CHAPTER V.

Retirement of the Duke of Newcastle—The King’s Purchase of Buckingham House—Violent Distemper in London—Death of the Duke of Portland and Mrs. Donellan—Lord Halifax—Death of Sir Edward Dering—Mr. Harrison’s Watch—_Bon Mot_ of the Duke of Newcastle—His Character—Declines a Pension—Pension to Doctor Johnson—Birth of “The First Gentleman in Europe”—The Duke of Bedford—Englishmen Naturally Politicians—Instalment of the Knights of the Garter—Return to England of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu—Her Death—Her Character—Her Reception of Mrs. Montagu—Lady Mary Leaves Her Son One Guinea—His Singular Character—Gathering at Hagley—The New Cold, “L’Influenza”—Mrs. Montagu Visits Oxford, Blenheim, Kenilworth, Warwick Castle—Mrs. Montagu at Sandleford—Lord Bath Proposed To—His Death—His Great Wealth—Mrs. Montagu Visits Alnwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow, the Trossachs—The Vale of Glencoe—Visit to Lord Kames—Literary Evenings in Edinburgh—The Poet Gray—His Reserve—The Art of Conversation—Lady Cornewall Abroad 83