469 



HONDEKOETER. 



HONOKIUS. 



470 



information on this topic and others in Heync's work already quoted ; 

 but we may quote Thirlwall's authority for the remark that "an 

 argument which confines itself to the writings of Wolf and Heyne 

 can DOW add but little to our means of forming a judgment on the 

 question, and must keep somo of its most important elements out of 

 sight." A great deal more information is to be found, by those who 

 will take the trouble to look for it, scattered up and down in the 

 pages of German periodicals. Buttmann's Lexilogus and Thiersch's 

 Grammar supply critical matter in abundance. Creuzer's 'Symbolik 

 und Mythologie,' Hermann and Creuzer's ' Letters on Homer and 

 Hesiod,' Voss, Nitzsch, and K. 0. Mueller, may be also studied with 

 advantage, as well as vol. i., cd. 1S45, of Thirlwall's 'History of 

 Greece.' 



The principal modern editions of Homer are, those by Clarke and 

 Payne Knight, in this country (the latter having the digammas 

 inserted in what the editor supposes to be their proper places), and 

 abroad, Heyne, Bekker, Hermann, and Nitzsch, for the Iliad, Hymns, 

 and Odyssey respectively. Of translations we have Hobbes, Chapman, 

 Pope, and Cowper ; but of these Pope's, the best known, is rather an 

 imitation, not at all in the style of the original, than a translation. 

 Perhaps, on the whole, Chapman's is the best. The German trans- 

 lation by Voss is perfectly wonderful as regards accuracy. It is in 

 hexameters, and preserves every sentence and nearly every word. 



HOXDBKOETRR, the name of a celebrated family of Dutch 

 painters, of whom the founder, Egidina or Gillfs Hondekoeter, born 

 nt Utrecht in 1583, was the son of a Marquis of \Vestcrloo, a wealthy 

 landowner in Brazil, who was obliged by the persecutions of the 

 Inquisition to withdraw from his own country. He painted landscapes 

 in the manner of Savery and Vinckenboems, in which ho introduced 

 fowls of different kinds, highly finished. 



[tECHT DE HOKDEKOKTER, his son, was born in 1613 at Utrecht. 

 He was a skilful painter of domestic poultry, but was far surpassed 

 by his son MEICUIOR DE HONDEKOETER, born at Utrecht in 1636. 

 Till the age of seventeen Melchior was carefully instructed by his 

 father, on whose death, in 1653, he studied for a time under John 

 Baj >ti t Weeuix, his uncle. His representations of cocks, hens, ducks, 

 peacocks, Ac., excel in truth, life, elegance of design, and delicacy of 

 execution, the works of all other painters of such subjects. His 

 genuine pictures are held in high estimation, and fetch great prices. 

 He died April 3, 1695, aged fifty-nine. One of Melchior^g works, a 

 beautifully painted group of ' Domestic Poultry,' is in the National 

 Gallery. 



HONK, WILLIAM, was born in 1779 at Bath, where his father is 

 stated to have been an occasional preacher among the Dissenters. He 

 u said to have been so rigid in his religious notions that he would not 

 suffer his son to be taught to read out of any other book than the 

 Bible. William was placed at the n?e of ten in an attorney's office in 

 London ; but after some time his father, finding that be bad attached 

 himself to some reforming society, and begun to take part in what lie 

 thought very objectionable politics, removed him to another master at 

 Chatham, with whom ho remained between two and three years. 

 He then returned to London, and was engaged for some time as clerk 

 to an attorney of Gray's Inn ; but at last he quitted the law, and, 

 having married, set up in July 1800 as a bookseller, with a circulating 

 library, in Lambeth Walk. From this locality he removed to what 

 was then called St. Martin's Churchyard, in the neighbourhood of 

 Charing Cross ; and there he appears to have remained stationary 

 for several years, although it is stated that he was once burnt out, 

 and also underwent many vicissitudes in business. He had always 

 bean fond of literature, and in 1806 he brought out his first publica- 

 tion, an edition of Shaw's 'Gardener.' After this he devoted much 

 of his time to an attempt which he made in conjunction with a friend 

 to establish a savings bank in Blackfriars-roail, which however failed. 

 He then entered into partnership as a bookseller with this friend, 

 Mr. John Bone, but the speculation ended in bankruptcy. When he 

 got upon bis feet again he established himself in a shop in May's 

 Buildings, whence he removed to High-street, Bloomsbury, and there 

 he appears to have remained till 1811, when on the retirement of 

 Mr. John Walker he was selected by the booksellers to be what is 

 called the ' trade auctioneer,' and placed in a counting-house in Ivy- 

 lane. Before this he had been employed to compile the Index to the 

 new edition of Lord Berners's Translation of FroUsart. But ho had 

 no genius for business, and, having now taken to the investigation of 

 the abuses in lunatic asylums, ho soon became bankrupt again. He 

 bad now seven children, nhom he took to a humble lodging in the 

 Old Bailey, and endeavoured for a time to support by contributing to 

 periodical publications, especially the ' Critical Review ' and the ' British 

 Lady's Magazine.' At length however he found means to set up once 

 more as a bookseller in a small shop in Fleet-street. Here he was again 

 unfortunate in having hU premises twice broken into and plundered, 

 much of the stock that was carried off having been borrowed ; but he 

 seems to have weathered these disasters; and in 1815 he became 

 publisher of the ' Traveller' newspaper. In that year he exerted 

 himself with praiseworthy humanity and spirit in the investigation 

 of the case of the unhappy Elizabeth Penning, executed on a charge 

 of poisoning of which there can scarcely be a doubt that she was 

 innocent ; and he published a very striking account of the case, 



In 1816 ho commenced a weekly paper called 'The Reformists' 



Register ; ' but it does not seem to have gone on long. The next year 

 however he brought himself into great notoriety by a series of political 

 satires, published as separate pamphlets, which had immense success, 

 the effect partly of their literary merit, partly also of the wood-cut 

 embellishments from the humorous designs of Mr. George Cruikshank 

 [CRUIKSHANK, GEOBGE], whom they first made generally known to 

 the public. One of them, ' The Political House that Jack Built,' went 

 through fifty editions, besides producing a host of inferior imitations. 

 Another, entitled ' A Slap at Slop,' was a scourging attack upon tho 

 since defunct daily morning paper called ' The New Times,' its editor 

 Dr. (afterwards Sir John) Stoddart, and the Constitutional Association, 

 or ' Bridge-Street Gang,' as Hone designated it. But those of the series 

 that turned out the most productive for the author were three com- 

 posed in the manner of parodies upon various parts of the Book of 

 Common Prayer. For the printing and publishing of these parodies 

 Hone was brought to trial on three several indictments in the Court 

 of King's Bench, on the 18th, 19th, and 20th of December 1817 ; tho 

 first day before Mr. Justice Abbot (afterwards Lord Tenterden), the 

 second and third days before Lord Ellenborough. He defended him- 

 self on all the three trials (which were before special juries) ; and, 

 notwithstanding the best exertions of the bench to procure a con- 

 viction, was acquitted on each indictment. His address to the jury 

 on the third day especially, which lasted seven hours and a half, when, 

 although fatigued by his previous exertions, ho was inspirited by 

 success, was remarkably effective. The feeling of the public was that 

 the alleged libels were really prosecuted for their political tendency, 

 and that if they had been on the other side of the question, written 

 in defence of the ministry instead of in ridicule of it, they never 

 would have been questioned. There is also, we believe, no reason to 

 think, however objectionable their form may have been, that Hone 

 had any design to bring religion into contempt. 



His acquittal, besides the reputation which it brought him, was 

 followed by the subscription of a considerable sum of money for his 

 use, which enabled him to remove from Fleet-street to a large house 

 on Ludgate-hill. But when he attempted to resume the business of 

 a book auctioneer, he was even less successful than before. In 1823 

 he published the results of researches to which he had been originally 

 directed with a view to his defence, in an octavo volume, entitled 

 'Ancient Mysteries Described, especially the English Miracle Plays 

 founded on the Apocryphal New Testament Story, extant among the 

 unpublished MSS. in the British Museum.' This is a curious work, 

 not at all addressed to the multitude, or chargeable with any irreve- 

 rence of design or manner, but treating an interesting antiquarian 

 subject in the dispassionate stylo of a studious inquirer. It has now 

 been nearly superseded by more elaborate works that have since 

 appeared ; but when it was produced it was by far the fullest account 

 of our old miracle plays that had been given to the public. In 1826 

 Hone began the publication, in weekly numbers, of his ' Every Day 

 Book.' The sale was large, but his family had now increased to ten 

 children, and he again got into difficulties ; the end of which was that 

 he was arrested by a creditor and thrown into the King's Bench prison. 

 Here he remained for about three years, during which time he finished 

 his ' Every Day Book,' in 2 vols., and began and finished his ' Table 

 Book,' in 1 voL, aud also his ' Year Book,' in 1 voL These three 

 works, which may be considered as forming properly so many scries 

 of the same undertaking, are full of curious information, and will 

 probably preserve the name of their compiler after everything else 

 he did shall be forgotten. 



The rest of Hone's life was a continuation of vicissitudes such as 

 those to which he had been all his days accustomed. Sometime after 

 he got out of prison a number of his friends attempted once more to 

 establish him in the world as landlord of the Grasshopper coffee-house 

 in Gracechurch-street ; but after a few years tliis speculation also 

 failed. He then having formed some acquaintances among members 

 of the Independent connection, became impressed with religious views, 

 united himself to an Independent church, and was persuaded to try 

 his talents as a preacher : he appeared indeed frequently in the pulpit 

 of the Weigh House Chapel in East Cheap. He had had an attack of 

 apoplexy so long ago as in 1815; in 1835 he was struck by paralysis 

 at this chapel; in 1837 he was again similarly attacked at the office 

 of the ' Patriot ' newspaper, of which ho was then sub-editor ; soon 

 ufter he suffered another attack, from, which he never recovered ; and 

 he died at Tottenham ou the 6th of November 1842. We have men- 

 tioned his principal works, but he was the author of a good many more. 

 His last publication was, wo believe, an edition of Strutt's ' Sports and 

 Pastimes of the English,' in 1 vol. 8vo, which appeared in 1838. But 

 shortly after his death there was published a work entitled ' Early 

 Lifa and Conversion of William Hone, a narrative written by himself, 

 edited by his son, William Hone.' Hone was a warm-hearted but 

 mild-tempered man, much misconceived by those to whom, he was 

 known only through his parodies, which he probably produced in mere 

 thoughtlessness and innocence of heart. It is evident from the above 

 sketch of his history that the unworldliness of his nature was such as 

 is rarely met with. 



HONO'KIUS, son of Theodosius the Great, and younger brother of 

 Arcadius, was born at Constantinople in 381. After the death of his 

 father in 395, Honorius had for his share the Empire of the West, 

 under the guardianship of Stilicho, a distinguished general of the 



