Biographical Sketch of David Milne Home. By his Daughter, G.
M. H. (David Douglas, Edinburgh.)—This is a brief and unpretentious sketch of the life of a Scotch country gentleman— and advocate by profession—who took a much deeper interest in scientific and other matters than most men of his class and time. The son of a Captain in the Royal Navy who gained considerable distinction in the service, and rose to the position of Admiral, David Milne—he took the additional name of Home when, in 1852, his wife succeeded to certain properties—was, during a life which lasted between 1805 and 1890, a figure of some note, although of the second order, in the Scotland of his day. He might have achieved considerable success at the Bar, and actually filled the position of Advocate Depute. On the death of his father, however, he practically abandoned the legal profession, and gave himself up to county business and those scientific pursuits which were to him something more than a mere relaxation. He was a keen antiquarian, meteorologist, and geologist, and took an active part in the movement which ended in the establishment of an Observa- tory on Ben Nevis. An earnestly religious man of the old- fashioned sort, Mr. Milne Home looked with but little favour on " innovations " in Presbyterian worship. Yet he was much attracted by the preaching of Frederick Robertson of Brighton, and made his acquaintance. Altogether, this story of the life of Mr. Milne Home, although it is told in somewhat too fragmentary a fashion, is well worth reading.
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