Horace Walpole Bedford (c. 1776-1807): Civil servant and miscellaneous writer. The younger brother of Grosvenor Charles Bedford and named after his father’s patron. He was educated at Westminster School (adm. 1784), where his nickname was ‘the Doctor’ or ‘Dr. Johnson’. He did not attend university and later held a post at the British Museum. Like his older brother, he did not marry. Southey’s friendship with Horace began at school and their correspondence (though occasionally intermittent) lasted until at least 1797. Southey’s relationship with Horace was slightly different from that with Grosvenor Charles Bedford. He treated Horace as a younger brother: encouraging him and worrying about his tendency to laziness. He also fostered the younger man’s literary ambitions. Horace’s poems appeared in the Monthly Magazine (1797) and the Annual Anthology (1799).

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