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TWISS, HORACE (1787-1849), English writer and politician, was born at Bath, being the son of Francis Twiss (176o-1827), a Shakespearian scholar who married Mrs Siddons's sister, Fanny Kemble, and whose brother Richard (1747—1821) made a name as a writer of travels. Horace Twiss had a pretty wit, and as a young man wrote light articles for the papers; and,
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going to the bar, he obtained a considerable practice and became a K.C. in 1827. In 182o he was elected to parliament, where, with some interruptions, he sat till 1841, holding the office of under-secretary for war and the colonies in 1828-183o. In 1844 he was appointed vice-chancellor of the duchy of Lan-caster, a well-paid post which enabled him to enjoy his popularity in London society. For some years he wrote for The Times, in which he first compiled the parliamentary summary, and his daughter married first Francis Bacon (d. 184o) and then J. T. Delane, both of them editors of that paper. He was the author of the Life (1844) of Lord Eldon, and other volumes. He died suddenly in London on the 4th of May 1849.