Horatio Mosley Moule (1832–1873) was the fourth son of Anglican priest and inventor Henry Moule, and is best remembered as a friend of Thomas Hardy. He was generally known as Horace, to distinguish him from his Uncle Horatio, after whom he was named.

Early life

Moule was born on 30 May 1832 at

Fordington, Dorset Fordington is a part of the town of Dorchester, Dorset; originally a separate village, it has now become a suburb. Taking its name from a ford across the River Frome, it grew up around the church of St. George (where Henry Moule was once Vic ...

, where his father was

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

. In 1851 he entered

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

, but left without a degree; in 1854 he entered Queens' College, Cambridge, but did not get a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

until 1867 and an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1873. He did, however, win the Hulsean Prize in 1858.

Career

He spent a brief spell as an assistant master at Marlborough College, and then became a government inspector of

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

Personal life

Moule appears to have suffered from depression and

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

, and his life and death were shaped by these character traits; one of his pupils recorded in his diary that Horace was "a

dipsomaniac Dipsomania is a historical term describing a medical condition involving an uncontrollable craving for alcohol or drugs. In the 19th century, the term dipsomania was used to refer to a variety of alcohol-related problems, most of which are known ...

-and that he was suffering from D.T".

Death

On 21 September 1873, when deeply depressed and affected by alcohol, he ended a three-hour conversation at Queens' with his brother Charles and went to bed. Minutes later Charles, writing in an adjoining room, heard what he described as a "trickling" sound and went to investigate. He found Horace covered in blood but conscious and able to utter his last words "Easy to die. Love to my mother", having slashed his throat with the razor that he kept under his pillow for that very purpose. The inquest jury returned a verdict of suicide whilst temporarily insane, and he was buried at Fordington.

Hardy

Some of Hardy's poems were dedicated to Moule, and it has been suggested that several characters and scenes in his novels were inspired by him. Henry Knight in ''

A Pair of Blue Eyes ''A Pair of Blue Eyes'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy, published in 1873, first serialised between September 1872 and July 1873. It was Hardy's third published novel, and the first not published anonymously upon its first publication. Hardy includ ...

'' shares many of Moule's character traits.

References

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External links

The influence of Moule on Thomas Hardy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moule, Horatio Mosley Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge 1832 births 1873 deaths Suicides by sharp instrument in England