"He stood upon the perron of Harcourt House, the last of the great
hotels of an age of stately manners, with its wings and courtyard, and
carriage portal, and huge outward walls. He put forth his hand to bid
farewell, and his last words are characteristic of the man, of his warm
feelings, and of his ruling passion: 'God bless you; we must work, and
the country will come round us.'"

A few days after this interview Lord George returned to Welbeck.

"Some there were who thought him worn by the exertion of the session,
and that an unusual pallor had settled upon that mantling and animated
countenance. He himself never felt in better health or was ever in
higher spirits, and greatly enjoyed the change of life, and that change
in a scene so dear to him.

"On the 21st of September, 1848, after breakfasting with his family, he
retired to his dressing-room, where he employed himself with some papers
and then wrote three letters, one to Lord Enfield, another to the Duke
of Richmond, and the third to the writer of these pages. That letter is
now at hand; it is of considerable length, consisting of seven sheets of
notepaper, full of interesting details of men and things, and written
not only in a cheerful but even in a merry mood. Then, when his letters
were sealed, about four o'clock he took his staff and went forth to
walk to Thoresby, the seat of Lord Manvers, distant between five and six
miles from Welbeck, and where Lord George was to make a visit of two
days. In consequence of this his valet drove over to Thoresby at the
same time to meet his master. But the master never came. At length the
anxious servant returned to Welbeck, and called up the groom who had
driven him over to Thoresby, and who was in bed, and enquired whether he