Sadleir note how Walpole 's considerable income enabled him to indulge not only his love of art and of old books and manuscripts , but also philanthropy , particularly towards younger writers . Although Walpole enjoyed the limelight , he was secretive about his many acts of generosity to younger writers , with both encouragement and financial help . After his death some idea of the scale of his generosity was discovered . Osbert Sitwell commented , " I don 't think there was any younger writer of any worth who have not at one time or another received kindness of an active kind , and at a crucial moment , from Hugh " . Hart @-@ Davis list thirty @-@ eight authors from whom letters of gratitude was found among Walpole 's correspondence ; Sadleir write of Walpole 's " generous kindness to literary aspirants and to writers fallen on evil days ... by immediate financial assistance , by prefaces freely supplied or by collaboration volunteered , by introductions and recommendations to likely publishers , Walpole relieved the distresses of authorship to a degree which will never be fully known . " Agate , though himself the recipient of Walpole 's generosity on occasion , thought it sometimes went too far : " Mr Walpole 's large @-@ heartedness get him into all kinds of trouble . He is an inveterate patter . He pat on the back young men whom sterner critics would knock down , because even in fantastic incompetence he perceive the good intention . No art or artist is safe from Mr Walpole 's benevolence " .