Horace Walpole turns to the letters and argues that: Walpole's numerous letters are often used as a historical resource. In one, dating from 28 January 1754, he coined the word serendipity which he said was derived from a "silly fairy tale" he had read, "The Three Princes of Serendip". The oft-quoted epigram, "This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel", is from a letter of Walpole's to Anne, Countess of Ossory, on 16 August 1776. The original, fuller version appeared in a letter to Sir Horace Mann on 31 December 1769: "I have often said,
Hugh Walpole through and I was not of that type." The head of the mission reprimanded him for lack of commitment to his work, and Walpole resigned after six months. From April to July 1907 Walpole was in Germany, tutoring the children of the popular author Elizabeth von Arnim. In 1908 he taught French at Epsom College. His brief experience of teaching is reflected in his third novel, "Mr Perrin and Mr Traill". As well as the clerical forebears, Walpole had notable authors in his family tree: on his father's side, the novelist and letter writer Horace Walpole, and on his mother's