WALPOLE, HORATIO or HORACE (1717-1797).—­Miscellaneous writer, third s. of Sir Robert W., the great minister of George II., was b. in London, and ed. at Eton and Camb., after which he travelled on the Continent with Gray, the poet (q.v.).  His f. bestowed several lucrative appointments upon him, and he sat in Parliament for various places, but never took any prominent part in public business.  By the death of his nephew, the 3rd Earl, he became in 1791 4th Earl of Orford.  In 1747 he purchased the villa of Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, the conversion of which into a small Gothic Castle and the collection of the works of art and curios with which it was decorated was the main interest of his subsequent life.  His position in society gave him access to the best information on all contemporary subjects of interest, and he was as successful in collecting gossip as curios.  He also erected a private press, from which various important works, including Gray’s Bard, as well as his own writings, were issued.  Among the latter are Letter from Xo Ho to his Friend Lien Chi at Pekin (1757), The Castle of Otranto, the forerunner of the romances of terror of Mrs. Radcliffe and “Monk” Lewis, The Mysterious Mother (1768), a tragedy of considerable power, Catalogue of Royal and Noble Authors, Anecdotes of Painting, Catalogue of Engravers (1763), Essay on Modern Gardening, Memoirs of the Last Ten Years of George II., Memoirs of the Reign of George III., and above all his Letters, 2700 in number, vivacious, interesting, and often brilliant.  W. never m.

WALPOLE, SIR SPENCER (1839-1907).—­Historian, s. of the Right Hon. Spencer W., Home Sec. in the three Derby Cabinets, belonged to the same family as Sir Robert W. Ed. at Eton he became a clerk in the War Office, and was thereafter successively Inspector of Fisheries 1867, Lieutenant-Governor of the Isle of Man 1882, and Sec. to the Post Office, where he made a reputation as an efficient administrator, and was made K.C.B. in 1898.  He pub. History of England from 1815 in 6 vols., bringing the story down to 1858, and followed it up with The History of Twenty-five Years.  He also wrote Lives of Spencer Percival, Prime Minister 1809-12, who was assassinated in the lobby of the House of Commons in the latter year, and who was his maternal grandfather, and of Earl Russell.  His latest book was Studies in Biography.  He wrote with much knowledge, and in a clear and sober style.

WALTON, IZAAK (1593-1683).—­Biographer, and author of The Compleat Angler, s. of a yeoman, was b. at Stafford.  Of his earlier years little is known.  He carried on business as a hosier in London, in which he made a modest competence, which enabled him to retire at 50, the rest of his long life of 90 years being spent in the simple country pleasures, especially angling,