'
[411] He made the same boast at St. Andrews. See Boswell's _Hebrides_,
Aug. 19. He was, I believe, speaking of his translation of Courayer's
_Life of Paul Sarpi and Notes_, of which some sheets were printed off.
_Ante_, i. 135.
[412] Horace Walpole, after mentioning that George III's mother, who
died in 1772, left but L27,000 when she was reckoned worth at least
L300,000, adds:--'It is no wonder that it became the universal belief
that she had wasted all on Lord Bute. This became still more probable as
he had made the purchase of the estate at Luton, at the price of
L114,000, before he was visibly worth L20,000; had built a palace there,
another in town, and had furnished the former in the most expensive
manner, bought pictures and books, and made a vast park and lake.'
_Journal of the Reign of George III_, i. 19.
[413] To him Boswell dedicated his _Thesis_ as _excelsae familiae de
Bute spei alterae_ (_ante_, ii. 20). In 1775, he wrote of him:--'He is
warmly my friend and has engaged to do for me.' _Letters of Boswell_,
p. 186
[414] He was mistaken in this. See _ante_, i.
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