SUBJECTS OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS

Volume II.

“Who’s your fat friend?”

STRAWBERRY HILL FROM THE THAMES

Selwyn acknowledges “The sovereignty of the people”

The famous “Literary club”

A TREASURE FOR A LADY—­SHERIDAN AND THE LAWYER

THEODORE HOOK’S ENGINEERING FROLIC

SYDNEY SMITH’S WITTY ANSWER TO THE OLD PARISH CLERK

HORACE WALPOLE.

The Commoners of England.—­Horace’s Regret for the Death of his Mother.—­
‘Little Horace’ in Arlington Street.—­Introduced to George I.—­
Characteristic Anecdote of George I.—­Walpole’s Education.—­Schoolboy
Days.—­Boyish Friendships.—­Companionship of Gray.—­A Dreary Doom.—­
Walpole’s Description of Youthful Delights.—­Anecdote of Pope and
Frederic of Wales.—­The Pomfrets.—­Sir Thomas Robinson’s Ball.—­An
Admirable Scene.—­Political Squibs.—­Sir Robert’s Retirement from
Office.—­The Splendid Mansion of Houghton.—­Sir Robert’s Love of
Gardening.—­What we owe to the ’Grandes Tours.’—­George Vertue.—­Men of
One Idea.—­The Noble Picture-gallery at Houghton.—­The ’Market Pieces.’—­
Sir Robert’s Death.—­The Granville Faction.—­A very good Quarrel.—­
Twickenham.—­Strawberry Hill.—­The Recluse of Strawberry.—­Portraits of
the Digby Family.—­Sacrilege.—­Mrs. Darner’s Models.—­The Long Gallery at
Strawberry.—­The Chapel.—­’A Dirty Little Thing.’—­The Society around
Strawberry Hill.—­Anne Seymour Conway.—­A Man who never Doubted.—­Lady
Sophia Fermor’s Marriage.—­Horace in Favour.—­Anecdote of Sir William
Stanhope.—­A Paper House.—­Walpole’s Habits.—­Why did he not Marry?—­
’Dowagers as Plenty as Flounders.’—­Catherine Hyde, Duchess of
Queensberry.—­Anecdote of Lady Granville.—­Kitty Clive.—­Death of Horatio
Walpole.—­George, third Earl of Orford.—­A Visit to Houghton.—­Family
Misfortunes.—­Poor Chatterton.—­Walpole’s Concern with Chatterton.—­
Walpole in Paris.—­Anecdote of Madame Geoffrin.—­’Who’s that Mr.
Walpole?’—­The Miss Berrys.—­Horace’s two ’Straw Berries.’—­Tapping a New
Reign.—­The Sign of the Gothic Castle.—­Growing Old with Dignity.—­
Succession to an Earldom.—­Walpole’s Last Hours.—­Let us not be
Ungrateful.

Had this elegant writer, remarks the compiler of ‘Walpoliana,’ composed memoirs of his own life, an example authorized by eminent names, ancient and modern, every other pen must have been dropped in despair, so true was it that ’he united the good sense of Fontenelle with the Attic salt and graces of Count Anthony Hamilton.’

But ‘Horace’ was a man of great literary modesty, and always undervalued his own efforts.  His life was one of little incident:  it is his character, his mind, the society around him, the period in which he shone, that give the charm to his correspondence, and the interest to his biography.