His temperament was mercurial swinging between poles of gaiety, wit and restless activity on one hand and melancholy, hypochondria and indolence on the other.
He spent most of 1765 with Horace Walpole and David Hume in Paris, and formed an attachment to Madame du Deffand, whose devotion to her 'petit Craufurd' lasted many years.
Considering Scotland as 'a vile country' where 'neither love nor wit can flourish', he became bored in the company of his father and returned to fashionable London life.
He kept in touch with political changes, and maintained contact with Shelburne and with Grafton, who, shortly after Craufurd's return home in December, offered him the place of Chamberlain of Fife and Strathearn which he held from 1767 to his death.
He also obtained from Thomas Pitt the promise of a seat at Old Sarum and in addition proposed to contest Renfrew in place of his father.
He gave up speaking in Parliament after his speech in support of a Government bill concerning the East India Company on 18 December 1768.
He consulted William Mure on this and on his election prospects, particularly as Sir Lawrence Dundas had offered to bring him in elsewhere if he failed in Renfrewshire.
[1] In 1775 Craufurd induced Lord North to give him life tenure of his post as Chamberlain of Fife, hitherto held at pleasure.
He plagued his friends with his imaginary ailments, his 'ennui and jealousies', with requests to pay his debts 'pour le delivrer des Juifs', 'gate-crashed' parties, but seldom attended when invited.
Having sold his estates of Errol and Drumsoy, he was now well funded and renewed his solicitations on behalf of his brother James Craufurd.
Before the motion of censure against the Admiralty, Selwyn wrote "I hope that Government will send two yeomen of the guard to carry the Fish down in his blankets, for he pretends to have the gout ...