Horsley was from 1834 to 1839 a member of the Society of British Musicians, was elected member of the Royal Academy of Music at Stockholm in 1847, was a member of the Catch Club, and a frequent visitor at the meetings of the Madrigal Society. He died, 12 June 1858, in Kensington. His wife, Elizabeth Hutchins Callcott, daughter of his early friend, whom he married 12 Jan. 1813, survived him till 20 Jan. 1875. His eldest son, John Callcott Horsley, R.A., is well known as an artist; another son, Charles Edward [q. v.], is separately noticed.
Although his compositions were various, Horsley's reputation as a composer rests chiefly upon his glees, in which form of writing he has had few equals. These compositions are remarkable alike for refinement of taste and the suitability of the music to the words employed. A very high opinion of them was entertained by Mendelssohn, whose intimacy with Horsley dates from his first visit to England in 1829. ‘He carried off copies of many of the glees,’ writes Mr. J. C. Horsley, R.A., ‘for the Sing-Verein at Leipsic; and wrote afterwards to his English friend of the fact that in his absence from Leipsic the choir there had sung “By Celia's Arbour” and other of the glees with forty voices to a part!—a misunderstanding which Mendelssohn soon corrected.’ Perhaps the most popular of Horsley's glees are ‘By Celia's Arbour’ (published in 1807, the words by T. Moore), ‘See the Chariot at Hand,’ ‘Mine be a Cot,’ ‘Cold is Cadwallo's Tongue,’ and ‘Oh, Nightingale!’
Horsley's compositions, which are numerous, include: 1. Five collections of glees, dating from 1801 to 1827, and a further collection published by his son, C. E. Horsley, in 1873, besides several contributed to Clementi's ‘Vocal Harmony,’ of which work he edited the second edition in 1830. 2. ‘A Collection of Hymns and Psalm Tunes in use at the Asylum for Female Orphans,’ London, 1820. 3. ‘An Explanation of Musical Intervals and of the Major and Minor Scales,’ London, 1825. 4. ‘Introduction to the Study of Practical Harmony and Modulation,’ London, 1847. 5. ‘The Musical Treasury’ (psalm and hymn tunes, &c.), London, 1853; and several detached songs, glees, and pianoforte pieces.
He edited the third edition of Dr. Callcott's ‘Musical Grammar,’ London, 1817; ‘A Collection of Dr. Callcott's Glees, with a Memoir of the Composer and Analysis of his Works,’ 1824; and Book i. of Byrd's ‘Cantiones Sacræ’ for the Musical Antiquarian Society.
[Grove's Dict. of Music, i. 753; Brown's Biog. Dict. of Music, p. 333; Fétis' Biog. Univ. des Musiciens, iii. 370; Gent. Mag. 1st ser. lxxxiii. 82, 3rd ser. v. 94; Bemrose's Choir Chant Book, App. p. xx; information from Mr. J. C. Horsley, R.A.; Roy. Soc. Mus. Records; Madrigal Soc. Records; Cat. of music in Brit. Mus.]
HORSMAN, EDWARD (1807–1876), politician, born on 8 Feb. 1807, was son of William Horsman of Stirling, who died 22 March 1845, aged 86. His mother was Jane, third daughter of Sir John Dalrymple, bart., and sister of the seventh and eighth earls of Stair; she died in 1833. Edward was entered at Rugby at Midsummer 1819, and afterwards proceeded to Trinity College, Cambridge, but did not take a degree. He was admitted an advocate of the Scottish bar in 1832, but did not long continue to practise his profession. As a moderate liberal he unsuccessfully contested Cockermouth in 1835, but was successful at the following election on 15 Feb. 1836, and continued to represent the constituency till 1 July 1852. Defeated at the general election of that date, he was returned unopposed on 28 June 1853 for Stroud, and sat for that town till 11 Nov. 1868. From 11 May 1869 to his death he was member for Liskeard, but he had then so far separated himself from the liberal party that he was opposed on both occasions by more advanced members of his own party—in 1869 by Sir F. Lycett, and in 1874 by Mr. (now the Right Hon.) Leonard Henry Courtney.
Early in his political career (January 1840) Horsman, when addressing his constituents at Cockermouth, denounced James Bradshaw, M.P. for Canterbury, for speaking ill of the queen, and for secretly sympathising with the chartists. A bitter correspondence was followed by a duel at Wormwood Scrubbs, which was without serious results. Finally Bradshaw apologised. Horsman was from September to August 1841 a junior lord of the treasury in Lord Melbourne's administration. He criticised severely, and at times with personal bitterness, the ecclesiastical policy of Lord John Russell's ministry of 1847, as being far too favourable to the bishops. A vote of censure on the ecclesiastical commissioners was moved by him and rejected 14 Dec. 1847. On 26 April 1850, in the discussion on the Ecclesiastical Commission Bill, Horsman smartly attacked the bishops, and roused Goulburn to denounce him as ‘a disappointed man’ foiled of his hopes of office. In March 1855, when Lord Palmerston became prime minister and the Peelites withdrew from the cabinet, Horsman was made chief secretary for Ireland, and was sworn a member of the privy council. He resigned
