George justly prided himself on Sir Walter Scott's having been the
first creation of his reign, and I think the event showed that the
poet was the fountain of much more honour for the king, than the king
was for the poet.
When George came to Edinburgh in 1822, it was Sir Walter who acted
virtually as the master of the ceremonies, and to whom it was chiefly
due that the visit was so successful. It was then that George clad his
substantial person for the first time in the Highland costume--to wit,
in the Steuart Tartans--and was so much annoyed to find himself
outvied by a wealthy alderman, Sir William Curtis, who had gone and
done likewise, and, in his equally grand Steuart Tartans, seemed a
kind of parody of the king. The day on which the king arrived,
Tuesday, 14th of August, 1822, was also the day on which Scott's most
intimate friend, William Erskine, then Lord Kinnedder, died. Yet Scott
went on board the royal yacht, was most graciously received by George,
had his health drunk by the king in a bottle of Highland whiskey, and
with a proper show of devoted loyalty entreated to be allowed to
retain the glass out of which his Majesty had just drunk his health.
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