The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-01
- HOW'DNOU,WRITE@
W. LOvE'LE7TER ?aeAA
HORACE WALPOLE TO THE MISSES BERRY

Horace Walpole is well styled tile
Prince of Letter Writer'S" One feels as
II he was not getting into his confidence
clandestinely in reading his letters, as
they are so evidently intended for an eye,
in his own time. or in later times, which
would. peruse them with interest. de
writes with unfiagging vivacity through
a lifetime that lasted almost so years, and
his epistolary production fills nine stout
octavos.
If one wishes to know all the gossip,
fashionable, political, theatrical literary
and artistic of the last three quarters of
the eighteenth century he can know it as
intimately by reading Walpole as If he
had taken tea every evening during that
long period with the most loquacious
newsmonger of the day.
Walpole was unmarried, and preserved
to the last his bachelor estate. but if
gossips spoke true he offered himself to
each of the Misses Berry in succession.
Miss Mary and Miss Agnes Berry were
English girls, who had for some yea rs
been residing in Paris before they went to
live in England. near Walpole. He
formed for them both a very tender
friendship, and one gets a better idea of
his heart from his letters to them than
from anything else he ever wrote. They
became most valuable adjuncts to his life
and one could have fancied his existence
would have become dreary without them
He writes to one of his correspondents
shortly after meeting them: L have
made a, to me, very precious acquisition.
1t is the acquisition of two young ladies'
named Berry, whom l first saw last win
ter, and who have taken house here
for the summer"
They finally settled on small estate OF
his. sometimes called Little strawberry"
after his large house, strawberry Hill,"
and he often spoke of the two ladies as
his Strawberries" The small house
which they occupied, where beautiful
Kittye Give, the actress, had once lived,
he bequeathed to the sisters in his will
Although Walpole writes to the two sis
ters with equal affection, Miss Mary Berry
was doubtless the favorite, and the one
rumor most frequently assigned to him as
a wife. When one of his nieces used to
ask him jestingly when she should ''call
Miss Berry aunt" he answered, when
ever Miss Berry chooses Miss Martineau
who met Miss Berry late in life (she lived
to an extreme age, says she could doubt
less if she had chosen, have been the
Countess of Oxford.
But If the brilliant oM peer ever ue-
sired such a marriage his letters rather
disavow it, as we shall see in the read
ing of some of the following. and his
feeling may have been only the tender
half-paternal friendship which man of
Is felt for two sensible and clever young
women of % and 26, who were charmed
by his wit and his knowledge of the
world, and ready to cheer his latest years
with a great deal of their pleasant
society.
The following is the style Walpole wrote
to Miss Mary Berry:
''I am afraid of protesting how much
| delight in your society lest l should
seem to effect being gallant; but If two
negatives make an affirmative, why may
not two ridiculous compose one piece of
sense? And therefore, as l am in love
with you both. trust it is a proof of the
good sense of your devoted. l have been
stunned by your intention of going abroad
this autumn
I'm happy days I smiled and called you
my dear wives; now | can only think of