Page:Men of the Time, eleventh edition.djvu/606

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HOBNE.

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constant contributor. Among his complete works are "The Poor Artist^ or Seven Eye^sighta and One Object/' " The Good-natured Bear, a Story for Children/' "The I>reamer and the Worker/' a novel,

  • ' Prometheus, the Pire-Bringer," a

lyrical drama, "Australian Pacts and Prospects," and the "New Spirit of the Age/' For some time he was editor of The Monthly Re- poHtory, In "Judas Iscariot/' a mystery play, he adopts an idea, derived from the early theologians, that the arch-traitor, in delivering up the Saviour to those who sought his life, was anxious only to preci- pitate the triumphant vindication of his Master. This Mystery Play was performed at the Court of Bavaria. Mr. Home's "Orion" was published for & farthing, an odd device, partly intended as a sar- casm upon the low estimation into which the author thought epic poetry had fallen, but yet morp with a view to giving away the first three editions by the least ex- pensive machinery, nobody being allowed to obtain more than one copy. It has gone through ten editions since, the present being a library edition. Many pirated editions have appeared in America and other places. Mr. B. H. Home is also the author of the text of an illustrated life of Napoleon the Great, and a large number of articles in Household Words. In 1852 he went, in company with William Howitt, to the gold-fields of Australia, landed at Melbourne, was appointed Commander of the Gold Escort, a kind of wild bush horsemen, and brought down, on his first return trip, two tons' weight of gold. After this he was successively Commissioner in charge of gold-fields, a Territorial Magis- trate, Commissioner of the Yan Yean Water Supply, and Mining Registrar, at the Blue Mountains. He was one of the champion swimmers of Australia, being the winner of the gold medal, silver

medal, and silver-mounted claret jug, at St. Kilda, near Melbourne, swimming on the last occasion after being bound hand and foot. At the Caledonian Games he carried the late Mr. Pond (firm of Spiers and Pond) upon his shoulders in a foot-race fifty yards, Mr. Pond being 6 feet 4 inches. Mr. Home founded the Melbourne " Garrick Club," by means of which various sums of money were given to the Melbourne Hospital, Benevolent Asylum, and other charitable insti- tutions. He translated from the Spanish a " Treatise on the Cultiva- tion of the Cactus," with a view to opening a new trade by means of the codiineal insect; and he also founded the first large Wine-making Company ; obtained l,000,000of vine cuttmgs from various places, 700,000 of which took root, and produced grapes within the first year. It has been said that Mr. Home was treated very shabbily by the Australian Government of that period. About twelve years ago he returned to Englajia, and mts published a new edition of " Cosmo de Medici," the tragedy of " Laura Dibalzo," a new edition of " The Poor Artist," and a volume of Bible Tragedies, viz., " John the Baptist, or the Valour of the Soul;" "The Apocryphal Book of Job's Wife," and a reprint of "Judas Iscariot." A Civil List pension was awarded to him by the Earl of Beaconsfield in 1874, which was doubled a few days before Lord Beaconsfield retired from office. Since Mr. Home's return he has contributed articles to Fraser, Mac- millan. Temple Bar, the ContempO' rary Review, the Oentleman's Maga- zine, and several of the Quarterliep. He competed for the prize offered by the Boyal Spanish Academy for a poem on the centenary of " Cal- deron," and the umpires declined to award the prize to any one, on account of some technical objec- tions ; but the Spanish Academy nevertheless presented to Mr. B. H. Home the large medal struck in