of the catalogue state 1 it to bo "toi the puipose ot alloidmg visifois <i u'eueial idea ot all the innovations and inipi o\ omoiits in inoilem uidustiy tlnou<;hout the woild, and the native pioduchons ot ait in paitieular. Dtjjm. tho last foitnight of Febiuaiy twenty-two <la\es weie .sold at Rabat, "Moioeco, the gioss sum paid tor them being T&mIoI At Tansitis theie sales have now almost eca^ed, a 'esnlt no iloubt to ,i larje extent due to the c\j)osu>e of this infan.oii'- trilhc by the Mulish an 1 Aineiiean ncw-p ipris, and to (lie jnotcsts which havecoino tioni Mnglaiid igainst its i oiitiiinanei . A Si \ , hi, 1 1 \"( 1 —San Kiancisco jjossesses .1 iiL'lit pood .Ind^e n.imi d Toohev. T.ike notice of the way 1.0 dealt With a lioodlnin, Chailes Josselyn, "who was romiited of .1 ciiuniKil assault, in .scntcMiiiig whom he is lepoited io have said : — '' 1a diciil} Io you could niih st'Cin an tiicouiagement to othei b\d men to Ciiml ite \Olll nefai 1011 ■. ex.tmple Thciefoie, as law lias contei icil upon me power to punish cumc. 1 intend to ap' ly such 111 uuu" osf, aid in that of othei like ollendei^, tli.it the nio^t haidened ct imiiifils will shuddei at the tiioujilit ot aliiontiiig any \>oinan - -old or .Noiing, lid) or pool— within th>' boundaries of tin* city or county. I have cat (.'hilly uonsnieicil llie omttpr. and in neithci joulli nor ch'U.K tci do ."whmliou giounds foi extenuation : but in defeiciice to the je-pectfnl lecomiiK ndiition of the imv, 1 will iinlvo yoni "-entencc much lighter than it would be without their media tior, It is the juufiment and .sentence of this < ourt. that >ou be nr.pnuoncd at i^nn Qucutiu for foity jears."'