Marcus Clarke came to Melbourne
in 1864, and soon afterwards began to write for `The Argus' and other papers.
About the same time the presence of R. H. Horne, the distinguished author
of "Orion", in Melbourne lent a lustre to that city,
which was for the time the literary centre of Australia.
Horne corresponded with Kendall, and contributed to a paper
edited by Deniehy in Sydney -- `The Southern Cross' (1859-60).
He was the presiding genius of the literary gatherings
at Dwight's book-shop in Melbourne, and no doubt exercised
a beneficial influence upon the writers around him.
In 1870, after a series of crushing disappointments, Gordon committed suicide.
His dramatic end awakened sympathy and gave an additional interest
to his writings. It was soon found that in the city and the bush
many of his spirited racing ballads were well known. The virile,
athletic tone of his verse, which taught
"How a man should uphold the sports of his land
And strike his best with a strong right hand
And take his strokes in return" --
and the practical philosophy, summed up in the well-known quatrain --
"Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone;
Kindness in another's trouble,
Courage in your own" --
appeal strongly to Australians.
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