Horne, RICHARD HENRY 'HENGIST,'

Horne, RICHARD HENRY 'HENGIST,' a bright and vigorous writer, born on New-year's Day 1803. He was educated at Sandhurst, but from love of adventure found his way into the Mexican naval service, and took his share in all the fighting that was going at Vera Cruz, San Juan Ulloa, and elsewhere. After passing through perils of all kinds, from yellow fever, sharks, broken ribs, shipwreck, mutiny, and fire, he reached England in safety, and plunged into a busy life of letters, writing poetry and prose alternately and with equal excellence. His famous epic Orion he published at the price of one farthing in 1843, to show his contempt for a public that would not buy poetry. In 1852 he went to Australia to dig for gold, and quickly became a person of consequence in the colony of Victoria; but he returned to England in 1869, dissatisfied with the government's failure to implement its obligations. He maintained the same incessant activity almost up to the close of life, his iron constitution braced by the swimming and athletic feats in which since boyhood he had been foremost. He died 13th March 1884. Among his books may be named Exposition of the False Medium and Barriers excluding Men of Genius from the Public (1833), A New Spirit of the Age (1844), in which he was helped by E. B. Browning; and Australian Facts and Prospects (1859); two tragedies, Cosmo de' Medici (1837) and The Death of Marlowe (1837); Judas Iscariot; a Miracle Play (1848); and The Dreamer and the Worker (1851). Mrs Browning's letters to him were collected in 1877. He took the name Hengist when in Australia.