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UN1VDF
TORONTO
THE CREEVEY PAPERS
FIRST EDITION .
Reprinted . , .
Reprinted . . . ,
Reprinted . . .
SECOND EDITION . ,
(Fifth Impression)
Reprinted , . .
Reprinted . . .
November, 1903.
December, 1903.
January, 1904.
January ', 1904.
February, 1904.
February, 1904.
March, 1904.
THE CREEVEY PAPERS
A SELECTION FROM THE CORRES-
PONDENCE & DIARIES OF THE LATE
THOMAS CREEVEY, M.P.
BORN 1768 DIED 1838
EDITED BY
THE RIGHT HON. SIR HERBERT MAXWELL
BART., M.P., LL.D., F.R.S.
IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. II.
WITH PORTRAITS
LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET
1904
PRINTED BY
WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
LONDON AND BECCLES.
DA
N.2
CONTENTS TO VOL. II.
PAGE
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ... ... ... ... ix
CHAPTER I.
1821.
Queen Caroline's establishment The summary prorogation
The pretender Olivia Lady Holland at home Brougham
fulfils a pledge Dinner with the Queen Lord Holland's
apology The Queen excluded from the Abbey The north
to be roused The Queen's death Suspicions about
Brougham's honesty An honourable executor Lord
Lauderdale George IV. in Ireland End of the Royal visit 1-32
CHAPTER II.
1822.
Creevey's activity In the Whig camp "A Voice from St.
Helena " The frequency of suicide Castlereagh's death
George IV. in Scotland The Duke of Sussex Canning
assumes the lead Lord Thanet on the situation Can-
ning's voice, Castlereagh's hand Mr. Cobbett's views
Knowsley revisited .................. 33~5^
CHAPTER III.
1823-1824.
A young lady's letters Criticism upon Canning Two very
different dukes The Duke of Buckingham Social
scheming Tittle-tattle At Crockford's Royal Ascot
Newmarket A visit to Lambton Captain FitzClarence's
opinions .............. . ......
vi CONTENTS TO VOL. II.
CHAPTER IV.
1825-1826.
PAGE
Two Scottish divines The birth of railways Creevey's seat in
jeopardy Lambton revisited Creevey as an author Lady
Grey's views Lord J. Russell on Reform Canning and the
Opposition The Corn Laws 84-102
CHAPTER V.
1827.
Liverpool's last illness Brougham receives a challenge Creevey
enjoys his freedom A Cabinet crisis Mischievous times
Brougham in the thick of it Coalition Creevey's objec-
tionsWellington and Grey Death of Canning Grey
and Brougham Lowther Castle The Goderich Ministry
Party politics in the north The affair of Navarino 103-134
CHAPTER VI.
1827-1828.
Return to Croxteth Rumours of war Lord Grey's speculations
Sefton and Brougham What is Brougham after ? General
distress in the country A quarrel Overtures to the Whigs
Rival marquesses The Duke of Sussex and the Whigs
Lord Hill puts down his foot Huskisson resigns Colling-
wood's memoirs Petworth Creevey out in the cold The
Clare election 135-167
CHAPTER VII.
1828.
An obsequious cicerone The Bessborough estates Lord
Hutchinson Power of Kilfane Impressions of Ireland
Lord Donoughmore's recollections Irish society Dan
O'Connell The Tighes of Woodstock Creevey's indiscre-
tion The Viceregal Lodge Carton 168-192
CHAPTER VIII.
1829.
Catholic emancipation The Garth scandal A party at Lady
Sefton's Intrigues in the Opposition First trip on the
railway-A spendthrift peer 193-205
CONTENTS TO VOL. II. Vll
CHAPTER IX.
1830-1831.
PAGE
Brougham's literary schemes Lord D euro's engagement-
Death of George IV. Death of Huskisson Lord Grey's
administration A party in Downing Street Queen Ade-
laide's Drawing-room The first draft of Reform Stirring
times The second reading carried The Bill in Committee
Creevey returns to Parliament The Prime Minister
Influenza The race for honours Coronation gossip The
Reform agitation 206-239
CHAPTER X.
1832-1833.
The prospects of the Bill A party at Lady Grey's Lord Grey
resigns The Reform Bill passed The end of the old order
The Reformed Parliament Affairs in Arlington Street
Miss Berry's dinner-party Roscoe as historian King
William's levee 240-260
CHAPTER XI.
1833-
The Court at Windsor Private political history Lord j Hol-
land's ability Gossip Joseph Parkes 261-271
CHAPTER XII.
1834.
Creevey's office threatened Rogers's dinner-party Competition
for office Oxford declines Talleyrand Creevey's new post
Anecdote about Lord Grey Brougham blamed for the
crisis Lord Grey's opinion of Brougham A breeze with
Brougham The Road at its prime Lord Grey in retire-
ment Overtures to Lord Howick Melbourne's dismissal
Character of Lord Sefton Visit at Howick At Holland
House again 272-303
CHAPTER XIII.
1835-1836.
Creevey as an onlooker Lady Grey at home" Bear " Ellice
Action against Lord Melbourne Cassiobury Death of
Charles X 304-316
vin CONTENTS TO VOL. II.
CHAPTER XIV., AND LAST.
1837-1838.
FACE
Death of Mrs. Fitzherbert and of William IV. The young
Queen Brighton revisited The Marquess Wellesley
Dinner with the Duke of Sussex Holkham Lady Charlotte
Bury's book" Where shall I go next ? " 31 7-336
INDEX 337
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
VOL. II.
MRS. CREEVEY ... ... ... ... ... Frontispiece
From a Picture in the possession of Mrs. Blackett Ord,
Whitfield, Northumberland
TO FACE PAGB
VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH ... ... ... ... 42
From the Picture by SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE, P.R.A., in
the National Portrait Gallery
JOSEPH HUME ... ... ... ... ... ... 74
From the Mezzotint by T. HODGETTS, after J. GRAHAM
THE THIRD MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE ... ... ... 116
From the Picture by H. WALTON, in the National Portrait
Gallery
GEORGE CANNING ... ... ... ... ... 122
From the Picture by SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE, P.R.A., at
Christ Church^ Oxford
JOHN ALLEN ... ... ... ... ... ... 156
From the Picture by SIR EDWIN LANDSEER, R.A., in the
National Portrait Gallery
DANIEL O'CONNELL, M.P. ... ... ... ... 194
From the Picture by B. MULRENIN, R.H.A., in the
National Portrait Gallery
EARL GREY ... ... ... ... ... ... 216
From the Picture by SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE, P.R.A., in
the National Portrait Gallery
THE COUNTESS GREY AND TWO CHILDREN ... ... 244
From ttie Mezzotint by SAMUEL COUSINS, R.A., after SIR
THOMAS LAWRENCE, P.R.A.
X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
TO FACE PAGE
LADY HOLLAND... ... ... ... ... 256
From an Engraving by S. W. REYNOLDS, after C. R.
LESLIE, R.A.
VISCOUNT MELBOURNE ... ... ... ... 326
From the Picture by SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE, P.R.A., in
the National Portrait Gallery
THE CREEVEY PAPERS.
CHAPTER I.
1821.
THE domestic annals of 1821 are scarcely less painful
reading than those of 1820, so deeply smirched with
the abortive proceedings against Queen Caroline.
The domestic affairs of King George IV. continued
to be of a nature to bring the monarchy into irrepar-
able disrepute, the Marchioness Conyngham reigning
as maitresse-en-titre. Nevertheless, preparations went
forward on a prodigious scale for celebrating his
coronation. Parliament voted 243,000 for the pur-
pose, which, when it is considered in contrast with
70,000 expended on the coronation of Queen Vic-
toria, may give rise to curious reflections upon the
relative value returned to their subjects by the two
sovereigns. The coronation of George IV. was
saddened by the last scene in the squalid tragedy of
Queen Caroline.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" London, January i5th, 1821.
". . . There is the most infamous newspaper just
set up that was ever seen in the world by name
VOL. II. B
2 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. I.
John Bull. Its personal scurrility exceeds by miles
anything ever written before. In accounting for the
motives which have influenced the different ladies
who have called upon the Queen, it states yesterday
without equivocation, reserve, or by any inuendo, but
plainly, that Lady T and Lady M B were
induced to go by threats respecting the criminal inter-
course that took place between Lady C W
and a menial servant. You will not be surprised that
O is furious.* ..."
1 7th Jan.
". . . I dined at Taylor's on Monday, and in the
evening came Ferguson, Rennet, Mrs. G. Lambe,
Lord Auckland and Brougham. The latter exceeds
in oddity and queerness anything I ever beheld.
What the devil he is at I cannot for the life of me
make out. He is all for moderation, and his constant
fellow-counsellors are Tierney, Scarlett t and Aber-
cromby. I favored him with my fixed determination
how I should act, and if you had heard him try to
humbug me about the transitory nature of this
popular ferment, comparing it to the Duke of York's
case and Mrs. Clarke, you would have snorted out in
his face. Yesterday, however, brought me a note
from him, and to-day another to dine with him, and I
am going accordingly. . . ."
" I9th Jan.
"... I dined with Brougham on Wednesday, but
had not much good of him, as we were not alone. .
I looked into Brooks's afterwards, and found Scarlett
there. He was as pompous as be damned about
publick affairschange of Ministers meeting of
Parliament, &c., till I frightened him out of his wits
by announcing to him the certainty of an opposition
and division on Tuesday next.
"Yesterday I met Brougham in the streets, and
had a long walk with him, and found him much im-
proved in temper all sunshine, in fact. He says he
never saw any one so improved as the Queen; that
she really is very entertaining, particularly upon the
* The names indicated by initials, here and elsewhere, are given
in full in the original,
t Created Lord Abinger in 1835.
i82i.] THE QUEEN'S ESTABLISHMENT. 3
subject of her travels. He is to manage a dinner for
me there at an early date, and at her early hour,
which is 3. ... Meantime, her establishment is on
the stocks and is getting on the Duke of Roxburgh
Grand Chamberlain, a young nobleman of 86, so that
the breath of scandal can never touch this appoint-
ment. He is, however, a very excellent old man, and
a Whig, and is worth at least 50,000 per ann. Poor
Romilly gained him his estate, and had the highest
possible opinion of him. The poor old fellow declined
at first, and indeed now has consented with reluctance.
I saw his letter to Brougham yesterday upon this
subject, which was quite as good as any play. It
seems he married for the first time 5 or 6 years ago,
and has children. He asks Brougham, therefore, if
her Majesty is fond of children, and if he may bring
his little ones from Scotland to present to her; and
then he says he will only undertake the office of
Chamberlain upon condition that he (Brougham) will
be guardian to the Marquis of Beaumont, aged 4
years and a half the Duke's son. This condition,
however, is a secret Bruffam affected to be squeamish
as to accepting this trust, but the job is done. Lord
Hood is to be another of the Queen's household ; a
Countess of Roscommon (Irish) is mentioned as one
of the female staff; Lady Charlotte Lindsay, &c., &c.
Pray read Lord Holland's letter to the Wiltshire
meeting ; is not his anxiety for the Queen quite affect-
ing, after all one knows of my lady's virtuous indigna-
tion against her? ... I dined with Mrs. Taylor
yesterday Taylor and Miss Ferguson being engaged
at Coutts's to celebrate his wedding day. They
returned in the evening ; Miss Ferguson, from her
appearance, might have been in a hot bath. They
sat down to dinner 30 : old Coutts and his bride sitting
side by side at the top of the table. The Dukes of
York, Clarence and Sussex were there ; at side-tables
were placed musicians and songsters; one of the
latter fraternity from Bath was paid 100 for his trip."
"21 Jan.
". . . Sefton and I are going at 12 in his cabriolet
towards Brandenburgh House, to see the addressers
and processions to the Queen. Meantime the streets
4 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. I.
are chuck full of people, quite as much as four months
ago.
"Lord Holland came up to me at Brooks's yester-
day, and reproached me tor never coming near my
lady ; and, after many civil things in his pretty manner,
he said I should go and see her with him. So I did,
and she was all civility and humility. At parting, she
begg'd I would look in upon her in the evening, and
I found afterwards she had written to Lord Sefton in
the morning, begging he would accomplish this great
boint with me. . . .
" Apropos of Tierney, a funny thing happened
about him some time ago at Cashiobury. Decaze
and Tierney being both dining there, Decaze said
' If the Opposition came in, what would they do with
Napoleon? Upon which says old Cole* in her way
'Why, put him on the throne of France, to be sure ! '
Which sentiment was sent off by a special courier to
old Louis le desire the instant Decaze returned from
dinner. Old Louis forwarded the frightful intelligence
to Troppau, where the Emperor Alexander has made
the regular complaint and remonstrance to Gordon,
our Minister there, who has returned it duly to the
Foreign Office. The most comical thing is the
different ways in which Castlereagh and Tierney take
it. The former has sent the latter a funny message,
saying he wishes he would have -no more jokes with
Decaze about Buonaparte, for that he has played the
devil at Troppau. But old Cole is frightened out of
her wits, and talks of nothing else is apprehensive
the country gentlemen will be out with it in the House
of Commons, and that it may do the party a serious
injury. She and Decaze had a meeting yesterday, and
the latter has agreed if necessary to depose on oath
that he believes Tierney's observation was only made
in joke.
" Holland set off at four this morning for Oxford,
to help Lord Jersey at his county meeting, f It was
with the greatest difficulty my lady let him go, and
he begged me not to mention it before her, as it was
a very sore subject."
* Tierney.
t In support of Queen Caroline.
i82i.] THE SUMMARY PROROGATION. 5
" 23rd Jan.
" Late as it is (being precisely one according to the
watchman) I must have a word with you before I go
to bed. I dined, as you know, at Sefton's with
Brougham, and at J past nine they both pressed me
to go to Burlington House, which (tho' I had been
summoned by the circular note) I declined. Before
they went, however, I pressed upon Brougham the
absolute necessity of having a vigorous discussion, if
not division, upon the outrage offered to the H. of
Commons by the last prorogation without a speech
from the throne under all the extraordinary circum-
stances of the case. I pointed out to him how the
thing ought to be done before the King's Speech was
entered upon, and finally told him, if the meeting at
Burlington House did not take this line, Folkestone
and Western most likely would. It is impossible to
convey to you a notion of his artificial, disingenuous
jaw upon this subject, evidently shewing that he was
for nothing being done. And so off they went, and I
to Brooks s, where I met Folkestone, who says he
will take his line, and Western will support him.
"About i past eleven the party came in, having
done (as it appears to me) as much mischief as they
could in so short a time. Nothing to be done to-
morrow, and Tavistock to move on Friday a censure
upon Ministers in other words, a motion to turn
them out, and to supply their places with our own
people the only motion to do the Ministers the least
service, as / think, under all their great difficulties.
This is the more provoking, because Tavistock, from
the same motive with myself, did not attend this
meeting, and yet had yielded to the views of some one
in letting a notice of this motion be given for him.
Was there ever anything like the inveterate folly of
this Cole in pursuit of her maze? . . ."
" 24th Jan.
". . . As to Folkestone's intended proceedings
yesterday, they were knocked on the head by the
discovery of one precedent in the late King's time,
in which a Parliament had been prorogued without
a Speech, and by the thanks given in yesterday's
Speech for the supplies of last year. . . ."
6 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. I.
26th.
"Nothing to-day, excepting Wellington's scrape
last night in calling public meetings < a farce.' * Was
there ever such a goose to get into such a mess?
He was pummelled black and blue by Carnarvon,
Lansdowne and Holland, and had not only to apolo-
gise himself, but to get Liverpool to do the same for
him. . . . You never saw a fellow so vicious as Grey,
but all cordiality and good fellowship between him
and me.
" Pray tell me how I am to act upon a point of
form. I am invited to dine on Sunday week both by
the Duke of Sussex and the Speaker, and both are
considered as commands. . . ."
" 29th Jan.
". . . Saturday I dined at the Fox Club about
100 of us, Grandees and Tiers-etat united. We are
getting very much into the Reform line, I assure you.
The Duke of Devonshire has declared for Reform :
Slice} of Gloucester at Holkham ten days ago with
royal solemnity declared himself a Radical. Yester-
day I dined at the Duke of Sussex's, having contrived
through Stephenson to change my day from next Sun-
day. Lord Thanet took me, and our party were the
Dukes of Gloucester and Leinster, Lord Fitzwilliam,
Thanet, Grey, Erskine, Cowper, Albemarle, Bob
Adair and myself. We had an agreeable day
enough. Slice kept us waiting three-quarters of an
hour, but this time was not thrown away. Sussex
told us in confidence, that the obstacle to the Queen's
name being restored to the Prayer Book did not
come from the King, but that he could not tell us
* The Duke, being taken to task in the House of Lords for
having, as Lord- Lieutenant of Hampshire, refused to convene a county
meeting to protest against the proceedings in the matter of the royal
divorce, replied with characteristic, but injudicious, bluntness that,
having already presented a petition in favour of the Queen signed
by 9000 persons in that county, he did not see what good purpose
could be served by " going through the farce of a county meeting."
It was an unlucky expression, and was brought up against him on
numerous occasions for many years.
t H.R.H. the Duke of Gloucester.
i82i.] THE PRETENDER OLIVIA. 7
more; and even for this valuable communication he
desired not to be quoted. I was surprised to hear
Lord Grey say that he knew this to be true.
" Then Sussex entertained us with stories of his
cousin Olivia of Cumberland, with whom, for fun's
sake, as he says, he has had various interviews,
during which she has always pressed upon him, in
support of her claims, her remarkable likeness to
the Royal Family. Upon one occasion, being rather
off her guard from temper or liquor, she smacked off
her wig all at once, and said ' Why, did you ever in
your life see such a likeness to yourself?' It seems
that she lived in the capacity of Pop Lolly to Lord
Warwick for many of the latter years of her life, and
it is from some papers of his, and with the assistance
of others, that she has at length started into the royal
line.*
" Grey and Lambton and Lady Louisa had been
all at Brandenburg House yesterday morning ; and
my lord's name was scarcely written by him, before
the news flew like wildfire to the Queen, and he was
told she begged to see him. So in he and Lambton
went, and she seemed to be very much pleased, and
so was he. So it's all very well better late than
never. . . .
" I have two more Royalties to give you, and then
I have done with the family. At the Levee on Friday,
the King turned his back upon Prince Leopold in the
most pointed manner; upon which the said Leopold,
without any alteration on a muscle of his face, walked
up to the Duke of York, and in hearing of every one
near him said ' The King has thought proper at last
to take his line, and I shall take mine ' and so, with
becoming German dignity, marched out of the house.
"You will be affected to hear that the dear
Duchess of Gloucester is not happy, and that, thp'
Slice is in politicks a Radical, in domestic life he is
a tyrant. Some lady called on the Duchess (indeed
it has happened to two different ladies), and, being
admitted, was marched up quite to the top of
the house; where, being arrived out of breath, the
Duchess apologised with great feeling for the trouble
* See vol. i. p. 339, note.
8 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. I.
she caused her in bringing her up so far, but that in
truth it was owing to the cruel manner in which she
was treated by the Duke that he had taken it into
his head that the suite of rooms on the drawing-room
floor were not kept in sufficiently nice order, and on
that account he had them locked up, and kept the
keys himself. ... It is no wonder that the King
treated Slice the last time he was at Court with the
same sauce he did Leopold. The Radical has de-
clared he will never go again.
" Before dinner, we had some conversation upon
the old story whether Francis was Junius, Grey and
Erskine both expressing their most perfect con-
viction that he was. Erskine mentioned a curious
thing, which was confirmed by Lord Thanet. It
seems they were both dining with Lady Francis,
since Sir Philip's death, when Erskine asked her if
Francis ever told her, or whether she ever collected
from his conversation, that he was the author of
Junius. To which she answered that he had never
mentioned the subject, and that the only allusion to
it was in a book. So she went out of the room, and
brought back the little book ' Junius Identified,' and
in the title page was written ' Francis/ and, signed
with his name ' I leave this book as a legacy to my
dear wife.' This I think, considering he never would
touch the subject or the book of ' Junius Identified/
affords an additional strong presumption it was he.
" Erskine was to the last degree ridiculous at
dinner. Upon Warren's name being mentioned, he
said he certainly could not be called a ' free Warren/
and then added ' indeed rabbits were hole-and-corner
men, and who could say they were not ? '
" Upon some objections being taken to Erskine's
wig at dinner, he said it had been made for Coutts,
and that Mrs. Coutts had been kind enough to give it
to him ; and then he pulled it off, when, to all our
great surprise, tho' bald, he looked so beautiful and
young he might have been 35 or 40 years of age at
most* He was so impressed with our compliments
that he has promised to abandon wigs altogether
when warm weather comes.
* Erskine was then seventy-one.
i82i.] LADY HOLLAND AT HOME. 9
" Slice, who I had never met before, and who, you
know, is a proverbial bore, behaved very well and
modestly, which of course was owing to his being
only second fiddle ; but I assure you the two cousins
made a very good exhibition of Royalty, both in
propriety and agreeableness.
" Thanet brought me back first to Lady Jersey's,
but she was not ready to receive her company, so
we came to Brooks's. Then Cowper took me to
Lady Holland's, where her ladyship looked as forlorn
and discontented as ever she could look. She was in
state, with Henry * at her feet few men no ladies,
and the whole concern to the greatest degree sombre.
Her great aversion at present is Lady Jersey, as
taking her company from her, which I don't wonder
at, as Cowper and I soon went there, and found a
very merry party, cracking their jokes about a round
table. Lady Jersey herself is a host, and then there
were Brougham, Grey, Lambton, Lord Jersey, Dun-
cannon, Lord and Lady Ossulston, Lady Sefton, Lord
A. Hamilton, Cowper and myself: so it was all very
well. My lady was all ' mug ' to me about my farce
on Friday,! and at parting desired me to lose no time
in firing into them again.
" It has given me great pleasure to see Sir Lowry
Cole's name stand next to mine in the list of the
division. To some one W 7 ho talked to him whilst we
were dividing, he said he never had but one opinion
as to the impropriety of striking the Queen's name
out of the Liturgy, and he was glad the time was
come when he could express his opinion by his vote.
Upon my word, the gentlemanly conduct of these
soldiers Lord Howard and Sir Lowry Cole both
dependent to a great degree upon the Crown, is quite
touching. They leave your independent squires a
hundred miles behind them. ... Of publick affairs
* Lord Holland.
t A speech on going into Committee of Supply, of which Creevey
says in another letter " This little sortie was, I assure you, rather
well done, and eminently useful in a very crowded House. ' Mouldy '
[Mr. Vansittart, Chancellor of the Exchequer, afterwards Lord
Bexley] made an attempt to punish me, but was instantly smothered
in universal derision."
10 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. I.
there is nothing new. If the people keep up their
feelings, and the expression of them as strongly as
ever, on the subject of the Queen's exclusion from the
Liturgy, the Government and their followers are no
better off, and in truth much worse than before they
waded so triumphantly thro' the dirt on Friday. 1
keep to my creed that this blackguard, foolish war
with the Queen will eventually ruin the Ministers
and produce some great change in the House of
Commons."
" Brooks's, soth Jan., 1821.
". . . I dined at Sefton's yesterday Lord Grey,
Lady Louisa and Lambton and Mr. and Mrs. Bruff-
ham. . . . Grey is so keen with me about giving
Brother Bragge * a dust about accepting his office and
not vacating his seat, that I must, I believe, accom-
modate him. . . . When, at dinner, I described old
Cole's attempt at crimping me into the Doctor's
campt in 1803, assisted by those distinguished states-
men Porter and Brogden, he grinned most profusely,
saying' God forgive me ! as Lord King says, but I
can't help liking him.'"
" Brooks's, 2nd Feby.
"... I have just discharged my duty to my native
town [Liverpool] in seconding their petition. I rather
think I never did anything so well. I spoke for about
20 minutes; the House was as mute as mice, and
Castlereagh as grave as a judge at all I said. After
dwelling upon the villainy of Castlereagh's new law
of a 3rd reading of a Bill of Pains and Penalties in
the Lords making a moral conviction of the defendant,
coupled with all the enormous abuse that was nightly
discharged upon her by his friends, I stated the utter
impossibility of her taking the money from Castle-
reagh and his House. . . .
* The Right Hon. Charles Bragge Bathurst, cousin of Lord
Bathurst, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. Bragge
Bathurst had been brought into the Cabinet as President of the Board
of Control and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
t Tierney's attempt to enlist Creevey in support of Addington.
[See vol. i. p. 22."]
i82i.] BROUGHAM FULFILS A PLEDGE. II
On 5th February Brougham redeemed his pledge
to testify publicly on his honour to his belief in the
innocence of Queen Caroline. He concluded as
follows a speech on Lord Tavistock's motion of want
of confidence in Ministers because of their conduct of
the proceedings against the Queen : " It is necessary,
Sir, for me, with the seriousness and sincerity which
it may be permitted to a man upon the most solemn
occasions to express, to assert what I now do assert
in the face of this House, that if, instead of an
advocate, I had been sitting as a judge at another
tribunal, I should have been found among the number
of those who, laying their hands upon their hearts,
conscientiously pronounced her Majesty ' Not Guilty.'
For the truth of this assertion I desire to tender
every pledge that may be most valued and most
sacred. I wish to make it in every form which may
be deemed most solemn and most binding; and if I
believe it not as I now advance it, I here imprecate on
myself every curse which is most horrid and most
penal."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Brooks's, 6th Feb.
". . . On Sunday morning our grandees, or some
of them, had a meeting upstairs here to consider the
practicability of making a provision for the Queen by
raising from 200,000 to 300,000 by subscription.
You will easily imagine I had no business there,*
but Sefton and Lord Thanet sent Lambton to bring
me there by force, so I heard what passed, and such
a game chicken as Fitzwilliam I never beheld. Let
me do justice, too, to Alec Baring, who smoothed
away the least suggestion of any difficulty ; and, in
short, it was decided in two minutes to do the thing.
* Seeing that he was such a poor man.
12 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. I.
Old Fitzwilliam went off directly to the Duke of
Devonshire, who is quite as eager to start as the rest,
provided it is not done till the H. of Commons shall
have decided this day week, on Smith's motion, not
to restore the Queen s name to the Liturgy. Then
a kind of State paper is to come out from our people,
shewing the absolute impossibility of the Queen,
situated as she is, accepting the provision from the
Crown and Parliament, and proposing their plan, with
the names annexed to it, of making a voluntary pro-
vision ; and no one seems to entertain a doubt of the
success of the measure. . . .
"Never was there such an exhibition as that of
yesterday by the defenders of the Ministers. Brother
bragge could scarcely be heard, in which he was
highly judicious ; Bankes might have been hired for
Mackintosh to flog ; Peel was as feeble as be damned,
and the daring, dramatic Horace Twiss made his
first, and probably his last appearance on the stage.*
On the other hand, I am sorry to say that Tavistock
was infinitely below himself. . . . Lambton's was a
very pretty, natural and ornamental speech, delivered
with singular grace and discretion, and a beautiful
voice withal. But old ' Praise God ' Milton in a short
speech handled a couple of points in a much more
powerful manner than anything Lambton did. . . .
Nothing but the general and overpowering distress
can keep the country steady to the Queen against the
Court Ministers. ... It is said that the appointment
of Sir Lowry Cole to be governor of Sheerness was
made out, and immediately cancelled after his vote
on Friday, and that it is now given to Lord Comber-
mere.f . . ."
I * This was a singularly bad prophecy. Twiss, who entered Par-
liament in 1820, made a fine appearance in the debate on Roman
Catholic disabilities on 23rd March, 1821, and vigorously opposed the
Reform Bill. Lord Campbell describes him as " the impersonation
of a debating society rhetorician," and adds, " Though inexhaustibly
fluent, his manner certainly was very flippant, factitious, and un-
businesslike." Macaulay remarks that, when the Reform Bill passed
a second reading, " the face of Twiss was as the face of a damned
soul."
t Cole was appointed Governor of Mauritius in 1823.
i82i,] DINNER WITH THE QUEEN. 13
;th Feb.
"... I confess I had no notion such a majority
could have been found to give a direct negative to
the allegation that the late proceedings had been
' derogatory from the dignity of the Crown and in-
jurious to the best wishes of the People.' . . . The
last half of Brougham's speech was quite inimitable.
He made the declaration he formerly told me he
would, as to his perfect conviction of the Queen's
innocence, and he did it in a manner so solemn, and, if
I may say so, so magnificent, that it was met with
the loudest and almost universal cheers."
"Feb. nth.
"... I was at Brougham's by half-past two, and
found Craven waiting. As soon as Brougham was
ready, we set off to pick up Mrs. Darner, who was to
dine also with the Queen. And here let me stop to
express my admiration for this extraordinary person.
You know she is Field Marshal Conway's daughter,
cousin of Lord Hertford, &c., &c. She is the person
who paid all her husband's debts, without the least
obligation upon her so to do, and she is the person
who renounced all claim to half of Lord Clinton's
estate when she was informed that by law she was
entitled to it. She is 70 years of age, and as fresh as
if she was 50. ... Well when we reached Branden-
burg House, we were ushered up a very indifferent
staircase and through an ante-room into a very hand-
some, well-proportioned room from 40 to 50 feet
long, very lofty, with a fine coved ceiling, painted
with gods and goddesses in their very best clothes.
The room looks upon the Thames, and is not a
hundred yards from it. Upon our entrance, the Queen
came directly to Mrs. Darner, then to Brougham, and
then to me. I am not sure whether I did not commit
the outrage of putting out my hand without her doing
the same first ; be it as it may, however, we did shake
hands. She then asked me if I had not forgotten her,
and I can't help thinking she considered my visit as
somewhat late, or otherwise she would have said
something civil about my uniform support. She is
14 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. I.
not much altered in face or figure, but very much in
manner. She is much more stately and much more
agreeable. She was occasionally very grave. . . .
She took me aside twice after dinner, and talked to
me of her situation. She is evidently uneasy about
money. . . . She mentioned no women, but the Duke
of Wellington did not escape an observation from
her, as to the surprise it occasioned in her that he
should be so violent against her. ... A curious thing
happened at dinner. . . . Craven, who turns out to
be a wag, with all his propriety, was alluding to that
celebrated ball or fete where the Queen was the
Genius of History. It seems the whole of this fete
was got up by a Duke of Caparo; every character
was prescribed by him, and both the Queen and
Craven laughed heartily at the recollection that, the
Genius of History being to enter preceded by Fame,
when the time for their appearance arrived, Fame's
trumpet could not be found, and the performance was
stopped for some time, till Fame was obliged to put
up with a horn of one of the Duke of Caparo's
keepers. . . .
"Our company of ladies was Mme. Olde and
Mme. Felice. . . . Mme. Felice is a very, very little
woman, with one of the prettiest faces I ever saw. I
should think she was not much older than 20, though
she has been married 5 years. As we went down to
dinner, Craven handed the Queen, Brougham Mrs.
Damer ; Mme. Felice, who was leaning on the arm of
a foreigner, seeing me unprovided for came in the
most natural, laughing manner, and put her arm
thro' mine. ... Of men, the principal was the
Marquis of Antalda, a great proprietor in Pessaro
and Bologna ... a person of great consideration in
his own country, a man of letters, and as agreeable a
man as you will find anywhere. . . . There might be
six or seven other men, and nothing could be more
decorous or more courtlike than they all were in
their manner to the Queen. . . . We came away
before eight. . . . There is a capital picture by
Hoppner of Berkeley and Keppel Craven. The only
picture belonging to her Majesty is one of Alderman
Wood without a frame."
i82i.] LORD HOLLAND'S APOLOGY. 15
" Brooks's, 1 4th Feb.
". . . Our folks are to meet presently about the
Queen's subscription. Unfortunately Fitzwilliam is
out of town, but Milton is now by my side."
"4 o'clock.
" The meeting is over : very thinly attended, and
things looking damned ill and black."
"Brooks's, 16 Feb.
". . . You never saw such a change in any person
as in Brougham. He is involved in the deepest
thought, and apparently chagrin. He never comes
near Sefton, as was his daily custom, nor can we con-
jecture what he is about. I think his false step about
the Queen in advising her to refuse the money must
surely have something to do with it. He seems most
wretched. Grey and Lambton and Lady Louisa, &c.,
&c., are to dine with the Queen to-morrow. . . ."
"24th Feb.
". . . The Queen has bought Cambridge House
in South Audley Street. . . . Thanet and Sefton
advanced the deposit money, 3000, this morning. I
am afraid you don't see the Times, otherwise you
would read in it Holland's apology for having said in
his speech in the House of Lords that the Emperor of
Russia was concern'd in his father's death. Lady
Holland has never slept since ; Madame Lieven
declines all further intercourse with the Hollands,
and, in short, the contemptible statement in the
Times, tho' anonymous, is from Holland himself, and
made as his peace offering to the Emperor of all the
Russias,* the Lievens and the Princess of Mada-
gascar." t
* The use of this clumsy paraphrase of the Czar's title is, of course,
very common in British parlance, but is none the less a barbarism.
The meaning of the term in Russian is " the all- Russian Emperor,"
in the same sense that one uses the terms " Pan-Germanic," " Pan-
Anglican/' c.
t In Lady Caroline Lamb's novel Glenarvon t Lady Holland was
presented as the " Princess of Madagascar."
16 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. I.
Henry Brougham, M.P. y to Mr. Creevey.
"London, 19 July, 1821.
"DEAR C.
" This town is in a state of general lunacy
beginning most certainly with the Illustrious Person
on the throne. Geo. 3. was an ill used man to be shut
up for 10 years. His son has slept none, I believe,
since you left town ; nor will, till it is over. Yesterday
he went for near 3 hours to Buckingham House,
where Lawrence was painting Lady Conynghame.
He then came back and had another row with his
ministers, having been all Saturday and half of Sunday
in a squabble with them ; and, soon after he was
housed, there drove along the Mall furiously a carriage
and four, which was followed by my informant and
found to contain old Wellesley in person. He was
actually traced into Carlton House by the back door.
You may make what you please of this,* but the fact
is undoubted, as Duncannon and Calcraft were the
persons who saw him.
" To-day the Q.'s being allowed to enter the Abbey
is doubted . . . but I still think it possible the Big
Man may have gout and not be up to it.f
" Yours,
"H. B."
"2oth July.
". . . The paroxysm rather encreases than diminishes,
and literally extends to all classes. There never was
a more humbling sight in this world. The Ministers
are still sitting and squabbling; nor have they to this
hour (5) made up their minds whether to stop her or
not. My belief is they will let her pass, and also
admit her at the Abbey if she persists. She is quite
resolved to do so, and comes to sleep at Cambridge
House for the purpose. But she is sure to blunder
about the hour, and to give them excuses for turning
* The inference was that the Cabinet was jibbing about the
Queen's exclusion, and that the King contemplated laying his
commands on Wellesley to form an administration.
t The Coronation.
i82i.] THE QUEEN EXCLUDED FROM THE ABBEY. I/
her back by being late. . . . We [Brougham and Den-
man] thought at one time she meant to command
our attendance, which we had resolved, of course, to
refuse, as no more in our department than going to
Astley's ; but she did not venture. She has turned
off the poor Chaplain Fellowes, who wrote all the
balderdash answers, to make room for Wood's son ;
but the Alderman has failed in an attempt to turn off
Hieronymus, the Major-domo, in order to put some
friend of his in the place. Dr. Parr has written a
vehement letter to advise against her going, and
certainly this is the prevailing opinion among her
friends. I suppose I must be wrong, but I still can-
not see it in the same light ; and of this I am quite
sure, that she would have been quite as much blamed
had she stayed away. It is also certain that nothing
short of a quarrel and resigning would have stopped
her : perhaps not even that ; . . . but to take such a
step, one ought to have been much more positive
against the measure than I have ever been from the
first."
" Thursday.
"DEAR C,
"The Qn. (as I found on going to her house
at 20 minutes before six this morning) started at a
(quarter past five, and drove down Constitution Hill
in the mulberry Lady A[nne] H[amilton] and Lady
Hood sitting opposite. Hesse (in uniform) and Lord
H[ood] in another carriage went before. I followed
on foot and found she had swept the crowd after her :
it was very great, even at that hour. She passed thro'
Storey's Gate, and then round Dean's Yard, where she
was separated from the crowd by the gates being
closed. The refusal was peremptory at all the doors
of the Abbey when she tried, and one was banged in
her face. . . . She was saluted by all the soldiery, and
even the people in the seats, who had paid 10 and 5
guineas down, and might be expected to hiss most
at the untimely interruption, hissed very little and
applauded loudly in most places. In some they were
silent, but the applause and waving handkerchiefs
prevailed. I speak from hearsay of various persons
of different parties, having been obliged to leave
VOL. II. C
IS THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. I.
it speedily, being recognised and threatened with
honors.
"About J past six [A.M.] she had finished her
walks and calls at the doors, and got into the carriage
to return. She came by Whitehall, Pall Mall and
Piccadilly. The crowd in the Broad Street of White-
hall was immense (the barriers being across Parlt. St.
and King St.). All, or nearly all followed her and
risked losing their places. They crammed Cpckspur
Street and Pall Mall, &c., hooting and cursing the
King and his friends, and huzzaing her. A vast multi-
tude followed her home, and then broke windows.
But they soon (in two or three hours) dispersed or
went back.
" I had just got home and she sent for me, so I
went and breakfasted with her, and am now going to
dine, which makes me break off; but I must add that
the King was not well received at all silence in many
places, and a mixture of hisses and groans in others.
However, there were some bounds kept with him.
For Wood and Waithman a division of hissing and
shouting for the Atty. and Solr. Gen. an unmixed
hissing of the loudest kind. This verdict is really of
some moment, when you consider that the jury was
very much a special, if not a packed, one. The general
feeling, even of her own partisans, was very much
agt. her' going; but far more agt. their behaviour to
her. I still can't see it in that light ; and as she will
go quietly back to B[randenburg] House,* avoiding
all mob most carefully, she gains more than she loses,
and I think her very lucky in being excluded. They
put it on not being at liberty to recognise her or any
one, except as ticket-bearers. Lord H[ood] shewed
me one which they said of course would pass any one
of the party, but she refused to go in except as Q.
and without a ticket. The one Lord H. shewed me
was the Beau's,t and I have it as a memorial of the
business. . . ."
Brougham now made plans to rouse the North
in the Queen's favour, though he appears to have
11 She had come to Cambridge House for the Coronation.
t The Duke of Wellington's,
i82i.] THE NORTH TO BE ROUSED. IQ
opposed Her Majesty going there in person. His
plans, here characteristically sketched in a letter to
Creevey, were never carried into effect, death inter-
vening mercifully to remove Queen Caroline from
the troubled scene the scene which her continued
presence could only have rendered still more troubled.
The appalling severity of the remedies administered
can scarcely have failed to accelerate her release.
Henry Brougham, M.P., to Mr. Creevey (at Cantley *).
"26th July.
"DEAR C,
" The Queen certainly goes to Scotland. . . .
I should not wonder if she were to go thro' the
manufacturing districts. Possibly Birmingham (where
the K. refused to go) may be in her way. It is on
the cards that she should be found in the W. Riding
and in Lancashire. For aught I know H. M. may then
pass across towards Durham and Newcastle. Indeed
the great towns are peculiarly interesting to a person
of her contemplative cast. One whose mind is im-
proved by foreign travel naturally loves tracts of
country where the population is much crowded, and
it is worthy of H. M.'s enlightened mind to patronise
the ingenuous artizan. The coal trade, too, is highly
interesting. I only hope she may not call at Howick
on her way. . . . The time of her setting out is not
fixed, depending naturally upon her beloved husband's
motions. . . . The Chamberlain's place is not yet given
away. The Ministers are believed to have resolved
to bear this no longer, and to have agreed on a remon-
strance to the K. about the Green Ribbons, t He will,
of course, say something civil that means little make
some promise that means less let them name to one
place, name to the other himself and so settle matters
as to enable him to go over to Ireland. . . . The Queen
* Michael Angelo Taylor's place in Yorkshire,
f The King had been creating Knights of the Thistle without
taking the advice of his Ministers.
20 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. I.
has lost incalculably by getting out of her carnage
and tramping about ; going and being refused, and
damaging the Coronation, was all very well, but the
way of doing it was very bad. . . ."
" 28th July.
" The Chamberlain not yet given away, and there
seems an idea of Wellesley. I heartily wish the
present state of squabble between the K. and his
Ministers was over, and he and Ly. C[onyngham] no
longer civil to the Whigs. There is no chance of its
bringing about any change, but the risk is frightful
I mean of any change operated by suck means. His
dining with the Beau* to-morrow, and the whole
Ministers dining with him [the King] to-day, looks
like matters being settled between them. At the
Levee yesterday he was particularly rude to Hesse ;
so was he to the Lord Mayor at the Coronation. . . .
I have not seen her [the Queen], but I shall to-night,
and certainly shall throw cold water on the northern
expedition. . . .
H. B."
Viscount Hood (Lord Chamberlain to Queen
Caroline) to Henry Brougham, M.P.
"21 July, 1821, Brandenburgh House.
" MY DEAR SlR,
". . . Her Majesty has commanded me to say
she intends visiting Scotland, but I have not as yet
heard the time fixed. ."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Cantley, Aug. 8.
". . . Brougham was here for a very short time on
Sunday night, having left London at six on Saturday
evening, travelled all night, and being obliged to go
to York that night (40 miles), so as to be ready for
the assizes in the morning. ... As to his Royal
* The Duke of Wellington.
i82i.] THE QUEEN'S DEATH. 21
Mistress, his account was most curious. On Friday
last she lost sixty-four ounces of blood ; took first of
all 15 grains of calomel, which they think she threw
up again in the whole or in part ; and then she took
40 grains more of calomel which she kept entirely in
her stomach ; add to this a quantity of castor oil that
would have turned the stomach of a horse. Never-
theless, on Friday night the inflammation had subsided,
tho' not the obstruction on the liver.
" Her will and certain deeds had been got all ready
by Friday night according to her own instructions.
Brougham asked her if it was her pleasure then to
execute them ; to which she said ' Yes, Mr. Brougham ;
where is Mr. Denman ? ' in the tone of voice of a person
in perfect health. Denman then opened the curtain of
her bed, there being likewise Lushington, Wilde and
two Proctors from the Commons. The will and papers
being read to her, she put her hand out of bed, and
signed her name four different times in the steadiest
manner possible. In doing so she said with great
firmness ' I am going to die, Mr. Brougham ; but it
does not signify.' Brougham said ' Your Majesty's
physicians are quite of a different opinion.' ' Ah,' she
said, ' I know better than them. I tell you I shall die,
but I don't mind it.' .
Viscount Hood to Henry Brougham, M.P.
" Brandenburgh House, 8th Aug., 1821.
". . . The melancholy event took place at 25
minutes past 10 o'clock last night, when our dear
Queen breathed her last. Her Majesty has quitted a
scene of uninterrupted persecution, and for herself I
think her death is not to be regretted. . . . She died
in peace with all her enemies. Je ne mourrai sans
douleur, mais je mourrai sans regret was frequently
expressed by her Majesty. I never beheld a firmer
mind, or any one with less feelings at the thought of
dying, which she spoke of without the least agitation,
and at different periods of her illness, even to very
few hours of her dissolution, arranged her worldly
concerns. .
22 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. I.
Mr. Wilde to Henry Brougham, M.P.
" Guildford, 8th Aug., 1821.
". . . Lushington and myself this morning saw
Lord Liverpool and gave copies of the will and codicils.
Government take charge of the funeral, which they
intend shall be a private one. Lord Liverpool referred
me to Lord Melville, who we saw, and he will im-
mediately order a squadron, which will be ready in a
week. The body is to be embarked at Harwich and
landed at Cuxhaven. . . . Lushington is married this
morning; and has left London, to return on Friday. . . ."
Dr. Lushington to Henry Brougham, M.P.
" Carlton, near Newmarket, 9 Aug., 1821.
" MY DEAR B.,
". . . I arrived just before 4 on Tuesday, and
the Queen immediately desired to see me. . . . Baillie
soon after assured me she was dying, but that the
event would not take place for some hours. I went
away for a short time, and then remained in the room
till death closed the scene. . . . On her death happen-
ing, Wilde and myself secured all the repositories as
well as we could. This occupied us till between 2 and
3 in the morning. . . . My situation was truly painful.
You know I was to be married that very morning-
Wednesday. I could not, for various reasons, post-
pone it ; so, having taken 2 hours rest, I went to
Hampstead, was married, and immediately returned
to town. I had, on the death taking place, sent an
express to Lord Liverpool. He came to town. I saw
him with Wilde. He behaved extremely well said
Government would defray the expense of the funeral,
and that he issued orders from the Chamberlain's
office. He readily assented that the body should not
be opened, and that the funeral should take place at
Brunswick. By his desire I went over to Lord
Melville, and he arranged that two frigates should
be sent to Harwich and convey it to Cuxhaven. . . ,"
i82i.] SUSPICIONS ABOUT BROUGHAM. 23
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Cantley, Aug. u.
". . . The death of this poor woman under all its
circumstances is a most striking event and gave me an
infernal lump in my throat most part of Thursday. . . .
Nothing in my mind could be so calculated to injure
this poor woman as the extraordinary overture made
by Brougham to the Government in 1819. It seems
that, at his request or by his direction, the Queen
came from Italy to Lyons in the autumn of that
year for the sole purpose of meeting Brougham there,
to consult with him upon her situation ; but, forsooth,
1 he could not go he was busy.' This is all the excuse
he makes for himself, and then he seems to think it
odd she was very angry at this disappointment. He
admits, likewise, that on this occasion she became
very ill. So he was to have gone to her at Milan in
the Easter of 1820, as you know he told me, when
he asked me to go with him. . . . But he never
mentioned having so lately brought the poor woman
to Lyons for nothing. When I recall to mind how
often, during our journey to Middleton at that time,*
he spoke of the Whig candidates for office with the
most sovereign contempt how he hinted at his own
intercourse with the Crown and Ministers, and con-
veyed to me the impression that he thought himself
more likely to be sent for to make a Ministry than
any one else how clear it is that the accomplishment
of this divorce was to be the ways and means by
which his purposes were to be effected, f . . . There
* See vol. i. p. 295.
t Mr. Creevey was not singular in his suspicion of Brougham.
Writing on i2th April, 1821, J. W. Croker observes : " Brougham, it is
said, grossly has sold the Queen. There is no doubt that he has with-
drawn himself a good deal from her, and I believe has been for some time
in underground communication with Carlton House." Again on April
22nd : " Brougham and Denman sworn in the day before yesterday
as Attorney- and Solicitor-General to the Queen. Brougham, I hear,
wished to secure the profits without the inconveniences of the appoint-
ment, and offered not to assume it if Government would give him a
patent of precedence, but the Chancellor refused *\The Croker Papers,
i. 172-3].
24 THEi;CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. I.
is one subject which gives me some uneasiness in
the making of her will, the Queen wished to leave
some diamonds to Victorine, the child of Bergami, of
whom she was so fond. This was not liked by
Brougham and her other lawyers, so the bequest
does not appear in the will ; but the jewels are never-
theless to be conveyed to Victorine. This, you know,
is most delicate matter to be employed on her death-
bed in sending her jewels from Lady Anne Hamilton
and Lady Hood to Bergami's child appears to me
truly alarming. I mean, should it be known, and one
is sure it will be so, for Taylor had a letter from
Denison last night mentioning such a report, and
being quite horrified at it. On the other hand, when
I expressed the same sentiment to Brougham, he
thought nothing of it. His creed is that she was a
child-fancier: that Bergami's elevation was all owing
to her attachment to Victorine, and he says his con-
viction is strengthened every day of her entire inno-
cence as to Bergami. This, from Brougham, is a
great deal, because I think it is not going too far to
say that he absolutely hated her ; nor do I think her
love for her Attorney General was very great."
Henry Brougham, M.P., to Mr. Creevey.
"Aug. 14, 1821.
"DEAR C,
"I have seen Lushington and Wilde re-
peatedly. They are at this moment in negociation
with the Govt. ; or rather throwing up all concern
with the funeral on account of this indecent hurry.
Their ground is a clear one : they won't take charge
of it from Stade the port in Hanover to Brunswick
without knowing that arrangements are ready to
receive them. . . . The Govt., only wishing the speedy
embarkation, as they avow, for the sake of not delaying
the dinner at Dublin, insist on getting it on board as
quick as possible, and don't mind what happens after-
wards. ... I shall, I think, be satisfied with going to
Harwich with it, and not go, as I had intended, to
Brunswick."
i82i.] AN HONOURABLE EXECUTOR. 2$
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Cantley, Aug. i8th.
". . . Here is Brougham again. He has been at
Harwich, where he saw the body of the Queen
embarked about 3 o'clock on Thursday; and then
immediately came across the country, and, after
travelling all night, got here to dinner yesterday, and
proceeds to Durham to-night to join the circuit there.
I wish very much I had been at Harwich : according
to Brougham's account it must have been the most
touching spectacle that can be imagined the day
magnificently beautiful the sea as smooth as glass
our ofBcers by land and sea all full dressed soldiers
and sailors all behaving themselves with the most
touching solemnity the yards of the four ships of
war all manned the Royal Standard drooping over
the coffin and the Queen's attendants in the centre boat
every officer with his hat off the whole time minute
guns firing from the ships and shore, and thousands
of people on the beach sobbing put aloud. ... It was
as it should be and the only thing that was so during
the six and twenty years' connection of this unhappy
woman with this country. . . . The Queen appointed
as executors of her will Bagot,* the Minister of this
country to America, and Lord Clarendon, and she left
them all her papers sealed up. The other day Lord
Jersey received a letter from Lord Clarendon begging
him to come to him, which he did. He [Lord Claren-
don] then told him that he was going as executor to
open his [Lord Jersey's] mother's papers.t The seal
was then taken off, and letters from the Monarch to
his former sweetheart caught Jersey's eye in great
abundance. Lord Clarendon then proceeded to put
them all in the fire, saying he had merely wished Lord
Jersey to be present at their destruction, and as a
witness that they had never been seen by any one.
Very genteel, this, on Lord Clarendon's part to the
* Rt. Hon. Sir Charles Bagot.
t Frances, wife of the 4th Earl of Jersey. Her relations with the
Prince of Wales (afterwards George IV.) were notorious. She died
25th July, 1821.
26 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. I.
living Monarch and memory of his mistress, but
damned provoking to think that such capital materials
for the instruction and improvement of men and
womankind should be eternally lost ! Let me add to
the honor of Jersey, and indeed of his wife (for it was
her money, not his), that he had raised his mother's
jointure from 1100 per ann. to 3500, and that he has
paid at different times 6000 and 2000 in discharge
of her debts. . . .
"And now what do you think Brougham said to
me not an hour ago ? that if he had gone with the
Queen's body to Brunswick, it would have been going
too far it would have been over-acting his part ; ' it
being very well known that through the whole of this
business he had never been very much for the Queen ! '
Now upon my soul, this is quite true, and, being so,
did you ever know anything at all to equal it ?
"Brougham showed me a letter he has received
from Pauline,* from Italy, requiring his influence with
the Government to obtain permission for her to go
out to St. Helena to her brother Bonaparte. It
encloses a variety of medical and other reports, stating
his rapidly declining health, and that she wishes to
go out to him with all possible dispatch. Apropos
to this subject, Brougham and Lord Roslyn called on
Wilson t one day this week, and found Bertrand and
Montholon with him. . . . There are two fellows in
London from Talleyrand to negociate Bonaparte's
Memoires from them. This is believed to be their
object, and Lady Holland writes from Paris that
Talleyrand is cursedly alarmed about these said
memoires."
"Cantley, 2;th August, 1821.
". . . Lauderdale (who is here) tells me that when
the Ministers have any papers for the King to sign,
they write a letter to Bloomfield begging him to get
the King's signature, and Bloomfield again has to
solicit Du Pacjuier, the King's valet, to seize a favor-
able opportunity . . . but that, after all, the operation
is the most difficult possible to get accomplished.
* Napoleon's second sister, the Princess Borghese.
t Sir Robert Wilson.
i82i.] LORD LAUDERDALE. 2/
" The different opinions Lauderdale and I have of
late entertained makes no difference in his manner to
me. There is not an atom of anything artificial in
him, and he sat down to dinner yesterday with us four
in his green ribbon, just as he did with us at Brussells.
Apropos to his green ribbon : he told us that the day
the King gave it him, and almost immediately after, he
attended an appointment he had with Lord Bathurst
. . . so he took that opportunity of saying: 'His
Majesty, my lord, has just forced upon me the Knight-
hood of the Thistle.'' How?' replied Lord Bathurst
with the greatest surprise, 'who has made the vacancy?'
' I don't know anything about that,' says Lauderdale,
'but all I do know is that the King has just made four
of us ! ' . . . Then again, Lauderdale says when the
King knighted these four so unexpectedly to them
all, Melville, who was one, said : ' Has your Majesty
mentioned it to Lord Liverpool?' 'Not a word of it,
my good lord,' says old Prinney, ' it is not the least
necessary, I assure you.' To you and me, this was
very pretty humor, I think, and if Prinney never did
anything worse, I, for one, would most willingly
forgive him.* . . .
"Now for another of Lauderdale's stories. You
know his connection with the Duke of York and all
about him. He was executor, it seems, to the Duchess ;
so, before the poor woman was buried, the Minister
from the Elector of Hesse requested an audience of
Lauderdale, the object of which was to say that, as the
Duke no doubt would marry again, he had thought it
his duty to mention that the Elector, his master, had
a daughter whom he thought well qualified to be the
Duke's second wife, and, well-knowing Lauderdale's
great influence with the Duke, he had judged it right
to make this early application to him. About a week
after the Duchess's funeral, Lauderdale mentioned this
to the Duke, who immediately said : 'This is the second
application to me, for the King has communicated to
the his wishes that I should marry again ; but my mind
* It was, of course, contrary to constitutional custom j because,
albeit the Sovereign is the Fountain of Honour, Ministers are the
recognised channels through which such honours flow ; and such
channels do not usually serve to irrigate the Opposition.
28 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. I.
is quite made up to do no such thing, and so I have
given the King to understand.'
" Not so, however, our dear Prinney. His mind
is clearly made up, according to Lauderdale, to have
another wife, and all his family are of that opinion.
He goes straight for Hanover and Vienna after his
Irish trip, so probably he will pick up something
before his return at Xmas. . . ."
" Cantley, Sept. 3rd.
". . . Lauderdale left us on Wednesday. Mrs.
Taylor and myself had each of us a good deal of
conversation with him separately about Brougham.
To me, he avowed his old opinion as to Brougham's
insanity, and renewed his old question whether ' I
had any doubt' on the subject. He told me all that
Brougham himself had told me as to him (B.) being
the first person to propose the divorce, and he added
.that Lord Hutchinson had no more to do with the
concern than he, Lauderdale, had that Brougham
persuaded him [Lord Hutchinson] to go over to St.
Omer's merely as a friend, and then decoyed him into
making the proposal, upon the ground that the Queen
would suspect any proposition that came from him B.
. . . I said to Lauderdale 'How could Hutchinson
under such circumstances practice the forbearance he
did?' ' Because,' said L., 'he must have fought
Brougham and ruined him for ever, and he gene-
rously preferred sacrificing his own feelings and
himself. It was a question much agitated in the
family. Kit Hutchinson * was for war with Brougham,
but Lord H. would let nothing be done. Had ever
man such an escape as Brougham ? To Mrs. Taylor,
Lauderdale said that he (L.) was the first man
Brougham spoke to in the spring of 1819 on the
subject of the divorce, desiring him to forward the
proposal either to the King or the Government, but
that he (L.) positively refused, asking B. at the same
time if it was not highly indelicate for such a proposal
to come from him. Upon the whole, I am quite con-
vinced that Brougham's intention was to sacrifice the
* The Hon. Christopher H. Hutchinson, M.P. for Cork, younger
brother of Lord Hutchinson.
i82i.] GEORGE IV. IN IRELAND. 29
Queen from motives either of personal ambition or
revenge ; and I am still more convinced now of what
I always suspected that, when he entered the House
of Commons on the 7th of June (I think it was) last
year on his return from St. Omer's, his fixed intention
was to sacrifice her that night by renouncing all
further support of her, and that he was prevented
from doing so by.finding Bennett and myself taking
the part we did on that occasion. ... I enclose you
a copy I have taken of a letter from Lady Glengall
to Mrs. Taylor very curious and entertaining. You
know she has been Lady Conyngham's ' nearest and
dearest' in former times. . . . You know she is an
Irishwoman a niece of old Lord Clare was at the
head of Dublin in the days of all its polished and
profligate society ; and nothing can be so natural,
l think, as her criticism upon it in its present degraded
state. In her days, Conyngham was in poverty, and
Lady Conyngham owed her first introduction to
Dublin high life exclusively to Lady Glengall. . . ."
Countess of Glengall to Mrs. Taylor.
" Dublin, Aug. 27th.
"Now then, to perform my promise ! but it would
require the wit of a Creevey, the pen of a Pindar *
or the pencil of a Gilray to do justice to the scene.
Bedlam broke loose would be tame and rational to
the madness of this whole nation ; for persons of all
ranks are collected from all parts to add their madness
and loyalty to that of this metropolis. The first
sight that struck my eyes on landing out of the steam-
boat was the print of his sacred feet cut in the stone,
well turned in, thus J J \ \ . I proceeded a little
further, when a triumphal arch struck my astonished
eyes. It was worthy and only fit for Jack-in-the-
* I.e. John Wolcott, who, under the pseudonym of " Peter Pindar,"
wrote The Lousiad, and a great quantity of occasional, satirical, and
often scurrilous poems.
30 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. I.
Green on a May Day. Rags hung from every window
which are called flags, but which would be taken by
any one in their senses for the sign of a dyer's shop.
Not one human being in mourning, and when I
appeared in sables at a ball, and was asked who I
mourned for, I was called a Radical ! i He was dead
DRUNK when he landed on the i2th of August his
own birthday. They drank all the wine on board the
steamboat, and then applied to the whiskey punch,
till he could hardly stand. This accounts for his
eloquent speech to Lord Kingston, which you may
have seen in the papers : * You blackwhiskered
rascal ! ' etc. They clawed and pawed him all over,
and called him his Ethereal Majesty. . . . They
absolutely kiss his knees and feet, and he is enchanted
with it all. Alas ! poor degraded country ! I cannot
but blush for you. Think of their having applauded
Castlereagh ! It is exactly as if a murderer were
brought to view the body of his victim, and that he
was to be applauded for his crime ; for Dublin is but
the mangled corpse of what it was ; and he the man
whom they huzza the cut-throat who brought it to
its present condition.^
" Lady C[onyngham] shows but little in public.
She lives at the King's own lodge at the Phoenix Park.
He returned from Slane * this day and report says he
is to pay another visit there. It is much talked of by
all ranks, and many witticisms are dealt forth. . . .
Ye Gods ! how they will fight next week. The persons
who are most active and forward in managing the
fetes will be undone, as the money subscribed cannot
be collected. It is a melancholy farce from beginning
to end, and they have voted him a palace ! In short,
palaces in the air and drunkards under the table are
the order of the day. Ireland, I am ashamed of you !
He never can stand it : his head must go. Indeed,
were I to tell you half, you would say that it was
already going, but in all in which she is concerned, I
wish to be silent. . . . Far from doing good to this
wretched country, his visit is making people spend
money which they don't possess. . . . Nothing is so
indecent as the total neglect of mourning. He
* The Marquess Conyngham's seat in county Meath.
i82i.] END OF THE ROYAL VISIT. 31
appeared at his private levee, the day after his
arrival, in a bright blue coat with the brightest
yellow buttons * ...
" Ever yours,
" E. GLENGALL."
" Cahir, Sept. loth.
". . . The King I find has cut his voyage short by
landing at Milford. He was strongly advised to go
quietly to Holyhead, but Sir Watkinf had refused to
receive a certain part of his cortege, saying that his
wife did not know the ladies. ... I never saw Lady C.
in higher spirits or beauty. She went little into public,
and the King hurried over all the sights, as he could
not bear to be away from her five minutes.{ Old Sid-
mouth was never sober : the newspapers are perfectly
accurate on this, as on many other occasions. . . . The
Catholics think they are quite triumphant and sure
of their emancipation, whilst his Majesty's nods and
winks to the High Churchmen have quite set their
friends at ease with regard to his intentions. It is
humbug!! and on every side; but the Duke of Leinster,
Lord Meath and the Irish Whigs are become quite as
well educated courtiers as your Devonshires and
others that shall be nameless. .
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Cantley, 13* Sept., 1821.
". . . My little friend, the youngest Copley, can
never resist touching up John George [Lambton] for
* "Blom field tells me that the King intends to wear mourning at
his private levee, and crape round his arm for the rest of the time. It
was not easy, I learn, to persuade him to this" {The Croker Papers,
i. 201]. Mr. Croker was present with the King in Dublin.
t Sir W. W. Wynn, 4th baronet of Wynnstay.
% " The King went minutely through the Museum and other parts
of the interior. Whether this tired him or that he was too impatient
to get to Slane, I cannot tell perhaps both ; but he did not appear
on the lawn for above four minutes. . . . Great disappointment, and
some criticism, which five minutes more would have prevented" [The
Croker Papers, i. 206].
Afterwards married to 3rd Earl Grey.
32 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. I.
one of his sublimities. The first day he was here he
said he considered 40,0. a year a moderate income
such a one as a man might jog on with. This was
when we were alone ; but it was too good to be lost,
and . . . yesterday at breakfast, when we were dis-
cussing Lord Harewood's fortune, little Cop said with
becoming gravity ' she believed it exceeded a couple
of jogs."*
On i4th August, when Queen Caroline's body was
being removed for embarkation at Colchester, a serious
riot took place in the streets, during which two persons
lost their lives. At the coroner's inquest upon the
bodies, the jury returned a verdict of wilful murder
against some of the Life Guards.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Gosforth House, 28th Sept., 1821.
". . . As you are all soldiers in your hearts, I send
you a letter I got from Sefton last Sunday, with his
opinion touching the Life Guards. By the by, Lambton
sent up 500 from Cantley as his subscription for buy-
ing Wilson an annuity equal to the pay he has lost. . . ."
Earl of Sefton to Mr. Creevey, enclosed in above.
" Paris, 1 3th Sept., 1821.
". . . Let me know what you are at. I take it for
granted you are red hot against the Life Guards ; if
so, I don't agree with you ; and if I had followed my
inclination, I should have subscribed for them. I
think they are always infamously treated by the mob,
and are always much too forbearing ; but never so
much as on the recent occasion. As for the Govern-
ment, they ought to be impaled, and I hope they will.
What will become of Brougham's silk gown ? . . . I
hear the Whigs have great hopes of coming in. I
sincerely hope they will be disappointed. . . .
" Yours ever,
" SEFTON."
* Mr. Lambton, created Earl of Durham in 1833, henceforward
appears in these letters as " King Jog."
( 33 )
CHAPTER II.
1822.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Brooks's, Feby. 8th, 1822.
". . . I dine at Sefton's again to-day. Did I tell
you that Albemarle is to be married on Monday to
'Charlotte' Hunlock?* Such is the case. The lady
is 45, which is all very well if he must be married.
" I2th Feb.
"... I dined with my lord and my lady and the
young ladies at i before 4, and we all agreed it was
much the best hour to dine at. We were in the house
by 10 minutes after 5, just as Brougham got up, and
of course I heard every word of his speech, and of
Castlereagh's answer to him.f It is the fashion to
praise Brougham's speech more than it deserves at
least in my opinion. It was free from faults, I admit,
or very nearly so ; and that I think was its principal
merit. Castlereagh's was an impudent, empty answer,
clearly showing the monstrous' embarrassments the
Ministers are under, as to managing both their pecu-
niary resources and their House of Commons. The
division was a very great one under all the circum-
stances a most extraordinary one. The effect of the
motion, if carried, was to take off 6 or 7 millions of
taxes at once. . . . Against this sweeping motion the
* The 3rd Earl of Albemarle [1772-1849]. Married his second
wife, Miss Charlotte Hunloke, nth February, 1822.
t Brougham's motion was upon the distressed state of the country,
and for a reduction of taxation.
VOL. II. D
34 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. II.
Government could only produce 212 votes, and for it
were found such men as Davenport M.P. for Cheshire,
Walter Burrell and Curtis members for Sussex, John
Fane for Oxfordshire, Lawley for Warwickshire, Sir
John Boughey for Staffordshire, and a good many
Tory members for boroughs. Tierney thought the
motion too strong, and would not and did not vote,
and we had 21 of our men shut out Lambton with a
dinner at his own house, Bennett, Cavendishes and
others. Tom Dundas, Chaloner and Ramsden, who
had all come up from Yorkshire on purpose, were in
the same scrape; Lord John Russell and others the
same."
" London, i6th Feby.
". . . I dined at Sefton's with the ladies, Brougham
and Ferguson before four, and was in the House some
time before Castlereagh began; and when he did turn
off, such hash was never delivered by man. The folly
of him his speech as a composition in its attempt at
style and ornament and figures, and in its real vulgarity,
bombast and folly, was such as, coming from a man of
his order, with 30 years' parliamentary experience and
with an audience quite at his devotion, was such as I
say amounted to a perfect miracle. To be sure our
Brougham as a rival artist with him in talent and
composition, play'd the devil with him, and made a
great display. ... I thought I should have died with
laughing when Castlereagh spoke gravely and hand-
somely of the encreased cleanliness of the country
from the encreased excise revenue of soap. . . ."
" Brooks's, Feby. 28th.
"My benefit went off last night as well as possible.*
The ' front row ' of course could not attend, so I went
down and occupied it with myself and my books,
with Folkestone on one side of me and Bennet on the
other. I disported myself for upwards of an hour
with Bankes, Finance Committees and ' high and
efficient ' public men. . . . Our lads were in extacies,
* It was a motion to curtail the powers of the Government under
the Civil Offices Pensions Act of 1817. Creevey's speech occupies nine
pages of Hansard.
1822.] CREEVEY'S ACTIVITY. 35
and kept shouting and cheering me as I went on, with
the greatest perseverance. Brougham and Sefton
were amongst my bottle holders in the front row, and
in common with all our people complimented me
hugely. . . . Petty asked me how Hume came off
last night. Apropos to Hume, never was a villain
more compleatly defeated than Croker,* and so it is
admitted on all hands, so that our Joe is raised again
to the highest pinnacle of fame for his accuracy and
arithmetic. . . . Here is Grey, publickly damning the
newspapers for reporting my speech so badly, but he
has ' seen enough to satisfy himself it must have been
very good.' "
"March i$th.
". . . I made a very good speech (altho' you will
find little trace of it in the newspapers), and rolled
the new Buckingham Board of Controul about to
their heart's content, and to the universal satisfaction
of the House. Tierney of course betrayed me by his
hollow support, and then I had all the weight of
Canning's jokes to sustain, evidently prepared and
fired upon me in the successive, and of course suc-
cessful, peals. ... I must, or ought to, regret very
much that I let Canning off so easily ; because, to do
the House justice, they gave me perfectly fair play,
and when I fired into the 'Idle Ambassador' at Lisbon,
I had him dead beat. He dropt his head into his
chest, and evidently skulked from what he thought
might come. ... It was a great, and perhaps the only
opportunity of shewing up the Joker's life and what
it has all ended in banishment to India from want of
honesty. ... I think I shall have full measure of
these bridal visits. I dine at Ly. Anson's to-day, on
Sunday at McDonald's, on Thursday with the young
people at the Duke of Norfolk's, to-morrow with the
Whigs at Ridley's."
Brooks's, i6th March.
" I can't get the better of my chagrin at not having
done myself justice upon Canning the other night. . . .
* A dispute between Joseph Hume and J. W. Croker, Secretary to
the Admiralty, upon the Navy Estimates.
36 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. II.
1 dined at Ly. Anson's yesterday. We had Coke * and
Ly. Anne, Miss Coke, Lord and Ly. Rosebery,
Digby and Lady Andover,f Hinchcliffe (Ld. Crewe's
nephew), Mr. Lloyd and myself. I sat next Lady
Anson by her desire. I was introduced both by her
and Coke to Lady Anne, who, to my mind, has neither
beauty nor elegance nor manners to recommend her,
but if ever I saw a deep one, it is her. She was per-
fectly at her ease. On the other hand, I never saw
more perfect behaviour than that of all the ladies of
the family. Miss Coke I thought was low. We had,
however, a very merry dinner, and I went upstairs
and staid till eleven. I kept up a kind of running fire
upon Coke, and Ly. Anson kept her hand upon my
arm all the time, pinching me and keeping me in check
when she thought I was going too far. ... I was at
Whitehall last night Ly. Ossulston, Miss Lemon,
Ferguson, Sefton and Vaughan, and then I came here
(Brooks's), and was fool enough to sit looking over a
whist table till between 4 and 5 this morning. Sefton
and I walked away together, he having won by the
evening a thousand and twenty pounds."
" April 26th.
". . . Another event of yesterday was Denman
being elected Common Serjeant by the Common
Council of London. The Queen's counsel, who on
that occasion compared her husband to Nero ! . . .
This was homage to Denman's honesty. I don't
think Brougham could have succeeded, superior as
he is to the other in talent."
" Brooks's, April 27th.
" I had a long conversation here to-day with
Thanet.} I must say, ' altho' ' it might appear to any-
body but you parasitical in his member to say so, that
in agreeableness and honesty he surpasses all his
* Thomas Coke of Holkham, M.P. for Norfolk, created Earl ot
Leicester in 1837. Married his second wife, Lady Anne Keppel, on
26th February, 1822, mother of the present earl.
t Viscountess Andover, widow of the i$th Earl of Suffolk's eldest
son, married in 1806 Admiral Sir Henry Digby.
\ Sackville Tufton, Qth Earl of Thanet.
I822.J IN THE WHIG CAMP. 37
order easy. To-morrow I dine with Sefton. Here
is little Derby sitting by my side very, very old in
looks, but as merry as ever. Here is Brougham, top,
but in a most disgruntled, unsatisfactory state. His
manners to me are barely civil, but I take no notice,
presuming that time will bring him round, and if it
don't I can't help it."
" Brooks's, 3rd May.
". . . Your philosophy is well and solidly
grounded. These are feeble grievances as long as
you are all well : nay, I might add, what are griev-
ances like these to those of Lord and Ly. Salisbury
the one, the descendant of old Cecil and aged 80
years the other, the head and ornament and
patroness of the beau monde of London for the last
40 years, and yet to have 2000 per ann. taken out
of their pockets at last by a rude and virtuous House
of Commons. ... If this distress will but pinch
these dirty, shabby landed voters two sessions more,
there's no saying at what degree of purity we shall
arrive. Meantime, all your place and pension holders
must shake in their shoes. . . . Here is Grey in such
roaring spirits, and so affable that I should not be
surprised at the offer of a place from him when he
comes in, which I am sure he now thinks must be
very soon indeed. But Abercromby for my money :
he told me last night it was all over with the present
men."
"7th May.
". . . Brougham was sitting at Holland House on
Sunday morning with my lady and various others,
when a slight thunderstorm came on, and, according
to invariable custom, my lady bolted. Presently the
page summoned Brougham and conducted him to
my lady's bedchamber, where he found all the
windows closed and the candles lighted. She said
she did not like to be left alone, so she pressed him
to stay and dine, but upon his saying he must keep
his engagement at Ridley's 'Ah,' said she, 'you will
meet Creevey there, I suppose. What can be the
reason he never comes near me ? ' We both of us
laughed heartily at her conscience and fears thus
38 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. II.
smiting her when she thought herself in danger ; so
I must leave her to another storm or two before I
go to her."
" Denbies, 28th May.
". . . Mrs. Taylor says Lady Glengall told her
last night she had not a single ticket left for the
Hibernian ball out of her 100. . . . You know the
original plan was to have had the affair at Willis's
Rooms. The leading, female managers being Lady
Hertford and Down Richmond, &c., &c. The block-
heads, it seems, made up their list of patronesses
without including Ly. Conyngham in the number,
and she was not a lady to submit quietly to such an.
insult ; so she started this opposition ball at the
Opera House, with the King as patron, and all the
same ladies as patronesses that were on the other
list, except Lady Hertford and Down Richmond. The
former is incensed at this practical retort from her
successful rival * beyond all bounds. ... If you
wish for anything in the public line, let me tell you
that on Thursday or Friday last, Castlereagh, being
in Hyde Park on horseback, met Tavistock, and tho'
he has very slight acquaintance with him, he turned
his horse about, and lost no time in unbosoming him-
self upon the state of public affairs. He described
the torment of carrying on the Government under
the general circumstances of the country as beyond
endurance, and said if he could once get out of it, no
power on earth should get him into it again." t
"Brooks's, 1 5th June.
". . . As it is not very often I am in the literary
line, let me boast of having read three hours this
morning, being very much delighted with a new book
I have got. It is the poems and other pieces of Sir
Charles Hanbury-Williams, grandfather to the present
Lord Essex. . . . As a wit and poet, I assure you the
Welchman is of high order. . . . Then, what with
text and notes, you have the whole town before you
male and female political and domestic during
30 years of the last century. . . ."
* In the affections of the King.
t Within a few weeks of this Castlereagh died by his own hand.
1822.] "A VOICE FROM ST. HELENA." 39
" i8th June.
". . . On Saturday I dined at John Williams's in
Lincoln's Inn, being carried there by Lambton in his
coach, protected by two footmen. Sunday I dined at
Cowper's with Sefton, Jerseys, Ossulston, George
Lambs, Carnarvon, Kensington and Wm. Lambe. . . .
I am sorry to find that my friend Sir Charles Hy.
Williams has some great objections to him on the
score of delicacy."
"Cantley, July 21.
". . . Well, I wonder whether you will be any-
thing like as much interested by O'Meara and Buona-
parte as I have been and am still. I can think of
nothing else. ... I am perfectly satisfied Buonaparte
said all that O'Meara puts into his mouth. Whether
that is all true is another thing. . . . There are parts
of the conversations, too, which are quite confirmed,
or capable of being so, by evidence. For instance
when O'Meara lent him the Edinburgh Review, just
come out, with a sketch of his life in it, he expresses
to O'Meara the greatest surprise at some facts there
stated, as he says he is sure they are, or were, only
known to his own family. It turns out the article in
question was written by Allen, and the facts referred
to were told to Lord Holland when at Rome by
Cardinal Fesch. Again ; the conversations which
-Nap states to have taken place between him and
young de Stael, the latter says are perfectly correct
as to the periods and the subject of them, tho' he
denies some of Nap's statements in them to be true.
It is very difficult to predict what is to cause any
permanent impression or effect, but, judging from
my own feelings, I shd. say these conversations of
Nap's are calculated to produce a very strong and
very universal one upon very many subjects, and
upon most people in future times, as well as our
own." *
* Lord Rosebery's is the latest hand that has dealt with the
prisoner of St. Helena, and that with a very sympathetic touch. Of
O'Meara's book he says "A Voice from St. Helena, by O'Meara,
is perhaps the most popular of all the Longwood narratives, and few
40 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. II.
The following extract from a letter by Lord
Derby refers to the candidature of his grandson,
afterwards fourteenth earl, for Stockbridge, and
marks the first public appearance of the future
"Rupert of debate."
" Knowsley, loth August, 1822.
" MY DEAR CREEVEY,
" I last night received your very kind letter
and take the earliest opportunity of thanking you for
the communication of Ld. Sefton's letter concerning
Edward Stanley's debut at Stockbridge. It is most
gratifying to me to hear him so well spoken of. ...
You could not have told me anything that was more
acceptable to me, and I feel most grateful to you for
this attention. . . . Speaking in Parliament is, how-
ever, so very different thing from speaking on the
hustings or at an election dinner that I shall still
be very anxious for his success in the house, and I
earnestly hope that he may not be in too great a
hurry to begin. . . ."
Lord Castlereagh, who succeeded his father as
second Marquess of Londonderry on 8th April, 1821,
but who will always be best recognised under the
title which he raised to distinction, perished by his
own hand on i3th August, 1822. The circumstances
publications ever excited so great a sensation as this worthless book.
Worthless it undoubtedly is, in spite of its spirited flow and the vivid
interest of the dialogue. No one can read the volumes of Forsyth, in
which are printed the letters of O'Meara to Lowe, or the handy and
readable treatise in which Mr. Seaton distils the essence of these
volumes, and retain any confidence in O'Meara's facts. He may
sometimes report conversations correctly, or he may not, but in any
doubtful case it is impossible to accept his evidence. He was the
confidential servant of Napoleon ; unknown to Napoleon, he was
the confidential agent of Lowe ; and behind both their backs he was
the confidential informant of the British Government, for whom he
wrote letters to be circulated to the Cabinet. Testimony from such
a source is obviously tainted" {Napoleon: the Last Phase, 1900].
1822.] THE FREQUENCY OF SUICIDE. 41
are too well known to require further reference, ex-
cept to note that the different causes mentioned by
Mr. Creevey to account for this great statesman's
derangement are wide of the mark. Castlereagh had
submitted to a peculiarly nefarious system of black-
mail by some villains who had entrapped him, and
the agony of apprehension resulting from this, act-
ing upon a mind perhaps overstrained in the public
service during a long and peculiarly agitated period,
brought about the disaster.
Suicide was of painfully frequent occurrence
among public men in the first half of the nineteenth
century. Paull, the enemy of Marquess Wellesley,
in 1808 Samuel Whitbread in 1815 Sir Samuel
Romilly in 1818 and now Castlereagh in 1822, are
among the figures who disappeared in this melan-
choly manner from the stage depicted in these
papers. It may be idle to speculate upon the source
of a tendency which prevails no longer among our
legislators ; but those who have had occasion to
peruse the memoirs and study the social habits of the
period under consideration, cannot have overlooked
two agencies which must have sapped all but the
most robust constitutions. One was the habit of hard
drinking, encouraged by all who could afford to give
hospitality, in emulation of the example furnished by
those who set the fashions. The other was the
constant recourse to drastic physic and excessive
bleeding to remedy the disorders induced by high
living. If these were not contributing causes to
suicide, their discontinuance at all events coincides
with a marked reduction in its frequency.
It had been agreeable to trace in Creevey's corre-
spondence some signs of large-hearted regret for the
42 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. II.
removal of one who had borne so great a part in the
national history, and had so long led the House of
Commons. The spirit of party seems to have been
too acrid at the time to admit any infusion of gentler
sentiment towards a fallen foe.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Cantley, 14 Aug., 1822.
". . . And now for Castlereagh what an extra-
ordinary event ! I take for granted his self-destruction
has been one of the common cases of pressure upon
the brain which produces irritability, ending in de-
rangement. Taylor will have it, and Ferguson also
believes in this nonsense, that Bonaparte's charge
against him as told by O'Meara, of his having bagged
part of Nap's money has had something to do with it.
Do you remember my telling you of a conversation
Castlereagh forced upon Tavistock in the Park in the
spring about his anxiety to quit office and politicks
and Parliament ? * He did the same thing to Ferguson
one of the last nights at Almack's, stating his great
fatigue and exhaustion and anxiety to be done with
the concern altogether just as poor Whitbread did
to me both by letter and conversation two years
before his death. It is a curious thing to recollect
that one night at Paris in 1815 when I was at a
ball at the Beau's, Castlereagh came up to me and
asked if I had not been greatly surprised at Whit-
bread's death, and the manner of it, and then we had
a good deal of conversation on the subject.
" Death settles a fellow's reputation in no time, and
now that Castlereagh is dead, I defy any human being
to discover a single feature of his character that can
stand a moment's criticism. By experience, good
manners and great courage, he managed a corrupt
House of Commons pretty well, with some address.
This te the whole of his intellectual merit. He had
a limited understanding and no knowledge, and his
* See p. 38.
J (>rd ()((,}/ /crctHf /i .
i822.] CASTLEREAGH'S DEATH. 43
whole life was spent in an avowed, cold-blooded con-
tempt of every honest public principle. A worse, or,
if he had had talent and ambition for it, a more
dangerous, public man never existed. However, he
was one of Nap's imbeciles, and as the said Nap over
and over again observes, posterity will do them both
justice. . . .
" Now, what will come next ? Will the perfidious
Canning forego his Indian prospects stay with his
wife and (daughter to succeed Castlereagh. I think
not. I think the former enmity between him and
Eldon has been too publickly exposed and encreased,
by their late sparring match upon the Marriage Act,
to let them come together. Then I think the Beau
will claim and have the Foreign Office, and Peel will
claim to lead in the House of Commons. Mais-nous
verrons ! I suppose the King will approve the step
Lord Castlereagh has taken, as he was Lady Conyng-
ham's abhorrence, and Lady Castlereagh would not
speak to Lady Conyngham.
" What a striking thing this death of Castlereagh
is under all the circumstances ! This time last year
he was revelling with his Sovereign in the country he
had betrayed and sold, over the corpse of the Queen
whom he had so inhumanly exposed and murdered.
Ah, Prinney, Prinney ! your time will come, my boy ;
and then your fame and reputation will have fair play
top. . . . Taylor had a letter from Denison yesterday
with a good deal of London jaw in it, and some of it
is curious enough considering the quarter it comes
from.* Bloomfield is to go to Stockholm as our
minister! and then Denison says, had he not been
discharged, the Privy Purse was in such a state,
Parliament must have been applied to. Bloomfield's
defence is, the Privy Purse was exhausted by pay-
ing for diamonds for Lady Conyngham ; and all
these honors and emoluments showered on him
by the Crown are given him to make him hold his
tongue. . . ."
* William Joseph Denison of Denbies, M.P., was brother to the
Marchioness of Conyngham.
44 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. II,
Henry Brougham, M.P., to Mr. Creevey.
" Carlisle, iQth Aug.
". . . Well ! this is really a considerable event in
point 'of size. Put all their other men together in
one scale, and poor Castlereagh in the other single,
he plainly weighed them down. . . . One can't help
feeling a little for him, after being pitted against him
for several years pretty regularly. It is like losing a
connection suddenly. Also, he was a gentleman, and
the only one amongst them. But there are material
advantages ; and among them I reckon not the least
that our excellent friends that are gone, and for
whom we felt so bitterly, are, as it were, revenged.
I mean Whitbread and Romilly.* I cannot describe
to you how this idea has filled my mind these last 24
hours. No mortal will now presume to whisper a
word against these great and good men I mean in
our time ; for there never was any chance of their
doing so in after time. All we wanted was a gag for
the present, and God knows here we have it in
absolute perfection. Hitherto we were indulged with
the enemy's silence, but it was by a sort of forbear-
ance ; now we have it of right.
As for the question of his successor who cares
one farthing about it ? We know the enemy is in-
calculably damaged anyhow. Let that suffice ! He
has left behind him the choice between the Merry
Andrew and the Spinning Jenny ; f and the Court
the vile, stupid, absurd, superannuated Court may
make its election and welcome. The damaged Prig
or the damaged Joker signifies very little. I rather
agree with Taylor that they will take Wellington for
the Secy, of State, and that Canning will still go to
India. ... I rather think I shd. prefer the very
vulnerable Canning remaining at home. By the way,
I hope to live to see medical men like Bankhead tried
for manslaughter, at the least. What think you of
removing things from poor C., and then leaving him
alone, even for 5 minutes?. . ."
* Both of whom committed suicide.
t Canning and Peel.
1822.] GEORGE IV. IN SCOTLAND. 45
George IV. made a royal progress to Edinburgh in
August of this year. Thanks, in great measure, to
the influence of Sir Walter Scott, his Majesty was
received in the northern capital with far more respect
and enthusiasm than he had been accustomed of late
to experience in the south.
From Stuart to Mr. Ferguson of Raith.
" Edinburgh, lyth Aug., 1822.
"... I send you a Scotsman [newspaper], the
Account in which as to the King is pretty correct.
He has been received by the people in the most
respectful and orderly manner. All have turn'd out
in their holiday cloaths, and in numbers which are
hardly credible. ... I have been much disappointed
to-day with the levee. . . . There was nothing in-
teresting or imposing about it. A vast crowd, with
barely standing room for two hours : afterwards
moved to the Presence Chamber, where no one was
for a minute. . . . The King did not seem to move a
muscle, and we all asked each other, when we came
away, what had made us take so much trouble. He
was dressed in tartan. Sir Walter Scott has ridiculously
made us appear to be a nation of Highlanders, and
the bagpipe and the tartan are the order of the day."
Henry Brougham, M.P., to Mr. Creevey.
" Lancaster, 2ist August.
". . . I dined the day before yesterday at old
Bolton's circuit dinner, and found Canning there. I
had a good deal of talk with him about Castlereagh,
and he spoke very properly. Neither of us canted
about the matter ; but he shewed the right degree of
feeling. I don't think he is going to be sent for, and
am pretty sure he will go to India If they are kind
enough to do so excellent a thing as try it with the
low, miserable Spinning Jenny,* thank God for it !
* Peel.
46 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. II.
Only lose no time in reminding Barnes, as from your-
self, of the magazine of ammunition for attacking him
the moment the arrangement is made I mean, in the
debates of 1819, when I laid it into him in a merciless
manner. It is pretty correctly given, and is a fund of
attack ; the rather that the fellow was caught in the
fact of the very lowest trick ever man attempted. It
was like having his hand seized while picking a
pocket.
" Yours ever.
"H. B."
" Lancaster, 22nd Aug.
"... I hope you are sufficiently angry at the cursed
cant of the liberal daily papers about Castlereagh. I
ought rather to say their childish giving vent to feel-
ings, and bepraising C. absurdly and falsely, merely
because he is dead. Such stuff takes away all authority
from the press, and makes attacks really of no kind of
importance. If they go on upon all subjects upon the
mere impulse of the moment, they will soon cease to
be any more attended to than a parcel of infants or
lunatics."
Brougham, 24 Aug.
"DEAR C,
" I long to know your speculations upon these
times, as I have heard nothing from you since we
were bereaved of our Castlereagh; therefore I can't
be sure that you have survived that event. . . . Don't
believe in Canning's coming in. He may be unwise
enough to desire it, and Jenky * may try for him, and
it may go so far as a kind of offer ; but nothing short
of the event will ever convince me of his being in
the Cabinet with these men and with this King. . . ."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Cantley, Aug. 24, 1822.
"This Royalty is certainly the very devil. . . .
Sussex arrived on Wednesday between 3 and 4,
himself in a very low barouche and pair, and a
* Lord Liverpool.
i822.] THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. 47
thundering coach behind with four horses his staff,
Stephenson, a son of Albemarle's, a Gore, servants,
groom of the chambers, a black valet-de-chambre and
two footmen, clad en militaires. ... It has been my
good fortune during his stay here to be considered by
all parties as his fittest companion. Accordingly, I
had a tete-a-tete with him of nearly four hours together
on Thursday, and of 2j yesterday, and my health has
really been greatly impaired by this calamity. He has
every appearance of being a good-natured man, is very
civil and obliging, never says anything that makes
you think him foolish; but there is a nothingness in
him that is to the last degree fatiguing. . . . Althorpe
was here yesterday, and told me there had certainly
been rejoicings in the neighbouring market towns
upon Castlereagh's death. . . .
" Robert Ferguson * tells me that he has seen a
great deal of Major Poppleton lately, the officer of the
53rd who was stationed about Bonaparte. Bob says
Poppleton is quite as devoted to Nap, and as adverse
to Lowe as O'Meara, and that all the officers of the
53rd were the same. . . . Poppleton has a beautiful
snuff-box poor Nap gave him. What would I give to
have such a keepsake from him, and, above all, to have
seen him. O'Meara has a tooth of his he drew, which
he always carries about with him. . . ."
" Cantley, Aug. 29.
". . . Did I tell you that our Sussex is to come back
to us for Doncaster races? . . . Miss Poyntz has
refused Lord Gower,f as has Miss Bould of Bould
Hall Lord Clare. . . . Miss Seymour (Minny) when
she landed at Calais had O'Meara's book in her hand,
which, when recognised, was instantly seized by the
police. What a specimen of a great nation and the
proud situation of the Bourbons ! However, Sussex
told me the book was already translated into both
French and German, so the Hereditary Asses of all
nations won't escape, with all their precautions. Did
I tell you that Sussex says none of his sisters will
* Son of General [Sir] Ronald Ferguson, M.P., originally in the
53rd Foot, succeeded his brother in 1840 as laird of Raith.
t Afterwards 2nd Duke of Sutherland.
48 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. II.
touch Ly. Conyngham, which gives mortal offence to
Prinney ; nor can their justification be very agreeable,
for they say, after his insisting upon their not speak-
ing to the late Queen, how can they do so to Ly. C.?
" Cantley, Sept. 3.
". . . Maria Copley says Miss Canning is quite
broken-hearted at going [to India]. She says that
her forte is her memory, as proof of which she gave
me two instances. One was, getting by heart in a
few hours the 39 Articles : the other was, in a some-
what longer time, repeating the whole of a Times
newspaper, from beginning to end, advertisements
and all. Maria says Lady Charlotte Greville, having
dined at the Pavilion not long ago, and having sat
next the King, describes him as grown the greatest
bore she ever saw. . . . His irritability of temper, they
say, is become quite intolerable ; his prevailing subject
of complaint is his old age, at which he feels, of course,
the most royal indignation. . . ."
" Cantley, Sept. 7, 1822.
". . . Maria Copley has read me a letter from Lady
Francis Leveson from her new and noble parents'
Cock Robin Castle,* at the other extremity of Scot-
land. It is really not amiss as an exhibition of the
tip-top noble domestic. Lord Francis f had left
Edinbro immediately upon Lord Stafford's J illness,
and Lady Francis followed immediately to pass a
month there [at Dunrobin]. She says ' Figure to
yourself my introduction into a room about 12 feet
square, the company being Lord and Lady Stafford,
Lord and Lady Wilton, Lord and Lady Elizabeth
Belgrave, Lord and Lady Surrey, and Lord Gower.
A table in the midst of the room, highly polished, I
admit, but not a book nor a piece of work to be seen :
the company formed into a circle, and every man and
his wife sitting next each other, after the manner of
the Marquis of Newcastle's family in the picture in his
book.'" J
* Dunrobin.
t Afterwards created Earl of Ellesmere.
J Created Duke of Sutherland in 1833.
i822.] CANNING ASSUMES THE LEAD. 49
"Cantley, Sept. isth, 1822.
". . . Amongst other people whom I saw at the
ball was Tom Smith the hunter and M.P.* Upon
my saying Canning had made a bad thing of it in
bringing in no one with him, he said it was quite bad
enough to have him brought in without any other of
his set, and that he (Smith) was of FalstafFs opinion
that Canning was as rotten as a stewed prune, or
words to that effect.
Henry Brougham, M.P., to Mr. Creevey.
11 Brougham, 14 Sept.
" DEAR C,
" Many thanks for your letter. I had, how-
ever, yesterday heard (via Bowpod where the Hollands
are) that all was settled. Canning succeeds to Foreign
Office, lead of the House, &c. in short, all of Castle-
reagh except his good judgt, good manners and bad
English. . . . Now don't still call me obstinate if I
withhold my belief till I see them fairly under weigh.
I know the Chancellor's t tricks : he is ' the most subtle
of all the beasts.' . . . The Beau J is still very unwell,
and was cupped again on Thursday night."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Cantley, Sept. 19.
". . . What a victim of temper poor Lambton is !
He has been complaining to me of his unhappiness. I
observed in reply that he had a good many of the
articles men in general considered as tolerable
ingredients for promoting happiness ; to which he
replied: 'I don't know that; but I do know that it's
damned hard that a man with 80,000 a year can't
sleep!' He has not much merit but his looks, his
property and his voice and power of publick speaking.
He has not the slightest power or turn for conversa-
tion, and would like to live exclusively on the flattery
* Thomas Assheton Smith,
f Lord Eldon.
j The Duke of Wellington.
VOL, II. E
50 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. II.
of toadies ; nevertheless, I am doomed to go to Lamb-
ton : he will hear of nothing less, and I have shirked
him so often, I suppose I must go. . . ."
Henry Brougham, M.P., to Mr. Creevey.
"Raby, Sept., 1822.
"DEAR CITIZEN,
"Your letter gives me some comfort, and
indeed much coincides with my own view of the
Merryman's * case. Certainly he presents more sore
places to the eye of the amateur than most men.
Moreover his coin is now about cried down at least
hardly current. He is stampt as a joker, and therefore
dare not joke : not to mention that hard figures of
arithmetic!* are too hard to be got over by figures
of rhetprick. All these things, and his gout and
irritability, I try to console myself withal, but still I
own I am somewhat low not so much at what we
are to have, which is most excellent in its way but
at what we have lost, which is by far the best thing
in the world namely, the Spinning Jenny,t Vesey, J
Kew, Bellamy and Co. It was indeed too good a
thing to happen. . . ."
"Brougham, Tuesday [Sept., 1822].
"... I hope you are sufficiently vexed at Hume
making such an ass of himself as he did t'other day
by his stupid vanity and his attack, thro' such vanity,
on the rest of the Opposition. His kind patronage of
Archy is only laughable, but to see him splitting on
that rock (of egotism and vanity) is rather provoking.
What right has HE to talk of the Whigs never coming
to his support on Parly. Reform ? I can remind him
of their dividing some 120 on it in 1812, when he was
sitting at Perceval's back, toad-eating him for a place,
and acting the part of their covert doer of all sorts of
dirty work in the coarsest and most offensive way,
thro' the whole battle of the Orders in Council, when
* Canning,
t Peel.
t Right Hon. W. Vesey Fitzgerald, M.P. [1783-1843], after-
wards Lord Fitzgerald.
1822.] LORD THANET ON THE SITUATION. 51
we beat them and him ! I always have defended him
when that period of his life has been cast in my teeth,
and on this one ground that Bentham, Mill, &c., who
converted him, persuaded me that his former conduct
was from mere want of education, and that he was
radically honest. But off hands ! an't please you,
good Master Joseph ! In truth I cannot reckon a
man's conduct at all pure who shows up others at
public meetings behind their backs, whom he never
whispers a word against in their places. There is
extreme meanness in this sneaking way of ingratiating
himself at their expense, and the utter falsehood of
the charge is glaring. Parly. Reform has never once
been touched by him (luckily for the question). The
motions on it last session were Lord John's and my
own. His boro' reform professedly steered clear of
the question. I trust he has been misrepresented, but
1 heard in Scotland that people were everywhere
laughing at him for his arrogance and vanity."*
Earl of Thanet to Mr. Creevey.
"... I am just returned from Kent, more disgusted
than usual at the language and temper of those I saw,
which I take for a sample of the rest ; everybody
complaining, without an idea that they could do any-
thing towards attaining relief. Landlords and farmers
seem to have no other occupation than comparing
their respective distresses. They ask what is to
happen. I answer you will be ruined, and they
stare like stuck pigs. I could not hear of one Tory
gentleman who had changed. One booby says it is
the Poor Rate another the Tithe another high
rents all omit the real cause, taxation, the mother of
all evil. It is a besotted country, and may, for aught
I know, be a proper audience for Mr. Merriman.
"Brougham has been bidding 15,000 for two
farms in Westmorland. The seller has taken time to
consider, and, if he does not nail him, he must have
found one as insane as himself."
One is accustomed to associate the introduction of
the battue with the reign of Queen Victoria, and
52 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. II.
especially with the Prince Consort, but here we have
an early example of the practice, and not only the
practice, but the very term "battue" is applied to
it. Holkham has long been famed for shooting, but
it is certainly surprising to find that bags on this
scale could be made eighty years ago, by men shoot-
ing with flint-lock muzzle-loaders. There are few
rabbits in the covers at Holkham now; possibly
they were more numerous there when George IV.
was king.
Viscountess Anson to Mr. Creevey.
"Holkham, Nov. 5, 1822.
". . . Though not much of a sportsman yourself,
you may be living with those who are, and I suppose
it would be incorrect to write a letter from hence the
day after the first battue without mentioning that
780 head of game were killed by 10 guns, and that
25 woodcocks formed a grand feature in the chasse."
Upon Castlereagh's death, Wellington went on
the embassy to Verona in his place. It was Canning's
policy, on succeeding Castlereagh at the Foreign
Office, to make it appear that his predecessor had
entered upon an aggressive line in regard to Euro-
pean complications, from which he Canning extri-
cated the British Cabinet. But in truth Wellington
carried with him and acted upon instructions drafted
by Castlereagh himself, whereof the keynote was " to
observe a strict neutrality." Especially was this so
in regard to the French invasion of Spain, then
imminent. " There seems nothing to add to or to
vary in the course of policy hitherto pursued. Solici-
tude for the safety of the royal family, observance of
our obligations with Portugal, and a rigid abstinence
1822.] CANNING'S VOICE, CASTLEREAGH'S HAND. 53
from any interference in the internal affairs of that
country " these are Castlereagh's own words as
drafted for his own guidance when he, and not Wel-
lington, was to have been the British plenipotentiary
at the Congress ; and they disprove the claim made
by the partisans of Canning that it was he, not
Castlereagh, who first established the policy of
non-intervention in the domestic affairs of foreign
countries so far as consistent with treaty obligations.
This was the more notable, because the Emperor of
Russia, formerly distinguished for liberal views, had
of late ranged himself in line with the other crowned
heads of Europe in desiring to repress by force the
revolutionary movement in Spain, which country, he
told Wellington, " he considered the headquarters
of revolution and Jacobinism ; that the King and
royal family were in the utmost danger, and that so
long as the revolution in that country should be
allowed to continue, every country in Europe, and
France in particular, was unsafe." *
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Farnley, i4th Nov., 1822.
"... I am happy to see from the papers that the
Beau is getting upon his legs again, and I am still
more happy that he is at Verona instead of that
terrible fellow Castlereagh. It appears to me im-
possible after all Wellington has said to me about the
King of Spain and his perfidy, and with his intimacy
with Alava, one of Ferdinand's victims, that the Beau
should be for helping him out of his difficulties. Then
he knows the Spanish nation better than anybody
else here their universal hatred of the French their
great resources from their mountains and guerilla
warfare. In short, I rely with confidence upon him
* Wellington's Civil Despatches, i. 343.
54 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. II.
as the only man who, on this occasion, could keep
those Royal Imbeciles and Villains of Europe in any
order, and I consider his being there as our minister
as quite a godsend. If this vapouring French ministry
do once cross the Spanish frontier, the devil take
the hindmost of the Bourbons, both French and
Spanish."
Creevey, having had rather a heated correspon-
dence with Mr. Lambton (afterwards Earl of Durham)
on political subjects, chiefly connected with an elec-
tion for York, and being about to meet him at
Croxteth, felt uncertain as to the terms on which
they stood together. He therefore wrote to Lamb-
ton, bluntly seeking for an understanding.
Mr. Lambton to Mr. Creevey.
"Howick, Nov. 15, 1822.
"DEAR CREEVEY,
"You have already smote me on one cheek,
and I now, in the true spirit of scriptural precept,
offer you the other. In other and more profane
words, you have used me shamefully. You pro-
mised to come to our races : I kept a room for you
until the second day after they had begun, altho' beds
were as scarce as honest men ; yet you neither came
nor sent me word that you had altered your mind.
You but I had better stop, or I shall work myself
up into that vindictive spirit which you deprecate.
" Now for a proof of my forgiving disposition. I
not only shall meet you at Croxteth in perfect amity,
but shall be happy to take you there, if my time suits
your convenience. I am to be at Croxteth on Friday
next, and sleep at Skipton on Thursday night. Skip-
ton, I fancy, is about 15 miles from Farnley, and if you
will join me there on Friday morning, I will carry
you and your luggage safely to Croxteth. You must,
however, break your usual rule, and let me know
whether this offer suits you or not. . . . Don't talk to
me about politics I have done with them. If you
1822.] MR. COBBETT'S VIEWS. 55
can tell me anything respecting the Leger if you
have any dark horse who is not spavined I shall
listen to you with attention ; but as to Verona, the
Bourbons, Reform, Spain, the Pirates, &c., &c., throw
them to the dogs : I'll have none on't !
" Yours, in the true spirit of Christian feeling,
"J. G. LAMBTON."
Wm. Cobbett to Mr. Fawkes [a candidate for
Parliament].
"i2th Nov., 1822.
". . . The ruin in this part of the country is general.
An unruined farmer is an exception. The Pitt system
seems destined to fulfil all my prophecies even
those that were thought the most wild. Faith ! your
antagonist Mr. Canning has his hands full. He has
already discovered what it is to negociate with a debt
of 800 millions and a dead weight of 100 millions
hanging round the neck of the country. This was
one of the points that Windham told me I was mad
upon. I said you can have neither war nor peace in
safety without getting rid of this infernal debt. He
used to say Met us beat the French first.' I used to
say that to beat them with bank notes was to beat
ourselves in the end. And thus it has been. The
country becomes a poor, low, pitiful, feeble, cowardly
thing, unless we get rid of the debt ; and that is not
to be got rid of without a reform in the House of
Commons. The conduct of the Lords has always
been to me the most surprising thing. Terrified out
of their wits at Hunt,* who is really as inoffensive as
Pistol or Bardolph, and hugging to their bosoms the
Barings, the Ricardos and all that tribe. . . . How-
ever, it is useless to exclaim. . . . The war used to be
called an ' eventful period ; ' but this is the eventful
period for England."
* Henry Hunt [1773-1835], radical politician, commonly known
as " Orator Hunt."
56 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. II.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Croxteth, Nov. 26, 1822.
" Well ! I found the King * at Skipton before nine
on Friday, breakfasting on his own tea, his own sugar,
his own bread and even his own butter all brought
from Lambton. However, the Monarch was very
amiable, and barring one volcanic eruption against
the postboys for losing their way within 5 miles of
this house, our journey was very agreeable. . . ."
" Dec. 3rd.
". . . Lord Hertford owes his blue ribbon to his
having purchased four seats in Parliament since his
father's death, and to his avowed intention of dealing
still more largely in the same commodity. . . . We con-
tinue to go on quite capitally in this house. I never
saw Sefton in greater force. I wish you could see the
manner of both father and son to the different tenants
we see from time to time on our different shooting and
coursing excursions. What a contrast to the acid and
contemptuous Lambton ! However, poor devil, he
pays for it pretty dearly, and will probably be a victim
to his temper. . . . Lady Georgiana [Molyneux]
amused me yesterday by telling me of a conversation
she had with Lady Holland, in which the latter had
deplored my present hostility to her, and had requested
Ly. Georgiana's assistance in discovering the cause,
and producing a reconciliation. . . ."
" Croxteth, Dec. 12.
". . . The truth is that all the Whigs are either
fools or rogues enough to believe that our Monarch
is really very fond of them, and that (according to the
angry Boy f who left us yesterday) if we, the Whigs,
could but arrange our matters between ourselves, the
Sovereign would be happy to send for us. This is
all he is waiting for; and with reference to it, Lamb-
ton told Sefton in the strictest confidence that it is of
vital importance to gain Brougham's consent to Scarlett
* Mr. Lambton. t Mr. Lambton.
/
1822.] KNOWSLEY REVISITED. 57
being Chancellor, and for Brougham to take the office
of Atty. Genl. ! . . . You may suppose the anxiety of
the Earl's mind till he found me for the purpose of
unburthening himself of this confidential communica-
tion ; and haying done so, we indulged ourselves in a
duet that might have been heard in the remotest
corner of the house. Is it not perfectly incredible?
Lambton was in constant communication with Grey
whilst here, and (very judiciously!) shewed Sefton
some of his dispatches on this subject. . . ."
"Croxteth, 15th.
". . . We all dined at Knowsley last night. The
new dining-room is opened: it is 53 feet by 37, and
such a height that it destroys the effect of all the other
apartments. . . . You enter it from a passage by two
great Gothic church-like doors the whole height of
the room. This entrance is in itself fatal to the effect.
Ly. Derby (like herself), when I objected to the
immensity of the doors, said : ' You've heard Genl.
Grosvenor's remark upon them have you not? He
asked in his grave, pompous manner " Pray are those
great doors to be opened for every pat of butter that
comes into the room?" ^ At the opposite end of the
room is an immense Gothic window, and the rest of
the light is given by a sky-light mountains high.
There are two fireplaces ; and the day we dined there,
there were 36 wax candles over the table, 14 on it,
and ten great lamps on tall pedestals about the room ;
and yet those at the bottom of the table said it was
quite petrifying in that neighbourhood, and the report
here is that they have since been obliged to abandon
it entirely from the cold. . . . My lord and my lady
were all kindness to me, but only think of their neither
knowing nor caring about Spain or France, nor
whether war or peace between these two nations was
at all in agitation !
". . . 1 must say I never saw man or woman live
more happily with nine grown up children. It is my
lord [Derby] who is the great moving principle. . .
What a contrast to that poor victim of temper who
left us last week! [Mr. Lambton]."
58 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. II.
" Croxteth, 23rd.
". . . Brougham arrived here on Saturday, on his
way or rather out of his way to his nearest and
dearest. ... Of domestic matters, I think his principal
article is that Mrs. Taylor's niece, Ly. Londonderry,*
has transferred her affections from her lord to other
objects : in the first instance to young Bloomfield,
Sir Benjamin's son ; and since, to a person of some-
what higher rank, viz., the Emperor of Russia, and
that she is now following the latter lover to Peters-
burgh. Lady Holland is the author of these state-
ments, and vouches for the truth of them.
"Apropos to Lady Holland, in addition to all her
former insults upon the town, she has set up a huge
cat, which is never permitted to be out of her sight,
and to whose vagaries she demands unqualified sub-
mission from all her visitors. Rogers, it seems, has
already sustained considerable injury in a personal
affair with this animal. Brougham only keeps him or
her at arm's length by snuff, and Luttrell has sent in a
formal resignation of all further visits till this odious
new favorite is dismissed from the Cabinet. . . . But
think of my having so long forgot to mention that
Brougham says many of the best informed people in
London, such as Dog Dent and others, are perfectly
convinced of the truth of the report that dear Prinney
is really to marry Ly. Elizabeth Conyngham ; on
which event the Earl here humorously observes that
the least the King can do for the Queen's family is to
make Denison f ' Great Infant of England.' "
* Frances Anne, only daughter and heiress of Sir Harry Vane-
Tempest of Wynyard, Bart.
t Lord Albert Denison Conyngham, 3rd son of Elizabeth Denison,
ist Marchioness of Conyngham. He was born in 1805, and was
supposed to be the son of the Prince of Wales (George IV.).
( 59 )
CHAPTER III.
1823-1824.
Miss Maria Copley * to Mr. Creevey.
" Sprotbrough, January I2th.
". . . We have had a great deal of very agreeable
society, chiefly composed of the old ingredients of
Grevilles, Levesons, Granvilles, Wortleys, Bentincks,
&c. ; but they are now all flown the Grevilles to
Welbeck, Ld. F. Leveson to Madrid, the Granvilles
to other battues. . . . Lord F. Leveson's | going to
Madrid has surprised everybody me among others
who had seen them together for a length of time.
People are inclined to think it a proof of perfect
indifference on both sides, but at least certainly on
his. The fact is that having, like few other young
men, a great aversion to being idle, he applied to
Canning for employment ; who, when this oppor-
tunity occurred, offered it to him, and as it is a
remarkably interesting expedition, Harriet J wd. not
allow him to refuse it. He will be absent only six
weeks.
" Lord F. Conyngham's appointment gives great
disgust, and I don't wonder at it. Lord Alvanley
calls him Canningham. The King is quite delighted
with his Secretary of State, and was seen the other
day at the Pavilion walking about with his arm
round Canning's neck.
* Married Lord Howick (afterwards 3rd Earl Grey) in 1832.
t Second son of ist Duke of Sutherland, created Earl of Ellesmere
in 1833, married in 1822 Harriet, daughter of Charles Greville, Esq.
I Lady Francis Leveson.
Succeeded in 1824 as 2nd Marquess Conyngham.
60 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. III.
" Two of your friend Lady Oxford's daughters are
going to be married Ly. Charlotte to a Mr. Bacon
and Lady Fanny to a Mr. Cuthbert. The last is not
so certain as the first, as somebody is to be asked for
a consent, which I think it probable that most fathers,
mothers and guardians would refuse. It must be a
bad speculation to take a wife out of that school.
Mr. Warrender* is going to marry Lady Julia Mait-
land at last, and Sir George is to be very magnificent.
. . . Your friend, Lady Glengall, is in London, giving
ecarte parties every night to the great detriment of
society in general, and annoyance of the young ladies
in particular. If things should go on en empirant this
spring, I prophesy a meeting among that much
injured race. . . . The Beau f has been staying at the
Pavilion : he is in the progress of telling charming
stories of the Congress. 1 would give my ; ears to
hear them. He is very much recovered, but looks
older and thinner from his illness. I hear thro' a
secret channel that Ly. Granville had a great deal to
say in Lord Clanwilliam's getting the situation at
Berlin. Mr. Canning's diplomatic dependents are
amazed at such a thing having slipped through their
fingers. It is certainly more disinterested than Lord
F. C[onyngham]'s, and does him more credit in the
eyes of the world. . . . Write, and tell me you are not
bored to death by such a letter from a young lady."
" Sprotbrough, Saturday, 1823.
" DEAR MR. CREEVEY,
". . . The Taylors are still with us and we
are within an ace of a schism about politics at least
three times a day. Though I cordially agree with
you about the Three Gentlemen of Verona, I cannot
think your friend Mr. Brougham's speech prudent.
At this time, when one must sincerely wish peace to
be preserved in Europe, it has a most inflammatory
tendency. I will not, however, dare to say a syllable
about politics to you : a safer line of conduct for me
* Succeeded his brother as 5th baronet of Lochend.
t The Duke of Wellington, who, when Castlereagh committed
suicide in 1822, had been appointed Plenipotentiary at the Congress
of Verona.
1823-24.] A YOUNG LADY'S LETTERS. 6l
is to agree with Michael [Taylor]. I am painfully
striving to inform myself about Spain, and have just
read Blaquiere's book. Comme il fait de la prose. I
never read so dull a book made out of so interesting
a subject. Las Casas' book is the most delicious
effusion of a sentimental old French twaddle that
ever was read ; but as far as it goes appears to be
very authentic. He paints Bonaparte in the brightest
colours, and evidently leaves ^out all spots and dark
shades, or softens and explains them away, so that
nothing remains but the most admirable hero de roman
that ever existed. ... I am in horror at the thought
of the King's dying. In the first place (though I am
no respecter of his), I think he does as well for us, or
better than the Duke of York : secondo we should
have a horrid radical Parliament chosen : terzo
London wd. be spoilt this year. There speaks the young
lady ! "
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Feby. 4, 1823.
. ". . . Who should arrive at Brooks's last night
fresh from Paris but Og King of Bashan?* You
never saw a fellow in such a state of fury against
Cochon.t He is for a declaration of war this very
afternoon in his friend Canning's speech. He com-
plains bitterly that we are none of us up to the true
mark : that if we would but give Spam a lift now
before the Russians and Prussians come to be
quartered in France (which he is perfectly sure is part
of the present plan) that the Bourbons wd. not be on
their throne 3 months. . . ."
" House of Commons, past 3.
" Just heard the King's Speech, and upon my word
the part about Spain is much better than I expected.
I don't see what Brougham is to do with his amend-
ment after it. The first sentence relating to Spain {
* The 2nd Lord Kensington,
t Louis XVI 1 1.
$ " Faithful to the principles which his Majesty has promulgated to
the world as constituting the rule of his conduct, his Majesty has
62 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. III.
is a regular spat on the face to the Villains of Verona,
and the whole certainly more in favor of Spain than
of France."
" Feby. 5, Brooks's.
". . . Well ! I had no difficulty in making Brougham
prefer the King's speech last night to his own projected
amendment, and to change his regrets into warm
admiration. You will see, however, that he by no
means abandoned his plan of castigation of the Royal
and Imperial scoundrels of Verona. ... So faithful
a picture of villains portrait after portrait was
never produced by any artist before. If anything
could add to the gratification the Allied Sovereigns
must have received had they been present, it would
be from the way in which our otherwise discordant
fellows lapped up this truly British cordial like
mother's milk. Peel could scarcely make himself
heard, yet he went further than the Speech, and gave
an unequivocal opinion in favor of Spain against
France ; but Liverpool went still further, and shewed
clearly that he is in earnest in trying to keep the
peace that he thinks there is some little, little chance
of it ; and further, he clearly thinks that if war is once
begun, we shall not be able to keep out of it."
" Brooks's, 1 4th Feb.
"I dined here last night much more agreeably,
tho' not so cheaply, with Thanet, Brougham, Kensing-
ton, &c., &c. Every day's experience impresses me
more strongly with the great superiority of Thanet
over every politician that I see. He is gone to Paris
this morning to add, as every one expects, 10,000
more to his already great losses at play. And yet he
seems perfectly convinced of his almost approaching
beggary under all the overpowering difficulties in
which land is now involved !
" Yesterday morning Lord Sefton drove me to the
Freemason's Tavern, the great room of which is fitted
up as a court for the tribunal which sits in judgment
declined being a party to any proceedings at Verona which could be
deemed an interference in the internal concerns of Spain on the part
of foreign powers."
1823-24.] CRITICISM UPON CANNING. 63
upon Lord Portsmouth's sanity or insanity. Cer-
tainly, never was a more disgraceful thing than the
Chancellor's conduct on this occasion to put the
property of the family to the expense of 40,000,
which it is said it will undoubtedly cost, rather than
decide this point himself, which every one who has
seen Lord Portsmouth has long since decided.* . . .
" The publick functionaries in Ireland are coming
to close quarters. Wellesley has dismissed at a
moment's warning Sir Charles Vernon, the Chamber-
lain, and two others men who had held their situations
about the Court for years. Their offence was dining
at a Beefsteak Club last week, where Lord Chancellor
Manners was likewise, and drinking as a toast :
' Success to the export trade of Ireland, and may Lord
Wellesley be the first article exported ! ' t . .
"I never saw a fellow look more uncomfortable
than Canning.J Independent of the difficulty of the
times, he is surrounded by perfidy quite equal to his
own. People in office are in loud and undisguised
hostility to him : it may be heard at all corners of the
streets. I never saw such a contrast as between the
manners of ministerial men even to him, and what it
used to be to Castlereagh. Business begins in earnest
on Monday, and I must launch my ' supply ' on that
or some early day, if my nerves are equal to it ; but I
find them fail me more and more every day."
"Brooks's, 2 ist Feby.
". . . Well! we got into a fine mess the night
before last upon our Joe's motion, but Canning did
what he could for us by his ill-timed and unnecessary
vehemence and violence. His own people already
pronounce that his irritability must prove injurious
to him, and the loss of Castlereagh's composure and
good manners is deplored in a manner not very
flattering to his successor."
* The 3rd Earl of Portsmouth. The enquiry lasted 17 days, and
the jury pronounced him to be insane.
t The Marquess Wellesley was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland at the
time.
J Who was now leader of the House of Commons.
Joseph Hume.
64 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. III.
" 25th.
". . . Yesterday I spent a very amusing hour with
Sefton at the Opera House, seeing the maitre de ballet
manoeuvre about 50 figurantes for the approaching new
ballet of Alfred. . . . This done, we went to our own
playhouse, where we saw ist a pas de trois between
Wilson, Hobhouse and Canning, and then a pas dedeux
between Brougham and Canning. . . . After the House
I dined at Sefton's en fatnille, and to-day I would have
you to know I dine with the Hereditary Earl Marshal
of England, Premier Duke, &c., alias Barney, alias
Scroope ! "
"4th March.
". . . I dined on Saturday at Lord King's : the
party Duke and Duchess of Somerset ; Heber the
Tory and classical member for Oxford ; George
Phillips the patriotic and fasionable savant from
Manchester; Sir Johnson,* a powdered beau of the
first order and ci-devant Indian judge; Lord Clare,
Lavallette Bruce, George Fortesue and Bennet.
Was there ever such a hash ? However, the day,
contrary to my expectation, was very well. I got on
extreemly well with Mrs. Somerset.! You know she
is the false devil who robbed her brother Archie of
his birthright."
Miss Maria Copley to Mr. Creevey.
" Sprotbrough, March 6th, 1823.
" Our friend the Beau does not think Ferdinand's
life worth a long purchase after the French army enter
Spain. He says that they the French will meet
with no more resistance in marching to Madrid than
he does in going to the Ordnance Office. Two inches
of cold steel will do his business very shortly. . . .
Lord Francis Leveson (at Madrid) is of the same
* Sir John Johnson, Superintendent-General and Inspector-
General of Indian affairs in British North America.
t The first wife of the nth Duke of Somerset, Lady Charlotte
Douglas-Hamilton, daughter of the Qth Duke of Hamilton.
1823-24.] A YOUNG LADY'S LETTERS. 6$
opinion as to Ferdinand's prospect of a long reign. . . .
I hope zve shall not interfere, as it must increase both
our debt and our difficulties. . . . Pray what do they
think at Michael's * of O'Meara ? I was malicious
enough to talk of nothing but the Quarterly Review
last time that I saw Mrs. Taylor, notwithstanding that
she pertinaciously asserted that she had not read a
line of it.f She made a determination not to believe
one word of it till she saw those notes at Murray's,
with a sight of which I assured her she might be
gratified immediately. ... I am curious to see
O'Meara's defence. How he is to exculpate himself
from the many charges of double dealing baffles my
poor imagination. He must be a sad, shuffling, dirty
wretch.
"A still more difficult riddle for me to solve is
your friend Mr. Brougham. Why does he make such
love to Canning? Why is he in none of your
divisions? Why is he in astonishment at the small
demand of Ministers ? Is it catalepsy ? All your
good humour and civility make the debates very
flat. . . . Allow me to set you right upon a point
which nearly concerns the honour of my family.
Heaven forbid that Miss Lemon should have a
daughter. Her sister married a Sir Something
Davy.J Another time be more cautious of taking
away the credit of an unfortunate damsel by a stroke
of your pen particularly in a letter to her cousin ! "
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
."Marchiith.
" I send you herewith Brougham's dispatch which
I received yesterday. I had charity enough for him
not to shew it to any one but Sefton, and he quite
agrees with me that he is mad. His lunacy, you may
* Michael Angelo Taylor's.
f Croker's article on O'Meara's book appeared in the Quarterly in
February, 1823. At Mrs. Taylor's Whig and Radical salon O'Meara's
narrative had been accepted as gospel, and Ministers were roundly
execrated for the supposed oppressive treatment of their captive.
$ Sir John Davie, 8th baronet of Greedy, Devon.
VOL. II. F
65 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. III.
plainly see, is to be in power. He cannot endure for
a moment anything or any man he thinks can by
possibility obstruct his march. He has himself entirely
spiked his guns in the House of Commons; he has
put it at Canning's feet, and then he is raving in the
country that Hume should presume to open his mouth
without his (Brougham's) permission."
There is little apparent madness in Brougham's
letter referred to above. On the contrary, it seems
brimful of common sense, chiefly referring to a pro-
jected attack on the Church of England by Joseph
Hume, but it was not militant enough for Creevey.
Henry Brougham, M.P., to Mr. Creevey [enclosed in
above].
" Durham, Saturday.
". . . As to Joseph, I hope it may do good. 1
know that things may with safety be brought on by
him, which in any other man's hands wd. do harm.
Therefore I always thought the attack on the Church
was safer in his hands than in any others. But I fear he
may throw away a great case, and (except your testimony)
I see nothing in the other night's debate to change
this opinion. Don't let us deceive ourselves. There
are millions and among them very powerful and very
respectable people who will go a certain way with
us, but will be quite staggered by our going pell-mell
at it. The people of this country are not prepared to
give up the Church. For one I am certainly not ;
and my reason is this. There is a vast mass of religion
in the country, shaped in various forms and burn-
ing with various degrees of heat from regular luke-
warmness to Methodism. Some Church establishment
this feeling must have; and I am quite clear that a much-
reformed Ch. of Engd. is the safest form in which
such an establishment can exist. It is a quiet and
somewhat lazy Church : certainly not a persecuting
one. Clip its wings of temporal power (which it
unceasingly uses in behalf of a political slavery) * and
* I.e. against Reform.
1823-24.] TWO VERY DIFFERENT DUKES. 67
its more glaring abuses, and you are far better
off than with a fanatical Church and Dominion of
Saints, like that of the i/th century; or no Church at
all and a Dominion of Sects, like that of America. . . .
The Irish case is a great and an extreme one, and by
keeping it strictly on its own grounds and abstaining
from any topics common to both Churches, a body blow
may be given. But if any means are afforded to the
Ch. and its friends here of making common cause with
the Irish fellows, I fear you convert a most powerful
case into an ordinary one, which must fall. ... I write
this in court, and in some haste. Let me hear whether
I am still in the wrong."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"nth March.
" I never told you that I caught the Beau one day
last week just mounting his horse, so I went up and
stopt him, and had a very hearty hand-shaking. ... I
never saw a man's looks so altered. He is a perfect
shadow, and as old looking as the ark. . . . There must
have been an amusing scene between him and Slice *
this day week in Ly. Salisbury's box at the Opera.
Slice made a long oration to him against French
aggression upon Spain, and ended with requiring to
know Wellington's sentiments upon the probable
result. The Beau contented himself by replying ' It
won't succeed.' Slice would not be put off this way,
and made a second harangue, ending with the same
demand of an official opinion ; but our Beau again wd.
not advance further than 'It won't succeed.'
" i ;th.
". . . Thanet has won 40,000 in one night at Paris.
He broke the bank at the Salon twice : the question is
will he bring any of this money home with him ? I
take it for granted not"
"April 1 8th.
" You never saw such confusion and consternation
as was produced in the Ministerial row by Burdett's
speech [on Catholic emancipation]. ... In the midst
* H.R.H, the Duke of Gloucester.
68 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. III.
of the debate arose that alarming episode between
Brougham and Canning. . . . Brougham was laying
about him upon Canning's ' truckling' to Eldon for
his late admission into the Cabinet,* when the latter
sprung up in the greatest fury saying THAT is
FALSE ! ' Upon this we had the devil to pay for near
an hour, and Wilson had at last the credit of settling
it by a speech of very great merit, and to the satis-
faction of all parties. Brougham, I think, was wrong
to begin with ; he was speaking under the impression
produced upon him by Canning's blackguard observa-
tion to Folkestone the night before, viz. that ' if he had
truckled to the Bourbons, as stated by Folkestone, at
all events he would never truckle to him' Brougham
was going on like a madman, but Canning was much
worse in his rage, and in his violation of the rules
of the House. . . . The House generally was decidedly
against Canning, as it had been the night before upon
his passion and low-lived tirade against Folkestone,
saying ' he spoke with all the contortions of the Sibyl
without her inspiration. 1 . . . In short, Cannhig's temper
is playing the devil with him, as I always felt sure it
would."
"April 2 1 st.
" On Saturday I dined at Harry Martin's, with the
Admiral and his wife, Lord Erskine, old Alexander the
Master in Chancery, &c., &c. Poor Erskine at last
looks very old and forlorn, tho' his etherial spark is
by no means extinct. Somebody was talking about
old Cochon's t powers of eating, upon which Erskine
said he wished 'the damned scoundrel wd. eat his
words' . . . He talks for both Spaniards and Greeks
with all the enthusiasm of youth.
"28th.
". . . Ward (John William) J met me in the street
yesterday, and begged me, after all his estrangement
from me, to turn about with him, as he wished much
to have some talk; and so, as I declined, he turned
* Implying that Canning, who had always advocated emancipation
of the Catholics, had consented, as the price of his admission, not to
press the question.
t Louis XVIII.'
t Created Earl of Dudley in 1827.
1823-24.] THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM. 69
about himself, putting his arm thro' mine ; and his dis-
course was that the Government must be strangled
that the Opposition, with the least management in the
world, must destroy them that Peel was lower and
lower every day, quite incompetent, and that Canning,
with all his talents and superiority, had no support
that Peel had all the Tories, and Canning no one of
any party with him. A pleasant statement this to be
made by a man who calls Canning his master, or at
least who has called him so. ... Sefton and I were
walking in the streets two days ago, when we saw my
Lady Holland's carriage standing at a shop door ; so
Sefton said ' Now's your time ! go and get it over. 1
So I did : I put my head into the carriage as if nothing
had happened shook hands and cracked my jokes as
usual. ... So when I left her she squeezed Sefton's
hand with the greatest tenderness and said ' Nothing
could be better done ! ' . . .
" Og * told me a story of the Duke of Buckingham
which Canning had told him in confidence, and which
ought to be preserved to perpetuate the base, intrigu-
ing spirit 01 this genuine noble Grenville. . . . Upon
Castlereagh's death this said Duke, altho' Canning and
he had never been on very good terms, wrote the most
nauseous complimentary letter to Canning, taking for
granted the Grovernment would never let so distin-
guished a statesman leave the country,t and urging
him by all he owed to his country to accept the offer
when made to him. Canning shewed this letter to
Kensington at the time, convulsed with laughter at its
style and mean contents. Not content with this, the
Duke wrote another letter to Lord Morley, still more
extravagant in Canning's praises, well knowing the
latter was sure to see the letter, hoping Canning would
not run any risque of serving his country by claims
made for any of his friends, for that, when once
Minister, all would be at his feet.
" Well upon Canning's first interview with Lord
Liverpool after his acceptance of office, the latter said
'What is to become of India?' to which Canning
replied it was an appointment to which he was quite
* Lord Kensington.
t Canning had been appointed Governor General of India.
70 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. III.
indifferent, the only object he had at heart being an
arrangement for putting Huskisson in a high and
responsible official situation. Upon which Liverpool
said he knew the Speaker * was desirous of going to
India, and if Canning would see and sound the
Directors if they were agreeable to appoint him
Governor General, then Wynne f might be placed in
the chair and Huskisson have the Board of Controul.
Canning accordingly saw the Directors, but tho' they
were very desirous of Wynne being removed from the
Board of Controul, as being perfectly inefficient, still
they had the greatest possible objections to the Speaker
as Governor General. However, Huskisson's appoint-
ment was so very agreeable to them, that at a second
conference they struck. Wynne, who hitherto had
shown no reluctance to this arrangement, being now
called upon for its execution, declared his fixed deter-
mination not to give up the Board of Controul unless
the Duke of Buckingham had that office, or was one of
the Secretaries of State, and of course in the Cabinet.
This claim being universally scouted, all was at an
end."
"May 3, 1823.
"... I dined at Hughes' { on Thursday 17 or 18
people crowded and dull as be damned. But then
the footmen had such cloaths such rich laced waist-
coatssuch beautiful new silk stockings and silver
buckles ! . . . My Lord Lansdowne was affable be-
yond measure yesterday. He has had a special
messenger from Marshal Soult, offering him in the
first instance, and before any one else, his Murillos,
taken by him when in Spain, and only asking as the
price of them one hundred thousand pounds ! My
lord said Soult had shown them to him when he
was last in Paris, and certainly they were the finest
things ever seen great altar-pieces, &c. . . . I have
been to look at the Queen's trial by Hayter, and
never was 1 more disappointed a regular daub and
yet I find myself singular in this opinion so far."
* Charles Manners Sutton, created Viscount Canterbury in 1835,
died in 1845.
t The Right Hon. C. W. Williams Wynn.
\ Mr. Hughes of Kinmel, afterwards created Lord Dinorben.
1823-24.] SOCIAL SCHEMING. 71
11 6th.
"I really had a most agreeable dinner at Sam
Whitbread's brewery on Saturday. We sat down 22,
I think. Sam and William both behaved as well as
could be. . . . The entertainment of the day to me
was going over the brewery after dinner by gas-
light. A stable brilliantly illuminated, containing
ninety horses worth 50 or 60 guineas apiece upon an
average, is a sight to be seen nowhere but in this
' tight little island.' The beauty and amiability of
the horses was quite affecting; such as were lying
down we favored with sitting upon four or five of
us upon a horse. . . ."
" May 9th.
". . . Yesterday I dined at Og's * his first great
state dinner and new French cook, just imported; our
company being Jockey of Norfolk,f Althorpe, Bennet,
Lambton, Ferguson, Titchfield, my lady [Kensing-
ton], two daughters and two sons, and I assure you
we had a most jolly day of it. ... At night, Bennet
and I went to Lady Derby's, and certainly an uglier
set of old harridans I never beheld in all my life. . . .
Humbug Leopold { and Bore Slice were there.
Lady Sefton and I sat together to quiz the whole set,
of which none were ever more worthy. To-day I
dined at Lord King's, and there is the devil to do
about Lady Jersey wanting to get Brougham not
to dine there, but to dine with her to meet Prince
d'Arenberg, who wants particularly to meet Brougham.
The latter tells Lady Jersey that as Mrs. Brougham
dines at Ld. King's, he can't let her go there alone;
so 'Sister Sally' writes to Mrs. Brougham to beg
as a particular favor that she will dine at Lady King's
without Brougham. Mrs. B. replies upon Sally, in a
dispatch of four sides of paper, that she can't presume
to do so that she knows full well she never is asked
* Lord Kensington's.
f Referring to the I2th Duke under the nickname usually given to
the nth Duke.
$ Chosen King of the Belgians in 1831.
H.R.H. the Duke of Gloucester.
72 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. III.
anywhere but on account of Mr. Brougham, and that
she can't think of incurring the odium of going any-
where without him. . . ."
" roth May.
". . . As I walked up to Lord King's door yester-
day, up drove Brougham's carriage, and in it was
Mrs. Brougham alone. So I handed her put, dressed
like an interesting villager, all in white, with a wreath
of roses round her temples, and she made Brougham's
apologies to Lady King for unavoidable absence on
account, of business; so it was all very well, and I
complimented her upon her powers of face. I sat
next to her at dinner, and her languishing was really
beyond all bearing."
"May 12.
". . . Og has been down to Canning at Gloucester
Lodge. . . . The object of his visit was to tender his
son's resignation of his seat in Parliament, the said
son having voted with Burdett on Tuesday, altho' his
seat was given him by Canning. The latter said he
had observed Edwardes go out in the division; but
behaved very handsomely indeed about it said he
was a young one and might think differently in
future, and, in short, desired he might have his head
and do as he liked for some time longer. But Og
observed there was no chance of his mending, for
that his mother was in his confidence, and he had
entrusted to her his decided opinion against the
Government."
" June 3rd.
". . . My visit to Stoke Farm has been perfect. . . .
As a place, it has no other merit than that of having
Windsor Castle full in front of it, distant 3 miles.
It is on a dead flat, if not in a hollow. It was Sefton's
first residence 30 years ago, during which period he
told me he had spent 40,000 on it, and he adds it
may now be worth from 6,000 to 10,000. . . ."
"24th.
". . . On Monday, after dining at Sefton's, I went
to Lady Jersey's. Her parties are not nearly so
numerous as they used to be, and of course they are
1823-24.] TITTLE-TATTLE. 73
so much the worse, because they were never too
crowded. . . . While I was talking to Ly. Jersey,
Humbug Leopold interrupted us, so she sent me a
message by her ' brother Brougham ' to come to her
next Monday, and stay and be one of the supper
click, which always terminates these evenings. . . .
I suppose you know Ly. Elizabeth Conyngham's
marriage with Lord Burford * is off. He became so
unmannerly and cross that the lady sent him a letter
of dismissal last Saturday. . . . Here is the town in
a mutiny at the King giving Lord Salisbury's blue
ribbon to Lord Bath, quite unknown to any of the
Ministers. / am delighted, because Lord Bath is
the man who said that if he had seen Bergami and
the late Queen in bed together it would not alter his
vote against the Bill that was to crush her."
"July 1 8, 1823.
"... I had really a charming day at Roehampton
yesterday. It is quite a superb villa or house, with
500 acres of beautiful ground about it, and all Rich-
mond Park appearing to belong to it. What a con-
trast between Lady Duncannon and her sister Lady
Jersey ! The quietness and retiredness of the former.
She seems, however, very merry and very happy with
her nine white-haired children, some of them very
pretty. ..."
" Stoke Farm [Lord Sefton's], 2$th July.
". . . My life here is a most agreeable one. I am
much the earliest riser in the House, and have above
two hours to dispose of before breakfast, which is at
eleven o'clock or even later. Then I live with myself
again till about 3, when the ladies and I ride for 3
hours or so. ... We dine at past seven, and the
critics would say not badly. We drink in great
moderation walk out, all of us, before tea, and then
crack jokes and fiddle till about i past 12 or i. . . . If
you want any London scandal, there is a shop at
present which is said to surpass what Devonshire
House ever was. The receiving house is \erased~\
the principal ladies Mrs. F L , young Duchess
* Afterwards gth Duke of St. Albans.
74 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. III.
of R , Lady E V , Lady C- P
the men, young Lister, Geo. Anson, Francis
Russell, &c., c."
"nth Feb., 1824.
"... I dined yesterday at Vesuvius Kinnaird's,*
and such a mixture was never before got together
Sir Francis Burdett and Sir Charles Flint, Lavelette
Bruce, and Lord Fitzroy Somerset,! Mr. Creevey and
Sir George Warrender and, what is more, the last
two gentlemen sat next to each other to the great
amusement of Ellice.J ... I cracked my jokes with
such success that old Rat Warrender was compelled
to ask me to drink wine with him, tho' he was in-
fernally annoyed all the time, and made a most pre-
cipitate retreat after dinner. But my delight was
Lord Fitzroy Somerset. ... I never was more pleased
with any one than I was with him during our conver-
sation, which was of some length. . . ."
" March i.
". . . On Saturday I dined at Hume's, where I
had the good fortune to sit between Mina and one of
the Greek deputies. . . . Mina is my delight. Hob-
house wanted to flatter him at the expense of Morillo,
Abisbal and Ballisteros, but Mina would not touch it.
.He spoke in high terms of the talents and courage of
Morillo, and of the infinite difficulties all Spaniards
were surrounded with. If ever I saw an honest man,
he is one ; and then he is so hearty and likeable. . . .
Yesterday I made my long owing visit at Holland
House, and found my lord and my lady alone she
with a bad cold, and he, of course, nursing her. My
visit seemed to answer, and I am to dine and stay all
night there on Sunday. Would you believe it ? Lady
H. wd. not let Holland dine with Lord Lansdowne
* Hon. Douglas Kinnaird, a banker in Westminster,
t Created Lord Raglan in 1852.
$ Sir George, originally a Whig, had become a supporter of the
Government, and had quarrelled with Creevey about a taunting
speech he (Creevey) had made in the House on the subject of " ratting."
General Espoz y Mina, a distinguished Spanish soldier, com-
manded a corps under Wellington in the Peninsular war.
1823-24.] AT CROCKFORD'S. 75
last week a dinner made purposely for Mina, merely
because she thought it might not please the King if he
heard of it ! Nor will she let Mina or any Spaniard
approach Holland House for the same reason. Was
there ever such a ? "
"April 2.
". . . In talking with Lady Derby about young
Gill Heathcote's duel, she put me in mind that young
Gill and Mrs. Johnson are cousins their two grand-
mothers, Ly. Louisa Manners and Lady Jane Hally-
day, having been sisters. So, as the Countess justly
observed, after Gill had received Lord Brudenel's
shot for maltreating his sister, he ought to have said
' Now, my lord, I must beg you to receive my shot
for your conduct to my cousin ! ' Damned fair, I think.
. . . At night I am sorry to say I went with Lord
Sefton into that famous, or rather infamous, salon in
St. James's Street, where all the world at present
assembles. It far surpasses the salon at Paris in
splendor, tho' nothing like so large nor so agreeable.
To me it appears inevitable that all the young ones
must be ruined there. I found Sir Colin Campbell at
the hazard table, young Lord William Lennox, Lord
Bury and various others whom I knew all in the
face of day no concealment, but in the great and
principal apartment of the house. . . . On Sunday,
Sefton and I go to hear Irving,* and I am engaged to
dine with him, altho' Sussex has since asked me to
dine with him to meet Mina."
"May 12.
". . . A piece of news in the fashionable world
which has been referred to in the papers is the
separation of Henry B from his wife. She has
long been known to be a ' neat un/ but her vagaries at
Paris were so undisguised that some friend wrote and
advertised her husband of it here, and he, to justify
himself before proceeding to extremities, took to
breaking open her boxes in pursuit of evidence
against her. In one of these he is said to have found
20 locks of hair, with a label on each containing the
name of the lover to whom it belonged, such as ' dear
* Edward Irving, the famous Scottish preacher.
76 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. III.
John Warrender's.' So having collected his trophies
of this kind, with letters equally instructive, he sallied
forth to meet her return, and Rochester was the place
they came together. Here, upon her giving her
solemn word of honor that all the children but one
were his, he banished her and the one from his sight
for ever, and has taken all the other children from her.
She is a Yankee by birth and origin : her husband is
a notorious gambler, for whom nobody seems to care
a damn.
"Another slip is Mrs. Alderman C with our
tragedian, Kean. . . . He has been at his letters too,
one of which to the lady was intercepted by the alder-
man, and begun 'You dear imprudent little .'
Can anything be more soft or romantic ? . . .
" I don't know whether you noticed that Edward
Stanley * made a regular attack upon Hume, defended
the Church, and eventually voted against Hume and
our people, as did his father.! You may well suppose
this heresy was mightily extolled by the enemy. . . .
Lord Derby has been made really ill by it."
" 4th May.
". . . I told you of my dinner with King Tom,}:
and of my satisfaction with the Crown Prince. The
latter is really like a young Newfoundland puppy
quite as strong, intelligent and good-natured. . . .
At night, Coke was to take me to the honble. House ;
but ... we first looked in at Brooks's, where we
found that the whole concern had been knocked up by
the Balloon ! So rnany members had run out to see it
that Alderman Kit Smith, a furious enemy of the
Saints, call'd for the House to be counted. . . . Not
forty had remained in it, so all was over! Sefton's
delight in the mischief was unbounded. Brougham
had been in bed most of the day on purpose, and had
ordered himself to be called at 5 so as to be quite fresh
for his reply. Wilberforce had given all his serious
* Afterwards I4th Earl of Derby.
t Lord Stanley, afterwards I3th Earl of Derby. The Stanleys
hitherto had been consistent Whigs.
$ Mr. Coke of Holkham, created Earl of Leicester in 1837.
The present Earl of Leicester, born in 1822.
1823-24.] ROYAL ASCOT. 77
acquaintance notice that he meant to take leave of
publick life in his speech on this occasion,* so that
every hole and corner was crammed with saints and
missionaries in expectation of this great event; when,
lo and behold! this wicked aeronaut proved more
attractive to the giddy Council of the Nation."
" June 1 8, Stoke Farm.
". . . Our course for the last three days has been
to breakfast punctually at 10, to start for Ascot about
n, not to be home again before 6, and after dinner to
be engaged in gambles of one kind or another with
cards till one or later. . . , Our old acquaintance
Prinney was at the races each day, and tho in health
he appeared perfect, he has all the appearance of a
slang leg a plain brown hat, black cravat, scratch
wig, and his hat cocked over one eye. There he
sat, in one corner of his stand, Lady Conyngham
rather behind him, hardly visible but by her feathers.
He had the same limited set of jips about him each
day, and arrived and departed in private. I must say
he cut the lowest figure ; and the real noblesse Whig
and Tory were with his brother York."
"June 19.
". . . I wish I could sufficiently condense the facts
of an affair which now forms the pre-eminent subject
of conversation in the beau monae. The parties are
P G and Lady G . The latter has been
parted some time from her husband, and P has
been the lover of the lady. It seems that Mrs. Peter
Free, the sister of Lady G , has long been press-
ing her to discard P as quite unworthy of her,
and in the end she succeeded; so that one fine
day our heroine sets forth in all the consciousness
of virtuous triumph to carry to her sister, not only
the vicious correspondence which had passed be-
tween her and her lover, but a copy of the letter
which she had written and sent to P , closing
all intercourse with him for ever. By some secret
* The occasion was an adjourned debate on Brougham's motion
for an enquiry into the trial by court-martial of an English missionary
in Demerara.
78 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. III.
management of the Devil, no doubt, the lady was
tempted by him in the shape of a gown to go into
a shop ; and, having deposited and left upon the
counter her ridicule [reticule], the aforesaid Enemy of
man and womankind had the address to have it con-
veyed to the house of Sir B , who opened and
examined its contents. You have of course antici-
pated that the fatal correspondence was enclosed in
it, which he has been kind enough to shew to a pretty
numerous circle of his friends. Tom Buncombe tells
me he has seen every letter. The parties correspond
under the imposing signatures of Jupiter and Juno.
. . . The principal novelty to Sir B is a child
which the lady has born to P , which is receiving
its nourishment and education in the New Road. It
is the conduct of P to this interesting infant
which constitutes the lady's grounds for abandoning
him for ever. It seems the child had lately suffered
severely in cutting a tooth an event which agitated
its mother extreamly, but which P- is alleged to
have witnessed with the most stoical indifference ; so
much so, that she is very naturally led to contrast his
conduct with that of his friend De Ros,* who actually
wept over the child ; and, what is more, has promised
to provide for it by his will. It is this last anecdote
which peculiarly delights the town, De Rps being
one of the cleverest and most hardened villains in
it. . . ."
" June 22nd.
". . . We are all full of a battle that is to take place
in the H. of Lords between the Duke of York and our
Scroop.t Lord Holland has brought in a bill to
enable Scroop, tho' a Catholic, to officiate in future as
Earl Marshal. It was read a 2nd time on Saturday,
tho' the Duke of York and old Eldon were in the
minority; but since then the D. of York has become
perfectly furious, and has written to every peer he
knows, calling upon him to come and protect the
Crown against the insidious Scroop. We had a jolly
day enough at Whitehall on Saturday, altho' I never
* The I9th Baron de Ros.
t The 1 2th Duke of Norfolk.
1823-24-] NEWMARKET. 79
see Sydney Smith without thinking him too much of
a buffoon.'
" 25th June.
" I dined last night at Lord Carnarvon's, where by
comparison for amusement Bedlam* decidedly kept
the lead, altho' our company were no other than the
Dukes of Sussex and Leinster, Marquis Downshire,
Earls Grey, Jersey, Darnley, Cowper and Rosslyn,
Lords King, Ellenborough and John Russell, and last
and least Messrs. Brougham and Creevey. Carnarvon
never uttered, and little Sussex very justly whispered
to me as we came away that 'it had been a melancholy
day.' . . . Grey, Rosslyn, Cowper and Jersey went full
fig from Carnarvon's to the Beau's, to meet the King
who dined there, and Grey says to-day cut him most
clearly and decidedly. . . ."
"15 July.
". . . We had beautiful weather at Newmarket. . . .
Sefton has a capital house, and, according to custom,
his dinners were admirably arranged. Tavistock, Lord
Jersey, Punch Greville t and Shelley dined there each
day, and on Tuesday the Duke of Grafton and the
Duke of York. I had never seen the latter in this sort
of way before, and was extreamly entertained. He is
the very image of the late Lord Petre ; perhaps not
quite so clever, and certainly not so polite in short, a
very civil and apparently most good-tempered idiot,
without any manners at all. Shelley played the fool
in patronising him and shewing him off, and Punch
Greville disgraced himself by hunching him ; but he
took both in the same good humor, and we all drank
freely in compliment to the royal guest. . . ."
" Cantley, nr. Doncaster [Michael Taylor, M.P.'s], Sept. 7th.
"... I had a most prosperous journey down here.
There never was such perfection of travelling. I left
London at past 8 on Friday morning, and, without an
* He had paid a visit that morning to the new Bedlam, south of
Westminster Bridge.
t Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville [1794-1865], Clerk of the
Council and political diarist.
80 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. III.
effort, and in a coach loaded with luggage, I was at
Doncaster by 5 the following morning a distance of
1 60 miles! . . . Lady Anson goes to town next week
to be present at the wedding of her niece, the pretty
'Aurora' ' Light of Day' Miss Digby . . . who is
going to be married to Lord Ellenborough. ... It
was Miss Russell who refused Ld. Ellenborough, as
many others besides are said to have done. Lady
Anspn will have it that he was a very good husband
to his first wife, but all my impressions are that he is
a damned fellow." *
" Cantley [Doncaster Races], 24th Sept.
". . . George Payne's loss (in bets) turns out to be
21,000 and not 25,000 as I had been told when I
wrote to you on Monday. The 4000 saved is better
than nothing, but the whole thing is damnable. ... If
one could suppose such a knockdown blow wd. cure
him, it might turn out to be money well laid out ; but
I fear that is hopeless. He says he shall keep to
hunting in future and cut the turf. . . . Lady London-
derry is the great shew of the balls here in her jewels,
which are out of all question the finest I ever beheld
such immense amethysts and emeralds, &c. Poor
Mrs. Carnac, who had a regular haystack of diamonds
last night, was really nothing by the side of the other,
tho' in beauty the two ladies are very fairly matched.
Such a dumpy, rum-shaped and rum-faced article as
Lady Londonderry one can rarely see. ..."
" Lambton, Oct. 20.
"... I got here on Monday night, the company
being at dinner, and in the second course. However
King Jog, hearing I was arrived, left his throne, and
came out, and took me in with him. I found nearer
30 than 20 people there, in a very long and lofty
apartment the roof highly collegiate, from which hung
the massive chandeliers the curtain drapery of dark-
coloured velvet, profusely fringed with gold, and much
resembling palls. The company, sitting at a long and
* This marriage turned out badly, and was dissolved by Act of
Parliament in 1830. " Aurora " consoled herself by three subsequent
marriages, and died at Damascus in 1881.
1823-24.] A VISIT TO LAMBTON. 8l
narrowish table, never uttered a single, solitary sound
for long and long after I was there ; so that it really
might have been the family vault of the Lambtons, and
the company the male and female Lambtons who had
been buried in their best cloaths and in a sitting
position. Grey and Ly. Elizabeth and Lord Howick
are here, the Milbanks, the Wiltons and Bob Grosvenor,
the Cavendishes and Henry and his wife, the Dundas's,
the Normanbys, Mr. Hobhouse, Sir Hedworth William-
son, young Liddel, Mat Ridley, {illegible] three deep,
Capt. Berkley and other captains and majors who ride
at our races, not omitting John Mills. To-day, too,
my Lord and Lady Londonderry, with Sir Something
and Lady Something Gresley,* come. The place is
really a fine one, considering how confined it is by
coal-pits and smoke, and part of the house quite
unrivalled. . . . The capricious young tyrant and
devil f is all graciosity to myself. . . . Mrs. Taylor
had caught fresh cold before I left Cantley, so that she
was bled on Sunday morning and fainted away. . . .
We'll go to our races of to-day. Grey had over and
over again expressed to me his nervousness about 14
or 15 of these young men starting for the Cup; the
course being very slippery and not wide enough for
such a number. You may judge, then, what cause
there was for his apprehension when three horses out
of the number came in without their riders. . . . Lady
Wilton was standing up as white as a sheet, whilst
Lady Augusta Milbank fell to the bottom of the coach
as if she had been shot. Just then, however, the
good-natured Mat Ridley came galloping up with all
his might and main to announce that all was safe. . . .
Milbank is the only one hurt ... he has been bled,
and is somewhat bruised. . . . Well all being over,
we came home and dined pretty punctually at seven
and such a dinner I defy any human being to fancy for
such an occasion. ... I handed Mrs. Dundas out
(Miss Williamson that was) and a pretty good laugh
I had out of her at pur fare. A round of beef at a side
table was run at with as much keenness as a banker's
shop before a stoppage. . . . Was there ever such an
* Sir Roger and Lady Sophia Gresley.
t Mr. Lambton.
VOL. II. G
82 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. III.
instance of derangement, with all this expense in other
subjects and all his means ? I have just been saying
to Mills that it is a low Crockford's, and he admits it
is so ; but he adds that it is certainly better than last
year, for then there was no beef at the side table, but
only a sucking-pig! Oh dear, oh dear! it is a neat
concern : and yet the comfort of these rooms is beyond.
I have got my book I was in search of, and his civility
about it makes me almost ashamed of thinking him
such a stingy, swindling, tyrannical kip as he cer-
tainly is.
" Well, as to kips, I think this Lord Wilton * must
certainly be a decided one. He has the worst counte-
nance, I think, I ever saw, and he appears a sulky,
selfish chap : but she seems very happy . . . and there
is a great charm in all she does. . . ." "
" Lambton, 23rd Sept.
"... A very large division of us have got to quiz
the whole concern of dinner, so that we really have a
very jolly time. King Jog himself still sits silent and
involved in thought. . . . We are really very much
indebted to these grandees for the damned fools they
make of themselves. Let me present you with a few
particulars. . . . The night before last, between 12 and
i, I being in the library where the same cold fowl
always is with wine and water, Lambton came in out
of the hazard room, and, finding no water, begun
belabouring the bell in a way that I thought must
inevitably have brought the whole concern down. No
effect was produced, so he sallied forth, evidently
boiling, and when he returned he said: ' I don't think
I shall have to ring so long another time.' This is all
I know of my own knowledge ; but, says Lady Augusta
Milbank to me yesterday 'Do you know what
happened last night?' 'Du tout,' says I. 'Why,
says she, 'Mr. Lambton rung the bell for water so
long, that he went and rung the house bell, when his
own man came; and upon saying something in his
own justification which displeased the Monarch, he
laid hold of a stick and struck him twice ; upon which
* The 3rd Earl of Wilton, a renowned character in the chase and
on the turf.
1823-24.] CAPTAIN FITZCLARENCE'S OPINIONS. 83
his man told him he could not stand that, and that if
he did it again he should be obliged to knock him
down. So the master held his hand and the man gave
him notice he had done with him. . . .
" Lady has two maids here one French and
the other Italian, the latter of which presides over
the bonnet department. [Follows a story about
the Italian.] ... So much for the Italian maid, and
now for the French one. Mrs. William Lambton
was going along a passage near her ladyship's room
between 1.2 and i this morning, when she found la
petite on the floor crying bitterly, and upon enquiring
the cause, she said my lady had beat her so : upon
which Mrs. W. Lambton sent her maid to her with
some sal volatile, and just as she was administering it,
my lord came out and would not let her have
it, saying she did not deserve it and that she was
shamming. Now I should be glad to know if there
was ever ! You never saw any one enjoy these things
more than Grey, except indeed Lady Wilton. What
a good thing she will make of it all for little Derby
and the Countess ! "
" Lambton, Oct. 24th.
". . . I think I never saw Grey to greater advantage,
nor Lady Louisa to so much. As for Lady Elizabeth,
you never saw a creature so thin or altered in looks. . . .
The other night Ly. Wilton, she, Hobhouse, Mills and
I had a jaw about life, youth and age. Ly. Elizth.
was all for childhood that she shd. never be so happy
again, and that if it was not for her friends, she would
as soon die as live. This may be Grey gloom, but I
am afraid it must be the behaviour of Lord Lothian."
"Croxteth, Nov. 10, 1824.
"... I left FitzClarence at Gosforth and continue
to like him as well as ever. Ly. Sefton says he is out
and out the best of the family. . . . Tho' shy, he is not
without the ingenuousness of the family. He said the
King was getting very old and cross that the Duchess
of Clarence was the best and most charming woman in
the world that Prince Leopold was a damned humbug,
and that he [FitzClarence] disliked the Duchess of
Kent."
CHAPTER IV.
1825-1826.
DOMESTIC politics were in an uneventful stage in the
fifth year of George IV. Ten years of peace had told
their tale upon the resources of the United Kingdom ;
the mineral and textile industries were fully employed,
and were developing apace ; even farmers had ceased
to have cause for complaint, if the Annual Register may
be taken as well informed, for "agricultural distress
had disappeared," according to that authority, which
is scarcely to be reconciled with Lord Sefton's
account of affairs in Lancashire. Mr. Creevey's
letters are chiefly filled with descriptions of the various
country houses which he visited, and of their inmates.
January finds him north of the Tweed, paying a visit
to his friend Mr. Ferguson of Raith.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Raith, i8th January, 1825.
". . . On Sunday I went to Kirk to hear the great
luminary of this county, Dr. Chalmers,* Professor of
Huma-nity at Glasgow, and an author upon many
subjects. He dined here on Saturday, and was treated
as a regular Jeroboam. His appearance on that day
was that of a very quiet, good kind of man, with very
dirty hands and nails ; but on Sunday I never beheld
a fitter subject for Bedlam than he was. . . . The stuff
the fellow preached could only be surpassed by his
* In 1823 he was Professor of Moral Philosophy in St. Andrews,
but in 1824 he was transferred to the chair of Theology in Edinburgh.
1825-26.] TWO SCOTTISH DIVINES. 85
manner of roaring it out. I expected he would have
carried the poor Kirkcaldy pulpit clean away. Then
his Scotch too! His sermon was to prove that the
manner of doing a kindness was more valuable than
the matter, in support of which I remember two notable
illustrations. ' If/ said he, ' you suppose a fa-mily to
be suddenly veesited with the ca-la-mity of po-verty,
the tear of a menial the fallen countenance of a
domestick in such cases will afford greater relief to
the fa-mily than a speceefick sum of money without a
corresponding sympathy.' A pretty good start, was
it not for Scotland, too, of all places in the world!
but it was followed by a still higher flight. 'Why,'
said he, or rather shouted he, ' Why is it that an pple
presented by an infant to its parent produces greater
pleesure than an pple found by the raud-side ? Why,
because it is the moral influence of the geft, and not
the speceefick quality of the ^pple that in this case
constitutes the pleesure of the parent.' Now what
think you of the tip-top showman of all Scotland ? . . .
" Having heard that the London artist Irving had
formerly to do with Kirkcaldy, I asked Fergus and he
replied ' Oh yes : he kept an aca-demy for youth at
Kirkcaldy and was the greatest tyrant of a dominie that
ever I hard of. He had three different indictments
found against him for beating his pupils.' 'Oh!' said
I, 'you joke.' 'No,' replied Fergus, 'I never made a
joke in my life. I have seen, with my own eyes, his
pupils carried home, from his having bruised them so
unmercifully; and the truth is, I canno bear to hear
his name mentioned.' The said Fergus is a man of
70 years of age at least, and Provost of Kirkcaldy.
Is it not a capital account of the London charmer to
whom the fine ladies, Jemmy McKintosh, and Canning,
and anybody else of any fame, fly in all directions ? "
Lord Thanet's death at this time seriously affected
Mr. Creevey's position in Parliament as member for
Appleby, which seat was in the deceased lord's gift.
By the custom of the unreformed Parliament he felt
bound to resign the seat if called on to do so by his
lordship's successor.
86 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. IV.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Raith, Feby. 6th, 1825.
". . . Soyez tranquille as to Parliament as to my
having a seat in it, I mean. You have already my
mind on this subject . . . particularly as to the value
to one's feelings of- not being turned out on a notice
or by the intrigues of Ly. Holland, Ly. Blessington,
&c., &c. . . . The death of poor Thanet makes a great
difference in my feelings as to parliamentary attend-
ance. It was due to him to be at my post ; I feel no
such obligation to the present earl or my dear con-
stituents. . . ."
" Raby Castle [Earl of Darlington's], Feb. i6th, 1825.
". . . This house is itself by far the most magnificent
and unique in several ways that I have ever seen.
Then what are we to say of its being presided over by a
poplolly ! ! a magnificent woman, dressed to perfection,
without a vestige of her former habits in short, in
manners as produceable a countess as the best blood
could give you. . . . As long as I have heard of any-
thing, I have heard of being driven into the hall of
this house in one's carriage, and being set down by
the fire. You can have no idea of the magnificent
perfection with which this is accomplished. Then the
band of musick which plays in this same hall during
dinner! then the gold plate!! and then the poplolly
at the head of all!!!"*
" Raby, 2oth Feby.
". . . My lady [Darlington] drove me about and
shewed me many lions I had not seen before. I am
compelled to admit that, in the familiarity of a duet
and outing, the cloven foot appeared I don't mean
more than that tendency to slang, which I conceive it
impossible for any person who has been long in the
ranks entirely to get over.f To be sure when I
* The 3rd Earl of Darlington was created Duke of Cleveland in
1833. B y his second wife, alluded to above, who died in 1861, he had
no children.
t It requires an effort to realise how very recent is the toleration of
slang in ladies of position. Men, as is amply manifest in Mr. Creevey's
correspondence, permitted themselves to use language of the utmost
1825-26.] THE BIRTH OF RAILWAYS. 87
look at these three young women,* and at this
brazen-faced Pop who is placed over them, and shews
that she is so, the whole transaction I mean the
marriage, appears to me the wickedest thing I ever
heard of; for altho* these young ladies appear to be
gifted with no great talents, and altho' they have all
more or less of the quality squall, yet their manners
are particularly correct and modest. . . ."
" London, March 7th.
"... I wish you could hear Atty Hill's t imitation
of old Dowr. Richmond upon the marriage that is
about to take place between Mrs. Tighe's eldest son
and a young Lady [Louisa] Lennox. The Down had
fixed her mind upon having Lord Hervey, which was
more than he did, so Tighe and the young one
settled their affairs. . . ."
At this time may be noted the earliest appear-
ance in Parliament of the great railway movement.
Mr. Creevey was appointed a member of the Com-
mittee to deal with the Bill of the Liverpool and Man-
chester Railway Company, to which, it would appear,
he applied himself in no judicial frame of mind. He
acted openly in the interests of his friends Lords
Derby and Sefton, who, like most territorial magnates
at that time, viewed the designs of railway engineers
with the utmost apprehension and abhorrence.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"London, March 16, 1825.
". . . Sefton and I have come to the conclusion
that our Ferguson is insane. He quite foamed at the
mouth with rage in our Railway Committee in support
of this infernal nuisance the loco-motive Monster,
licence ; but, if swearing was reckoned a grace in male conversation,
slang was pronounced a disgrace among ladies.
* Lord Darlington's daughters.
t Lord Arthur Hill, second son of 2nd Marquess of Downshire,
succeeded his mother as Baron Sandys.
88 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. IV.
carrying eighty tons of goods, and navigated by a tail
of smoke and sulphur, coming thro' every man's
grounds between Manchester and Liverpool. He
was supported by Scotchmen only, except a son of
Sir Robert Peel's, and against every landed gentle-
man of the county his own particular friends, who
were all present, such as Ld. Stanley, Ld. Sefton,
Ld. Geo. Cavendish, &c."
"25th March.
"... I get daily more interested about this rail-
road on its own grounds, to begin with, and the
infernal, impudent, lying jobbing by its promoters. . . ."
"3 ist May.
". . . This railway is the devil's own from 12 till
4 daily is really too much. We very near did the
business to-day ; we were 36 to 37 on the Bill itself. I
led for the Opposition in a speech of half an hour. . . ."
"June I.
". . Well this devil of a railway is strangled at
last. 1 was sure that yesterday's division had put him
on his last legs, and to-day we had a clear majority in
the Committee in our favour, and the promoters of the
Bill withdrew it, and took their leave of us. ... We
had to fight this long battle against an almost universal
prejudice to start with interested shareholders and
perfidious Whigs, several of whom affected to oppose
us upon conscientious scruples. Sefton's ecstacies are
beyond, and he is pleased to say it has been all my
doing; so it's all mighty well."
"6th.
". . . Another charming day we had [at Ascot].
Prinney came as before, bowling along the course in
his carriage and four. In passing the young Duchess
of Richmond's open landau he played off his nods and
winks and kissing his hand, just as he did to all of you
20 years ago on the Brighton racecourse. . . . Lords
Cowper and Jersey joined our sandwich party. ... As
Cowper was an inmate of the Court, I inquired as to
their goings on, and how the King lived. ' Why,' said
he, 'yesterday I think we sat down about 24 or 25 to
dinner at i past 7, and the King ate very heartily of
1825-26.] CREEVEY'S SEAT IN JEOPARDY. 89
turtle, accompanying it with punch, sherry and cham-
paign. The dinner always lasts a very long time, and
yesterday we sat very late after it. The King was in
deep conversation with Lauderdale, and I think must
have drunk a couple of bottles of claret before we rose
from table.' . . . He had prepared for the week by
having 12 oz. of blood taken from him by cupping on
the Monday. Nevertheless, we all think he will beat
brother York still. It was not amiss to hear bold
York congratulating Sefton and the Countess upon
their victory ' over the railway. . . .
" Our dinner at Bruffam's yesterday was damnable
in cookery, comfort, and everything else, tho' the dear
Countess of Darlington was there, better dressed and
looking better than any countess in London. Mrs.
Brougham sat like an overgrown doll at the top of
the table in a bandeau of roses, her face in a perpetual
simper without utterance. Bruffam, at the other end,
was jawing about nothing from beginning to end,
without attending to any one, and only caring about
hearing himself talk. The company were the Dar-
lingtons and Ly. Arabella, the Taylors, Dr. and Mrs.
Lushington, Lord Nugent, Anacreon Moore, a son of
Rosslyn's, a brother of Brougham's, and myself."
"June 25th.
"... There has been a blow-up again between
Prinney and Ly. Conyngham, but matters are all settled
again thro' the kind and skilful negociation of Lau-
derdale. She has become of late very restless and
impatient under what she calls her terrible restraint
and confinement, and about 10 days ago announced
her fixed determination to go abroad. . . . Lauderdale,
however, has satisfied her for the present that, how-
ever blameable it was in her at first to get into her
present situation, now it is her bounden duty to sub-
mit and go thro' with it."
Busy intrigues were afoot at this time about seats
in Parliament. Brougham was negociating secretly
.with various noble lords in order to get his friends
in; and although his correspondence with Creevey
was as cordial in appearance as heretofore yet
90 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. IV.
Creevey was duly informed by kind friends what was
going on. He deeply resented what he considered
Brougham's treachery in trying to oust him from his
seat, and wrote with great bitterness and frequency
about the villainy of " Wicked Shifts." Lord Darling-
ton had five seats to dispose of.
M. A. Taylor, M.P., to Sir Robert Wilson.
"Cantley, nth Sept.
". . . All my accustomed correspondents are
absent from town ; I therefore have nothing from the
great emporium of news. While Canning is viewing
the scenery of the Lakes, and the King is fishing in a
punt upon Virginia Water, I am bound to suppose
there is no tempest upon the political ocean. I wish
that Ferdinand [King of Spain] was hanged Roths-
child, Baring and all the gambling crew in the Gazette
the Sultan driven forth from Constantinople his
wives and concubines let loose that balloons were
actual and safe conveyances, and that I had a villa in
the Thracian Bosphorus. . . ."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Cantley, 21 Sept. 1825.
"... Mrs. Taylor has had an interview with the
Countess [of Darlington] upon my case. She said she
now spoke with Lord Darlington's authority that
what she said must be considered as coming from
himself. It was, therefore, matter of deep regret to
him that Mrs. Taylor had not mentioned Mr. Creevey's
case till his Parliamentary arrangements were all made,
which unfortunately they now were, and that all that
remained for him now to say was that the first vacancy
which happened in any seat of his, Mr. Creevey should
have it, and that he never should be without one.
Now ; altho' reversionary prospects for a gentleman
in his 58th year are no very brilliant matters, yet I think
it is all mighty well . . . and as she has once taken
me and my concerns into her holy keeping, when we
come to cement the connection with a few gambols at
1825-26.] LAMBTON REVISITED. QI
Raby, she may perhaps open the Earl's eyes to an
interest in some borough which he never thought of
before. . . . We were 23 at dinner to-day, to say
nothing of a buck from Ld. Tankerville, another from
Lambton, a third from Ld. Darlington, half a one from
Lord Fitzwilliam, another half from Ld. Tavistock ;
not to mention a turtle also a present, and pines
without end."
" Cantley, Sept. 29.
". . . What a devil of a good hand Mrs. Taylor is for
living in a storm . . . She was evidently much pleased
with her grandee of a niece * taking the amiable and
dutiful line to her aunt as she did. . . . There are
usually only three balls, but, as Lady Londonderry
justly observed to Mrs. Taylor, that it must be very
dull for people to stay at home in their lodgings on the
Tuesday and Thursday evenings, she got up publick
balls for these nights also, and at all five balls she
[Lady Londonderry] was there the first and went
away the last . . . and the result was every one was
charmed with her. ..."
Despite the evil impression Creevey had received
upon his first visit to Lambton, he returned there for
the races in the following year. His report thereon
to Miss Ord contains, as usual, some curious particu-
lars of the menage.
" Lambton, 24th Oct., 1825.
"... Altho' our King Jog did receive me so
graciously yesterday . . . the sunshine was of very
limited duration. You must know by a new ordinance
livery servants are proscribed the dining-room ; so our
Michael and Frances [Taylor] were none the better
for their two Cantley footmen, and this was the case
too with Mrs. General Grey, whom I handed out to
dinner. . . . Soup was handed round from where,
God knows ; but before Lambton stood a dish with
one small haddock and three small whitings in it,
which he instantly ordered off the table, to avoid the
* The Marchioness of Londonderry, a very great lady indeed, who
was staying at Cantley with her aunt, Mrs. Taylor, for Doncaster races.
92 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. IV.
trouble of helping. Mrs. Grey and myself were at
least ten minutes without any prospect of getting any
servant to attend to us, altho' I made repeated applica-
tion to Lambton, who was all this time eating his own
fish as comfortably as could be. So my blood begin-
ning to boil, I said : ' Lambton, I wish you would tell
me what quarter I am to apply to for some fish.' To
which he replied in the most impertinent manner:
' The servant, I suppose.' I turned to Mills and said
pretty loud : ' Now, if it was not for the fuss and
jaw of the thing, I would leave the room and the
house this instant'; and I dwelt on the damned out-
rage. Mills said: ' He hears every word you say';
to which I said : ' I hope he does.' ... It was a
regular scene. . . ."
" Nov. 3, Newton House [Earl of Darlington's].
". . . In taking leave of Lambton, let me observe
once for all that nothing could be better than Lady
Louisa,* in her quiet way, to everybody. In every
respect and upon all occasions she is a very sensible,
discreet person. . . . Nothing on earth can be more
natural and comfortable than we all are here. The
size of the house, as well as of the party, makes it
more of a domestic concern than it is at Raby, and
both he and she shine excessively in this point of
view. As for her [Lady Darlington] I consider her a
miracle. To see a ' bould face ' turn into a countess,
living in this beautiful house of her own, and never to
shew the slightest sign of being set up, is so unlike
all others of the kind I have seen, that she must be a
very sensible woman. Then she is so clean, and she
is looking so beautiful at present. . . ."
" Thorp Perrow [Mr. Milbank's], Nov. 8.
"Well now for Milbank and Ly. Augusta f or
Gusty, as he calls her. Their house is in every way
worthy of them a great, big, fat house three stories
high. . . . All the living rooms are on the ground
* Mr. Lambton's second wife. She was Lady Louisa Grey
daughter of the 2nd Earl Grey.
t A daughter of Lord Darlington.
1825-26.] CREEVEY AS AN AUTHOR. 93
floor, one a very handsome one about 50 feet long,
with a great bow furnished with rose-colored satin,
and the whole furniture of which cost 4000. Every-
thing is of a piece excellent and plentiful dinners, a
fat service of plate, a fat butler, a table with a barrel
of oysters and a hot pheasant, &c., wheeled into the
drawing room every night at i past ten . . . but
our events for record are few. ... In answer to your
question about Brancepeth Castle, it belonged to
Mrs. Taylor's uncle, Mr. Tempest. . . . Having left it
to his nephew, Sir Harry Vane, the latter sold it to
Russell, who has rebuilt the whole ancient castle.
. . . Few people could devote 80,000 per ann. to
accomplish the job as Russell did. Lord Londonderry
told Ly. Ramsden he wished he had never taken
Frances [Lady Londonderry] there, for she had raved
of nothing else ever since, and was quite out of heart
with all they are doing at Wynyard ; and Frances is
quite right. "
At this time Mr. Creevey was much taken up
in preparing for publication a series of letters on
Reform addressed to Lord John Russell. He sub-
mitted the proofs to Brougham for approval, and his
letters to Miss Ord are full of references to the
forthcoming work. " You know," he writes, " one is
always occupied at the last in twisting and twining
about sentences in one's head to try if one can make
them look better." The letters were published by
Ridgway early in 1826 in the form of a pamphlet.
Earl of Sefton to Mr. Creevey.
"Croxteth, Oct. 2, 1825.
"... I cannot help congratulating you upon your
conversion to reform. I have been long convinced
that nothing else will bring down taxation and tythes,
and therefore would not give a farthing for any other
remedy. ... I hear our friend the Bear Ellice must be
a bankrupt ; he is trying to defer the evil day, but fall
94 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. IV.
he must. Did you read Cobbett's life of Canning in
the Statesman ? What the devil does he mean by all
at once being so completely mollified, and compli-
menting his talents and beauty? . . . Nothing can
exceed the distress here among the farmers : 40 per
cent, reduction of rents is the lowest they talk of, and
even then I don't believe they will be able to pay the
remainder. Little Derby is very sore. Old Black-
burne* begins to think everything is not quite right;
he even goes so far as to say he does not see how it
will all end."
The year 1826 opened upon a very different scene
to the preceding one. Activity in all branches of
industry had brought about the usual results in head-
long speculation and over production. A period of
depression and inactivity followed in due sequence
upon the wave of prosperity, so that the autumn
witnessed the failure of many country banks and the
collapse of many commercial houses. The Roman
Catholic agitation in Ireland was becoming formidable ;
amendments were moved to the Address in both Houses
calling upon the Government to repeal or revise the
Corn Laws, and thereby alleviate the general distress,
and the commercial panic had to be dealt with by
legislation on the currency. " The political sky looks
very cloudy," wrote Mr. Croker to Lord Hertford ;
"the three C's Corn, Currency and Catholics will
perplex if not dissolve the Government." As regards
the currency, a measure was passed prohibiting the
circulation of bank notes for less than 5 face value.
Scotland successfully resisted this restriction, and
enjoys her i notes to this day, but these disappeared
entirely from England.
The Corn Laws were more thorny matter to
* John Blackburne of Orford Hall [1754-1833], M.P. for Lancashire
for 46 years.
1825-26.] LADY GREY'S VIEWS. 95
handle ; nevertheless, in May an Act was passed per-
mitting the importation of 500,000 quarters of foreign
wheat, irrespective of the current price in English
markets at the time. Thus was the gauntlet thrown
down between the rival interests of agriculture and
manufacture the land and the towns ; presenting a
difficult and disagreeable dilemma for the great Whig
landowners, and driving a wedge deep into the Tory
phalanx, which had so long withstood external assault.
Countess Grey to Mrs. Taylor.
" Tuesday [February, 1826].
". . . Things are worse and worse in the City. I
have just had a note from thence, and this day all the
things in the Stocks have fallen worse than ever.
Every soul to whom a shilling is due comes to ask for
it. In short, it is a fearful time. As to the opinions
on the i and 2 notes business, people are so divided
that it is impossible to come at the truth. Sir Robert
Wilson, Brougham, Lord Lansdowne are with Minis-
ters, and even Lord Dacre; then others the strongest
of the Tories are against them. Lord Auckland
thinks it ruin to us all, and even those who vote for
it say that it will make things worse for the present.
Ld. Dacre says that he makes up his mind to get no
rents for 2 or 3 years, but that he thinks it will
eventually do good. I understand nothing about it,
but dislike it if it will prevent us receiving rents, which
seems allowed on all hands.
" Last night Harriet had her ecarte party, and it
was very good and very agreeable, except that I lost
my 10, which made me rather blue.
" There is a strong; report of the Chancellor [Eldon]
going out. Gilford, it is supposed, cannot be Chan-
cellor, as all the Bar declare him incompetent, and he
himself feels it. Copley is trying, but they say it is
impossible, as he is not a Chancery man.* Some say
* Nevertheless, he became Chancellor [Lord Lyndhurst] in the
following year.
96 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. IV.
that our Leach must get it, as he is the only one who
can do the business. I think it more likely that the
Seals will be put in commission. If Leach gets it, Mr.
Vane is sure to get the best thing going. He told me
so long since. To be sure, we won't get all the best
things for all our friends, and if he don't obey we will
neither dine with him nor allow him to play at ecarte.
Lady Elizabeth [Conyngham's] marriage still drags on.
She now says she cannot think of fixing a time for it,
as she cannot make up her mind to quit her mother ;
that is Lady C[onyngham] puts this into her mouth,
and then says: 'It is so, is it not, Tissy?' 'Yes,
mama,' answers she. ... I hear from those who have
been there that the Cottage * is more dull than ever :
that Lady C. throws herself back on the sofa and never
speaks ; and the opinion is (which I don't believe) that
she hates Kingy. We have just got over Shoenfeld, the
man who fought with Cradock about Mme. de G[enlis]
and Mme. de Firmagon. The Dauphine at Lady Gran-
ville's ball said to him : ' Monsieur, quand partez-
vous?' which was reckoned a conge, and he was in
consequence sent here as attache to Esterhazy. He is
all whiskers and white teeth, and evidently means to
be a ladykiller, and, if I am not mistaken, will succeed.
I find that he was with Esterhazy at the very time we
were living so much with the Princesse, and that he
used to dine every day with us all, at the bottom of
the table. So little effect did he make, that we never
saw the animal ; but he has now gotten a new applique
in the shape of a top knot, and passes off for a youth
a bonnes fortunes, which is very amusing. ... I am
happy to tell you that a serious phalanx is arranging
for the Age newspaper. About 6 or 7 people are going
to prosecute Mr. Fox Lane for his wife, who they
chose to say 'had exposed herself in her box at the
Opera with Poodle Byng.' She had not seen him even
by accident for 8 months, and then only in the streets ;
and on the very night mentioned she was sitting over
her own fire with her father and brother !
" Lord Kirkwall,f it is said, marries Lord Boston's
* George IV.'s cottage at Virginia Water, where Lady Conyngham
resided.
f Afterwards $th Earl of Orkney.
1825-26.] LORD J. RUSSELL ON REFORM. 97
daughter. The Belfasts have bought Lord Boston's
house in my street. . . . Houses are dearer than ever.
Their' s will stand them furnished in 400 a year. . . .
If I dared, I would entreat of you to take no more blue
pill. I think that you are ruining yourself, but I know
that you have no faith in my knowledge of medicine ;
but what can be so bad as to take medicine to that
excess as to bring on such misery as to affect the
mouth.* . . ."
Earl of Sefton to Mr. Creevey.
i3thFeby.
". . . I dined yesterday with old Sussex. After
dinner he proposed Stephenson's and Lady Mary
Keppel's healths,t and thus announced that most in-
teresting and opulent alliance. Albemarle was there,
and seemed contented. I hear old Coke is furious
about it.t . . . We shall have a division on Robinson's
plan. Most/of the Oppn. will vote for him. I cer-
tainly shall. We are gone too far to recede."
"Alnwick, Feby. 25, 1826.
"... I send you an interesting scrap I received last
night from the tip-top reformer of all Lord John
Russell. I had desired Ridgway to send him a copy
of ' the Work,' and at the same time I wrote him [Lord
J. R.] a few lines myself. It was always one of my
hobbies on this subject to make little Johnny's speech
for him, knowing that my materials were much better
than any he had ever produced, or had the means of
producing. So I was quite sure, if I succeeded, he
would be gravelled, and it is quite clear he is so, and
I am glad of it, for he is a conceited little puppy. If
he is so complimentary as to think the work 'calculated
to do good when money ceases to be uppermost/ I
* By salivation.
f Henry Frederick Stephenson, natural son of the nth Duke of
Norfolk, private secretary to H.R.H. the Duke of Sussex, married
Lady Mary Keppel, 3rd daughter of the 4th Earl of Albemarle.
% Mr. Coke of Holkham had married Lady Anne Keppel, an elder
daughter of Lord Albemarle's.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer's Currency Bill.
VOL. II. H
98 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. IV.
wonder when he thinks his speeches upon Reform will
come into play as doing good ! "
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Brancepeth Castle, March 13, 1826.
". . . Tho' I say it who should not say it, I don't
think I ever followed faster hounds than my friend
Russell's, nor did I ever see a more beautiful run,
nor a fox more gallantly run into and killed. I was
in at the death, \ assure you. . . . Oh what a house
this is for beautiful apartments and comforts without
end ! O'Callaghan, who knows Lowther well, says
it is not to be mentioned in the same year with it
such perfect good taste in everything, and the man
who did it all just lived in it seven months. . . ."
" London, March 2oth.
"... I have just been at Ridgway's for the first
time, and altho' I am only in a 2nd edition,* I know I
am in port. Hobhouse,t who, you know, is a brother
author, told me yesterday unasked that it was unique
and quite unanswerable, and so he intended to say on
Lord John Russell's motion next month. . . . This I
shall immediately follow up by putting my name
to it."
" London, March 21.
" Never did I see anything like the town for
dulness. . . . The only thing going on is at Ly.
Tankerville's and a few other houses, where ladies
of easy virtue meet every night, and as many dandies
as the town can supply. Ecarte is the universal go
with them the men winning and losing hundreds a
night ; and as the ladies play guineas, their settlement
each night cannot be a small one. I met Vesuvius }
yesterday, who came up to me open-mouthed about
my work. He said a review of it would appear very
shortly in the Westminster Review. ... I saw little
white-faced Lord John [Russell] too, but not a word
of compliment from him. . . ."
* Of his pamphlet on Reform.
t John Cam Hobhouse, M.P. [1776-1 854], created Lord Broughton
in 1851 : a copious writer. \ Hon. Douglas Kinnaird.
1825-26.] CANNING AND THE OPPOSITION. 99
" April 1 4th.
"... I was in time to hear Hobhouse tell Canning
that it was with real heartfelt pain that he still heard
from him his deliberate opinion against all parlia-
mentary reform, because he [Hobhouse] was one of
a great portion of this country who looked to him
with gratitude and AFFECTION for his conduct since he
came into office, which would amount to VENERA-
TION if he would but give way upon this vital
question ! ! ! And this from a man who took such
pains to insult Canning by a picture of him three or
four years ago in the House ! To do some part of
the House justice, this affectionate address was re-
ceived with a very marked titter . . . from the Old
Tories at the expense of both Hobhouse and Can-
ning. Lord Rosslyn satisfied me afterwards by facts
that nothing can equal the rage of the Old Tory
Highflyers at the liberal jaw of Canning and Huskis-
son. ... I saw Brougham, who told me that by some
accident ^the letters to Lord John Russell* would not
be reviewed in the next number of the Edinborc?
Review, which had been in the press for a fortnight.
I beg you will suppress your indignation, as I do, at
this monstrous piece of perfidy and villainy, consider-
ing all that has passed between him and me on the
subject. ... I dined at Sefton's yesterday. Bold
York dined with them the last time as usual, and I
trust will do so again, but his life is considered in
great jeopardy. To think of these two men him and
his brother, the King both turned 60, and terrible
bad lives, having new palaces building for them !
The Duke of York's is 150 feet by 130 outside, with
40 compleat sleeping apartments, and all this for a
single man. . . . Billy Clarence,t too, is rigging up
in a small way in the stable-yard, but that is doing
by the Government."
" April 26th, Newmarket [at Lord Sefton's].
". . . My racing campaign is over for the present,
and I have had four very agreeable days very good
sport each day, and one's time one way and another
* 7>. Creevey's pamphlet on Reform. f William IV
100 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. IV.
quite occupied. . . . We have had Jersey, Shelley, F.
Russell, Ld. Wilton, Bob Grosvenor, Lord Titchfield
and Lord George Bentinck, Lady Caroline and Paw-
lett, Mills, Irby, Wortley and his son, different days.
Wortley is dying for me to pair off with him, but I
must do my duty you know. ... I start per coach at
\ past ten, and as the distance is only 60 miles, I hope
to be in time for Michael [Taylorjs dinner."
" May 3rd.
". . . I was one of the majority last night in sup-
port of his Majesty's Ministers for cheaper corn than
the landed grandees will now favor us with. ... It
certainly is the boldest thing that ever was attempted
by a Government after deprecating any discussion
on the Corn Laws during the present session, to try
at the end of it to carry a Corn Law of their own by
a coup-de-mam, and to hold out the landed grandees
as the enemies of the manufacturing population if
they oppose it. ... If a good ultra-Tory Govern-
ment could be made, Canning and Huskisson must
inevitably be ruined by this daring step. You never
heard such language as the old sticklers apply to
them ; and, unhappily for Toryism, that prig Peel
seems as deeply bitten by ' liberality,' in every way
but on the Catholic question, as any of his fellows.
I was laughing with Lord Dudley under the gallery
at this curious state of things, who said if the Duke
of York wd. but come down to the House of Lords
and declare that 'so help him G , corn should
never be under 8os.,' he would drive this Radical
Government to the devil in an instant."
"Mays.
". . . Wellthe villains jibbed after all. ... In
language the Ministers are everything we could wish,
but in measures they dare not go their lengths for fear
of being beat, as undoubtedly they would. Indeed it
is very doubtful if even this temporising scheme of
letting in 500,000 quarters of corn, in the event of
scarcity, will go down in the Lords. ... I never saw
anything like the fury of both Whig and Tory land-
holders at Canning's speech ; but the Tories much
1825-26.] THE CORN LAWS. 101
the most violent of the two. ... It is considered, in
short, as a breaking down of the Corn Laws."
" 8th.
". . . The land has rallied in the most boisterous
manner. The new scheme is considered as a regular
humbug, and a perfect insult to the agricultural intel-
lect. In short, Canning and Huskisson are rising (or
falling) hourly in the execration of all lovers of high
prices, Whig and Tory, but particularly the latter. . . ."
"nth.
". . . On Monday we beat the land black and blue
about letting in foreign corn ; but the Lords, it is said,
are not to be so easily beat as the booby squires.
There is to be a grand fight the Ministers and
Bishops against the Rutlands, Beauforts, Hertfords,
c. Liverpool gives out that, if he is beat, he will
give up the Government, which may be safely said, as
there is no one else to take it."
"i 2th.
". . . Well, you see the landholders, high and low,
are the same mean devils, and alike incapable of fight-
ing when once faced by a Government without any
land at all. Was there ever such a rope of sand as
the House of Lords last night ? to be beat by 3 to i
after all their blustering. . . ."
" 1 3th.
". . . Sefton and I voted differently on the late
measures in our House ; but, to do him justice, no
one is more amused at the contemptible figure and
compleat defeat of both Squires and Lords. The
charm of the power of the Landed Interest is gone ;
and in a new Parliament Canning and Huskisson
may effect whatever revolution they like in the Corn
Laws "
" 23rd.
"... I dined with poor Kinnaird yesterday, and
the sight of such persons as him and her in their
present condition is as striking a moral lesson as
the world can furnish. He is the only man of real
102 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. IV,
genuine vivacity I know left in the world ; and, wreck
as he is, he still preserves the lead in that depart-
ment. He is doomed to death, and his sufferings are
dreadful. Sefton drove down Alava, Douglas Kin-
naird and myself; we were shown into his bedroom,
where he lies upon a couch, with a covering over
every part of him but his head and arms ; and then he
was wheeled in to dinner. . . . Then to look at her
a perfect shadow, living, as it were, by stealth like-
wise ; and to think of what she was when the whole
play-house at Dublin used to rise and applaud when-
ever her sister, Lady Foley, and herself used to enter
the house, in admiration of their beauty only, and not
their rank, for they did so to no others of the Leinster
family. ... It is just 20 years since I saw old Fox
with his white favor in his hat upon the marriage of
his cousin Lady Olivia Fitzgerald with Kinnaird.
103
CHAPTER V.
1827.
THE hour, long expected and prepared for by Canning,
at length struck. The public service of Lord Liverpool
was brought to a close by his fatal illness in February,
1827. Undoubtedly, by experience, brilliant oratory,
and commanding ability, there was no one in the Tory
ranks on the same level with Canning. There were
impediments, arising both from the King's distrust of
Canning on the Roman Catholic question, and the
distrust of his own colleagues Wellington, Eldon,
Peel, &c. upon that and other grounds. Canning
occupied in the Ministerial party much the same
elevation as Brougham did in the Opposition : every-
body paid tribute to the talents of both men, but
nobody trusted them or imagined that either of them
had much in view except his own aggrandisement.
The most powerful engine of statecraft in the
Georgian era was patronage ; and although those
great hotbeds of patronage, the Bar and the Army,
were in the grasp of his High Tory colleagues, Eldon
and Wellington, Canning had used his influence over
Liverpool with judicious foresight. He had secured
the Lord High Stewardship for Lord Conyngham, and
the Under-Secretaryship of Foreign Affairs for his
son, Lord Mount Charles, thereby earning for himself
Lady Conyngham's paramount influence at Court.
Nor did he neglect (and none knew better than he
104 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. V.
how to cultivate) the good graces of Madame
de Lieven and the King's physician, Sir William
Knighton. With these cards in his hand, he played
a strong game against tremendous odds. One cannot
but admire the skill and nerve of the player, however
much one may deplore the temper displayed by his
formidable opponent, the Duke of Wellington, who,
when he found himself outwitted, threw up the
command of the Army. Creevey, as a bystander, saw
a good deal of the game.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Brooks's, Feby. 10, 1827.
". . . As Scroop * was very gracious, I said I must
ask him if what I heard was true, that the Duke of
Clarence said to him at the [Duke of York's] funeral
that he hoped before long to see him in the House of
Lords.f He said it was not at the funeral, but when
the King was last at the House of Lords, when he
[Clarence] did say so to him in the hearing of Lord
Gwydir, and shaking his hand most heartily at the
same time : ' But,' said the Duke [of Norfolk], ' I
ought to add that he said precisely the same thing to
me at the Coronation, and then voted against us on
the very first opportunity ! ' So our Billy is a wag, is
he not? . . ."
Feby.
". . . Tyrwhitt continues to see the King at all
times, in his bed as well as out of it. ... He says that
Knighton is the greatest villain as well as the lowest
blackguard that lives, as well as the most vindictive
chap. He is eternally upon the watch, and more than
ever during Tom's [Tyrwhitt's] tete-a-tete. He came in
without knocking, and planted himself at the bottom
of the bed, Prinney observing when he saw him :
' Damme, I thought you had been at the other end of
* The 1 2th Duke of Norfolk.
f The Duke of Norfolk was debarred as a Roman Catholic from
silting in the House of Lords.
I827-] LIVERPOOL'S LAST ILLNESS. IOS
the town ! ' In the course of this conversation, Prinney
said : ' I wish my Ministers would leave off this new
fashion of giving ambassadors leave of absence from
their stations. Here is my Lord Bloomfield, I find,
has got leave from his right honorable friend and
Secretary Canning to come home; but if he comes
to me, I'll take care to hurry him out again.' *
"It was not amiss to hear the different reasons
assigned by Taylor and Tom [Tyrwhitt] for the fall
of this truly great man Bloomfield. Taylor's account
is direct from Denison alias Lady Conyngham, and
he says that the year the King went to Ireland, Bloom-
field went first to prepare everything, and being at
the play at Dublin when 'God save the King' was
called for and vehemently applauded, Bloomfield was
kind enough to step to the front of the box he was in,
and to express by his bows and gestures his deep
sense of gratitude for this distinction, and that this
being reported to the Sovereign, he never forgave
it. ... Bloomfield was ruined from that moment if
you can call a man ruined who, in our recollection
twenty years back, was little better than a common
footman ; and who, having made himself a fortune by
palpable cheating and robbery in every department
he had to do with, demands and obtains an Irish
peerage, the Order of the Bath, and an embassy to a
crowned head . . . this, in truth, being the price of
keeping his master's secrets.* And this is the apothe-
cary Knighton's hold too, he having all that other
rogue McMahon's papers and letters . . . Lady
Beauchamp gave McMahon 10,000 for getting her
husband advanced from a baron to an earl."
"Feb. 17.
". . . Here's a business for you. Liverpool has
had a paralytic stroke, so says Croker; but West-
morland only admits that he is not well. However
I have no doubt Croker's account is the true one. . . .
* Lieut-General Benjamin Bloomfield, R.A., was successively
gentleman-attendant, marshal, and chief equerry and private secretary
to George IV. as Prince of Wales and Prince Regent. He succeeded
Sir John McMahon in 1817 as keeper of the privy purse, went as
Minister to Stockholm in 1824, and was created an Irish peer in 1825.
106 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. V.
It is quite true about Ld Liverpool. He had a fit of
apoplexy at ten this morning. He is a little better,
but politically dead. Canning is better, but has some
extraordinary violent pain over one eye, nor will he
be the better for this new excitement. He'll be beat
as well as Liyerpool. . . . Did you ever see a more
disgraceful thing under all the circumstances of the
country than this plunder of 9000 a year for our
Billy,* after having got ^3000 a year by the Duke of
York's death. Who would be in a place, without the
possibility of stopping such villainy ? Yet the division
was respectable, altho' Mother Cole the leader and
Jack Calcraft and others did vote for the job. Holland
was under the gallery all the time, canvassing openly
in the most disgusting manner on behalf of his dear
and illustrious connection."
" Well what is your real opinion as to who is to
supply Liverpool's place ? I think somehow it must
be Canning after all, and that then he'll die of it. . . ."
" March 5.
". . . Yesterday about 3 p.m. Dandy Raikes, who
is a member of brooks's, but was never seen there
before, having watched Brougham go in there, followed
him, and taking a position with his back to the fire,
said aloud : ' Mr. Brougham, I am very much obliged
to you for the speech you made at my expence. I
don't know what latitude you gentlemen of the Bar
consider yourselves entitled to, but I am come here pur-
posely to insult you in the presence of your club.' . . .
Brougham was eating some soup, and merely replied
with great composure : ' Mr. Raikes, you have chosen
a strange place and occasion for offering your insult/
and shortly after walked away, there being present
about 8 or 10 persons. I learnt this from Ferguson,
who had just entered Brooks's as Raikes was con-
cluding. We both agreed that Brougham must call
Raikes out, and that the latter must be expelled the
club for the marvellous outrage. ... In going into
Brooks's at 5, which you may suppose was pretty well
* H.R.H, the Duke of Clarence [William IV.].
1827.] CHALLENGE TO BROUGHAM. 10?
crammed with gossipers, no tidings were to be had of
our Bruffam; but upon returning home * I found he had
been here in pursuit of Fergy ; and, having caught him,
had begged him to carry a challenge for him to Raikes,
which the General peremptorily declined to do upon
the grounds of having been mixed up in so many such
things. So Brougham went off after Wilson. I learnt
this at six, and our Taylor and myself went off at
seven to dine at Denison's, where we had Lords Say
and Seale and Reay, W. Pawlett, Ellice, Ferguson and
Stephenson. Brougham was to have been ; but as we
all supposed he was otherwise engaged we sat down
to dinner without him ; tho' in about ten minutes in
he came, occupied a chair which was next to me, and
having talked exclusively to myself the whole night
upon every subject but the one, I never knew him
more agreeable in my life. Upon coming away at
eleven, we were to bring Fergy down here in our coach,
but Brougham stopt him ; and when he followed us,
we found that Wilson had forwarded his challenge to
Raikes, but that in the meantime Brougham had been
taken into custody, carried to Bow Street, and bound
over to keep the peace. This had been the handiwork
of Jack the Painter, alias Spring Rice, who was present
at the row at Brooks's, and had taken himself off to
Bow Street immediately to inform ; his only object, I
have no doubt, being not to lose Brougham's vote
to-night upon that most vital of all subjects the
Catholic question. . . . From the long time that has
elapsed since Brougham made the offensive speech in
question, and from the extraordinary mode adopted
by Raikes to insult him, I cannot but believe that he
has been worked up to this step by such chaps as
Lowther, Glengall and Belfast, and that he was made
to believe Brougham was a shy cock; for Lady Glengall
has always been harping upon that tack of late, as how
he was made to marry Mrs. Brougham by one of her
brothers upon a certain event being known, and such
stuff as this.f Lady Mary Butler has just been here,
* Mr. Creevey, on losing his seat in Parliament, had taken up
permanent abode with his friends the Taylors, in Whitehall.
f Mrs. Brougham was a widow Mrs. Spalding of the Holm in
Galloway when she married Brougham. She was a daughter of
Sir William Eden of West Auckland, co. Durham.
108 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. V.
and said that Mr. Raikes was with them last night,
and that Mr. Brougham had been arrested, which was
thought very odd. So he has got into a rare mess with
these devils. . . . Tankerville has just said to me it was
quite right in Spring Rice to inform Sir Richard
Birnie [?] of Brougham and Raikes. He you know is
the first authority as a fighting man."
" March 6th.
". . . The King comes to town on Thursday, deeply
impregnated, it is said, with his father's conscientious
scruples against the Catholics. . . . Lady Conyngham
writes word to her brother that the great man will
not permit any one whatever to speak to him upon
the subject of Lord Liverpool's illness, or who is to
succeed him. Moreover, he adds that he will not be
spoken to about such matters for some time yet to come.
Was there ever such a child or Bedlamite ? or were
there ever such a set of lickspittles as his Ministers to
endure such conduct? . . ."
" 7th.
". . . The Catholic question was lost by four last
night ; but it was, in truth, a fight for power and not
for the Catholics. ... So far the business is done
that the Cabinet must be broken up ; at least it appears
impossible it should be otherwise. Who is to be
uppermost remains to be seen ; ultimately, I think
Canning must win, tho' he would have no chance if
the King really has the anti-Catholic feelings of his
father, and had but a hundredth part of his courage.
But he is a poor devil. ... In going up to Audley
Street I called upon the Pet * in Arlington Street. . . .
I think his principal amusement was a note he had
got from old Lady Salisbury, in which she says:
' As I find Creevey can't dine with us on Sunday, sup-
pose we change our day to Wednesday, when I hope
he will be disengaged. I leave it to you to settle with
him.' So I think to have lived to be called ' Creevey'
by old Dow. Salisbury, and to have her dinner party
put off for my convenience, is far beyond what any
mortal could have predicted.
"Well, our Brooks's parliament has just been
sitting in judgment on Dandy Raikes an immense
* Lord Sefton.
1827.] CREEVEY ENJOYS HIS FREEDOM.
meeting, old Fitzwilliam in the chair. It ended, as
it should do, in Raikes sending an apology to the
club ; but matters are getting worse and worse as to
Brougham, and I see distinctly he will have to fight
Raikes after all. Kangaroo Cooke is Raikes's second.
Dear Lady Darlington is just come in to us, and she
has not a doubt but that B. must cross the water and
have this business out ; which, of course, is her lord's
opinion likewise, and so says the town in general."
"9th.
". . . The Monarch stole back to Windsor yester-
day, having been fifteen days at Brighton without
leaving his dressing-room, or seeing the face of a
single human being servants, tailors and doctors
excepted. What the devil is it to come to ? This of
course is our Denison's account from his sister. . . .
Old Billy * is much more tender than any one else in
his regrets about my being out of Parliament. He is
always at it, and before people. . . . However, it is all
mighty well ; for, notwithstanding that the Honorable
House has been at its best this week in the interest of
its debates and the conflict of parties, I have never felt
any other sentiment than that of gratification at not
being there so help me ! Such feeling, I suppose,
is partly idleness, partly contempt for all the per-
formers, and a conviction from long experience that
no possible good can be effected by such an assembly,
to say nothing of the perfidy of our own chaps in
particular, whenever a chance of doing any good
arises."
"i 3th.
"We had a rum dinner enough at Denison's on
Saturday altho' the Earl of Darlington was there, and
a very merry one at Kensington [Palace] on Sunday,
where he and my lady were likewise, and about 14 of
us. The Duke [of Sussex] handed out the Countess,
the Earl Lady Mary Stephenson, and Mr. Creevey
Lady Cis. The Duke said: 'Come, Creevey, come
and sit next to Lord Darlington ; ' which of course I
did, and he was mighty playful with me all the day."
* Lord William Russell, brother of the 5th Duke of Bedford. He
was murdered in 1840 by his French valet Courvoisier.
110 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. V.
"i5th.
". . . Duncannon shewed me a letter written by
the wife of the jaoler in the county of Galway to the
maid servants in Lord Besborough's house in that
county. ... I think you will admit it has very pretty
fun in it.
"'Mrs. Murphy's compliments to the ladies of
Wandler [?]. If the maids would like to see Sergeant
Black hang d she will be happy of the honor of their
company at breakfast to-morrow. I will have the
pleasure of conducting the ladies to the gallows. Mrs.
Murphy will take care that the execution shall be
deferred till the ladies arrive.' "
"April 2.
". . . Much has been going on at Windsor lately
upon our ministerial projects. Canning and Wellington
were closeted with rrinney one day, Peel for as long
the next, and then best of all the three Cheerful
Charlie * went down yesterday, his object being, it is
said, to protest on behalf of himself and brother
Tories against Canning being cock of the walk. . . ."
"April nth.
" The town will have it to-day that all is settled
Canning Minister, and that he has received the King's
commands to form a Govt. on the same principles as the
last; . . . yet I don't believe it, because Tankerville
dined yesterday with the Duke of Wellington, who
told him that all was still at sea, and that he Tanker-
ville knew just as much how it would all end as he
Wellington did. Now we all know that, with all his
faults, Wellington is precisely the man to speak the
truth upon such an occasion without either design or
humbug. I would stake my life it was as he said at
the time he said it. ..."
Mr. Creevey's confidence in the Duke's candour on
this occasion was scarcely justified. On the very day
that Wellington made the above statement to Lord
* The $th Duke of Rutland.
I827-] A CABINET CRISIS. Ill
Tankerville, he had received Canning's letter informing
him that he had been commissioned by the King "to
lay before his Majesty ... a plan of arrangements for
the reconstruction of the Administration," and adding,
" I need not add how essentially the accomplishment
must depend upon your Grace's continuance as a
member of the Cabinet." To this Wellington replied
on the same day, intimating his anxious desire "to
serve his Majesty as I have done hitherto in the
Cabinet, with the same colleagues. But before I can
give an answer to your obliging proposition, I should
wish to know who the person is whom you intend to
propose to his Majesty as the head of the Govern-
ment." There was something of wilful misunder-
standing, if indeed it was misunderstanding, in the
Duke's failure to perceive that the King had entrusted
Canning with the formation of a Cabinet.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Holkham, April I4th.
"This is a damned bore, you must know, not
having the London letters and newspapers till four
o'clock in the afternoon. It's all mighty fine for King
Tom * to have his own house the post-house, which it
is ; but give me a professional one in preference to a
squirearchy postmaster. ... I was more delighted
with my approach to this house than ever, and so I
am now with everything both within it and without it
except the company, who, God knows, are rum enough,
and totally unworthy of all Lord Chief Justice Coke
has done for them in creating the estate, and the Earl
of Leicester in building and furnishing the house.
Our worthy King Tom is decidedly the best; but
without offence be it said he by no means comes up
to his ancestor the Chief Justice. . . . Digby and Lady
* Mr. Coke of Holkham.
112 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. V.
Andover * are both speechless {erased} ; Stanhope and
Mrs. Stanhope are worthy, honest, absent, lackadaisical
bodies that don't seem to know where they are or who
they are with ; and this is our present stock, except a
young British Museum artist, who is classing manu-
scripts, and a silent parson without a name ! But then
what have we not in reserve? Do not we expect
Lord John Russell, the Knight of Kerry, Spring Rice,
and various other great and publick men ? We do
indeed! tho' during the different times I have been
here, I have known many expected who never came.
But you'll not quote me. In the mean time, it's all the
same to me whether they come or not. I came to see
the place. I doat upon it. ... I was not sufficiently
struck when I have been here before with the furniture
of the walls in the three common living rooms, which
is Genoa velvet, and what is more, it has been up ever
since the house was built, which is eighty years ago ;
and yet it is as fresh as a four-year-old. To be sure,
the said Earl of Leicester was no bad hand at finishing
his work : never was a house so built outside and in.
The gilded roofs of all the rooms and the doors would
of themselves nowadays take a fortune to make ; and
his pictures are perfect, tho' not numerous."
Canning's appointment as premier was the signal
for the resignation of those Ministers who had hitherto
resisted the Roman Catholic claims Wellington,
Eldon, Bathurst, Melville, Westmorland, Bexley, and
Peel. Canning immediately opened negociations with
the Whig leaders Lansdowne, &c. for a coalition.
Earl of Sefton to Mr. Creevey.
"London, April 13, 1827.
"They all declare their motive for resigning is
strictly personal that the Catholics have nothing to do
with it; it never came into question. The D. of Wel-
lington, who has also given up the Army, says nothing
* Lady Andover, widow of the eldest son of the i$th Earl of Suffolk,
married Admiral Sir Henry Digby, K.C.B.
I827-] MISCHIEVOUS TIMES. 1 13
shall induce him to connect himself with that man.
He has just told this to Ly. Jersey, and has shown her
letters one from Canning to him, announcing that he
had received his Majesty's commands to form a Govern-
ment. This he answered to the King. He says
Canning's letter was most impertinent. . . . Peel says
he could not serve under Canning, nor would any of
the others. . . . Lord Londonderry has resigned the
Bedchamber in a letter to the King saying he had
prevented the Queen being received at Vienna, and
that as H.M. had given his confidence to a man who
entertained such different opinions on that subject, he
could no longer serve him. In short, traits of humour
are without end. Bathurst did not know of the
Chancellor's, Wellington's and Peel's resignation till
he missed them at the Cabinet dinner at Wynne's on
Wednesday. He went home and wrote a very formal
letter of resignation to Canning. ... If Opposition
support, Canning may stand, and they certainly ought
to keep out these villains."
Mrs. Taylor to Mr. Creevey.
"Whitehall, i;th April.
"MY DEAR MR. CREEVEY,
"What a goose you were to leave town in
such delightful mischievous times ! Dear Brougham
arrived the night before last upon a summons from
Lord Lansdowne. . . . He called upon Lord Darlington
on his way up, and I see his object is to get those two
to take office, as an excuse for himself. He is out-
rageous at the idea of Copley * being Chancellor, and
told me he was sure it would never be. . . . As you
may believe, he is in a very disturbed state, and up to
his ears in some intrigue or other."
"2ISt.
". . . Brougham was here last night in a state of in-
sanity after the negociation between Ld. Lansdowne
and Canning was broke off, which it was, in consequence
* Sir John Copley, who, on becoming Lord Chancellor on Lord
Eldon's resignation at this time, was created Baron Lyndhurst.
VOL. II. I
114 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. V.
of the former not consenting to an entire Protestant
Government in Ireland.* From this he went to a
meeting he and Sir M. Wilson got up at Brooks's,
consisting of Jack the Painter,t the Knight of Kerry,
the Calcrafts and a few more shabby ones, anxious for
place at any rate; and there it was agreed to send
Ld. Auckland and the younger Calcraft to Ld. Lans-
downe to remonstrate, and to prevail upon him to
renew the negociation. . . . Brougham told me he had
refused being Attorney-General, but I don't believe it
was really offered to him, for I hear the higher powers
objected to him.
Henry Brougham, M.P., to Mr. Creevey.
"April 2 ist, 1827.
" MY DEAR C,
" As I am sure by instinct that you are with the
true and faithful servants of the Lord in this time of
our trial, and not with the vain and foolish Malignants,
I write to say that the negociation was off last night,
and we had a row at Brooks's (which I own I created)
and the negociation is on again to-day, with a fair
prospect of success. These difficulties come from
some of our friends being still in the year 1780. . . .
Sefton's letters would put life into a wheelbarrow, or
anything but a superannuated Whig. My principle is
anything to lock the door for ever on Eldon and Co.
I have the easier pushed this great matter, because I
can have no sort of interest in its success. My
crimes (which I prize as my glory) of 1820 are on
my head;J and by common consent the King is to be
gratified."
* I.e. a Lord Lieutenant, Chancellor, and Secretary opposed to
Catholic Emancipation.
t Mr. Spring Rice, created Lord Monteagle in 1839.
t His defence of Queen Caroline.
1827.] BROUGHAM IN THE THICK OF IT. 115
"April 27, 1827.
" DEAR C,
" I fear you are a rural politician runs
amator one of the provincials of whom Jonathan
Raine said in his N, Circuit verses
' Quid memorem quotquot, rurali more, colonis
Ruris amatores dant sua jura suis ? '
So you have a politick of your own, as Maude has a
law. How can you, being of [illegible] mind, possibly
think that the Ministry or any Ministry can stand
on volunteer and candid support? My only principle
is : ' Lock the door on Eldon and Co. ;' and this can
only be done by joining C[anning].
" Well, even my not being in office is making the
devil's own mischief. Where am I to sit ? [tttegtdlejs
place, or Pitt's old hill fort ? or where ? How am I to
communicate with C[anning]? Besides, the Tories
don't believe me with C., and are trying to trap me by
motions. N^Cepto be sure, had any man such a
singular, not to say absurd power over a Goyt. as I
shall have. Lord L[ansdowne], D. of Devonshire, &c.,
all take place protesting against my exclusion, and
swearing they only submit to it while I do. Scarlett
Afttorney] G[eneral], but Eldon went off in a head-
ache to escape swearing him in. ...
"H. B."
Edward Ellice, M.P., to Mr. Creevey.
" Brooks's [no date].
". . . Be assured Bruffam will bolt! He is very
sore at Scarlett's appointment, with all his profes-
sions of disinterestedness, and no wonder ! He says
support of an ' hon. and learned member opposite ' is
Il6 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. V.
not quite the same thing as that of 'my hpn. and
learned friend near me;' and that his exclusion will
shut his mouth. This is all as I expected. We shall
see strange confusion and quarrelling in the end.
Lord Grey has shut his door upon Taff., and if they
don't take care, will lead the new Govt. with or with-
out Ld. Lansdowne a pretty dance in the Lords. . . .
I envy none of them the legacy the Tories have left
their successors. They have drained the cup of good
things to the dregs, and left many a bitter draught
for those that follow them. . . . The fellow can't wait
for the letters, and indeed I could only add some lies
of the day.
" Yours,
"E. E."
Michael Angela Taylor, M.P., to Mr. Creevey.
" Denbies, May 6th, 1827.
"... I am almost sick at what is passing. The
scene in the House is to my mind so strange that I
know not where I am. I keep my old place. What is
to be concocted for the general good I cannot conjec-
ture . . . Brooks's rings with the praises of Canning
how well he does how ill the Sovereign is, and how
improperly Canning has been dealt with. Canning has
dissected both Whigs and Tories ; and I profess, if I
was to swear fealty, I should be more inclined to
swear it to him than to Lansdowne and Co. Darling-
ton raves about the new Premier. The Catholic
question is only safe by being postponed, he thinks.
Duncannon now counts noses on the other side, and
sits on the Treasury Bench. I can say for myself that
not much of decent respect has been shown to me. I
have supported the Whigs for eight and thirty years
at an expense of above 30,000. My house and table
have been the resort of the party, and on their account,
partly, the King has got rid of me. To the astonish-
ment of many, not a syllable has ever been mentioned
to me."
in. f <>/ -/ (in. in c(r/u' .
J827-] COALITION.
Lord Althorp to Mr. Creevey.
"Albany, May n, 1827.
". . . It isj impossible for me not to write to you
and say how much gratified I am at finding the line
which I have taken approved of by all those with
whom I first began my political life, which was in
1809, on the Duke of York's business. It is impossible
for me to put any confidence in Canning, but I must
support him as the least of two evils. Lord Lans-
downe and those who, like him, take office or identify
themselves with the administration, appear to me to
have more courage than discretion ; and I think they
would have done better to have acted with more
caution. But the thing being done, we have only to
choose between the two parties, and the line it is our
duty to take is plain enough at present. ... I much
fear that His Majesty will be indulged in every sort of
extravagance in order to win him over."
Earl of Sefton to Mr. Creevey.
" London, 28th May, 1827.
" You are indeed a benighted, rural politician, and
your letter is truly a provincial reverie. I do say the
junction is justified by the exclusion of Eldon, Wel-
lington, Peel and Bathurst. It could have been
brought about by no other means, and I consider it as
an immense benefit conferred on the country. ... As
to the ' baseness of the junction/ and the rest of your
apple-blossom twaddle, I really thought at first, Mr.
Secretary of the Board of Controul, that you were
alluding to the blasted, disgraceful coalition of Fox
and the pure, highminded Grey with old Bogy.*
There, indeed, was a sacrifice of every principle upon
earth for place. I don't stand up for Canning, but
I think the junction with him is a chance for the
country against nothing. Don't forget that Grey,
whose opposition is solely personal, once preferred
him to Whitbread. He had, as you well know, the
choice between them. ... I don't care a damn nor
do you for the Catholics ; but I say their chance is a
* Lord Grenville.
Il8 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. V.
hundredfold better under the new Cabinet than under
the old ; and so do they. . . . Depend upon it that
horticultural pursuits damage a male's understanding.
I am delighted, therefore, that you are once more
coming; into the civilised world, where I trust you
will, with proper care, come to your senses."
Mr. Creevey to the Earl oj Sefton.
"Rivenhall Place, May 3ist, 1827.
" Vous vous trompezj mon cher, when you say Lord
Grey ever voted for Canning in preference to Whit-
bread. At the period to which you refer, he was the
only one who voted for Whitbread against Canning,
and he did so under strong circumstances as affecting
Whitbread. You are aware of the half kind of hostility
that existed between Whitbread and Grey from the
time of the latter taking office in 1806, and one act in
particular of Whitbread's made Grey furious. When
rrinney became Regent, the Whigs and Grenvilles
thought the game was all their own again, and in cast-
ing the parts for the new administration, Whitbread
was to be Secy, of State for the Colonies ; but, before
he wd. touch it, he made it a sine qua non that Ld.
Grenville, as First Lord, should not be Auditor like-
wisea proposition, I say, that made Grey furious, as
an injustice to Grenville, and a reflection upon their
former Government ; but as nothing could shake Whit-
bread, the proposition was laid before Grenville, who,
greatly to his honor, wrote a letter in which, tho' he
arraigned very freely what he thought the injustice of
the demand, still he thought so highly of Whitbread's
services, that he struck rather than not have them.
Well, all this, as you know, ended in smoke; but
shortly after (upon Perceval's death, I believe) when
the game was again in view, the question arose
whether Canning or Whitbread was to be adopted.
Grey voted for Whitbread, in spite of all the provo-
cation he had given him, upon the express ground of
having confidence in his character, which he had not
in Canning's. You are right, therefore, when you say
that Grey's objection to Canning is personal, tho' not
entirely so. If such personal objection was well
1827.] CREEVEY'S OBJECTIONS. IIQ
founded then, as I think it was, surely it is much
stronger now, after Canning's leaving his Govt. in the
lurch as he did upon the Queen's trial, and his late
lies at the expense of his colleagues and Castlereagh,
in setting up for the sole deliverer of the new world.
All these tricks are of the same school, and make a
personal objection to him which I have never known
apply to any public man before.
" What you say of coalitions generally, is true
they are all bad, and all popular principles are sure to
be sacrificed in such a mess. When Brougham wrote
and asked me what I thought of this concern, I replied
that I had an instinctive horror of the very name of a
coalition ; and yet, with all the sins of the last one in
1806, it surely is not to be compared in its design and
formation with this one. Fox and Grenville had been
acting openly together in opposition. When Pitt got
the Govt. in 1804, he could not induce Grenville to
accept office and leave Fox. When Pitt died, and old
Nobbs* sent for Grenville to make the Govt., the
latter would not listen to any prejudice against Fox,
but made the Crown divide the Govt. between them.
Now surely to see Whigs thrusting themselves tail
foremost into Canning's pay as subalterns, is, at least,
a very low-lived concern as compared with the last
coalition. ... I say both upon public and personal
grounds, I never would identify myself with Canning.
... I should like no better fun than backing the
renegado Canning every night against the Tory High-
flyers, but as to trusting myself in the same boat with
him, and, above all, taking his money you'll excuse
me ! "
Mrs. Taylor to Mr. Creevey.
"June i, 1827.
". . . Mr. Canning's weakness was pretty visible
in the Penryn case.f Brougham was so very tipsy,
* George III.
t Gross bribery and corruption had been proved to prevail in the
little Cornish borough of Penryn, which returned two members. Lord
John Russell's motion that it be disfranchised was opposed by the
Government, and defeated by 124 votes to 69.
120 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. V.
that for some time after he got up to speak he did not
know what he said, and neither Tierney, Macdonald
nor Abercromby were in the House. Little Sir T.
T[yrwhitt] has just come in to tell me he was this
moment passed in the street by Mr. Lambton in a
travelling carriage alone ; so that he is come up to see
if peerages are plenty ! "
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"London, June nth.
". . . Lambton has called upon Knighton and told
him to tell the King that the moment he heard at
Naples of the shameful way in which he [the King]
had been treated by his servants, he had travelled
night and day to serve him ; in consequence of which,
he is to dine and sleep one day this week at the Cottage
after Ascot. This comes from Ly. C. to her brother
Denison. . . . Then Brougham is so anxious about
dear Mrs. Brougham that he has consulted Knighton
about her case, who is so good as to see her daily.
Was there ever?* . . ."
"June isth.
". . . It is said that Lambton owes upwards of
900,000, and has little or no profit from his coal
trade to help him out of the mess. . . . The Duke of
St. Albans is to be married to Mother Coutts on Satur-
day. She gives him 30,000 as an outfit the rest to
depend on his good behaviour. . . . Chickens are i$/-
a couple, Mrs. Taylor tells me ; but what do you think
of cock's-combs being 22/- a pound, and it takes a
pound and a half to make a dish ! "
"Brooks's, 1 9th.
". . . In my walk here I met Althorp . . . and
asked him how things were going on. 'Very bad,'
says he. 'What an odd thing,' says I, ' that Robinson t
should turn out so wretched in the Lords.' 'Yes/ says
* Sir William Knighton being the King's physician and confidential
adviser on many things besides his health.
f Mr. J. Robinson, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1823-27, had been
made Viscount Goderich, and became Colonial and War Secretary.
1827.] WELLINGTON AND GREY. 121
he, ' and what is worse, Lansdowne is very little better,
so that Grey, acting the part he does, cuts him to
atoms.' ' Do you suppose,' says I, ' it was the question
of corn that made the great Opposition in the Lords ? '
' No,' says he, ' it was the question of Canning, and
only that; for you know no one can have any con-
fidence in him.'"
" June 20.
". . . You see the buttering speech Bruffam has
been making at Liverpool in favor of Canning, to say
nothing of his lies about his having refused a silk
gown from Eldon, and saying that the latter had
always behaved so well to him ! . . . Sefton said to
Mrs. Taylor yesterday at dinner : ' Well, Mrs. Taylor,
what is your opinion of Brougham now?' 'Why,'
says she, ' exactly what yours used to be, Ld. Sefton,
the worst possible.' "
"June 23.
". . . I sallied forth yesterday for a walk before
dinner, and who shd. I see but Wellington coming out
of Arbuthnot's house in Parliament Street his horses
following him. So thinks I to myself what line will
he take ? which was soon decided by his coming up
and shaking me by the hand. I said ' Curious times
these, Duke ! ' and then, by way of putting him at his
ease and encouraging him to talk, I added 'I am
what they call a Malignant : I am all for Ld. Grey. I
have this moment left him, telling him my only fear
was his becoming too much of a Tory.' . . . Turning
me round by main force and putting his arm thro'
mine, he walked me off with him to the House of
Lords. 'There is no chance,' said he, 'of Ld. Grey
being too much of a Tory ; but you are quite right,
and you may tell him from me that, so long as he
keeps his present position, unconnected with either
party, he has a power in the country that no other
individual ever had before him.'
" Then he fell upon Canning without stint or mercy
said it was impossible for any one to act with him,
and that his temper was quite sure to blow him up.
He said a part of his (Wellington's) correspondence
122 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. V.
had been withheld; that when he found that his
amendment to the Corn Bill, if carried, wd. be fatal to
the Bill, he wrote to Huskisson saying he was willing
to come to any arrangement so as to prevent that;
but Canning, thinking that he should beat him in the
Lords, would not let Huskisson listen to such a pro-
posal. ... In short, you never heard a fellow belabour
another more compleatly con amore than the Beau did
Beelzebub every now and then stopping and nearly
pulling the button off my coat from his animation. I
am only provoked that I omitted asking him whether
he recollected a conversation of ours one day after
dinner, at his house at Cambray, in which I did my
best in describing the perfidious character of Canning,
but he would not touch it. ...
"You will be glad to hear that pur impertinent
Whigs have been disappointed in their expectation of
Darlington claiming his seat from Ld. Howick. Grey
told me he waited upon Darlington and tendered his
son's resignation, as a matter perfectly of course from
the line he (Grey) had taken, as well as his son ; but
Ld. Darlington wd. not listen to the thing, and said he
should take it as a personal favor never to have the
subject mentioned again. It is very creditable to the
Duke of Cleveland (that would be) to keep up his con-
nection with a man that is such an infernal stumbling-
block in the way of all their honors." *
" Low Gosforth, 9th August.
"Well I suppose Canning is dead long before
this,t and so goes another man killed by publick life.
His constitution, it is true, was not a good one, but
the knock-down blow has been his possession of
supreme power, his means of getting it and the per-
sonal abuse it brought down upon his head. And
now, what comes next ? As far as the present Cabinet
is concerned, I should think they would willingly
consent to Lansdowne succeeding Canning ; but what
says George 4th to this ? Again, if such was the case,
* Lord Darlington had to wait six years for his dukedom. Lord
Howick sat for one of Darlington's seats in Winchelsea.
t About twenty-four hours.
I827-] DEATH OF CANNING. 123
Brougham must lead the House of Commons as a
Cabinet Minister, and what would the King and the
Church and the Tories say to that ? "
In perusing the correspondence of such a voluble
gossip as Creevey, one pauses occasionally to wonder
whether his information is as trustworthy as it is
varied and lively. The following extract, describing
the position of the Duke of Wellington in regard to
the Command-in-chief of the Army, and his corre-
spondence with the King on the subject, would not be
worth printing except as a test of Creevey's accuracy.
Taken as such, it is satisfactory to find that nothing
could be closer to the facts of the case. The corre-
spondence referred to is printed at length in Welling-
ton's Civil Despatches, iv. 37.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Barningham Park [Mr. Mark Milbank's], Aug. 13.
" . . . The Whigs, I think, are done. Snip Robinson,*
you evidently see, is everything with Prinney. Only
think of Petty \ buckling to under him, and the vener-
able Tierney too and old goose-rumped Carlisle.^ . . .
I am happy to find that both these Kaby and Lowther
tits talk very freely of Lord Lansdowne's degradation
in having Lord Goodrich \_sic\ put over him. . . . No
tidings of the Beau yet ! but he must have his mare
again, not only because everybody's language is that
the Army is going to the devil under PalmerstonJ
but Mrs. Taylor has told me of a correspondence
* Viscount Goderich, who became Prime Minister on Canning's
death.
f Lord Lansdowne.
i The 6th Earl of Carlisle.
A saying current at the time, expressive of a man regaining his
old position.
|| Viscount Palmerston was Secretary-at-War.
124 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. V.
between the King and the Beau upon this subject,
which Grey told her the Duke had shown him.
" It seems for some time after the Duke left the
Horse Guards he called, perpetually on Sir Herbert
Taylor, and gave him Kis opinion and advice as to
what was going on, and Taylor availed himself of one
of his interviews with the King to express his great
obligations to the Duke for his kind and useful counsel ;
upon which the King wrote the Beau a letter at the
beginning or end of which he called him his 'good
friend ' ; * thanked him for all his kindness to Taylor,
and urged him to retract his resignation. The Beau
considered this as the tricky suggestion of Canning ;
but, be it so or not, Grey represents his answer as
perfect regretting he should have been misunderstood
that his private honor would never permit him to
retract, but his wish was always the same, to be of
what use he could to the army. Since then, the King
said to Lord Maryborough that the Duke of Welling-
ton never comes to see him now, and upon the other
saying he was sure it was only the apprehension of
intruding that kept his brother away : ' Oh no,' said
the King, ' he knows very well I am always delighted
to see him. 1 Upon this being told the Duke, he made
that last visit to Windsor, which made the jaw in
the paper. So I can have no doubt, upon all these
grounds, that his mare at least is certain, and then I
think the noses of the old Click will be poking them-
selves in one after another, till not a single Whig nose
is left in the concern."
" Barningham, Aug. igth.
" Yesterday I went out for the first time on horse-
back in pursuit of prospects, and found about 3 miles
off upon the high road a perfect one a single high-
arched bridge of great elevation, springing from rocks
considerably above the level of the Tees, which comes
rumbling down with great majesty over a rocky bed
with trees on both sides. Standing on the bridge, the
view closes on one side with an abbey ruin of Edward
* The letter begins " My dear Friend," and ends " Ever your
sincere Friend, G. R." [Wellington's Civil Despatches, iv. 37].
1827.] GREY AND BROUGHAM. 125
Srd's time, and the other with Rokeby, celebrated, you
know, by Sir Walter Scott. The bridge was built
by Morritt, the present owner of Rokeby. ... At
dinner our company was the said Morritt and his two
nieces."
Earl Grey to Mr. Creevey.
" Lyneham, 2ist August.
" . . . I had a very curious letter from Brougham
the other day, presuming that Canning's death would
remove the obstacle which before existed to my
supporting the Government. He tells me that he had
given an assurance of his support to whoever might
be the leader of the H. of C, feeling it to be essential
to the maintenance of a ministry, whose principles, as
far as they go, he approves ; that he has refused any
political situation, which had been pressed upon him by
Canning ; and, being excluded by the personal objec-
tions of the King from any other situation in his pro-
fession, he must remain as a supporter of the Govt.
in his hill-fort : that his support of Govt. is quite
disinterested, having received nothing but slights,
which had injured him in his profession; that he
had asked only that the legal promotions shd. be sus-
pended for a year : that Cross being put over his head,
and the appointment of the other King's Counsels,
had hurt him in the Circuit I shortly answered him
that the differences of the last session were the more
unfortunate as not being likely soon to be removed ;
that I wished only to explain that my objections were
not merely personal to Canning, but that they applied
principally to the manner in which the Government
was composed ; that in this respect they were rather
increased than diminished by all I had hitherto learnt
of the present changes, and that I must remain in my
former position, unconnected with any party, and
supporting or opposing as the measures of the Govt.
might be accordant or at variance with my principles
and opinions."
126 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. V.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Aug. 24.
" I am very sorry I did not ask Morritt for a copy
of his work on the situation of ancient Troy. You
must know that he has a brother, one of the hugest
great fat men you ever saw ; and as the elder brother
is called 'Troy/ Morritt, the other goes by the name
of ' Avoirdupois ' Morritt. Damned fair for the pro-
vinces !
". . . The perfidy of the Arch-fiend * to Lambton !
. . . He gave Powlett a history of the peerage as told
by Lambton himself to Brougham. Says Lambton :
' I directed my auditor to wait upon Ld. Lansdowne,
and to make that claim which I thought I had a per-
fect right to, of being made a peer. But Stephenson
refused to execute this commission.' l When/ said
Brougham [to Powlett], l Lambton opened the case
and his claims to me, I thought it but fair to give him
my honest opinion that he had none that he had only
his own seat in Parliament that he took little or no
part in debates, and that, in short, his claim was wholly
untenable.' Now whether all or any or what part of
all this is fiction, I know not ; but was there ever such
a perfidious monster as this Bruffam, or such an
insolent jackanapes as this Lambton. The latter, I
flatter myself, is diddled, tho' he did return from Paris
to be present, with myself, at Canning's funeral. I was
rather ashamed to see my name upon such an occasion
and in such a crew.f
"Well now, tho' somewhat late, my Portuguese
Marshal Lord Beresford came to dinner on Sunday,
and was off before breakfast yesterday [Thursday].
I can safely say that in my life I never took so strong
a prejudice against a man. Such a low-looking ruffian
in his air, with damned bad manners, or rather none
at all, and a vulgarity in his expressions and pro-
nunciation that made me at once believe he was as
ignorant, stupid and illiterate as he was ill-looking.
Yet somehow or other he almost wiped away all these
* Brougham.
t Mr. Creevey was not at the funeral, though reported to be so in
the papers.
1 827.] LOWTHER CASTLE. I2/
notches before we parted. In the first place, it is
with me an invaluable property in any man to have
him call a spade a spade. The higher he is in station
the more rare and the more entertaining it is. Then
I defy any human being to find out that he is either a
marshal or a lord ; but you do find out that he has
been in every part of the world, and in all the interest-
ing scenes of it for the last five and thirty years. . . .
The history of these two Beresfords is really interest-
ing. They are natural sons of old Lord Waterford,*
and were sent over in their infancy to a school at
Catterick Bridge under the names of John Poo [Poer ?]
(the Admiral) and William Carr (the Marshal), and they
kept these names till they were about 12 years old. . . .
They are still in ignorance of who their mother was,
or whether they had the same ; but from the secrecy
upon this head, from their being sent from Ireland,
and, above all, from Lady Waterford having seemed
always to shew more affection to them than to her
own children, there is a notion they were hers before
her marriage."
" Lowther Castle, Aug. 27th.
"... More perfect civility and politeness was
never shown by man to man than by the Earl [of
Lonsdale] to myself from the moment I entered the
house ; and, give me leave to say, for rather a feeble
artist and one who was dressed in a star and garter
and a blue ribbon, he was very agreeable. But dear
Lady Lonsdale is the girl for my money, being either
half-witted or half-cracked, and she and I are one. . . .
This place as a castle is a palpable failure compared
with Raby or Brancepeth, but the park is most beauti-
"28th. 1
"... Take a specimen of my lord's turn for story-
telling. I was going it at breakfast just now with
considerable success in the ' Nanny goat'f line; so
my lord in his turn said : ' You have heard of Mr.
* The 2nd Earl of Tyrone and 1st Marquess of Waterford.
t Anecdote.
128 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. V.
Fitzgerald, who was called the Fighting Fitzgerald,
whom I used to see a good deal of at Lord West-
morland's. There was a man who bet a wager he
would insult him ; so, going very near him in a coffee-
house, he said " I smell an Irishman ! " to which the
other replied " You shall never smell another!" and,
taking up a knife, cut off his nose.' "
" Hartlepool [a house of Lord Darlington's], Sept. gih.
". . . Lansdowne has now compleated his own
destruction by letting Prinney and Robinson force
Herries * down his throat. . . . What a treasure on
such a rainy day to have one's Decline and Fall with
one. I really think it is a great business for such a
lazy devil as myself to have read every word of it. I
except no book when I say no single author supplies
one with such useful or such general matter. Damn
his writing, but his stuff is invaluable."
" Doncaster, Sept. 18.
". . . Soon after our arrival I went out, and the
first group of men I fell into was Ld. Jersey, Ld.
Wilton, Bob Grosvenor, &c., &c., which soon ended
in a tete-a-tete between Wilton and me, in which I
regretted that Edward Stanley had taken a place so
inferior, as I thought, to the claims and position of his
house.f He made the only defence that could be
made Edward's love of business, and it was merely
a beginning. Then he stated of the Government
generally : ' It is a crazy concern altogether. The
King is in ecstacies at having carried his point about
Herries, and will have all his own way for the future.
The Whigs have moved heaven and earth to get Ld.
Holland into the Foreign Office, but the King would
not hear of it. . . .'"
* The Right Hon. J. C. Herries, who became Chancellor of the
Exchequer.
t Afterwards I4th Earl of Derby. He had been appointed Under-
secretary for the Colonies, Huskisson being Colonial and War
Secretary.
1827.] THE GODERICH MINISTRY. 129
" Doncaster, Sept. 20.
". . . You must know our steward, the Duke of
Devonshire, started the first day [of the races] with
his coach and six and twelve outriders, and old Billy
Fitzwilliam * had just the same ; but the next day old
Billy appeared with two coaches and six, and sixteen
outriders, and has kept the thing up ever since. . . ."
" Wentworth House [Earl Fitzwilliam's], 23rd Sept.
". . . Well, have you read our Bruffam's letters to
Lord Grey with all the attention they deserve ? and
was there ever such a barefaced villain, and so vain a
wretch and fool too ? I wish you could see the veins
of Lord Grey's forehead swell and hear his snorting
at Brougham's demand for justice to his pure, dis-
interested motives. . . . The judicial situation he re-
fused was Chief Baron of the Exchequer. . . . Lord
Rosslyn told me that Brougham in a letter telling him
of this offer said : ' It was made me by Canning just
before his death, and, as I believe, with no other view
than that of getting rid of me.' ... I told you what
Lord Wilton said to me about Holland. Grey says all
the Cabinet agreed to it but cher Bexley, alias Mouldy ;
but the King when it was proposed to him said he
would have no Minister who had insulted all the
crowned heads of Europe. Lord Cowper, who as
well as Lady Cowper and her daughter are staying
here, tells me Alvanley says ' Goodrich will cry him-
self out of office.' Cowper and Milton, who are quite
against Grey and us malignants (including Milton's
father), state the utter impossibility of such a feeble
artist remaining where he is. . . . Princess Lieven
says I must be writing a political pamphlet, and Mrs.
Taylor is pleased to tell her who it is to, and that I
do the same every day. . . ."
Deeper and deeper grew Creevey's distrust of his
ancient ally Brougham ; wider and ever wider yawned
the chasm between the old Whig Guard, represented
for the nonce by Lord Grey, and those very men who,
* The 4th Earl Fitzwilliam,
VOL. II. K
130 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. V.
under Grey's leadership, were ultimately to effect the
profound, though bloodless, revolution of 1832.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Wentworth, Sept. 24.
". . . Another instance of our Bruffam's hypocrisy.
Wm. Powlett (I beg pardon, Lord William Powlett) *
said to me : ' Brougham is very sore at your not
having called upon him during your stay at Lowther.
My father shewed me a letter from him in which he
saic l "I cannot but feel greatly hurt that, after the
long and intimate connection between Creevey and me,
he should have been at Lowther, and never come to
see me."' Now was there ever such a canting, mis-
chievous fellow ? He has done all he could to injure
me has washed his hands of me in every way he
knows I could not come to him he knows that, if I
could have done so, he was not at home. He does not
care one damn if I was at the bottom of the sea most
probably would rather I was there than not and yet,
for some base purpose of his own gets up this scene
of lying sentiment ; to Darlington, too, of all men. . . .
At dinner I heard Princess Lieven say to Lord Fitz-
william : ' Your house, my lord, or your palace, I
should rather say, is the finest 1 have seen in England.
It is both beautiful and magnificent.' To which old
Billy replied ' It is indeed.' She then proceeded :
' When foreigners have applied to me heretofore for
information as to the houses best worth seeing in
England, I have sent them to Stowe and Blenheim ;
but in future I shall tell them to go down to Went-
worth.' The last compliment was received by old
Billy in solemn silence ! not an atom of reply ! "
" Stapleton, Sept. 28th.
". . . What a comfortable house this is, and how
capitally ' dear Eddard ' | lives. . . . What a fool this
good-natured Eddard is to be eat and drunk out of
house and harbour, and to be treated as he is. The
* Second son of Lord Darlington, who was about to be raised to
the dignity of a Marquess on 5th October. Lord William afterwards
became 3rd Duke of Cleveland.
t Hon. Robert Edward Petre, third son of the pth Lord Petre.
1827.] PARTY POLITICS IN THE NORTH. 131
men take his carriages and horses to carry them to
their shooting ground, and leave his fat mother to
waddle on foot, tho' she can scarcely get ten yards.
Then dinner being announced always for seven, the
men neither night have been home before 8, and it
has been J to 9 that Dow. Julia* and her ladies have
been permitted to dine. Then these impertinent jades,
the Ladies Ashley, breakfast upstairs, never shew till
dinner, and even then have been sent to and waited
for. . . . Dow. Julia makes one eternally split with her
voice and her words and her criticism upon every-
body. She is always at it and always right, and a
good honest soul as ever was. . . ."
" Raby Castle, Oct. 4th.
". . . Lord Londonderry is so disliked and despised
in his own country that it has been injurious to the
Beau to be shewn off by him.f . . . The Duke is
Commander-in-chief and identifying himself with the
Old Tories, and the Bishop of Durham gave him a
dinner yesterday that has made the Marquess of Cleve-
land { shake in his shoes. He, tho' Lord-lieutenant,
would not accept the Bishop's invitation to meet the
Duke of Wellington, and we had quite a scene be-
tween him and Lord William two days ago about the
latter going. However he was quite firm, and said
nothing should prevent him, as member for the county,
accepting the invitation. All this on Cleveland's part
was dirty toadying of the King and Governt, saying
this was an opposition Tory visit of Wellington's to
the north. . . . The Marchioness would have liked
the fame of having the Beau here, and he had promised
Lady Caroline to come if he was asked; but Nifty
Naffy did not dare."
* Juliana, daughter of Henry Howard of Glossop, and second wife
of the Qth Lord Petre.
t The Duke of Wellington had been paying a visit! to Wynyard.
Lord Londonderry (3rd Marquess) was the Duke's Adjutant General
in the Peninsula. Despite the Duke's distrust of him, he continued
to address him in correspondence as " My dear Charles," until their
final rupture over the Corn Laws in 1846, when the Duke's letters
begin " My dear Lord Londonderry."
t Lord Darlington's patent of marquess is of the same date as this
letter.
132 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. V.
" Oct. 6th.
". . . It should be a rule in coming to this house
not to exceed 3 days, when the party is purely domestic,
because the artificial situation of the Marchioness
becomes much more striking. The delusion can't
last : it becomes low comedy low life above stairs.
The scenes are magnificent, the dresses superb, but
-still it is the part of the Marchioness of Cleveland by
Miss Tidswell. . . . The Marquis himself, too, is quite
a different man from when I was last here. He is
always civil, but there is no string in him, one might
almost say no utterance. He seems absorbed in
thought and by no means happy. We had, to be sure,
a little conversation last night, when he was kind
enough to admit Mrs. Taylor and myself to an in-
spection of a new pattern for his livery buttons ! . . .
Good God! how 1 write. I mean so badly. It is
now after dinner ; I am sure I am not drunk, but the
pens are the very devil. . . . Lord Charles Somerset
complains that he could not sleep either of the three
nights at Wynyard, never having slept before in
cambrick sheets, and that the Brussels lace with which
the pillows were trimmed tickled his face so he had
not a moment's peace. . . . Grey says he would not
dress Lady Londonderry for 5000 a year : her hand-
kerchiefs cost 50 guineas the dozen ; the furniture of
her boudoir cost 3000. Alnwick Castle is the place
for real comfort! You ladies are handed out to
breakfast, as well as at dinner; and, that entertain-
ment over, the sexes are separated as at a cathedral ;
so much so that Tankerville was arrested by the coat-
flap for attempting to invade the seraglio. Cornwall,
a London flash, was there lately, and was so bored
that, having consented to be one of the Duke's male
riding party (for here again the sexes are kept
separate) he hid himself; but in an unguarded moment
looked out of the window to enjoy their being off
without him ; when the Duke, looking back, saw him,
and they returned and took him."
" Howick, Oct. I4th.
". . . Grey read me a letter he had yesterday from
Lady Jersey from Euston. . . . She represents her
1827.] .THE AFFAIR OF NAVARINO. 133
host, the Duke of Grafton, and the visitors, Lord John
Russell, &c., as hanging very loose indeed by poor
Snip * and the Government. Grey says nothing
annoys Brougham so much as not being able to make
any impression upon Lady Jersey. . . . She is as firm
as a rock to Grey and the Beau. Grey's creed is that
Brougham must blow up: that he is in so many people's
power with his lies of different kinds, that one fine
day they will be out."
Earl Grey to Mr. Creevey.
" Howick, Oct. 20th.
" I had a letter this morning from good old Fitz-
william. Brougham had been at Wentworth uninvited,
and evidently for the purpose either of making recruits,
or of holding out the appearance of his being well in
that quarter probably both. Fitzwilliam smoked him,
and took care that he should not go away deceived as
to his opinions, which are exactly what you would
have expected from a good honest Whig in good
times. . . . Circulars are sent from the Foreign Office
to all people connected with the Government for sub-
scriptions to Canning's monument. I wish you would
write an inscription for it ! "
The struggle maintained by the Greeks against the
Ottoman power came to a crisis in the autumn of this
year. On 6th May the Greek army under Karaiskaki
was cut to pieces near Athens ; the Acropolis was
bombarded at intervals till the garrison capitulated on
2nd June, and the utter subjugation of Greece by the
Turks was imminent, when Great Britain, France, and
Russia interposed to preserve her independence and
presented their ultimatum to the Porte, which suc-
ceeded in protracting the negociations till the end of
September. Meanwhile the Turkish general Ibrahim
was devastating parts of Greece with circumstances
* Lord Goderich, the Prime Minister.
134 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. V.
of the utmost barbarity. The British and French
admirals, perceiving in this a breach of the armistice
which the Porte had conceded, proceeded to destroy
almost the whole Turkish fleet in the Bay of Navarino ;
an act which was vigorously denounced by the Oppo-
sition in the British Parliament.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Low Gosforth, Nov. I4th.
". . . Well ! so the magnanimous Allies have really
destroyed the Turkish fleet, and a more rascally act
was never committed by the great nations, nor upon
more false and hypocritical pretences. But the con-
sequences ! the consequences ! Keep your eye on
them, my dear! . . . Altho' Viscount Dudley and
Ward* may have some personal objections to his
head being placed on Temple Bar without the rest
of his body, that is the proper position for it, or that
of any English Ministers who by this act have opened
the East and West to French and Russian ambition
and villainy. ... I take a much more extensive view
of this Turkish business than my brother statesman
Earl Grey does. We long-sighted, old politicians, my
dear, see a fixed intention on the part of Russia to
make Constantinople a seat of her power, and to
re-establish the Greek Church upon the ruins of
Mahometanism a new crusade, in short, by a new
and enormous power, brought into the field by our
own selves, and that may put our existence at stake to
drive out again."
Time brings its revenges, and we have lived to see
the Liberal party adopt and express different views
to these about "the unspeakable Turk." Yet it is
opinion, and not the method of the Turk, that has
changed. ,
Foreign Secretary.
( 135 )
CHAPTER VI.
1827-1828.
THE fusion of a section of the Whigs with the Can-
ningite Ministry wrought confusion in the groups
composing both the original parties. The Old Tories,
headed by Eldon, Londonderry, and the Duke of Rut-
land, stood disdainfully aloof, waiting an opportunity
for effective flank attack. The Duke of Wellington,
hitherto closely identified with that section of the
Ministerialists, had resumed his old post at the Horse
Guards, after laboriously explaining that his quarrel
with Canning had not been the cause of his resignation
of his military command, and that his resumption of
the same was not in consequence of Canning's death.
But there was no whisper of his re-entering the
Cabinet under Goderich, whom all men regarded as
a minister pour rire; everything pointed to a political
rapprochement (there is no equivalent English term)
between Wellington and Grey. Meanwhile, if the
ranks of the Tories were seamed by dissension, not
less estranged were the Whigs among themselves.
The " Malignants," few in number, held apart with
Lord Grey. They were drawn from every section of
the old Opposition that haughty old Whig, Earl
Fitzwilliam, stood shoulder to shoulder with Thomas
136 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Ctf. VI.
Creevey, representative of the extinct " Mountain " of
the Regency days. Nothing could exceed the bitterness
which had sprung up between these Malignants and
the rest of their party, nor the violence with which
among themselves they denounced their ancient col-
leagues, whether those who had already accepted
office, like Lord Lansdowne, or those who openly
coveted office, like Lord Holland, or those who were
suspected of secretly intriguing for office, like Henry
Brougham. So intense was party feeling that it
strained, and in many cases severed, friendships of
long standing. Creevey never had a heartier ally
than Lord Sefton ; from the day, five and twenty years
before, that he first entered Parliament as an obscure
individual known to nobody, Sefton had befriended
him, co-operated with him on the "Mountain," and
caused him to regard Croxteth, Stoke, and Arlington
Street as always open to him. Sefton had given his
adhesion to the Coalition Cabinet; this was enough
to fire Creevey's indignation, and there ensued some
months of estrangement in consequence. That, how-
ever, was soon put right by the warm-hearted Sefton,
who would suffer no difference of opinion on public
affairs to poison the springs of private friendship. He
insisted upon Creevey returning to Croxteth, and
crushed out all suspicion by his irresistible good
humour.
It was very different with Brougham. Closely as
Creevey had been associated with him in the past,
and profoundly as he admired his talents, it is clear
that Brougham never succeeded in winning his con-
fidence. He exhausts his vocabulary of vituperation
a pretty extensive one in denouncing him at this
crisis.
1827-28.] RETURN TO CROXTETH. 137
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Croxteth, Wed., Nov. 21, 1827.
"Mv DEAREST BESSY,
" Well, here you see me after all, and every-
thing as right as ever it can be. I arrived here in a
chay from Ormskirk yesterday between one and two,
and as I pass'd the front of the house, was upon the
lookout to see if there were any watchers at the
windows. Lady Maria was at her bedroom one, and
we had mutual salutations. Where my Lord had seen
me from I don't know, but he was below at the hall
door to receive me, and in the middle of very cordial
handshaking said : ' You old rogue ! I did not feel
sure of your coming till I saw you.' I was then taken
up to see the ladies, and nothing could be warmer
than my reception was by each, and Lady Louisa said
more than once or twice during the day ' You don't
know how happy you have made us all by coming.'
So it's all mighty well.
"As we were sitting cozing about the fire, Sefton
said : ' Well, Brougham is very angry with you for
not coming to see him at Brougham. ' O,' said I, ' he
is a neat artist. The affectionate, tender-hearted
creature wrote a blubbering letter to Lord Darlington,
saying how deeply hurt he was that such an old and
attached friend as I was should have been so near him
and never come to see him ; but,' I added, ' he never
mentioned that he was not at home if I had done
so.' ... A little after, one of the young ladies said
' We have seen a good deal of Mr. Brougham lately ;
he went to the play with us 3 or 4 times, and you
never saw such a figure as he was. He wears a black
stock or collar, and it is so wide that you see a dirty
coloured handkerchief under, tied tight round his neck.
You never saw such an object, or anything half so
dirty.' This is all that has passed hitherto respecting
the Arch Fiend. . . .
" I said to Sefton just now out a-shooting who is
Montron? 'Why,' said he, 'he is a roue who has no
visible living and has one of the best houses going in
Paris. He was employed very much by Talleyrand
in his jobs and by Buonaparte likewise, and of course
138 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. VI.
he is in very bad odour with the present Government of
France ; but he is a clever man and most entertaining.'
I need not add he must be an infernal scoundrel, and
to my mind he is the worst mannered man I ever saw.
. . . We are expecting hourly a proper match for him
in villainy, Henry de R . . . . He [Montron] is known
to and has lived with all the world, but his polar star
has been, and continues to be, Talleyrand. He married
a Duchesse de Fleury, who was divorced from her
husband on purpose ; but who afterwards left him to
live with a painter. One of his most conspicuous
stations was in the Court of the Princess Borghese,
where he lived openly with her principal lady. I
never heard anything equal to the depravity of
Madame la Princesse, according to the stories Montron
tells Sefton, and Montron stated himself as having
been the minister to her pleasures in selecting lovers
for her. It was for such like offices that the moralist
Buonaparte whipped Master Montron into prison one
fine day, and kept him there, saying he would put an
end to the debauchery of his sister's establishment.
So much for my new friend ! Is he not a neat one ? . . .
I really think there is nothing going on by letter now
between Sefton and Brougham, which is odd enough,
after all that has passed; but I feel certain Sefton
would not conceal anything that was going on, and if
he ever mentions Brougham, it is only to say how
impossible it is for me to conceive the state of his
filth in all ways. . . . Poor Sefton ! he was quite an
desespoir the night before last ; there had been so few
pheasants that day at Kirby Ruff, his best cover. He
was really speechless, except when he said it was the
last time he ever should be there. In short, he might
have lost half his estate at least. To think of the most
successful man in life, and with the outside of every-
thing the world can give, and he can't exist without
excitement for every moment of the day ; whilst a
pauper like myself can live upon idleness and jokes,
without a blank day to annoy me. . . ."
" Croxteth, Dec. 6th, 1827.
". . . I accompanied the shooters yesterday to
their ground, about 7 miles off. The day was splendid
1827-28.] RUMOURS OF WAR. 139
the sport brilliant Sefton, his 3 sons, Berkeley
Craven and Mr. McKenzie killing 141 pheasants, above
100 hares, &c., &c. On coming home the night was
so dark that my lord declared he could not see the
road ; and so it turned out, for he overturned us. ...
We were not a mile from home, so we left the carriage
and groped our way on foot. . . ."
Earl Grey to Mr. Creevey.
"Howick, Dec. 13, 1827.
"Mv DEAR CREEVEY,
". . . Sefton's conduct can only be explained
on the supposition that he feels himself bound not to
abandon, in their difficulties, an administration which
he originally promised to support ; but I do not think
this feeling can prevail long against his own opinion
and the increasing opinion of the publick. At present,
according to all appearances, they will not be able to
extricate themselves from this Turkish scrape. I have
a letter to-day from Paris saying that the Russian
army has crossed the Pruth, with the intention of
permanently occupying the Principalities of Moldavia
and Wallachia. This, in their diplomatick jargon,
they say is not to be considered any more than
Navarin as a measure of war, but as a mqyen (T executor
le traite de mediation. This is not very unlike the case
of a man who should knock another down, and then
say ' I did not do it with an intention of hurting you,
but only from the most friendly desire to keep you
quiet. 1 Whatever the explanation may be worth, of the
fact I have no doubt, and as little that the Russians will
not again abandon the possession of these countries.
These [illegible], notwithstanding the gloss which it is
endeavoured to put upon the measure, as well as a
general apprehension of the increasing power of
Russia, which has been quickened by her late successes
in Persia, have already produced speculations on the
necessity of a combination to resist her projects, and
there seems no great improbability in supposing that
the cannon fired at Navarin may prove the signal of
another general war in Europe. The best chances
against it are to be found in the general poverty of
140 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VI.
all the Great Powers. Austria can hardly find the
means of moving an army; we are no longer in a
condition to give subsidies ; and even Russia, in the
countries in which her armies will have to act, could
not find immediately the means of defraying the cost
of their maintenance in active service, and some
compromise may thus be produced at the expense of
the poor Turks who will be plundered both by friends
and foes, and whose helpless imbecillity deprives them
of all hopes of a successful resistance. This is the only
way which I can at present foresee for the Ministers
to escape from the difficulty which Mr. Canning's
much-lauded policy has brought upon them, but which
would require more energy, more skill, more union
and more wisdom than I think likely to be found in
our present Councils.
" As to Brougham I believe him to be mad. Our
correspondence has ceased, but I have lately seen,
under his own hand, things that would surprise even
you . . . that Canning had no more to do with the
treaty of the 6th of July than you or I, and that it was
entirely the Duke of Wellington's . . . that there is a
complaint of the King's unconstitutional interference
with the patronage of the Ministers. If this should
be proved to be so (the if is good) nobody wd. be
more for resisting it than himself; and, if requisite, he
should be glad to see a union of the respectable men
of all parties, headed by Lord Grey, for that purpose.
. . . All this I have seen actually in black and white
does it furnish a case to justify my suspicion of
madness?
"At the end comes put the true solution of the
riddle. He is full of indignation at Phillimore's being
put over Lushington's head, because the latter was
counsel for the Queen. No thought of himself, of
course! nor any reference to his own situation,
proving indisputably his claim to the acknowledg-
ment of disinterestedness, which you may remember
in his letter to me. . . . The Duchess of Northumber-
land told Mrs. Grey the other day that about Navarin
the King had said that the actor deserved a ribband,
but the act a halter. A pleasant distinction for
his My.'s Ministers! Lansdowne, however, I hear
is in favour ever since he submitted about Herries,
1827-28.] LORD GREY'S SPECULATIONS. 141
but that the King spoke neither to Tierney nor to
Mclntosh at the Council when the latter was sworn in.
" Ever yours,
" GREY."
" Howick, 1 5th Dec.
". . . With the feelings of sincere regard and great
liking that I have for Sefton, nothing can be more
gratifying to me than the expression of correspond-
ing feelings on his part : nor could anything give me
more sincere pleasure than a visit from him here,
more especially if you could meet him. Is there any
chance of your coming? . . . You will see in the
papers the reports of Lord Goodrich's resignation.
. . . Will the King put the thing fairly into the hands
of Lansdowne, allowing him to bring in some of the
old Whigs ? or will he take it as the head of a Tory
administration? Or will Huskisson be the man, with
all the load of unpopularity which weighs upon him ?
or will the whole concern break up, and Peel and the
Beau be called upon to form a new Government?
. . . Holland is the only person of whom I have heard
that goes the whole length of defending the business
of Navarin in all its parts, and that with a degree of
violence that really surprises me. I can only con-
sider him, therefore, as prepared to take anything or
do anything to support the Government as it is. ...
I had heard of Dudley's love, and of the Countess
St. Antonio's joke that he was become 'a Ward in
Chancery.' * If the lady takes as much out of him
as the Court usually does out of its suitors, I should
think there would be little left of him at the meeting
of Parliament."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Liverpool, Dec. 14, 1827.
" I left Croxteth yesterday. . . . Sefton first gave
me your letter, but his main object [in coming to my
room] was to show me in the most perfect confidence a
letter he received from Brougham this morning, en-
closing one the latter had received from Lambton at
* The Earl of Dudley's family name being Ward.
142 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. VI.
Paris, and as Sefton said when I had seen both letters,
it would be for me to decide which was the greatest
madman. The subject was Larnbton's peerage, which
he (Lambton) contends should not be a simple barony,
very properly observing that it is no promotion for
the first commoner of England to be made the last
baron ! But, in short, without seeing his letter with
one's own eyes, its contents would be perfectly in-
credible, and the result is his calling upon Brougham
by all those ties of early disinterested friendship,
which have bound them to each other for life, not to
let him be less than an earl. . . . Brougham states
in reply, or says he does so, that our friends in power
are so jealous of any approach to them, that it is quite
impossible to assist him ; and then, in his comment
upon Lambton's letter, loads him with every species
of ridicule for his pretensions; till at length he
gravely enters the field himself as a man of family
at least two centuries older than that of Lambton,
and as having the 2nd barony of England in his
(Brougham's) own blood. Now really! was there
ever? . . . Punch* writes there is not an individual
in the city who does not consider our attack upon the
Turkish fleet [at Navarino] as the greatest outrage
ever committed by any Government or country, and
above all by ours. In speaking of Lord Goodrich
he says he is considered by all as a mere nullity,
and by no one more so than the King, and does what-
ever he likes and cares for no one. Pretty well this
from Mr. Clerk of the Council, is it not ?
" Before these letters came Sefton had said to me :
' By God ! the Government can never stand ; this
Navarino business must destroy them.' . . . Only
think of there not being a syllable of politicks in
Brougham's letter to him yesterday! I saw it all.
My own belief is that Brougham is not the person
to whom Sefton has bound himself, if in some un-
guarded moment he has done so ; but I suspect it is
Petty. He always speaks of Brougham as if he
loathed him. My dispatch to Grey contains all the
matter just stated, except about the Brougham and
Lambton correspondence. . . ."
* Charles Greville.
1827-28.] SEFTON AND BROUGHAM. 143
" Croxteth, Dec. 16.
" Well, the Pet * was charmed that the rain had
not stopt me, and so were the ladies, and all mightily
pleased at breakfast with my description of Miss
Creevey's drum t and supper. I did the company by
helping them to stuffing out of the hare, to make up
for the little I could get from the hare itself. Then
the day became quite fine and all was to be ready for
shooting in hall an hour. In a turn or two I had
with Sefton on the terrace he said : ' Well, I have
written to Brougham by this post and have said to
him "I observe you never mention any politicks in
your letter of yesterday; from which I conclude, of
course, you are ashamed to advert to our late nefari-
ous attack upon the Turks. For myself I can fairly
say I have gone as far as any man in my endeavours
to prevent the return of the Tories to power ; but if
I am expected to support the infernal outrage at
Navarino, it is too high a price to pay for accomplish-
ing my object, and I think it right to declare I will
not do it. And now, as you have hitherto given me
an explicit account of the part you meant to take when
the Government was about to submit my measure to
Parliament, I beg you will be as frank with me upon
this occasion as I have been with you."' . . . Sefton
is to send me his answer, which one should think
must be a dokiment of some interest.
"Well but to wind up my intercourse with the
Pet : when the carriages were ready for the shooters
in the stable yard, where they always embark, I went
to be present on the occasion, and when Sefton came,
who was the last, he said : ' Creevey, I want to
speak to you ;'and taking me into the Riding House
he said: ' I can't let you go without telling you that
McKenzie has proposed to Maria. It has happened
just now.' I said I had seen quite enough to be sure
it would come to that and added : ' He is a man of
fortune, is he not ? ' ' I fancy so,' said Sefton, ' but I
know nothing about it. He seems a damned good
* Lord Sefton.
t Mr. Creevey had been the night before to a party at his sister's
house in Liverpool, and driven out to Croxteth to breakfast,
144 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VI.
kind of fellow and a particular friend of [illegible]?
This was all, but it was quite enough to show it
would do * ..."
During the Cabinet crisis in January, 1828, following
on Lord Goderich's resignation, Creevey was staying
with his step-daughters in Essex, but was kept
closely informed by Lord Sefton of every shifting
phase of gossip. The letters were written daily,
sometimes twice or thrice a day, but the interest of
them has for the most part evaporated. The question
of greatest moment to the Whigs was whether Hus-
kisson would join the Duke of Wellington's Cabinet.
Earl of Sefton to Mr. Creevey.
"Brooks's, 1 2th Jany., 1828.
". . . Sir Chas. Stuart is talked of for Foreign
Secretary. Petty t may now retire and enjoy his
charades at Bowood in quiet. He is admitted by
common consent to be the damnedest idiot that ever
lived, not even excepting the domestic Goderich."
Earl Grey to Mr. Creevey.
"Berkeley Sq., Jany. 25, 1828.
"... I have not time, nor, indeed, do I know
enough, to say much of the present posture of affairs.
To me it seems that the Beau, as you call him, is
placing himself in a situation of dreadful responsibility
and danger. His taking the office of Minister, after
all that passed on that subject last year, to say nothing
of other objections, would, in my opinion, be a most
fatal mistake, and I still hope there may be time, and
that he may find friends to advise him to avoid it.
But there is another danger which presses still more
strongly on my mind. Huskisson's friends boast
* The marriage never took place. Lady Maria Molyneux died
unmarried in 1872.
f Lord Lansdowne.
1827-28.] WHAT IS BROUGHAM AFTER? 145
everywhere that Corn Laws, Free Trade, Portugal,
Navarino in short everything have been conceded
to him as the price of his accession to the Government.
The Duke, I know, tells a different story; but this
proves that these matters are not distinctly understood
and settled as they ought to be for the security of the
new Government. The consequence is that it is left
in the power of that rogue Huskisspn to choose his
own time and ground for a quarrel, if he shd. find it
his interest to break up the Administration.
"No communication or proposition of any kind has
been made to me. I hear our old friends are eager
for red-hot opposition ; but I certainly shall remain in
my old position, and act as I may find right, without
any consideration of either party. . . .
" Ever yours,
"GREY."
Brougham's position at this time was a puzzle
alike to his political friends and foes. In the previous
August he had written to Lord Grey, submitting that
Canning's death had removed the last obstacle to
prevent Grey supporting Lord Goderich's adminis-
tration, informing him that he, Brougham, had, within
the preceding six weeks, refused " the most easy and
secure income for life of 7000 or 8000 a year, and
high rank, which I could not take without leaving my
friends in the House of Commons exposed to the
leaders of different parties." He claimed, therefore,
to have proved that he was acting "without the
slightest tincture of interest." " I have agreed/' he
says, "to support the leader of the House of Commons,
whoever he may be. ... As for my real individual
interest, I believe no one can doubt that it is clearly
my game to see a weak Government, with only Peel
(whom I never found very invincible), and myself at
the head of the Liberal party." Reading between the
lines of this strange letter, it is easy to see why
VOL. II. L
146 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VI.
Brougham was so tender towards the men in office.
Had they been turned out and a purely Liberal ad-
ministration been formed, he knew it was hopeless for
him to look for political office so long as George IV.
was king. Brougham had offended too deeply for that
in Queen Caroline's trial. Grey, who had deeply
disapproved of the coalition under Canning, merely
replied that "at present all reasonable grounds for
confidence on which I could give any assurance 01
general support [to the Government] appear to me as
much wanting as ever. I must remain, therefore, in
the same position, supporting such measures as are
consistent with my principles, and opposing, without
any inducement to forbearance, whatever may appear
to militate against them." To Creevey, Brougham
continued to write in a strain of greater levity than
he adopted towards Lord Grey.
Henry Brougham, M.P., to Mr. Creevey.
"[January] 1828. '*
". . . Don't be alarmed, but endeavour to receive
with equanimity, and if possible with fortitude, the
painful intelligence that your beloved Sovereign has
been most dangerously ill, and is still in a very pre-
carious state. He lost in all 120 ounces of the blood-
Royal in the course of about ten days. The complaint
was inflammation, I suppose of the bladder, for they
say it was owing to some illness of the prostate
gland. I am told he is very far indeed from rallying
as he used to do when bled formerly, and that all the
loyal subjects near his person are in much conster-
nation.
"The Parlt. is likely to open in a very 'unsatis-
factory' state as our friend Castlereagh (God rest his
soul) was wont to say. The chief ' feature ' I mean
Peel will find it quite impossible to calculate on a
majority on any one question, except perhaps a motion
for turning them out or reforming the Parlt. ; and how
1827-28.] GENERAL DISTRESS IN THE COUNTRY. 147
he is even to get thro' the forms of a debate, if he is
opposed by all the parties not in office, seems incon-
ceivable, for even Vesey is not there, being laid on
the shelf for some months. The Ultras are in great
force, and the Huskissons full of faction. As a proof
of the kind of steps the Tories are taking, I may say
that your friend Lord Lonsdale has, in a letter which
I have a copy of, been encouraging the Cumberland
county meeting, advising them to lay the state of
distress before rarlt, because the Beau desires it; and
adding that they should not point out any remedies
but only ascribe it to the burthens upon agricultural
produce and the reduced currency. . . . Lonsdale
then seems to have thought that it might be said
' How happens your son Billy to be in office while you
are thus mischievously embarrassing H.M. Govern-
ment?' so he adds, awkwardly enough, that he is
convinced Lord Lowther's first consideration is the
interest of the country, and that he never would keep
office if he thought, &c., &c., &c.
" I find that the worthy Laureate, Southey, is to
move or second the resoln. that the distress is within
the power of the Legislature; and a cousin of the
family (H. Lowther), who holds one of their livings,
is to move another. Meanwhile, the Beau stands firm
and says ' he will keep his position ; ' meaning, of
course, without any change. But unfortunately it is
Peel whose position will be to keep; so then, they
say, the Beau adds 'he shall bring forward measures
and if the Parlt. won't support him, he can't help it.'
His strength is no doubt in the Ultras, whom no one
can wish well to, and the Huskissons, whom few will
trust, after what happened two years ago. But this
feeling won't carry the said Beau thro' everything,
and / am quite confident he reckons without his host if
he counts on it to the extent I hear."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Whitehall, Feby. 5, 1828.
". . . We had Lord Durham (who stood my obser-
vations on his being grown taller very affably),* Sydney
* Mr. Lambton had been created Baron Durham on 29th January.
148 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VI.
Smith, Bob Adair, Lord Robert Spencer and Ferguson
at dinner. . . . There is no end to the disasters of the
Whigs. Poor Jim Abercromby and the fair Mary
Anne* give out that they leave town for ever and ever
next Easter, and fall back upon a little farm in Derby-
shire; but no longer to superintend the dear, deaf
Dick-aky Duke's property, for that appointment was
given to another when Jim was dubbed a Privy
Councillor, it being too infra dig. to be a Right
Honorable Bailiff! and about 2000 a year more de-
rived from law sources were sacrificed for ever in
like manner as being inconsistent with his rank.
Scarlett, too, is said to be perfectly speechless, except
when he tells that being deprived of the power of
returning to the circuit is a clear loss to him of .5000
a year. . . . When Mrs. Taylor and I were left alone
about one this morning, she said: 'As I know, Mr.
Creevey, I may trust you with anything, I must tell
you poor Mr. Denison is broken-hearted about his
sister Lady Conyngham ; and his only relief, he says,
is imparting his grief to me.' According to his own
account, he protested to her from the first against her
living under the King's roof; but that the thing, instead
of getting better, has become daily worse and worse.
Not that even now he can suppose there is anything
criminal between persons of their age, but that he never
goes into society without hearing allusions too plain
to be misunderstood ; and he lives in daily fear and
expectation of the subject coming before Parliament.
In short, such is his feeling that he has called formally
upon his sister to leave her fat and fair friend and to go
abroad. He has been backed in this application both
by Lord Mountcharles t and Lady Strathaven, and he
has told her his will is to be altered immediately if
she holds on; but she treats all such interference
only with bursts of passion and defiance, always
relying upon Lady Hertford's case as her precedent
and justification. . . ."
* Third son of General Sir Ralph Abercromby. He was Speaker
from 1835 to 1839, an< i his w ^ e was Marianne Leigh, daughter of
Egerton Leigh of the West Hall, Cheshire.
t Lady Conyngham's eldest surviving son.
1827-28.] A QUARREL. 149
In the beginning of 1828 the quarrel of the Malig-
nants with Brougham passed into a sharper phase,
and occupies a great space in Creevey's correspon-
dence at that period. It would be wearisome to
follow the matter in anything like detail ; suffice it to
explain that Brougham had circulated a report that,
at Doncaster races, Lord Grey had explained to Lord
Cleveland (Darlington) the reason for his refusing to
support Canning's ministry, namely, "that it leaned
too much to the people and against the aristocracy."
In an evil moment for peace, Brougham imparted
this information to Creevey, reckoning, perhaps, on
Creevey's ancient impatience with Grey for acting
as a drag on the wheels of progress. But by this
time Grey had become the idol of Creevey, who
promptly remonstrated with his lordship on the im-
prudence of his sentiments as reported by Brougham.
Grey indignantly denied having made any such state-
ment to Cleveland, and received that gentleman's denial
of having had any communication with Brougham on
the subject. Cleveland also forwarded to Grey an ex-
planatory letter from Brougham, which, to judge from
the force of language it elicited from Creevey, scarcely
served to re-establish matters on a better basis.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Whitehall, Feb. 15, 1828.
". . . This composition of Brougham's is a letter
to Lord Cleveland written, of course, at Cleveland
House and of four sides' length. No one who has not
seen it can conceive its low, lying, dirty, shuffling
villainy. However, with all his manoeuvres, he can't
escape the charge, and he states in his own words,
rather at more length and in stronger terms, exactly
same substance of the conversation between Lord
150 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. VI.
Cleveland and Grey as having passed at Doncaster,
that he stated to me. Then he attempts to make out
that the words are vague and may not warrant the
construction put upon them, and the Lord knows
what besides. He goes into fresh lies as to his uni-
form support of Grey's character, and how he silenced
three London channels of abuse of him, and was only
too late by half an hour in not stopping the hostile
article in the Edinburgh Review, and concludes with
a warning against mischievous tale-bearers, who, for
their own purposes, would make mischief between
Grey and him.
" Grey's answer to Lord Cleveland is that he is
anything but satisfied with his lordship's letter ; that
Brougham's letter is conclusive proof of the truth of
the injurious statement he has made respecting his
[Greys] conversation at Doncaster; and as his lord-
ship had admitted in conversation at Cleveland House
that there never was the least foundation for such
allegation, he claims in justice to have the same
admission under his lordship's hand. This brought
another letter from our Niffy-Naffy marquis, in terms
as explicit as could possibly be selected, stating the
pleasure he had in complying with Lord Grey's request,
and declaring unequivocally that no such conversation
as that alleged to have passed at Doncaster between
him and Lord Grey, or anything approaching to it,
had. ever taken place ; and he concludes by expressing
his regret that any misunderstanding should take place
between Brougham and Lord Grey, and with an offer
of his services tho' unauthorised by Brougham to
bring about their reconciliation. To this Grey returns
a civil answer, stating the relief it is to his mind to
have this unequivocal denial of the injurious statement
circulated by Brougham having any foundation in fact ;
but that, with respect to Brougham, until he shall
make the same unequivocal denial of the circulation
of the injurious statement, and say that it is entirely
destitute of truth, all confidential intercourse between
them must be suspended. And so the thing ends,
and a charming mess it is for the arch-fiend Lady
Jersey, the Duke of Bedford, &c., having already copies
[of the correspondence]. Grey,. . . says Rosslyn made
nim much milder in his expressions than he wished."
1827-28.] OVERTURES TO THE WHIGS. I$I
"6thFeby.
". . . After our dinner at Fergy's, Lord Sefton
made me go with him to the opera. . . . From the
Opera House we went to Crockford's new concern,
which is magnificent and perfect in taste and beauty.
For a suite of rooms, it is the greatest lion in England,
and is said by those who know the palace at Versailles
to be even more magnificent than that. . . . After
breakfast this morning I sallied forth to see the altera-
tions in St. James's Park, and they are really great
improvements, but the new palace * still remains the
devil's own. . . . Grey is quite satisfied with the Beau,
and says he will do capitally in the Lords as Minister."
";th.
". . . In the course of my political jaw with Grey
I said that, altho' I never expected the Beau to apply
to him for assistance in the formation of his Cabinet,
yet I did expect after all their friendly intercourse,
and after all Lord Grey's essential service, he would
have communicated to him what was going on. He
said very naturally that he did not think himself
entitled to such communication, and proceeded to tell
me what he did consider as meant from the Beau to
him, and with which little as it was he seemed quite
satisfied. It seems a letter came from the Beau to
Lauderdale, directed to him at Howick, the Beau's
name being written in the corner, and this in the
midst of the concern. When Grey forwarded it, he
told Lauderdale it had been a severe trial to his virtue
to resist opening it at such a time, so Lauderdale sent
it back to him. Its contents were to tell him he had
offered the Ordnance toRosslyn,and to beg all Lauder-
dale's influence with him to induce him to accept it,
and then he goes on to say he wishes his Government
to be anything but an exclusive one, that his own wishes
would make it even more comprehensive, but he finds
considerable difficulties from preconceived prejudices.
Grey is quite right, I have no doubt, in supposing the
1 comprehension' meant him, but the poor fellow
thinks the ' preconceived prejudices' were those of
* Buckingham Palace.
152 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VI.
Peel and the Tories, whereas I cannot doubt their
being the property of Prinney. However, as I said
before, he seemed as pleased as Punch with everything,
and particularly with his own conduct and situation ;
and so was she."
"8th.
". . . Let me mention to you that the Tankervilles
have a box at the French play, and that he and she
have it the alternate weeks. Is not that the image of
them both? . . . Taylor was with old Eldon at his
house this morning about business, and Eldon told
him he had been shamefully used upon the formation
of the present Government never consulted nothing
offered him ! Was there ever? Eldon whining at his
unhappy fate after all and to Michael Angelo Taylor
too ! Oh dear, oh dear ! "
"nth.
"... I went to Brooks's, and, upon entering the
room, Bruffam was sitting at a table with his back to
me, convulsing a group of noblemen and gentlemen
who stood round with some good story. Not having
seen him before, I took up a lateral position to him,
with my eye fixed upon him, waiting for recognition ;
which was no sooner effected than up he sprung to
embrace me with ' Well, old ultra-Tory, how are you ? '
' Charmingly, I thank you, dear moderate Tory ; how
"Brooks's, 1 2th.
". . . Sefton is cracking his jokes to the right and
left to a numerous audience, all at the expense of
Huskisson and Dudley, as if he had not been their
supporter for these six months past. I really can't
approve of him. Huskisson fell 50 per cent, in last
night's jaw, and the Beau gained a corresponding degree
of elevation. In short the latter will do capitally : his
frank, blunt and yet sensible manner will beat the
shuffling, lying Huskisson and Brougham school out
of the field. . . . My sincere opinion is and I beg to
record it thus early that the Beau will do something
for. the Catholics of Ireland."
1827-28.] RIVAL MARQUESSES. 153
" i Qth.
"... I was well pleased with the hearty effusion
of my ingenuous friend Sir Colin Campbell * yester-
day, whom I met for the first time since his return
from Ireland. ' Well/ says I, ' Sir Colin, so we've got
the Beau at the top of the tree at last.' ' Yes, but
sorely against his will. I can assure you, Mr. Creevey,
he would much rather have remained at his own post
as head of the Army ; but, by God, sir ! nobody else
would take the office, and he could do no other than
he did. But, sir, you may rely upon it, he'll make an
excellent minister. ... I can assure you the old Tories
are already frightened out of their senses of him.' . . .
In my way back from Lady Elizabeth Whitbread's this
morning 1 was stopt by Burdett, who got off his horse
and would walk back with me across the Park, his
object being to deplore the times. . . . With all his
admiration of Brougham's talents in publick and
his social ones in private, his opinion was that the
world would be benefited by his being out of it."
"2ISt.
". . . The Beau has made Lady Grey's brother an
Irish bishop and Lord Rosslyn Lord Lieutenant of
the county of Fife ; which, as his two first acts, is not
amiss, and quite enough, as Colin Campbell said, to
frighten people out of their senses."
" 2 3 rd.
". . . Allow me to mention, en passant, that the
Marquis of Cleveland remains in London over to-
morrow for no other purpose than that of dining with
the DUKE OF WELLINGTON. Now was there ever?
after all that passed last summer. The Marquis,
however, has really struck, and keeps the patronage
of the county versus Lord Londonderry ! "
"25th.
". . . Lord Rosslyn told me last night that he
would have taken the Army if the Beau had offered
* Not he who afterwards became Lord Clyde, but a namesake,
who acted as brigade-major at the battle of Assaye, and throughout
the first Marhatta campaign.
154 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. VI.
it to him, tho' he had refused the Ordnance ; but he
supposed the Duke would not let it be in other hands
than that of a subaltern of his own." :
" 26th.
"... I met Lord Lansdowne in Oxford Street for
the first time since his fall. His appearance alone
was a sufficient disqualification of him for managing
the affairs of the country in its present difficulties.
His person was carefully protected by an umbrella,
he being the only person in the street who had one
up, and there not having been a single drop of rain
the whole day. I congratulated him upon having no
explanations to make in these explaining times, and I
told him \\isfirst step had been the fatal one for him
that of submitting to the wretch Goodrich as his
leader in the Lords."
"27th.
". . . Dined at Lord Grey's last night, where Lord
Durham and Bob Adair were the only company.
Lord Rosslyn and Lady Georgiana Bathurst came in
the evening. Grey and my lady were both very
much amused at my making Lord Durham tell who
dined at Brougham's Cabinet dinner last Sunday.
Durham was one, and Sefton and the Duke of Leinster,
Lord Stuart (Sir Charles that was), old Essex and
four Scotch barristers. So much for a Cabinet dinner
by a person who says he is at the head of 200 gentle-
men of the House of Commons, and who could only
muster one member of that body (Sefton) on this great
occasion."
" March 3rd.
"... I met Lauderdale, who made me go with
him to his lodgings, where I was a full hour ; but he
splices so many subjects upon one another, it is diffi-
cult to make a selection. . . . He is of opinion that
any minister or any King must be stark, staring mad
that would trust Brougham for a minute. ... I was
in the 'Nutshell' at J past 7.! Robin Adair, young
* Lord Hill had been appointed Commander-in-Chief.
t Lady Holland, fiom whom Creevey had long been alienated
owing to the schism in the Opposition ranks, had sent him a pressing
1827-28.] THE DUKE OF SUSSEX AND THE WHIGS. 155
Lord William Russell, Charles Fox and myself, were
the only additions to John Allen and my lord and my
lady the latter, of course, being handed down to
dinner by Lord William. He planted himself by her
side at the table, but she said: 'No, Lord William,
let Mr. Creevey come next to me : it is so long since
I have seen him.' Was there ever? . . ."
" sth.
". . . So you see Prinney crept into town at last
on Monday night in the dark, when nobody could see
his legs, or whether he could walk ; but as there is a
Council at St. James's to-day we must hear something
of him shortly. Lord Rosslyn is to be there to be
sworn in as Lord Lieutenant of Fife, and he has
promised me to keep a sharp look-out on the legs.
. . . Here is an invitation for Sunday week from the
Duke of Sussex, and Stephenson says, ' Oh, you must
come, because it is a dinner purposely for Lord Grey,
and the 16 persons asked are selected as his tried
friends, and the thing is meant as a marked compli-
ment from the Duke to Lord Grey.' Now in the
world, was there ever? Sussex being, or having
been, quite as much for Canning as any of the other
fools, rats and rogues. I find the Duke of Bedford,
Jersey and old Fitzwilliam are of the elect, as well
as Taylor and myself; but neither Sefton nor
Brougham."
"March 17, 1828.
". . . Think of Grey telling me that yesterday
morning he made his first appearance in a new
' Wellington ' coat (a kind of a half-and-half great coat
and undercoat, you know, meeting close and square
below the knees), which was no sooner seen by Lady
Grey and her daughters than it was instantly stormed
and carried fairly and by main force from his back,
never to see the light again at least on his back."
". . . Sefton was very good fun about a morning
call on Lady Holland. . . . Amongst other things she
invitation to dine with her in " her nut-shell," a house in London
where she was living during a temporary absence from Holland House.
156 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VI.
talked about ages, and observed that Lord Sefton and
Lord Holland were of the same age about 56. ' For
myself,' said she, ' I believe I am near the same ; ' and
then the page being called, she said : ' Go and ask
Mr. Allen how old I am.' As the house is so small
and the rooms so near, they heard Allen holloa out
in no very melodious tones' She is 57.' But Lady
Holland was not content with this, and said it was
too old for her, and made the page go back again ; and
again they heard Allen roar in a much louder voice :
< I tell you she's 57.' . . ."
" March 2oth, 1828.
". . . Nash or some of his crew waited upon
Wellington the other day, stating the King's pleasure
to have a part of the new palace at Pimlico * pulled
down and the plan altered ; to which the Beau replied
it was no business of his ; they might pull down as
much as they liked. But as this was not the answer
that was wanted, he at last said : ' If you expect me
to put my hand to any additional expense, I'll be
damned if I will ! ' Prinney is said to be furious about
it. ... Prinney said to the Duke of Leeds the other
day : ' Duke, you are one of the few people I can
trust in times like these. Dine with me to-day at six.'
Which he did, and they both got so drunk as to be
nearly speechless. . . . Mr. Bankes is to move to-
morrow for a committee to enquire into the expense of
public buildings, and the Government is to accede to
the motion, which will of course bring Windsor and
Pimlico palaces to view. Well may Prinney say as
he does that ' he sees distinctly we are going to have
Charles ist's times again.' . . . The Beau is rising
most rapidly in the market as a practical man of
business. All the deputations come away charmed
with him. But woe be to them that are too late ! He
is punctual to a second himself, and waits for no man."
" Brooks's, March 26th.
" We have an event in our family. Fergy has got a
regiment a tip-top crack one one of those beautiful
Highland regiments that were at Brussels, Quatre-Bras
* Buckingham Palace.
///// .
/f
1827-28.] LORD HILL PUTS DOWN HIS FOOT. 157
and Waterloo. But his manner of getting it is still
more flattering to him and honorable to Lord Hill,
backed, no doubt, as he must have been by the Beau.
It has been the subject of a battle of ten days' duration
between the King and Lord Hill. The former pro-
posed Lord Glenlyon, the Duke of Athol's second
son, married to the Duke of Northumberland's sister,
who has been in the King's Household, and, as the
King said, had his promise of this regiment (the 79th).
On the other hand, the King has been known to say
over and over again that Ferguson never should have
a regiment in his lifetime for various offences. He
voted and spoke against the Duke of York ; he went
to Queen Caroline's in regimentals ; he moved for the
Milan Commission, seconded by Mr. Creevey in a
most indecent, intemperate speech, and was voted
against by Tierney and all the Whigs as being much
too bad ; and yet little Hill has carried him thro'. . . .
It is understood Lord Hill signified his intention of
resigning if his recommendation was not acceded
to. ... I feel quite certain that Lady Conyngham's
sneers and Sir Henry Hardinge's fears were all con-
nected with this then pending battle."
Earl of Sefton to Mr. Creevey.
" Newmarket, April 26th, 1828.
" The great fun of the week was the defeat of the
Grosvenors, who all came from every part of the
world to see Navarino win in a canter. He is the worst
horse at Newmarket, and they have been deluded by
their trainer Dilly, who made them believe he had
beat Mameluke in a trial. Think of a man of 200,000
a year sending his horses to a notorious rascal who
trains for Gully, Redesdale and Stuart ! They make
use of his horses for their betting."
Earl Grey to Mr. Creevey.
"May ist.
". . . Here is a story, for the truth of which I do
not vouch, but it is in general circulation. The King
had appointed the Bishop of Winchester (our own
1 58 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VI.
Sumner) to administer to him the Sacrament on one
of the Sundays about Easter. The Bishop was not
punctual to his time, and when he arrived, the King,
in a great passion at having been kept waiting, abused
and even swore at him in the most indecent manner;
on which the Bishop very coolly said he must be
permitted to withdraw, as he perceived his Majesty
was not then in a fit state of mind to receive the Sacra-
ment, and should be ready to attend on some future
day, when he hoped to find his Majesty in a better
state of preparation ! "
The Duke of Wellington took a different view
from Mr. Huskisson, who had been in the Goderich
Cabinet, upon the Corn duties ; in fact, early in
spring, Huskisson had laid his resignation before the
King, and only consented to withdraw it upon the
provision being inserted in the new Corn Law that
the full duty of 205. a quarter upon imported wheat
should only be levied when the price fell to 605. a
quarter the lowest, as landowners maintained, which
was compatible with the existence of British agri-
culture. But when the question of the disfranchise-
ment of Penryn and East Retford came again before
the House of Commons, three Ministers Huskisson,
Palmerston, and Lamb (afterwards Lord Melbourne)
voted against their colleagues in favour of disfran-
chisement. Immediately after the division, Huskisson
wrote to the Duke to say that he would "lose no
time" in affording him an opportunity of placing his
office [Colonial Secretary] "in other hands." The
Duke took the mutinous minister sharply at his
word, and refused to listen to the remonstrances of
Palmerston and Dudley, who assured him that Hus-
kisson had no wish to resign. Huskisson wrote to
the Duke to the same effect ; but the Duke's military
1827-28.] HUSKISSON RESIGNS. 1 59
habit of discipline unfitted him for the kind of patience
necessary to keep together a political party. Weary
of perpetual friction with his Canningite colleagues,
he declined all overtures for reconciliation. Hus-
kisson was allowed to go, and was followed out of
office by Palmerston, Grant, Dudley, and Lamb.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Stoke, 3rd June [Ascot Races].
". . . Grey has seen all the correspondence
between the Beau and Huskisson, and a greater
mass of lies has never been circulated than those by
Huskisson's friends. In short, everything Wellington
has done has been straightforward to the outside, and
Huskisson has acted like a knave throughout, and
Ward,* who was a negociator between them, like a
perfect idiot. Prinney was the only sensible man
besides the Beau, and stuck to him like a leech."
"4th.
" . . Well, have you read Huskisson's charming
compositions of letters that he read of his own accord
and as his own defence. Never was there anything
so low and contemptible throughout, either in intel-
lectual confusion or mental dirt. In short, thank
God ! he is gone to the devil and can never shew
again. The Beau, both in talent and plain dealing,
in his letters and conduct, is as clean and clear as
ever he can be.f The Pet J is quite right upon all
these matters at last, Bruffam, tho' evidently by no
means extinguished, is damaged in his estimation."
" 5th.
". . . On Tuesday the King made Jersey go over
the names of all the company in this house, and when
* Lord Dudley.
t Referring to the correspondence between Mr. Huskisson and the
Duke of Wellington about the resignation of the former.
% LordSefton.
160 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VI.
he mentioned mine Prinney was pleased to say :-r-
' Well, he's not much of a jockey I think ! ' '
" Whitehall, June i;th.
". . . At night Frances* and I were at Lady
Jersey's by half-past eleven. I wish it had been
earlier, for we met the Duke of Wellington coming
downstairs with a lady under his arm. He put his
hand out to me, and gave me a very natural shake,
and this was all, you know, that could pass between
us under such circumstances. I must say my curiosity
to be mixed up with him again is much abated by his
late horrible appointments Croker a Privy Coun-
cillor Vesey Fitzgerald a Cabinet Minister and,
above all, that offensive, inefficient sprig of nobility,
Lord Francis Leveson Gower, to be Secretary for
Ireland is really beyond all enduring. The last, I
presume, is Lady Charlotte Greville's doing, and
must, one should think, be most prejudicial to the
Beau. As for Jack Calcraft, I don't care a fig, and I
am sure the dirty Canning Whigs have no cause of
complaint against him. Talking of Secretaries for
Ireland, do you know of Wm. Lamb's f crim. con.
case? The facts are these. Lord Brandon,! who is
a divine as well as a peer, got possession of a
correspondence between his lady and Mr. Secretary
Lamb, which left no doubt to him or any one else
as to the nature of the connection between these
young people. So he writes a letter to the lady
announcing his discovery, as well as the conclusion
he naturally draws from it ; but he adds, if she will
exert her interest with Mr. Lamb to procure him a
bishopric, he will overlook her offence and restore
her the letters. To which my lady replies, she shall
neither degrade herself nor Mr. Lamb by making
any such application ; but that she is very grate-
ful to my lord for the , letter he has written her,
which she shall put immediately into Mr. Lamb's
possession."
* Mrs. Taylor.
f Afterwards 2nd Viscount Melbourne and Prime Minister.
I The Rev. William Crosbie, Lord Brandon, D.D.
1827-28.] COLLINGWOOD'S MEMOIRS. l6l
"Dolphin Inn, Chichester [where Creevey was staying with
[the Seftons for Goodwood Races], August nth.
". . You may judge of our weather at Stoke
when I tell you that, with all their courage and con-
tempt of rain, we were on horseback only once, and
for less than one hour, and then were wet thro'.
But if the body was not regaled, the mind was at
least by me for I pitched my tent daily in the green-
house, read Lord Collingwood and his life and letters
thro', and was delighted with him. You must excuse
me if I am rather pompous and boring upon this
subject. You see, my dear, that altho' the poor man
was the bravest and best and most amiable of men,
this personal character of his is nothing compared
with the part he acts in history for the four or five
years intervening between Nelson's death and his.
At that time the Army was nothing, compared with
what it became immediately after, and Collingwood
alone by his sagacity and decision his prudence and
moderation sustained the interests of England and
eternally defeated the projects of France. He was,
in truth, the prime and sole minister of England,
acting upon the seas, corresponding himself with all
surrounding States, and ordering and executing every-
thing upon his own responsibility. . . . One has
scarcely patience to think that, whilst our Govern-
ment had the sense to see, and to tell him again and
again, that his value to them and the country was
such as could never be replaced, and to implore him
actually to continue his services at the known and
certain sacrifice of his life, still the villains were base
enough to refuse every recommendation of his in
favor of meritorious officers, as he justly observes,
when parliamentary pretensions were to be put in
competition.
" The agreeableness of the work is greatly added
to by the constant proof it affords of the early, long
and intimate union between Nelson and Collingwood.
Even in the novel line, I have found nothing so
calculated to lumpify one's throat as when one of
these great men of war, poor Nelson, in his dying
moments desires his captain to give his love to Colling-
wood.
VOL. II. M
162 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VI.
". . . A delightful drive to Arundel, the outside
of which, grounds, &c., have been made perfect by
our Barny * (who was not there) ; but the devil him-
self could make nothing of the interior. Anything so
horrid and dark and frightful in all things I never
beheld."
". . . The house at Goodwood is perfection. It is
an immense concern, and every part of it is gaiety
itself. It was building when I was at Chichester in
1800 by the old Duke,t and tho' he lived to finish it,
he only left one room furnished. The present Duke J
has gone on with the furnishing by one room per
annum, and as far as he has gone nothing can be done
with more perfect taste. . . . Turning out of the hall
on our right into the principal drawing-room, 60 feet
long at least I should say, with a circular room open
at the end both rooms furnished with the brightest
yellow satin . . . here we found the ladies and
various men. . . . There were four sisters of the
Duchess, . . . and four plainer young women one
can't well see. The Duchess, tho' in my mind not
nearly so pretty as the Seftons think, is greatly
superior to her sisters, with a most agreeable and
intelligent countenance. . . . She has now eight
children, and lives all the year in the country. . . .
What a sour, snarling beast this Rogers is, and such
a fellow for talking about the grandees he lives with
female as well as male, and the loves he has upon his
hands. Sefton and I hold him a damned bore."
" Woolbeding, Aug. i6th.
". . . This place is really exquisite its history not
amiss. This venerable, grave old man || and offspring
of Blenheim purchased it 35 years ago with the money
he won as keeper of the faro bank at Brooks's, and he
has made it what it is by his good taste in planting,
* The 1 2th Duke of Norfolk.
t The 3rd Duke of Richmond ; died in 1806.
$ The 5th Duke of Richmond.
Daughters of the ist Marquess of Anglesey.
|| Lord Robert Spencer, 3rd son of the 3rd Duke of Marlborougb.
1827-28.] PETWORTH. 163
&c. . . . There is only one fictitious ornament to the
place, and ' the Comical ' seems to have shown as much
address in converting it into his property as he did in
winning the estate. It is a fountain, by far the most
perfect in taste, elegance and in everything else I ever
saw. I am always going to it. It came from Cowdray,
3 miles off, Lord Mountague's. When Cowdray was
burnt down 30 years ago, this fountain, being in the
middle of a court, was greatly defaced and neglected.
Lord Mountague was drowned in the Rhine with
Burdett's brother at the precise time his house was
burnt, and so never knew it ; and as there was no one
on the spot to look after the ruins, Bob thought it but
a friendly office to give the fountain a retreat in his
grounds, and as he himself told me, it cost him 100
to remove it and put it up here. It has some fame,
because Horace Walpole in one of his letters says he
had gone or was going to Cowdray to see Lord
Mountague's fountain ; and its history is well known
as being the production of Benvenuto Cellini, . . . who,
they tell me, was a famous man. Look in the dictionary
and tell me about him."
"Petworth, Aug. i8th.
". . . Nothing can be more imposing or magnificent
than the effect of this house the moment you are within
it, not from that appearance of comfort which strikes
you so much at Goodwood, for it has none. . . . Every
door of every room was wide open from one end to
the other, and from the front to behind, whichever way
you looked ; and not a human being visible . . . but
the magnitude of the space being seen all at once
the scale of every room, gallery, passage, &c., the
infinity of pictures and statues throughout, made as
agreeable an impression upon me as I ever witnessed.
How we got into the house,* I don't quite recollect,
for I think there is no bell, but 1 know we were some
time at the door, and when we were let in by a little
footman, he disappeared de suite, and it was some time
before we saw anybody else. At length a young lady
appeared, and a very pretty one too, very nicely
dressed and with very pretty manners. She proved
* Creevey had come there on a visit with the Seftons.
164 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VI.
to be a Miss Wyndham, but, according to the custom
of the family, not a legitimate Miss Wyndham, nor
yet Lord Egremont's own daughter, but his brother
William Wyndham's, who is dead. . . . We had been
half an hour at this work [looking at the pictures]
when in comes my Lord Egremont as extraordinary
a person, perhaps, as any in England ; certainly the
most so of his own caste or order. He is aged 77 and
as fresh as may be, with a most incomparable and
acute understanding, with much more knowledge upon
all subjects than he chuses to pretend to, and which
he never discloses but incidentally, and, as it were, by
compulsion. Simplicity and sarcasm are his distin-
guishing characteristics. He has a fortune, I believe,
of 100,000 a year, and never man could have used it
with such liberality and profusion as he has done.
Years and years ago he was understood to be 200,000
or 300,000 out of pocket for the extravagance of his
brother Charles Wyndham, just now dead; he has
given each of these natural daughters 40,000 upon
their marriage ; he has dealt in the same liberal scale
with private friends, with artists, and, lastly, with by
no means the least costly customers with mistresses,
of whom Lady Melbourne must have been the most
distinguished leader in that way.
" He was very civil, and immediately said ' What
will you do?' and upon Sefton expressing a wish to
see his racing establishment, a carriage was ordered
to the door, and another for the ladies to drive about
the park. In the interval till they arrived, he slouched
along the rooms with his hat on and his hands in his
breeches pockets, making occasional observations upon
the pictures and statues, which were always most
agreeable and instructive, but so rambling and desul-
tory, and walking on all the time, that it was quite
provoking to pass so rapidly over such valuable
materials. . . . [After spending a long afternoon
inspecting the racing stud] I was much struck with
Lord Egremont observing that he did not take much
interest in the thing; that it had been an amusement
to his brother, and on that account he had gone on with
it. When I asked Sefton if he had not been struck
with this, he said : ' Yes ; and the more struck and the
more pleased because he did not say his poor brother.'
1827-28.] CREEVEY OUT IN THE COLD. 165
" . . [At dinner] it fell to my lot to hand out Mrs.
Wyndham, the Somerset filly,* and whatever you may
say or think, she is really become damned handy and
agreeable. ... I retired to my bedroom, which, upon
measurement, I found to be 30 feet by 20, and high in
proportion. The bed would have held six people in
a row without the slightest inconvenience to each
other. ... I had quantities of companions, but only
two with names to them ' Bloody Queen Mary and
Sir Henry Sidney as large as life. . . ."
There follow many pages of description of the
pictures in the house ; and although the names of the
painters are given in much detail, there is not a word
of George Romney's well-known works at Petworth,
so completely had that artist, so much sought after
now, fallen out of esteem.
Having lost his friend Lord Thanet, by whose
favour he sat for the borough of Appleby, and not
being acquainted with the new earl, Mr. Creevey was
unprovided with a seat at the election of 1828. Lord
Darlington, indeed, possessed, among others, the
comfortable constituency of Winchelsea, boasting no
less than eleven electors, and returning two members
to Parliament. These two members happened to be
Lord Howick and Mr. Brougham, the first of whom
was standing for Northumberland, the second for
Westmorland neither of them with much prospect
of winning his contest. Creevey had so completely
won the favour of Lady Darlington that, aided by
Mrs. Taylor, she persuaded Lord Darlington to
promise the reversion of one of the Winchelsea seats
to him, supposing Howick or Brougham, or both, to
* Daughter of Lord Charles Somerset, 2nd son of the 5th Duke of
Beaufort. She married Mr. (afterwards General Sir Henry) Wyndham,
brother of the ist Lord Leconfield.
166 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VI.
be successful in the north. Creevey had an interview
with Lord Darlington on sth June, and found that
they were of one mind in politics, save on the Corn
Laws, to the reform of which Darlington, as a great
landowner, was distinctly opposed. However, ex-
plained Creevey, "any such discussion appeared to
me unnecessary, because there was no principle I
held more sacred than that, when one gentleman held
a gratuitous seat in Parliament from another, and any
difference arose in their politicks, the former was
bound in honor to surrender it."
He went down and acted for Lord Howick in the
election for Winchelsea, but as both Brougham and
Howick failed in the northern constituencies, Creevey
found himself, for a second time, out in the cold.
He treated his exclusion very philosophically, and
presently we find him writing his accustomed de-
spatches to Miss Ord.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Stoke, August 2oth.
". . . Old Salisbury * arrived yesterday ... in her
accustomed manner, in a phaeton drawn by four long-
tail black Flanders mares she driving the wheel
horses, and a postilion on the leaders, with two out-
riders on corresponding long-tail blacks. Her man
and maid were in her chaise behind ; her groom and
saddle horses arrived some time after her. It is
impossible to do justice to the antiquity of her face.
If, as alleged, she is only 74 years old, it is the most
cracked, or rather furrowed piece of mosaic you ever
saw ; but her dress, in the colours of it at least, is
absolutely infantine. . . . Sefton says she is very
clever, and he ought to know. I wish you just saw
her as I do now. She thinks she is alone, and I am
* The Dowager Marchioness, who was burnt to death with the
west wing of Hatfield House in 1835.
1827-28.] THE CLARE ELECTION. 167
writing at the end of the adjoining room, the folding
doors being open. She is reclining on a sofa, reading
the Edinbrc? Review, without spectacles or glass of
any kind. Her dress is white muslin, properly loaded
with garniture, and she has just put off a very large
bonnet, profusely gifted with bright lilac ribbons,
leaving on her head a very nice lace cap, not less
adorned with the brightest yellow ribbon. . . ."
"Stoke, Aug. 26th.
". . . Upon our return [from Egham races] our
only company arrived was Wm. Lamb, alias Viscount
Melbourne. I had a good walk with him and found
him very pretty company indeed, and very instructive
about Ireland. At about 8 we sat down to dinner-
Prince and Princess Lieven, Lord and Lady Cowper,
Lord Melbourne, [Sir George] Warrender, Montron,
C. Greville, Frank Russell, Luttrell and Motteux,
which with C. Grenville, Churchill and myself, and
the worthy family themselves [the Seftons] made
19 or 20. To-day the party is to be added to by
Prince d'Aremberg, Villa Real, Alvanley and our flash
Tom Buncombe. . . .
"O'Connell's election and Dawson's speech at
Derry * are conclusive proofs to me of some great
approaching change in the fate of Ireland, and I wish
to see that country before and during the operation
of this crisis."
* Vesey Fitzgerald, on accepting office, had been beaten by Dan
O'Connell in standing his re-election for county Clare. O'Connell, as
a Roman Catholic, could not take his seat in Parliament. The Clare
election had a notable influence upon the question of Roman Catholic
emancipation.
( 168 )
CHAPTER VII.
1828.
ALTHOUGH Mr. Creevey sometimes referred to Ireland
as his native country, whence it is to be assumed that,
although born in Liverpool, he reckoned himself of
Irish descent, yet he was turned sixty before he ever
visited that land. In the autumn of 1828 he made an
expedition to Dublin, furnished with letters of intro-
duction from Lord Melbourne, which stood him in
excellent stead, as the following curiously deferential
letter may serve to show :
Mr. George Morris to Viscount Melbourne.
" 27, Gardiner Place, Dublin, 6th Sept., 1828.
"My DEAR VISCOUNT MELBOURNE,
"I have been highly honored by receiving
your Lordship's most obliging Note of the 28th ultimo;
and I continued to make daily enquiries for Mr.
Creevy's expected arrival at the Hotels your Lordship
referred to, 'till a letter came, under Lord Sefton's
Privilege, addressed to Mr. Creevy at Morrisson's
Hotel ; when I secured there a comfortable Bed Room
for your Lordship's Friend, which proved to be fortu-
nate, because, when Mr. Creevy came to Dublin on
last Wednesday Evening, and before he made himself
known at Morrisson's, he was shewn, there, into the
only vacant Bed Room, a small and objectionable apart-
ment. But, on announcing His Name, He was shewn
1 828.] AN OBSEQUIOUS CICERONE. 169
to a comfortable Room, ordered by Lt-Col. Morris
for Mr. Creevy, in obedience to your Lordship's com-
mands to me, and for which I remain most grateful
to you.
"Mr. Creevy did me the Honor to dine with me
here, on the Day after his Arrival in Dublin, when I
was lucky enough to secure Mr. Blake, the Surgeon-
General Cramp^on and Mr. Greville to meet Mr.
Creevy at Dinner, and he was much pleased by meet-
ing them.
" It occurred that I was asked to Dinner at Lord
F. L. Gower's the next Day, yesterday, and as Mr.
Creevy, also, received an Invitation, I had the Honor
to call for him and to take him to Dinner to your
Lordship's late Residence in the Park,* and to bring
him home safe to Morrisson's. I am happy to assure
you that Lord Francis L. Gower has, again, invited
Mr. Creevy to Dinner for this Day, and I shall not
fail to attend Mr. Creevy, to see all the public Institu-
tions, and Lions of Dublin, finding he is so well pleased
with our City, that He purposes, now, to remain here
Eight or TEN Days.
" I moved our Friend Mr. James Corry to call on
Mr. Creevy, as he could not meet him at my House,
from a previous Engagement, and Corry is greatly
pleased at his good Fortune, to be acquainted with so
distinguished and so highly talented a Gentleman as
your Lordship knows Mr. Creevy to be. Blake, who
met him at the Duke of Norfolk's, and Crampton here,
are rejoiced now to have an opportunity of inviting
Mr. Creevy to their Houses in Dublin.
" I remain, Ever your Lordship's
grateful obedient
"GEORGE MORRIS."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Condover Hall, Sept. i, 1828.
". . . Our coach was full, but we dropt two at
Oxford, and to my great delight we left the other
filthy wretch at Birmingham at 6 in the morning.
He had been Gating prawns all night, and flinging the
* Lord Melbourne, as Mr. Lamb, had been Secretary for Ireland.
I/O THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VII.
skins at the bottom of the coach. However, I
changed coaches at Birmingham, so it was all mighty
well. Having breakfasted then at that early hour, I
came alone to Shrewsbury . . . and embarked in a
chay for Condover Hall, just 5 miles from Salop.
Altho' the two Stoke young ladies . . . have always
praised the house much to me, their praises have
been much very much below its deserts. It is a
charming and most incomparable house. . . .^ Dear
Mr. and Mrs. Smythe Owen and I have lived in the
most perfect harmony since 4 o'clock on Saturday
afternoon, but other human being have I seen none,
except the parson at church yesterday, whom I was
in hopes to have seen more of. He is Mr. Leicester,
nephew to the late Lord de Tabley. . . . Having
known his father in the days of my youth at Cam-
bridge as by far the most ultra and impertinent dandy
of his day, I was curious to see the son. It was
precisely the same thing over again. This beautiful
youth (for such he is), aged 27, has been appointed by
the Court of Chancery guardian to his nephew Lord
de Tabley, aged 16. About 6 weeks ago, he was
married to his aunt Lady de Tabley, who expects to be
confined next month. I am sorry she is not [illegible]
for this second marriage. On her part she forfeits
500 a year out of her jointure of 1500; and his
diocesan, the Bishop of Lichfield, has given him notice
he shall eject him from his living for marrying his
aunt, which reduces his income to nothing. . . ."
Earl of Sefton to Mr. Creevey.
"Stoke, Sept. ;th, 1828,
"My DEAR CREEVEY,
" My curiosity about the Irish road is quite
satisfied by your enthusiastic description of it, and I
quite feel I have seen it and the Menai Bridge. This
is the way I like to make my tours. ... I don't believe
the Beau has the slightest intention of doing the
smallest thing for the Catholics, or that he ever thinks
about them, any more than he does about the
Russians, Turks or Greeks. When the time comes,
he will send troops to Ireland. I believe he has no
other nostrum for that or any other difficulty."
1828.] THE BESSBOROUGH ESTATES. I/I
Nothing impressed Mr. Creevey more favourably
during his visit to Ireland than the management of the
Bessborough estates, and the manner in which Lord
and Lady Duncannon discharged the responsibilities
of resident landowners.*
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Besborough (Paradise !), Monday, Sept. 15, 1828, 7| A.M.
". . . Well ! what a charming day I had yesterday,
during which I said to myself repeatedly ' And can I
really be in this savage, wretched Ireland, as I have
always been taught to believe it was, and that it
could be no otherwise?' We went to the parish
church yesterday, 2^ miles off. It is a living of
1200 a year in the gift of the Crown. The rector is
a most liberal man, and acts hand in hand with
Duncannon in everything. . . . The church is larger
than yours at Rivenhall, and was literally full ; every
one being perfectly well dressed, and not a poor
Eerson in the aisle. As there are no poor rates in
reland, the clergyman in finishing the Communion
service says ' Remember the poor ! ' and a box is
immediately brought round, into which, if my ears
did not deceive me, I heard a chink from every pew.
" The service over, I repaired to my favorite spot,
the chancel, to look at the founder of this family in
marble, Sir John Ponsonby of Cumberland, a follower
of Cromwell, who gave him this small mark of his
favor in return 20,000 English acres of land, con-
fiscated property of the Catholicks who opposed the
Protector or Usurper, whichever you like to call him.
I expressed my surprise to Duncannon at the number
of Protestants, and he said a great portion were
descendants of the English who had come over with
the first Ponsonby from Cumberland. I asked about
* Lord Duncannon, the eldest son of the 3rd Earl of Bessborough,
was created Baron Duncannon in the peerage of the United Kingdom
in 1834, and succeeded his father as 4th Earl of Bessborough in 1844
in the peerage of Ireland. He married Lady Maria Fane, daughter
of the loth Earl of Westmorland.
172 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VII.
the relative number of Catholics, and he said if I had
been at their chapel at 10, I should have seen about
three times as many. . . .
" Having refreshed nature by a cheerful slice of
cold stewed beef, Duncannon and I sallied forth on
foot, but with a couple of horses behind, in case we
wanted them. He took me first through the village
[Piltown]. ... I ought to apologise for calling it a
village, for indeed I believe it is a ' town ' ; but be [it]
what it may, it is perfect. I went into the school, where
I found four of the Miss Ponsonbys sitting on one
side of a school desk, in different, distinct parts of it,
and with a little party of 5 or 6 or 7 little boys and
girls sitting opposite to each of them, under examina-
tion as to their catechism, &c., &c. I never saw a
more well-behaved, attentive, and yet more cheerful
exhibition of tuition. Duncannon took me into the
dispensary an institution of course built by himself.
Presiding over it was a most strikingly sharp, in-
telligent-looking woman, with four daughters the
eldest grown up as straight as arrows, very well
dressed, and with the best of manners. 'That family,'
said Duncannon, as we left the house, ' Lady Dun-
cannon found living literally in a ditch, ill, too, of a
fever, of which the father and two of the children
died.' This practice of living in ditches, with some
thatchwork over them, was very common when Dun-
cannon first came here, but Lady Duncannon has
found out every family of the kind, and they are now
all housed, and very nicely, too. The dispensary
family of course have the house they live in for
nothing. The mother's salary is 2 a year ; all the
girls have been taught to work, and either make their
own cloaths or make for others, or both : but the
result is, the whole establishment appears most happy
and cleanly, well cloathed and, I suppose, well fed. I
need not say they are Catholics. . . .
" In leaving the village, we took a turn towards
the more mountainous and, as you should suppose,
less civilised parts; but, tho' the country is very
populous and, as you leave Piltown, more and more
decidedly Catholic, yet we found in all the groups of
people assembled about their chapels or cottages the
same marked civility. . . . Upon the slope of a hill
1828.] LORD HUTCHINSON.
and in a very nice plantation Duncannon said : ' The
Catholic priest lives there ; I should like to say a
word to him. Would you mind going with me ? '
' Quite the reverse, my dear/ says I ; so through we
went, and a rummish, dirty house we found. A
slatternly kind of girl told us he was at home, and in
we went and found him and his coadjutor just going
to sit down to dinner. . . . The principal was a jolly-
looking, pot-bellied, intelligent little fellow as you
will see, tho' somewhat snuffy and dirty, with as
perfect [illegible] manners as you can find. He is
quite at home with Duncannon, and comes and dines
here. . . .
" I walked thro' the village of Piltown with pun-
cannon, and I defy anything in the most civilised
district of England to surpass it in neatness, comfort
and really ornament begun, of course, and mainly
promoted by Lord and Lady Duncannon during the
three years they have lived in Ireland, but zealously
assisted and acted upon by all about of all descriptions.
I never in any spot saw so marked a proof of a rapidly
spreading civilisation ; and yet this is only four miles
from Carrick, one of the most lawless towns in
Tipperary. . . . Oh ! the English absentees from their
Irish properties what they might have done here by
their influence and without Irish prejudices. But I am
now becoming a bore. . . . Lady Duncannon shines
here ; she is devoted to the place, likes nothing so
much as living here, and spends her time mostly in
the village at her different institutions. Duncannon
took me into one of her newly made publick works
a fives court, where a capital game was carrying on by
the Irish boys of the village."
From Bessborough Mr. Creevey went to Cork and
Killarney, whence his letters to Miss Ord continued
abundant as ever, but chiefly deal with descriptions
of scenery. The following, written when on a visit to
Lord Hutchinson, his friend of the old Regency days,
gives a glimpse of a district less happy than that about
Bessborough.
174 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH.VII.
"Knocklofty, Oct. i, 1828.
" Well, I got here yesterday about four and found
Hutch really, I think, not altered a tittle. ' Well, my
dear Creevey, I'm delighted to see you. What a lucky
fellow you are: I've got nine ladies to meet you.'
However, as it was, only four came Lady Hawarden,
two daughters and a sister. . . . Lady H. was lively
and natural enough, but I had rather severe work
with her sister and a daughter, between whom I sat.
. . . After dinner you may be quite sure I stuck to
Hutch like a leech for information and his opinion upon
the present state of things. . . . What a difference in
districts! At Besborough only 17 Irish miles from
here, Duncannon has not an apprehension, and during
the rebellion of 1798 that part of Waterford took no
part in the game of the Killarney district, tho' so near
Bantry Bay. Here we are in the heart of the most
disaffected part of Ireland, and a man of any property
has a language and a creed in conformity to it.
"'My dear Creevey,' said Hutchinson, ' those
rascals the Orange Protestants and the fools of
Catholics who [illegible] the Association in Dublin,
will bring us to blows. Lord Anglesey* is already
acting upon it and calling in all the small bodies of 20
or 30 troops scattered up and down the country,
because, in case of accident, they would be sure to be
sacrificed.' ' Well,' says I, 'what is your nostrum for
settling all this? Would Catholic emancipation do
it?' 'I'll tell you, my dear Creevey, what it would
do. First, it is a most disgraceful thing that Irish
contemptible nonsense should be made the foundation
of such bad passions. It is only common justice that
we should all be on one footing. In this country the
Catholicks are 50 to i : in property we are 20 to their
i. Let us start fair as to laws, and I have a just cause
to embark in ' and my mind is quite made up to fight
* Lord Anglesey, who lost a leg in command of the cavalry at
Waterloo, was no coward, yet he wrote in this year to warn the
Government that they were on the verge of civil war in Ireland, and
advised concession. The Duke of Wellington, though he had made
up his mind with Peel for Catholic emancipation, recalled Anglesey
from the Lord Lieutenancy, and appointed in his place the Duke of
Northumberland, a consistent opponent of emancipation,
1828.] POWER OF KILFANE. 1/5
them in defence of my property; but I don't like
fighting in an unjust cause. If we do come to blows,
assisted by the English government I know we shall
beat them, and all will be over in a month ; but from
that day no Protestant gentleman can live in his
country house. He must live in a town for safety,
and England must have 20,000 more troops here than
she has at present, eh! My dear fellow, what a state
of things for a nation at peace. What would it be
in war ? '
" He and Duncannon are both agreed about the
Maynooth priests. This was a piece of Pitt's handi-
work, to have these chaps educated in a Catholic
college at home, to escape foreign contagion ; and they
turn out the lowest and most perfidious villains going,
whereas old Magra and a priest of 700 a year at
Clonmel, whom Hutch praises most profusely, are of
French education, and have all the good manners, at
least, of that [illegible] nation. . . . Oh, I forgot, too,
that Hutch gave me another good effect of Catholic
emancipation : it would separate those of property in
matters of the government."
- "Kilfane, 4 Oct., 1828.
". . . We came over here yesterday in an open
carriage, 20 miles over the mountains in torrents of
rain. . . . Mrs. Power is poor old Grattan's niece his
sister's daughter. Besides this, she is cousin to the
great Irish wit, Chief Justice Bushe, whose estate and
residence join hers ; and who, if you come to that, has
been over here to see me this morning. . . . You don't
know, perhaps, that no man has more reputation in
Ireland as a wit and Liberal than this Chief Justice
Bushe; and yet old Hutch, when he found I was going
to Kilfane, was pleased to say : ' Then you will see
my cousin Bushe. He is a man of great wit; he
knows no law, and is false as hell.'"
" Kilfane, Oct. 5.
". . . Now I have seen a real Irish Protestant
church. When I entered it, two parsons were sitting
in a row at the reading desk one, the rector and
Archdeacon of Ossory the other his curate. We
1/6 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. VII.
were 1 5 company from the house and 4 from the Chief
Justice's. Duncannon and Lady Duncannon, man and
maid were there, and, so help me God ! not a soul else.
The parish is a large and populous one, but without a
single Protestant in it except these two families nay,
not even amongst their servants. Mr. Power's steward
or warder officiates as clerk. The living is 500 a
year : the Catholic coadjutor or priest has 70 ! . .
" Besborough, 5th Oct.
"Well, my visit to Hutch really was charming.
Take him altogether the very prominent parts he
has filled in life, in all quarters and upon all subjects,
coupled with the genuine simplicity and honesty with
which he communicates his knowledge he is by far
the most interesting and agreeable man I know. . . .
His position is very different from that of Duncannon.
Here it is all quietness ; he Hutch tho' only 17 miles
off, is in the very centre of disaffection. It is not sur-
prising, under such circumstances, that he feels more
strongly the present state of Ireland, and is less
sanguine as to even Catholic emancipation setting it
right. . . . His notion, however, is that having land
at greatly reduced rents and no tythes is a feeling
pervading the great Catholic body of the people, and
encreasing daily. Education (he said) has done great
harm, for it is turned to no useful purpose, and with
a greatly overcharged population, and comparatively
no occupation for it, it produces nothing but specu-
lation upon their own condition and the means of
amending it. The murder of his own tenant, a mile
and a half only from his house, was well calculated
to make a most unfavorable impression upon him
against the Catholics. The particulars were these.
A tenant of his was in arrear 700, and without any
means of discharging it, except as far as his stock
would go. Hutch said to him: 'You are getting
from bad to worse in this farm, and are evidently in-
capable of managing it. I excuse you your arrear:
take all your stock with you to a smaller farm of mine,
and see what you can make of that' He did so, and
Hutch put into the larger farm a man out of the county
of Cork as respectable and humane a man as Ireland
1828.] IMPRESSIONS OF IRELAND. 177
could produce. But that did not save him from being
most cruelly murdered, certainly by the suggestion
and consent of the outgoing tenant. This in a village,
too, where the murder lasted two hours, was known
to be going on, and no one would help the unfortunate
victim. Hutch has now taken the farm into his own
hands. . . .
"Still, with all these feelings and impressions of
Lord Donoughmore, when we got Lord Anglesey's
proclamation at breakfast yesterday against these
tatholic assemblages in towns, he said: 'I am damned
sorry, Creevey, for this measure of Anglesea. He
wrote to me a fortnight ago, asking my advice upon
the subject, and I gave it to let them alone. I have
since been in communication with the Catholic bishop
of the diocese, and received his positive assurance
last night that these meetings were at an end. These
villains of Orangemen will now very naturally con-
clude that this is a measure and an avowed opinion
of the Government against the Catholics, and will be
more eager to begin the work of blood than ever.' . . .
"Amongst the opinionswith which Lord Hutchinson
favored me whilst I was with him were the following
'Who do you dine with at Dublin, Creevey, when
you are there?' 'Why,' says I, ' Blake, I think, is my
particular patron.' 'Ah,' said he, 'he is a very agree-
able fellow, but take care of him. There is not a
greater lyar in all Dublin, and he's as hollow as a
drum.' 'Then/ says I, 'there's Mr, Corry of Merrion
Square, who is mighty attentive to me.' 'Ah,' says
he, ' Secretary to the Linen Board, and wants to in-
trigue himself into Gregory's place as Under-secretary
of State he's a very good comedian, that fellow ; 1
don't know any other merit he has.'"
"Kingstown, 7 Oct., 1828.
"MY DEAREST BESSY,
" Don't I put you in mind of Mungo ' Mungo's
here, Mungo's there, Mungo's everywhere.' Well,
before I say a single word about Molly Payne or any-
one else, ... I must enlighten you upon the imme-
diate causes of the present crisis of this country.
Remember, it is no vague theory of my own. Lord
VOL. II. N
178 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VII.
Donoughmore is my historian; he was a principal
actor in what I am about to state, and, what is more,
he is the only surviving one. . . , He was observing
to me that the English government never took any
measures respecting Ireland except when pushed into
it ; and then they always took the wrong one, as they
did when the 405. election franchise was granted. 'Tell
me/ says I, ' about that ; ' and to the best of my belief
he spoke as follows. ... ^ In the year 1792 the Catholics
of Ireland presented a petition to the Irish House of
Commons, praying for a qualified franchise in the
election of members of Parliament. Five or six days
after it was presented, David Latouche moved that
such petition should be taken off the table and out of
the House, upon the avowed ground of the audacity
of its prayer. The House divided for Latouche's
motion 208 against it 25. Forbes and I were tellers.
Forbes was as honest a fellow as ever lived, and
Grattan was always a stout fellow to act with ; so we
three consulted together, and we summoned some of
the leading Catholics of Dublin to meet us. Keogh,
a silk mercer, and a very rich man, was our principal
[illegible]. He was a damned clever fellow, and the
only Catholic of courage I ever saw. We told them
that, as Catholics, they had received an insult from
the House of Commons ; they ought never to submit
to that; we, as their friends and advocates, felt our-
selves in the same situation, and were determined not
to put up with it. We said the thing to be done was
for the Catholics of Ireland to send delegates to Dublin
to agree with us and amongst themselves what step
they meant to take next. But the Catholics we had
summoned were all frightened, and said it would never
do. Keogh alone stood firm with us, and we said it
should do ; and it was settled that letters should be
sent into all the provinces summoning them to send
their delegates to Dublin.
" ' During the autumn of this year I went to see
La Fayette, and to look at the French armies. I
desired my brother Donoughmore to act for/ne with
the ^ Catholics in my absence. When he #bok the
business up, he was told by Keogh that the"atholics
in Cork and other parts of Munster were very shy,
and would not send any delegates; upon which my
1828.] LORD DONOUGHMORE'S RECOLLECTIONS. 179
brother went down, and went round every chapel
and saw every priest in Munster, and eventually 300
delegates made their appearance in Dublin. When
they had assembled there, they were affraid of having
any publick meetings, and told my brother they would
be taken up ; to which he said they should not that
he would stand between them and the government.
They met, and agreed to present the same petition to
the King that they had presented to the Irish Parlia-
ment.
" ' My brother waited upon Hobart, then Secretary
for Ireland, and asked what he meant to do with the
Catholic delegates now assembled in Dublin. Hobart
said "Put them down by force:" to which my
brother said " You dare not ! but if you have any
conciliatory measure to propose to them, I offer my-
self as the channel : " and so they parted.
" ' A short time after, Hobart sent for my brother,
and asked to see the petition. My brother said :
''You shall see the petition, but you shall not forward
it to the King, because you are their enemy." So
they selected Lord French, Keogh, Burn, Bellew and
Devereux as their delegates to go to London and
present their petition to the King. Grattan and I met
them there to keep them up to their mark, and to see
that they did not betray their cause. We found that
Pitt and Dundas, after two or three interviews with
these delegates, said they should advise the prayer of
their petition being granted, and that the qualification
should be 405.
" ' Upon this, Grattan and I asked to see Dundas,
and we had different interviews with him, in which we
stated that the Catholics, in asking for a qualified
franchise, had never thought of less than 20 a year,
and that they would be content even with $o. W T e
urged again and again the impolicy of so low a fran-
chise ; and all we could get from Dundas was that it
must be the same as it was in England. And so in
1793; the very same Parliament that the year before
would not permit the Catholic petition, praying for a
qualified franchise, to lie upon their table, now was
made to give them the 405. franchise.'
" Well, now for the modern priesthood.
" ' When Pitt established the college at Maynooth/
180 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn.VII.
said Lord Donoughmore, ' he gave to Ireland a re-
publican priesthood. Formerly it required some
money to educate candidates for orders in foreign
countries, so that they were necessarily Catholic
gentlemen's sons ; and they returned from France,
Spain or Portugal with the manners of gentlemen and
strict monarchical principles. But from the time that
these priests are educated at Dublin for nothing, people
of any property no longer send their sons there, and
the College is filled with people from the very ranks
of the population farmers' sons, &c. The effect of
this is visible to every one. A priest of the old school
lives at Clonmel, whom I can trust or act with as I
would with my brother; but none of the young ones
from Maynoothwill have anything to dp with me; and
these rascals are always caballing against the old set,
and trying to get the nomination to bishopricks into
their own hands.
"'. . , Now, at last, Ireland is enjoying the blessings
thus bestowed upon her by Pitt and Dundas an
ultra-popular franchise and a republican priesthood,
given to the most bigoted nation in Europe, with a
population of six to one against the Protestants. This
ritt is, forsooth, "the pilot that weathered the
storm." . . .
" ' You don't know Spring- Rice,* alias Jack the
Painter; he is the least-looking shrimp, and the
lowest-looking one too, possible. . . . He does not
look above five or six and twenty. He is very clever
in conversation, tells his stories capitally, like a man
of the world in great practice, without any vulgarity,
and never overcharging them ; but as for the interest
he takes about Ireland I am quite sure my old shoe
feels as much. He did everything but say it, that to
be a King's Counsel was as much the right of a
Catholic as a Protestant, and that he would goad
Catholic Ireland into resistance till his object was accom-
plished. 1
"I caught my friend Norman Macdonald's eye
whilst this harangue was going on ... and in walking
* At that time Under Secretary of State for the Home Department,
afterwards Chancellor of the Exchequer 1835-39 ; created Baron Mont-
eagle in 1839; died 1866.
1828.] IRISH SOCIETY. l8l
home together we both agreed that a more barefaced
scoundrel had never been exhibited to us."
"Dear Dublin, Oct. 12.
". . . Yesterday I dined at that attached friend
from my infancy Mr. Corry of Merrion Square, and
had the honor of making the acquaintance of Mr. Shiel.
The others were Surgeon-General Philip Crampton,
who is the Castle man-of-fashion in all Lord-Lieuten-
ancies, and whom the good sense of Dublin has Xtened
< Flourishing Phil/ and there never was a happier
name. . . ."
" Kingstown, Oct. 13.
". . . My eye ! the quantity of people I saw yester-
day and the day before that I knew, who pressed me
to come and see them, or to visit others they would
write to. Certainly, there is nothing like this Irish
civility and hospitality. To think of Lord Plunket
coming up, shaking hands and apologising for not
having called on me as he was only in town for a few
hours to attend a Privy Council. . . . I'm very sorry
I could not accept Grattan's invitation for yesterday.
. . . Then the KTnight of Kerry, who franks this, has
written to Lord Landaff, saying he has nearly per-
suaded me to visit him at Thomastown the place
described by Swift. . . ."
"Lyons, co. Kildare [Lord Cloncurry's], i$th Oct., 1828.
". . . I arrived here on Monday, and found Lord
and Lady William Paget, Lord and Lady Erroll, Lord
Forbes, and three or four other men. My eye ! how
Lady Erroll puts me in mind of her mother Acting
Nell or Miss Hoyden. We became kind of cronies
from the very first minute. If you come to that
Lady William Paget and I were very fair too, to say
nothing of the civilities to me of the young men their
husbands. . . . The Angleseys did not come till
yesterday. Greatly to my annoyance I sat next to
her at dinner. The young men, Erroll and Co., made
me do so, the Duke of Leinster not having arrived, as
he always walks out to dinner, however distant. He
did not arrive till it was at least half over. Our Lord-
182 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VII.
Lieutenant * was as gracious as possible gave me
his opinion about Ireland last night in the most un-
reserved manner . . . that it was his firm opinion
that if the Irish people had but justice done them,
they would be a happy and prosperous nation."
" Kilfane, Oct. 23.
". . . Lady Duncannon stated her intention of
going to the meeting at Kilkenny, to my great sur-
prise, and, as I thought, Duncannon would rather she
had not. However, in her quiet way I saw she was
resolved ; and accordingly she, Mr. Power, Mr. Tighe
of Woodstock and myself embarked after breakfast in
a decayed old family coach of Mr. Power's, that is
never used for any other purpose than that of convey-
ing him and his brother foxhunters to cover. Dun-
cannon rode, according to his custom. The meeting
was in an immense Catholic chapel, which was
crowded to excess. A great portion of its interior
was covered with a platform for the speakers and the
gentlemen interested in the business. It being known
that Lady Duncannon was coming, we were met by a
manager at the chapel door, who told her a place was
reserved for her upon the platform. . . . There were
women without end in the galleries. I was my lady's
bottle-holder and held her cloak for her the whole
time ; not that she wanted my assistance, for I never
saw such pretty attentions as were shewn her all the
day. . . . We knew, of course, that Duncannon was
to be voted into the chair, and as he could not be so
without making a speech, she was nervous to the
greatest degree publick speaking being quite out of
his line. However, he acquitted himself to admiration
and to the satisfaction of all ; and upon my saying to
her : ' Come ! we are in port now : nothing can be
better than this/ she said ' How surprised I am
how well he is speaking ! ' and then, having shed some
tears, she was quite comfortable and enjoyed every-
thing extremely, till the meeting adjourned till the next
day. ... It was a prodigious day for Duncannon, for,
with the exception of Power and Tighe, not one of
* The Marquess of Anglesey.
1828.] DAN O'CONNELL. 183
the Protestant gentry present gave Duncannon a
vote at the last election, nor did they ever attend a
Catholic meeting before, though always Liberal, but
they went with the Ormonde family. . . . There was
one speech made that in point of talent far surpassed
all the rest. The speaker was a Protestant squire of
large fortune from the county of Wexford, Boyce by
name. . . . O'Connell is far too dramatic for my taste,
and yet the nation is dramatic and likes it ; and, if
you come to that, even poor old Grattan was highly
ornamental too. Then I became far more tolerant
about O'Connell from what I saw of him on Tuesday
at our dinner. He has a very good-humoured counte-
nance and manner, and looks much more like a Kerry
squire (which, in truth, he and his race are) than a
Dublin lawyer. Then Bushe told me on Monday that
he [O'Connell] was at the head of the Bar, and
deservedly so, and that if he (the Chief Justice) had a
suit at law, he would certainly employ him. This,
you know, makes a great case for your green-handker-
chief man. Then his face is such a contrast to that of
the little spiteful, snarling Shiel.
" You can form no notion of the intense attention
paid by the audience of all ages and of all degrees to
what was going on ; it seemed to be purely critical,
without a particle of fanaticism. On the floor of the
chapel, in front of the platform, the commonest people
from the streets of Kilkenny were collected in great
numbers ; and if a publick speaker in the midst of his
speech was at all at a loss for a word, I heard the
proper word suggested from 5 or 6 different voices of
this beggarly audience. . . . Yet a better behaved
and more orderly audience could not possibly have
been collected. . . .
" When the dinner was announced . . . there was
a great body of as well-bred gentry as I ever saw
collected together. . . . When I mention that the
tickets were 1 155. each, and the company 200, you
may imagine it was not bad company. ... I never
in my life saw a more agreeable, harmonious meeting
full of life, and yet no drunkenness, tho' we sat
without a single departure till one. . . . My friend
Mr. Power appeared in a new character to me that
night I mean as a speaker, and a better one (for his
184 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH.VII.
situation) I never in my life heard. It has been justly
said by someone that 'no man has seen Ireland who
has not seen John Power ; ' and so say I. ... I have
had this letter in my pocket since Monday, as I could
not draw upon Duncannon for franks in the midst of
his constituents, who wanted them."
Mrs. Taylor to Mr. Creevey.
" Howick, ist Nov.
". . . We came here ten days ago, and shall remain
two days longer. We found them all well, Ly. Grey
looking better than I have ever seen her for some
time, and he is, I think, grown younger and better
looking than ever I saw him. But I am sorry to say
that in my opinion Brougham will regain his old
influence over him. He read me a letter from him
about the Whigs and the King's health, exactly as if
no misunderstanding had ever existed. In short, if
Lady Grey does not prevent it, everything will be
forgotten ; but she and I perfectly agree about him,
and I hope her influence will prevail. Lord Grey
really makes me angry, after the way he has been
treated."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Woodstock, Kilkenny [Mr. Tighe's], Nov. 3rd.
"... I really think a more worthy, amiable and
obliging young person is not to be found than this
Lady Louisa Tighe.* I had heard from every one
before how much beloved she was by all around her,
and I have no doubt it is so. She is quite in Lady
Duncannon's line as to her devotion to her poorer
nibbersj and quite as successful, but then I daresay
Mrs. Tighe had done much, and there has always been
a resident family here. . . She tells me her sister Lady
* Fifth daughter of the 4th Duke of Richmond; married in 1825
the Right Hon. W. F. Tighe of Woodstock. It has often been told of
this lady that she buckled the Duke of Wellington's sword-belt when
he left her mother's ball-room on the morning of Quatre-Bras ; but
this she always emphatically denied. She died 2nd March, 1900.
t Neighbours.
1828.] THE TIGHES OF WOODSTOCK. 185
Sarah * in America has 6 children and Lady Mary t
at the Cape four. . . . She [Lady Louisa] has a plain
face, but a most agreeable expression in it. She read
[prayers] uncommonly well last night, which I was
surprised at, as their education was never considered
of the best. . . . We are to have the Lord knows who
to-day in the way of company to stay in the house ;
amongst others, Fred Berkeley t and his wife, who is
a sister of Lady Louisa's. They come from Cork,
where he has a ship.
" What think you of old Down Richmond being
here for 3 months, and never once during the time
speaking to Tighe? Was there ever such impu-
dence ? He being, not only the most gentleman-
like, well-bred person possible, and evidently he and
his wife the happiest [couple] with each other. All
the nibbers, of which there are shoals, say his be-
haviour under this outrage was perfect Dp you know
that this is the house from which those chiennes Lady
Eleanor Butler and Miss Ponsonby, the heroines of
Llangollen, escaped to that retreat they have occu-
pied ever since. Lady Eleanor Butler, aunt to the
* Second daughter of the 4th Duke of Richmond ; married in 1815
to General Sir Peregrine Maitland, G.C.B., and died in 1873.
f Eldest daughter of the 4th Duke of Richmond ; married Sir
Charles Fitzroy, K.C.B., and died in 1847.
J Afterwards Admiral the Right Hon. Sir Maurice Frederick
Berkeley, G.C.B., created Baron Fitzhardinge in 1861 ; married Lady
Charlotte Lennox, 6th daughter of the 4th Duke of Richmond, and died
in 1867.
Youngest daughter of the i6th Earl of Ormonde \de jure].
Writing from Llangollen to his son on 24th August, 1829, Mr. John
Murray has the following :
"We had a great treat yesterday in being invited to introduce
ourselves to the celebrated Miss Ponsonby, of whom you must have
heard as becoming early tired of fashionable life, and having with-
drawn, accompanied by a kindred friend, Lady Eleanor Butler, to a
delightful, and at that period unfrequented, spot a quarter of a mile
from Llangollen, overhanging the rapid and beautiful river Dee.
Lady Eleanor died there a few months ago at the age of 91, after
having lived with Miss Ponsonby in the same cottage upwards of 50
years. It is very singular that the ladies intending to retire from the
world, absolutely brought all the world to visit them ; for, after a few
years of seclusion, their strange story was the universal subject of
186 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn.VII.
present Lord Ormonde, got over their castle wall that
I have seen in the town of Kilkenny, broke her arm
and was caught. When she escaped the second time,
she and Miss Ponsonby found their way here.
Tighe's grandmother, Lady Betty Ponsonby (that
had been) from Besborough, being then mistress of
Woodstock, concealed the runaways till they and a
faithful housemaid from the place got away in safety
to their [illegible]. The said Miss Ponsonby has a
brother living in the county now, having changed
his name to Walker for a fortune of 15,000 a year.
His wife seems to have been quite as neat an article
as his sister or her friend Lady Eleanor Butler ; for,
as they were riding out on horseback one day, she
pointed out a good stiff hurdle to him, and said
1 Now, go over that to please me.' To which he
replied ' I thank you ; but I am not going to break
my neck for any such nonsense.' ' Then, said she,
' you are not the man for me, and if you won't go over
it, I will : ' and over it she flew. To this hour, he has
never seen her face since : so Kilkenny's the county
for fun and fancy. ..."
Earl of Sefton to Mr. Creevey.
" London, 7th Nov.
". . . Nothing has transpired as to the D[uke] of
Wellington's] intentions about Ireland, for a very
good reason, / believe viz., that he has no intentions
whatever on the subject. The reports about the
conversation, and there has been no person of rank, talent and import-
ance in any way who did not procure introduction to them. All that
was passing in the world, they had it fresh as it arose, and in four
hours' conversation with Miss Ponsonby one day, and three the next,
I found that she knew everything and everybody, and was, at the age
of 80, or nearly so, a most inexhaustible fund of entertaining instruc-
tion and lively communication. The cottage is remarkable for the
taste of its appropriate fitting up with ancient oak, presented by
different friends, from old castles and monasteries, &c., none of it of
less antiquity than 1200 years [!]. She declared to me that during the
whole fifty years she never knew a moment that hung heavy upon her,
and no sorrows, but from the loss of friends" [Smiles's Memoirs of
John Murray, ii. 304].
1828.] CREEVEY'S INDISCRETION. 187
King's health have no other origin than the mystery
kept up about him. You will soon hear of him as
well as ever. In the meantime he will attend to no
business, nor sign anything. Among others, Berkeley *
cannot get his commission signed. . . ."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Dear Dublin, Nov. 8th.
"Oh dear, oh dear! this Ireland is rather too
hospitable : not that I was inebriated yesterday, but
still it was rather severe. A better dinner I never
saw than at our Guards mess, nor three and twenty
more ornamental, well-bred young men, Jimmy
Cameron included. I was more in love with the army
than ever. We drunk a good deal of wine, but by no
means too much, and drunk our coffee, when some
young Hussars who were my neighbours (visitors
like myself) withdrew, and two Guardsmen came up
to me. The name of one was Fludyer, and they
were evidently bent upon a jaw with me ; so what
could I do, you know, but take another glass of claret
with them ; which I did, and we parted the best of
friends. . . . But this was by no means the end of
the campaign ; for, upon going into the great coffee-
room of this hotel, as is my custom, there were three
young Irishmen over their bottle, indulging in songs
as well as wine, and nothing would serve them but
my joining their party. Now upon my soul and
body, I was not the least drunk when I did so, sus-
picious as it may seem ; but there was something irre-
sistibly droll in their appearance. Then they would
know my name, and then they knew me both by name
and fame ; and they proved to me they did so. They
sung songs and 1 sat with them till near two o'clock,
and never fellow was more made of than I was by my
unknown friends. Ah ! Mr. Thomas, Mr. Thomas :
you are a neat article when left to yourself. . . . Now
let me say this once for all, and I do so from the
bottom of my heart. I would rather trust myself
with Irish people than with any other in the whole
world be they who they may, Betty. . . ."
* Lord Sefton's 2nd son, the Hon. Berkeley Molyneux.
188 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VII.
"Dublin, 1 5th Nov.
"... I trust you see our Dan O'Connell has
denounced poor Barny, altho' he is Duke of Norfolk,
for presuming to say he would give any securities
as the price of settling the Catholic question. A
greater piece of folly was never committed than this
of Barny so uncalled for and not to feel sure that
O'Connell, in the present plenitude of his power over
Catholic Ireland, would never submit to this question
being settled by any one but himself, and especially
by an English Catholic, who in truth is nobody. Then
all this is the more extraordinary in the Duke, because
he has told me again [and again] that the great point
was for our government and the Pope to settle this
question of securities without any of the Irish nation
clergy or laity knowing a word of what was going
on ; for, if they did, they would defeat all such arrange-
ments : and then the blockhead is the very man to put
the whole matter in a flame by broaching the very
subject that, according to himself, could only be settled
in private."
"Dublin, Nov. 21.
". . . I was charmed with my day at my Lord
Lieutenant's, notwithstanding the settled gloom of
Lady Anglesey and the forbidding frowns of the
Lady Pagets. The party at dinner and their position
was as follows. Berkeley Paget * at the top : on his
right, Chief Justice Bushe, Lord Plunket, a Lady Paget,
Lord Anglesey, another Lady Paget, Lord Howth, Col.
Thornhill. At the bottom Burton, aide-de-camp and
secretary, 3rd Lady Paget, Corry, 4th Lady raget,
Lord Francis Leveson,t Lady Anglesea, Lord Clanri-
carde, Mr. Creevey, and Mr. Solicitor-General Dog-
herty. I have left out somebody that I forget. Altho'
I had never been introduced to Clanricarde J I threw
off directly with ' The last time I had the pleasure
of seeing you, my lord, was at the Race ball at
Chelmsford.' ' Yes/ said he, 'and I hope I shall have
the pleasure of seeing you there next year, too, for I
* Younger brother of the Marquess of Anglesey. Died in 1842.
t Created Earl of Ellesmere in 1846.
J Fourteenth Earl and ist Marquess ot Clanricarde. Died in 1874.
1828.] THE VICEREGAL LODGE. 189
am steward, and I hope you'll patronise me.' So it
was all mighty well to be launched thus easily, and
we discussed Ireland, and were quite one in our
opinions.
" I had no notion Lord Anglesey could have been
so gay in manner : it was really quite agreeable to see
him in such spirits. . . . During dinner, he said across
the table to me: ' Why, Mr. Creevey, you have quite
taken root in Ireland.' ' I have been very much
delighted with it, my lord,' I replied. ' Have you
seen Donoughmore lately ? ' ' Not since I met your
lordship at Lyons. 1 ' Have you been in the North at
all ? ' ' No, my lord, I had not courage to go into that
disturbed part of Ireland. I prefer the tranquillity of
the South.' Upon which the two Chief Justices were
pleased to smile; so did my Lord Lieutenant, and
keeping his eyes fixed upon me he concluded : ' Will
you drink a glass of wine with me, Mr. Creevey ? '
' With great pleasure, my lord ; ' and I had the same
favor shown me by the two Judges and Mr. Solicitor.
So it was all mighty well, you know.
" After a perfectly easy, conversational dinner, we
drank coffee, had the billiard room open, and people
playing and others walking about and jawing, just as
they liked. I can't think how it was that, in talking
of heat and cold in rooms^ Lord Anglesey said he
preferred the canopy of Heaven to any other coyer-
ing, ... to which I said I had been greatly surprised
at a proof of that, when I saw him sitting out in the
park at Brussells, 3 or 4 days after the battle of
Waterloo.' Ah,' said he, ' did you see me ? It was
so certainly. I was at Madame [illegible]^ house, and
very kind to me they were.' ' I knew your house too
at Waterloo,' said I, ' and well remember the trees in
the garden.' 'Why, do you know,' said he, 'the
people of that house have made the Lord knows what
by people coming to see the grave of my leg which
was buried in the garden ! ' and he said this in a
manner as much as to say ' What damned fools they
must be ! '
" I had a good deal of jaw in private with Plunket
during the evening; and when I asked him his opinion
as to anything being done in the approaching session
about the Catholics, he gave a most decided one that
THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VII.
there would ; but upon examining him closely, it was
quite clear he thought so only because it ought to be
so ; and I am convinced that neither he nor Lord
Anglesey know one word from the Duke of Wellington
as to what his opinion and intentions are upon this
subject. . . . Betty, my dear, you were too hard upon
me for my ingenuous folly in revealing my midnight
revel here. I assure you I was not otherwise dis-
graced than as a silent observer of the 3 frolicksome
Irishmen. . . ."
" Carton [The Duke of Leinster's], 2$th Nov.
" What a difference it makes when one has a room
to write in with all one's little comforts about one. I
never, to my mind, had one so made for me as my
present one. It is a fat, lofty, square, moderate-sized
room on the ground floor French to the backbone in
its furniture, gilt on the roof, gilded looking-glasses
in all directions, fancy landskapes and figures in
pannells, a capital canopy bed, furniture white
ground with bouquets of roses of all colours, and the
bouquets as large as a small hat. Armchairs ditto :
chests of drawers, 2 cjuite new and might be from
Paris. My own escritoire in a recess with paper
lighters before me of all colours, and in another corner
of the room another recess that shall be nameless,
through a door, quite belonging to itself and to no
other apartment; the whole to conclude with a charm-
ing fire which woke me by its crackling nearly an
hour ago, whilst my maid thought, of course, she was
making it without waking the gentleman. ... I flew
my kite at the Duke per Saturday's post. ... I left
Dublin in my post-chaise about J past two the
distance 12 Irish miles, i.e. 15 English, and it was too
dark when I arrived to see anything of the exterior.
I was shown into a long, most comfortable library,
with a door half open into a fat drawing-room, and
was told his Grace should know I had come. Presently
a gentleman and the Duke's two fine boys came in, and
I soon found that the former was the parlez-vous tutor
to the others. After a certain time, the Duke appeared :
he was all kindness and good humor, as he always
is. ... After a good deal of jaw, and telling me they
1828.] CARTON. 19*
dined at half-past six, he conducted me himself to my
bedroom, and would not have minded brushing my
coat if I had wanted it.
"All this time it appeared to me likely that I
was the only stranger in the house : and what of
that ? Tant mieux. . . . However, upon returning to
the drawing-room, there were men there, and the
Duke said ' Captain (I forget his name) Mr.
Creevey : my brother Augustus Stanhope,* Mr.
Creevey : my Napoleon Mr. Henry. . . . Do you know
Lord Seymour,! Mr. Creevey ? Do you know Lord
Acheson J ? ' and in this way I was introduced to these
youths. Augustus Stanhope is the one that was dis-
missed the army by court martial for doing Lord
Yarmouth out of a large sum at play. . . . Then
entered the Duchess, and from the prettyness of her
manner it was quite impossible not to feel at home
with her from that moment ; but she is not nearly so
pretty as I expected. . . . Well of course one of the
quality lads handed her out : the others were on
her other side, and I pitched my tent with my right
ear to her, next Lord Seymour, and brought her into
action in the first 3 minutes. She evidently was
all for ' de laugh,' and two more demure, negative
striplings could not well be than her neighbours
appeared. . . . They seemed somewhat astonished
at the free and easy position that I took up ; how-
ever I took the lead and kept it till we all went to
bed at i ij. ...
" This morning, breakfast punctually at J past nine
. . . the nobility sprigs still mute, and everything to
be done by Mr. Thomas.
"After breakfast, I walked with the Duchess and
her brother, and when the latter left us, she proposed
showing me her cottage and flower-garden. . . . Whilst
we were there, the Duke arrived with the lordlings,
being on his way to show them Maynooth College,
* Eleventh son of the 3rd Earl of Harrington, and brother of the
Duchess of Leinster.
t Eldest son of nth Duke of Somerset: succeeded as I2th Duke
on his father's death in 1855.
J Succeeded his father in 1849 as 3 r d Earl of Gosford.
Mr. Creevey was very deaf in the left ear.
192 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VII.
about a mile and a half (Irish) further on : so he said
'Would you like to see it, Mr. Creeyey?' 'Very
much/ said I, but then muttered something at our not
having the Duchess. ' O, a thousand thanks/ said she;
' I am a great walker, and will walk there too : ' and
so she did, and pretty well bespattered she was when
we returned just now.
" However, I have been thro' the college, and seen
a good many of these 380 precious blackguards that
are now in college there, and of all the disgusting
concerns for filth the Maynooth business stands pre-
eminent. And yet these are the men that are to guide
and controul the whole Catholic population of Ireland.
Maynooth Castle in its ruins is an immense concern.
It was the residence of this family [the Fitzgeralds]
and joins the ground which was let by the late Duke
for the college.
" In returning thro' the town of Maynooth, which
belongs to the Duke entirely, I was sorry to see how
inferior it was in neatness to Piltown and Lady Louisa
Tighe's town ; nor did the Duchess seem to know any
of the people at their doors as we passed. I have no
doubt that both he and she are excellent people, but
somehow they don't seem to have hit off the art of
having a neat neighbourhood. And yet they both
praise the Irish people extremely."
" Kinmell, St. Asaph's [Mr. Hughes's], Nov. 29.
" ' Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief ;
Taffy in stupidity exceeds all belief.'
Altho' he is so well and warmly clothed, what an
inferior article he is to poor, ragged, dirty, sprightly
Pat.
( 193 )
CHAPTER VIII.
1829.
THE successive stages in the conversion of the Tory
Government to Roman Catholic Emancipation have
been abundantly discussed without bringing home to
the apprehension of most people that, in truth, there
were no such stages. The circumstances have been
obscured by the recall of the pro-Catholic Lord
Lieutenant, Anglesey, and the appointment of the
anti-Catholic Lieutenant, Northumberland, but that
had really no bearing upon the question. Anglesey
had acted in what his old chief, the Duke of Welling-
ton, considered an insubordinate manner, and was
treated as relentlessly as Norman Ramsay had been
dealt with after Vittoria. There was no question of
ministerial policy involved; the puzzle arises out of
the Prime Minister acting with a total want of that
ambiguity which usually envelopes ministerial acts.
The victory of Daniel O'Connell and the Catholic
Association over Vesey FitzGerald, appointed Pre-
sident of the Board of Trade, in the election for County
Clare, had convinced Wellington that relief could no
longer be withheld from the Catholics. The position
held by the Government ever since the question had
driven Pitt out of office in 1801 must be abandoned;
but he was too old a campaigner to allow the enemy
VOL. n. o
194 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH.VIII.
to know the hour and order of evacuation. Peel was
to be converted and the King be forced to consent,
before the orders should be issued which, he knew,
would breed mutiny in his own ranks. No sign should
betray his purpose till all was prepared : the accus-
tomed guards should be mounted the regular sentries
posted till the very last moment. The appointment
of the Duke of Northumberland in succession to Lord
Anglesey was in accord with the spirit of a General
Order which had never been suspended or revoked
No indulgence to Roman Catholics. It is the
secrecy and suddenness of Wellington's movements
which have perplexed historians, accustomed to the
more tentative and tortuous ways of politicians.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Whitehall, Feby. 3, 1829.
". . . Every one was up with the news of the day
that Wellington had decided to let the Catholics into
Parliament. ... I have always, you know, been con-
vinced that the Beau must and would do something
upon this subject, and what it is to be we now must
very shortly know. . . ."
"5th.
" Our only visitor last night was Sefton, who
arrived about 12, bringing with him the correspon-
dence between the Duke of Wellington and Lord
Anglesey, which the latter had lent to Sefton to be
returned the next morning at n. He read it to
Mrs. Taylor and me, and it was past one before he
had done. The Beau, according to custom, writes
atrociously, and his charges against Lord Anglesey
are of the rummest kind, such as being too much
addicted to popular courses, going to Lord Cloncurry's,
being too civil to Catholic leaders, not turning Mr.
O'Gorman Mahon out of the commission of the peace,
&c., &c. There are letters full of such stuff, and Lord
J /
1829.] CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION. 195
Anglesey in his answers beats him easy in all ways.
. . . The Whigs are quite as sore as the Brunswickers
at this victory of the Beau over Prinney and his
Catholic prejudices. They had arranged the most
brilliant opposition for the approaching session, and
this coup of the Duke's has blown up the whole
concern.
" At Brooks's last night the deceased poet Rogers
came up to beg I would meet Brougham at dinner at
his house on Wednesday."
"6th.
". . . It does Wellington infinite honor; the only
drawback to his fame on this occasion is his silence to
Anglesey as to his intentions ; but he has been jealous
of his brother soldier playing the popular in Ireland,
and so has sacrificed the man, while adopting his
opinions."
";th.
" Here is little Twitch, alias Scroop, alias Premier
Duke, Hereditary Earl Marshal, who is sitting by my
side and who reckons himself sure of franking a letter
for you before the session closes. The removal of
Catholic disabilities would permit the Duke of
Norfolk to take his seat in the Lords."
"nth.
". . . 'Ra-ally/ as Mrs. Taylor would say, Peel
makes a great figure.* His physick for the [Catholic]
Association is as mild as milk, and for a year only. It
is such a new and important feature in this Tory Revo-
lution to have no blackguarding or calling names of
any one. There begins to be an alarm about the Lords,
but I have no doubt without foundation. It is clear to
me from the Duke of Rutland's speech that he will
ultimately support the Beau, and I have my doubts
whether the Bishop of London f won't do so like-
wise. ... Lord Sefton has broke the bank at Crock-
ford's two nights following. He tells me he carried
off 7000."
* As Home Secretary, Peel was responsible for the government of
Ireland, which was then administered from the Home Office.
f C. J. Blomfield.
196 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. VIII.
" 1 2th Feby., 1829.
". . . Our party at the deceased poet's [Rogers] last
night was his brother and living poet and wit
Luttrell, Sefton, Lord Durham, Burdett, Lord Robert
[Spencer], Brougham and the Duke of Norfolk, and
we had a merry day enough. . . ."
" Brooks's, Feb. 14.
". . . There is nothing going forward except this
reported visit of the Duke of ... Are you aware
that Captain Garth is the son of this Duke by
Princess .* General Garth, at the suit of the
old King, consented to pass for the father of this son.
The latter, in every way worthy of his villainous
father, has shown all the letters upon this occasion,
including one of the King's. The poor woman has
always said that this business would be her death.
Garth asks 30,000 for the letters, and, to enhance
their value, shews the worst part of them."
"i 8th.
". . . The Whigs are as sore as be damned at
Wellington distinguishing himself and at Lord Grey's
just panegyrick upon Peel the other night. A neat
figure they [the Whigs] would have cut in such a
storm ; but, to do them justice, they would never have
attempted it. . . ."
" March 2nd.
"Now I wonder if Oggt is to be depended on.
Our Whigs, who hate the Beau and Peel and Grey
with all their hearts, and are mad to the last degree
that the two former have taken the Catholick cause
out of their own feeble and perfidious hands, and who
are always croaking about the projected Bill as being
sure to contain some conditions and provisions that
will be quite inadmissible to the dear Liberals the
said Whigs are to-day more chopfallen than ever upon
the visits that have been taking place the last two
* One should hesitate to withdraw the veil from this ugly affair,
were it not that it has been freely discussed and made public property
in the recently published letters of Madame de Lieven.
f Lord Kensington.
I829-] THE GARTH SCANDAL. 197
days by the Beau and Chancellor to Windsor, and
then the Beau waiting upon the D. of Cumberland as
soon as he came back. In short, it is settled amongst
them that the Dutchess of Gloucester and D. of Cum-
berland have made such an impression upon Prinney
against the Pope, that he is considered as quite certain
to be upon the jib; and such is the supposed con-
sternation of the Ministers, that Tommy Tyrrwhitt
told me he had seen with his own eyes to-day Lord
Ellenborough come into the Court of Chancery twice,
go upon the Bench to the Chancellor, put his mouth
close under his wig, and keep it there at least five
minutes at a time.
"So, having just met old Ogg in the street in
spectacles, he having lost an eye since I last saw him,
and after hearing an account of the different calamities
affecting his life, property and character, we got to
this Windsor gossip. So says Ogg in his accustomed
manner 'Damme! I know exactly what it is all
about, and if you promise never to mention my name,
I'll tell you.' I need not observe that the condition
he imposed upon me I should have gratuitously
adopted, as the disclosure would, with most, destroy
my story. However, he swore he knew the facts of
his own knowledge, and they are these.
" Knight, a barrister of the Court of Chancery, has
been advertising the Chancellor lately that on this
day he should move for an injunction against Sir
Herbert Taylor about Garth's letters, which have been
placed in his hands under some agreement with Garth,
and which the latter or his creditors wish to make
more favorable for themselves ; 3000 a year for life
and 10,000 in hand were the considerations, but it is
sought to make it 16,000 in hand. Ogg adds that it is
the fear of all this being made publick that has caused
all these mutinies between the Beau and Prinney and
Chancellor and D. of Cumberland. Ogg says, too, that
he knows all the contents of these letters, and stated
quite enough of them to account for all this Windsor
hurry-scurry. . . .
" Well, I had really a charming gay dinner at
old Sally's * yesterday. Lady Sefton and her 2 eldest
* Sarah, Marchioness of Salisbury.
193 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VIII.
daughters, the young Lady Salisbury, Lord Arthur
[Hill], Sefton, Henry [Molyneux], a Talbot, Hy. de
Koos, Montgomery and Sebright. . . . Upon my
word I was wrong about Lady Lyndhurst. She has
beautiful eyes and such a way of using them that
quite shocked Lady Louisa and me. . . . Old Clare
fairly rowed me last night, or affected to do so, for
not coming to see her in Ireland. You know her son
and his wife are parted, the latter giving as her reason
for wishing it that she had only married him to please
her mother, and that now she was dead there was no
use in going on together. He has given her back
every farthing of her fortune, which was 50,000 or
60,000."
"... I saw a good deal of young Lady Emily
Cowper,* who is the' leading favorite of the town
so far. She is very inferior to her fame for looks, but
is very natural, lively, and appears a good-natured
young person."
"6th.
"Well, the Whig croaking must end now. The
Beau is immortalised by his views and measures as
detailed by Peel last night. I certainly, for one, think
it an unjust thing to alter the election franchise from
405. toio; but considering the perfection of every
other part and the difficulty there must have been in
bringing Prinney up to this mark, I should, were I
in Parliament, swallow the franchise thing without
hesitation; and so I am happy to find a meeting of
our Whigs at Burdett's to-day have agreed to do. ...
Only think of the old notion of the Veto being just
abandoned. . . ."
" ioth.
" Well, our ' very small and early party ' last night
[at Lady Sefton's] was quite as agreeable as ever;
but I must be permitted to observe that, considering
the rigid virtue of Lady Sefton and the profound
darkness in which her daughters of from 30 to
40 are brought up as to even the existence of vice,
* Married in 1830 to the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, at that time
Lord Ashley.
1829.] A PARTY AT LADY SEFTON'S. 199
the party was as little calculated to protract the
delusion of these innocents as any collection to be
made in London could well be. There were Mrs. F-
L and Lord Chesterfield, who came together
and sat together all night ; Lady E and the Pole
or Prussian or Austrian whichever he is whom they
call 'Cadland' because he beat the Colonel (Anson).*
Anything so impudent as she, or so barefaced as the
whole thing, I never beheld ; Princess Esterhazy and
Lady , Lady and [Lord] Palmerston in short,
by far the most notorious and profligate women in
London. . . . With respect to how Lord Grey and other
people take the Catholic Bill or Pill, there is an in-
creasing satisfaction in all the friends to the measure,
and the ranks of the bigots are thinning. There is
one damned thing, if it is persisted in, which is that
O'Connell is not to be let into his present seat, but
sent back to a new election under the new Bill. . . .
When I was at Grey's on Sunday, he told me Burdett
had just been with him upon this subject, and had
urged him to speak to the Duke of Wellington about it.
Not amiss in O'Connell and Burdett, considering that
they had never consulted Grey before on any of their
Catholic cookery. However, his answer was that he
should do no such thing, for that, altho' there could be
no doubt as to the abominable injustice of this case, yet
as the Duke had never shown any disposition to com-
municate with him upon this measure, it was not for
him Lord Grey to begin any such communication.
So much for Sefton and others, who will have it that
Lord Grey must and will come into office. . . .
Wellington was blooded yesterday, but is out to-day,
and gone to face Winchilsea in the Lords."
"Sulby, March 18.
" Rather stiffish to-day, my dear ; it can't, of course,
be age ! but going four and twenty miles on a hard
road at a kind of hand gallop is rather shaking, you
know, to those not used to it. ... The men we have
had here are principally Pytchley, which, in dandyism,
are very second-rate to the Quorn or Melton men. . . .
* The Duke of Rutland's "Cadland" won the Derby in 1828,
beating the King's horse " The Colonel."
200 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VIII.
Osbaldeston himself, tho' only 5 feet high, and in
features like a cub fox, is a very funny little chap ;
clever in his way, very good-humored and gay, and
with very good manners. ... I am very fond of all
these lads being dressed in scarlet in the evening. It
looks so gay."
" iQth.
". . . Does your paper ever give you any light
upon the old affair of Garth? Did it contain his
affidavit? You see it is now established in proof in
a suit in Chancery that Sir Herbert Taylor had agreed
to give Garth 3000 a year for his life, and to pay
his debts; and that, upon this being done, certain
letters were to be given up to Taylor. In the mean-
time they were deposited in Snow's bank in the joint
holding of the said bankers and Mr. Westmacott, the
editor of the Age newspaper. . . . There is quite
enough in this Taylor being the purchaser and the
price so monstrous, to make it quite certain the letters
must contain great scandal affecting very great parties.
. . . General Garth is still alive, and it was when he
was extremely ill and thought himself quite sure of
dying, that he wrote to young Garth, telling him who
he was, explaining the part he the General had
been induced to act out of respect and deference to
the royal family. . . . General Garth recovered un-
expectedly, and applied to young Garth for the docu-
ment ; but, I thank you ! they had been seen and read
and deemed much too valuable to be given back
again."
Earl of Sefton to Mr. Creevey.
"Arlington St., . . . March 25th.
". . . The King was delighted with the duel * and
said he should have done the same that gentlemen
must not stand upon their privileges. . . ."
"Stoke, nth April.
". . . The King was very angry at the large
majority [for the Catholic Relief Bill] and did not
* Between the Duke of Wellington and Lord Winchilsea.
1829.] INTRIGUES IN THE OPPOSITION. 2OI
write the D. a line in answer to his express telling
him of it. The Beau's troubles are not over yet. The
distress in the country is frightful. Millions are
starving, and I defy him to do anything to relieve
them."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Whitehall, May 28th.
"... I went to the Park, but the review was over,
so we only learnt that the Beau had had a fall from
his horse, but was not hurt ; and in coming home here
a little later who shd. I meet riding in a little back
street near Coventry Street but the said Duke. So
he stopt and shook hands. ... I said : ' Well, upon
my soul, you are the first of mankind to have accom-
plished this Irish job as you have done, and I con-
gratulate you upon it most sincerely. . . . You must
have had tough work to get thro'.' 'Oh terrible, I
assure you/ said he, and so we parted."
"June ist.
". . . It is a well known fact that Lord Durham is
doing all he possibly can to make Lord Grey act a
part that shall force him into the Government, meaning
in that event to go snacks himself in the acquisition of
power and profit ; which, considering that he got his
peerage by deserting Grey and by helping Canning to
defeat Wellington, is consistent and modest enough!
So after dinner [at Lord William Powlett's] the levee
being mentioned, Grey said in the most natural
manner he would never go to another; upon which
Lambton [Lord Durham] remonstrated with him
most severely and pathetically, and George Lamb
thought Grey was wrong ; but Grey held out firm as
a rock said that it was quite against his own opinion
going the last time, but that he had been quite perse-
cuted into it that this last personal insult from the
King in never noticing him was only one of a series
of the same kind, and that for the future he should
please himself by avoiding a repetition of them. You
may easily fancy the amiability of Lambton's face at
his avowal. . . . You see these impertinent and base
202 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. VIII-
renegade young Whigs have had their appetites for
office if possible sharpened at present by Lord Rosslyn
having just accepted the Privy Seal. . . . Rosslyn told
me of it himself in the street on Saturday. ... I know
that he accepted with Lord Grey's concurrence, but I
am equally sure, from Lord Grey's manner, that he
thinks he ought not to have done so."
" August 2oth.
". . . As you see only the Morning Post, I am
afraid you are quite in the dark as to what is going
on in France. . . . All are furious against the new
Ministry, and with great reason. To think of making
Bourmont the War Minister! He is the man who
deserted from Bonaparte and came over to us the
night before the battle of Waterloo.* General Gerard
recommended him to Nap as a General of Division on
that occasion, and said that he would pledge his life for
his honor.] The deserter is now to be Minister for
War, and will have to face Gerard as a member of the
Chamber of Deputies ! . . . Even the old Ultras think
the experiment puts the throne of Charles Dix in
danger."
" Knowsley, 26th September.
". . . I am half way thro' the 3rd volume of
Bourrienne. Although my interest about Nap is
greatly lessened by his wholesale use and destruction
of mankind not for the sake or defence of France,
but for some Mark' of his own, to be like Caesar or
Alexander, and for his damned nonsensical posterity
that he is always after then again he comes over me
again by his talents, and by a kind of simplicity, and
even drollery, behind the curtain whilst he is so
successfully bamboozling all the world without. Don't
suppose I am partial to him because when Bourrienne
* It was on the morning of the I5th June, three days before
Waterloo, that Bourmont deserted ; and he went to Bliicher, not to
Wellington.
f The expression GeVard used was that he would pledge his head:
so when GeVard reported Bourmont's treachery, the Emperor tapped
Gerard playfully on the cheek, saying : " Cette tete, done, c'est a moi,
n'est ce pas ? " adding more gravely, u mais j'en ai trop besoin."
1829.] FIRST TRIP ON THE RAILWAY. 203
read poetry to him in Egypt he always fell asleep!
or because that at school he never was a scholar,
Bourrienne beating him easily in Latin and Greek,
but in mathematics he was first ; nor because no one
spelt worse than he did, having always a professed
contempt for that noble art. Yet his compositions
are of the first order."
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the pro-
motion of which Creevey had so stoutly opposed in
committee of the House of Commons, was nearly
finished, and about to be opened for traffic.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Knowsley, Nov. ist, 1829.
". . . You have no doubt in your paper reports of
Huskisson's return to office. Allow me to mention a
passage which Lord Derby read to me out of a letter
to himself from Lady Jane Houston, who lives very
near Huskisson. . . . ' Houston saw Huskisson yester-
day, who talked to him of his return to office as of a
thing quite certain, and of Edward Stanley doing so
too. Indeed he spoke of the latter as quite the Hope
of the Nation!' As the Hope of the Nation was
present when this was read, it would not have been
decent to laugh ; but the little Earl gave me a look
that was quite enough."
" Croxteth, 7th.
". . . I left little Derby devouring Bourrienne with
the greatest delight, and he is particularly pleased
with the exposure of the ignorance of ' that damned
fellow Sir Walter Scott.' The Stanley and Hornby
party were rather shocked at the great bard and
novelist being called such names, but the peer said
he was a ' damned impertinent fellow ' for presuming
to write the life of Bonaparte."
" i4th.
". . . To-day we have had a lark of a very high
order. Lady Wilton sent over yesterday from Knows-
ley to say that the Loco Motive machine was to be
204 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH.VIII.
upon the railway at such a place at 12 o'clock for the
Knowsley party to ride in if they liked, and inviting
this house to be of the party. So of course we were
at our post in 3 carnages and some horsemen at the
hour appointed. I had the satisfaction, for I can't call
it pleasure, of taking a trip of five miles in it, which we
did in just a quarter of an hour that is, 20 miles an
hour. As accuracy upon this subject was my great
object, I held my watch in my hand at starting, and
all the time; and as it has a second hand, I knew I
could not be deceived ; and it so turned out there was
not the difference of a second between the coachee or
conductor and myself. But observe, during these five
miles, the machine was occasionally made to put itself
out or go it; and then we went at the rate of 23jniles
an hour, and just with the same ease as to motion or
absence of friction as the other reduced pace. But
the quickest motion is to me frightful: it is really
flying, and it is impossible to divest yourself of the
notion of instant death to all upon the least accident
happening. It gave me a headache which has not
left me yet. Sefton is convinced that some damnable
thing must come of it ; but he and I seem more struck
with such apprehension than others. . . . The smoke
is very inconsiderable indeed, but sparks of fire are
abroad in some quantity : one burnt Miss de Ros's
cheek, another a hole in Lady Maria's silk pelisse,
and a third a hole in some one else's gown. Alto-
gether I am extremely glad indeed to have seen this
miracle, and to have travelled in it. Had I thought
worse of it than I dp, I should have had the curiosity
to try it ; but, having done so, I am quite satisfied
with my first achievement being my last.
"Croxteth, Nov. i8th.
"... I am sure you would not wish me to miss
Lady Foley. It is very nearly the direct road to
London. Then to see a noble novel-writer, who has
never been known in the midst of all their ruin to
degrade herself by putting on either a pair of gloves
or a ribbon a second time,, and who has always 4 ponies
ready saddled and bridled for any enterprise or
excursion that may come into her head! To say
1829.] A SPENDTHRIFT PEER. 205
nothing of Foley, who, without a halfp'orth of income
keeps the best house and has planted more oak trees
than any man in England, and by the influence of his
name and popularity returns two members for Droit-
wich and one for the county. Then he is to get his
next neighbour Lord Dudley to meet me, so we shall
have Jean qui pleure et Jean qui rit Ward [Lord
Dudley] being in a state of lingering existence under
the frightful pressure of 120,000 a year."
( 206 )
CHAPTER IX.
1830-1831.
MR. CREEVEY'S correspondence during 1830 contains
less of permanent interest than usual. It was an
eventful year, for it witnessed the downfall of the
Tory administration, the death of George IV., and
the opening of the far-reaching drama of Reform.
Brougham had busied himself for some time in pro-
moting the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Know-
ledge, and acted as joint editor of its publications.
Henry Brougham, M.P., to Mr. Creevey.
" Hill St. [1830].
"... I have sent for yourself the Library of Useful
Knowledge, as far as published : with the Farmers'
Series and Maps. The Entertaining Knowledge Library
is for the younkers (tho' good and wholesome for all
ages). ... I believe we begin with 15,000 and print
to above 20,000. Now pray, if any subject falling in
with our plans occurs to you, suggest it. You will do
us a real service. We profess to be able to prepare
and put in circulation to a vast extent any work of
useful tendency and sound principles. Of course we
avoid direct part in Church and State, but we openly
profess to preach peace, liberty and absolute toleration,
and I take care, as the works pass through my hands,
to keep out all that is against these principles, and to
put in authoritatively what is wanting upon them. . . ."
1830-31.] BROUGHAM'S LITERARY SCHEMES. 207
"Brougham, 1830.
". . . Our Lib. U. K. will get less abstruse now that
the Mathematical subjects are all gone thro', except
Astronomy. But some of the treatises are extremely
plain, and indeed entertaining, notwithstanding their
titles have hard names as for instance 'Animal
Physiology ' which really teaches anatomy to any-
one who wishes to understand it, and never knew a
word of it before. So the life of Galileo is very
interesting, and that of Caxton. But one fault that
series has which is quite incurable, as long as the tax
on paper continues. I mean the small print. The
undertaking was, to give for sixpence as much as is
usually to be found in an octavo vol. of above 100
pages. If the tax on paper were repealed, I have no
doubt we could give 48 pages instead of 32 for that
price, and the print would be as easy to read as any
needs to be.
" When I wrote last, I had been speaking for more
than five hours on the intellectual state of a worthy tea-
dealer, so I may have omitted a request I intended to
make to you and the ladies viz., to suggest subjects for
books, if any occur, especially for the Entertaining
Series. The other must take a regular course, but
this is naturally without rule. Also, any book want-
ing for the common people in the country (which is
another part of our plans).
" I shall take care about Bourrienne * next week
when I return. I am anxious for its appearance my-
self, having read the other vols. with detestation
scorn of the villain ; but I must say as you do with-
out much disbelief, which I was sorry for. . . ."
Less meritorious in Creevey's eyes were
Brougham's proceedings in Parliament ; and he is
vociferous in complaint about his " perfidy," &c. But
Brougham was not the only one of his old " corn-
rogues," as he called them, who were behaving
" basely." Lord Cleveland, formerly Lord Darlington,
* Life of Napoleon.
208 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. IX.
declined to provide a seat for Creevey in Parliament,
notwithstanding that he had received, or thought he
had received, Lady Cleveland's pledge for the first
vacancy.
Henry Brougham, M.P., to Mr. Creevey.
" 1830.
" Well what do you say of the first day ? Are
you of those lunaticks who are angry that we did not
go ding-dong at the Beau and turn his Govt. out ?
That is displace him without an idea who would get
in ; or, in other words, put things in a state from
which nobody but the Tories and King could have
profited. I am clear that the said Beau cannot go on
as he is. They can't get people to vote, and there is
a tendency of other people to join in voting against
them. . . . Have you heard of G. Spencer* giving up
his livings and turning R. Cath. ? He wanted to
convert an able priest, and it ended t'other way. Ld.
Lansdowne brings in young Macaulay, which may be
all very well as far as he is concerned, but it gives all
of us who are Denman's friends serious annoyance
and regret. I suppose it is only as a locum tenens
till Kerry t comes of age ; but still, D. could have held
it as well as another."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"London, Feby. i6th, 1830
". . . In the jaw between Mrs. Taylor and me this
morning she observed what a low, dirty fellow
Lord Cleveland was not to offer me the seat after all
that had passed ; ' Not that you would have accepted
it,' said she, ' I feel sure of that ; but as a gentleman
he was bound to offer it to you.' The Marchioness,
it seems, has been here, and expressed the united rage
* The Hon. and Very Rev. George Spencer, 4th son of the 2nd
Earl Spencer : became Superior of the Order of Passionists, and died
in 1864.
f Lord Lansdowne's eldest son.
1830-31.] LORD DOURO'S ENGAGEMENT. 209
of the Naffy * and herself at Brougham's conduct. . . .
Mrs. Taylor says that, being determined to bring my
name in, she observed I was coming to town to see
her, and she was sure I should do her more good than
all the doctors ; but the Pop was mum, and would not
touch it; and, as Mrs. Taylor justly observes, they
are two arrogant rogues, and not worth thinking
about."
" i 9 th.
". . . In Arlington Street I found two young
Foley lads the eldest the poor victim just come of
age, and a nicer and more produceable young man I
never saw. Lady Sefton and I deplored his hard fate
extremely. It is supposed the deed is done that is,
cutting off the entail of the last remnant of the Foley
property, so that his father and mother may see it all
fairly out. Lady Sefton told me that Lady Foley t
had ten new gowns for the party at Witley at Xmas,
and that the only one that Lady Sefton saw must
have cost 12 guineas. She has only 5 maids, with
different occupations, for herself. ... I never saw
Lord Douro J before. His teeth are the only feature
in which he resembles his father, and altogether he is
very homely in his air. Do you know he is engaged
to be married to a daughter of Hume, the Duke's
doctor. It seems she has stayed a good deal with the
Duchess, which has led to the youth proposing to her.
When it was told to the Duke, all he said was ' Ah !
rather young, Douro, are you not to be married?
Suppose you stay till the year is out, and if then you
are in the same mind, it's all very well.' "
"March nth.
". . . I was at Lord Holland's yesterday. . . . They
both looked very ill. They are evidently most sorely
pinched he in his land, and she still more in her
sugar and rum. So when I gave it as my opinion
that, if things went on as they did, paper must ooze
* The Marquess of Cleveland, formerly Earl of Darlington.
t Lady Cecilia Fitzgerald, daughter of the 2nd Duke of Leinster.
% Elder son of the Duke of Wellington.
VOL, n, p
2IO THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. IX.
out again by connivance or otherwise, she said she
wished to God the time was come, or anything else to
save them. He said he never would consent to the
return of paper, but he thought the standard might be
altered : i.e., a sovereign to be made by law worth one
or two or three and twenty shillings."
" 22nd.
"... A capital party at old Salisbury's * last night
the best I ever saw there. I had a good deal of
laugh and jaw with the Beau, who was in tip-top
spirits and looked better in the face than I ever saw
him. . . . Arthur Hill said to him : ' Creevey is going
to bring his pretty nieces here next Thursday.' ' Oh,'
said the Beau, ' the Miss Brandlings : I saw them at
Doncaster. I think they are the prettiest girls I ever
saw.' "
" Bansted, May 26th.
". . . Sefton went down to the House to hear the
two Royal Messages which it was known were
coming one to enable some one to sign poor
Prinney's name for him,t and the other to shew up
Leopold for having jibbed at last as to taking Greece
upon himself. To be sure, this jib of his has not been
brought about by the King's illness ! I suppose
Mrs. Kent thinks her daughter's reign is coming on
apace, and that her brother may be of use to her as
versus Cumberland. . . . We were all on the course
at Epsom yesterday and saw poor Prinney's horse
'The Colonel' win the Craven Stakes. If 'Captain
Arthur ' should win [the Derby] next Thursday, all
Lord Sefton would pocket in bets and stakes would
be 12,500 that's all!| Gully is quite sure his
horse Red Rover will win ; Chifney equally sure
that Priam willj notwithstanding that Lord Ranelagh
says he trusts in God that heathen god Priam can never
win."
* The Dowager Marchioness of Salisbury.
t George IV. was lying in his last illness.
% Captain Arthur started at 15 to i, and was not placed.
It ran second, starting at 5 to I.
|| The favourite, Priam, won.
1830-31.] DEATH OF GEORGE IV. 211
" London, 3ist.
". . . To call on Lady Grey, whom I found alone.
She is all against Lord Grey becoming a politician
again, and says she sees people getting round him
whom she hates, and never can forgive for their past
conduct to him, and whose only object now is to
use him for their own interests. She mentioned
Brougham in particular. . . ."
"Stoke, June nth.
". . . Sefton saw yesterday in Windsor O'Reilly the
King's apothecary. It had been his turn to sit up with
him the preceding night, and he said his sufferings
were extreme that he might die any moment from
his complaint, but that even from exhaustion, strong
as he is, he must die in five or six days. He said to
O'Reilly more than once : ' I am going gradually.'
He is cheerful at times, and very fond of talking about
horses. O'Reilly says that, in the course of his life,
he never saw such strength, and that with common
prudence he might have lived to a hundred."
" Brooks's, June 26th.
". . . So poor Prinney is really dead on a
Saturday too, as was foretold. ... I have just met
our great Privy Councillors coming from the Palace
(Warrender and Bob Adair included). I learnt from
the former that the only observation he heard from
the Sovereign was upon his going to write his name
on parchment, when he said: 'You have damned
bad pens here ! ' * Here is Tankerville, who was at the
Palace likewise. He says the difference in manner
between the late and present sovereign upon the
occasion of swearing in the Privy Council was very
striking. Poor Prinney put on a dramatic, royal,
distant dignity to all ; Billy, who in addition to living
out of the world, has become rather blind, was doing
his best in a very natural way to make out the face of
every Privy Councillor as each kneeled down to kiss
his hand. In Tankerville's own case, Billy put one
* Greville (ii. 3) and Croker (ii. 66) relate the same incident.
212 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. IX.
hand above his eyes and at last said in a most familiar
tone : ' Oh, Lord Tankerville, is it you ? I am very
glad to see you. How d'ye do ? ' It seemed quite a
restraint to him not to shake hands with people. He
said to Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer the cock-
eyed Goulbourne ' D'ye know I'm grown so near-
sighted that I can't make out who you are. You
must tell me your name, if you please. He read his
declaration to the Council, which is said to be very
favorable to the present Ministry; and it would be
odd if it was not, as it was drawn up by the Beau.
After reading this production of the Government, he
treated the Council with a little impromptu of his
own, and great was the fear of Wellington, as they
say visibly expressed on his face, least Billy should
take too excursive a view of things ; instead of which
it was merely a little natural and pretty funeral
oration over Prinney, who, he said, had always been
the best and most affectionate of brothers."
" Stoke, August 2oth.
"... I said to Lady Sefton just now ' Where and
when was it, Lady Sefton, that you knew the King
[William] so well ? ' ' Why, Mr. Creevey/ says she,
' I'm sure you will not accuse me of vanity when I tell
you that, upon my first coming out,* he was pleased to
be very much in love with me, or to say he was so ;
and my father became so frightened about it that he
would not let me go where he was likely to be ; for
it was at the time the Prince of Wales was living with
Mrs. Fitzherbert. He contrived, however, to send
me a nosegay [illegible] from Kew, and to get me
invited to all the gayest and finest balls and parties
then going ; and as I knew no one to begin with, you
may suppose how charming it was. What his object
was, I am sure I don't know : my only one was to go
wherever I was invited, and to enjoy my liberty and
fun. However, he went soon after to sea, I believe ;
and not long after I was married, and I have scarcely
seen him since. . . ."'
* As the Hon. Maria Craven, daughter of the 6th Lord Craven.
1830-31.] DEATH OF HUSKtSSON.
"Bangor, Sept. iQth.
". . . Jack Calcraft has been at the opening of the
Liverpool railroad, and was an eye-witness of Huskis-
son's horrible death.* About nine or ten of the pas-
sengers in the Duke's car had got out to look about
them, whilst the car stopt. Calcraft was one, Huskis-
son another, Esterhazy, Billy Holmes, Birch and
others. When the other locomotive was seen coming
up to pass them, there was a general shout from those
within the Duke's car to those without it, to get in.
Both Holmes and Birch were unable to get up in
time, but they stuck fast to its sides, and the other
engine did not touch them. Esterhazy, being light,
was pulled in by force. Huskisson was feeble in his
legs, and appears to have lost his head, as he did his
life. Calcraft tells me that Huskisson's long con-
finement in St. George's Chapel at the King's funeral
brought on a complaint that Taylor is so afraid of,
and that made some severe surgical operation neces-
sary, the effect of which had been, according to what
he told Calcraft, to paralyse, as it were, one leg and
thigh. This, no doubt, must have increased, if it did
not create, his danger and [caused him to] lose his
life. He had written to say his health would not let
him come, and his arrival was unexpected. Calcraft
saw the meeting between him and the Duke [of Wel-
lington], and saw them shake hands a very short
time before Huskisson's death. The latter event must
be followed by important political consequences. The
Canning faction has lost its corner stone, and the
Duke's Government one of its most formidable
opponents. Huskisson, too, once out of the way,
Palmerston, Melbourne, the Grants, &c., may make it
up with the Beau."
" The dear Plough, Cheltenham, Oct. $th.
". . . Well, here we are again, driven from that
greatest of all humbugs, Leamington. The fame of
the latter place is one of the many proofs to what an
* Mr. Huskisson, who probably had not met the Duke of Welling-
ton since the Cabinet crisis caused by the resignation of the former,
had left his car on purpose to shake hands with the Duke.
214 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. IX.
extent the folly of English people will club and sup-
port a thing ; till by common consent it disappears,
which some day or other this Leamington will do.
The town is a half-built skeleton of a concern, and in
point of population and convenience of all kinds, a
perfect desert compared with this."
Earl of Sefton to Mr. Creevey.
Oct., 1830.
". . . I suppose you have heard of Lord Chester-
field's marriage to Anne Forester.* Charles Greville
went express to London from Heaton (Wilton's) to
break it to Mrs. Fox Lane. George Anson marries
Isabella : t money no object. ... I don't believe there
will be a king in Europe in 2 years' time, or that
property of any kind is worth 5 years' purchase. . . ."
"Thursday, Nov. i8th, 1830.
". . . Everything except the Brougham business
going on smoothly. That is, I assure you, very diffi-
cult, but must end in the Rolls. He is really in a
state of insanity, complains to everybody that he is
neglected and threatens to put an extinguisher on the
new Govt. in a month. In the meantime he keeps
swearing he will not take anything that he ought to
be offered the Seals, tho' he wd. kick them out of the
window rather than desert his Yorkshire friends by
taking a peerage. All this, however, will subside in
the Rolls, where, being lodged for life and quite
beyond controul, I don't envy the Govt. with such a
chap ready to pounce upon them unexpectedly."
" Friday,
" By God ! Brougham is Chancellor. It is sup-
Eosed he will be safer there, because, if he don't
ehave well, he will be turned out at a moment's
notice, and he is then powerless. What a flattering
reason for appointing him ! . . . Grey speaks most
* Eldest daughter of the istLord Forester j died 1885.
t Third daughter of the same.
1830-31.] LORD GREY'S ADMINISTRATION. 215
kindly of you, and I am sure wd. be delighted to
do something for you ; but why the devil do you put
yourself out of the way of everything? "
Upon Lord Grey taking office in November, 1830,
he appointed his old friend Creevey to the office of
Treasurer of the Ordnance, at a salary of 1200
a year. Ever since his wife's death, Mr. Creevey had
existed upon a very slender income '^200 a year
or less," as Charles Greville says * but he was the
constant and welcome guest of the Seftons, the
Taylors, and a host of other friends, and had few
expenses to meet except for his clothes and travelling.
Still, this permanent office must have come as a trans-
lation from penury to affluence. The Whigs, even
purified as they had been by long years of opposition
and the persistent efforts of Brougham, Creevey, and
other reformers to put an end to jobbery, showed
themselves far from diffident in the exercise of patron-
age. At the present day, when sixty has been fixed
as the age for retiring from the Civil Service, it may
seem an abuse of patronage to have invited a gentle-
man of sixty-two to enter it; but, according to the
practice of pre-Reform times, nothing could be thought
more natural. The Ordnance Office was established
in the Tower of London, and Creevey's letters express
quite a boyish delight in his new quarters, and a naive
wonder at the minuteness of the Ordnance survey
maps then being engraved for the first time.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" The Tower, Jan. 3ist, 1831.
". . . I dined in Downing Street with Lady Grey
. . . After dinner the private secretary to the Prime
* Greville Memoirs , i. 235.
216 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cu. IK.
Minister and myself being alone, I ascertained that,
altho' Lord Grey was gone to Brighton ostensibly to
Erick for Sheriffs for the year, his great object was to
ty his plan of reform before the King, previous (if he
approves) to its being proposed to the House of
Commons. A ticklish operation, this ! to propose to
a Sovereign a plan for reducing his own power and
patronage. However, there is the plan all cut and
dry, and the Cabinet unanimous upon the subject. . . .
Billy has been in perfect ecstacies with his Govern-
ment ever since they arrested O'Connell. Wood says
if the King gives his Government his real support
upon this Reform question, without the slightest ap-
pearance of a jib, Grey is determined to fight it out
to a dissolution of Parliament, if his plan is beat in
the Commons. My eye, what a crisis 1
" Feb. 4th.
". . . Grey says the King's conduct was perfect
not in giving an unqualified assent, as a constitutional
King might to any Minister who happened to be so
at the time ; but he bestowed much time and thought
in going over every part of the plan, examined its
bearings, asked most sensible questions, and, being
quite satisfied with everything Grey urged in its
support, pledged himself irrevocably to do the same.
. . . Grey said, too, the Queen was evidently better with
him. It seems that her manners to him at first were
distant and reserved, so that he could not avoid con-
cluding that the change of Government was a subject
of regret to her. This was an appalling reflection
for a reforming minister, but he satisfied himself that
she has no influence over the King, and that, in fact,
he never even mentions politicks to her, much less
consults her that her influence over him as to his
manners has been very great and highly beneficial,
but there it stops. . . .Well, you see the Govern-
ment lost no time last night in giving their notices
Vaux * to reform the Court of Chancery Melbourne
to make new laws in favor of Ireland, and Althorp
* Brougham, as Lord Chancellor, had entered the House of Lords
as Lord Brougham and Vaux, which gave his enemies the opportunity
of declaring that he ought to have been " Vaux et proeterea nihil."
1830-31.] A PARTY IN DOWNING STREET.
his plan of reform, to be carried by Lord J. Russell.
Anything like such fair and open downright dealing
was never known in Parliament before. . . .
" Sefton had a good conversation with Lady Grey,
and my lord too, last night. It seems the Dino * came
there from Leach's, and Sefton heard her entreating
Lady Grey to use her influence with Lady Durham
to let her boy, and I believe a little girl, to come to a
child's ball at the Dino's on Monday next. So when
Lord Grey was handing the Dino to her carriage,
Sefton and Lady Grey being left alone, the latter
said to him : ' Was there ever anything like the ab-
surdities of Lambton? He not only won't be intro-
duced to Mons. Talleyrand and Madame de Dino,
but he chooses to be as rude as possible to them
whenever he meets them.' ' Good Uod ! ' said Sefton,
' what can that possibly mean ? ' ' Why because he
chooses to be affronted that they did not ask to be
introduced to him before he was m office,] and now that
he is so, he insists upon Louisa { having nothing to
do with Madame de Dino. Just as Lady Grey was
finishing, Grey returned, and she said ' I was telling
Lord Sefton of Lambton's nonsense ; ' and then they
both joined in abusing him, as well they might. Did
you ever, in the whole history of mankind, hear of
such a presumptuous puppy ? However, I hope he
will go on offending Lord and Lady Grey, and be
himself out of \illegible\. I declare I know of no
event that would be more favorable to Lord Grey's
government. I am delighted at that other puppy
Agar. Ellis being obliged from ill health to give up
the Woods and Forests, and still more delighted that
the excellent Duncannon has got it. ... You know
that the Queen would not let old Mother St. Albans ||
come to her ball at the Pavilion, tho' there were 830
people there ! "
* Madame de Dino, Talleyrand's niece,
t Lord Durham had been appointed Lord Privy Seal.
\ Lady Durham.
Son of the 2nd and father of the 3rd Viscount Clifden.
II Second wife of the Qth Duke of St. Albans, and relict of Thomas
Coutts the banker ; originally well known as the actress Mrs. Mellon.
218 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. IX.
" Feb. 8th.
". . . Talleyrand professes to Grey to be quite en-
chanted with the existing cordiality between France
and England, and lays it down that such an union can
set the whole world at defiance. . . . Those damned
pension lists are a cursed millstone about the neck of
the Government. Grey was almost crying when he
talked to Sefton of the difficulty and misery of de-
priving so many people of their subsistence. . . ."
" Tower, Qth.
". . . My dear, these damned pensioners are the
devil's own to carry thro' with us, and there can be
no crowing till the Civil List Bill is fairly past.
There is such an universal demand to have them
flung out of window that I don't see how they are to
escape. . . . Our Vaux is not so tender-hearted in his
department. By his reform he is to spread desolation
by wholesale amidst the profession. I know that the
Beau said yesterday : ' I am very glad that Brougham
is Chancellor. He is the only man with courage and
talent to reform that damned Court.'"
"Brooks's, Feby. I2th.
". . . There is old Basto [? Pascoe] Grenfell from
the City, who says there is but one universal feeling
of execration at poor Clunch's * project of taxing the
transfer of stock. In short, poor dear Whigs, it is
sad work, gentlemen, sad work ! . . ."
". . . Do you take any interest about Mrs. Heber,
the widow of the Bishop of Calcutta? Because if
you do, I can tell you something. On her return
overland from India, she picked up a Greek at Milan
and married him. Her attachment was, of course, to
the sacred cause of his country. They immediately
started for that classic land ; but unfortunately, upon
reaching Athens, it turned out that he was provided,
not only with another wife, but with a large family.
* Lord Althorp, Chancellor of the Exchequer, whose first budget
was very badly received.
QUEEN ADELAIDE'S DRAWING-ROOM. 2IQ
She arrived here a few days ago, without a husband
and nearly without a sou."
*' Tower, igth.
". . . Lady Sefton, her three eldest daughters,
Frances * and myself went after dinner last night to
Lady Grey's weekly. . . . Our Vaux was there with
his daughter. I had some very good laughing with
him, and he was in his accustomed overflowing glee.
We had some very pretty amusement with Viscount
Melbourne, who is very agreeable. . . . Grey was very
loud to me in praise of Edward Stanley,t who, by
common consent, has made two excellent speeches.
He is quite ready for battle with O'Connell, and the
greatest confidence is entertained that Edward will be
too much for him."
"Feb. 24th, 1831.
". . . There has been a charming scene at the
Drawing-room to-day. Lady Jersey went up to Lord
Durham in the greatest fury and, in the presence of
all the world, said : ' Lord Durham, I beg you will
call upon me to-morrow and bring a witness with you.
I have been so shamefully calumniated, and I will have
justice done me.' Duncannon, who was present and
heard this, was in some horror of Lord Durham's reply.
He turned as pale as death, and, after a little hesita-
tion, said very calmly : 'Lady Jersey, in all probability
I shall never be in your house again.'"
" 27th.
". . . As I was the first who arrived in Arlington
Street yesterday to dinner, Sefton took me out into
the corner room and told me of a scene between him
and Brougham. . . . The Arch-fiend asked him if he
had seen the Times that morning. ' No,' said Sefton,
' not to-day, but I have read it with great uneasiness
the three or four preceding days, and I want of all
things to talk to you about it.' He then opened his
case, stated the deliberate attack making upon Grey
by that paper, coupled with its constant panegyrick
* Mrs. Taylor.
t Afterwards uth Earl of Derby. He was Secretary for Ireland
in Lord Grey's administration.
220 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. IX.
upon Brougham, made it necessary for Brougham to
summon the editor, and to insist upon these attacks
upon Grey being discontinued. That otherwise, as
Brougham's influence over that paper was notorious
to all, and as his brother William was known to write
for it, it could not fail to beget suspicion that he
Brougham had no objection to these attacks, and
that Ld. Grey felt them most sensibly. That if he
Brougham thought he would make a better Prime
Minister than Grey, and was preparing the way for
that event, that was matter for his own consideration ;
but if he really means the Government to go on as at
present formed, Sefton conjured him to lose no time in
imposing his most positive injunction on the Times
newspaper to alter its course.
" Sefton says nothing could equal the artificial rage
into which Vaux flung himself. He swore like a trooper
that he had no influence over the Times that he had
never once seen Barnes the editor since he had been
in office, and that William had never written a line for
it. He then fell upon Lambton said all this came
from him that he had behaved in the most imperti-
nent manner to both his brothers upon this subject
that if he .went on as he did he must break up the
Government, and that he, for one, would never submit
to his influence. This storm being over, Sefton col-
lected from him distinctly that he had seen Barnes
perhaps once or twice, and that brother William might
perhaps tho' quite unknown to him have written an
article or two in this paper. In short, as our Earl
observed, never culprit was more clearly proved
guilty than he was out of his own mouth, and it ended
by his affecting to doubt which would be the best
channel for getting at Barnes brother William or
Vizard but at all events he pledged himself to Sefton
that it should be done. ..."
"28th.
". . . Well, the Times newspaper has evidently had
its visitation in the course of yesterday. It has two
leading and very powerful articles in favor of the
Government. ... If you come to that, your Morning
Herald of to-day is not amiss in support of our
Government In short, we are recovering by gentle
1830-31-] THE FIRST DRAFT OF REFORM. 221
degrees from Althorp. He had very nearly killed us,
poor fellow, honest as he is, but it must be admitted
that he has been damned conceited."
" Tower, March 3rd.
" Well, what think you of our Reform plan ? My
raptures with it encrease every hour, and my astonish-
ment at its boldness. It was all very well for an
historian like Thomas Creevey to lay down the law,
as he did in his pamphlet, that all these rotten nomi-
nation boroughs were modern usurpations, and that
the communities of all substantial boroughs were by
law the real electors ; but here is a little fellow not
weighing above 8 stone Lord John Russell by name
who, without talking of law or anything else, creates
in fact a perfectly new House of Commons, quite in
conformity to the original formation of that body. . . .
What a coup it is! It is its boldness that makes its
success so certain. ... A week or ten days must elapse
before the Bill is printed and ready for a 2nd reading ;
by that time the country will be in a flame from one
end to the other in favor of the measure. ... I saw
the stately Buckingham going down to the Lords just
now. I wonder how he likes the boroughs of Buck-
ingham and St. Mawe's being bowled out. He would
never have been a duke without them, and can there
be a better reason for their destruction?"
" Tower, 5th.
". . . Well, our Reform rises in publick affection
every instant. . . . To think of dear Aldborough and
Orford, both belonging to Lord Hertford, and pur-
chased at a great price, being clearly bowled out,
without a word of with your leave or by your leave.
Aye, and not only that such proprietors are destitute
of all means of self-defence, but they are treated as
criminals by the whole country for making any fight
on their own behalf. ... At Crocky's, even the
boroughmongers admitted that their representative,
Croker, had made a damned rum figure. Poor Billy
Holmes ! Both he and Croker will have but a slender
chance of being M.P.'s again under our restored con-
stitution. In short, Bessy, there is no end to the fun
222 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. IX.
and confusion that this measure scatters far and near
into by far the most corrupt, insolent, shameless,
profligate gang that this country contains. They are
all dead men by this Bill, never to rise again, and their
occupation is dead also. ... To be sure the poor devils
who stick to the wreck will have mobbing enough from
out of doors before the business is over. ... It is not
3 weeks since Sir John Shelley asked Lord Grey to
make him a peer, who answered him by saying:
' Indeed, my dear Shelley, to deal fairly with you, I
don't think you have any claims ; and if you had, why
did you not get your friend the Duke of Wellington
to make you one?' What you call a double-fisted go
for the baronet, was it not?
"Tower, March I2th.
". , . I fear Vaux must go crazy. He is like
Wolsey. I'll give you a case in point. We had all
heard how his coach had been stopt at the Horse
Guards on the day of the Queen's drawing-room, and
that he had got into the greatest fury and called out
to let any man at his peril stop the Lord Chancellor
of England from going to the King ; but your militaife
has a knack of referring to an order, and a written one
was produced, forbidding any carriage to pass thro'
that gate on days of the Queen's drawing-rooms,
except the Royal Family, Archbishop of Canterbury
and the Speaker of the House of Commons. The
officer upon guard most civilly explained the order
and expressed his regret at being obliged to enforce
it; but our Guy, little daunted or cajoled by all this,
put his wig out of the other window and ordered his
coachman to go on at all hazards ; and so he did, carry-
ing Horse Guards blue and red all clear before him. . . .
My Lord Chancellor's defence to Sefton was that, not
only were the Speaker and the Archbishop down as
privilege men, but Lord Shaftesbury who is chairman
of the House of Lords a kind of deputy to Brougham.
' So,' as the latter justly observed, ' when I saw my own
man my actual boot-jack had the privilege, and not
me, it was more than flesh and blood could bear.' . . .
Sefton, who sees the actual insides of both Vaux and
Grey, says there is a considerable dislike in each to
1830-31.] STIRRING TIMES. 223
the other. What an invaluable thing for both to have
so sincere, so clever and so unintriguing a friend as
Sefton, and how entertaining for us to see all thro'
him!"
"Tower, March I4th.
". . . Sefton was still too unwell to dine at Ld.
Grey's, which was a terrible blow to us all ; so Lady
S^-ton and Lady Maria called at Mrs. Durham's* for
me, and took me there. It was not a large party the
two female Seftons, Lord Durham, Morpeth,f Dun-
cannon, Luttrell and myself, with the four Greys and
Charles Greville. Grey was all alive o ! quite over-
flowing, never ceasing in his little civilities to myself,
wanting me to eat this or drink that : ' Do, Creevey,
I assure you it's damned good ; I know you will like
it.' Can't you see him ? ... It was not amiss for a
Prime Minister to call out at dinner : ' Do you think,
Creevey, we shall carry our Reform Bill in the
Lords?' . . . Lady Lyndhurst came at night, and
very handsome she looked, tho' very near a woman
of colour. I did not know before that her first
husband, Captn. Thomas, was killed in the battle of
Waterloo. . . ."
"i 5th.
". . . Lord Dacre said to me one day lately : ' Do
you know, Creevey, how Brougham came to take the
title of Vaux? because, you know, it is my title; but
as I don't care about such things, I have never done
or said anything about it. The title, however, is
mine* . . . As Vaux has not enough upon his hands,
he has opened his batteries in the Times of to-day
against Lady Jersey in a longish and bitter article.
She is mad in her rage against our Reform, and moves
heaven and earth against it wherever she goes
according to her powers; but those powers are by
no means what they used to be. In short, she is like
the rotten boroughs going to the devil as fast as she
can."
* Creevey's lodging in Bury Street,
t Afterwards ;th Earl of Carlisle.
224 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. IX.
" nth.
". . . The King never ceases to impress upon
Duncannon that all he and the Queen wish for is to
be comfortable. He says that both he and the Queen
find it inconvenient to be obliged to move all their
books, papers, &c., out of their own sitting-rooms
upon every Levee day and Drawing-room, because
their rooms are wanted on such occasions; that as
for removing to Buckingham House, he will do so if
the Government wish it, tho' he thinks it a most ill^
contrived house ; and if he goes there, he hopes it
may be plain, and no gilding, for he dislikes it
extremely. But what he would prefer to everything,
would be living in Marlborough House, which is
Crown land and the lease nearly out. . . . Billy says
if he might have a passage made to unite this house
with St. James's, he thinks he and the Queen could
live there very comfortably indeed. Now was there
ever so innocent a Sovereign since the world was
made?"
"Brooks's, 2 1 st.
" I saw Lord Bruffam chased by Lord Eldon in
their carriages to the door of the House of Lords.
There is going to be a pitched battle between them
to-night upon one of Brougham's Chancery legal
reform bills. I'll bet upon our Arch-fiend ! . . . The
enemy is in the most insolent crowing state possible
to-day, perfectly certain, as they say, to defeat our
Bill. Wetherell * told me last night he was as sure of
their victory as of his own existence."
" 22nd.
". . . The King and Queen were to have gone to
the Opera to-night, but an account has arrived to-day
of the death of Kennedy who married one of the Miss
Fitzclarences, so they don't go. Albemarle was to
have dined there to-day, but the King said to him :
' We have no dinner to-day, and don't go to the opera,
because that is pleasure ; but we shall go on with the
levee to-morrow, because that is duty.' A very pretty
distinction, I think, for a King to make."
* Sir Charles Wetherell [1770-1846], Attorney- General.
1830-31.] THE SECOND READING CARRIED. 22$
" Brooks's, March 23rd.
''Majority for our Bill
i@ 1 -W
" Devilish near, was it not ? Yesterday I was of
opinion that to lose the question by one would have
been the best thing for us ; but I don't think so now.
. . . Everybody likes winning, and it keeps people's
spirits up. ... I went into Crocky's after the opera,
being determined to wait the result, and there were
quantities of people in the same mind, friends and
foes, but we were all as amicable and merry as we
could be. A little before five [A.M.] our minds were
relieved by the arrival of members without end
friends and foes and I must say (with the exception
of young Jack Shelley) the same good temper and fun
were visible on both sides."
" Tower, 24th.
". . . You will see by your paper of to-day that
Horace Seymour and Captn. Meynell are dismissed
from the King's household, their offence having been
voting against the King's Reform Bill. They were
both of them Lord Hertford's members. This is
something like ! Grey spoke about it to the King at
the levee yesterday, and the job was done out of
hand."
" 26th.
"... I wish you could have been with me when I
entered our Premier's drawing-room last night. I
was rather early, and he was standing alone with his
back to a fire the best dressed, the handsomest, and
apparently the happiest man in all his royal master's
dominions. . . . Lady Grey was as proud of my lord's
speech as she ought to be, and she, too, looked as
handsome and happy as ever she could be. . . . She
said at least 3 times ' Come and sit here, Mr. Creevey.'
You see the cause of this uniform kindness of Lady
Grey to myself is her recollection that I was all for
Lord Grey when many of his present worshippers
were doing all they could against him. . . . Upon one
of the duets between Lord Grey and me last night,
VOL. ii. y
226 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. IX.
who should be announced but Sir James Scarlett.
He graciously put out a hand for each of us, but my
lord received him so coldly, that he was off in an
instant, and Grey said to me : ' What an extraordinary
thing his coming here ! the more so, as I don't believe
he was invited.' . . . Lady Grey said to me : ' I
really could not be such a hypocrite as to put out my
hand to Sir James Scarlett ; ' so he must have had a
good night of it ! "
" 28th.
". . . Our dinner at Sefton's yesterday was very
agreeable the Cowpers, Edward and Mrs. Stanley,
Duke of Argyll, Melbourne, Palmerston, Foley, Alava,
Charles Greville and myself. Alava and I were there
ten minutes before anybody else, and he was very
instructive about France, where he has been living
for the last 5 years. As he says of himself, he
naturally hates a Frenchman, but he has the greatest
opinion of Casimir. . . . When little Derby was going
to kneel upon being sworn a Privy Councillor, the
King said : ' I beg you won't kneel, Lord Derby ; you
have the gout.' ' Your Majesty must allow me.' ' I
won't hear of it ! ' and he would not let him. Then he
said : ' How long have you been Lord Lieutenant of
Lancashire, my lord ? ' and when he told him, the King
said : ' I have often heard my father say you was the
best Lord Lieutenant in England, and so you are
now ! ' "
" 29th.
"... I think there ought to be a collection made
from authority of all the sayings of our beloved
Sovereign. Take for instance one that Albemarle
told me, and which he himself heard at the Queen's
drawing-room. I don't know whether you are aware
that the King gives every lady two kisses, one on
each cheek ; but so it is. Well, on Thursday a lady
was taking up her daughter to present her to the
Queen, to do which they pass the King. It so happens,
they live somewhere within reach of Bushey,* and
used to visit there. The girl who was following her
mother was so frightened that she took no notice of
* Where William IV. had lived as Duke of Clarence.
1830-31.] THE BILL IN COMMITTEE. 227
the King as she passed him ; upon which he laid hold
of her, and taking her by the hand, said : ' Oh, oh ! is
this the way you treat your country friends ? ' and then
gave her two kisses."
" i6th April.
". . . Now let me make a profound observation
upon a decision the Speaker made known last night
respecting Schedule A in the Reform Bill, viz. that a
vote must be taken upon these boroughs one by one,
and not in the lump. Permit me to say that, for us,
this is perfectly invaluable ; the list being alphabetical,
the first two boroughs in the schedule are Aldborough
in Yorkshire, belonging to the Duke of Newcastle,
and the other Aldborough in Suffolk belonging to
Lord Hertford both the rottenest of the rotten. Well
then if the House votes for abolishing either Aid-
borough, the principle of abolition is admitted ; if they
vote against it and succeed, then we go to a dissolution
upon one of the rottenest cases in the schedule. This
is the object of all others for an appeal to the country
upon."
" i8tb
"Sefton and I had Lord Chancellor Vaux to our-
selves last night in Arlington Street. ... I can't con-
ceal from you that, after he was gone, Sefton and I
both agreed that a more unsatisfactory devil we had
never beheld. Altho' he was in the most loquacious,
animated state, we could neither of us make out for
the life of us what he would be at. The only thing
we could agree upon was that he was an intriguing,
perfidious rogue."
"Tower, 2ist.
". . . This is a memorable day, and this a memorable
hour of it, for our Sovereign has taken to this time to
deliberate whether he accedes to Lord Grey's applica-
tion for a dissolution. ... At all events the Reform
Bill is to be abandoned in the House of Commons
to-night upon the grounds that, in such a House o
Commons, to carry it through is impossible. If the
King runs true, a dissolution is to be announced at
the same time; if he does not, the Ministers have to
state that they have resigned."
228 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [H. IX.
Ardent and uncompromising reformer and advocate
of retrenchment as Creevey had always been, it is
comical to see how he winced when the Committee,
appointed by Lord Grey's Government to revise the
scale of salaries, trenched upon his own emoluments.
" Have you seen," he asks his step-daughter, " how
that damned retrenching Committee have docked my
office of 200 a year ? " And again " If Earl Grey
does not get me back my 200 a year as Treasurer
I'll eat him ! " Most of the Treasurer's correspondence
at this time is taken up with the fluctuating prospects
of the Reform Bill, and with various possibilities
which presented themselves of his re-entering Par-
liament in order to give the measure his support.
But, as usual, his letters are full of diverse incidents
and gossip. Describing a royal night at the Opera,
he observes : " Billy 4th at the Opera was everything
one could wish : a more Wapping air I defy a king to
have his hair five times as full oipoudre as mine, and
his seaman's gold lace cock-and-pinch hat was charm-
ing. He slept most part of the Opera never spoke
to any one, or took the slightest interest in the con-
cern. ... I was sorry not to see more of Victoria :
she was in a box with the Duchess of Kent, opposite
and, of course, rather under us. When she looked
over the box I saw her, and she looked a very nice
little girl indeed."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" April 23rd.
". . . Nothing could exceed the firmness and con-
duct altogether of our Sovereign yesterday. I know
from Lord Grey that, when the latter stated the in-
convenience that might arise from proroguing by
1830-31.] CREEVEY RETURNS TO PARLIAMENT. 229
commission, but added that it was quite out of the
question to ask his Majesty to prorogue in person,
the King replied: 'My lord, I'll go, if I go in a
hackney coach ! ' '
On 4th May Thomas Creevey and James Brougham,
brother of the Chancellor, were returned as members
for Downton borough in the county of Wilts, by
favour of the Earl of Radnor the truculent Folke-
stone of Peninsular days. The affair was conducted
in the good old style ; neither of the candidates took
the trouble to visit their constituents, who were
exceedingly few and docile, quite content to be repre-
sented by anybody whom Lord Radnor chose to name
to them.
"Brooks's, May nth.
". . . Having been dressed by Mr. Durham, Mrs.
Durham* and Sally her niece, it was agreed that
never coat fitted so well or was so becoming, and
off we went [to Court]. Would you believe it? in
about ten minutes I was detected as being in the
wrong livery. It is the Household only that wear red
collars and cuffs; the official ones are black. This
was rather a bore, but it made great fun, as Earl Grey
happened to come into our room whilst we were in
Erogress to the Presence Chamber. I caught hold of
im and told him of my mistake, upon which I thought
he would have burst, he was so entertained, and he
swore the King would find me out directly. But pas
du tout : when I had kissed his hand, he said in the
most good-natured manner : ' Oh, Creevey, how d'ye
do? It is a long time since I had the pleasure of
seeing you.' Little Sussex was next to him, and
when I retired from my Sovereign backing, he said out
loud : ' How gracefully he does it ! ' and even Privy
Sealf laughed out loud. So it was all mighty well,
and Jemmy McDonald brought me back."
* Who kept his lodgings in Bury Street.
t Lord Durham.
230 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. IX.
"i 2th.
". . . It was in contemplation, by some of the
Cabinet, to postpone the Reform Bill when [the new]
Parliament met till autumn a step that would have
been madness, and perhaps ruin to them. That, how-
ever, is quite abandoned, and Lambton authorised
them to state at the Middlesex election that it would
come on the very first thing."
"9th May.
". . . I had a very good day yesterday at my dear
and old friend Essex's Lords Sefton, Foley, Cowper,
Ducie, and Du Cane, Ellice and Poodle Byng : then to
Arlington Street [the Seftons]; then to Dow. Sally's.*
... I called yesterday on Niffy and the Pop,t but
both were out."
" i6th.
". . . Brougham said to Sefton yesterday : ' I hear
a batch of new peers is on the stocks; but / have
never been consulted ; which I think is pretty well,
considering my situation. However, as they can't be
made without the Great Seal being put to their patents,
I'll be damned if I use it for such purpose till I am
properly consulted and give my consent !' ... As I
learnt from Lord Sefton that Brougham's observations
about me had been made at the Queen's ball last
Monday, I was prepared for some change of manner
in him when we met at dinner at Mrs. Ferguson's on
Thursday; but it was quite otherwise. . . . We met
again on Saturday at Hughes's, and tho' he was
evidently out of sorts, it was not with me, for he con-
fided to me before dinner that he never saw such a
set of bores collected together that the thing was
damnable and whenever he made any exertion at
dinner, it was in addressing me at quite the other end
of the table. As to bores, I don't know that they were
particularly so. Lady Augusta Milbank, and Ciss
Underwood, with such a profusion of gold bijouterie
in all parts that nothing was wanting but something
* Dowager Marchioness of Salisbury.
t Marquess and Marchioness of Cleveland.
1830-31.] THE PRIME MINISTER. 231
hanging from her nose. Sir Harry and Lady Grey,
little Sussex, Vaux, Lords Dundas and Uxbridge,*
Denman, Col. J. Hughes, Councillor Whateley, Ad-
miral Codrington (a real bore), Mr. Creevey, and some
others I think. I sat next to Denman,f and never
was more surprised than to find him a feeble punster
and as commonplace a chap in conversation as I ever
saw in my life. As Suss J took to smoking, and Vaux
from ennui did the same, I availed myself of my
remote situation near a door, and whipt off before
they went to coffee."
"Tower, May i8th, 1831.
"... I paid a visit to Lady Grey in her [opera]
box. . . . She is always shy of giving political
opinions except when alone ; but upon my observing
that, from what I heard, Brougham must be in his
tantrums at present : ' I believe/ she said, ' he is mad'
As she and Lord Grey had been staying at Holland
House, I asked how it had answered, and she said :
'As well as it could, sitting down 15 at dinner each
day to a table that holds only nine.' Can't you see
her saying that? . . . Grey complains of giddiness,
and no wonder, with all he eats and his little exercise."
" 2;th.
". . . While I was riding in the Park yesterday, I
received rather a smartish spat on my shoulder from
an unseen stick. When I turned round and saw my
assailant in quite an ultra fit of laughing, who do you
suppose it could be? No other than our Prime
Minister. . . . When I said of his royal master that
every new thing I heard of him raised him higher in
my opinion, he said : ' He is a prime fellow, is he
not ?'...! heard part of the King's letter to Lord
Grey : ' The King considers it as most important in
the present crisis of affairs to give some decisive proof
of his unqualified confidence in Lord Grey, and for
such a purpose he trusts Lord Grey will no longer
* Afterwards 2nd Marquess of Anglesey.
t Afterwards Lord Chief Justice, created Lord Denman in 1834.
% H.R.H. the Duke of Sussex.
232 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. IX.
resist receiving from his hands the Order of the
Garter, altho' that Order is now full ; Lord Grey to
be an Extra Knight, and the Order to be reduced to
its proper number upon the first vacancy.' "
"3oth.
". . . I had an opportunity of seeing our own new
knight, and very severe we were upon him for wear-
ing his Garter upon pantaloons or trowsers he who
always makes so distinguished a figure in shorts and
buckles."
"June I4th.
". . . Well, Mull * tells me it is all settled about
his father's peerage Baron Sefton of Croxteth.f
There are only four others Kinnaird one, which is a
charming blow by our Sovereign 'to the Scotch peers
who would not elect him one or the 16 representative
peers."
"i8th.
". . . Rather sharp work this day 16 years ago at
Waterloo and Brussels. . . . Lord Grey told Sefton
that Lambton J made him both miserable and actually
ill by his constant interference and persecution of
him. . . . Charles Greville told me he was at Lady
Jersey's when Wellington was there, the subject of
conversation being the cholera morbus. Lao!y Jersey
said to the Duke : ' You know what Lord Grey has
done about it?' 'No. 1 ' He has given orders that all
merchandise coming from the Baltic shall be instantly
destroyed.' 'Oh impossible!' 'But I know it to be
quite true.' Just at that time she left the room and
the Duke availed himself of her absence to observe
to Greville 'What damned nonsense Lady Jersev
talks! 1 . . ."
" 20th.
". . . Yesterday I dined in Portland Place and
went in the evening to Downing Street, where I
found Tommy Moore at the pianoforte, playing and
singing his own melodies ; and very much delighted
I was with his performance."
* Viscount Molyneux, afterwards 3rd Earl of Sefton.
t He was Earl of Sefton only in the peerage of Ireland.
$ Lord Durham.
1830-31.] INFLUENZA. 233
" 25th.
"... I have been giving a curious receipt upon a
curious subject. The Duke of Wellington and Sir
Wm. Knighton have this day paid me 3,170 as
executors of his late Majesty. The money is for tents
erected upon that part of Windsor Park called the
Virginia Water. The canvas composing the tents is
from Ordnance stores, and as his Majesty was pleased
to imagine that whenever he took the field, his Ord-
nance Department must supply him with tents, he
never meant to pay for these articles. Tennyson,
finding the amount of this job in his books, has
demanded payment from the executors. . . . What
think you of the payment of the artificers who put up
these tents four large and four small ones being
upwards of 2000 out of the 3,170? I think
Knighton must have been one of these artificers. If
such a sum can have been spent upon a few tents,
what think you of the whole expenditure of the
Virginia Water, Cottage, &c., &c. ? Oh dear, oh
dear ! . . . Well our Reform Bill made its first
appearance last night, and under most pacific circum-
stances. . . . Peel was very temperate.
"3oth.
". . . Our Earl [Sefton] is confined with the in-
fluenza (la grippe}, and sent all over the town for me
yesterday. ...
" July 6th.
"... I went to Arlington Street yesterday and
found Lady Sefton, and was half inclined to put off
dining there in order to be present at the Honorable
[House], but she said I really should be of use, as
Lord Sefton was still very unwell and very low, and
that as Lord Grey and Mr. and Lady Elizabeth Bulteel
were the only company, she begged me to come and
help the party ; so what, you know, could I do ? The
two Earls looked shockingly, and were still labouring
under the grippe, and were as low as could be to
begin with ; but altho' I say it who should not, I
never had a better benefit than I had in bringing them
both about. It is not usual to amuse a Prime
234 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. IX.
Minister by jokes upon members of his own Cabinet ;
but the ' Siamese youths' and the genteel comedy
man Graham,* ivith imitations, stretched the veins in
his forehead to their utmost, poor fellow. He said
with the greatest innocence : ' Everybody told me
there was nothing to be done without the two Grants,f
and they have never been worth a farthing ! ' '
"9th.
". . . We had a rum go of it in the H. of Commons
last night in our division and minority about issuing
the Liverpool writ. I never saw such feeble devils
as our young Cabinet Ministers. . . . Lord Sefton is
again very unwell and confined to the house. Halford,
who had seen him to-day, is himself very unwell with
this grippe, and he says the way he is hunted after by
a succession of invalids under the same complaint, is
really beyond ! "
"nth.
"... I dine on Friday at Lord Melbourne's, Satur-
day at Lord Petre's, Sunday at Dowr. Sally's. ... A
card from Lady Jersey for Thursday the first this
season. Does she begin to think at last that she can't
turn the Government out ? or is it in return for Grey's
civility in sending as he did to the Beau and Peel to
beg their assistance at a Council about the intended
Coronation. Charles Greville carried the message
from Grey, and they both seemed much pleased, and
said they would attend."
" Stoke, August 22nd.
". . . I am very fond of Melbourne. There is an
absence of all humbug about him and a frankness and
good-humour that, in a Secretary of State, are charm-
ing. What a contrast to the wretched, feeble, artificial
Roscius ! " t
* Right Hon. Sir James Graham [1792-1861], First Lord of the
Admiralty.
t One Grant was the Right Hon. Charles Grant [1778-1866], after-
wards created Lord Glenelg. He held office in Lord Grey's Cabinet
as President of the Board of Controul. The other was Robert Grant,
M.P., a Canningite, appointed Governor of Bombay in 1834.
\ Marquess of Lansdowne.
1830-31.] THE RACE FOR HONOURS. 235
The approaching Coronation caused the usual
fierce competition and humiliating supplications for
peerages, baronetcies, and such-like. The good
offices of Creevey, as a member of the Government,
were enlisted in many quarters. Here is a note from
the Lord Chancellor referring to the claim of one
of his friends who desired some genealogical par-
ticulars inserted in his patent of baronetcy.
Lord Brougham and Vaux to Mr. Creevey.
"DEAR C,
" I return the letter of Lady W[alsham]. The
insertion is wholly impossible, It is making the
Crown and Great Seal a party to an assertion of
pedigree, &c., &c., without a shadow of evidence,
except their own assertion. For aught I can tell,
there may be half a dozen people who say they are
heirs-at-law of the 1661 man.
" Yours ever,
" H. B.
" H. Meux is grandson of an old baronet, and heir-
at-law undeniably, and connected with the Blood
Royal in two or three ways ; but he has not the
slightest allusion to it in his patent. Such things are
never done for any of the idiots who think nothing
so good as nick-names. I am sure Lady W. would
have been far less pleased if her husband h?d made
the best speech ever was made in Parlt, or her son
had been Senior Wrangler. I hope the fools know it
costs them above 1200. It is twice the price of a
peerage."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Sept. 7th.
"... I returned to the Honorable, and was in at
the death, thank God ! of the Reform Bill Committee.
236 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. IX.
. . . Western can't be made a peer at present* least
Jack Tyrrell should supply his place in our house."
"Sept. 1 6, 1831.
". . . Our Reform Report past last night without
a division, and the only remaining stage is the 3rd
reading of the Bill on Monday next, which it is
calculated will occupy two, if not three nights. I am
happy to say that our Earl Grey is as stout as a lion
as to the result of the Bill in the Lords. If it is
defeated, his mind is quite made up to prorogue for
six weeks or two months make a new batch of peers
in the interval that shall be quite sufficient in number
to secure the measure, and then start fresh with it.
As Holland said to me the other day if this bill is
rejected, the question will be, will you have revolution
or will you have a larger House of Lords ? and a very
sensible man he is, with quite as warm an attachment
to his office of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
as another person who shall be nameless to the
Treasurership of the Ordnance ! "
" Stoke, 2oth.
". . . Old Wickedshifts and I had a most agreeable
duet to Stoke, t or at least within 3 miles of it, when
he had fairly talked himself to sleep. . . . Sefton and
I were more astonished at him than ever. By his
conversation with old Talleyrand it appeared most
clearly that Vaux had been intimately acquainted with
every leading Frenchman in the Revolution, and
indeed with every Frenchman and every French book
that Tally mentioned. He always led in this conver-
sation, as soon as Tally had started his subject. Our
party altogether was a most agreeable one Tally and
the Dino, Esterhazy, M.[illegibre~] his 2nd in command,
Vaux, old Greville and Ly. Charlotte, Punch f and
Henry, Alava, Luttrell and myself. ... I got to the
Honorable [House] before 12, when I found there had
been a division ; in short, the Bill read a 3rd time
* Mr. Western was made a peer in 1833.
f Brougham had taken Creevey down in his carriage from London.
t Charles Greville.
1830-31.] CORONATION GOSSIP. 237
between 5 and 6 o'clock a surprise, which did not
serve the purpose which its wily authors intended ! "
" House of Commons, 22nd.
". . . Johnny has taken up his child in his arms,
followed by a rare tribe of godfathers, and old
Brougham approached us with proper dignity, and
taking it into his arms carried it to his place and told
their lordships the name given to it by the Commons.
Then Lord Grey having moved it to be read the first
time, which was done, moved the 2nd reading for
Monday week 2nd October, which was agreed to not
a word said."
" Brooks's, Sept. 23rd.
". . . Let me mention a thing which Sefton told
me when I was at Stoke. I was expressing some
surmise about this late jaw respecting the Duchess of
Kent's absence from the Coronation, and the cause of
it, when, having according to custom bound me to
secrecy, he said he would tell me all about it, having
had it from Brougham. The offensive attack upon
her for her absence, assigning pure pique as the cause
of it, made its appearance in the limes newspaper,
and this became food for all the others ; upon which
B. sent his secretary Le Marchant to Barnes, editor
of the Times, insisting upon knowing whose article it
was, knowing as he did that it was pure invention.
Barnes said it came from an authority that he implicitly
relied on, but that he could not and would not give
him up. Le Marchant, when he brought this report
to B., gave it as his opinion that, if B. himself took
Barnes in hand, the latter would strike. He was, of
course, summoned accordingly, and having yielded to
the thundering or seducing arguments of our Vaux,
the libeller turned out to be no other than Henry de
Ros, as at present Lord de Ros. It seems he and
Barnes have been lately mixed up a good deal together
at Paris, and this is the use de Ros has chosen to
make of the connection. It is barely possible that
de Ros may have believed this to be true, upon the
authority of his sister, who, you know, is Maid of
Honor to the Queen. . . . The object, however, both
238 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. IX.
of sister and brother was clearly to do the Duchess of
Kent an injury, and by such means to please the King
and Queen, particularly the latter, who is known to
have somewhat adverse feelings to the Duchess. The
thing, however, was utterly destitute of foundation,
the Duchess of Kent having most respectfully asked
the King for permission to absent herself on account
of her child's health, and the King, in the most gracious
manner, haying greatly extolled her conduct for the
reasons assigned by her.
" The Duchess of Kent wrote to her adviser, Vaux,
in a strain of the greatest distress and vexation, but
she is now pacified, and he has informed her of his
discovery of the slanderer, but that he humbly requests
of her R. Highness that she will not command him to
disclose the author. In the mean time, as no one
knows better how to turn any little matter to account
than our Vaux, and as he knows that de Ros is to be
a thorough-stitch opposer of our Reform Bill in the
Lords, he sends for the innocent Leinster, and he
states to him with unaffected regret that Lord de Ros
has unfortunately compromised himself and character
in an affair of great publick importance, and is entirely
in the hands of the Government. Under such circum-
stances, Vaux requests the Duke to urge his kinsman
with all his might to use every possible caution against
this matter being made publick. Now was there ever?
Do you think de Ros's vote will be withheld by this
plotofVaux's?"
" Brooks's, Oct. 6th.
". . . What the result [of the division of the Lords]
will be, no one knows, excepting this much, that their
strength is in proxies, i.e., in those who are rejecting
the Bill without hearing it."
There is no mention in Creevey's letters of the
result which took place on the 8th October. The
Lords divided at six in the morning, throwing out
the Bill by 199 votes to 158. A few days earlier,
Macaulay had spoken the memorable words : " I know
only two ways in which societies can be governed
1830-31.] THE REFORM AGITATION. 239
by public opinion and by the sword ; " and immediately
the reality of the alternative became apparent in the
country. An agitation of violence, unparalleled since
the Civil War, raged in every part of the kingdom,
and the forces of the Crown proved unequal to cope
with those of the populace in Bristol, Nottingham,
and other places. Creevey paid a visit to Dublin
during the autumn, in which it is not necessary to
follow him; observing, in passing, that his passage
from Holyhead to Kingstown occupied "just sixteen
hours, the average trip being six hours and a half. 1
He was back in time for the meeting of Parliament
on 6th December, it having been prorogued on
20th October.
CHAPTER X.
1832-1833.
THE year 1832 dawned upon a stricken field. The
great battle for Reform seemed to have been fought
and won. It is true that the forces upon each side
were still in array upon their respective positions; the
artillery of both was still discharging its thunder ; but
the majority of 162 by which the Bill had been carried
before the Christmas adjournment had shattered the
last hopes of the Opposition. Excursions and alarums
continued when the House met again, but all men had
made up their minds to the inevitable, and were cast-
ing about for some sure foothold under the new order
of things. Nevertheless, the House of Lords, as it
proved, were ready to renew the war.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Jany. 2oth, 1832.
". . . Oh dear! what a squeak we had last night.
To come down to a majority of only 20. Sad work,
gentlemen, sad work ! However, it might have been
worse, for the enemy to the last thought we were beat.
We are bunglers when we quit the subject of Reform.
. . . It is some comfort that in our other shop, the
Lords, everything went well. Lord Grey had insisted
on Lord Hill * voting against the Duke of Wellington,
and he did so looking very miserable."
* As Commander-in-chief, and therefore a member of the Govern-
ment.
1832-33.] THE PROSPECTS OF THE BILL. 24!
"3oth.
". . . Durham told me Tennyson * is moving heaven
and earth to get the name of his office changed from
' clerk ' to that of ' secretary ' or anything else, alleging
gravely as a reason that a very advantageous marriage
for his eldest daughter had gone off, solely from the
lover not being able to stand the lady's father being
* clerk f
"Feb. 1 3th.
". . . Yesterday I dined in Arlington Street, with
Talleyrand, the Dinp, Lord and Lady Cowper, the
Dukes of Devonshire and Argyll, Mulgrave and
Charles Greville, and a very agreeable day we had, in
spite of the total deafness of the D. of Devonshire."
"2lSt.
"We had a great go of it last night: 53 boroughs
fell in succession without a fight. But there is still
great division in the Cabinet about making peers,
altho' Lord Grey has now the King's permission
under his own hand in writing to use his own discre-
tion in making whatever addition to the Peerage he
thinks necessary. Brougham's illness seemed to
affect his vigor of mind, and made him rather on the
jib on this subject ; but now he is himself again, and
quite as vigorous as ever in his demand for new peers.
Grey, Goderich, Holland and Lambton are on the
same side, but there is a regular murrain in all the rest
of the squad. . . . King Billy hates the peer-making,
but as a point of honor to his ministers he gives
them unlimited power."
" March I3th (my birthday).
" We had a great party in Downing Street last
night, the Tories being at least 3 to i to us Whigs. I
had a most agreeable conversation with Lord Grey,
quite at his ease in a corner, and I beg to record the
substance of part of it, that we may see how his
predictions correspond with the event. I asked him
how he felt about this Bill of his did he feel con-
fident he could carry the 2nd reading ? ' Oh certainly.
* Clerk to the Board of Ordnance.
VOL. II. R
242 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. X.
We shall be able to carry Schedule A to give
members to the great towns, and to carry the 10
qualification clause without any alteration.' I said I
trusted he was not too sanguine about it, for that
I never could believe it till I saw it ; but that, if he
proved to be right, he need not care about the loss of
Schedule B or anything else, because a new Parlia-
ment would soon settle everything. . . . That he is
under delusion in his expectations, I cannot yet bring
myself to doubt. . . . You know that Earl Grey is 68
this day, and his faithful Treasurer [Creevey] 64.
I reckon it a great honor to have been born on the
same day of the year with him."
" 22nd.
". . . Our case stands thus. Wood, Lord Grey's
secretary, and Wharncliffe went over their lists of
the H. of Lords yesterday, and they lay down as law
that the 2nd reading will be carried by 12 ! "
" Tower, March 24th.
". . . Well, the Reform 'Bill closed with us last
night. ... I have been drawing on the bank to-day
in favor of Cox and Greenwood for upwards of
50,000. Is it your opinion they will ever get as
much from me again ? My opinion is they will not.
However, if I lose my office, I shall give up Downton,
retire into the country, and write memoirs."
" Bury St., 26th.
". . . The Cabinet met yesterday and were unani-
mous. Thursday week was to be proposed for the
2nd reading in the Lords, instead of this day week,
because in the interval all the supplies for the year
can be voted, and if, after that, the 2nd reading is
rejected or outvoted that very hour Parliament is to
be prorogued, and peers created to any requisite
amount."
"27th.
"... I am in much better heart about the 2nd
reading in the Lords. Altho' Wharncliffe and Har-
rowby have few or no followers, yet it is so evidently
fright of the consequences that a second rejection of
I832-33-] LADY GREY'S PARTY. 243
this Bill may produce that influences them in their
present course, that the same fright has very naturally
found its way into other members of the Tory camp.
. . . Howick told me his father [Lord Grey] had this
very day received letters from six Tory peers ex-
pressing their intentions either to vote for the 2nd
reading or to stay away, and thanking Lord Grey for
not having carried this Bill by a new creation of
Peers."
"April 2nd.
"... I have a card to dine with Lord Dudley for
this day week, tho' it is said he is insane, and Halford
told Sefton he was to be put under coercion this very
day."*
" 4th.
"Well, altho' I say it who should not, I really
think I was very great, at the Earl and Countess
Grey's on Saturday. The party consisted of the Duke
and Duchess of Sussex/ who came together in the
same carriage, and therefore their marriage could not
be more distinctly announced ;t Lord and Ly. Cleve-
land, Lord and Lady Morley, Lord and Lady Pon-
sonby, General and Lady Grey, Bulteel and Lady
Churchill, Ellice, Sydney Smith and Mr. Creeyey. As
I opened the door for the ladies when they left the
dining-room, Lady Cleveland said : ' How agreeable
you have been ! ' When Lady Grey came last, she
put out her hand and said : ' Oh thank you !
Mr. Creevey; how useful you have been. 1 Lady
Georgiana told me last night she had laughed out aloud
in bed at one of my stories. . . . Such is my evidence
of the success of a vain old man ! . . . I don't sup-
pose there could be a stricter or more cordial friend-
ship than between Lady Morley and myself. She has
a great deal of natural waggery, with overflowing
* Lord Dudley died in the following year.
t The Duke of Sussex married Lady Augusta Murray, daughter of
the 4th Earl of Dunmore, in 1793, but the marriage was dissolved in
1794 as being contrary to the Royal Marriage Act. Lady Augusta
died in 1830, when his Royal Highness declared his marriage with
Lady Cecilia, ninth daughter of the Earl of Arran, and widow of Sir
George Buggin.
244 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. X.
spirits, but she is more of a noisy man than a polished
countess."
" I7th.
". . . Albemarle just tells me he has seen the
King often since the event, and that nothing can equal
his ecstacies. He justly observes ' it is such a load off
his mind.' He never slept a wink, he says, on Friday
night till he learnt the result. To be sure, he ought
to be pretty grateful to the jockey who rode and won
the race for him."
The jubilation of the Reformers was brief indeed.
The Bill, indeed, had passed the second reading in
the Lords on 6th April by a majority of nine, but this
was only by help of the Tory Lords Wharncliffe and
Harrowby, and their slender following, who were
known by the ominous title of the Waverers. Such
a majority could scarcely impart sufficient momentum
to the measure to carry it through committee ; and, in
effect, on the first evening after the Easter recess, the
Government were beaten on Lord Lyndhurst's motion
to postpone the clauses disfranchising the rotten
boroughs.
Thereupon, on 8th May, Lord Grey advised the
King to create so many peers "as might ensure the
success of the Bill in all its essential principles."
King William's enthusiasm for the measure had
greatly cooled since the second reading; he refused
to take the step recommended ; and Lord Grey and
his colleagues resigned on Qth May. His Majesty
then commissioned the Duke of Wellington to form
an administration. The Duke undertook to do so,
on the understanding that he should bring in an
extensive measure of Reform ; but he utterly failed
in the attempt to get Peel, Baring, and others to
face work so contrary to their principles and past
,
adu, ,
1832-33-] LORD GREY RESIGNS. 245
professions. In the end, Lord Grey was induced to
withdraw his resignation, and before the end of the
month a fresh Whig Ministry was in office.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Bury Street, May gth.
". . . Ladies, I have lost my Tower ! Oen est fait
de nous ! Dead as mutton, every man John of us, so
help me Jingo ! You see, after our defeat in the Lords
on Monday, a Cabinet was summoned for that night
and the next day. The result was Grey and Brougham
going down to Windsor yesterday at 3 o'clock to ask
the King to create a sufficient number of peers in order
to recover their ground and so secure the Bill, or, if
he would not do that, to accept their resignation.
They did not return till eleven ; but by means of
my faithful and active enquirer, Sefton, who got to
Crocky's a little past one, I found it was all over.
The King had not even preserved his usual civility,
had shown strong reluctance to the proposition, and
concluded by saying Lord Grey should have his
answer on Thursday. He did not even offer the poor
fellows any victuals, and they were obliged to put into
port at the George posting-house at Hounslow, and
so get some mutton chops. . . . Sefton was with
Brougham a little after nine this morning, and during
his stay a letter came from Grey to B. enclosing
the King's letter just received, in which his Majesty
accepts their resignation. Let me not fail to add that
Brougham, on having read it out aloud to Sefton,
sprung from his chair and, rubbing his hands, declared
that it was the happiest moment of his life ! I dare-
say, from his late debility, that what he said he felt.
. . . Our beloved Billy cuts a damnable figure in this
business, because he is clearly influenced by our defeat
on Monday. He permitted the Duke of Cumberland
to tell his friends that he would make no peers, and
then the rats were in their old ranks again at once.
All that / have to hope upon this occasion is that there
will be the same dawdling in making out my successor's
patent as there was in making out mine. I regret
246 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. X,
certainly the loss of position and of doing agreeable
things to myself with my official resources ; but it was
quite an unexpected windfall to me, has lasted much
longer than I expected, and the recollection of the
manner in which it fell to my lot will always be most
agreeable to me. And so there's an end ol the busi-
ness, and it will never affect me more."
" Tower, May loth.
". . . Our perfidious Billy was the outside of
graciosity to Lord Grey at the levee yesterday, and
said Geo. the 2nd could not have felt more bitterly at
parting from Sir Robert Walpole, nor Geo. the 3rd at
parting with Lord North, than he did at parting with
Lord Grey. Damned easy said, was it not? As to
our Bruffam, the King implored him three times over
not to leave him, used every argument to convince
him that he was not bound to go out, and that, by
remaining, the greatest possible publick benefit would
accrue to the country. Brougham, however, had no
alternative but to tell him that it was most distressing
to his feelings to be urged to separate himself from
Lord Grey, with whose fate his own was irrevocably
fix'd. The King tried his hand, too, upon the Duke
of Richmond, who was equally firm. . . . Upon leaving
the Palace on his return to Windsor, Billy got rather
roughly treated by the people, both at his own door
and at Hyde Park Corner and other places."
House of C., 1 8th.
". . . To-night really all is right. If you doubt it,
take Althorp's communication to our House, viz. :
'That the Government, having received securities for
passing the Reform Bill, remain his Majesty's Minis-
ters during pleasure.' This was followed by a most
valuable declaration from Peel 'that he never would
have joined the late attempted administration of the
Duke of Wellington.' . . . Grey and Reform and the
Tower for ever ! "
" 26th.
" One more day will finish the concern in the Lords,
and that this should have been accomplished as it has
1832-33.] THE REFORM BILL PASSED. 247
against a great majority of peers, and without making
a single new one, must always remain one of the
greatest miracles in English history. The conqueror
of Waterloo had great luck on that day ; so he had
when Marmont made a false move at Salamanca ; but
at last comes his own false move, which has destroyed
himself and his Tory high-flying association for ever,
which has passed the Reform Bill without opposition.
That has saved the country from confusion, and per-
haps the monarch and monarchy from destruction."
" Tower, June 2nd.
". . . In the House of Lords yesterday Grey, accord-
ing to his custom, came and talked with me. It is
really too much to see his happiness at its being all
over and well over. He dwells upon the marvellous
luck of Wellington's false move upon the eternal
difficulties he (Grey) would have been involved in had
the Opposition not brought it to a crisis when they
did. Their blunder he conceives to have been their
belief that he would not resign upon this defeat on an
apparent question of form. Thank God ! they did not
know their man."
"June 5th.
". . . Thank God! I was in at the death of this
Conservative plot, and the triumph of pur Bill. This
is the third great event of my life at which I have been
present, and in each of which I have been to a certain
extent mixed up the battle of Waterloo, the battle
of Queen Caroline, and the battle of Earl Grey and the
English nation for the Reform Bill. If the Conserva-
tive press is aware that the Master-in-Chancery who
carried this Bill from the Lords to the Commons was
our Harry Martin, lineal descendant of Harry Martin
the regicide, what a subject it will be for them to-
morrow ! "
"7th.
". . . The Reform Bill passed by Commission
commissioners Lords Grey, Brougham, Durham, Hol-
land and Wellesley."
248 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Of. X.
" 1 8th.
". . . How do you think the Duke of Wellington
has been treated on this anniversary of the battle of
Waterloo? He went to call on Wetherell at Lincoln's
Inn on horseback, and, being recognised, so large a
mob assembled there and shewed such very bad
temper towards him, that he was obliged to send for
the police to protect him home, and he did accordingly
return in the centre of a very large body of police and
a mob of about 2000 people, hooting him all the way." *
" Tower, 27th.
". . . Grey would not go to the Duke of Welling-
ton's last night, tho' invited to meet the King; but he
had an audience with the King during the day to
apologise for so doing. Lady Grey, too, was at the
Opera, instead of being with her King and Queen.
How like them both! and yet I suppose it was wrong."
" Buxton, Sept. Qth.
". . . I have been so lucky in picking up a play-
fellow in Lady Wellesley. She sent me a message
that she wished to renew her acquaintance with me ;
since which I have walked for an hour with her daily,
and in my life I never found a more agreeable com-
panion. She always asked me to come again the next
day, and I franked all her letters for her. Miss Caton
told me a very pleasant saying of King Billy about
Lady Wellesley. When she was in waiting at
Windsor, some one, in talking of Mrs. Trollope's
book, said : ' Do you come from that part of America
where they " guess " and where they " calculate " ? '
* The facts were not exactly as reported to Mr. Creevey. The
Duke was returning from the Mint when the mob assembled. Attempts
were made in Fenchurch Street to drag him from his horse, and in
Holborn there was some stone-throwing. Four policemen two on
each side of his horse's head escorted him to the end of Chancery
Lane, down which the Duke turned and rode to Sir Charles Wetherell's
chambers in Lincoln's Inn. The gate of New Street Square being
closed behind him, the mob was kept at bay, while the Duke rode
quietly out into incoln's Inn Fields and so home to Apsley House.
1832-33.] THE END OF THE OLD ORDER. 249
King Billy said : ' Lady Wellesley comes from where
they fascinate ! '" *
" Stoke, Nov. 4th.
". . . Here are our Greys and Talleyrand and the
Dino. . . . What an idiot I am never to have made
myself a Frenchman. To think of having such a card
as this old villain Talleyrand so often within one's
reach, and yet not to be able to make anything of it. I
play my accustomed rubber of whist with him."
Creevey's retirement from Parliament was now
imminent, for although Lord Radnor and other friends
were anxious to find him a seat, and many proposals
were made to him, things could not be so snugly
arranged under the new order of things as had been
possible in the good old days of pocket boroughs!
Therefore, Lord Grey, Lord Sefton, and the rest of his
many friends in the party now in power, concerned
themselves to find him a comfortable billet outside
Parliament.
" Brooks's, Nov. 24th.
"... I got a bothering, long-winded letter from
Wood, stating how very anxious both Lord Grey and
Althorp were to have every official man in the House
of Commons, and, in short, giving me a very in-
telligible jog or hint that my place would be more
usefully filled by a House of Commons man ; and then
a place for life was offered me in return which has
just become vacant. And what do you suppose this
place was ? It is Receiver-General of the Isle of Man
salary 500 a year residence in the said romantic
island nine months only out of the twelve. ... I said
the Isle of Man as a piece of humour was everything
I could wish, and I could only treat it in that way ;
that if Lord Grey wanted my place for the purpose
of strengthening his Government in the House of
* Lady Wellesley was a daughter of Mr. Caton of Philadelphia,
U.S.A.
250 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. X.
Commons, it was quite at his disposal, with great
obligations on my part for his manner of having given
it me, and without asking for any terms whatever."
Earl of Sefton to Mr. Creevey.
" Nov. 24th.
"DEAR CREEVEY,
" I have been at work for you this morning,
and am much satisfied with the result. Brougham
says you cannot be left in the lurch, and laughs at the
Isle of Man. Wood says, 'Very well: things must
remain as they are at present, and we must try and
find something that will suit him.' Ellis [? Ellice] was
present : they both volunteered saying you had the
first claim of anybody, and MUST be considered; that
even if you had no place now, you wd. have irresistible
claims both on party and private grounds. In short,
you stand as well as possible, if you don't take the
romantic line, of which I know by experience you are
quite capable."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Bury St., Nov. 2 8th.
". . . Sefton said he did not wonder that I would
not touch the Isle of Man, but it was the only thing
they had then to offer, and that the applications for it
were endless."
" ist Dec.
". . . Well, here goes for the last letter I shall ever
frank; and what of that? We shall get others to frank
for us, and Monday will be the last day I shall ever
receive a letter free, except at the Tower.* Ah,
Barry, my dear ! there's the rub the Tower, the dear
Tower ; how long shall we have it ? "
* Members of Parliament enjoyed the privilege, not only of
franking letters, but of receiving them without paying the postage
which ordinary recipients had to do to the tune of from lod. to is. 6d.
according to distance.
1832-33.] THE REFORMED PARLIAMENT. 251
"Dec. $th.
". . . Lord Grey has lost that one front tooth
which has so long upheld his upper lip ; but his face,
tho' altered by it, is much less so than I should have
expected ; and his voice and manner of speaking not
the least affected by it."
Intense curiosity prevailed as to the appearance
of the reformed Parliament, and all the political
memoirs of that time abound with impressions there-
of. On the whole, the outward change was much
less than most people expected at least, as to the
class of members returned. The position of parties,
indeed, was of startling significance. For the first
time in the history of Parliament the voice of the
people had obtained articulate utterance, and its
accents were a stern condemnation and rejection of
those who had resisted Reform. The new House of
Commons contained but 149 Tories against 509 Whigs
and Liberals ; but some of the extreme men who were
returned found their level, much to their own surprise
and those of their friends, considerably lower than
they had anticipated. Such is the mysterious but
irresistible atmosphere of the House of Commons in
all ages.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Feby. 2nd, 1833.
". . . The start the other day was most favorable
for the Government. Hume boasted beforehand that
he was sure of 100 followers; so that 31 only was
a woful falling off. It seems to be put beyond all
doubt that Cobbett can do nothing. His voice and
manner of speaking are tiresome, in addition to which
his language is blackguard beyond anything one ever
heard of. O'Connell, too, was disgustingly coarse."
252 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. X.
" gth.
". . . It is made perfectly manifest by their first
vote that the Reformed Parliament is not a Radical
one, when Joe Hume and the Rt. Honble. Tennyson
and all the O'Connells and all the Repealers, with
Cobbett to boot, could only muster 40 against 400!"
" Tower, Feby. 28th, 1833.
". . . What say you to the Duchesse de Berri's
approaching accouchement ? Young Bourmont is said
to be the lucky lover. What a termination to all her
heroism to save the Crown of France for her son!
It is really too ridiculous : just the event to close the
career of the Carlists."
" March 14.
" There has been most stormy work in the Cabinet
for some time, and it has been with the greatest
difficulty Grey and Althorp have submitted to
Stanley's obstinacy about Irish tithes. The more
violent Lambton I dare say would not submit, and he
retires with an earldom, to cure his headaches, of
course. What pretty physic! How delighted his
colleagues must be that he is gone, for there never
was such a disagreeable, overbearing devil to bear
with in a Cabinet. . . ."
"April loth.
" How are you all as to Influenza ? Here it spares
no one man, woman, or child, and it is a decided
epidemic. I can scarcely see out of my eyes for it at
this moment. . . ."
"April 1 5th.
"There is an unfavourable account of Charles
Grenfell, who is laid up at Stoke with this influenza.
My lord and my lady [Sefton] arrived between 9 and
10 from Stoke on purpose to see Taglioni dance, but
she was in bed with this complaint. There are
seventeen servants at Stoke laid up with it, not one of
whom can do a stroke of work."
1832-33.] AFFAIRS IN ARLINGTON STREET. 253
1 8th.
". . . Sefton is seriously annoyed at the terrible
state in which Lord Foley's family have been left.
They have been literally without bread of late. The
present young lord, who is excellent, was induced by
his father to make himself answerable for his father's
debts, and will not have a farthing left. She has a
jointure of 2,500 a year, and the younger children
(7 in number) have 30,000 amongst them. The
family estate was 40,000 a year, all of which is
either gone, or must go. Was there ever such
wickedness ?"
" May 20th.
". . . There is the greatest fuss about the turn-out
at Sefton's to-day. I don't know if you remember a
picture of Charles X. in the dining-room, sent to the
Sefton's by the King himself. The Dino says it is
absolutely impossible that the Due d'Orleans can sit
opposite that picture at dinner, and yet says that, in
the situation of the Seftons, she would die rather than
it should be taken away ; so all she prays of them is
that it may not be in the dining-room."
"25th.
". . . Would you believe it, that cursed Berkeley *
has gone and married the woman he lived with, after
his father behaving so beautifully as he did upon
what he was led to consider their separation for ever.
He settled 200 a year for life upon her, 100 upon
the child, and all their debts paid ; and yet, the day
before yesterday, this colonel had the grace to
announce to his father by letter from Gloucester that
he is married, and that 600 is absolutely necessary
to free him from fresh difficulties. Sefton told me he
would have nothing to reproach himself for to the last,
and he has sent him this 600. ... I think for the
purchase of the Lieut. Colonelcy of the 8th Hussars
befton gave 11,000. I never could tell why, but he
was certainly Sefton's favorite son, and a charming
* Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. George Berkeley Molyneux, 2nd son of
the 2nd Earl of Sefton. In Burke's Peerage Colonel Molyneux's
marriage with Mrs. Eliza Stuart is dated 1824.
254 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. X.
return he has made him. . . . Yesterday I dined at
Stanley's. Mr. Macaulay and Mr. Gordon were the
only performers after dinner, and two more noisy
vulgar fellows I never saw. Fitzroy Somerset,
Kempt, McDonald and I settled them between our-
selves afterwards."
"June ist.
"... I had a great deal of Duncannon's two eldest
daughters [at Lady Grey's party]. Lord Kerry was
in close attendance upon the second, as it is said he
always is, and I trust he will marry her." *
"Tower, June 12.
" I begin here, not from having anything to write
about, but from pure affection to the spot. As soon
as I see my four turrets come in view when I turn
into Tower Street, I think what agreeable companions
they have been to me, and I always hope they may
continue so for a little longer.
" Here's the bower, the darling Tower,
The Tower that Rufus planted ;
Dear Norman King ! twas just the thing
The thing that Creevey wanted.
" I'll tell you one project I wish my Tower to carry
into execution for me. I have set my heart upon our
all going to the Menai Bridge in the autumn. My
allowance for going to Ireland gives me one pair of
horses, and my place will easily give the leaders. So
think of it, ladies, and gratify me by saying it shall be
done, and it shall be called ' the Treat of the Tower.'
. . . Our dinner in Arlington Street was quite as gay
as if Berkeley had not disgraced himself as he has
done the Manyers's, George Ansons and de Ros's,
with the usual list of dandies and swindlers (D'Orsay
included)."
"iSth.
". . . We had a capital assembly at Lady Grey's,
and I collected clearly that we are not going to resign,
let the majority in the Lords against our Irish Church
* He did so within a year.
1832-33-] MISS BERRY'S DINNER-PARTY. 2$5
Reform Bill be what it may ; so that is all as it should
be. The great stumbling-block before us is will the
Lords consent to the future reduction of the Irish
Bishops. It is a bitter pill for them to swallow : I
don't see how the English Bishops are to stand it ;
and yet I am perfectly convinced that if that bill is
flung out in the Lords, the present House of Commons,
either in this very session or the next, will commence
operations for dislodging the Bishops from the H. of
Lords altogether ; and eventually they must succeed."
"... I met Brougham at dinner yesterday at Miss
Berry's, and a most agreeable dinner we had. In
addition to Brougham Sydney Smith, Ld. and Ly.
Lyttelton, Ly. Charlotte Lindsay, Mr. and Mrs. Stan-
ley (the member for Cheshire). She is a person
greatly admired, a daughter of the late Lord Dillon.
Ly. Lyttelton, you know, is a sister of Althorp's, and
seemed quite as worthy, and in her dress as homely as
he, tho' the Berry told me she was very highly accom-
plished. It was shortly after I came into Parliament
that Ward * and Lyttelton f came into the H. of
Commons, each with great academical fame and every
prospect of being distinguished public men. Poor
Ward, with all his acquirements and talents, made
little of it, went mad and died. Lyttelton having
married, and being very poor, could not afford to
continue in Parliament ; and tho' he wanted little to
enable him to do so, the meanness of Lord Spencer
would not supply him with it, and he has been an
exile almost ever since. Tho' grown very grey for
his age, he is as lively and charming a companion as
the town can produce, and they are said to be the
happiest couple in the world."
" 20th.
". . . I have just heard from Tavistock, who is
undoubted authority, that we have agreed to modify
the clause in our Church Reform Bill which was so
offensive to the Lords, with the understanding that
* Afterwards ist Earl of Dudley.
t Third Lord Lyttelton.
256 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. X.
they are not to oppose the Bill. The consequence of
this must necessarily be that, when the fight does
come (and come it must, sooner or later) the Govern-
ment will have so much less sympathy and support
because of this surrender. However, if the Tower
does but float till next session of Parliament, it is
much more than ever I expected ! "
" July 6th.
" I met Lady Holland again on Thursday at Lord
Sefton's. She began by complaining of the slipperi-
ness of the courtyard, and of the danger of her horses
falling; to which Sefton replied that it should be
gravelled the next time she did him the honor of
dining there. She then began to sniff, and, turning
her eyes to various pots filled with beautiful roses
and all kinds of flowers, she said : ' Lord Sefton, I
must beg you to have those flowers taken out of the
room, they are so much too powerful for me.' Sefton
and his valet Paoli actually carried the table and all
its contents out of the room. Then poor dear little
Ly. Sefton, who has always a posy as large as life at
her breast when she is dressed, took it out in the
humblest manner, and said : ' Perhaps, Lady Holland,
this nosegay may be too much for you.' But the
other was pleased to allow her to keep it, tho' by
no means in a very gracious manner. Then when
candles were lighted at the close of dinner, she would
have three of them put out, as being too much and too
near her. Was there ever ? "
"Denbies, I5th.
". . . This spot is one of the most beautiful I
know. ... I am in the second volume of poor
Roscoe's Lorenzo de Medici. I read his Leo three or
four years ago with great pleasure, and the present
book with encreased delight. I can scarcely conceive
a greater miracle than Roscoe's history that a man
whose dialect was that of a barbarian, and from whom,
in years of familiar intercourse, I never heard above
an average observation, whose parents were servants
(whom I well remember keeping a public house),
whose profession was that of an attorney, who had
'832-33-J ROSCOE AS HISTORIAN, 257
never been out of England and scarcely out of Liver-
pool that such a man should undertake to write the
histor}^ of the Hth and i5th centuries, the revival of
Greek and Roman learning and the formation of the
Italian [illegible] that such a history should be to the
full as polished in style as that of Gibbon, and much
more simple and perspicuous that the facts of this
history should be all substantiated by references to
authorities in other languages, with frequent and
beautiful translations from them by himself is really
too ! Then the subject is to my mind the most capti-
vating possible : one's only regret is that poor Roscoe,
after writing this beautiful history of his brother
bankers the Medici, should not have imitated their
prudence, and by such means have escaped appearing
in that profane literary work, the Gazette ! Oh dear !
what a winding up for his fame at last ! "
" i;th.
". . . You must know that for months past I have
been firing into Ellice, and through him into Durham,
for their joint patronage of Barnes, the editor of the
Times newspaper ; being convinced that the vindictive
articles in that paper against Lord Grey were written
or dictated by Durham. . . . On Sunday I found that
Lambton and Ellice have recently become at daggers
drawn, and Ellice told me he had received such a letter
of abuse from him in the Isle of Wight as had never
been penned. The subject was nothing less than that
he Lord Durham was going to withdraiv his proxy
from the support of Ld. Grey and his Government.
Ellice admitted the connection between Durham and
Barnes, and that the communications between them
had been carried on by Lord Dover, just deceased.
The said Durham, according to Ellice, is now Prime
Minister to the Duchess of Kent and Queen Victoria,
and they are getting up all their arrangements together
in the Isle of Wight for a new reign ! You may
remember that Durham was King Leopold's* right
hand man when he was going to be King of Greece
drew all his State papers tor him, and has always
been his bottle-holder ever since. So nothing is more
* King of the Belgians : brother of the Duchess of Kent.
VOL. II. S
258 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. X.
likely than his becoming first favorite with the
Duchess of Kent and Victoria in a new reign."
"3 1 st.
"Well, you see with what flying colours we
finished our Irish Church Bill last night. A great
body of the Tories are absolutely furious with the
Beau for what wd. you suppose ? as two of them
told me to my own self -for want of pluck ! "
"August ;th.
". . . As I was walking in the streets, Lady Ciss,
or Princess Ciss, passed me in her carriage, and
immediately pulled up. She wished to know if I was
disengaged, as the Duke [of Sussex] and she were
going to dine quite alone, and they would be delighted
if I would join them. Affable, was it not ? in a royal
dame."
Many and scathing had been Creevey's utterances
and the expressions in his correspondence in derision
of monarchs and monarchical institutions ; but time
and the sweets of office had done much to mitigate
the democratic ardour of the former " Man of the
Mountain." The crowning touch to his reconciliation
with the Head of the Constitution as it was, was put
by the hand of King William himself.
" Brooks's, August Qth.
" My dinner yesterday with my beloved Sovereign
was everything I could wish, and more, indeed, than
I had a right to expect. Jemmy Kempt, according tp
my request, sent his carriage for me after it had set
him down at the Palace. My only very little doubt
was whether I should not have gone in shorts and
silk stockings instead of trowsers ; and if I had, I
should have been the only man in shorts in the room ;
so that, you know, was very well.
* The Duke of Wellington disgusted his Tory followers by speak-
ing and voting for the second reading of the Government's Bill for
regulating the Protestant Church of Ireland.
X
.
/^ / L // /
~J (tdu ^Sl0U
1832-33-] KING WILLIAM'S LEVEE. 259
" Well, after our being all assembled near half an
hour, the doors were flung open, and in entered Billy,
accompanied by his household ; and, having advanced
singly into the middle of the room, the company
formed a great circle around him. As I was not very
anxious to attract his attention after all my sins
against him,* I placed myself in the 2nd row of the
circle. The first thing he did was to call Sir James
Kempt f to him as his bottle-holder for the occasion.
I then heard him say to him : * There are two officers
in the room who have never been presented to me '
(then mentioning their names which I did not hear),
'bring them here to me.' So accordingly the two
officers were conducted into the centre of the circle,
dropt upon their marrow-bones, and kissed hands.
" Our beloved then said something else to Kempt
which I could not hear ; but the General immediately
looked about with all his eyes for his man ; and I am
sure you will all partake of Mummy's J surprise when
Kempt, having discovered me, said: 'Creevey, the
King wishes to speak to you ;' and I was conducted
likewise into the middle of the circle. Then the King,
in the prettiest manner, said : ' Mr. Creeyey, how
d'ye do? I hope you are quite well. It is a long
time since I had the pleasure of seeing you. Where
do you reside, Mr. Creevey ? ' Now, would you
believe it? this was the only thing of the kind that
took place. After this he went a little round the
circle, talking to officers. I heard him ask General
Bingham where he had lost his arm, and such kind of
things.
" My Scotch master, Jemmy, was so touched with
the King's civility to myself that he came afterwards
to me and said : ' Upon my soul, Creevey, after the
King's gracious behaviour to you to-day, you must
come to the next levee ; for you never do go, and he
* Creevey, as a Radical member, had not been accustomed to
speak respectfully of the Duke of Clarence, and had voted steadily
against- the royal grants.
t General the Right Hon. Sir James Kempt [1764-1854], com-
manded the 8th Brigade at Waterloo.
t One of Creevey's pet names in his family.
Speaker Abercromby.
260 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. X.
has often asked me after you.' Can you solve this
behaviour to me? Was it a reproach for never doing
my duty in waiting on my Sovereign ? or does he
think I have any scruples at coming near him after
my behaviour to him and his brothers, and that he
wishes to remove them ? At all events, I consider it
as most curious, and as long as my Royal Master lives,
and I live to wear my present uniform coat, he shall
never have to say that I absent myself from his levee,
whether in or out of office. . . . I had a most agreeable
dinner. To be sure, the King's speeches, and the
length of each, were beyond ; but he is so totally
unlike what we remember him not a single joke or
attempt at any merriment as grave as a judge in
everything he does, and as if he took a sincere interest
in all he was saying in short, he made himself a real
pet of mine. . . . When I told Brougham, whom I sat
next at Althorp's at dinner on Saturday, of the King's
speech to me, he said it was the image of him as the
best-natured and kindest-hearted man in the world,
and that it was clearly meant to show me that he had
no resentment or recollection, even, of any former
personal hostilities from me, and that I had no occasion
to avoid him. What the opinion of so sincere a creature
as B. is worth is one thing; but I really think one
can't find out another meaning for Billy's conduct. If
it is the real one, never was a Sovereign so kind and
condescending."
"The Earl [of Sefton] called and took me to the
levee yesterday in his fat London coach, sitting with
his back to the horses, and giving Mr. Treasurer the
post of honor, and so home again to Mrs. Durham's *
great delight. My Sovereign only said : ' How d'ye
do, Mr. Creevey ? 'I did not expect more. It was a
very slender levee, but I had an agreeable playfellow
in Lord Grosyenor, ci-devant Belgrave,t and Lord Grey
came to me just after I had passed the King, saying
in his prettiest manner : ' Creevey, I have not seen
you for an age ! ' '
* Creevey's landlady.
t Afterwards 2nd Marquess of Westminster.
( 261 )
CHAPTER XL
1833.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Stoke, August igth, 1833.
" Brougham, Plunket, Chas. Greville and Sefton
have gone to town, and I am to entertain Lord John
Russell who stays to dinner to-morrow. I am just
going to ride with him and the ladies ; and, by Sefton's
desire, to write my name at the Castle [Windsor].
Next Wednesday is the King's birthday, when there
is a great dinner there. The Seftons have got their
invitation ; so we shall see if I am equally successful
in my meanness. Don't you think I am become too
great a toady of Royalty ? "
"Tower, 3ist.
"... I am reading the newly published corre-
spondence between Horace Walpple and Sir Horace
Mann, his earliest friend and Minister at Florence.
Considering who the writer was, and his position, the
book can't fail of being interesting very but he is a
trifling chap after all. ..."
Lady Louisa Molyneux to Mr. Creevey.
" Stoke, Sept. 3, 1833.
". . . We do not hear much of cholera in this neigh-
bourhood, but all the sherry in the cellar is drunk,
and Reeves has been obliged to ask for a fresh supply;
he cannot get people to drink his French wines, entirely
from fear of cholera. .
262 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. XI.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Stoke, Sept. 5th.
". . . I have for the first time boarded an omnibus,
and it is really charming. I quite long to go back in
one to Piccadilly. . . . Monday brought all Europe
under our humble roof at Stoke at least the great
powers of it by their representatives. There was
England well represented by Earl Grey, with my
lady, Ly. Georgianaand Charles; France by Talleyrand
and the Dino; Russia by the Prince and Princess
Lieven; Austria by Esterhazy, with the addition of
Weissenberg, the Austrian delegate to the Conference ;
and Prussia by Bulow. But the female Lieven and
the Dino were the people for sport. They are both
professional talkers artists quite, in that department,
and the Dino jealous to a degree of the other. We had
them both quite at their ease, and perpetually at work
with each other ; but the Lieven for my money ! She
has more dignity and the other more grimace. . . .
The Greys had just come from Windsor Castle. Lady
Grey, in her own distressed manner, said she was really
more dead than alive. She said all the boring she
had ever endured before was literally nothing com-
pared with her misery of the two preceding nights.
She hoped she never should see a mahogany table
again, she was so tired with the one that the Queen
and the King, the Duchess of Gloucester, Princess
Augusta, Madame Lieven and herself had sat round
for hours the Queen knitting or netting a purse the
King sleeping, and occasionally waking for the pur-
pose of saying: ' Exactly so, ma'am!' and then sleep-
ing again. The Queen was cold as ice to Lady Grey,
till the moment she came away, when she could afford
to be a little civil at getting quit of her. . . .
" We asked Lord Grey how he had passed his
evening : ' I played at whist,' said he, ' and what is
more, I won 2, which I never did before. Then I
had very good fun at Sir Henry Halford's expense.
You know he is the damnedest conceited fellow in the
world, and prides himself above all upon his scholar-
ship upon being what you call an elegant scholar;
so he would repeat to me a very long train of Greek
1 833-] THE COURT AT WINDSOR. 263
verses ; and, not content with that, he would give me
a translation of them into Latin verses by himself.
So when he had done, I said that, as to the first, my
Greek was too far gone for me to form a judgment of
them, but according to my own notion the Latin verses
were very good. " But," said I, " there is a much
better judge than myself to appeal to," pointing to
Goodall, the Provost of Eton. "Let us call him in."
So we did, and the puppy repeated his own pro-
duction with more conceit than ever, till he reached
the last line, when the old pedagogue reel'd back as if
he had been shot, exclaiming: "That word is long,
and you have made it short!" Halford turned abso-
lutely scarlet at this detection of his false quantity.
" You ought to be whipped, Sir Henry," said Goodall,
"you ought to be whipped for such a mistake."' . . .
At dinner Lady Grey sat between Talleyrand and
Esterhazy. I, at some little distance, commanded a
full view of her face, and was sure of her thoughts ;
for, as you know, she hates Talleyrand, and he was
making the cursedest nasty noises in his throat."
Lady Louisa Molyneux to Mr. Creevey [in Ireland].
" Stoke, Oct. 3oth.
". . . There never was such weather; we are sit-
ting with open windows, blinds down, and old Lady
Salisbury is reading put of doors as if it was the
middle of July. She is more youthful than ever, and
leaves us to-morrow to be at the Berkhampstead ball,
which she attends annually. She had better go to
Portugal and assist Miguel, for she makes a better
fight for him than any of his adherents. . . . Poor
Alava writes in great uneasiness about his patrie y but
does not forget to finish his letter with mille choses
a toute la farnille et a Creevey. . . . Olivia de Ros's
marriage * was a grand ceremony, the chapel t hung
with crimson velvet, the bride dressed by the Queen,
the parish register signed by the King, the Queen and
Duke of Wellington ; quantities of royal presents, &c.
* To the Hon. Henry Wellesley, who succeeded his father as
Lord Cowley, and was created Earl Cowlev.
t St. George's, Windsor.
264 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XI.
. . . The Stanleys have been here for a day. He*
made himself tolerably agreeable, except in his ex-
treme flippancy to Lord Melbourne."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Besborough, Nov. 3rd.
". . . I wish to record a point or two of political
history not generally known. When Lord Grey
determined upon beginning his administration by a
reform in Parliament, he named Lord Durham, Lord
John Russell, Lord Duncannon and Sir James Graham
as the persons to prepare a bill for that purpose ; and
they aid prepare the bill, of which Lord Grrey knew
not one syllable till it was presented to him all ready,
cut and dry. When he had read it, he shrugged up
his shoulders, and gave it as his opinion that the King
would never stand it. However, upon his taking it to
Brighton the King showed no decided hostility to it ;
and, as we know, Lord Greys measure of Reform was
ultimately carried. It was towards the conclusion of
the labors of this committee of four that Ld. Durham's
anger became first excited. Lord Grey, to please the
Duke of Richmond, added him to the four other com-
mittee-men ; a step that in itself gave great umbrage
to Durham. From that day forth, he and the Duke
fought like cat and dog. The next thorn in Durham's
side was Stanley. They were always opposed to
each other upon Church matters ; and when the
Church Bill of the latter was brought forward last
session, Durham addressed to the Cabinet his stric-
tures thereon (and very able and severe they were)
accompanied by a complaint that he Durham had
not been consulted. These the Cabinet forwarded to
Stanley without observations (was there ever such
child's play ?). Stanley was equally fierce in reply. . . .
At a Cabinet dinner shortly after, this hitherto latent
fire came to a blaze between these worthies. Poor
Grey attempted at least to assuage it ; but, as he
unfortunately rather leaned to Stanley, upon the
ground of Durham never coming to the Cabinet,
Durham fell upon him with all his fury, said that he
* Afterwards i4th Earl of Derby [Prime Minister].
1833.] PRIVATE POLITICAL HISTORY. 265
was the last of men that ought to have made that
charge, knowing as he did that the cause of his
absence was devotion to his dying child, and then
went on to say that Grey had actually been the cause
of the boy's death. . . . Poor Althorp put his head
between his hands and never took them away for
half an hour. It was this frightful scene that pro-
duced the resignation of Durham, tho' he had been
long brooding over it.
" Let me give you another specimen of the manner
in which our great men govern us. Lord Anglesey
said to Duncannon at Dublin : ' Mr. Stanley and I
do very well together as companions, but we differ
so totally about Ireland that I never mention the subject
to him!'* Anglesey then showed Duncannon a
written statement of his -views respecting Ireland,
which he said he had sent to Lord Grey. Duncannon
says nothing could be better, and he asked him why
he had not addressed it to the Cabinet ' Oh,' said
Lord Anglesey, ' I consider myself as owing my
appointment exclusively to Lord Grey, and don't
wish to communicate with any one else.' When
Duncannon talked to Grey on the same subject, Ld.
G. said he was apprehensive of offending Stanley
by laying these opinions of Anglesey's before him.
Now which do you think of all these gentlemen
deserves the severest flogging. Duncannon says that
both Grey and Althorp entirely agree with him in
opposition to Stanley about Irish matters, and that
both one and the other avoid touching upon the
subject to Stanley, least they should offend him.
"One more point of private political history.
Brougham has again and again in my presence taken
merit to himself for his firmness in insisting upon
the dissolution of Parliament when the Government
was beat upon Gascoigne's motion in 1831. t The
facts of that case are as follows. On the day after
that division, Duncannon dined at Durham's with
* Lord Anglesey was for the second time Lord Lieutenant ( 1 830-33),
and Stanley was Secretary for Ireland under the Home Office.
t When Ministers were left in a minority of 22 on General Gas-
coyne's motion against reducing the number of members for England
and Wales.
266 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. XI.
Lord Grey and others. Durham was furious for dis-
solution; Grey and the others became of the same
opinion, and that it must take place the very next
day. Grey sent a messenger out of hand to Windsor,
begging the King to be in town next day at eleven.
He then sat down to write the King's speech for the
occasion, and begg'd Duncannon to get a coach,
and to go and bring the Clerk of the Council and
Brougham there directly. When Duncannon arrived
at Brougham's house, the servant said my lord was
going to bed and could not be seen. However, as
you may suppose, Duncannon forced his way up ;
but Brougham, when informed of what was passing,
said he would be no party to the proceeding that
he entirely disapproved of it, and should go to bed
directly, adding that he had never been consulted. How-
ever, I need not say that he went, and that he made
up for the affront of never being consulted by giving
out that it was his own act and deed."
" Bury St., Saturday, Nov. i6th.
" I am only just this instant (5 o'clock) arrived
in the same cloathes in which I wrote to you from
Dublin on Thursday. Barry, my dear, if any sensible,
well-informed man shall ever tell you that a new
channel is discovered from the Irish Sea to the
Mersey, thro' which Irish steamboats of all dimen-
sions may always pass, let the state of the tide be
what it will tell such a philosopher that he lies, and
that the truth is not in him ; for, having had the most
charming and successful and swiftest passage of the
season up to 4 o'clock yesterday morning, so as to
expect to be in by 5, it was discovered there was not
water enough for us to proceed. We were shifted
at that pleasant hour into another steamer drawing
less water, and even for this we soon found there
was not enough, and so had to undergo the agreeable
ceremony of lying at anchor for upwards of 3 hours,
and did not reach Liverpool till J past 9, too late for
the early coaches."
" 1 9th.
" Amongst the many instances one has known of
London gossip, jaw and gullibility, my Irish fame is
1833.] LORD HOLLAND'S ABILITY. 267
no bad specimen. When I went to Whitehall on
Saturday, poor Mrs. Taylor began: 'And so, Mr.
Creevey, there is no living in the Castle at Dublin
without you ; so, I assure you, General Ellice writes
to every one.' When I saw Sefton the same night
he said : ' Grey has a letter from Wellesley * in
which he says you are the most agreeable fellow he
has seen for ages, and that your visit to them has
been most valuable.' Col. Shaw, a belonging of
Wellesley's in India of 30 years' standing, whom I
saw for the first time in Dublin, writes word that
'Mr. Creevey by agreeableness has greatly con-
tributed to Ld. Wellesley's happiness, and to his
years / ' . . . A note from Lady urey yesterday says :
'Pray, pray! dear Mr. Creevey, dine here on
Friday.' In the course of the morning Esterhazy
came after me to dine with him yesterday, and Kempt
has been here this morning to invite me for Thurs-
day. Sefton had a letter from Brougham and Vaux
from Brighton, begging him to secure Creevey for
dinner to-day."
" Tower, Nov. 23.
"... I never was so much struck with the agree-
ableness of Lord Holland. I don't suppose there is
any Englishman living who covers so much ground
as he does biographical, historical and anecdotical.
I had heard from him before of the volumes upon
volumes he still has in his possession of Horace
Walpole's, entrusted to him by Lord Waldegrave,
which Lord Holland advises the latter never to allow
to be published, from the abusive nature of them ; but
I was happy to hear him add that there was no say-
ing what circumstances might induce a man to do ; so
it is quite clear that, with Lord Waldegrave's wonted
[illegible], the abuse will some day see the light. I
never knew before that Horace was not the son of
Sir Robert Walpole, but of a Lord Hervey, and that
Sir Robert knew it and shewed that he did.
" My lady [Holland] was very complaining, and
eating like a horse. Lord Holland quite well, and
yet his legs quite gone, and for ever carried in
* Lord Wellesley had succeeded Lord Anglesey as Lord
Lieutenant.
268 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. XI.
and out of the carriage; and up and down stairs, and
wheeled about the house. . . . You mentioned seeing
Berkeley Molyneux * and his Pop. The other day, his
sisters told me that when he was at Croxteth lately
on a visit to Mull,t old Heywood took him into a
corner of the room and put 500 into his hand, and
I have no doubt will leave him a handsome fortune.
He was always his favorite, and he must have a
fellow feeling for him, for he himself adopted a
London Pop imported into Liverpool by an old
fellow I well remember, and when he died old Arthur
took her and was married to her many years before
her death. As she was a remarkably good kind of
woman, he may perhaps think that Berkeley's tit may
be the same."
" Brooks's, Nov. 24th.
". . . Yesterday at the Hollands we had Lord Grey
and Lord J. Russell, Charles Fox and Lady Mary,
Henry and his little bride,t Sidney Smith, John
Ponsonby (Duncannon's eldest son) and Ellice the
elder. Lady Holland introduced me to Henry's wife
in a very pretty manner as one of Henry's oldest and
kindest friends. The said Lady Augusta I consider
as decidedly under three feet in height the very
nicest little doll or plaything I ever saw. She is a
most lively little thing apparently, very pretty, and I
dare say up to anything, as all Coventrys are, or at
least have been. ... I can scarcely believe the story of
Lady Jersey and Palmerston, tho' it was very current
that, when Lady Cowper went abroad, Palmerston
transferred his allegiance to Lady Jersey." H
Earl of Sefton to Mr. Creevey.
" Croxteth, Nov. 26th.
" DEAR CREEVEY,
" Pray write everything you hear. What do
you think of the rumours of changes ? Somehow or
* Second son of the 2nd Earl of Sefton.
f Lord Molyneux, his elder brother.
t Henry Fox, afterwards 4th Lord Holland, married in 1833 Lady
Mary Augusta, daughter of the 8th Earl of Coventry.
Afterwards 5th Earl of Bessborough.
^ Lord Palmerston married the Countess Cowper in 1839.
1833-] GOSSIP. 269
another I feel that things are not quite right and that
Grey's long absence was injurious. He certainly
seemed rather bitter about Palmerston's intimacy
with Ly. J[ersey], and I think with reason. Thank
God she is gone, and that she was reduced to take
[Sir Robert] Wilson as an escort. . . . Stanley has
had several fainting fits, but is much better. They
say it is stomach. If anything was to happen to
him, what would become of us in the H. of C. ?"
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"28th.
". . . I dined at Essex's again yesterday company,
Spring Rice, Chas. Grant, Sydney Smith, another and
myself. Sydney thanked me in the name of mankind
for the successful resistance I had made to Old
Madagascar* at dinner on Sunday. He said he had
never seen Ld. Grey laugh more heartily in his life,
and then he told the whole story to Essex and Co."
" Dec. ;th.
"At Essex's yesterday we had Lord Grey, Mel-
bourne and Palmerston ; and of the minor poets
Spring Rice, Poulet Thomson, Luttrell and myself.
Althorp was prevented coming by the gout. . . . Ld.
Grey seems to have changed his opinion all at once
about Talleyrand and the Dino. He said he had no
doubt they were both against him and in favor of
Wellington, which is the entire reverse of the opinion
I had heard him uniformly express on the same
subject."
Earl of Sefton to Mr Creevey.
" Croxteth, Dec. I4th.
". . . What you say about Ld. Grey's change of
tone towards Talleyrand is quite intelligible to me.
I trace it entirely to Lady Keith, who has great
influence over the whole Grey family, and is in con-
stant correspondence with them. She is in great
habits of intimacy with the D. of Orleans has the ear
* Lady Holland.
2/0 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XI.
of the Court, and hates Talleyrand. Her object is to
get him recalled, and to replace him by her husband
[illegible]. She thinks making him and Ld. Grey ill
together would drive Talleyrand to resign. I can tell
you, in corroboration of this, that Monsr. de Bacourt
told me that nothing wd. contribute more to decide
T. to return here than Ld. Grey's shewing a decided
anxiety for it, and at his suggestion I got G. to write
a most kind and pressing letter to T., representing the
importance he attached to his coming back, both with
a view to keeping up the friendship between the two
countries, and to the settlement of the Dutch business.
. . . Ly. jersey is now living in great intimacy with
Louis rhilippe and the D. of Orleans, so if these two *
don't do mischief, it will not be for want of pains."
22nd.
"... I must just give you an extract from a letter
of Mme. de Dino's this moment arrived: 'Sans une
tres excellente lettre de Ld. Grey, je ne crois pas que
M. de Talleyrand se serait decide a retourner dans
votre chere Angleterre.' She has no idea that I was
the cause of that letter, and never will. Bacourt will
keep it to himself. The whole effect would be spoiled
by their knowing it."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Richmond, Dec. 24, 1833.
" I dined at Essex's on Saturday. The feature of
the day was Parks,} a Birmingham attorney of whom
I had heard much, but had never seen before. He is,
in truth, a very remarkable man in every respect. He
is mix'd up with all classes Church, Chapels and
State ; and as well, or better, calculated for utility than
any man I know or have heard of. He is Secretary
to the Corporation Commission, and all the beneficial
results of that most judicious and successful measure
are attributable to him. He has great influence in the
Trade Unions ; he is a prime leader of the Dissenters.
* Lady Jersey and Lady Keith.
t Joseph Parkes [1796-1865], who acted as go-between with Whigs
and Radicals ; an energetic organiser and demagogue.
1833-] JOSEPH PARKES. 271
It was a curious thing to hear a provincial attorney
observe that the Liturgy of the Church had not been
altered for 200 years, and that he was perfectly con-
vinced that a very slight alteration in it would let in
all the leading Dissenting establishments. He is most
decidedly for this union. ... I did nothing but fire
into Lord Grey all dinner-time on Sunday about this
said Parks; and, to say the truth, I found the soil
quite ready for a strong impression. He said that,
from all he had heard of him, he had formed a great
opinion of him, with a strong desire to see him ; and
then he got on to say that he would know him ; upon
which our dear Lady Grey, in a tone and manner quite
her own, said : ' I hope there is no Mrs. Parks ! ' Is
it not the image of her ?
". . . We expect to hear to-day of James Brougham's
death. There is much speculation abroad whether the
event will drive the Chancellor mad. It is quite true
that his brother's influence over him was as unbounded
as it was miraculous, for no one ever discovered the
slightest particle of talent in James of any kind. That
he was his secret instrument, ispy or anything else
upon every occasion, I am quite sure."
Earl of Sefton to Mr. Creevey.
"Croxteth, Dec. 3oth, 1833.
" I cannot resist sending you another extract from
a letter from Me. de Dino received yesterday. I par-
ticularly wished to know if she had seen the Flahauts
at Paris. Now you must know that nothing could
exceed Talleyrand's kindness to Flahaut all his life.
He has been his patron and protector in short, a
father to him.* Thus she writes : ' Je n'ai rien vu du
tout des Flahaut. Le mari n'a pas meme mis une
carte chez M. de T. II les a recontre aux Tuileries,
ou Monsr. de Flahaut n'a pas meme salue. Cela a fait
dire un tres joli mot a Monsr. de Talleyrand, a qui on
demandait 1'explication de 1'impolitesse de Monsr. de
Flahaut. " C'est que je 1'ai apparemment mal eleve ! "
Nothing could be neater."
* People said he was literally his father.
CHAPTER XII.
1834.
CREEVEY was no longer in Parliament, but he had a
heartwhole devotion to Lord Grey, whose fortunes he
followed with intense solicitude and pride. Fierce,
then, was his wrath against those who brought about
his retirement, especially against Brougham, for whom
he could find no more fitting sobriquet than " Beel-
zebub." Retrenchment was marching hand in hand
with Reform, and among the doomed offices was
Creevey's comfortable department of Treasurer of the
Ordnance. It is amusing to find him who had so
vehemently clamoured in Opposition for the sup-
pression of patent places, now denouncing as vehe-
mently the action of the Commission then sitting
for carrying out that very policy.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Brooks's, Feb. I2th.
" I dined at the Hollands on Saturday, where I
suppose the party was meant to be wits and men of
letters, with the exception of Essex, who is neither.
Rogers and sister, Tommy Moore, Luttrell, Hallam
the historian and Creevey the pamphleteer. When
Lord Holland was wheeled in after dinner, he was
lodged on my right side, and was as agreeable as ever
he could be. I have been quite surprised of late at
the endless variety of his conversational matter."
1 834-] CREEVEY'S OFFICE THREATENED. 273
" Feby.
" I was walking through St. James's Park to-day
and seeing Lord John Russell mounting his horse at
the Paymaster's door, I went up merely to have a
word with him about Graham's ridiculous conduct in
the House last night* He put out his hand saying :
' Ah ! Treasurer, how d'ye do ? ' to which I replied :
' Ah ! Treasurer for how long ? ' He laughed and said
nothing. Now, as he never called me treasurer before,
and he must know if the place is to live only a few
weeks longer, he surely could not have addressed me
in this way as a joke."
" May 3rd.
". . . Poor old Lady Greyt little thought what
would become of her money. She left all she had to
Lady Hannah,{ and she again left it to her son, the
young Bear. He, being a very aspiring young man
of fashion, has formed a connection with Duvernay
the opera dancer, to whom he has paid 2000 down,
and has contracted to pay her 800 a year ! The dear
young creatures were seen going down in a chaise
and four to Richmond. Capt. Gronow, the M.P. and
duellist, negociated the affair for the young Bear
with the dancer's parents."
" May 7th.
". . . I thought the Beau looked horridly at the
levee; but his uniform of the Blues plays the devil
with him. He should be always in red. You will see
by your paper that there was a split last night in our
Cabinet, between Stanley and Lord John Russell
the latter, of course, declaring for more popular and
* Sir James Graham, Mr. Stanley, Lord Ripon, and the Duke of
Richmond had resigned office owing to disapproval of the Irish Church
Bill.
t Wife of the ist earl, died in 1822.
J Her youngest daughter, married ist to Captain Bettesworth, R.N.,
2nd to the Right Hon. Edward Ellice, M.P. She died in 1832.
Edward Ellice, afterwards of Invergarry and M.P., married in
1834 Miss Katherine Balfour of Balbirnie, who died in 1864. In 1867
he married the widow of Alexander Speirs of Elderslie, and died
in 1880.
VOL. II. T
274 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XII.
healing measures towards Ireland. . . . Tavistock*
told me he had long seen this split would come, but
that he did not think the crisis was come for absolute
separation between the different parties in the Cabinet,
tho' he thought it must come if Stanley and others
did not relax. I am for having Stanley severely
whipped : it would do him a power of good. . . .
" When I was at Sefton's to-day he said : ' I have
a proposition to make to you, old fellow, which is that
you dine here every day that you are not engaged
elsewhere.' To which I was pleased to accede, and
behaved very handsomely by declaring that I did not
consider the contract as binding for any year after the
present one, without a renewal on his part of the
proposal."
"8th.
" Our Government was in the greatest danger all
yesterday. John Russell's gratuitous opinion and
declaration of secession in the House of Commons the
night before, if the revenues arising from the Irish
Tithes Bill were not left to the appropriation of
Parliament, roused all the fire of those in the Cabinet
who contend that such revenues are to be applied
exclusively to ecclesiastical purposes. The indigna-
tion of the latter party was the greater, because it was
understood, and John Russell had particularly stipu-
lated not to raise that question. Stanley actually
resigned yesterday, and his bottle-holders are Pighead
Richmond and Canting Graham. . . . However, at a
Cabinet -meeting, Lord Grey having announced his
fixed intention of retiring at once from publick life if
the whole was not instantly made up, and old Wicked-
shifts having made some very judicious threats of
opposing and exposing with all his might any Govern-
ment but the present one in its present formation, the
thing was at last settled in peace and harmony, and
nothing more is to be said about appropriation, till
there is something to appropriate, which can't be for
a year at least. . . . Grey told them that the conduct
of the King had been so uniformly kind and gracious
" * Afterwards 7th Duke of Bedford, eldest brother of Lord John
Russell.
1834.] ROGERS'S DINNER-PARTY. 275
to him, and Grey knew so well the difficulties he [the
King] would have to encounter in forming a new
Cabinet, that he thought it would be very dishonorable
to desert him, if it could be avoided. . . . Brougham
said to Sefton : ' I followed Grey, and I observed
that I was very differently situated from my friend
Lord Grey that, while he considered his political life
as closing, I considered my own as only just beginning
that I never felt younger or more vigorous that,
from the moment the present Government was broken
up, all my occupation and resources should be devoted
to destroying any other one that there was nothing I
would not undertake to accomplish that object that
I would attend all political meetings out of Parliament,
publick and private, and that from the present temper
of the publick, which I well knew, I was as sure as I
was of my existence that no Government but an ultra-
Liberal one, both in Church and State affairs, would
be endured for a week. ... Of course,' he continued,
' you will see my object was to frighten the damned
idiots Stanley and Co. from attempting by themselves,
or be coalescing with Peel and Co., to set up a Church
government; and I think I did so. 1 . . . Was there
ever such a chap in the world as Wickedshifts ? Who
do you think dined with him yesterday ? The Duke
of Gloucester, and no other man !"
"Stoke, 1 8th.
"... I hope never again to assist at such a blue
dinner as at Rogers's on Friday. Bobus Smith and
old Sharpe * were really too not a moment's inter-
missionnot even little John Russell could get in his
little observations, much less his brother William,
whom I would willingly have examined as to affairs
in Portugal, where he has so long resided, and latterly
as our ambassador. I never was so sick of learning
as Bobus and the Hatter made me that day. . . . Our
Earl and Countess [of Sefton] have left about an hour
ago in a gig, on a visit to the Duke and Duchess or
Bedford at Woburn, 38 miles off; having two horses
stationed on the road besides the one they started
with. Since they went, it has rained cats and dogs,
* Richard Sharp [1759-1835], commonly known as " Conversation
Sharp."
2/6 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. XII.
and they in a gig without a head ! This, as I say to
Lady Louisa, is ennui in fine people tired of being at
the top of the tree, and wanting to see what is at the
bottom. How the servants must grin ! "
2/th.
". . . Since I last wrote, our Government has
been in a state of dissolution, and altho' my mind was
perfectly prepared to lose my Tower, and I should
have borne the loss better than many a richer man,
still it was not a very agreeable state of things to
write about. Now, however, I believe I may say all
danger for the present is over. Stanley, Graham and
the Duke of Richmond have resigned to-day. The
difficulty has been to make Lord Grey go on with the
Government, and to a late hour last night I saw
letters under his own hand saying nothing should
induce him to do it ; but our Billy has forced him to
go on, whether he will or no."
" Brooks's, May 29th (King Charles's Restoration
and Minister Charles's aussi}.
11 1 dined yesterday at Stanley's, with Johnny
Russell by his side, and it was all very well. . . . All
the offices were to be filled to-day. Think of young
Cole * Secretary of State for the Colonies ! Aber-
cromby vice Stanley ! Oh dear, oh dear ! . . . I con-
tinue to dine out daily according to custom. We had
a great day on Sunday at ' dear Eddard's/ with our
Chancellor in the character of lover to Mrs. Petre,
tho' Lady Grey tells me this lover is dead-beat by
Palmerston. Was there ever ? I dine with Fergy
to-day to meet the Cokes and Abercromby, but not as
Secretary of State for the Colonies, for all is settled,
and no mention of young Cole. Auckland first Lord
of the Admiralty!!! Was there ever? Spring Rice
the Colonies ! Ld. Carlisle Privy Seal ; Mulgrave, it
is probable, the Post Office, Ellice in the Cabinet
with his present office. I am very glad of this last
arrangement, because he is the most courageous
bottle-holder Lord Grey could have. I dine to-morrow
* The Right Hon. James Abercromby.
I834-] COMPETITION FOR OFFICE. 277
at Sefton's with Brougham only ; next day at Praise-
God Barebones Fitzwilliam's."
" May soth.
". . . Very agreeable party at Lady Lichfield's last
night Duchess of Kent everything I could wish . . .
and plenty of ' comrogues,' male and female. Well,
tho' our places are all filled, there is no end of tan-
trums. Durham is furious at not being in the
Cabinet. He asked Lord Grey the cause of it, to
which the latter only replied it was ' quite impossible.'
Durham asked who it was that objected, but asked in
vain ; the fact being that Brougham told Lord Grey
he would not sit in the same Cabinet with Durham,
and that Grey must make his choice between them.
Brougham has been to the greatest degree indignant
with Grey at his appointment of Auckland to the
Admiralty, the more so as the appointment was made
at the suit of Lansdowne. So, according to custom,
the said Vaux has saluted Grey and Lansdowne with
a literary philippic apiece. However, Sefton says he
is dulcified since last night. All the old and new set
were at Anson's last night, and Brougham said to
me: ' Auckland's is a neat appointment, is it not ? '
twisting about his nose in its happiest forms. To be
sure, my opinion would be that the hand of (death
was on Lord Grey when he could place on his side in
this Cabinet such a notorious and so useless a jobber
as Auckland, at the dictation of such a perfect old
woman as Lansdowne."
" Bury St., June 2nd.
". . . I dined at Fitzwilliam's * on Saturday with
the ugliest and most dismal race I ever beheld, and yet
there is a card from them for a party this day week,
with ' Dancing ' in the corner. They cut the worst
figure by contrast with the young Lady Milton,f who
has the merriest and most sweet-tempered face I ever
* The $th Earl Fitzwilliam, who, as Viscount Milton, had sat and
acted with Creevey in the House of Commons.
t Lady Selina Jenkinson, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Liverpool.
Lord Milton died in 1835. His widow married in 1845 Mr. Savile
Foljarnbe of Osbertpn, and died in 1883.
278 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. XII.
beheld or nearly so. A Jenkinson, too, and they are
not over lively. . . . You can form no notion of the
obloquy that Auckland's appointment has brought
upon the Government, or of the terms in which he
himself is talked of. ... I was called out of Brooks's
yesterday by Wm. Brandling, who said there was an
acquaintance of mine round the corner, who would be
flad to see me ; and who should it be but the sweet
anny, looking much more beautiful than ever. We
had a long walk, and I was quite enchanted with her.
I dare say her gown had not cost a pound, but in
looks altogether she beat all London. . . ."
"6th.
". . . Well, here is Ld. Carlisle Privy Seal after all,
but only as a makeshift, he himself having the greatest
possible objection to it. When Sefton told me that
either Radnor or Dacre was to have it, and asked me
what I thought of the appointment, I said that, as
far as I was concerned, I would not trust either of
them with half a crown ; not from any distrust of
their honesty, but from their being a couple of wrong-
headed fellows you could never be safe with. Wit-
ness, in Radnor's case, the mess he got into with
Mrs. Clarke, and his letters to her in the Duke of
York's case. His having identified himself to the
extent he has done with Cobbett, and his childish
consultation with me about bringing him into Par-
liament, &c., &c. Then Dacre is a conceited prig a
generalising, soi-disant German philosopher. Do
you remember Mrs. Sheridan asking me how he
spoke, and how Sheridan enjoyed it when I said
'like a Druid from the top of Snowdon.' Radnor
would give a more Radical character to the Govern-
ment, and Dacre a Presbyterian one, having a very
strong personal resemblance to that community.
. . . Well; the Government having elected Radnor
of the two as their Privy Seal, with much importunity
from Brougham, on Wednesday night he accepted ;
but yesterday morning brought his stipulation, with-
out which being acceded to he was off ' an equitable
adjustment, the duration of Parliament shortened, and
the repeal of the Corn Laws!' What a modest
I834-] OXFORD DECLINES TALLEYRAND. 279
estimate a man must have of his own importance to
prescribe such conditions ! Of course the Govern-
ment had done with him out of hand, and there was
not time to sound Dacre before the levee ; but Lord
Grey told Sefton he was going to offer it to him last
night. Lord Grey was full of his miseries to Sefton
said he had no sleep at night, that he was harass'd to
death, and was quite aware he shd. die if not shortly
relieved of the labours and anxieties of office. Of this
I feel quite sure, that, this season over, he will never
meet another as Prime Minister. . . . He will go out,
when he does go, covered with glory, and I see no
chance of his equal being found in the present circle
of mankind."*
" ;th.
". . . Dacre, instead of being Privy Seal, had a
stroke of apoplexy last night, and fell down. . . ."
"9th.
". . . We had all the corps diplomatique last night
in Downing Street. The Dino and the Lievens are
gone to Oxford to-day to take their degrees. Wel-
lington f communicated to old Talleyrand that the
University would not stand htm, and advised him to
keep away. What a blow upon Talley to be rejected
by the Monks!"
" 1 3th.
". . . Your nephew, young William Ord, dares not
vacate his seat as M.P. for a seat at the Treasury
Board. The young gambler Byng is to have it. Ld.
Conyingham Post Master! Abercromby has the
Mint, without a salary, and a seat in the Cabinet.
What accessions to the Government ! "
" 2 3 rd.
". . . As I arrived first to dinner at Paul
Methuen's,J and Brougham arrived second, I had him
* Creevey's forecast was fulfilled by Lord Grey's resignation in
July following.
t As Chancellor of the University,
i Created Lord Methuen in 1838.
280 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XII.
out on a balcony to myself in no time. I stated
William Roscoe's case as one that he was actually
bound to attend to that he professed to be the patron
of literary merit that Roscoe's father's fame in that
department was unrivalled [? unquestioned] that,
moreover, he was his friend, and had boasted to me
of corresponding with him to his dying day that he
[Roscoe] had been his principal supporter in our
Liverpool contest, and in short that, after a most
meritorious life, he had been reduced by misfortune
to nearly beggary. Brougham admitted all this, but
said he had nothing to give worth Wm. Roscoe's
acceptance. In a short time afterwards he took me
out on the balcony again, and said : ' I have been
thinking Wm. Roscoe's case over, and I have a place
that would suit him. They will have it that I must
have an Accountant-General for my new Bankruptcy
Court, and Wm. Roscoe shall have it. It will be
;i2OO a year for life.' Now was there ever? I take
it for granted he will jib and fling over both William
and myself; mais nous verrons ! It will be curious to
see what invention he will resort to in order to defeat
this gratuitous offer.
" We had a most jolly day and very good company.
Mrs. Methuen is a sister of Ly. Radnor, and a great
improvement upon her I don't mean in morals; I
know nothing upon that subject, except that the
parent female stock, who was there in the evening,
has been somewhat slippery in her day."
" Bury St., July sth.
"... I am full of the impression left upon me by
the sight of that unrivall'd library left by Pepys to
Magdalene College [Cambridge]. I believe the
exquisite charms that are to be found in it are, to this
day, almost unknown to the world. You remember
Pepys's memoirs (published by Ld. Braybrooke, who
is Hereditary Visitor and appoints the Master of this
college), the manuscript of which I had in my hand ;
but these are almost trash compared to other contents
of this library. There are 5 folio volumes of prints,
almost from the origin of printing, being the portraits
of every royal or public man, woman or child down
1 834.] CREEVEY'S NEW POST. 281
to Pepys's own time. I could scarce tear myself away
from them, and .even these are nothing compared to
all the other curiosities. . . . Well, you see a new
quarter has begun,* and our Government is still in,
and I believe quite safe now until Parliament meets
again, notwithstanding the spiteful speech of Stanley
last night. All reasonable men think it most dis-
graceful of him."
" July 8th.
" It is my constant practice to spend two pence a
day in the hire of a chair, or rather two chairs, one on
each side of the water in the new and beautiful en-
closure in St. James's Park. So when the enclosed
note came after me to-day, with the name ' Grey ' in
the corner and ' Immediate ' on the top, Mrs. Durham,
who knows all my ways, immediately despatched
Durham to ransack the said enclosure, and he found
me as nearly asleep as possible, on the side nearest to
Downing Street. So there I went ; and Lord Grey,
in the prettiest manner, told me that Lord Auckland's
place in Greenwich was vacant, and asked me if it
would be agreeable to me to have it. He said it was
not nearly as good as my present place, and that I
should have some work, as I had to take care of the
Northumberland estates, &c.f He said he had been
very desirous that I should have the house, as it was
a very nice one, with a very nice garden, &c., but that
Tierney had a right to it in his turn as Commissioner.
... As to the income, it is quite sure to be enough
for me, and the respectability of the office, and the
way in which it is given me by Lord Grey's own
unsolicited good will, gives the most agreeable finish-
ing touch to my political life. . . . Sefton is to find
out from Auckland in the Lords to-night the real
value of the office, and I shall know it at the opera.
" I never saw Lord Grey apparently more op-
pressed with care than he was this morning. He said
he had meant for some time past to offer me this
office ; but that things were now looking so distracted,
there was no answering for the continuance of the
* Creevey means that his quarter's salary is safe.
t The estates of Greenwich Hospital in Northumberland.
282 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XII.
Government, and on that account he was for haying
my appointment done out of hand. He complained
bitterly of Stanley and Graham, as well he might. It
seems these two wretches left the House last night,
rather than vote against O'Connell."
"9th.
" ' Ah, thoughtless mortals ! ever blind to fate/
' don't count your chickens before they are hatch'd '-
various are the accidents between the cup and the lip.
And now, if you wAnt an illustration of the wisdom
of all these admonitions, read the enclosed note from
Grey which I received about 12 o'clock to-day. . . .
It now turns out that Althorp sent in his resignation
to Lord Grey yesterday morning ; and Lord Grey, in
forwarding it immediately to the King at Windsor,
accompanied it with his own resignation ; so that he
was actually out when I had my conversation with him
Sssterday. A messenger from Windsor arrived in
owning Street between nine and ten last night with
the acceptance of the resignations of Lord Grey and
Althorp ; and either the same messenger or another
this morning brought a letter from the King to Lord
Melbourne, begging to see him before the levee
to-day. . . . Grey and Althorp being out, I defy
Melbourne or Brougham, or all the Whigs united, to
patch up any more Whig Governments. ... I have
not felt any depression yet, and I dare say I never
shall ; tho' I admit it is very tantalising to have been
so near a post, and then to be stranded after all. . . ."
" 6.30 p.m.
" Althorp has been stating in the House of
Commons that the Cabinet being divided on the
Coercion Bill was the cause of its being broken up.
Neat articles they must be to bring in a Bill they were
not agreed about ! "
" loth.
". . . Our poor Earl Grey was so deeply affected
last night as not to be able to utter for some time,
and was obliged to sit down to collect himself.
When he did get under weigh, however, he almost
1834.] ANECDOTE ABOUT LORD GREY. 283
affected others as much as he had been affected him-
self. All agree that it was the most beautiful speech
ever delivered by man. Clunch,* too, in the other
House, distinguished himself greatly for his native
simplicity and integrity. ... I hope you see Wicked-
Shifts's f declaration that he has not resigned, and
never will. He has not seen the King, I mean to
have an audience with him, but he favored him with
one of his letters yesterday. . . . The salary at Green-
wich is 600 a year, with coals, candles, &c."
The hitch in Creevey's appointment to Greenwich
arose from Lord Auckland's unwillingness to resign.
This was got over by Brougham, who forced Auck-
land's hand, thereby clearing the road for Lord Grey's
old friend.
11 1 2th August.
"... I asked Sefton just now how Lord Grey was
last night whether he was in the same depressed
state of mind he had been in the two or three preced-
ing days. ' Why,' said Sefton, ' I'll tell you a story of
him last night, and you may judge. He was talking of
Taglioni, and, after going over all the dancers of his
own time by name, and swearing that not one of them
came within a hundred miles of her, he concluded by
saying in the most animated strain : " What would I
give to dance as well as her ! " This sudden ebullition
of ambition, in so new a field for a fallen Minister of
State, produced a very natural convulsion of laughter
from the few persons present, and from no one more
than Lady Grey, who, as soon as she recovered, said :
" This passion in Lord Grey is not new to me, for
I well remember that, on the only day he ever was
tipsy in my presence, when he returned from dining
with the Prince of Wales, nothing would serve him
but dressing himself in a red turban and trying to
dance like Paripol ! " ' . . .
" Melbourne and our William are going on corre-
sponding about a Government, and he is to go down
* Lord Althorp. t Lord Brougham.
284 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. XII.
to the King at Windsor to-morrow at two. . . . The
King's first proposal to Melbourne was to make a com-
prehensive administration, and he named the Duke
of Wellington, Peel and Stanley as necessary parties
to such a Government. Melbourne wrote his reasons
at length and in detail why he thought it quite im-
possible that such a mixture with the late Govern-
ment could ever take place. He communicated,
however, the King's proposal to the Duke, Peel and
Stanley, accompanying each with his own letter.
Stanley, in his answer, adopts every one of Mel-
bourne's arguments against such a coalition, pro-
fesses his unqualified adherence to Lord Grey and
his principles, and avows his fixed determination
never to make a part of a Tory Government. The
Beau and Peel, in their answers, merely state they
have received Melbourne's letter, and that they don t
feel themselves commanded by the King to say more.
Melbourne has written to them again by the King's
command to ask what they think of his proposal and
what they mean to do, and the King begs them to
send their answers thro' Lord Melbourne. This is
treating the great men (that used to be) rather
scurvily, I think. ... I dine at Althorp's to-day, and
to-morrow at Lord Grey's."
". . . Melbourne returned from Windsor to-day
with carte blanche to form a Government. Thev haye
been at work all morning trying to put the old ship
afloat again, with some alteration in the crew. . . .
Althorp certainly remains in."
"i6th.
". . . Our poor Taylor is dead.* ... I had really
a charming day at Holland House yesterday. Dear
Lord Grey was one of the party, as amiable as ever
he could be. Lady Holland followed me out when
I came away to ask me to come again on Sunday
next, which I promised to do. ... Melbourne has
* The Right Hon. Michael Angelo Taylor, M.P., a gentleman of
small stature and moderate sagacity, but greatly assisted to some
distinction by&is clever and ambitious wife.
1 834-] BROUGHAM BLAMED FOR THE CRISIS. 285
been kissing hands at the levee to-day as Prime
Minister, and he is succeeded in the Home Depart-
ment by Duncannon, who goes up to the House of
Lords. Duncannon is succeeded in the Woods and
Forests by Hobhouse, with a seat in the Cabinet."
". . . Besides Duncannon yesterday at Essex's,
we had Rogers and Miss Rogers, Lord and Lady
William Russell and another or two. I have never
seen a woman that I hate so much as Lady William
Russell,* without knowing her or ever having ex-
changed a word with her. There is a pretension,
presumption and a laying down the law about her
that are quite insufferable. Then her base ingrati-
tude to those who formerly fed and cloathed her
Fanny Brandling, the Fawkes's and others sink her
still lower in my hatred of her. . . ."
" August 4th.
"... I am all ashamed to say that I dined at
Brougham's on Saturday, because I am as sure as I
am of my existence that it was he who drove Lord
Grey from the Government by his perfidious corre-
spondence with Lord Wellesley respecting the Co-
ercion Bill ; and moreover, I am equally certain that
the driving Lord Grey from the Government has long
been the object nearest Brougham's heart. How
then can one dine at Brougham's one day with all
the rubbish of Lord Grey's Government, with Beelze-
bub himself in roaring spirits (his servants in silk
stockings and waiting in gloves), and then dine at
Lord Grey's yesterday, with him quite knocked down
and poor Lady Grey actually speechless both feel-
ing that he has been the victim of the basest perfidy ?
Poor Lady Grey ! you must remember how often she
told me at the formation of the Government, and with
her uniform horror of Brougham, how completely she
had got him in a cage by having him in the House
of Lords. They were both quite sure he could do
* She was a daughter of the Hon. John Rawdon (brother of the
ist Marquess of Hastings), and died in 1874.
286 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XII.
no harm, tho' they well knew his dispositions. . . .
Where do you think I dine to-day ? With our poet
Rogers, to meet Anacreon Moore and that melodious
dicky-bird Miss Stephens.* Can you imagine a
greater contrast to the two preceding dinners? . . .
Miss Stephens has realised 30,000 by her voice, and
brought up and supported with it a very large family
of her kindred. . . . Only think of the Beau's flirt, Mrs.
Arbuthnot, being dead ! "
";th.
". . . The dicky-bird failed me at Rogers's a cold
in her pipe kept her at home ; so we had only Essex,
his daughter, Mrs. Ford, Miss Rogers and Tommy
Moore, of whose melodies I had rather more than
enough."
"Stoke, nth.
". . . Lord Grey and his family were at Windsor
from Monday last till Wednesday, during which the
King took him into his own room and had a conver-
sation of two hours' duration with him, in the course
of which he was pleased to say that he was actually
miserable since he had lost his services, and he did
not see how or when he was to be otherwise. He
spoke of Ld. Melbourne as liking him, but that he
had no position either at home or abroad to be com-
pared with Lord Grey, and that as to the rest of the
Government, they were nobody. When our Billy said
Ld. Melbourne was nobody! at home or abroad, com-
pared with Lord Grey, he touched the real thing,
which these presumptuous puppies will feel before
they are much older. Palmerston never signed a
dispatch that had not been seen and altered by Lord
Grey. Do you suppose he will ever submit to this
from Melbourne ? or, if he did, what does Melbourne
know of it ? . . . I wish Grey may let to-night pass
without giving way to any vindictive feelings, which
I learn from Sefton are gaining upon him hourly.
Sefton dined at Talleyrand's on Friday with Grey ;
* Catherine Stephens [1794-1882], vocalist and actress, whose
marriage with Lord Essex took place a few weeks after Creevey's
death in 1858.
1 834-] LORD GREY'S OPINION OF BROUGHAM. 287
and by some mistake about the day, Brougham came
in late to dinner ; but Lord Grey would not speak to
him. Having taken leave of the Government in the
generous way he did in the House of Lords, I can't
bear his showing any subsequent resentment. . . .
Brougham already chuckles to Sefton at the influence
he has got over Melbourne, compared with what he
had over Grey ; but our Earl [Sefton] is in a mighty
combustible state upon these matters, and will, to all
appearance, on some early day burst out upon Beelze-
bub. He considers Grey as having been basely
sacrificed by a low-lived crew, not worthy to wipe his
shoes, and that the Arch-fiend Brougham has been all
along the mover of this plot for his own base and
ambitious, selfish purposes."
The Countess Grey to Mr. Creevey.
I "Howick,'i8thSept.
"...! have a little changed my mind about this
same Achitophel.* I begin to believe that he really
did not at that time mean to turn Lord G. out. I
believe so, because it was not essential to his interest
to do so, not that I suspect him of any scruples. I
am inclined to think his own version of it is true. He
expected to bully Lord G. and to shorten the session.
He afterwards got into a mess, and it cost him
nothing to tell a thousand lies. . . . But enough of
our triumphs and our feuds. Thank God ! as you
say, Lord G.'s political life has ended gloriously. . . .
We are now settled here for ever."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Stoke Farm, 24th Sept.
". . . Melbourne came here for dinner on Sunday,
and was off early in the morning. . . . He told Sefton
that his real belief was that Brougham never intended
to force Ld. Grey out of the Government, and I beg
your attention to Brougham's defence of himself, as
made to the innocent Melbourne. ' It is true/ says
* Lord Brougham.
288 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. XII.
Brougham, 'that I did write to Lord Wellesley
begging him to withdraw his support of those clauses
in the Coercion Bill which have since been with-
drawn : it is true that I made Littleton * write to the
same effect, and my sole intention in this was to
shorten the session, that I might have time to go to
the Rhine ' (of course with Mrs. Petre !). Now, from
the creation of the world, was there ever such a
defence be it a lie or be it true? And then the
villain says it never entered his imagination that it
could lead to the result it did. Melbourne states his
decided opinion that he is mad, and that he will one
day, in sacrificing everything for his own personal
whim, be sacrificed himself."
" Brooks's, i ;th Oct.
". . . Sefton came up to-day on purpose to see
the smoking remains of the two Houses of Parliament.
What an event ! I saw the poor old House of
Commons smoking as I came over Westminster
Bridge just now. The fire burst out again to-day,
and burnt furiously for two hours."
" Stoke Farm, 2oth Oct.
". . . Our party here have been the little Russian
ambassador; D'Orsay, the ultra dandy of Paris and
London, and as ultra a villain as either city can
produce (you know he married Lord Blessington's
daughter, a beautiful young woman whom he has
turned upon the wide world, and he lives openly and
entirely with her mother, Lady Blessington. His
mother, Madame Craufurd, aware of his profligacy,
has left the best part of her property to her sister,
Madame de Guiche's, children) ; Lord Tullamore, who
is justly entitled to the prize as by far the greatest
bore the world can produce (he married a daughter of
Lady Charlotte Campbell a very handsome woman
and somewhat loose, but as she is dying of a con-
sumption we will spare her) ; Lord Allen, a penniless
lord and Irish pensioner, well behaved and not en-
cumbered with too much principle; Tommy Dun-
combe, who lost 600 here the two last nights at
* Created Lord Hatherton in 1835.
I834-] A BREEZE WITH BROUGHAM. 289
whist to Lord Sefton, and who, if he was in possession
of his father's estate to-morrow, would not have a
surplus of eightpence after paying his debts. Charm-
ing company we keep, don't we ? Then we have
Col. Armstrong of old masquerade fame, and now
equerry, or some such thing, to the King a very
good-natured man, and [illegible] than all the others
put together, which, you'll say, is not saying much
For him. . . . Lord Fitzroy Somerset * told me that
Wyatt says he can make Ragland t habitable for
10,000 and completely restore it for 50,000."
" Brooks's, Oct. 22. *
". . . Now for Lord Durham and our Brougham
and Vaux. You saw the origin of this storm the
scratch Durham gave Vaux at Edinburgh, and the kick
Vaux gave Durham in return from Salisbury. They
are now got to closer quarters. Vaux has taken the
field against him in an article in the Edinburgh Review
which you ought to read. Durham is attacked by
name, whilst his assailant is anonymous, tho' known
to all the world. Durham replies publickly in his own
name that, if the writer of this article is a member of
the Government, he is a liar, or words to that effect.
Now my own deliberate opinion is that Vaux is at last
caught, and will be ruined ; and very likely the Govern-
ment will fall with him. His going to Scotland at all
with the purpose he did to rob Lord Grey of his
fame was an act of insanity, and the disease has
increased since. . . ."
" 24th.
". . . Allow me to mention to you a curious pint.
On Wednesday evening as I was going up to Crocky's
to dine, little Freeman accosted me in the dark, and
turned about with me, asking me how I was. I said
my only complaint was that I could not warm my feet
for love or money. He said that was wrong the
circulation must be defective, &c. ' Of course,' said
he, 'you wear woollen stockings.' 'No,' said I, 'I
have never done so in my life.' 'Then get some
directly,' said he. So yesterday I bought 6 pair for
* Created Lord Raglan in 1852. t Raglan Castle.
VOL. II. U
THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XII.
morning, and three do. thinner to wear under silk in
the evening. I am in them now, and such an imme-
diate change I never witnessed. I have been as warm
as a toast from the moment I put them on."
"Brooks's, Oct. 29, 1834.
". . . At Stoke we had the Russian again,* an
English merchant from Riga, Younger by name, the
Due de Richelieu, Tom Buncombe, Col. Armstrong,
Poodle Byng and myself. Whilst at dinner on Sunday
the two Colonels arrived, Berkeley and Henry, | with
Charles Grenfell, all from Croxteth. . . . Essex is very
pathetic about himself, is he not? and very tender
about the Greys. It is just seven years since he was
all for Canning's Government, and, like Sefton, all gall
against Lord Grey. When Grey came into office this
month four years ago, Essex was one of his earliest
and most constant toadies, and Lady Grey used to
treat him like a dog; so much so that one day when
I was there, after he had left the room, Lord Grey
said : ' Upon my life, Mary, you are too bad in your
rude manner of treating Essex, and I am sure he sees
and feels it.' To which our Countess replied : ' I
mean that he should see it, because I can never forget
the shameful conduct of himself and others to you.
' Oh/ said Grey, ' that is gone by, Mary, and we must
forget it.' She used, at that time, to treat Sefton
exactly in the same way, and for the same reason ;
but lords and M.P.'s have great rewards for perse-
verance in toadying."
Earl of Essex to Mr. Creevey.
"Belgrave Square, Nov. I, 1834.
"My DEAR CREEVEY,
" How I envy you your visit to Howick; but
alas! the ipth of this month I turn 76,}: and must
* Princess Lieven.
t Lord Sefton's sons.
$ According to Burke's Peerage^ the 5th Earl of Essex was born
1 3th November, 1757, which would make him a year older than he
reckoned.
1834.] THE* ROAD AT ITS PRIME. 291
remain in my chimney corner. Say all that is most
kind and affectionate from me to them all. I think the
Glasgow meeting has ended well : Lambton * has only
supported his original principles, and Grey's letter, like
everything he says and does, is sure to be just and
dignified and kind to Lambton. The operatives, also,
deserve great credit for their moderation in all their
sentiments and opinions. Upon the whole I think
Grey will be satisfied, or at least think no harm has
been done. Whether there may not be some individuals
in the country not quite satisfied at all that is passed,
is neither your business nor mine. Those who make
their own beds must sleep upon them. I hope you
and others of your party will do all you can to
encourage Grey to come up to the meeting. He must
not remain put at grass, but show his high-mettled
crest and shining coat to throw the Tories into dismay
at the very look of him.
" Yours ever,
" ESSEX."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"York, Nov. 2, 1834.
" Oh ! Barry, my dear,f your mail is the genuine
mode of travelling for us single people, provided it is
not that stupid heavy Gloucester one. We were the
last mail out of Post Office Yard last night J past 8,
and such a load of letters, too, and bags as I never
beheld nevertheless I was here, 198 miles, by a
quarter before five this evening, was dressed by six,
and have just finished my excellent boiled fowl and
bacon. J ... I am so enamoured of mail travelling that
* The Earl of Durham.
f Mr. Creevey usually addressed Miss Ord as Bessy, but some-
times as Barry.
J Nimrod writes of this Edinburgh mail as the ne plus ultra of
road work at any time. " It runs the distance, 400 miles, in a little
over 40 hours, and we may set our watches by it any point of her
journey. Stoppages included, this approaches eleven miles in the hour,
and much the greater part of it by lamplight." The time of the Flying
Scotsman on the Great Northern Railway for this journey is now
8 hours and 25 minutes ; and she keeps it.
292 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. XII.
I mean to stay here to-morrow, to play with the
Minister, to have an early dinner and be off with the
Edinbro mail of to-morrow about five, and so get to
Alnwick about six on Tuesday morning. ... I have
been thinking much of the belligerents Lambton and
Brougham on my way down, and I think the former
has completely cut his own throat by his speech at
the Glasgow dinner, and has given Beelzebub a horse
to ride which, with his jockeyship, will carry him thro 1 .
It is not a year since this hair-brained Lambton claimed
for himself at his Gateshead dinner the exclusive merit
of originating the general Reform Bill ; and now, for-
sooth, he pledges himself to his new allies, the Glasgow
operatives, and to all other operatives, that he will
have nothing short of household suffrage, &c., &c.,
which is, of course, a repeal of the present Reform
Act, of which six months ago he was so proud.
Beelzebub may say now, when he is accused of his
gratuitous declaration against going on too quickly
with Reform : ' Why, I knew at the time more than
you all put together. I knew that a daring measure
was concocting to destroy all our labours, and put the
people en masse against the property of the country,
and I knew that Lord Durham was to lead this crew.
With this conviction on my mind, could I do less than
put the country on its guard against the new-fangled
Reform ? ' . . . Durham's is a truly daring measure,
and he has nothing left but to pit the strength of the
Radicals himself at their head against the property
and good sense of the country ; and I presume (for there
is no telling till one sees) that he will be beat dead
hollow."
" Howick, Nov. 4th.
"A nicer little dinner and a happier one I never
had the ex-Prime Minister and lady, two boys
(Frederick and Harry), Lady Georgiana and Nummy *
all the company, with dumb waiters. Only think of
Downing Street ! . . . Last July two and thirty years
ago was the first time I ever was in this house. I had
just then become M.P. for the first time, and was here
early enough from my own election to be present at
* Creevey himself.
1834.] LORD GREY IN RETIREMENT. 293
Lord Grey's for this county. I well remember going
with him to the county meeting at Alnwick a very
crowded one in the Town Hall. After Lord Grey *
had proceeded some way in his address, he said there
was one subject on which they would naturally be
anxious to know whether his former opinions had
undergone any change namely, Parliamentary Re-
form. I never shall forget the excitement which this
question produced in the audience; still less can I
ever forget that thunder of applause and delight
when he announced that the result of his experience
had been to convince him more than ever of the
indispensable necessity of that great measure. Well
then, here he is, and this great measure carried : aye,
and carried exclusively by himself; for without his
character and talents, no man or men could have
done, or even attempted it ; nor would any Sovereign
have trusted any other man to do it. ... And yet,
here he is after all stranded, compelled by the con-
duct of his own Government to abandon the concern,
and to retire into private life. As far as he is con-
cerned the prolongation of his life and the enjoy-
ment of the remaining part of it, no one who sees
him and has known him before, can doubt his good
fortune in being placed in this situation. . . . No
continuance in power could add an atom to his fame.
He stands the only ex-Minister, certainly in this
country and perhaps in any other, entirely spotless.
. . . You remember as well as myself the natural
anxiety and desponding character of his disposition.
Now that he has closed his political life, that early
fever has not a trace of it left, and a more perfect
picture of contentment and even playfulness I defy
the world to produce."
The remainder of this letter deals with Brougham's
part in recent events, and describes the corre-
spondence that had passed between him and Lord
Grey in relation to them. Enough, perhaps too
much, has been quoted already to show the bitter
* He was then the Hon. Charles Grey.
294 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XII.
feelings against Brougham which prevailed among
Lord Grey's friends. There are mountains of letters
on the subject, and it avails little further to reopen
forgotten sores.
"9th.
" Where did I leave off yesterday ? At poor Lord
and Lady Grey's believing that Brougham, in his
intrigues unknown to Lord Grey about the Coercion
Bill, did not mean to get Lord Grey out of office.
Why, then he must be an idiot, or something much
worse ! because he must have been quite sure that
when this plot became known to Lord Grey, the
latter, as a man of honor, could not remain a moment
longer with such perfidious scamps. ... I cannot
help thinking (tho' I may be wrong) that Lord Grey
is not sorry Durham has taken the real Radical line
at last, and think it relieves him from any further
political connection with him, which has been one
constant source of torment to Lord Grey from
Lambton's unreasonable and shameful conduct to him.
. . . Lord Grey told me yesterday that the applica-
tions made to him for peerages had been over three
hundred, and for baronetages absolutely endless.
He says he is in great disgrace with Col. Grey of
Morrick for not making him one that his wife came
to Downing Street in tears absolutely to implore
this favor from him, but he would not. . . . Lord
Grey told me that it was one of the first acts of his
Government to offer Coke a peerage absolutely an
earldom and Coke had chosen for a title ' Castle-
acre,' an estate purchased by the Lord Chief Justice
Coke, joining Holkham ; but just before our William
came to the throne, Coke, at a dinner given him at
Lynn, had made a most violent speech against George
the Third, pointing to his picture which was in the
room, and calling him 'that wretch covered with
blood' (meaning, of course, from the American and
French wars), an insufferable speech, particularly
of a dead man ; so that all the Royal Family were
in arms about it. The King put it to Lord Grey
whether, after such an attack upon his father, he
1834-3 OVERTURES TO LORD HOWICK. 295
could confer this signal mark of favor upon him, and
Grey thought not." *
"1 2th.
" So Lord Spencer is dead by this time ! Just in
time to save Althorp from that horrible position in
the House of Commons which his late folly put him
into. But what comes of the House of Commons
itself? Who is to lead that precious assembly? . . .
Stanley would be the only man if he had only com-
mon sense and common manners ; but I think Spring
Rice must be the man. . . . Talking of Lady Howick,t
Lady Grey said : ' I never liked her, and I do so now
less than ever. I believe she is clever and has been
agreeable ; her natural character is to be saucy and
pert, but with me is artificial and guarded in the
extreme ; curious and inquisitive to the greatest
degree, and sending to her sister in Yorkshire every-
thing she picks up ; J which somehow or other comes
to me on its return from Yorkshire. Then, if I deny
having said it in part or in whole, I am told it must
be so, for " Maria took it down in her journal at the
time!" which is not very pleasant you know. But
Henry is quite devoted to her, and she has supreme
influence over him.' . . . Just as I was in the midst
of writing the last sentence, Lord Grey stalked into
the great library, his spectacles aloft upon his fore-
head, and I saw at once he was for jaw, so I abandoned
my letter to you and joined him. . . . He had received
a letter from Lord John Russell to-day, and I saw
in a minute both Holland and Lord John were making
offers to Lord Howick of a berth in the Government
(in the Cabinet, of course) thro' Lord Grey ; and then
we began to talk on that subject in good earnest. I
gave my own decided opinion that the Government
could not last ; that I had always thought so before
the late insanity of Brougham and Durham's scrape,
even if Lord Spencer had lived ; and that the Govern-
ment would have broken down in the House of Lords,
* Mr. Coke was created Earl of Leicester immediately after King
William's death in 1837.
f Creevey's old correspondent, Miss Maria Copley.
% Much as Creevey himself sent everything to his step-daughter.
296 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XII.
Melbourne, with all his merits, being utterly incapable
of sustaining it ; but that now it would go to the devil
at once in both Houses. On that account, I would
have Lord Howick extremely cautious in taking
office without more daylight, the design in having
him being obvious to pass for having Lord Grey's
support. Lord Grey was quite with me that the
Government must go, Althorp being gone, and he
thinks it could not have weathered the session had
he remained; but he has an evident hankering for
Howick being in office, and evidently has a most
false estimate of his talents, and of every other
property belonging to him. ... I- will stop here, as
every day must bring us new speculations as to the
result of Althorp's political demise."
"iSth.
". . . Lord Grey had a letter from Lord John
Russell yesterday, stating that he had consented to be
leader of the House of Commons. Can anything be
more condescending? Was there ever such luck for
Lord Grey as being out of office before Althorp was
off, and Johnny Russell leader? We are both agreed
that such an arrangement is horrible, if not fatal.
We both agree that he has an overweening conceit of
himself, is very obstinate, very pert, and can be very
rude charming properties for the leader of such a
House of Commons ! . . . Lord Grey says Mulgrave's
pretensions are beyond all bearing, that he never
found Grant worth a single farthing, and that Aber-
cromby is a perfect humbug."
When King William dismissed Melbourne and his
colleagues in November, 1834, he laid his commands
on the Duke of Wellington. The Duke recommended
that Sir Robert Peel should form a Government ; but
as Peel was absent in Rome, the Duke consented to
conduct affairs until his return, declining, however,
to fill any offices during Peel's absence. Therefore
until Peel returned on 9th December, the Duke was
virtually First Lord of the Treasury, Home, Foreign,
1834.] MELBOURNE'S DISMISSAL. 297
Colonial, and War Minister; an arrangement which
gave mighty umbrage to the Opposition.
i6th.
" Here's a go for you! The Whigs turned out and
Wellington sent for. A letter from Lord Melbourne
to Lord Grey, written at Brighton, announces this
fact. . . . Now, will this convince Beelzebub that
honesty is the best policy after all ? It was his perfidy
to Lord Grey about the Coercion Bill that destroyed
the Government. . . . Then the conceited puppy
Johnny Russell, who gave the first blow to the
Government by disclosing the Cabinet differences
about the Church, thereby making Stanley and the
Duke of Richmond resign, that he, having lost Lord
Grey and Lord Althorp too, should be fool enough to
think that he could lead the House of Commons !
Next to these two benefactors, Brougham and Lord
John, the Tories are under everlasting obligations to
Lord Durham and his Glasgow dinner. . . . When I
was here five and twenty years ago, a King's messenger
arrived bringing an invitation from Perceval to Lord
Grey to unite with him in making a Government,
Castlereagh and Canning having quarrelled, fought
and gone out of office. I presume no messenger will
come now on a similar errand from Wellington.
(After dinner) Duke of Bedford mentions a fact Lord
Grey and I were not aware of; viz. that Peel is in
Italy. Wellington can form no Government without
his concurrence."
" i yth.
". . . Melbourne writes that his conversation with
the King was a very long one, and that his mind was
quite made up that the Government, such as it was
reduced to, could never stand. . . ."
" I9th.
" Brougham describes in his letter to Sefton (who
has arrived here) his interview with the King at the
Council on Monday. After referring to the letter of
advice he wrote to the King, and applying a profusion
of butter to him and his family, Brougham said he
298 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XII.
hoped he never should be placed in the painful situation
of acting with any hostility to his Majesty or any part
of his family ; * but as the leader of a popular [party]
in this country, he could not conceal from himself that
he might, to a certain extent, be controll'd by the
measures of such a party : in short a regular threat,
at which Beelzebub says the King seem'd much
annoy'd (as well he might), very grave, but very civil
(which I doubt !). Brougham writes : ' I dined with
Lyndhurst to-day, and he says he'll be damned if he'll
be Chancellor without some security. In the mean-
time he gives up the Exchequer to Scarlett, who is
Lord Chief Baron and goes to the House of Lords. 1 " t
20th.
". . . Brougham continues to write daily to Sefton
letters of a perfect Bedlamite. He says the excitement
in London becomes more universal and intense every
day ; whilst Lord Grey's letters from Melbourne and
others state that there never was more perfect apathy
amongst all classes."
"22nd.
". . / Lord Grey and I are of opinion that Welling-
ton's difficulties appear greater every day. His
assuming all the offices of State into his own hands,
without knowing if he can ever fill them, is a most
offensive and wanton act of power. For instance, he
has dismissed from their offices in the most insulting
manner Palmerston and Rice, without naming any
successors, when, according to established usage,
they might have held the seals of their offices till such
successors had been found. ... It is clear that this
move of the King's was not anticipated by the Tories,
or Peel would have been on the spot. This vesting,
or rather assuming, of all the power by one man, and
him a soldier and with such known opinions, for a
whole fortnight or perhaps three weeks, is giving
opportunities for every species of criticism upon such
conduct. The Whigs might have died a natural
death, as they shortly would, had they been let alone ;
* Referring to Queen Adelaide's overt antipathy to the Whigs,
t As Lord Abinger.
1834.] CHARACTER OF LORD SEFTON. 299
but it is quite another thing to have them kick'd out
of the world by this soldier, and to see him stand
single-handed on their grave, claiming the whole
power of the nation as his own."
"2 3 rd.
". . . It seems the offer to Stanley which I
mentioned has not actually been madejv^.* Peel is
to be home on the spot, before a single fixed appoint-
ment is made. Great homage to him this ! . . . I am
more and more struck every day with Lord Grey's
happy appearance, and I can't help making in my own
mind the contrast between him and Sefton. In my
estimation, Sefton is by no means inferior to the
other in natural talents. In conversation he has much
more fancy and a much greater variety of talent ; and
had his mind taken the same direction earlier and
received the same cultivation as the other, he, too,
would have been a most powerful speaker, tho' not as
eloquent. But this want of early cultivation now
ruins him. Lord Grey spends a good part of every
day with his book, which Sefton, from want of habit,
can't do, and he is compell'd, therefore, to exist a great
part of his time upon excitement from play, cookery,
&c., &c. It would do you good to see me send Lord
Grey to bed every night at half after eleven o'clock,
which is half an hour beyond his usual time. This I
do regularly, and it amuses him much. He looks
about for his book, calls his dog Viper, and out they
go, he having been all day as gay as possible, and not
an atom of that gall he was subject to in earlier life.
To be sure, when he read a letter this morning at
breakfast, stating that the Duke of Gloucester was
dangerously ill, he did say : ' Well, if he dies, all I
can say is, he won't leave a greater fool behind him
than himself!' But how feeble and gentle this com-
pared with the energy of earlier days, when he told
* Stanley was offered office in Peel's cabinet as soon as Peel
returned from Rome. He declined it, on the ground that, however
possible he might have found it to serve with Peel, the fact that the
Duke of Wellington had first received the King's commands "must
stamp upon the administration about to be formed the impress of
his name and principles."
300 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn, XII.
Dick Wilson that ' nothing in life would give him so
much pleasure as to see Eldon hanged in his robes.' "
"25th.
". . . Sefton and I had a long conversation with
Howick* when everybody else was gone to bed. It
is quite impossible that any one could cut a better
figure, either for good sense or for good and honorable
principles. The Rump of his father's Government
would have applied to him in vain to take office with
such rubbish, after their treatment of Lord Grey. . . .
Lord and Lady Frederick FitzClarence went away
yesterday. . . . He is much the best looking of the
King's sons.f . . . The little wife, Lady Augusta,!
tho' about the shyest person I ever saw, disclosed
symptoms both of sense and character. She has seen
a great deal of the Queen, whom she pronounces to
be both sensible and good-natured, but that, after
living fourteen years in England, she has not a single
English notion. The Queen's fix'd impression is that
an English revolution is rapidly approaching, and that
her own fate is to be that of Marie Antoinette, and she
trusts she shall be able to act her part with more
courage. She only approves of the Duke of Welling-
ton, as being the only man to stem the revolutionary
current, having an old grudge against him and having
very often abused him in Lady Augusta's presence,
for having turn'd them out of the Admiralty, for his
uncourteous manner of doing it, and for the dis-
respectful way in which he always treated the King
when he was Duke of Clarence. . . . Brougham, in
his letter to Sefton yesterday, let off a madder prank
than ever : viz. that he had written to Lyndhurst
offering to be Chief Baron for nothing, by which 7000
a year would be saved to the nation, he being quite
* Afterwards 3rd Earl Grey : died 1894.
f By Mrs. Jordan. The eldest was created Earl of Minister ; the
remainder received the rank of the sons and daughters of a marquess.
% Daughter of the 4th Earl of Glasgow.
During Wellington's premiership he had been obliged to take
grave exception to certain proceedings of the Duke of Clarence in his
office of Lord High Admiral. First he reprimanded him very sharply,
and finally he removed His Royal Highness from office altogether.
1834.] VISIT AT HOWICK. 3OI
contented with his pension as ex-Chancellor of 5000
a year. . . . Whether this is pure spite to Scarlett, or
pure, unadulterated insanity I know not; but I do
know how so ridiculous a proposition will be treated.
. . . Lyndhurst is civil and dry in his answer (a copy
of which Grey has shown me), and says that the Duke
and himself will call the earliest attention of Peel to
the proposal when he returns. Ld. Grey did not tell
me who sent him the copies of these letters, but I take
for granted it was Lord Holland, and that Brougham
had purposely selected Holland as the repository of
these confidential letters, and under the most positive
injunctions of secrecy, well knowing it was the best
chance for publicity ! "
" Dec. 3.
" Well, the curtain is about to drop upon my four
weeks' visit to an ex-Prime Minister. As yesterday
was a blank day for London letters, Sefton at different
times expressed his delight at the prospect of this
morning and the news it would bring very like an
indication of ennui, you'll say. . . . Lord Grey only
smiled and said : ' I don't expect any news, and
I don't want any.' At the accustomed hour of ten
this morning, there stood a pile of letters on his
plate, making, I should think, his legal number
fifteen.* So, having been some time employed in
opening them and circulating their enclosures, either
by flinging them or sending them on plates to their
proper owners, he said at last : ' It's funny enough,
of all these letters, there is not one for myself!'
A very good picture, this, for politicians to study,
and a very pretty portrait of a retired one. The
same tranquillity and cheerfulness, amounting almost
to playfulness, instead of subsiding have rather
encreased during my stay, and have never been
interrupted by a single moment of thoughtfulness or
gloom. He could not have felt more pleasure from
carrying the Reform Bill, than he does apparently
when he picks up half-a-crown from me at cribbage.
A curious stranger would discover no out-of-the-way
* I.e. the number which, as a peer, he was entitled to receive free
of postage in one day.
302 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XII.
talent in him, no powers of conversation; a clever
man in discussion, certainly, but with no fancy, and no
judgment (or very little) in works either of fancy or
art. A most natural, unaffected, upright man, hos-
Eitable and domestic ; far surpassing any man one
nows in his noble appearance and beautiful simplicity
of manners, and equally surpassing all his contem-
poraries as a splendid publick speaker. Take him
all in all, I never saw his fellow ; nor can I see any
imitation of him on the stocks. . . .
" I never mentioned to you a specimen of Lady
Grey's moral creed as given me by herself. It
was just after Lady T had left us; so, being
alone, she said to me : ' I like Lady T : she
is always good-humoured, and she amuses me ; and
as she never says anything to offend me or those
belonging to me, I don't feel I have anything to do
with Mr. Thompson or any other of the lovers which
she has had. The same with Madame de Dino and
the Duchess of B ; they are always very good-
humoured and are very agreeable company ; and as
they never say anything to offend me, I have nothing
to do with all the different lovers they are said to have
had. I take no credit to myself for being different
from them : mine is a very lucky ' case. Had I, in the
accident of marriages, been married to a man for whom
I found I had no respect, I might have done like them,
for what I know. I consider mine as a case of luck.'
" Droll, wasn't it ? "
"Tower, Dec. 20.
". . . Lyndhurst said to some one yesterday:
' D'ye know where Peel's letter was concocted ? '
'No/ said the other. 'At Brooks's ! ' said Lynd-
hurst. What a wag. I should say it would do for
the present, and until the Irish Church comes upon the
stage, or any other similar puzzler. I don't feel any
wish to disturb such a government as long as they
keep to such a text. How Goulburn, Knatchbull, &c.,
are to swallow such Liberalism I neither know nor
care. However, our people are all up in arms against
what they call the humbug of Jenny." *
* Peel.
1834.] AT HOLLAND HOUSE AGAIN. 303
" Greenwich Hospital, Dec. 23rd.
" Our party at dinner on Sunday at Lord Holland's
was the Duchess of Bedford, Duke of Devonshire,
Mulgrave, B. Thompson, Bickersteth and some one
else I forget. I never was acquainted with the
Duchess of Bedford, and since I delivered her of her
London Bedford House in 1808, have always been
glad not to come in her way. However, on Sunday
she began before dinner, . . . and when there was an
opening after dinner she said 'Well, tho' I have
never had a house in London fit to live in since that
disappointment, I quite forgive you ; and I hope you
will come and see me at Woburn at any time you like.
... I dine at the Hollands again on Xmas day
again to meet that lively man, the Duke of Devon-
shire ! But we shall have no want of vivacity on that
jolly day, as the Duke of Norfolk dines there likewise.
... I had two conversations yesterday, each with a
Hume the first, 'Joe' the second, Wellington's
doctor whom you will remember. The first was
quite positive that Peel could not number 200 sup-
porters. My other friend, to my surprise, turned
about with me, and expressed to me his fixed con-
viction that every attempt of the Duke and Peel to
procure a favorable House of Commons would fail."
( 304 )
CHAPTER XIII.
1835-1836
IN the remaining years of Creevey's life he continued
comfortably withdrawn from active political strife,
though he continued to take a keen interest in all that
was passing. He lived chiefly with the Seftons ; but,
despite his deafness ; continued in great request as a
diner-out. Repeated attacks of influenza, treated by
cupping, which he mentions as a notable improvement
upon the old lancet bleeding, made him subject to long
periods of feebleness ; but his pen continued almost
as busy as ever.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Brooks's, April 29th, 1835
". . . We have an affair going on between Alvanley
and O'Connell. Alvanley challenged him directly
when he called him a 'bloated buffoon.' Darner
Dawson is Alvanley's bottle-holder, and as Dan had
returned no answer to the demand upon him yester-
day, w r hich was supposed ample time, Dawson fired a
second shot into him. / think Alvanley quite wrong
in this, but Sefton is quite of a contrary opinion."
"May 5th.
". . . About this nonsense of Alvanley's, I consider
every part of Alvanley's conduct as faulty. His first
movement against O'Connell was political; it was to
1835-36.] CREEVEY AS AN ONLOOKER. 305
create disunion between O'Connell and his tail and
the Whigs. Then I know that this arose from spite,
Alvanley having been lately refused a place in the
Household which he asked for. Then the publicity
he has given to his challenge of O'Connell is against
all rule. However, he has been at last accommodated
by one of the O'Connell family, who had 3 shots at
him last night in a duel, and no harm done to either
party. . . . Alas, alas, the Widow's Mite (you know
that is the name that has been given by some wag to
Johnny Russell)* has been beaten black and blue in
Devonshire. . . .
"As I was walking just now, according to my
constant custom, in the enclosure in St. James's Park,
who should I meet but Bessy Holyoake, alias Good-
rick, all alone, having dismissed her footman at the
gate, and we had a charming walk quite round the
whole, in the course of which we met, nrst Rogers and
Mrs. Norton arm in arm ; then Goodrick, the Duke of
Richmond and Graham, ditto ; then Lord Durham and
his 3 children."
" Brooks's, i6th.
". . . After our signal triumph in Yorkshire, which
was quite invaluable if our blockheads would have
left it alone, they must make that marplot Littleton a
peer,t and so open Staffordshire, as if the puppy had
not done mischief enough last year when, by his
intrigues with O'Connell, he forced Lord Grey out
of the Government. Three days ago in my favorite
resort in St. James's Park I met Brougham walking.
. . . He joined me my first time of seeing him since
the explosion; and a more unsatisfactory, rambling
discourse I never had dealt out to me very, very long
and, as far as he dared, abusing everybody. I was
heartily glad when this mass of insincere jaw came
to a close by his going to the House of Lords. Figure
to yourself at this moment, O'Connell and myself
seated at the same table writing, very near each other,
and no one else in the room, and yet no intercourse
between us, tho' formerly we always spoke. This is
* Lord John Russell, who was of very diminutive stature, had just
married the widow of the 2nd Lord Ribblesdale.
f Lord Hatherton.
VOL. II. X
306 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. ' [Cn. XIII.
no matter of choice with me, nor do I like it, but after
his abuse of Lord Grey, I made up my mind never to
speak to him again."
" May 20th.
". . . Lord Essex told me on Sunday morning here
that Lady Grey was very anxious I should not fail her
that day, as she relied upon my protection of her
against Sir Joseph Copley, of whom she was horribly
afraid. However, when I arrived there I found there
was not much danger of her being overpowered by
Copley. It is true he was there, as were his daughters
' Coppy ' and Lady Howick ; * but there were likewise
Lord and Lady Morley, Lord and Lady Granville and
Col. Carradock (as the puppy calls himself instead of
Cradock), with whiskers quite enough to deter Cop-
ley from any personal attack on Lady Grey, besides
her own private body-guard of Howick, Charles
and Frederic, with Ladies Elizabeth and Georgiana.
'Coppy' fell to my lot, and I did all I could to be
agreeable to her at dinner ; but both she and Maria,
from the manner in which they shook hands with me
at first, gave me a kind of formal notice not to presume
upon it or be too familiar with them. I dare say, in
fact, that, knowing my intimacy with the Greys, and
feeling their own artificial situation in the same
quarter, they consider me rather an enemy. To be
sure, they had no great reason to be set up with the
attentions of either my lord or my lady. T hey knoiv
that they both think Ly. Howick infernally imperti-
nent, as most assuredly she is.f
" In the evening we had a truly select addition to
our dinner party, consisting of the Dow. Duchess of
Sutherland, who, as Lady Elizabeth Bulteel and I
agreed, has all the appearance of a wicked old
woman. Her son and the young Duchess too a
daughter of Lord Carlisle's, and a cousin, pretty
enough and amiable and good, I dare say, but with
such nonsensical ruffs and lappets and tippets about
* Sir Joseph's daughter Maria had been married to Lord Howick
in 1832.
t Lady Howick had been brought up in a family of Tories, which
no doubt affected Creevey's opinion of her, though they had been the
best of friends before her marriage.
1835-36.] LADY GREY AT HOME. 37
her neck and throat that, coupled with her brother
Morpeth's constant grin, gives you a strong suspicion
of her being a Cousin Betty.
" My ears were much gratified by hearing the names
' Lord and Lady John Russell ' announced ; and in
came the little things, as merry looking as they well
could be, but really much more calculated, from their
size, to show off on a chimney-piece than to mix and
be trod upon in company. To think of her having had
four children * is really beyond ! when she might pass
for 14 or 15 with anybody. Everybody praises her
vivacity, agreeableness and good nature very much,
so it is all very well. . . . We had rather an interest-
ing sprinkling of foreigners too first and foremost
my own well-beloved and honest Alava, then the
ingenuous Pozzo [di Borgo], with his niece Madame
Pozzo a very pretty, nice, merry looking young
woman. ... It was a great treat to me, too, to see
at our party for the first time in my life Sebastiani,
with his wife, sister to Lady Tankerville.f . . . Let
me not omit to mention that this corps diplomatique
was closed by the arrival of our Mandeville,{ who now
turns his eyes from me as if he loathed me, probably
attributing Lord Grey's altered manner to him to my
having shown him up as he deserves. I beg Cupid
Palmerston's pardon ! he, too, was there, as also was
Lady Cowper, if you come to that. . . . Well, Barry,
as for our Buckingham Palace yesterday never was
there such a specimen of wicked, vulgar profusion. It
has cost a million of money, and there is not a fault
that has not been committed in it. You may be sure
there are rooms enough, and large enough, for the
money; but for staircases, passages, &c., I observed
that instead of being called Buckingham Palace, it
should be the 'Brunswick Hotel.' The costly orna-
ments of the state rooms exceed all belief in their bad
taste and every species of infirmity. Raspberry-
coloured pillars without end, that quite turn you sick
to look at ; but the Queen's paper for her own apart-
ments far exceed everything else in their ugliness and
* By her first husband, Lord Ribblesdale.
t A daughter of Antoine, Due de Grammont.
| Afterwards 6th Duke of Manchester.
308 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. XIII.
vulgarity. . . . The marble single arch in front of the
Palace cost 100,000* and the gateway in Piccadilly t
cost 40,000. Can one be surprised at people becoming
Radical with such specimens of royal prodigality before
their eyes ? to say nothing of the characters of such
royalties themselves."
" Stoke, August 23.
". . . There was a prodigious to-do at the Castle
here the day before yesterday, it being Billy's
seventieth birthday a dinner to 150 and tea party to
as many more ; in short, to all the nibberhood, always
excepting poor Stoke, the residence of Maria Craven,
Billy's first love.t Oh perfidious Billy! but as Sefton
told me, this omission was quite a matter of course,
the family not having written their names at the
Castle this year. . . . You will be glad to know that
amongst the visitors at the Castle, the Lord Mayor
had the honor to be one, and not only to dine, but
to stay all night. This said Lord Mayor, Win-
chester, is a stationer; and having been employed
by a Tory Government for supply of the Treasury,
was formally dismissed by the same Government,
by regular Treasury minute, for cheating that was
all. Another favored guest, both for bed and board,
was Walter, M.P. for Berkshire, formerly proprietor
and editor of the Times newspaper.
" 17, St. James St., 29 January, 1836.
". . . There never was such a coup as this Muni-
cipal Reform Bill has turned out to be. It marshals
all the middle classes in all the towns of England in
the ranks of Reform ; aye, and gives them monstrous
power too. I consider it a much greater blow to
Toryism than the Reform Bill itself; tho' I admit
it could never have been effected without the latter
passing first. It is a curious thing to be obliged to
admit, but it is perfectly true, that Melbourne and
* Now the Marble Arch in Hyde Park,
f Now at the entrance to Constitution Hill.
J The Countess of Sefton, See vol. ii. p. 212.
1835-36.] "BEAR" ELLICE. 309
the leavings of Lord Grey's Government are much
stronger than Lord Grey's Government was when
it was at its best. Altho', as old Talleyrand observed,
Melbourne may be trop camarade for a Prime Minister
in some things, yet it is this very familiar, unguarded
manner, when it is backed by perfect integrity and
quite sufficient talent, that makes him perfectly in-
valuable and invulnerable."
"Brooks's, Feb.
". . . The great object of my curiosity at present
is to see and get hold 01 our Ellice,* who is just fresh
from Paris, after a residence of some time there. He
has had two very distinguished playfellows there,
with whom he has almost entirely lived the first,
Madame Lieven the other, no less than Philippe,
who could scarcely bear to have him out of his sight.
Madame Lieven's attachment to him was intelligible
enough. She knows her man, and would be quite
sure to know everything that he knows of Lord
Durham and his mission every secret (if they have
any) of the present Government, and every opinion
entertained by Lord Grey. What is the bond of
union between the Bear t and the King of the French
I am yet to learn. . . . Ellice is very vain (and who is
not ?) ; he is a sieve, and so much the more agreeable
for those who squeeze him. . . . What say you to our
own Stanley ? was there ever such a case of suicide ?
I really think if I saw him in the street I should try
to avoid him to save his blushes ; yet perhaps such
things are unknown to him."
" March
"... I never dined with Lady Holland after all,
but sent an excuse on account of my gout. I really
can't stand the artificial bother and crowded table of
her house. I admit that no one can sail thro' such
difficulties better than myself; but still, her presump-
tion is not to be endured. How different from the
affable demeanour of Marianne Abercromby with
whom and Mr. Speaker I am to have the honor of
* The Right Hon. Edward Ellice, M.P. f Ellice.
310 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XIII.
dining this day ; * and our Duke Barney f is to take
me there."
" 22nd.
". . . The town at present is kept in perpetual
motion by the Duchess of Kent, everybody going to
her fetes at Kensington to see the young King of
Portugal, her nephew. Lady Louisa [Molyneux] tells
me that he is an innocent looking lad of 20, and that
he never seems happy but when talking to his cousin
Victoria, and that then they seem both supremely
so. What wd. I give to hear of their elopement in
a cab / . . . I declare I have not read anything for
ages that has interested me so much as the Duke of
Wellington's examination and evidence before the
Flogging Commission in the Times of to-day. It is
the image of him in his best and most natural state,
and very entertaining and instructive."
" 28th.
". . . My sister used to reproach me for letting so
many of my companions ' get before me ' in life, and
used to instance Scarlett being a lord and Western
too ; but her best case would have been Abercromby,
who was a suitor to me thirty years ago for any office
that would secure him food ; and here he is Speaker
of the House of Commons ! entertaining me in one of
the finest houses in London, and with the finest com-
pany. We had a great turn out at dinner there on
Saturday the Dukes of Norfolk and Devonshire,
Lord and Lady Seymour, Lord and Lady Howick, the
oung Bear and Mrs. Ellice, Charles Fox and Lady
"ary, Lords Palmerston, Strafford and Ebrington,
&c., &c."
"Stoke, Aprils.
". . . Our family here [the Seftons] was put rather
in a fuss yesterday by receiving a letter from Lady
Craven, informing Lady Sefton officially and at some
length that her daughter's intended marriage with
* The Right Hon. James Abercromby was Speaker from 1835 to
1839-
f The Duke of Norfolk.
1835-36.] ACTION AGAINST LORD MELBOURNE. 311
Tom Brand * was broken off by the young lady her-
self, who found out at last (for the wedding day was
very near) that she really could not like him enough
to marry him. Her principal objection against him
is that he never opens his mouth and that he pro-
scribes any connection with a book. A lively,
interesting companion, it must be admitted.f Mrs.
Norton has quitted her husband, upon a quarrel
about a man whose name I forget. She is not,
however, gone off with this man, but gone to the
Sheridans."
" Jermyn St., April 23.
"... I dined with Madagascar % at Holland House,
a small party, and for once, to my delight, plenty of
elbow-room. . . . Whilst Holland House can be as
agreeable a house as any I know, it is quite as much
at other times distinguished for twaddle, and so it was
on this occasion."
" Brooks's, May I3th. '
". . . Melbourne has been very ill, but is better,
and will do. Young, his secretary, told me that he
had been terribly annoyed by the Norton concern.
The insanity of men writing letters in such cases is to
me incomprehensible. She has plenty of Melbourne's
and others, but according to what is considered the
best authority, the Solicitor General of the Tories
Follett has saved Melbourne, tho' employed against
him. Follett is said to have asked Norton if it was
true that he had ever walked with Mrs. Norton to
Lord Melbourne's house, and then left her there.
Upon Norton's saying that was so, Follett told him
there was an end of his action.
" The jaw about this case is now succeeded by the
breaking off of the marriage between Ld. Villiers and
* Afterwards 22nd Lord Dacre.
t In 1840 Lady Louisa Craven married Sir G. F. Johnstone, Bart.,
and after his death she married Alexander Oswald of Auchencruive in
1844.
t Lady Holland.
The jury, without leaving the box, pronounced a verdict
acquitting Lord Melbourne.
312 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. XIII.
Lady Herbert, Lady Pembroke's daughter. Lady
Pembroke's case against Lady Jersey is merely a
charge of an attempt to get her daughter to sign a
paper doing herself out of 20,000 her whole fortune
without any one's knowledge."
" 28th.
" . . Yesterday I dined at Holland House with
my old and tried friend the Speaker, and Marianne
[Hon. Mrs. Abercromby] into the bargain. Such a
fright I never in my life beheld, in a dress far sur-
passing any female crossing-sweeper on May Day. I
arrived just as they had sat down to dinner, with as
little room to turn myself in as ever fell to any man's
lot, and yet I was called to both by Lord and Lady
Holland to leave room for a very distinguished
American gentleman who was expected ; but I would
not hear of such a thing, and this led to a good deal of
fun. The party consisted, besides the Abercrombys,
of Bob Adair, Lord de Ros, the Attorney General and
his wife, the peeress Scarlett's eldest daughter (I
forget her title).* I found her a very nice agreeable
companion, apparently very amiable, and not the
least set up with either her father's peerage or her
own. Dr. Lushington and Fonblanque, a son of old
Fonblanque, and writer of one of the cleverest Sun-
day papers, were the others. I took to Fonblanque
much. The distinguished American arrived a quarter
after eight, the dinner hour having been half-past six ;
but he brought his card of invitation with him to
shew he was right. . . ."
" Stoke Farm, Sept. 6th.
" I came here on Friday ; visitors Charles
Greville, Lords Charleville and Allen, Standish,
Townley, Rogers and C. Grenfell. Townley still
dumb ! f Was there ever ? . . . Sefton asked me if I
* Lady Abinger's eldest daughter, wife of Sir John Campbell, had
just been created Baroness Stratheden, and her husband was sub-
sequently created Baron Campbell in 1841.
t Mr. Townley had been courting Lady Caroline Molyneux, but
delayed coming to the point. In effect, he married her in the
November following.
1835-36.] CASSIOBURY. 313
had heard of , I mean, his cheating at cards, and
upon my saying yes, he said it was all quite true, and
that his practice had been so long known to his
friends that they had remonstrated against his pur-
suing such a course, for fear of detection ; but poor,
dear, insinuating could not resist, and it has
fallen to the lot of George Payne to detect him
publickly. The club is to be dissolved in order to get
rid of him. is gone abroad, and Sefton has a
letter from him the most amusing, wittiest letter
about all he has seen ! . . ."
" Brooks's, Sept. 16.
" Sad work, ladies, sad work ! Not a frank to be
had for love or money, so don't cry if I don't catch
an M.P. before the post ^oes out* I returned from
Cashiobury [Lord Essex s] on Wednesday, and my
visit was alt very well. The Hollands came on
Saturday, with Rogers, Melbourne on Sunday, and
Glenelg on Tuesday. We all left on Wednesday I
in Glenelg's carriage. I had :the offer of Rogers's
carriage all to myself; but I declined attending the
funeral ; by which I mean Lady Holland's procession.
She moves in her own coach and four horses her
stipulated pace being four miles an hour, to avoid
jolting! She makes Rogers go in her coach with
Holland and herself, all the windows up; then
Rogers's chariot follows empty, then my lady's chaise
and pair of posters, containing her maid, her rubber,
page, footmen, &c. . . . Essex is a man of very few
words for compliments; but I took it as a real
civility when he said : ' I ordered for you, Creevey,
the room that poor George Tierney was so fond of,
and always had.' Certainly, a more perfect apart-
ment t never had. Essex and Lady Holland were
growling at one another all the time, but she was
always the aggressor. Melbourne and Holland were
all good nature and gaiety. The only drawback to
my amusement was owing to my great folly in walk-
ing on Monday to see the Birmingham railroad t now
* He did catch one, and the letter is franked by Mr. Kemeys-Tynte.
t Opened in 1837: now part of the London and North Western
system.
3*4 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XIII.
making, being about four miles there and back, which
has made me dead lame. ... I think our Madagascar
is evidently failing : she looks wretchedly, and there
is an evident languor upon her that even victuals and
liquor don't remove. She came one day and sat close
beside me in the library ; and when she had begun to
talk to me, a little, tidy old woman came and went
down on her marrow-bones, and begun to put her
hands up her petticoats. So of course I was for
backing off de suite; but she said: ' Don't go,
Creevey ; it is only my rubber, and she won't disturb
us.'"
" Brooks's, 24th.
". . . I dine at Crocky's daily, where I have got
the dinner down to 8s. 6d. tout compris; was I to dine
here, it would certainly be apund. . . . My eye! what
a man Lord Fitzallen is, it you please just intro-
duced about 7 feet high, as red as a turkey-cock and
covered with bushes of black hair in mustachios and
whiskers. Thank God I don't dine with him; he is
really quite disagreeable to look at."
" 3oth.
"... I dined at Poodle Byng's on Monday the
Honble. Mrs. Byng having been lady's maid to the
Poodle's mother. You know I have the greatest
aversion to playing at company with such kind of
tits; but as Charles Greville, Cullen Smith and
Luttrell, and two or three more of your men upon
town took no objection, it was not for me to find
fault."
" Brooks's, Oct. 4th.
". . . When I was at Stoke I fell in love with
Wellington's Peninsular dispatches, published by
Gurwood ; but as my supply from that library is now
cut off, and the book itself too dear to buy, I am
living upon Napier's Peninsular War, which has been
given me by Lord Allen, because he hates it so much.
. . . Napier is a clever man, and has taken great pains
with his subject ; but he undertakes too much in his
criticism upon all the French generals in Spain, and
1835-36.] DEATH OF CHARLES X. 315
all their acts. The Beau,* the real official and efficient
observer of all, pretends to no such universal insight
into the tactics of his enemy as is claimed by this
subaltern in his own camp.t . . ."
"8th.
". . . I shall certainly take your advice and sub-
scribe to a circulating library ; but I have enough on
my hands at present with Napier, who rises 'in my
estimation every page I read of him. His defence of
poor Moore is perfect. ... I think when I next see
the portrait of that villain Frere hung up at Holland
House, I shall not be able to contain myself."
"Nov. i ;th.
". . . Sefton said before dinner yesterday : ' So
Charles Dix J is dead ! ' and scarce an observation
was made from any quarter upon this event. The
first year you and I, Barry, were at Knowsley, I saw
the said Charles Dix with his son and Berri and their
respective gentlemen, going in two coaches and four
to Croxteth. They did this for years. When the
restoration in France took place, there was nothing
that Charles Dix and his family did not do to show
their gratitude to the Seftons for past kindness. . . .
I was present in Arlington Street when the French
Ambassador brought, by command of Charles Dix, as
a present to Lady Sefton, his picture, with the prettiest
note possible, saying it was great vanity in so old a
man for him to send his picture to a lady, but hoping
she would receive it as an acknowledgment of all the
kindness he had received from her. When the last
Revolution took place in 1830, and Charles Dix came
here, Sefton shewed me a letter from Sir Arthur
Paget (who had likewise been a personal friend of
Charles Dix), saying he considered it his duty to go
and pay his respects to him, and asking Sefton to
* The Duke of Wellington.
t There is some justice in this criticism : at the same time it must
be remembered that Wellington's despatches were contemporaneous ;
whereas Napier was writing years afterwards, and with knowledge
gained from the enemy's secret correspondence.
J King of France,
316 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XIII.
accompany him. Sefton declined, and never did see
him. I think I can safely say I would not have acted
thus for all Sefton's property. . . . After all, Sefton
will die an unhappy man, with all the means the
world can give him to make himself, and all around
him, happy."
5. Marjoribanks, M.P. for Hythe, to Mr. Creevey.
11 1 am just now moving my quarters in London,
and I find that I have about 3 dozen of the old East
India Sherry more than my bin will hold. Will you
oblige me by accepting it ?
"S. MARJORIBANKS."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Nov. 24th.
". . . The Times newspaper had a statement from
's camp proclaiming his innocence. This is
replied to by another statement in the Chronicle of
to-day evidently an official article from the camp of
Payne and Co., charging distinctly as a cheat,
as no doubt he is. Even his friend the Pet* gives him
up and refuses to see him. He has, it is true, some
little cause of resentment against him, being sure,
as he tells me, that and Montrond cheated him
out of ;6ooo the Xmas I met them at Croxteth."
* Lord Sefton.
( 317 )
CHAPTER XIV., AND LAST.
1837-1838.
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Jermyn St., Jany. I4th, 1837.
"... I am caught at last by that infernal influenza.
It's the most marvellous concern I ever heard of
nothing but common snivelling and wholesome
coughing, and yet producing such depression and in-
capacity as really to be beyond. No appetite, of
course."
" 20th.
". . . What a figure Peel makes with his Scotch
sentiment, his scenery, his young shepherd who was
so instructive to hear! The poor Spinning Jenny
has acquired great power both of thinking and speak-
ing, but his works of fancy betray his origin. They
are as like his father as ever they can be. I heard the
father once say : ' I say, Mr. Speaker, Britannia is
seated on a rock ! ' Here they are, you see, both alike
in their clumsy capers after sentiment. Only think of
old Peel and Sheridan ! and yet oh dear, oh dear ! the
difference of their deaths. I should like to have heard
old Sherry's comments upon young Peel's speeches.
... I am happy to say that the mischievous crew
Sir Wm. Molesworth, Roebuck, my Napier and Co.
are becoming quite blown upon by their brother
Radicals, which will be a monstrous relief to the
Government in the approaching session. . . ."
" Brooks's, March nth.
". . . I dined on Sunday at Sefton's to meet
Brougham, with Denman, Radnor and others. . . .
318 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XIV.
Just as we were going away, Brougham took me aside,
and, to my great surprise, asked me if I would dine
with him alone as yesterday at 6 o'clock, and that he
would show me some most curious correspondence of
George the third. I, of course, expected to be put off
every day, but no such thing. . . . After dinner,
Brougham read the correspondence to me till between
ii and 12 o'clock and I have much more to come. It
consisted of letters from George the 3rd to Lord
North as his minister, during the whole of his long
administration.* Talk of the Creevey papers, my dear !
would that they contained these royal letters ! I have
never seen anything approaching them in interest
the cleverness of the writer, even in his style his
tyranny his insight into everything his criticism
upon every publick parliamentary man his hatred of
Lord Chatham and Fox, and all such rebellious
subjects his revenge ; but at the same time and
throughout, his most consistent and even touching
affection for Lord North. . . . You would be amused
to see the effect produced upon the Whig Govern-
ment by this conduct of Brougham to myself. . . .
[They are] most desirous for me to make some kind
of opening between them and Brougham, for there is
no kind of communication between them, and they
feel it most unpleasant to see him every night in the
House of Lords, and never to feel sure whether he
will pounce upon them or not. Oh dear ! to think of
the prudent Mr. Thomas being called in to settle such
matters ! "
" 1 8th.
". . . Would you believe it that when Brougham
was Chancellor he would press the correspondence
between George the 3rd and Lord North upon our
William, ... his object being that the King might
see what a constant and valuable support his father
gave to his Ministers, and so induce King William to
do the same ; but all the observation he could get from
his master was this : ' George the 3rd, my lord, was
a party man, which I am not in the least.' "
* Correspondence of George III. with Lord North from 1768 to
1783, edited by W. Bodham Donne, 1867.
1837-38-] DEATH OF MRS. FITZHERBERT. 319
" Brooks's, April 21.
"As to poor Mrs. Fitzherbert, I wish, as you say,
you had some little picture of her. She was the best-
hearted and most discreet human being that ever was,
to be without a particle of talent. Finding she was in
town before Xmas, and dining most days at home with
Lady Aldborough, Lady Radnor and others, I made
an attempt to be taken into the same party, but
entirely failed. Mrs. F. said she had known me
formerly, but that I had long ceased to call upon her.
My offence I always felt and knew to be my foul
language about Prinney when he sought to destroy
his wife. Mrs. F. might think that my former inter-
course with him should have restrained this vitupera-
tion, and that even on her account I shd. have stopt
my mouth. Poor thing, I dare say she was right ; but
it was more than flesh and blood could resist not to
have a blow at such a villain in the perpetration
of such an act of infamy and oppression. She
has left her house in town and her jewels to Mrs.
Darner ; her house at Brighton and everything else
to Mrs. Jerningham. I remember her telling me
a great many years ago that she had been offered
20,000 for her town house. She can have left no
other property. About a year ago, she deposited all
her letters and papers of every description in the
hands of the Duke of Wellington and Lord Albemarle,
for the purpose of being destroyed by them, as I am
told they were; but I shall ask Albemarle for an
account of the transaction. She formerly expressed
to me great anxiety to have her correspondence
published after her death talked of having two copies
made of it for fear of being betrayed by her executors,
and at one time I almost thought she would have
given me one of such copies. . . . Now then, attend
to Albemarle's account just given to me by him as to
Mrs. Fitzherbert's letters. She gave these letters to
Lord Albemarle about fifteen years ago, to be kept by
him till further directions ; her wish being that after
her death they might be published. Upon the death
of the late King,* the Duke of Wellington, as his
* George IV.
320 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. XIV.
executor, became possessed of all Mrs. Fitzherbert's
letters, which, singularly enough, had been preserved
with equal care by Prinney. Mrs. Fitzherbert applied
to the Duke to have her letters restored to her ; but
he refused, unless she consented to restore the King's
letters likewise. This led to a negociation between
the Duke and Albemarle; and finally it was agreed
between them, with Mrs. Fitzherbert's concurrence,
that they should all be burnt, and so they were, at
Mrs. Fitzherbert's own house, in the presence of her-
self, the Duke and Albemarle. Oh dear, oh dear!
that I could not have seen them. They begun in
1785 and lasted to 1806 one and twenty years. The
last year 1806 was when the young man fell in love
with Lady Hertford, and used to cry, as I have often
seen him do, in Mrs. Fitzherbert's presence. So it
was high time for their correspondence to cease."
"24th.
". . . I must let Albemarle rest for the present.
His recollections must be full of interesting matter
from Mrs. Fitzherbert's letters, which, at proper
seasons, one must endeavour to squeeze out of him.
Lady Sefton learnt from Darner Dawson * that both
the houses in London and Brighton were left to
Minny [Mrs. Dawson-Damer], and 20,000 stock, with
all the jewels, and half of her plate ; the other half to
Mrs. Jerningham, to whom she says in her will she
had given 15,000 during her life. 1000 each to her
nieces Lady Bathurst and Mrs. Craven, and there are
annuities to the amount of 1000 a year, to which
Minny is subject till they drop in.
" 1 must just mention another species of property
that our Prinney died possessed of. Perhaps no man,
Prince or subject, ever left such a wardrobe behind
him as our George the 4th, and the Duke of Welling-
ton, as his executor, had to examine all his coat
pockets, in which he found notes without end, broken
fans, &c., &c. Now I have not the least doubt that
what Lord Cowley told Lady Cowley was strictly
true, viz., that the Duke, in telling this to his brother,
* The Right Hon. G. Dawson-Damer, father of the 4th Earl of
Portarlington.
1837-38.] DEATH OF WILLIAM IV. 321
never let him see any one of these notes, or know
any one of their contents. The letters burnt at Mrs.
Fitzherbert's were so numerous, that they had to stop
every now and then, from the excessive heat produced.
... I dine at our Essex's to-day to meet our ' Clunch '
Althorp, now Earl Spencer, and, as I hope, Melbourne.
... I was much amused at seeing our young Victoria
playing the popular to her people on the Birthday.
She passed this house [Brooks's] in state four royal
carriages and an escort of Horse Guards. The
mother had judiciously chosen a chariot for herself
and daughter, so they were both visible to all. The
young one was rather too short to nod quite above
the door, but she was always at it as well as she
could, and the mother looked quite enchanted at her
daughter's reception."
" May 2.
". . . Altho' I had Tavistock * to dinner at Essex's,
as well as Clunch, f it was no great day in point of
vivacity. Clunch mutters, and the amiable Tavistock
is feeble. One thing I heard from Althorp f which I
never knew for certain before, that when Lord Grey's
Government came in, one of their first acts was to
offer Burdett a peerage, which he refused. Having
known and watched Burdett for nearly 40 years, I
am perfectly certain that his present hostility to the
Government is attributable to the jealousy of his
character. Ever since I have known him, he would
have no rival ; and the unexpected and successful one
he has found in Howick has driven him mad. . . . As
you observe, there is a very general impression that
Vic is a person with a will of her own."
On 2oth June King William breathed his last, and
all eyes were directed upon the maiden who, little as
statesmen could expect it of her, was destined to
redeem the Monarchy from the dangerous disfavour
into which it had been dragged. The circumstances
* Afterwards 7th Duke of Bedford,
t The 3rd Earl Spencer.
VOL. II. Y
322 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. XIV.
of the memorable Accession have been told so often
that a few quotations only will serve from Creevey's
abundant references thereto.
" Brooks's, June 2oth.
" I cannot resist telling you that our dear little
Queen in every respect is perfection. I learnt first of
all from the Duke of Argyll that, all the Privy Coun-
cillors being assembled round the Council table, the
Dukes of Cumberland and Sussex went into an adjoin-
ing room, and conducted the Queen in. She took her
chair at the head of the table and read her declaration
in the most perfect manner possible, and with a most
powerful and charming voice. I have since had all
the particulars from Tavistock, who had them from
Melbourne himself. She sent for him at once, and
begged him to draw up the declaration she ought to
make ; which of course he did, and everybody says
it is admirable. She then put herself Entirely in his
hands in the best possible manner. . . . Poor dear
King William's last act was signing pardons. Dear
Lady Sefton has just been crying to me on horseback
in the street at her early and royal friend dying so
beautifully."*
" July 24th.
". . . Friday I dined at Rogers's, and thought I
understood from him that Lady Holland was to be
my only companion, my lord being picked up by the
Queen. Instead of that, however, I found in addition
to Madagascar, Lord and Lady Langdale, the Ameri-
can Minister (Stevenson) and his lady, Lady Seymour,
Mrs. Abercromby, Lord Minto, Pow Thompson, Miss
Rogers and Allen. ... I sat between Lady Langdale
and Mrs. Abercromby . . . the only drawback to our
communications was that I presently found we three
had only three ears between us.
11 On Saturday I dined at Dulwich ; dinner in the
picture gallery for 30 a triennial dinner to savants
and virtuosos. Our artists were Chantrey, Wilson,
Barry, Wilkie, &c., &c., our Mecaenases, Lansdowne,
* See vol. ii. p. 212.
1837-38-] THE YOUNG QUEEN. 323
Sutherland and Argyll, the latter of whom carried me
in his barouche poets and wags, Rogers, Sidney
Smith and Creevey ! . . . Lord Grey . . . says that in
the House of Lords he actually cried from pleasure at
the Queen's voice and speech ; and he added that,
after seeing and hearing three Sovereigns of England,
the present one surpasses them all easy in every
respect."
"2 9 th.
f "... A word or two about Vic. She is as much
idolised as ever, except by the Duchess of Sutherland,
who received a very proper snub from her two days
ago. She was half an hour late for dinner, so little
Vic told her that she hoped it might not happen
another time ; for, tho' she did not mind in the least
waiting herself, it was very unpleasant to keep her
company waiting. One day at dinner Lady Georgiana
Grey sat next Madame Lutzen, a German who has
been Vic's governess from her cradle ; and according
to her there never was so perfect a creature. She
said that now Vic was at work from morning to
night ; and that, even when her maid was combing
out her hair, she was surrounded by official boxes
and reading official papers."
Earl of Essex to Mr. Creevey.
"9, Belgrave Square, 7 Aug., 1837.
"DEAR CREEVEY,
" The Duke of Sussex has at last decided to
dine here next Saturday the i2th. Therefore I hope
I shall see you on that day. . . . Lord Munster has
pleaded in forma pauberis to retain the round Tower
at Windsor, and I near pays about 1000 a year.
The Duke of Sussex in the handsomest manner
324 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. XIV.
possible gave up his claim, and J:he Queen most
kindly returned the baton to LorcTMunster, who will
of course vote against us. ... So the Duchess of St.
Albans is dead, and Lyndhurst married at Paris to
Lewis Goldsmith's daughter. There are two great
people amply provided for ! "
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Brooks's, Sept. 6th.
". . . Lady Tavistock and I had a most confidential
walk and talk. You have heard me say what a gaby
she is ; but she is all truth and daylight. She told me
she was in the second carriage after Vic on Sunday
at Windsor ; and that the Queen according to her
custom, being cold in the carriage, had got out to
walk, and of course all her ladies had to do the same ;
and the ground being very wet their feet soon got
into the same state. Poor dear Lady Tavistock, when
she got back to the Castle, could get at no dry stock-
ings, her maid being out and her cloathes all locked
up;. ... I am sure from Lady Tavistock that she
thinks the Queen a resolute little tit. . . ."
" Jermyn Street, Sept. 22.
". . . I have taken to Wellington and his dispatches
again, and the more I read of him the fonder I am of
him. He really is in every respect a perfect man. . . .
Palmerston was very communicative at Stoke as to
the great merits of the Queen. He said that any
Ministers who had to deal with her would soon find
she was no ordinary person ; and when Lady Sefton
observed what credit it did the Duchess of Kent to
have made her what she was, Palmerston said the
Duchess of Kent had every kind of merit, but that the
Queen had an understanding of her own that could
have been made by no one. . . . Lady Charlempnt
succeeded Lady Tavistock the other day [in waiting
at Windsor]. She is very, very blue, and asked Lady
T. if she might take any books out of the library. ' Oh
yes, my dear,' said Lady Tavistock, not knowing what
reading means, 'as many as you like;' upon which
1837-38.] BRIGHTON REVISITED. 325
Lady Charlemont swept away a whole row, and was
carrying them away in her apron. Passing thro' the
gallery in this state, whom should she meet but little
Vic ! Great was her perturbation, for in the first place
a low curtsy was necessary, and what was to come
of the books, for they must curtsy too. Then to be
found with all this property within the first half hour
of her coming, and before even she had seen Vic ! . . .
But Vic was very much amused with the thing alto-
gether, laughed heartily and was as good humoured
as ever she could be. . . ."
" Brighton, Oct. 9th.
". . . Now for Brighton! Barry, my dear, it is
detestable : the crowd of unknown human beings is not
to be endured. . . . Whether it is a natural sentiment
or not, I don't know, or whether I mistake ennui for
it, but I have a strong touch of melancholy in com-
paring Brighton of the present with times gone by.
Death has made great havoc in a very short time with
our Royalties of the Pavilion Prinney and ' brother
William,' Duke of York and Duke of Kent, all gone,
and all represented now by little Vic only. Is it not
highly dramatic that the Duke of Kent should have
announced to me in 1818, upon Princess Charlotte's
death, that he was going to marry for the succession,
and named his bride to me ; and here she is, with the
successor by her side, and what is to become of her,
or how she is to turn out, who shall say?
". . . In talking to Lady Cowper of Lord Melbourne,
and, as I suppose, of his health, Vic said : ' He eats
too much, and I often tell him so. Indeed I do so
myself, and my doctor has ordered me not to eat
luncheon any more.' ' And does your Majesty quite
obey him ? ' asked Lady Cowper. ' Why yes, I think
I do,' said Vic, 'for I only eat a little broth.' Now I
think a little Queen taking care of her Prime Minister's
stomach, he being nearly sixty, is everything one could
wish ! If the Tory press could get hold of this fact,
what fun they would make of it. ... The Duchess of
Kent plays whist every night, and a horrible player
she is. Vicky, I am happy to say, always plays chess
with Melbourne when he is there."
326 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XIV.
"Brighton, Oct. 13th.
". . . Yesterday Lady Sefton, her two eldest
daughters and myself, sallied forth in the yellow
coach to dine with the Queen at our own old Pavilion.
Lord Headfort, a chattering, capering, spindle-shanked
gaby, was in waiting, and handed Lady Sefton into
the drawing-room, where I was glad to see Glenelg,
and besides him were Tom Bland and a Portuguese
diplomat, as black in the face as one's hat, but with a
star on his stomach, I assure you ! Presently Head-
fort was summoned away, and on his return he came
up to me with his antics and said : ' Mr. Creevey, you
are to sit on the Duchess of Kent's right hand at
dinner.' Oh, the fright I was in about my right ear !
. . . Here comes in the Queen, the Duchess of Kent
the least bit in the world behind her, all her ladies in
a row still more behind ; Lord Conyngham and Caven-
dish on each flank of the Queen. . . . She was told by
Lord Conyngham that I had not been presented, upon
which a scene took place that to me was truly dis-
tressing. The poor little thing could not get her glove
off. I never was so annoyed in my life; yet what
could I do? but she blushed and laughed and pulled,
till the thing was done, and I kissed her hand. . . .
Then to dinner. . . . The Duchess of Kent was agree-
able and chatty, and she said : ' Shall we drink some
wine?' My eyes, however, all the while were fixed
upon Vic. To mitigate the harshness of any criticism
I may pronounce upon her manners, let me express
my conviction that she and her mother are one. I
never saw a more pretty or natural devotion than she
shows to her mother in everything, and I reckon this
as by far the most amiable, as well as valuable, dis-
position to start with in the fearful struggle she has
in life before her. Now for her appearance but all
in the strictest confidence. A more homely little being
you never beheld, when she is at her ease, and she is
evidently dying to be always more so. She laughs in
real earnest, opening her mouth as wide as it can go,
showing not very pretty gums. . . . She eats quite as
heartily as she laughs, I think I may say she gobbles.
. . . She blushes and laughs every instant in so natural
a way as to disarm anybody. Her voice is perfect, and
V
<0
t,rrf>if/l t
1837-38.] THE MARQUESS WELLESLEY. 327
so is the expression of her face, when she means to say
or do a pretty thing. ... At night I played two rubbers
of whist, one against the Duchess of Kent, and one as
her partner. . . . The Queen, in leaving the room at
night, came across o,uite up to me, and said : ' How
long do you stay at Brighton, Mr. Creevey ? ' Which
I presume could mean nothing else than another
rubber for her mother. So it's all mighty well."
Countess Grey to Mr. Creevey.
" Howick, Oct. loth.
"... I hope you are amused at the report of Lord
Melbourne being likely to marry the Queen. For my
part I have no objection. I am inclined to be very
loyal and fond of her ; she seems to be so considerate
and good-natured, and I am particularly pleased with
her just now for having sent to desire Caroline * to
bring her little girl with her when she is to be in
waiting."
Marquess Wellesley to Mr. Creevey.
"Hurlingham House, Fulham, Oct. 28th, 1837.
"My DEAR MR. CREEVEY,
"In returning my grateful thanks for your
very kind congratulations,! I trust you will believe
that I fully appreciate their value. You are not of
that sect of philologists who hold the use of language
to be the concealment of thought, nor of that tribe of
thinkers whose thoughts require concealment. You
would not congratulate me on the accession of any
false honor, the result of prejudice or error or of the
passionate caprice of party, or of idle vanity, or of any
transient effusion of the folly of the present hour ; but
you think the deliberate approbation of my Govern-
ment in India declared by the Court of Directors (after
the lapse of thirty years after full experience of con-
sequences and results, and after full knowledge of all
* Lady Caroline Barrington, Lady Grey's daughter.
f The East India Company, with whom Wellesley had been at sore
issue in the early years of the century, had just voted ,20,000 to purchase
an annuity for him.
328 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. XIV.
my motives, objects and principles) a just cause of
satisfaction to me. ... In truth they have awarded
to me an inestimable meed of honor, which has healed
much deep sorrow, and which will render the close of
a long public life not only tranquil and happy, but
bright and glorious. . . . Our friend Sir John Harvey
most appropriately has been dubbed a Governor.
What wisdom in those who made the appointment !
1 II est du bois dont on fait les gouverneurs.' He was
certainly born 'your Excellency.' I think I see him
strutting up to his petty throne, preceded by Harry
Grey, Ellice, Shaw, Carnac, &c., with his stomach doubly
embroidered ; condescending to let an occasional foul
pun now and then with majestic benignity."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
"Jermyn St., Nov. 3.
" Both Melbourne and Lord and Lady John Russell
wanted much to know from the Seftons how it was
that I had amused the Duchess of Kent. The only
solution I can offer is this. By common consent, the
Royal evenings are the dullest possible, and no one
presumes to attempt to make them livelier. The
Duchess of Kent is supposed to play at cards to keep
herself awake scarcely ever with success. I can
imagine, therefore, a little running fire of a wag
tickling her ears at the time, and leaving a little
deposit on her memory. I know no other ground on
which I can build my fame. . . . Just let me mention
that the Sir John Harvey, mentioned in Wellesley's
letter as the new governor of Prince Edward's Island,
was at the head of the police when I was in Dublin,
and I met him at dinner at the Lord Lieut's [Wellesley]
a large, handsome man, but by far the most vulgar
would-be gentleman you ever beheld, extremely
dressy withal, and my lord always remembered my
asking ' Who was the gentleman with the em-
broidered stomach ? ' '
" Jermyn St., Nov. loth.
" Let me see ; where am I to begin with my past
movements. Suppose I say Sunday last, when I was
1837-38-] DINNER WITH THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. 32Q
told by Stephenson that the Duke of Sussex desired
particularly that I would dine with him ; so I was
obliged to excuse myself to my Essex, where I was
engaged to meet Sydney Smith. I have yet to learn
why I was so specially summoned by little Sussex, as
there were only his household Ciss * and the men
with Charley Gore and me, and nothing said worth
remembering. . . . Monday at Essex's, with the ac-
customed sprinkling of artists, which I am quite
accustomed to, and indeed like. Tuesday at Charles
Fox's, Addison Road no joke as to distance; 8
shillings coach hire out and back, besides turnpikes !
The company Madagascar,! Allen, Babbage the
philosopher, Hamick (Lord Grey's doctor and
baronet), Van de Weyer, Belgian Minister, Hed-
worth LambtonJ a nd wife, an unknown man, and
Melbourne. ... In the evening we had the bride,
Lady Winchilsea, of whom I had heard so much ;
she certainly did appear to me as beautiful a woman
as I had ever seen. Wednesday at Powell's : com-
pany - Duke of Norfolk, Albemarle, old Billy
Russell,|| Stephenson Blount and myself.
"25th.
"... I dined on this day week at Brougham's a
duet ; and a more artificial chap I never had to do
with ; except, indeed, that his temper not infrequently
betrayed him, and shewed him in a state of the most
spiteful insurrection against the present Govt. You
see he is distinctly shewing his teeth in the Lords,
and will fasten them on the Government before he is
a few days older. I quite approve of what he has
already said there, tho' not of his spiteful motives in
doing it."
* The Duke of Sussex's wife, Lady Cecilia Buggin, afterwards
created Duchess of Inverness.
t Lady Holland.
^ Younger brother of the ist Earl of Durham.
Daughter of the Right Hon. Sir Charles Bagot.
|| Lord William Russell, son of the 4th Duke of Bedford : murdered
by his valet, 1840.
330 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XIV.
" Dec. 4th.
"... I met Hayter one day this week at Lord
Essex's, and asked him to tell me anything new about
the little Queen. He said she was quite as amiable
and kind and lively as ever. He has got on a good
way with the State picture he is making of her. She
said to him the other day : ' I am very curious to
know how you mean to place my hands. Just take
them and place them as you intend in the picture/
A very delicate commission to execute, as Hayter
observed ; but he did so ; and then the Queen turned
to Lady Mulgrave and said : ' I have often thought,
if I had to paint a Queen, how I would place her
hands ; and, curiously enough, this is the very position
I had hit on.' "
". . . Cutlar Ferguson * is most enthusiastic about
the Queen. He has had to lay before her about
twenty Courts Martial only think of such a subject
for a girl of 18! After seeing the Judge Advocate,
she is closeted with the Commander-in-chief, Lord
Hill, upon the same matter ; and Ferguson tells me
that both Lord Hill and himself are lost in astonish-
ment at the manner in which she makes herself under-
stand these matters. Ferguson dined at the palace a
few nights ago one of the fog nights so that when
he arrived he found to his horror that the Queen had
been at dinner 20 minutes. When he was about to
take the opportunity after dinner of apologising for
being so late, the Queen begun first by saying : ' I
said before dinner, I am sure Mr. Ferguson is stopt
in the Park by the fog.' Is she not a handy little
Vic?. ."
Lady Louisa Molyneux to Mr. Creevey.
"Arlington St., Dec. 26, 1837.
". . . Punch Greville is at present our best re-
source, and Poodle Byng now and then drops in, it
would be ungrateful to say, without contributing
* Judge Advocate General.
IS37-38.J HOLKHAM. 33 1
much to our amusement. We have been tempted to-
day to go to the Magnetism a most disagreeable
sight ; but nobody can persuade me it is a sham. Its
utility may be a question, but it is impossible to see
the poor people of all ages some quite children out
of the hospitals under the influence, and suppose
they have been taught to impose upon you. The
best part of the entertainment was Lady Aldborough
in an opera hat, large diamond ear-rings, and rouged
up to the eyes, trying to put the operator out of
countenance by her noisy questions, and bouncing
out of the room, declaring disbelief in the whole
thing. . . ."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Holkham, Dec. 29th.
". . . I had this cold on me before I left London ;
it did not, however, prevent me from dancing down
twenty-five couples in a country dance last night
my partner, Dowager Anson. It was the usual Xmas
ball for servants in the audit room. . . . The Earl of
Leicester, aged 85, opened the ball. He is a mar-
vellous man, but I think he is going out, tho' he burns
as bright as bright to the last.* Ellice was a real
treasure to me during our two days' journey down
here. No one is more mixed up with passing events
in the world than he is. He hears daily from Mel-
bourne, and I know to a turn the present rickety
nature of poor Melbourne's cabinet."
" Holkham, Jany. 3rd, 1838.
". . . The worst thing of all for the Government is
this. Aber, even our own Aber,t won't stand any
longer being given up to be devoured by the dogs of
the House of Commons, and no Ministers of the Crown
to protect him. I saw from the first, when he was left
unprotected, and when he made his pathetic and most
unsuccessful appeal to the House to rally round him,
that he was done. Of all the mistakes John Russell
* He died in 1842, outliving Creevey by four years.
1 f The Speaker.
332 THE CREEVEY PAPERS, [Cn. XIV.
has made, and they have been numerous, this is the
greatest, and in my opinion it is irreparable. It is the
first instance in the history of the House of Commons
of the Speaker being publickly worried by its members
and the Government to sit by and take no part. . . .
Then, alas ! tho' last, not least, ... in truth little Vic
and her mother are not one, tho' Melbourne knows of
no other cause of this disunion than Conroy, whom
the Duchess of Kent sees still almost daily, and for a
long time together. Melbourne speaks of the young
one with the same enthusiasm as ever, and has the
highest opinion possible of her understanding. The
part she at present plays is putting herself unre-
servedly into the exclusive management of Melbourne,
without apparently thinking of any one else. This,
at all events, must be a great relief and support to
him, whilst it lasts. In the midst of one's croaking,
there is another source of consolation that the
Tories never appeared in a more forlorn and shattered
condition, or less likely to turn all our blunders to
their own advantage. . . . Lord Leicester shoots daily ;
amongst other companions and competitors are his
3 sons. The eldest, Lord Coke,*, aged 15, on Xmas
Day shot 5 woodcock, and always shoots from 30 to
40 head daily."
"Jermyn Street, i;th.
"You see, my dear, that towards the end of last
week our Ellice received a dispatch from Lord Durham
saying he had accepted the mission to Canada, but
that he could do nothing without Ellice. So we left
Holkham on Saturday. . . . My companion continued
to the last as communicative as ever. . . . Lord
Leicester is a marvellous man in everything, but
above all in his clear and perspicuous telling of
stories, of which he has great abundance. I was
much amused one day when he was driving me, upon
Lady Holland's name being mentioned, he said to
me : ' I hope we shall find Charles Fox and Charlie
Gore when we get home. I am very fond of Charles
Fox, and particularly of Lady Mary.' I remarked
that I had never heard of Lord Holland being at
* The present Earl of Leicester.
1837-38.] LADY CHARLOTTE BURVS BOOK. 333
Holkham, and yet that of course he must have been.
'No/ said he, 'his uncle Charles used to live here,
and I have often asked Lord Holland, but of course
he would not come without Lady Holland, and it was
quite out of the question my asking her. I dine at
Lord Holland's now and then. When I do so, I am
as attentive as I ought to be to Lady Holland, and
there is no kind of flattery she does not apply to me ;
but it won't do ! She is not a woman I approve of at all.
I am only surprised that so many people have been
bullied by her to letting her into their houses. For
myself, I have always made up my mind that she
should never enter mine.' Bravo ! King Tom. What
a charming subject to plague her with the first time
she gives me any offence. . . . Certain it is that this
Holkham is by far the greatest curiosity in England."
Lady Louisa Molyneux to Mr. Creevey.
"Arlington St., Jan. i;th, 1838.
". . . Papa has found some amusement in a book
that occupies everybody now more, it appears, from
its atrocity than from any merit it has Memoires et
correspondence of Queen Caroline, edited by Lady
Charlotte Bury, in which there are so many bad
stories ill told, and so many personal remarks on
living people, that I cannot imagine anybody ever
speaking to her again. Her name is not to the book,
but everybody knows it is hers.
" Poodle Byng, &c., have tried, it seems, rather a
dangerous experiment with the [new] House of
Commons, by which they lighted it so brilliantly
that you could read the smallest print ; and if you
held a candle to the paper it added no light to the
dazzling glare, which came from 5000 apertures in
gas-pipes between the roofs, where the thermometer
was at 1 20, and kept rising! They had fire engines
in attendance, and a hose laid along every gas-pipe
for fear of accidents ; but they will not venture to try
it again. . . . Think of Lord r oley having sold Witley
to Ld. Ward * for 890,000! He was some little time
* Created Earl of Dudley in 1860.
334 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [CH. XIV.
in making up his mind to part with the place they
were all so fond of; but he will now have 19,000 a
year without any debt, instead of being the wretched
impoverished man he was.* I have had a letter from
Alava, who says of Sir John Colbornef : ' J'ai grande
confiance dans Colborne officier du premier ordre,
tres aime et tres estime tant de Sir J. Moore comme
du Due de Wellington, et quel bel eloge ! II est non
seulement excellent militaire, mais qualifie pour toute
espece de commandement, et d'une moralite et probite
dignes d'autres temps.'
" The burning of the Royal Exchange has put the
City in great dismay. They are very quiet, and were
to give 16,000 this morning at 9 o'clock for a house
in Lombard Street, to go on with at present, and meet
there at twelve. I hope the poor bells chiming their
death song brought tears into your eyes."
Mr. Creevey to Miss Ord.
" Jermyn St., 2;th.
"... I have really been so disturbed in my mind
by this Canada Bill that I could not write till its fate
was decided. I am at a loss for words to express my
contempt for the Government in the endless bungling
they have made on this occasion. Never was there
such a piece of luck for them as the Canada rebellion,
its speedy reduction, and, above all, the opportunity
it afforded of considering past errors and making a
wise and just arrangement for the future. All man-
kind was with them upon this subject ; but some
maniac or demon in their counsels would mar all
these advantages by the manner or form of their Bill
of Redress. I said from the first that every word
uttered by Peel was gospel, and that nothing was left
for the Government but to go down on their marrow-
bones and to withdraw the gratuitous, useless and
unconstitutional parts of their own Bill. To think,
too, of their volunteering Glenelg's instructions to
Durham. . . . Well, but now let me have done with
* See vol. ii. p. 253.
t Created Lord Seaton in 1839. Was Lieutenant- Governor of
Lower Canada.
1837-38-] WHERE SHALL I GO NEXT? 335
this disgusting hash, and where shall I go next?
Why, to Earl Durham himself, I think, with whom I
dined at the Duke of Norfolk's on Tuesday, and no
one could be more affable and conciliatory than our
Canada chief. He had seen the Queen that morning,
and I made him describe the meeting. After being
Presented by Glenelg, the Queen made a sign to the
itter to withdraw, and then some conversation took
place between the Queen and her Ambassador, in
which the latter [Durham] expressed his earnest
hopes that he might enjoy her Majesty's permission
to extend her clemency in any degree towards her
revolted Canadian subjects. This she accorded in
the fullest and most gracious manner. Durham was
full of her praises of her sense and excellent
manners, but he admitted to me that neither on that
occasion nor any other did she utter a word to him
on what we call politics.
" A propos to our little Vic we are all enchanted
with her for her munificence to the Fitzclarences. Be-
sides their pensions out of the public pension list, they
had nearly 10,000 a year given them by their father *
out of his privy purse, every farthing of which the
Queen continues out of her privy purse, with quanti-
ties of other such things. For an instance within my
own knowledge Sir John Lade, a very rich man,
and once the greatest crony of George the 4th when
Prince of Wales, was reduced to beggary at last by
having kept such good company ; so much so, that
Lord Anglesey, who had lived with both, went to
our Prinney t and actually made him give Lade 500
a year out of his privy purse. When brother William
came to the throne, he continued 300 a year to Lade
out of his privy purse ; but upon the accession of
Vic it was supposed there would be an end of it
altogether. As poor Lade was a brother whip and
crony of Sefton, I saw letters from him imploring
Sefton's interest with Melbourne for a continuance of
a portion of this pension, however small ; but Mel-
bourne in reply, however friendly he might be, could
hold out no prospect of relief for him. Think, there-
fore, of me being the first to tell Sefton last night
* William IV. t George IV.
336 THE CREEVEY PAPERS. [Cn. XIV.
what Melbourne told me in the course of the day.
The Queen's pleasure had been taken as to the further
reduction or extinction of this charge upon the privy
purse, when she asked if Sir John Lade was not above
80 years of age, and being answered in the affirmative,
she said she would neither have the pension enquired
into nor reduced, but continued on her own privy
purse. ... I wish that conceited puppy Howick *
had resigned and absconded from the Cabinet when
he announced his intention to Ellice at Holkham to
do so. It is quite clear that all this mischief has
arisen from his obstinacy and the foolish attempt of
his colleagues to satisfy or pacify him ; and the latter
object seems to have been accomplished at the ex-
pense and to the eternal disgrace, I fear, of his
betters."
Here the letters suddenly cease. These lines
must have been among the last from Mr. Creevey's
industrious pen, and lend a peculiar significance to
the enquiry contained in them " Where shall I go
next?" Of the manner of his death or of those who
tended him in his last illness, nothing is known. He
died on 5th February, 1838, wanting but two or three
weeks to complete his seventieth year, and was
buried in Greenwich Hospital.
* Afterwards 3rd Earl Grey.
INDEX.
The figures in italics refer to the notes only.
Abbot, Charles, Speaker, i. 4, 298 ;
ii. 70 ; on Peel's first speech, *.
122 ; created Lord Colchester, i. 262
Abercorn, Duke of, i. 310
Abercromby, M.P. for Edinburgh, i.
36
Abercromby, Hon. James (created
Lord Dunfermline), Speaker, i. 36,
113, 120, 121, 128, 191, 247, 336;
ii. 37, 120, 148, 276, 309, 331 ;
"factious and violent," i. 217;
christened " Young Cole " by
Brougham, *. 327 ; Brougham's
fellow-counsellor, ii. 2 ; " my
Scotch master, Jemmy," ii. 259 ;
appointed to the Mint, ii. 279 ; Grey
on, ii. 296 ; Creevey's "old and tried
friend," ii. 312
Abercromby, Hon. Mrs. James, ii.
309 312, 322
Abercromby, Sir Ralph, Commander
of the Army in Egypt, i. 48
Aberdeen, George, 4th Earl of, ;'. 172
Abinger, Lord (Sir James Scarlett),
Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer,
i. 12 ; ii. 2, 56, 115, 148, 226, 298,
301, 310, 312
Abisbal, General (Spain), ii. 74
Acheson, Lord (afterwards Earl of
Gosford), ii. 191
Adair, Sir Robert (the target of
Canning's satire), i. 22 ; ii. 6, 148,
154, 211, 312
Adam, Rt. Hon. William, Attorney-
General to the Prince of Wales
and Lord Chief Commissioner to
the Scottish Jury Court, i. 39, 107,
213, 253
VOL. II.
Addington, Rt. Hon. Henry. See
Sidmouth, Viscount
Adelaide, Queen, ii. 83, 216, 217,
224, 262 ; her dislike of Duchess
of Kent, ii. 238 ; at Olivia de Ros'
wedding, ii. 263 ; her antipathy to
the Whigs, ii. 298 ; her fixed impres-
sion, ii. 300
Adkin, Tom, i. 99
Adour, Congreve rockets at the
passage of the, i. 147
Age^ the, ii. 96, 200
Agricultural depression, ii. 55, 94,
H7
Alava, Representative of Spain -at
Bourbon Court, i. 277, 279, 289 ;
ii. 53, 102, 226, 236, 263, 307
(iiee Hun-
loke), ii. 33
Albemarle, Countess of
Albemarle, George, 3rd Earl of, ii. 33
Albemarle, William, 4th Earl of, i.
162, 336 ; ii. 6, 97, 224, 329 ; a
saying of William IV., ii. 226; the
King and the Reform Bill, ii. 244 ;
Mrs. Fitzherbert's letters, ii. 319,
320
Albuera, i. 185
Aldborough, Lady, i. 281 ; ii. 319,
331
Aldborough, Suffolk, ii. 227
Aldborough, Yorkshire, ii. 227
Alexander, Master in Chancery, ii. 68
Alexander 1., Emperor of Russia,
offers mediation between England
and France, i. 15 ; his visit to
London, i. 187, 194 ; a favourite
with the Whigs, i. 191 ; Napoleon
on King of Prussia and, i. 196 ; a re-
monstrance, ii. 4 ; Lord Holland's
peace-offering, ii. 15 ; the revolution
338
INDEX.
in Spain, ii. 53 ; Lady London-
derry's transfer, ii. 58
" All the Talents " Ministry, formed
by Grenville, i. 40, 42, 75, 81, 84
Allen, M.D., John, i. 260, 264; ii.
39, 155, 156, 322, 329
Allen, Lord, ii. 288, 312, 314
Allies, in Paris, i. 187 ; in Belgium,
i. 218
Almeida, i. 88
Alten, General Sir Charles, i. 222,
235
Althorp, Viscount (3rd Earl of
Spencer), "Chinch," i. 156, 264;
ii. 47, 71, 120, 216, 246, 249, 255,
260, 297 ; candidate for Cambridge,
i. 75-77 ; his motion about Prince
of Wales' outfit, i. 216 ; letter to
Creevey, ii. 17 ; his first budget as
Chancellor of the Exchequer, ii.
218, 221 ; Stanley's obstinacy about
Irish tithes, ii. 252 ; the scene
between Durham and Grey, ii.
265 ; resigns on Coercion Bill, ii.
282, 283 ; remains in office, ii. 284 ;
succeeds to Earldom, ii. 295, 296,
321
Alvanley, Lord, ii. 59, 129, 167 ;
challenges O'Connell, ii. 304
Amelia, Princess, her illness and
death, i. 98, 13$
America, war with, i. 164, 166-173 ;
peace, i. 211, 212
Amherst, Lord, i. 337
Amiens, treaty of, i. 10
Andover, Viscountess (afterwards
LadyDigby), ii. 36, 1 12
Andrews, Miles Peter, i. 63
Anglesey, Marchioness of, ii. 181, 1 88
Anglesey, Marquess of, ii. 162, 181,
1 88, 231 ; recalled by Wellington
from Lord Lieutenancy of Ireland,
ii. 174, 193-195 ; his proclamation
against Catholic meetings, ii. 177 ;
his view of Ireland, ii. 182 ; his leg's
grave at Vittoria, ii. 189; Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland again, ii.
265 ; and Sir John Lade, ii. 335
Angouleme, Duchess of, i. 246
Annual Register, i. 339 ; ii. 84
Anson, George, ii. 74, 214, 254
Anson, Hon. Mrs. George (nee
Forester), ii. 214, 254
Anson, Lady, ii. 35, 36, 80, 331 ;
letter to Creevey on the battue at
Holkham, ii. 52
Antalda, Marquis of, ii. 14
Antrim, Countess of, /'. 18
Antrim, Randal, 4th Earl of, /. 18
Antrim, Alexander, 5th Earl of, i. 18
Appleby, Creevey M.P. for, i. 298
Arbuthnot, ii. 121
Arbuthnot, Mrs., ii. 286
Argyll, Duke of, ii. 226, 241, 322,
323
Armstrong, Colonel, ii. 289, 290
Arran, Earl of, ii. 243
Arundel, Earl of (afterwards I3th
Duke of Norfolk), i. 245
Ashley, Lady Emily (nee Cowper),
ii. 198
Ashton, Mr., i. 170, 171
Assaye, battle of, ii. 152
Athol, James, 2nd Duke of, /'. 38
Athol, John, 3rd Duke of, *. 37
Athol, John, 4th Duke of, i. 38, 336 ;
157
Auckland, William, 1st Lord, i. 114
Auckland, George, 2nd Lord, i. 114,
I2O ; ii. 2, 95, 114, 281 ; appointed
by Grey First Lord of the Ad-
miralty, ii. 276-278; his hand
forced by Brougham, ii. 283
Audley, Lord, i. 337
Augusta, Princess, ii. 262
Austerlitz, battle of, i. 44, 45, 49
Austin, Mr., i. 302
Austria, i. 213, 218; ii. 140
Austria, Prussia, and England v.
France, i. 44
B
Babbage, ii. 329
Bacon, Lady Charlotte, ii. 60.
Bacourt, M. de, ii. 270
Badajos, siege of, i. 145
Baden, Princess of, i. 270
Bagot, Lord, i. 337
Bagot, Rt. Hon. Sir Charles, exe-
cutor of Queen Caroline's will, ii.
25, 829
Baillie, Dr., i. 245, 266
Baird, Sir David, i. 172
Balfour of Balbirnie, Miss Katherine
(Mrs. Edward Ellice), ii. 273
Ballisteros, General (Spain), ii. 74
Bamfyld, Sir Charles, i. 47
Bank Note Bill, i. 145, 146, 162
Bank of England, suspension of cash
payments by, i. 292
Bankes, Mr., i. 136, 161, 272 ; ii. 12,
34, IS 6
Bankhead, Dr., ii. 44
Barham, Mrs., i. 18
INDEX.
339
Baring, Alexander, ii. II, 55, 90, 244
Barnard, Lord, i. 122
Barnes, Editor of the Times, ii. 237,
257
Barnes, General Sir Edward, Ad-
jutant-General, i. 224, 225, 230,
231, 238, 277, 279, 282, 283, 285 ;
ii. 46, 220 ; wounded at Waterloo,
i. 234, 235 ; on Lord Hill, i. 278
Barras, i. 6
Barrington, Lady Caroline (nee Grey),
ii. 327
Barry, Sir Charles, ii. 322
Barrymore, Lord, i. 78
Barthelemy, M., the banker, i. 7
Bath, Marquess of, i. 337 ; ii. 73
Bathurst, Countess, i. 324 ; ii. 320
Bathurst, Earl, Secretary of State for
War and the Colonies, i. 165, 214,
273, 324; ii. 10, 27, 112, 113, 117
Bathurst, Lady Georgiana, ii. 154
Bathurst, Rt. Hon. Sir Charles
Bragge, President of Board of Con-
trol, and Chancellor of the Duchy
of Lancaster, i. 114, 165 ; ii. 10, 12
Bathurst, Seymour, i. 335
jBattue, an early example of the prac-
tice, ii. 51, 52
Beauchamp, Earl and Countess, ii.
105
Beauclerk, Lord H., i. 190
Beauclerk, Mrs., i. 181
Beaufort, Duchess of, i. 324
Beaufort, Duke of, i. 324 ; ii. 101, 165
Beauharnais, Viscount, i. 6
Beaumont, Marquis of, ii. 3
Bedford, Duchess of, ii. 275, 303
Bedford John, 4th Duke of, ii. 329
Bedford, Francis, 5th Duke of, ii. 109
Bedford, John, 6th Duke of, i. 22, 94,
99, in, 121, 308, 317; ii. 150,
I S5 2 7S 2 97 on parliamentary
reform, i. 95
Bedford, Francis, 7th Duke of. Set
Tavistock, Marquis of
Bedlam, ii. 79
Belfast, Lady, ii. 97
Belfast, Lord, ii. 97, 107
Belgrave, Lady Elizabeth, ii. 48
Belgrave, Lord, ii. 48
Belhaven, Lady, i. 309
Bellamy, Mr., ii. 50
Bellew, Mr., ii. 179
Bellingham, Mr. Perceval's murderer,
*. 145
Bennet, Hon. IT. G., i. 156, 159, 305,
36, 3!9> 329 ; 2, 29, 34, 64, 71 ;
Creevey on, i. 36 j his letters to
Creevey, i. 185, 187, 191, 194, 211,
213, 215, 240, 256, 264, 294; his
wife's veto, i. 210 ; " this is scanda-
lous," i. 342
Bennet, Hon. Mrs. H. G. (nte Rus-
sell), i. 210, 296
Bentham, ii. 51
Bentinck, Lord George, ii. 100
Benvenuto Cellini, Roscoe's Life of,
ii. 163
Berenger, de, *. 203
Beresford, General, at Albuera, i. 185
Beresford, Lord, ii. 126
Beresford, Rt. Hon. John, Chair-
man of the Revenue Board of
Ireland, i. 42
Bergami, Bartolommeo, Queen Caro-
line's courier, i. 301, 312, 322, 324,
331, 335 ; ii. 24, 73
Bergami, Victorine, ii. 24
Berkeley, Admiral Sir Maurice Frede-
rick (afterwards Lord Fitzhardinge),
i. 147 ; ii. 185, 188
Berkeley, Captain, ii. 81
Berkeley, Hon. , i. 247
Berkeley, Lady, i. 49
Berkeley, Lady Charlotte (n<?e Gor-
don-Lennox), ii. 185
Berkeley, Thomas, 6th Earl of, i. 67
Berri, Due de, i. 223, 225
Berri, Duchesse de, ii. 252
Berry, Miss, ii. 255
Berthier, General, i. 5, 225
Bertrand, M., ii. 26
Bessborough, Frederick, 3rd Earl of,
i. 62, 254 ; ii. no, 171
Bessborough, John, 4th Earl of. See
Duncannon, Lord
Bessborough, John, 5th Earl of, ii.
268
Bessborough, Lady, i. 62
Bessborough Estates, Ireland, ii. 171
Bettesworth, R.N., Captain, ii. 273
Bexley, Lord. See Vansittart, N.
Bickersteth, ii. 303
Bingham, General, ii. 259
Binning, Lord, i. 206
Birch, Mr., ii. 213
Black, Sergeant, ii. no
Blackburne, John, M.P. for Lan-
cashire, ii. 94
Blackwood, Mrs. (iiee Sheridan),
afterwards Lady Dufferin, lastly
Countess of Gifford, /. 39
Blake, Mr., ii. 169
Bland, Thomas, ii. 326
Blaquiere, M., ii. 61
, T31essington, Lady, ii. 86, 288
340
INDEX.
Blessington, Lord, ii. 288
Blomfield, C. J., Bishop of London,
195
Bloomfield, Lieut. -General Sir Ben-
jamin (afterwards Lord), George
IV. 's Private Secretary, etc., i. 66,
68, 73, 150; ii. 26, 31, 58;
British Minister at Stockholm, ii.
43 ; "ruined from that moment,"
ii. 105
Bloomfield, son of above, ii. 58
Blount, Stephenson, ii. 329
Blucher, his likeness to Lord Grey,
i. 196 ; Wellington and, i. 228 ; his
reported defeat by Napoleon, i.
231 ; at Ligny, i. 236 ; at Laon, i.
280
Bolton, Judge, ii. 45
Borghese, Pauline, Princess, ii. 26,
138
Borgo, Pozzo di, ii. 307
Boston, Lord, ii. 97
Bould, Miss, ii. 47
Boulton, Mr., i. 171
Bourmont, General, deserts to Blucher
at Waterloo, ii. 202, 252
Bourrienne, M., Life of Napoleon y ii.
202, 203, 207
Bouverie, Mrs., i. 13, 82
Bowes- Daly, i. 128
Boyce, a Protestant squire of Wex-
ford, ii. 183
Boyd, Benfield and Co., i. 35, 37
Boyle, Lady Augusta (afterwards
FitzClarence), ii. 300
Bradshaw, Mr., i. ill
Brand, Tom (22nd Lord Dacre), ii.
3"
Brandling, M.P. for Newcastle-on-
Tyne, i. 23
Brandling, Charles, i. 108
Brandling, Miss Fanny, ii. 210, 278,
285
Brandling, Ralph, i. 109
Brandling, William, ii. 278
Brandon, Lady, ii. 1 60
Brandon, Rev. Wm. Crosbie, D.D.,
Lord, ii. 160
Brass Founders' Procession, i. 334
Braybrooke, Lord, ii. 280
Briggs, Captain, i. 312
Brighton, past and present, Creevey
on, ii. 325
Brogden, Mr., i. 22 ; ii. IO
Brooke, Sir Charles, i. 279
Brougham, Henry, i. 128, 158, 308,
324, 331, 335 ; ii. 2, 5, 9, 10,
34-36, 5 6 > 5 8 60-62, 7 2 > 76, 79.
95. 99, 103, 113, 119, 120, 123,
152, 155, 159, 195, 196, 209, 218,
222, 255, 261, 267, 278, 282, 295 ;
his review of Lauderdale's book in
Edinburgh Review ', i. 30 ; Grey on, i.
108 ; ii. 140, 184 ; M.P. for Camel-
ford, i. 152 ; candidate for Liver-
pool, i. 155, 170, 172 ; Creevey's
distrust of, i. 167-170; ii. 23, 89,
129, 130, 136, 137, 149; his
"volley of declamation," i. 171 ;
the weapon ready, i. 174 ; and
Queen Caroline, i. 176, 199, 204,
295. 2 96, 301-303* 316-319, 326,
329, 338, 34IJ ". 2, ii, 13,
1 8, 23, 146 ; letter from Lady C.
Lindsay, i. 182 ; on Newcastle-on-
Tyne, i. 186 ; his article on Norway
in Edinburgh Review ', i. 185 ; his
profound resources, i. 197 ; blames
Whitbread, i. 204 j speech on
Treaty of Paris, i. 249, 250; "has
done everything with no help," i.
257 ; on Tierney, i. 264 ; Duke of
Kent and Madame St. Laurent, i.
270; "quite silent," i. 272; his
prophecy about Creevey's Thetford
seat, i. 274 ; feels the loss of
Romilly, i. 293 ; Fox's proposed
epitaph, i. 299 j his offer to Lord
Liverpool on Queen's behalf, i.
301-303 ; his speeches on the Pains
and Penalties Bill, i. 310, 321, 322 ;
Lady Charlotte Greville and, i. 314,
323 ; the " Coles," i. 327 ; on Oldi
and Mariette as witnesses, i. 328 ;
and the Duke of Roxburgh, ii. 3 ; his
depression, ii. 15 ; his plans to rouse
the North for the Queen, ii. 18 j the
Queen's illness, death, and funeral,
ii. 20, 21, 25 ;" he absolutely hated
her," ii. 24; Napoleon's appeal,
ii. 26 ; Lauderdale on, ii. 28, 154 ;
speech for reduction of taxation, ii.
33 ; Lady Holland and, ii. 37 ;
his bid for Westmorland farms, ii.
51 ; and Canning, ii. 64, 66, 68,
121, 125 ; Lady Jersey and, ii. 71,
73, !33 223; Creevey's Reform
pamphlet, ii. 93 j Dandy Raikes'
quarrel with, ii. 106, 107, 109 ; his
"perfidy" to Lambton, ii. 126;
declines post of Chief Baron of the
Exchequer, ii. 129; "another in-
stance of his hypocrisy," ii. 130 ;
denounced by "the Malignants,"
ii. 136, 149 ; Lambton's peerage, ii.
142 ; "acting without the slightest
INDEX.
341
tincture of interest," ii. 145 ; "the
Arch-fiend," ii. 137 ; Grey and
Cleveland, ii. 149, 150 ; Burdetton,
ii. 153 ; his Cabinet dinnei; ii. 154 ;
candidate for Westmorland, ii. 165 ;
his literary schemes, ii. 206, 207 ; on
Napoleon, ii. 207 ; Lord Chancellor,
ii. 214; " Vaux et prseterea nihil,"
ii. 216-y and Sefton, the Times 1 at-
tacks on Grey, ii. 219, 220 ; Eldon
and, ii. 224; "an intriguing, per-
fidious rogue," ii. 227 ; on the batch
of new peers, ii. 230 ; Lady Grey on,
ii. 231 ; " Old Wickedshifts," ii. 236,
274, 275 ; and the Reform Bill, ii.
237, 247, 292 ; and the Duchess of
Kent's absence from William IV. 's
Coronation, ii. 237, 238 ; his demand
for new peers, ii. 241, 245 ; William
IV. and, ii. 246, 260, 297, 29$;
Gascoigne's motion to reduce Ord-
nance Vote, ii. 265 ; "Beelzebub,"
ii. 272, 292 ; and Mrs. Petre, ii. 276 j
indignant with Grey, ii. 277 j Ros-
coe, ii. 280 ; forces Auckland's
hand, ii. 283 ; " drove Grey from
office," ii. 285 ; his defence, ii. 287,
288, 294 ; attacks Durham in
Edinburgh Review ', ii. 289 ; "letters
of a perfect Bedlamite," ii. 298,
300 ; his "insincere jaw," ii. 305 ;
some correspondence of George
III., ii. 318 ; his spiteful motives,
ii. 329 \ his letters to Creevey, i.
119,134, 144, 145, 153, 154, 173,
177-182, 186, 192, 194, 195, 201,
202, 204, 206, 211, 243, 245, 247,
252, 258, 261, 294, 297, 319 ; ii.
16, 19, 24, 44, 45, 66, 114, 146,
206, 208, 235
Brougham, Lady (Mrs. Spalding,
nee Eden), ii. 10, 71, 72, 89, 107,
1 20
Brougham, James, ii. 229, 271
Brougham, William, ii. 220
Brown, Mrs. (Lord Thurlow's
daughter), i. 60
Brozam, Count, A.D.C. to the Czar,
1.281
Bruce, Lavalette, ii. 64, 74
Brudenel, Lord, ii. 75
Brunswick, Duke of, i. 182, 183 ;
killed at Quatre Bras, i. 230
Brussels, before Waterloo, i. 218, 219 ;
Creevc-y at, i. 205-273, 292-295
Buckingham, George, ist Marquess
of, i. 27
Buckingham Palace, ii. 151, 307
Buckingham, Richard, 2nd Marquess
of (afterwards 1st Duke of), i. 215 ;
ii. 221 ; " is trying hard for office,"
i. 217 ; duel with Sir Thomas
Hardy, i. 256; the Queen's trial,
i. 316 ; his letter to Canning,
ii. 69
Buckinghamshire, Earl of, i. 158
Buggin, Lady Cecilia, Duchess of
Inverness, ii. 230, 243, 258, 329
Buggin, Sir George, ii. 243
Bulow, Herr, ii. 262
Bulteel, Lady Elizabeth, ii. 233,
306
Bulteel, Mr., ii. 233, 243
Buonaparte, Napoleon. See Napoleon
Burdett, Sir Francis, i. 60, 97, 249 ;
ii. 72, 74, 198, 199; v. agriculturists,
i. 194 ; on Roman Catholic question,
i. loo ; ii. 67 ; Creevey on, i. 107 ;
on Reform, i. 128 ; imprisoned in
Tower, i. 131, 133 ; and Brougham,
i. 202, 203, 249 j ii. 153 ; refuses
peerage, ii. 321 ; his letters to
Creevey, i. 3, 132
Burford, Earl of (afterwards 9th Duke
of St. Albans), ii. 73
Burgess, Whitbread's solicitor, i.
241
Burgh, Sir Ulysses de, i. 281
Burghersh, Lady, i. 197
Burgos, siege of, i. 172
Burgoyne, i. 120
Burke, Edmund, i. 108, 161
Burn, Mr., ii. 179
Burrell, Walter, M.P. for Sussex, ii.
34
Burton, A.D.C. and Secretary to
Lord Anglesey, ii. 188
Bury, Lady Charlotte, Memoirs and
Correspondence of Queen Caroline^
333
Bury, Lord, ii. 75
Bushe, Chief Justice, ii. 175, 183,
188
Bute, John, ist Marquess of, j. 228
Butler, Lady Eleanor, ii. 185
Butler, Lady Mary, i. 107
Byng, G. ("Poodle"), i. 128, 204;
ii. 96, 230, 279, 290, 314, 330,
333
Byng, Hon. Mrs., ii. 314
Byron, Lord, Hours of Idleness, i. 75 ;
Lady C. Lamb's Glenarvon and
Vivian, i. 255 ; at Geneva, i. 259 ;
on Dr. John Allen, i. 260 ; a re-
jected poem, i. 294
342
INDEX.
Cabarrus, Madame (previously
Comtesse de Fontenay, then
Madame de Tallien, lastly Princess
de Chimay), 1. 6, 7
Caithness, Lord, i. 257
Calcraft, John, i. 46, 113, 128, 333 ;
ii. 16, 106, 114, 160, 213
Callander, Caroline Henrietta (Mrs.
T. Sheridan), i. 39
Calthorpe, Lord, i. 336
Cambray, taken by storm, i. 239 ;
Creevey at, i. 275
Camelford, Lord, i. 60
Cameron, James, ii. 187
Campbell, Lady Charlotte, i. 176,
199 ; ii. 288
Campbell, Lady Mary, Baroness
Stratheden, ii. 312
Campbell, Lord Chancellor, on
Twiss, ii. 12
Campbell, Sir Colin, ii. 75, 153
Campbell, Sir John (afterwards
Baron), ii. 312
Canada Bill, ii. 334
Canning, Colonel, Wellington's
A.D.C., killed at Waterloo, i.
230
Canning, George, i. 262, 342 ; ii. 46,
53, 59. 61, 85, 90, 201 ; and Ad-
dington, i. 8 ; Creevey on, i. 9 ; on
Fox and Pitt, i. 20 ; satirises Adair,
i. 22 ; illness of George III., i. 27 ;
, Foreign Secretary, i. 93 ; ii. 49>
52 ; quarrel and duel with Castle-
reagh, i. 93, 96-98, 106, 108 ; ii.
297 ; Whitbread on, i. 99, 109 ;
Grey on, i. 108, 158 ; ii. 118, 140 ;
on Coke, i. 108 ; Brandling all
for, ibid. ; his rhetorical flourishes,
i. 123 ; the Walcheren Expedition, i.
124 ; " every Frenchman that falls,"
etc., i. 134; disbands his troop, i.
183; and Wellesley, i. 153, 156, 160-
162; the Liverpool seat, i. 154, 155,
168, 170-172 ; and Brougham, i.
I5S 177, 206, 209, 253 ; ii. 64-66,
68, 121, 125, 129; the Roman
Catholic question, i. 157 ; ii. 103,
108 ; Sheridan on, i. 163; "on
the skirts of the party," i. 174 ; Am-
bassador to Lisbon, i. 207, 287 ; ii.
35 ; Peel's election for Oxford, i.
263 ; Governor-General of India, ii.
43-45, 69, 70 ; called " Merryman "
by Brougham, ii. 50, 51 ; " has his
hands full," ii-55 ; and George IV.,
ii. 59 HO, ill ; his irritability, ii.
63 ; and Lord Kensington's son, ii.
73 ; Cobbett's Life of, ii. 94 ; and
Hobhouse, ii. 99 ; his and Huskis-
son's Corn Bill, ii. 100, 101, 122 j
his illness, ii. 106 ; Premier, form-
ing his Cabinet, ii. 111-117, 125,
145, 146 ; the Penryn case, ii. 119 ;
and Wellington, ii. 121, 124, 135 ;
death and funeral, ii, 125, 126;
monument, ii. 133
Canning, Miss, ii. 48
Cantillon, attempts to assassinate
Wellington, i. 273
Caparo, Duke of, ii. 14
Carlisle, Countess of, /'. 184
Carlisle, 6th Earl of, i. 27, 78, 121 ;
ii. 123, 306
Carlisle, 7th Earl of, ii. 223, 276,
278, 307
Carnac, Mr., ii. 328
Carnac, Mrs., ii. 80
Carnarvon, Lord, i. 308, 318, 324;
ii. 6, 39, 79
Caroline, Queen, in the House of
Commons, i. 123 ; the Commission
on, i. 175-180; and Brougham, i.
176, 199, 204, 295, 296, 301-303,
316-319, 326, 329, 338, 341 ; ".
2, ii, 13, 1 8, 23, 146; at Vaux-
hall, i. 182, 184 ; the drawing-room,
i. 187 ; and Grey, i. 193 ; at the
Opera, i. 195, 196 ; ' ' carries every-
thing before her," i. 196 ; declines
increased allowance voted by
Parliament, i. 199, 204 ; the thanks-
giving at St. Paul's, i. 202 ; a divorce
impossible, i. 209 ; her intended re-
turn to Kensington Palace, i. 212,
253 ; is offered 50,000 to re-
nounce title and live abroad, i. 295,
301, 302 ; her trial, i. 295, 303-342 ;
ii. 6 ; popular sympathy, i. 298,
299 ; her Solicitor- General, Den-
man, q.v. ; her name excluded from
the Liturgy, i. 303, 304, 306 ; ii. 9,
10, 12 ; Grey's and Lambton's
interview with, ii. 7 ; Brougham
testifies to his belief in her inno-
cence, ii. n, 13 ; proposed subscrip-
tion for, ii. 15 ; buys Cambridge
House, ibid. ; excluded from the
Coronation, ii. 16, 18 ; proposed
visit to the North, ii. 19, 20 ; her
death and funeral, ii. 21-26 ; Lord
Bath on, ii. 73
Carrington, Lord, i. 99, in, 214
Cartwright, General, i. 150
INDEX.
343
Cartwright, John, the "Father of
Reform," i. 202
Casimir, M., ii. 226
Castlereagh, Viscountess, ii. 43
Castlereagh, Viscount, loses Co. Down
on seeking re-election as Pitt's War
Minister, i. 43, 63 ; quarrel and
duel with Canning, i. 93, 96-98,
106, 108 j ii. 297 ; Grey on, i.
107 ; his claims on the House of
Commons, i. 122 ; the Walcheren
Expedition, i. 123, 124 ; ministerial
changes, i.156, 164 ; Foreign Secre-
tary, i. 174 ; he cannot but be in a
scrape," i. 185; Ward on, i. 189; in-
crease of Princess of Wales' allow-
ance, i. 198, 200, 201 ; red hot on
war with France, i. 214 ; Broug-
ham's speech on Treaty of Paris,
i. 250 ; " appealing to posterity,"
i. 262 ; his supposed influence over
Prince Leopold, i. 266 ; Lady Hol-
land on, i. 266 ; Creevey on, i.
287 ; ii. 10 ; the King's message
about the Queen, i. 303 ; "smiling
as usual," i. 306 ; roughly handled
at Covent Garden, i. 338 ; a scene
in the House of Commons, i. 342 ;
Tiewiey and . Napoleon, ii. 4 j
Dublin's applause, ii. 30 ; replies to
Brougham's motion for reduction
of taxation, ii. 3 j, 34 ; his suicide,
ii. 38, 40-47 ; his successor Canning,
ii. 49, 63, 119; his keynote non-
intervention, ii. 52, 53
Cathcart, Lord, i. 86, 281, 282
Catholic Association, the, ii. 193, 195
Caton, Mr., of Philadelphia, ii. 249
Caton, Captain of an Indiaman, i.
279
Caton, Miss, i. 276, 279 ; ii. 248
Caulincourt, M., i. 190
Cavendish, Charles (Baron Chesham),
i. 207
Cavendish, Lord George, i. 100, in,
122, 265 ; ii. 34, 88 ; nominal
leader of the Whigs, i. 112, 247,
257 ; Bennet on, i. 257
Cavendish, William, i. 126
Caxton, ii. 207
Cazes, M. de (Decazes), i. 272 ; ii. 4
Cellini, Benvenuto, ii. 163
Chalmers, Dr., Professor of Moral
Philosophy in St. Andrews, after-
wards of Theology in Edinburgh,
ii. 84
Chaloner, ii. 34
Chalons, ii. 80
Chantrey, ii. 322
Charlemont, Lady, i. 147 ; ii. 324
Charlemont, Lord, i. 147, 148, 150
Charleroi, capture of, i. 223, 229
Charles X., ii. 253, 315
Charleville, Lord, ii. 312
Charlotte of Wales, Princess, the
Prince Regent's treatment of, i. 175,
177-179, 181 j Brougham's advice
to, i. 198 ; her illness, i. 184, 207 ;
marriage, i. 258, 259 ; death, i.
266, 268 -, ii. 325
Charlotte, Queen, i. 184, 194, 197,
281, 284
Chateaubriand, i. 214
Chatham, Earl of, i. 85 ; ii. 318 ; the
Walcheren Expedition, i. 95-97,
107, 129-131, 133
Chesham, Charles, Lord, i. 207
Chesterfield, Countess of (Hon.
Anne Forester), ii. 214
Chesterfield, Earl of, ii. 199, 214
Chichester, Earl of, i. 113
Chifnay, Mr., ii. 210
Chimay, Prince de, /'. 7
Cholmondeley, Lady Charlotte (after-
wards Seymour), i. 266
Cholmondeley, Marchioness of, i. 196
Cholmondeley, Marquess of, i. 320
Church of England, Hume's attack
on, ii. 66
Churchill, Lady, ii. 243
Churchill, Lord, ii. 167
Cintra Convention, i. 89, 93
Civil List Bill, 1831, ii. 218
Civil Offices Pensions Act, 1817, ii.
34
Clanricarde, 1st Marquess of, ii. 1 88
Clanwilliam, Earl of, ii. 60
Clare Election, ii. 193
Clare, Lady, i. 47, 49
Clare, Lord, ii. 29, 47, 64, 198
Clarendon, Earl of, Queen Caroline's
executor, ii. 25
Clarke, Mr., i. 112
Clarke, Mrs. Mary Anne, and the
Duke of York, i. 97, 1 12, 1 13, 115,
193, 3io; ii. 2, 278
Clavering, General, i. 61
Cleveland, Duchess of, Lady Darling-
ton (Mrs. Russell alias Funnereau),
i. 184; ii. 86, 89, 109, 131, 132,
165, 208, 243 ; and Mrs. Taylor,
ii. 90 ; Creevey on, ii. 92
leveland, 1st Duke of, 3rd Lord
Darlington, " Niffy - Naflfy," i.
243, 308; ii. 109, 113, 130,
I3 1 * 149, I5* 207-209, 230,
344
INDEX.
243 ; his marriage, i. 184 ; ii. 86 ;
five seats to dispose of, ii. 90 ;
raves about Canning, ii. 116 ; Grey
and, ii. 122; his Winchelsea seat,
ii. 165 ; Wellington and, ii. 153
Cleveland, Lord William Powlett,
3rd Duke of, ii. 130-132, 201
Clifden, 2nd Viscount, ii. 217
Clifden, 3rd Viscount, ii. 217
Clifford, Charlotte, Baroness (after-
wards Duchess of Devonshire), i.
264
Clifford, Lieutenant (Lord?), i. 264
Clifford, Lord de, i. 308, 336
Clincial thermometer, Dr. Currie's,
i. 2
Clinton, Lord, i. 184 ; ii. 13
Cloncurry, Lord, ii. 194
Clowes, Mrs., i. 60
Cobbett, William, i. 89 ; ii. 252 ;
imprisoned for libel, i. 133 ; his
letter to Creevey, i. 134 ; "a foul-
mouthed malignant dog," i. 334 ;
L language,
nor, ii. 278
Cobbett's Weekly Political Register,
i. 89, 132, 133
Cochrane, Admiral Lord (afterwards
loth Earl of Dundonald), i. 128 ;
tried for Stock Exchange conspiracy,
i. 202, 203
Codrington, Admiral, ii. 231
Coercion Bill, ii. 282, 285, 288, 294
Coke, Miss, ii. 36
Coke, Sir Edward, Chief Justice, ii.
ill
Coke, Thomas, of Holkham (created
Earl of Leicester), i. 122, 297 ; ii.
76,276, 294; Canning's "landed
grandee," i. 108 ; marries Lady A.
Keppel, ii. 36 ; furious about Lady
Mary Keppel's marriage, ii. 97 ;
"our worthy King Tom," ii. in ;
created Earl, ii. 295 ; Creevey
on, ii. 331 ; on Lady Holland, ii.
333
Coke, Thomas William, 2nd Earl of
Leicester, ii. 36, 76, 332
Colborne, Sir John (afterwards Lord
Seaton), Governor-General of
Canada, ii. 334 ,
Colchester, riot at Queen's funeral at,
ii. 32
Colchester, Lord. See Abbot, Charles
Cole, Hon. Sir Lowry, commanded
4th Division in Peninsular War,
i. 277, 283 ; ii. 9 j Governor of
Mauritius, ii. 12
Cole, Lady Frances (/<? Malmes-
bury), i. 277-279
Collier, Lady, i. 254
Collingwood, Lord, Memoirs, ii. 161
Colvill, General, i. 239
Commission on, Royal Navy, i. 33 ;
Public Expenditure, i. 136 j Queen
Caroline, i. 175, 176, 180 ; Flog-
ging, ii. 310
Conde, Prince de, i. 225
Congleton, Lord, i. 31, 163
Congreve, Sir William, inventor of
rockets, i. 147, 150
Conroy, Mr., ii. 332
Consort, Prince, ii. 52
Conway, Field Marshal, ii. 13
Conyngham, Lady Elizabeth (Mar-
chioness of Huntley), i. 333 j ii.
73 96
Conyngham, Lady Elizabeth Denison,
1st Marchioness of, i. 229, 333 ; ii.
157 ; George IV.'s relations with, ii.
i, 20, 30, 31, 43, 45, 58, 77, 89,
104, 105, 108, 120, 148; her
portrait by Lawrence, ii. 16 ; her
friend Lady Glengall, ii. 29 ;
"shows but little in public" at
Dublin, ii. 30, 31 ; her opposition
Ball at the Opera House, ii. 38 ;
Duke of Sussex and his sisters, ii.
48; at Ascot, ii. 77; "a blow-up
between Prinney and," ii. 89 ; " she
hates Kingy," ii. 96 ; her para-
mount influence at Court, ii. 103
Conyngham, Lord, i. 320 ; ii. 29, 59,
60, 103, 279, 326
Conyngham, Lord Albert Denison,
ii. 58
Cook, Captain, killed at Trafalgar,
i. 69
Cooke, " Kangaroo," ii. 109
Copenhagen Expedition, i. 85, 86
Copley, Maria (afterwards Lady
Howick and Countess of Grey), ii.
31, 48, 295 ; her letters to Creevey,
ii. 59, 64
Copley, Sir John (afterwards Lord
LyndhursO, ii. 113, 114
Copley, Sir Joseph, ii. 306
Cork, Edmund, 7th Earl of, i. 56
, Cork, Lady, i. 56
Corn Laws, ii. 94, 100, 101, 158, 166
Cornwall, Mr., ii. 132
Cornwallis, Marchioness, i. 167
Corry, James, ii. 169, 177, 181, 188
Cotton, Sir Charles, i. 89
INDEX.
345
Courier > i. 178
Courtenay, Mr., i. 184
Courvoisier, valet, murders his master,
Lord William Russell, ii. 109, 329
Coutts, Mr., i. 209 ; ii. 3, 8
Coutts, Mrs. (afterwards Duchess of
St. Albans), ii. 120, 217
Covent Garden theatre, i. 97
Coventry, George William, 8th Earl
of, i. 56 ; ii. 268
Coventry, Lady Mary Augusta (after-
wards Holland), ii. 268
Cowley, Lady (Olivia de Ros), ii.
204, 237, 263, 320
Cowley, Lord (Sir Henry Wellesley),
i. 218 ; ii. 263, 320
Cowper, Lady (afterwards Palmer-
ston), i. 255, 259 ; ii. 129, 167, 226,
241, 268, 307, 325
Cowper, Lady Emily (Countess of
Shaftesbury), ii 198
Cowper, Lord, i. 82, 259, 313, 317,
318, 336 ; ii. 6, 9, 39, 79, 88, 129,
167, 226, 230, 241
Cox and Greenwood, ii. 242
Cradock, Colonel, i. 281 ; ii. 96, 306
Crampton, Surgeon-General, ii. 169,
181
Craufurd, Madame, ii. 288
Craven, Countess of, ii. 310
Craven, Earl of, i. 247 ; ii. 212
Craven, Hon. Berkeley, i. 296, 330 ;
ii. 13, 14, 139
Craven, Hon. Keppel, i. 309, 311 ;
ii. 14
Craven, Hon. Maria. See Sefton,
Lady
Craven, Lady Louisa (afterwards
Johnstone, then Oswald), ii. 311
Craven, Mrs., ii. 320
Creevey, Miss, ii. 143, 310
Creevey, Mrs. (formerly Mrs. Ord),
i. 12, 18, 22, 108, 120, 148-150;
at Brighton, i. 47-50 ; and Sheri-
dan, i. 52 ; Lord Thurlovv, i. 60;
at Brussels, i. 205-272 ; her death,
i. 275, 295 ; letters from Earl
Grey, i. I ; from Sheridan, i. 39 ;
to Creevey, i. 65-73, 80 ; from
Mrs. Fitzherbert, i. 69 ; to Miss
Ord, i. 82, 84 ; from Creevey, i.
121-132, 136-143, 145, 155-172,
195 ; from Lady Holland, i. 183,
184, 189, 205, 246, 254, 265
Crewe, Lord, ii. 36
Crockford's, ii. 151
Croker, J. W., on Brougham, ii. 23 ;
his dispute with Hume, ii. 35 ; his
article in Quarterly Review on
O'Meara's A Voice from St. Helena,
ii. 65 ; "the three C's," ii. 94 ; his
account of Liverpool's illness, ii.
105 ; a P.C., ii. 160; a slender
chance of being M.P. again, ii. 221
Croker Papers, i. 31 ; ii. 23, 31, 211
Cromwell, Oliver, ii. 171
Cross, Mr., K.C., ii. 125
Cumberland, Duchess of (Princess
Frederica of Mecklenberg-Strelitz,
widow, firstly, of Prince Frederick
of Prussia, and secondly, of Prince
Frederick William of Salmo-Braun-
fels), i. 205
Cumberland, Duke of, i. 146, 148-
150, 205, 276, 298, 339 ; ii. 196,
197, 210, 245, 322
Cumberland Hussars, at Waterloo,
i. 148, 232, 234
Curran, J. P., Irish Master of the
Rolls, i. 61, 107
Currency question, the, ii. 94, 97
Currie, Dr. J., of Liverpool, his clini-
cal thermometer, i. 2 ; his letters
to Creevey, i. 2, 12, 30; from
Creevey, i. 4, 9, 11-16, 19, 24, 27
33, 78, 80
Cuthbert, Lady Fanny, ii. 60
Dacre, Thomas, 2Oth Lord, i. 337 ;
ii. 95, 223, 278
Dacre, Thomas, 22nd Lord, ii. 311
Daly, Mr., i. 128
Darner, Mrs. (nte Conway), ii. 13,
14, 319
Danglas, Boissy, i. 7
Danton, i. 7
D'Aremberg, Due, i. 225
D'Aremberg, Prince, ii. 167
D'Arenberg, Prince, ii. 71
Darlington, Lady. See Cleveland,
Duchess of
Darlington, Lord. See Cleveland,
Duke of
Darnley, Lord, i. 283, 329 ; ii. 79
Dartmouth, Earl of, i. 337
Davenport, M.P. for Cheshire, ii. 34
Davie, Sir John, 8th baronet of
Creedy, Devon, ii. 65
Dawson, Mr., ii. 167
Dawson-Damer, Mrs., ii. 320
Dawson-Damer, Rt. Hon. G., ii. 304,
320
Day, Mr., i. 66, 68
346
INDEX.
Decazes, M., i. 272 ; ii. 4
Delaney, General, i. 34, 247
Delawarr, Lord, i. 337
Denison of Denbies, William Joseph,
ii. 24, 43, 105, 107, 109, 120, 148
Demnan, Lord Chief Justice, i. 297 ;
ii. 208, 317, 331 ; Queen's Solicitor-
General in her trial, i. 303, 304,
308,310,311,317, 326, 328,331.
333-335. 341 5 ' 23 j his recep-
tion by the populace, ii. 18 j present
at the Queen's death, ii. 21
Denmark, Princess of, i. 272
Dent, " Dog," ii. 58
Derby, James Stanley, 4th Earl of,
i.38
Derby, Edward, I2th Earl of, i. 27,
29, loo, H2, 114, 120, 128, 130,
260, 305, 308, 318, 326, 329, 331 ;
" 37, 57, 76, 83, 94, 203 ; letter
to Creevey, ii. 40 ; the railway
movement, ii. 87 ; and William
IV., ii. 226
Derby, Edward Smith, I3th Earl of,
i. 170-172 ; ii. 76, 88
Derby, Edward, I4th Earl of, ii.
40, 76, 128, 203, 226, 269, 282,
284, 295, 297, 299, 309 ; Secretary
for Ireland, ii. 219, 265 ; and
Durham, ii. 264 ; M. P. for Cheshire,
ii. 255 ; resigns, ii. 273, 276 j split
between Russell and, ii. 273, 274
Derby, Eliza Farren, Countess of
(wife of I2th Earl), i. 112, 305, 318,
326, 329, 331 ; ii. 57, 71, 75, 83
Derby, Countess of (wife of I3th
Earl), i. 170-172
d'Erlon, Marshal, at Waterloo, /. 238,
242
Devereux, Mr., ii. 179
Devonshire, Charlotte, Baroness Clif-
ford, Duchess of (wife of 4th Duke),
i. 184
Devonshire, Lady Georgiana Spencer,
Duchess of (ist wife of 5th Duke),
i. 71
Devonshire, Lady Elizabeth Foster,
Duchess of (2nd wife of 5th Duke),
i. 84, 254
Devonshire, William, 4th Duke of,
i. 1S4
Devonshire, William, 5th Duke of, i.
31, 84, 120, 181, 184
Devonshire, William Spencer, 6th
Duke of, i. 184, 257 ; ii. 241, 303,
310; declares for Reform, ii. 6;
proposed subscription for Queen
Caroline, ii. 12 ; protest against
Creevey's exclusion from office,
ii. 115 ; his coach at Doncaster
races, ii. 129
Digby, Admiral Sir Henry, ii. 36,
in
Digby, Aurora (Lady Ellenborough),
ii. 80
Digby, Lady (Viscountess Andover),
ii. 36, 112
Dillon, Lord, ii. 255
Dillon, Miss, i. 190
Dimont, Queen Caroline's femme de
chambre, i. 314, 3 1 5, 335
Dino, Madame de, ii. 217, 236, 241,
249, 253, 262, 269-271, 279, 302
Dinorben, Lady, i. 80
Dinorben, Lord, ;. 80 ; ii. 70
Dogherty, Irish Solicitor-General, ii.
1 88
Donne, W. Bodham, editor of Cor-
respondence of George III. with
Lord North, ii. 318
Donoughmore, 1st Earl of, i. 48, 138,
317, 326, 328; ii. 177, 189; his
recollections of Ireland, ii. 178-180
Dorchester, Lord, i. 63
d'Orleans, Due, i. 244 ; ii. 253, 269,
270
Dorneburg, General, Commander of
Mons garrison, i. 221, 222
D'Orsay, Count, ii. 254, 288
Dorset, Duchess of, i. 67
d'Otranto, Joseph Fouche, Due, i. 7,
214
Douglas-Hamilton, Lady Charlotte
(Duchess of Somerset), ii. 64
Douro, Lord, ii. 209
Douro, Wellington's passage of the,
i. 101-105, 109
Dover, Lord, ii. 257
Downshire, Marchioness of, i. 49, 62,
65, 66, 68, 73, 147
Downshire, Marquess of, i. 128 j ii.
79
Downton borough, Wilts, Creevey
and James Brougham returned for,
ii. 229
Drury Lane theatre, and Whitbread,
i. 241
Dublin, i. 42 ; Creevey's visit to, ii.
168, 187
Du Cane, ii. 230
Ducie, Lord, ii. 230
Dudley, John William Ward, 1st
Earl of, i. in, 112, 140, 183, 161,
173, 262 j ii. 68, 100, 152, 158,
159, 205, 243, 255 ; and Jekyll, i.
189 ; Rogers, the dead poet, i. 255 ;
INDEX.
347
Foreign Secretary, ii. 134; "a
Ward in Chancery," ii. 141
Duff, Captain, killed at Trafalgar,
1.69
Dufferin, Lady (nte Sheridan), /. 39
Duncannon, Viscountess (Lady Maria
Fane), ii. 73, 171-173, 176, 182
Duncannon, Viscount (4th Earl of
Bessborough), ii. 9, 16, 223, 254 ; a
conversation between Tierney and,
i. 327 ; Mrs. Murphy's letter, ii.
no; "now counts noses on the
other side," ii. 116; his Bess-
borough estates, ii. 171-176, 182 ;
Durham and Lady Jersey, ii. 219 ;
the Reform Bill draft, ii. 264 ; and
Anglesey's views on Ireland, ii.
265 ; Home Secretary, ii. 285
Duncombe, Tom, ii. 78, 167, 288,
290
Dundas, Henry. See Melville, Vis-
count
Dundas, Lord, i. 46, 156 ; ii. 231
Dundas, Mrs. (*& Williamson), ii. 81
Dundas, Tom, i. 338; ii. 34, 81, 179
Dundass, a Richmond surgeon, i. 28
Dundonald, Admiral Lord Cochrane,
loth Earl of, i. 128; tried for
Stock Exchange conspiracy, i. 203
Dunfermline, Lord. See Abercromby,
Hon. James
Dunmore, 4th Earl of, ii. 243
Dunning, Mr., i. 161
Du Paquier, Louis XVIII.'s . valet,
ii. 26
Durham, Countess of (Lady Louisa
Grey), ii. 7, 10, 15, 83, 92, 95, 217,
266
Durham, John George Lambton, 1st
Earl of ("King Jog"), i. 265, 332,
335, 342 ; ii. 9-12, 15, 32, 34, 39,
56, 71, 80-82, 91, 147, 154, 196,
201, 217, 219, 223, 229, 252, 291,
2 94> 35 39; interview with
Queen Caroline, ii. 7 ; Miss Copley
on, ii. 31 ; a victim of temper, ii.
49, 57 J l ett er to Creevey, ii. 54 ; a
scene with Creevey, ii. 91, 92 ; his
debts, ii. 120 ; Brougham's perfidy,
ii. 126 ; his peerage an appeal to
Brougham, ii. 142 ; and Reform,
ii. 230, 247, 264, 292 ; peer-making,
ii. 241 ; the Times' attack on Grey,
ii. 257, 294 ; scene between Grey
and, ii. 265 ; furious for dissolu-
tion, ii. 266 ; his exclusion from
Grey's cabinet, ii. 277 ; a quarrel
with Brougham, ii. 289 ; his
Glasgow dinner, ii. 297 ; accepts
the Canada mission, ii. 332, 334 ;
interview with Queen Adelaide, ii.
335
Durham, Mrs., Creevey's landlady,
ii. 223, 229, 260, 281
Duval, Justice, i. 327
Duvernay, the opera dancer, ii. 273
East India Company, i. 88, 120, 130,
134, 143, 291 ; ii. 327
East Retford, disfranchised, ii. 158
Eaton, Mr. and Mrs., i. 12
Ebrington, Viscount, ii. 310
Eckersley, Mr., i. 279
Eden, Hon. George (afterwards 2nd
Lord Auckland), i. 114, 120 ; ii. 2,
95 114
Eden, Sir William, ii. 107
Edinburgh mail, the, ii. 291
Edinburgh Review, i. 30, 119, 185,
205, 248; ii. 39, 99, 150, 167,
289
Edwardes, Mr., ii. 72
Edwards, box-keeper of Drury Lane
theatre, Sheridan's valet, i. 59
Egremont, Earl of, i. 337 ; ii. 164
Egypt, Napoleon's clairils on, i. 14
Eldon, Earl of, i. 109, 119, 136, 214,
257, 261 ; ii. 78, 135, 300 ; and
George IV., i. 156, 158, 298 ;
Roman Catholic question, i. 165 ;
ii. 112 ; jealous of Mrs. Leach, i.
258 ; the Pains and Penalties Bill,
i. 308, 314, 317, 325, 329, 333, 335 J
some sharp words with Liverpool,
* 3 2 3, 339 J Grey's palaver with,
i- 337 J Canning and, ii. 43, 68 ;
" the most noble of all the beasts,"
ii. 49 ; Lord Portsmouth's case, ii.
63; resigns, ii. 95, 113; the
patronage question, ii. 103 ; " lock
the door on Eldon and Co.," ii.
114, 115, 117; Brougham and, ii.
121, 224^; " whining at his un-
happy fate," ii. 152
Elizabeth, Princess, 3rd daughter of
George III., wife of Frederick,
Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, i.
339
Ellenborough, Lady {nee Digby), ii.
80
Ellenborough, Lord, i. 40, 75, 181 ;
ii. 79, 80, 197
348
INDEX.
Ellesmere, Earl of (Lord F. Leveson),
i. 185 ; ii. 59, 64, 188
Ellice, General, ii. 267
Ellice, Lady Hannah (nee Grey), ii.
273
Ellice of Invergarry, Edward, ii. 273,
310
Ellice of Invergarry, Mrs. Edward
(nee Balfour), ii. 273, 310
Ellice of Invergarry, Mrs. Edward
(previously Mrs. A. Speirs), it. 273
Ellice, Rt. Hon. Edward ("Bear"),
ii. 74, 93, 107, 115, 230, 243, 250,
257, 268, 273, 276, 328, 331, 332,
336 ; in Paris with Madame de
Lieven and Louis Philippe, ii. 309
Elliot, Mr., i. 21, 214
Ellis, Agar, ii. 217
Ellis, Charles Rose (Earl of Sea-
ford), i. 97, 183
Elvas, i. 88
Ely, flogging of mutinous militiamen
at, i. 33
England, at war with France, i. IO j
and the independence of Greece,
J 33
Enniskillen, Earl of, i. 277, 323, 336,
Entertaining Knowledge, Library of,
ii. 206
Erroll, Lord and Lady, ii. 181
Erskine, Captain, i. 234
Erskine, Lord, i. 3, 75, 119, 180, 209,
308, 318 ; ii. 6 ; on Russia's offer
of mediation, i. 15 j v. Windham,
i. 19 ; letter to Creevey, i. 136 ; and
Alexander I., i. 195 ; K.T., i. 211 ;
"The Green Man and Still," i.
212 ; " the most beautiful speech
possible," i. 317 ; a fainting fit, i.
335 ; greatly applauded, i. 338 ; on
Francis and Jum'us, ii. 8; "very
old and forlorn," ii. 68
Essex, Countess of (Catherine Ste-
phens), ii. 286
Essex, Earl of, i. 99, in, 296 ; ii. 38,
154, 230, 269, 270, 272, 285, 286,
306, 313, 321, 329, 330 ; his letters
to Creevey, ii. 290, 323
Esterhazy, Prince, ii. 96, 213, 236,
262, 263, 267
Esterhazy, Princess, ii. 199
Fagal, General, i. 220, 222, 286
Fane, John, M.P. for Oxfordshire, ii.
34
Fane, Lady Maria (Lady Duncannon),
ii. I7I-I73
Fawkes, Mr., ii. 55
Featherstone, Sir H., i. 295
Felice, Madame, ii. 14
Fellowes, Rev., the Queen's chaplain,
ii. 17
Ferdinand of Wurtemberg, Prince, i.
69
Ferdinand VII. of Spain, i. 248 ; ii.
53, 64, 90
Fergus, Provost of Kirkcaldy, ii. 85
Ferguson, Cutlar, Judge Advocate-
General, ii. 330
Ferguson, Major-General R. C., i.
105, 109, 122, 157, 212, 337 ; ii. 2,
34, 36, 42, 71, 107, 148, 151, 156,
276 ; his motion for production of
Milan Commission, i. 312; the
railway movement, ii. 87
Ferguson, Miss, ii. 3
Ferguson, Mrs., ii. 230
Ferguson of Raith, General Sir
Ronald, ii. 45, 47, 84
Ferguson, Robert, ii. 47
Fesch, Cardinal, ii. 39
Fife, Lord, i. 244
Filanqueri, i. 88
Firma9on, Madame de, ii. 96
Fitzallen, Lord, ii. 314
FitzClarence, Lady Frederick (Lady
Augusta Boyle), ii. 300
FitzClarence, Lord Frederick, ii. 83,
.300, 335
Fitzclarence, Miss, ii. 224
Fitzgerald, " Fighting," ii. 128
Fitzgerald, Hon. W. Vesey (after-
wards Lord), ii. 50, 147, 160, 167,
193
Fitzgerald, Lady Cecilia. See Foley,
Lady
Fitzgerald, Lady Olivia (afterwards
Kinnaird), i. 273 ; ii. 102
Fitzhardinge, Admiral Sir Maurice
Frederick Berkeley, Lord, i. 147 ;
ii. 185, 1 88
Fitzharris, Lord, i. 33
Fitzherbert, Mrs., i. 4, 47-50, 65-72,
82, 138, 139, 162, 175, 178; ii.
212, 319, 320
Fitzpatrick, General Richard, i. 13,
94, 121, 156, 182
Fitzroy, Lady Mary (nee Gordon-
Lennox), ii. 185
Fitzroy, Lord Henry, i. 163
Fitzroy, Sir Charles, ii. 185
Fitzwilliam, Countess of, i. 332
Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl of, i. 27, 29, 31,
INDEX.
349
109, 165, 263, 303, 308, 313, 332,
336; ii. 6, 11, 15, 91, 109, 135,
*55 J proposed subscription for
Queen Caroline, ii. 12 ; his coach at
Doncaster, ii. 120; Madame de
Lieven's compliments, ii. 130 ; and
Brougham, ii. 133
Fitzwilliam, 5th Earl of. See Milton,
Viscount
Flahault, General de, i. 250 j ii. 271
Flahault, Madame de (afterwards de
Souza), i. 251, 326
Fleury, Duchesse de, ii. 138
Flint, Sir Charles, ii. 74
Floridas, the, seized by U.S.A., i.
279
Fludyer, Mr., ii. 187
Flynn, Captain, i. 323, 329 ^
Foley, Lady (Lady Cecilia Fitz-
gerald), ii. 102, 204, 209
Foley, Lord, i. 296, 317, 331, 335,
338 ; ii. 205, 209, 226, 230, 253,
Foljambe, Savile, ii. 277
Folkestone (nte Mildmay), Viscountess
(Lady Radnor), i. 190, 272 ; ii.
280, 319
Folkestone, Viscount (afterwards 3rd
Earl of Radnor), i. 125, 159, 213,
257; ii. 34, 249, 317; and Mrs.
Clarke, i. 112, 115, 116; ii. 278;
letters to Creevey, i. 96, 190, 271 ;
"will take his line," ii. 5; Can-
ning's tirade against, ii. 68 ; Creevey
and James Brougham returned for
Downton by favour of, ii. 229
Follett, Sir William, Solicitor-
General, ii. 311
Fonblanque, M., i. 49, 150 ; ii. 312
Fontenay, Comtesse de (afterwards
de Tallien), i. 6, 7
Foote, the actor, i. 327
Forbes, Lord, i. 160; ii. 178, 181
Ford, Mrs., ii. 286
Fordyce, John, Receiver -General of
Land Tax, Scotland, i. 34, 35
Fordyce, Mrs. (nte Maxwell), i. 34
Forester, Hon. Anne (Lady Chester-
field), ii. 214
Forester, Hon. Isabella (Mrs. Geo.
Anson), ii. 214
Forester, Lord, ii. 214
Forester, Mr., i. 184
Forster, Mr.,i. 167
Forsyth, Mr., it. 40
Fortescue, George, ii. 64
Fortescue, Lady, i. 329
Fortescue, Lord, i. 308, 329
Foster, J., Chancellor of Exchequer,
Ireland, i. 31
Fouche, Joseph, Due d'Otranto, i. 7,
214
Fox, Charles, ii. 155, 268, 310, 329,
332
Fox, Charles James, at Talleyrand's,
i. 5 ; " Liberty asleep in France,
but dead in England," i. 9 ; speech
on Russia's offer of mediation, i.
1 6 ; his "palaver about a military
command for the Prince of Wales,"
i. 18 ; "a proscribed victim of
fortune," i. 20 ; Windham's enmity,
i. 21 ; "devotion to Fox," i. 22;
alliance with Pitt, i. 23, 27, 37 j
letter to Creevey, i. 23 ; speech on
the St. Vincent enquiry, i. 24 ;
Sheridan's project, i. 25; George
III. v. y i. 26 ; ii. 318 ; Prince of
Wales's relations with, i. 27, 28, 31,
46, 47, 82, 146 ; and Fordyce, i. 34,
35 ; his conduct in the Athol
business, i. 37 j Romilly's support,
i. 41; Graham Moore on, i. 78 ;
his illness and death, i. 79, 80-84 ;
the highest of " All the Talents," i.
84 ; Whitbread on, i. 92 ; Creevey
on, i. 143 ; Brougham compares
Pitt and, i. 171 ; his friend Fitz-
patrick, *. 182 ; the Fox dinner at
Newcastle, i. 187; his great influ-
ence, i. 290 ; proposed epitaph, i.
299, 300; at Lady Olivia Fitz-
gerald's wedding, ii. 102 ; Grey,
Grenville, and, ii. 117, 119
Fox Club, ii. 6
Fox, Henry (afterwards 4th Lord
Holland), ii. 268
Fox, Lady Mary, ii. 268, 310, 332
Fox, Mrs., i. 70, 300
France, the king guillotined, i. I ; in
1802, i. 4 ; war with England, i. 10 j
her aggressive policy, i. 14 ; Alex-
ander I.'s offer of mediation, i. 15 ;
Austria, Prussia, and England z/.,
i. 44 ; her Spanish South American
colonies, i. 86-88; Cintra Conven-
tion, i. 89; the Hundred Days,
Waterloo, i. 213-238; and Greek
independence, ii. 133
Franceschi, General (France), i. IOI
Francis I. of Austria, i. 99
Francis, Lady, ii. 8
Francis, Sir Philip, i. 61, 112, 147,
149, i$o;Junius? ii. 8
Franklin, John, ii. 264
Fraser, Dr., i. 68
350
INDEX.
Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse-
Homburg, i. 359
Frederick of Prussia, Prince, i. 205
Frederick William of Salmo-Braun-
fels, Prince, i. 205
Frederick William III., of Prussia,
i. 45, 187, 195, 196, 197
Freeman, ii. 289
Freemantle, Rt. Hon. Sir William
Henry, i. 127, 161, 214, 217, 272,
282
French, at the Douro, i. 101-104
French, Lord, ii. 179
Frere, ii. 315
Galileo, ii. 207
Gal way, 1st Viscount, i. 56
Garth, Captain, ii. 196, 197, 200
Garth, General, ii. 196, 200
Gascoigne, General, M.P. for Liver-
pool, i. 154, 168, 172, 253 ; his
motion to reduce Ordnance Vote,
ii. 265
Cell, Sir William, i. 309, 311, 323,
339
Genlis, Madame de, ii. 96
George II., i. 51, 339 ; ii. 246
George III., and Addington, i. 8 ;
France's aggressive policy, i. 14 ;
against Prince of Wales, i. 17; for
Duke of York, i. 17, 107 ; "will
never more exercise the Royal
function," i. 25 ; v. Fox, i. 26, 28 ;
his illness, i. 27, 28, 36, 65, 119,
135, 142, 145, 146; and Pitt, i.
27 ; determined on a Tory Cabinet,
i- 39 > V. Roman Catholic Emanci-
pation, i. 43, 84 ; at Weymouth, i.
48, 63 ; has recourse to the Whigs,
i. 74; "has not yet sent for
Wardle," i. 97 ; Princess Amelia's
illness and death, i. 98, 135 ; his
letter to Perceval, i. 99 ; Canning
and Castlereagh, i. 106 ; his popu-
larity, i. 113; "the Gentleman at
the end of the Mall," i. 118, 132 ;
the Walcheren Expedition, i. 131 ;
the Princess Charlotte, i. 175 ; his
death, i. 295, 296 ; Princess Eliza-
beth's marriage, *'. 339 ; shut up for
10 years, ii. 16 ; " Old Nobbs,"
ii. 119 ; parting with Lord North,
ii. 246 ; Coke's violent speech
against, ii. 294 ; some correspon-
dence with Lord North, ii. 318
George IV., i. 4, 46, no, 257 ; ii. 75,
79, 90, 115, 117, 120, 208 ; proposed
substitution of Council for Viceroy
in Ireland, i. 16 ; and George III.,
i. 17 ; a military command for, i.
1 8 ; his attachment to the old no-
bility, i. 26 ; "a Regency must be
resorted to," i. 27 ; and Fox, i. 27,
28, 46, 47, 82, 146 ; a kind of
Cabinet, *'. 31 ; invites Creevey to
dinner, i. 32 ; and the Whigs, i.
39, 62, 76, 176, 177 ; Romilly, i.
40 ; Creevey's account of, i. 46-51,
57-59, 62, 63; and Sheridan, i. 57,
58 ; Warren Hastings, i. 59 ; and
the Duke of York, i. 63, 113, 140,
2O 9> 3OS> "had got more wine
than usual," i. 65 ; Mrs. Creevey
on, i. 65-73, I47-H9 5 the air-gun,
i. 66 ; Mrs. Fitzherbert, i. 66, 82,
139 ; his grief at Nelson's death,
i. 70 ; Rev. W. Price's letter to, i.
76 ; Tufnell and Colchester, i. 81 ;
his threat to Perceval, i. ill ; ap-
pointed Regent changed attitude
towards Ministers, i. 135-137, 142,
144, 145, 152 ; Bank Note Bill, i.
145 ; at Brighton, i. 146-150; Wel-
lington and the Peninsular War, i.
147, 149 ; Viotti, the violinist, i.
148 ; on Sir Willoughby Gordon,
i. 150, 151 ; end of Creevey's in-
timacy with, i. 151; the Dandy
ball incident, i. 183 ; reconstructs
the Cabinet, i, 152-162; Grey and
Grenville, i. 152, 156; sends for
Wellesley, i. 155 j for Moira, i.
I57> I59 163, 164; scandalous
treatment of Princess of Wales, i.
175-188, 193, 201, 203, 212, 253 ;
Brougham's support of the Princess,
i. 176, 177-182; "our magnani-
mous regent," i. 187 ; Whitbread
on, i. 191 ; visit of foreign royalties,
i. 187-197 ; Princess Charlotte's
engagement, i. 197 ; ill, i. 207, 259,
266, 297 ; ii. 104, 105, 109, 146 ;
M. A. Taylor, i. 211 ; ii. 116 ; for
war with France, i. 214 ; Bennet
on, i. 241 ; and Ossulston, i. 244 ;
his nickname for Dean Legge of
Windsor, i. 247 ; "has left off his
stays," i. 263 ; Duke of Kent on,
i. 268 ; Folkestone on, i. 272 ;
Wellington on, i. 279 ; Brougham
on, i. 294 ; succeeds to throne, i.
295 ; hostility to, i. 299 ; excludes
Queen's name from Liturgy, i. 302-
304; Sam Spring, i. 310; the
INDEX.
351
chambermaid's evidence, i. 313 ;
wants to go to Hanover, i. 314 ;
divorce clause abandoned, i. 319;
his intended changes, i. 320 ; Hutch-
inson and Donoughmore at Windsor
with, i. 326, 328; "greatly de-
ceived," i. 333 ; his coronation, ii.
I j insults Prince Leopold, ii. 7,
8; "has slept none," ii. 16 ; his
unpopularity, ii. 18 ; his Knights
of the Thistle, ii. 19, 27; squabbles
with his Ministers, ii. 20 ; Lady
Jersey's relations with, ii. 25 ; de-
termined to marry again, ii. 28 ; the
print of his sacred feet, ii. 29 ; in
Ireland, ii. 30, 31 ; Lady Conyng-
ham's opposition ball, ii. 38 ;Castle-
reagh's death, ii. 43 ; in Edinburgh,
ii. 45 ; his sisters and Lady Conyng-
ham, ii. 48 ; and the Whigs, ii. 56,
118 ; Lord Albert D. Conyngham,
ii. 58 ; the reference in his speech
to Spain, ii. 61, 62; Lord Bath's
blue ribbon, ii. 73 ; at Ascot races,
ii. 77, 88; "getting very old and
cross," ii. 83; quarrel with Lady
Conyngham, ii. 89, 96 ; distrusts
Canning, ii. 103 ; the Roman
Catholic question, ii. 108, 198, 200 ;
instructs Canning to form a minis-
try, ii. no, in, 113; Canning's
death, ii. 122, 125 ; Snip Robinson,
Premier, ii. 123, 142; his "good
friend Wellington," ii. 124, 159 ;
Herries, Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer, ii. 128 ; and Brougham,
ii. 129, 146 ; on Navarino, ii. 140 ;
and Lady Conyngham, ii. 148 ;
" crept into town," ii. 155 ; Buck-
ingham Palace, ii. 156 ; and Fer-
guson, ii. 157 ; Bishop of Win-
chester's reproof, ibid. ; on Creevey,
ii. 1 60 ; reports about his health, ii.
187 ; Captain Garth's case, ii. 196 ;
v. the Pope, ii. 197 ; his horse " the
Colonel," ii. 199, 210; on the
Wellington - Winchilsea duel, ii.
200 ; and Grey, ii. 201 ; his last ill-
ness and death, ii. 210, 21 1, 325 ;
the Ordnance Department tents,
ii. 233 ; preserved all Mrs. Fitz-
herbert's letters, ii. 320 ; Sir John
Lade and, ii. 335
Gerard, General, ii. 202
Gerobtzoff, Madame, i. 57, 72
Gibbon, Edward, ii. 257
Gibbs, i. 132
Gifford, Countess of, i. 39
Gifford, Sir Robert (afterwards Lord),
ii-95
Giles, Mr., M.P., i. 99, in
Gillespie, Rev., i. 320
Gilray, ii. 29
Gladstone, Bart., Sir John, i. 120,
168, 2ii, 253
Gladstone, W. E., i. 253
Glasgow, 4th Earl of, ii. 300
Glenelg, Lord, ii. 313, 326, 334, 335
Glengall, Lady, ii. 29, 38, 60, 107
Glengall, Lord, ii. 107
Glenlyon, Lord, ii. 157
Gloucester, Duchess of, i. 333 ; ii. 7,
197, 262
Gloucester, Duke of ("Slice"), i.
178, 183, 193, 308, 332, 333 ; ii.
71,275; declares himself a Radical,
ii. 6, 7 ; a proverbial bore, ii. 9 ; a
scene between Wellington and, ii.
67 ; dangerously ill, ii. 299
Goderich, J. Robinson, Viscount,
Premier, ii. 97, 120, 123, 128, 133,
154; "will cry himself out of
office," ii. 129; " a minister pour
rire," ii. 135 ; resigns, ii. 141, 144;
in favour of new peers, ii. 241
Goderich, Lady, ii. 305
Goldsmith, Lewis, ii. 324
Goodall, Provost of Eton, ii. 263
Goodwood, ii. 162
Gordon, Colonel Sir Willoughby,
Secretary to Commander-in-Chief,
i. 49, 150, 332 ; British Minister at
Troppau, ii. 4
Gordon, 4th Duke of, *. 167
Gordon, Hon. Sir Alexander, i. 172,
3!9
Gordon, James, i. 319
Gordon, Jane, Duchess of, i, 34, 167
Gordon, Mr., ii. 254
Gore, Charles, ii. 329, 332
Gosford, 3rd Earl of, ii. 191
Goulbourn, Henry, Chancellor of the
Exchequer, ii. 212, 302
Gower, Lord (afterwards 2nd Duke
of Sutherland), ii. 47, 48
Grafton, Duke of, i. 167, 308 ; ii. 79,
133
Graham, Rt. Hon. Sir James, First
Lord of the Admiralty, ii. 234,
305 ; the Reform Bill draft, ii. 264 ;
resigns office on Irish Church Bill,
ii. 273, 276; "canting," ii. 274;
Grey complains bitterly of, ii. 282
Grammont, Antoine, Due de, ii. 307
Granard, 2nd Earl of, . 160
Granard, 6th Earl of, i. 160
352
INDEX.
Grant, Rt. Hon. Charles, Lord
Glenelg, President of the Board of
Control, ii. 159, 213, 234, 269, 296
Grant, Robert, Governor of Bombay,
ii. 234
Grantham, Lord, i. 336
Granville, Countess, i. 184, 254 j ii.
60, 96, 306
Granville, Earl, i. 2 1 6, 255, 322;
ii. 306
Grattan, i. 114, 121, 216, 228; ii.
175, 178, 179, 181, 183
Great Northern Railway, ii. 291
Greathed, Mr., i. 230
Greece v. Turkey, ii. 133
Greenwood, i. 34 ; ii. 242
Gregory, Under Secretary for Ireland,
ii. 177
Grenfell, Charles, ii. 226, 252, 290,
312
Grenfell, Pascoe, ii. 218
Grenville, C., ii. 167
Grenville, Lord, i. 4, 114, 121, 142,
144, 146, 157, 163-165, 180 ; leader
of the Old Whigs, i. 3, 21 ; for
Fox, i. 28 ; ii. 119 j v. Pitt, i. 28 ;
forms a coalition Cabinet, "All
the Talents," i. 75; ii. 117; resigns
on Roman Catholic question, i.
84 ; the extreme members of the
Opposition, i. 87 ; the anti-war
party's rage, i. 93, 94 ; Ministers'
offers to, i. 106, no; and
Brougham, i. 119 j Tierney, i. 127 ;
Wellesley, i. 129, 130 ; his offer to
Whitbread, i. 137 ; refuses to
reinstate Duke of York as Com-
mander-in-Chief, i. 140 ; declines
office under Prince Regent, i. 152 j
Prince Regent on, i. 156; against
war, i. 161 ; called by Brougham
"Bogey," i. 178, 216; and
"Snoutch," i. 247; Alexander I.
and, i. 195 ; Grey's firmness, i. 214 ;
called "the Stale" by Bennet, i.
217 ; supports Pains and Penalties
Bill, i. 336 ; Grey and Whitbread,
ii. 118
Grenville, Tom, i. 4, 21, 28, 255
Gresley, Lady Sophia, ii. 81
Gresley, Sir Roger, ii. 8 1
Greville, Charles Cavendish Fulke,
Clerk of the Council (" Punch "), ii.
59, 79, 142, 169, 214, 223, 226, 233,
236, 241, 261, 312, 314, 330
Greville, Lady Charlotte, i. 215, 225-
227, 278, 279, 289, 314; ii. 48,
1 60, 236
Greville Memoirs, ii, 211, 215
Grey, 1st Earl, i. 196 ; it. 273
Grey, Charles, 2nd Earl, i. 13, 23,
27, 29, 30, 47, 87, 94, 108, 1 10,
120, 128, 130, 137, 142-144, 153,
157, 158, 165, 172, 192, 217, 242,
243, 256, 265, 308, 318, 319, 333 ;
ii. 6, 9, 10, 15, 35, 37, 57, 79, 81,
83, 116, 124, 142, 154, 201, 210,
223, 229, 234, 260, 268, 284, 307,
309, 321 ; his letter to Mrs. Ord
(Creevey) on execution of Louis
XVI., i. i ; the Prince of Wales
and Fox, i. 26 ; commission on
Army abuses, i. 34 ; on continental
confederacies, i. 44 ; Prince of
Wales on, i. 72, 156, 163; the
reports of Pitt's illness, i. 80 ;
one of his best speeches, i. 81 ;
Ministers' offers to, i. 106, 109,
162, 164 ; the Holland campaign,
i. 107, 121-123, 129, 161 ; and
Whitbread, i. in, 139, 182; and
Ponsonby, i. 117; his speech against
Wellington, i. 123 ; Tierney' s influ-
ence, i. 124-126 ; a job by Bishop
Mansel's brother, i. 129 ; on
Creevey, i. 139 ; declines to rein-
state Duke of York as Com-
mander-in-Chief, i. 140 ; " will be
passed over," i. 146 ; refuses office
under Prince Regent, i. 152 ; and
Brougham, i. 173, 193, 253; ii. 129,
133, 140, 149, 184, 219, 220, 285,
287, 289, 292, et seq. ; semi-pacific,
i. 1 78 ; the Fox dinner at Newcastle,
i. 187 ; and Alexander I., i. 195 ;
and Napoleon, i. 196, 240; and
Grenville, i. 214, 247 ; on the
Divorce question, i. 259 ; spies and
informers exposed by, i. 263 ;
Wellington on, i. 287 ; ii. 121 ;
Pains and Penalties Bill, i, 299,
310, 3I3 317, 325> 326, 329,
33 i > 332, 334, 336, 337; " 7;
proposed epitaph for Fox, i. 300 ;
on the Queen's letter to the King,
i. 306 j Francis andfanius, ii. 8 ;
Whitbread, Canning and, ii. 118;
his son and Lord Darlington, ii.
122; the Old Whig Guard repre-
sented by, ii. 130 ; on Lady London-
derry's dress, ii. 132 ; and the
Malignants, ii. 135 ; on the Turkish
scrape, ii. 139, 140; his specula-
tions on the new Government after
Goderich's resignation, ii. 141 ;
on Wellington's Cabinet, ii. 144,
INDEX.
353
145, 151; his new "Wellington"
coat, ii. 155 ; and Duke of Sussex,
ibid. ; his panegyric on Peel, ii.
196 ; and Roman Catholic Emanci-
pation, ii. 199 ; and Rosslyn as
Privy Seal, ii. 202 ; Premier, ap-
points Creevey Treasurer of Ord-
nance, ii. 215 ; William IV. and,
ii. 216, 231, 246, 274, 276, 286;
and Lord Durham, ii. 217, 232,
265, 277, 291 ; the Pension List,
ii. 218; the Timu? attacks on, ii.
219, 220, 257 ; on Stanley, ii. 219 ;
his advice to Sir John Shelley, ii.
222 ; dismissal of Seymour and
Meynell from the King's house-
hold, ii. 225 ; his appeal for a
dissolution, ii. 227-229 ; reduction
of Creevey's salary, ii. 228; K.G.,
ii. 232 ; down with influenza, ii.
233 ; the Reform Bill, ii. 236, 237,
247, 264; insists on Lord Hill
voting against Wellington, ii. 240 ;
the proposed peer- making, ii. 241,
243, 244 ; withdraws his resignation,
ii. 244, 245 ; Creevey's retirement,
ii. 249 ; Stanley's obstinacy about
Irish tithes, ii. 252; whist at
Windsor Castle, ii. 262 ; Palmer-
ston's intimacy with Lady Jersey,
ii. 269 ; his change of tone towards
Talleyrand, ibid. ; and J. Parkes,
ii. 271 ; Creevey's heartwhole de-
votion to, ii. 272 ; Creevey's fore-
cast, ii. 279 ; appoints Creevey to
the Greenwich Hospital estates, ii.
281 ; complains of Stanley and
Graham, ii. 282 ; resigns, ii. 282 j
his farewell speech, ii. 283 ; his
passion for dancing, ibid. ; Essex
and, ii. 290 ; in retirement, ii. 292-
301 j O'Connell's abuse of, ii. 306 j
Queen Victoria's voice and speech,
ii. 323 ; letters to Creevey, i. 45,
74;ii. 125, 133, 139,144
Grey, 3rd Earl. See Howick, Lord
Grey, Countess, i. 80, 82, 91, 162 ; ii.
155, 184, 210, 215, 217, 219, 225,
243, 248, 254, 262, 263, 267, 271,
273, 276, 283, 285, 287, 290, 292,
294, 295, 306
Grey, Frederick, ii. 292
Grey, General Charles, i. 80 j ii. 243,
262
Grey, Harry, i. 69; ii. 292, 328
Grey, Lady Elizabeth, ii. 81, 83, 306
Grey, Lady Georgiana, ii. 243, 262,
292, 306, 323
VOL. II.
Grey, Lady Hannah (afterwards Bet-
tesworth, then Ellice), ii. 273
Grey, Lady Louisa (afterwards Dur-
ham), i. 265 j ii. 7, 10, 15, 83, 92,
95, 276
Grey, Mrs., i. 128 ; ii. 91, 140
Grey of Morrick, Colonel, ii. 294
Griffiths, Lieut. (Guards), wounded at
Waterloo, ii. 233
Gronow, Captain, ii. 273
Grosvenor, Bob, ii. 81, 100, 128
Grosvenor, Earl (afterwards 2nd Mar-
quess of Westminster), ii. 260
Grosvenor, General, ii. 57
Grouchy, Marechal, i. 237
Guiche, Madame de, ii. 288
Guilford, Earl of, i. 31, 257, 322 j ii.
246, 318
Gully, John, prize-fighter, i. 64 ; ii.
157, 210
Gurwood, Wellington Despatches, ii.
3H, 315
Gwydyr, Dowager Lady (Lady Wil-
loughby d'Eresby), i. 311
Gwydyr, Lord, ii. 104
H
Habeas Corpus, i. 263
Hadley, Lord, i. 76
Halford, Sir Henry, i. 130 ; ii. 234,
243, 262
Halket, General, i. 222
Hallam, Henry, ii. 272
Hallyday, Lady Jane, ii. 75
Hamick, Bart., Sir , Lord Grey's
doctor, ii. 329
Hamilton, Colonel, at Waterloo, i.
220, 225, 229-231, 238; wounded,
234, 235 ; at Cambray, 277
Hamilton, Mrs. (nfo Ord), i. 220, 225,
278, 283, 286
Hamilton, 9th Duke of, i. 309 ; ii.
64
Hamilton, Lady, i. 70, 340
Hamilton, Lady Anne, i. 302, 309 ;
ii. 17, 24
Hamilton, Lady Charles Douglas-
(afterwards Duchess of Somerset),
ii. 64
Hamilton, Lord Archibald, i. 85, 122,
128, 309 ; ii. 9, 50, 64
Hammersley, i. 34
Hammond, General, i. 150
Hamond, Sir Andrew, i. 277
Hanbury-Williams, Sir Charles, ii.
38>39
2 A
354
INDEX.
Hansard^ i. 81
Hardinge, Sir Henry, ii. 157
Hardy, Lady, i. 256
Hardy, Sir Thomas, i. 256
Hare, i. 61, 84
Harewood, Earl of, ii. 32
Hargrave, Mr., i. 194
Harper, General (America), i. 279
Harrington, 2nd Earl of, /'. 57
Harrington, 3rd Earl of, i. 56, 330 ;
ii. 191
Harrowby, Countess of, i. 324
Harrowby, 1st Earl of, i. 165, 314,
324, 328 j ii. 242, 244
Harvey, Mr., i. 238
Harvey, Mrs., i. 276, 279
Harvey, Sir John, ii. 328
Hastings, 1st Marquess of, ii. 285
Hastings, Warren, i. 59, 61
Hastings, Mrs. Warren, i. 59
Hatherton, Lord, ii. 288, 305
Hawarden, Lady, ii. 174
Hawkesbury, Lord. See Liverpool,
Earl of
Hay, Lord, killed at Quatre Bras, i.
230
Hayter, his picture of the Queen's
trial, ii. 70, 330
Headfort, Marquess of, i. 244 ; ii. 326
Heathcote, Gilbert, ii. 75
Heber, Bishop of Calcutta, ii. 218
Heber, Mrs., ii. 218
Heber, M.P. for Oxford, ii. 64
Henry, Mr., ii. 236
Herries, J. C., Chancellor of the
Exchequer, ii. 128, 140
Hertford, Isabella, Marchioness of, i.
82, 148, 189, 214; ii. I, 148, 320
Hertford, Marquess of, i. 214, 320 ; ii.
13. 56, 94, 101, 221, 225, 227
Hervey, Lord, i. 277, 281 ; ii. 87,
267
Hesse-Homburg, Frederick, Land-
grave of, i. 339; ii. 17, 20
Heywood, Arthur, ii. 268
Heywood, Samuel, i. 130, 170
Hieronymus, Queen Caroline's major-
domo, ii. 17
Hill, Lord Arthur (afterwards Lord
Sandys), i. 236, 238, 239, 283 j ii.
87, 198, 210
Hill, Lord, Commander-in-Chief,
" Daddy," i. 277, 278 ; ii. 154, 157 ;
votes against Wellington, ii. 240 ;
on Queen Victoria, ii. 330
Hill, Miss, i. 277
Hinchcliflfe, Mr., ii. 36
Hcbart, Secretary for Ireland, ii. 179
Ilobhouse, John Cam (afterwards Lord
Broughton), ii. 64, Si, 83, 99 ; and
General Mina, ii. 74 ; on Creevey's
Reform pamphlet, ii. 99 j Woods
and Forests, ii. 285
Holland, Lady, " Madagascar,'*!. 82,
157, 208, 249, 273, 300, 330, 341 ;
ii. 4, 9, 15, 26, 37, 56, 58, 69, 74,
86, 209, 269, 284, 309, 311, 312,
322, 329 ; her letters to Mrs.
Creevey, i. 183, 184, 189, 205,
246, 264; her "nutshell," ii. 154;
"I tell you she's 57," ii. 156 ; and
Sefton's flowers, ii. 256; "eating
like a horse," ii. 267; her "pro-
cession," ii. 313 ; evidently failing,
ii. 314 ; her flattery, ii. 333
Holland, Lord, i. 114, 120, 158; ii.
3, 4, 9, 39, 74, 128, 129, 155, 209,
33> 312, 313, 332, 333 J Whitbread
on, i. 100 ; Creevey on, i. 143 ; on
the state of public affairs, i. 144 ;
and Wellesley, i. 153; "quite in-
imitable," i. 156 j and Alexander I.,
i. 195; ii. n5; on Napoleon, i.
196 j his letters to Creevey, i. 206,
239, 263, 264, 292 ; his love of
tennis, i. 246 ; his daughter's death,
i. 260 ; the Pains and Penalties
Bill, i. 308, 325, 334 ; Wellington's
scrape, ii. 6 ; his apology to the
Emperor of Russia, ii. 15 ; his Bill
to enable Duke of Norfolk to
officiate as Earl Marshal, ii. 78 ;
denounced by the Malignants, ii.
136 ; defends the Navarino business,
ii. 141 j the Reform Bill, ii. 236,
247 ; on peer-making, ii. 241 ; his
agreeableness, ii. 267, 272 ; making
offers to Lord Howick, ii. 295 ; the
repository of Brougham's confi-
dential letters, ii. 301
Holland, Henry, 4th Lord, ii. 268
Holmes, William, ii. 213, 221
Hood, Viscount, Lord Chamberlain to
Queen Caroline, ii. 3, 18, 20, 21
Hood, Viscountess, ii. 17, 24
Hope, M.P. for Lancashire, i. 36, 280,
281
Hoppner, his portrait of Berkeley and
Keppel Craven, ii. 14
Horn, John, of Cambridge, i. 169
Hornby, Mrs., i. 17
Hornbys of Knowsley, the, i. 171, 203
Home, Mr., Surgeon of Newcastle-
on-Tyne, i. 186
Homer, Francis, i. 99, 112, 156, 249 ;
his motion on McMahon's salary,
INDEX.
355
i. 161 ; Western on, i. 251 ; on the
Sinking Fund, i. 252 ; his death,
i. 278
Horton, Mr., i. 171
House of Commons, tone of debates
in, i. 21
Houses of Parliament, burnt, ii. 288
Houston, Lady Jane, /. 148 ; ii. 203
Howard, Bernard. See Norfolk, 1 2th
Duke of
Howard, Lord, ii. 9
Howard of Effingham, Lord, i. 336
Howick, Lady (Maria Copley), i. 80,
295. 306, 310
Howick, Lord (afterwards 3rd Earl of
Grey), i. 80 ; ii. 31, 59, 81, 122,
165, 243, 295, 296, 300, 310, 321,
336
Howman, a witness in the Queen's
trial, i. 329, 335
Howorth, Mr., i. 78
Howth, Lord, ii. 188
Hughes, Colonel J., ii. 230, 231
Hughes of Kinmel (afterwards Lord
Dinorben), /. 80 ; ii. 70
Hughes of Kinmel, Mrs. (afterwards
Lady Dinorben), i. 80
Hugomont, i. 237, 239
Hume, Dr., i. 239 ; ii. 209, 303
Hume, Joseph, ii. 35, 50, 63, 66, 74,
76, 251, 252, 303
Hundred Days, the, i. 213, 21 8
Hunloke, Miss Charlotte (Countess of
Albemarle), ii. 33
Hunt, Henry, " Orator," ii. 55
Huntly, Marchioness of (Lady E.
Conyngham), i. 333 ; ii. 33
Huntly, 9th Marquess of, i. 125, 333
Huskisson, Rt. Hon. William, Secre-
tary to the Treasury, i. 36, 161,
164, 183 ; First Commissioner
Woods and Forests, i. 207 ; ii. 70 ;
Canning and, ii. 99-101, 122 ; the
Corn Bill, ii. 122 ; his load of un-
popularity, ii. 141 ; and Welling-
ton's Cabinet, ii. 144, 145; "fell
50 per cent, in last night's jaw," ii.
152 ; resigns on Corn Laws, ii.
I 5&t 159 ; on Stanley, "the Hope
of the Nation," ii. 203 j killed at
Liverpool, ii. 213
Hutchinson, Hon. Christopher H.,
M.P. for Cork, i. 160 ; ii. 28
Hutchinson, Lord, on substitution of
Council for Viceroy in Ireland, i.
16 ; Commander of Army in Egypt,
i. 48 ; the true account of Auster-
litz, i. 49 ; Mrs. Creevey's " chief
flirt," i. 73 ; " Wellington ought
to be hanged," i. 130 ; and the
Prince Regent, i. 138, 141, 142,
146, 149 ; the Russian accounts of
their victories, i. 169 ; and Queen
Caroline, i. 302; ii. 28; interview
with the king, i. 326 ; and Creevey,
i- 334. 335 J Creevey's visit to, ii.
174-177
Ibrahim, General (Turkey), ii. 133
Influenza, prevalence of, ii. 233, 252,
317
Inverness, Duchess of (Lady Cecilia
Buggin, Duchess of Sussex), ii. 230,
243, 258, 329
Irby, Mr., ii. 100
Ireland, anomaly of the Lord Lieu-
tenancy, i. 1 6 ; Creevey's visit to
and impressions of, ii. 168-192 ;
Donoughm ore's recollections of,
ii. 178-180 ; Anglesey's view of, ii.
182
Irish Church Reform, ii. 254-256,
273, 274
Irving, Edward, ii. 75, 85
Isle of Man, i. 37 ; Receiver- General-
ship offered to Creevey, ii. 249, 250
Italy, Napoleon in command of the
army in, i. 6
[acobins, masters of Paris, i. 214, 217
[effrey, Francis, Lord, i. 205
[effrey, Rev. , i. 319
[ekyll, i. 189
[enkinson, Lady Selina (afterwards
Lady Milton), ii. 277
Jerningham, Mrs., ii. 319, 320
Jersey, Frances, Countess of, ii. I, 25
Jersey, Sarah Sophia, Countess of, i.
189, 297, 318, 324, 326, 332 ; H. 39,
113, 132, 150, 1 60, 234, 270;
Alexander I. waltzing with, i. 197 j
the " Lady Augusta " of Glenarvon t
i. 254 j and Brougham, i. 259, 295 ;
ii. 73, 133 ; Creevey's visit to Mid-
dleton, i. 295, 296 ; "herself is a
host," ii. 9 ; and Mrs. Brougham,
ii. 71 ; scene between Durham and,
ii. 219 ; mad against Reform, ii.
223 ; and Wellington, ii. 232 ;
Palmerston and, ii. 268, 269 ; Lady
Pembroke v. f ii. 312
356
INDEX.
John Bull, ii. 2
Johnson, Dr. S., London, i. 134
Johnson, Mrs., ii. 75
Johnson, Sir John, Superintendent-
General and Inspector-General of
Indian affairs in British North
America, ii. 64
Johnstone, Bart., Sir G. F., ii. 311
Johnstone, George, i. 62, 64, 65, 67,
68, 70
Johnstone, Lady Louisa, ii. 311
Johnstone, Miss, i. 65-68
Jordan, Mrs., ii. 300
Jourdan, Camille, i. 7
Juarenais, Madame de, i. 233, 234
Juarenais, Marquis de, i. 231, 233,
234
Junius, Letters of, ii. 8
Junot, General, i. 89
Juvenal, 3rd Satire, i. 134
K
Karaiskaki, General (Greece), ii. 133
Kean, ii. 76
Keith, Lady, ii. 269, 270
Keith, Lord, i. 149
Kemeys-Tynte, Mr., ii. 313
Kempt, General Sir James, Com-
mander 8th Brigade at Waterloo, ii.
254, 258, 259, 267
Kennedy, Mr., ii. 224
Kensington, Lady, ii. 71
Kensington, 2nd Lord (" Og, King of
Bashan"), i. 78, in, 112, 114; ii.
39, 62, 71, 196 ; Creevey and the
Lord Mayor's invitation card, i.
338 ; on France and Louis XVIII. ,
ii. 6 1 ; story of the Duke of Buck-
ingham, ii. 69 ; tenders his son's
resignation to Canning, ii. 72 ; the
facts of the Garth case, ii. 197
Kent, Duchess of, i. 282, 283, 284; ii.
83, 210 ; and Queen Victoria, ii.
228, 257, 324-326; absent from
William IV. 's coronation, ii. 237,
238; Creevey, ii. 277 ; her fetes at
Kensington, ii. 310; Creevey play sv
whist with, ii. 327, 328; and
Conroy, ii. 332
Kent, Duke of, i. 113, 115, 276, 297 ;
Creevey's notes on a conversation
with, i. 269-271 ; ii. 325 ; his
mother's illness, i. 282 ; his appear-
ance, i. 283 ; Wellington's jokes
about, i. 284
Kenyon, Lord, i. 308
Keogh, a Dublin silk mercer, ii. 1 78,
179
Keppel, Lady Anne (Countess of
Leicester), ii. 36, 97
Keppel, Lady Mary (afterwards
Stephenson), ii. 97
Kerr, Lord Mark, i. 18
Kerry, Earl of, ii. 208, 254
Kerry, Knight of, ii. 112, 114, 181
Kew, Mr., ii. 50
Kilkenny, the Catholic meeting at, ii.
182
King, Lady, ii. 71, 72
King, Lord, ii. 10, 64, 71, 72, 79
Kingston, Earl of, ii. 30, 79
Kinnaird, Hon. Douglas, ii. 74, 98,
102
Kinnaird, Lady Olivia (Fitzgerald), i.
273 ; ii. 102
Kinnaird, Lord, i. 114, 246, 258, 262 ;
ii. 232 ; against Prince Regent and
Bank Note Bill, i. 146 ; his arrest
by Napoleon, i. 244; takes Lady
C. Lamb's Glenarvon to Mrs.
Creevey, i. 254; and the Antiquary,
i. 255 ; Wellington and the Marinet
incident, i. 272, 276 ; the plot in
Prince of Orange's favour, i. 286 ;
his fatal illness, ii. IOI
Kirkwall, Lord (afterwards 5th Earl
of Orkney), ii. 96
Knatchbull, Mr., ii. 302
Knight, Mr., a barrister, ii. 197
Knighton, Sir William, i. 129 ; ii.
104, 120; George IV.'s executor,
ii. 233
Labedoyre, General, /. 246
Lade, Sir John, Queen Victoria's
generosity to, ii. 335, 336
La Fayette, i. 7; ii. 178
Lamb, George, ii. 39, 201
Lamb, Hon. William.^ , See Mel-
bourne, Viscount
^amb, Lady Caroline (nee Ponsonby),
Glenarvon : The Fatal Passion, i.
254
Lamb, Mrs. George, ii. 2, 39
Lambton, Hedworth, ii. 329
Lambton, John George. See Dur-
ham, Earl of
Lambton, Lady Louisa (nte Grey).
See Durham, Countess of
Lambton, Mrs. William, ii. 83
Lancey, de, i. 238
INDEX.
357
Lane, Mr. and Mrs. Fox, ii. 96, 214
Langdale, Lord and Lady, ii. 322
Langford, Lord, i. 294
Lansdowne, Henry Petty,3rd Marquess
of, i. 10, 128, 162, 259, 308, 318,
326, 3293 336, 340 ; ii. 35, 74, 95,
112-116, 122, 126, 142, 154, 208,
322 ; Chancellor of the Exchequer
in " All the Talents," i. 42 ; amend-
ment censuring Pitt, i. 74 ; opposed
at Cambridge by Palmerston and
Althorp, i. 75-77 ; Whitbread on
his leadership of the House of Com-
mons, i. 100, 112 ; succeeds to Earl-
dom, i. 100, 113; and Creevey, i.
122, 141 ; Grey's view of Canning,
i. 158 ; Alexander I. and, i. 19$ ;
Wellington on, i. 286 ; a furious
speech, i. 325 ; Wellington's scrape,
ii. 6 ; Soult's offer of Murillos, ii.
70; Althorp on, ii. 117, 121 ;
Goderich put over him, ii. 123 ;
and Herries, ii. 128 ; denounced
by the Malignants, ii. 136 ; in
favour with George IV., ii. 140,
141; Seftonon, ii. 144;." Roscius,"
ii. 234 ; Auckland's appointment
to the Admiralty, ii. 277
Lansdowne, Marchioness of, i. 256
Lansdowne, 2nd Marquess of, i. 36,
loo, 113, 130
Laon, i. 280
Las Casas, ii. 6l
Lascelles, Lord, i. 294
Latouche, David, his motion v.
Catholic petition to Irish House of
Commons, ii. 178
Lauderdale, 8th Earl of, i. 13, 130,
184, 208, 209, 213, 253, 256, 297 j
ii. 26, 151 ; Byron's poem rejected
by Murray, i. 294 ; and Brougham,
i. 30 ; ii. 28, 154 ; the Queen's trial,
* 317, 323, 332, 335 ; K.T., ii. 27 ;
negotiates between George IV. and
Lady Conyngham, ii. 89
La Vallette, i. 246
Lawley, M.P. for Warwickshire, ii.
34
Lawrence, Sir Thomas, his portrait of
Lady Conyngham, ii. 34
Leach, Mrs., i. 258
Leach, y ice-Chancellor, i. 298, 312,
333 ; ii. 96, 217
Leamington, Creevey' s opinion of, ii.
213
Leconfield, 1st Lord, ii. 165
Lee, spokesman at Covent Garden, i.
97
Leeds, Duke of, ii. 156
Legge, Dean of Windsor, " Mother
Frump," i. 247
Legh of Lyme, M.P. for Newton, i.
233
Leicester, Countess of (Lady Anne
Keppel), ii. 36
Leicester, Rev. , ii. 170
Leicester, 1st Earl of. See Coke,
Thomas
Leicester, Thomas William, 1st Earl
of, ii. 36, 76, 332
Leigh, Egerton, of the West Hall,
Cheshire, ii. 148
Leigh, Marianne (Hon. Mrs. James
Abercromby), ii. 148
Leinster, Duchess of, ii. 191
Leinster, Duke of, i. 308, 310 ; ii. 6,
3i 79, 154, 181, 190, 238
Le Marchant, Brougham's secretary,
ii. 237
Lemon, Miss, ii. 36, 65
L' Enfant, Council of Pisa, i. 293
Lennox, Lady Louisa, ii. 87
Lennox, Lord William, ii. 75
Leopold, King of the Belgians, ii. 71,
73, 257
Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld,
Prince, i. 258, 266, 270 j ii. 7, 83,
210
Leveson, Lady Francis (ne Greville),
ii. 48, 59
Leveson, Lord Francis (afterwards
Earl of Ellesmere), i. 185 j ii. 59,
64, 188
Leveson-Gower, Lord Francis, Secre-
tary for Ireland, ii. 160, 169
Leveson-Gower, Lord Granville, i.
206
Leycester, i. 126
Liancourt, M., i. 5
Lichfield, Lady, ii. 277
Liddell, ii. 8 1
Lieven, Prince de, ii. 167, 262, 279
Lieven, Princess de, i. 326 ; ii. I5>
104, 129, 130, 167, 196, 262, 279,
290, 309
Ligny, i. 236
Lindley, Hester (Mrs. R. B. Sheri-
dan), i. 4, 39, 52, 54, 55, 60, 72,
80-82
Lindley, Mr., i. 54, 55
Lindsay, Lady Charlotte, i. 181, 182,
199, 322, 33J " 3, 2 55
Lindsay, Mr., i. 323
Lister, ii. 74
Littleton, created Lord Hatherton, ii.
288, 305
358
INDEX.
Liverpool, Sir Charles Jenkinson, 1st
Lord Hawkesbury, and 1st Earl of,
his speech on Russia's offer of
mediation, i. 15 ; War Minister,
i. 96 ; Wellington's letter on the
Portuguese soldiers, i. 12S, 131 ;
interview with Prince Regent, i.
156; Canning and, i, 158 ; ii. 69,
103 ; Prime Minister, i. 164, 165,
174 ; his letter in reply to Princess
of Wales' remonstrance, i. 176 ;
entertains foreign royalties, i. 194 ;
and Sheridan, i. 195; "Jenky,"
i. 211, 260 ; ii. 46 ; the Princess of
Wales' intended return to Ken-
sington Palace, i. 212 ; for peace, i.
214; Roman Catholic Emancipa-
tion, /. 293 j Queen Caroline's in-
creased allowance, i. 301-304 ;
Pains and Penalties Bill, i. 304,
308, 309, 318, 329, 338; the divorce
part of the Bill, i. 317; sharp
words with Eldon, i. 323, 339 ;
the Italian witnesses, i. 325, 336 ;
and Grey, i. 332, 336, 337 ; Wel-
lington's scrape, ii. 6 ; the Queen's
Will, ii. 22 ; the King's Knights of
the Thistle, ii. 27 ; trying to keep
peace with Spain, ii. 62 ; the Corn
Laws, ii. 101 j an apoplectic stroke,
ii. 105, 108
Liverpool, Charles Cecil Cope, 3rd
Earl of, ii. 277
Liverpool and Manchester Railway, ii.
87, 203, 213
Llandaff, Lord, Memoirs^ i. 264 j ii.
181
Lloyd, ii. 36
Loch, Mr., K.C., i. 108
" Loco Motive machine," ii. 203
Loison, General, i. 103
Londonderry, Charles William, 3rd
Marquess of, Wellington's Adjutant-
General in the Peninsula, ii. 8i, 93,
"3, 131, I35 153
Londonderry, Frances Anne, Mar-
chioness of, ii. 58, 80, 81, 91, 93
Lonsdale, Countess of, ii. 127
Lonsdale, 2nd Earl of, i. 254, 317,
323 ; ii. 127, 147
Lories, Baron, i. 227
Lothian, 5th Marquess of, /. 18
Louis XVI., guillotined, i. i
Louis XVIII., and Fouche, *. 8; re-
stored to throne, i. 187, 190; visits
London, i. 187 ; Ney's offer about
Napoleon, i. 214; Soult resigns
War Ministry, i. 220 ; words, not
deeds, i. 223 ; and Baron Lories,
i. 227 ; well received at Le Cateau,
i. 239 ; proposals to dethrone, i.
286 ; 'Tierney's "frightful intelli-
gence," ii. 4; the operation of
signing papers, ii. 26 ; Kensington
in a fury v.. ii. 6 1 ; Erskine's wish,
ii. 68
Louis Philippe, ii. 270, 309
Lowe, Sir Hudson, Quarter-Master-
General, i. 224 ; his marriage, i.
247 ; Wellington on, i. 288, 289 ;
O'Meara's letter to, ii. 40; and
Major Poppleton, ii. 47
Lowther, Lord, ii. 107, 147
Lucien Buonaparte, i. 215, 226
Lugano witnesses, the, i. 316, 317
Lushington, Dr., i. 328 ; ii. 89, 312 ;
present at Queen Caroline's death,
ii. 21 ; the Queen's funeral, ii. 22,
24 ; Phillimore put over his head,
ii. 140
Lushington, Mrs., ii. 89
Luttrell, Henry, ii. 58, 167, 196, 223,
236, 269, 272, 314
Liitzen, Madame, Queen Victoria's
governess, ii. 323
Lyndhurst, Lady, ii. 198, 223
Lyndhurst, Lord (Copley), ii. 95, 113,
114, 244, 298, 300-302, 323, 324
Lyttelton, Lord and Lady, ii. 255
M
Macaulay, Lord, on Twiss, ii. 12 ;
Lansdowne and, ii. 208 ; his "me-
morable words," ii. 238 ; Creevey
on, ii. 254
Macdonald, James, i. 120, 161, 321,
328 ; ii. 35, 120, 229, 254
Macdonald, Marshal, i. 221
Macdonald, Norman, ii. 180
Mack, General (Austria), i. 44
McKenzie, Mr., ii. 139, 143
Mackintosh, Sir James, i. 3, 254 ; ii-
12, 85, 141 ; in Paris, i. 5-7 ; and
Perry, i. 298 j Fox's epitaph, i. 299,
300
McMahon, Colonel Sir John, Prince
Regent's private secretary, etc., i.
39, 66, 71, 81, 82, 1 10, in, 136,
140, 161, 178 ; ii. 105
Maddock, Mr., i. 12
Madrid, occupied by Wellington, i.
172
Magdalene College, Cambridge,
Library, ii, 280
INDEX.
359
Magnetism (mesmerism), exhibition
of, ii. 331
Magra, 11. 175
Mahon, Lord, i. 86
Mahon, The O'Gorman, ii. 194
Maitland, General Sir Peregrine, i.
230 ; it. 1S5
Maitland, Lady Julia, ii. 60
Maitland, Lady Sarah (ne Gordon-
Lennox), ii. 185
Malignants, the, ii. 135, 136 ; quarrel
with Brougham, ii. 149
Mallet du Pan, M., i. 288
Malmesbury, 1st Earl of, /. 277
Malta, i. 10, 14
Manchester, 6th Duke of, ii. 307
Mann, Sir Horace, Minister at
Florence, ii. 261
Manners, Jack, i. 244
Manners, Lady Louisa, ii. 75
Manners, Lord Chancellor (Ireland),
i. 314 ; ii. 63
Manning, Mr., i. 125
Mansel, Bishop, i. 129
Mansfield, Lord, i. 337
Manson, General, i. 61
Manvers, Earl and Countess, ii. 254
Marble Arch, ii. 308
March, Lord, i. 222
Marcot, M., i. 265
Marie Antoinette, ii. 300
Mariette, i. 328
Marinet, i. 272, 276
Marjoribanks, S., ii. 316
Markham, Mr., i. 68
Marlborough, Duke of, i. 13, 77 ; ii.
162, 267
Marmont, General, i. 172, 190, 225 ;
ii. 247
Martin, Harry, Master in Chancery,
i. 136 ; ii. 68, 247
Martin, Harry, the regicide, ii. 247
Martyn, i. 100, 112
Mary, Queen, ii. 165
Maryborough, Lord, ii. 124
Mathews, i. 54
Maude, ii. 115
Maule, Solicitor to Treasury, i. 323
Maxwell of Monreith, Miss Catherine
(Mrs. Fordyce), i. 34
Maxwell, Sir William, of Monreith,
M.P., i. ill, 122, 128
Maynooth College, ii. 175, 179, 180,
192
Meath, Lord, ii. 31
Mecklenberg-Strelitz, Duke of, /. 205
Melbourne, Viscount (Hon. William
Lamb), i. 254, 255, 311 ; ii. 39>
167, 213, 216, 219, 226, 264, 269,
308, 321, 322, 328, 329 ; in favour
of disfranchisement, ii. 158, 159; his
crim. con. case, ii. 160; letters of
introduction for Creevey, ii. 168 ;
Secretary of State, ii. 234 ; and
William IV., ii. 282-284, 286, 296,
297 ; and Brougham, ii. 287, 288 ;
action against, ii. 311 ; "all good
nature and gaiety," ii. 313 ; and
Queen Victoria, ii. 325, 327, 332 ;
" the rickety nature of his Cabinet,"
ii. 331 ; Sir John Lade and, ii. 335
Melbourne, Viscountess, i. 255; ii. 164
Melville, Henry Dundas, Viscount, i.
10 ; First Lord of the Admiralty, i.
32 ; impeachment of, i. 33-36 ; his
court in Scotland, i. 85 j and Broug-
ham, i. 119 ; a great favourite with
Prince of Wales, i. 158; the Queen's
funeral, ii. 22 ; K.T., ii. 27 ; resigns
on Canning becoming Premier, ii.
112
Mermet, General, i. 101
Methodism, rapid growth of, i. 113
Methuen, Lady, ii. 280
Methuen, Paul, Lord, ii. 279
Meux, H., ii. 235
Meynell, Captain, dismissed from
William IV.'s household, ii. 225
Miguel, Dom, King of Portugal, ii.
263
Milan Commission, i. 326, 335 ; ii.
157
Milbank, Lady Augusta, ii. 81, 82,
92, 230
Milbank, Mr., ii. 81, 92
Mildert, Wm. Van, Bishop of Dur-
ham, ii. 131
Mildmay, Sir Harry, i. 183, 190
Mill, ii. 51
Mills, John, ii. 12, 15, 81-83, 92,
100
Milton, Lady, nee Jenkinson (after-
wards Foljambe), ii. 277
Milton, Viscount (afterwards 5th Earl
of Fitzwilliam), i. 109, 118, 122,
125, 156, 165, 257, 263 ; ii. 129,
277
Mina, General Espoz y, Commander
of a Corps under Wellington in
Peninsular War, ii. 74, 75
Minto, Lord, ii. 322
Miocci, i. 335
Miranda, General, i. 86
Missionary in Demerara, trial by
court-martial of, ii. 77
Moira, 1st Earl of, *. 160
36o
INDEX.
Moira, 2nd Earl of, i. 16, 31, 113,
146, 149, 156-160, 163, 164
Moldavia, ii. 139
Molesworth, Sir William, ii. 317
Moliere, Bourgeois Gentilhomme^. 182
Molyneux, Colonel the lion. Henry,
ii. 198, 290
Molyneux, Lady Georgiana, ii. 56
Molyneux, Lady Louisa, ii. 137, 261,
310 ; her letters to Creevey, ii. 263,
330, 333
Molyneux, Lady Maria, ii. 137, 143,
223
Molyneux, Lieut. -Colonel the Hon.
George Berkeley, ii. 187, 253, 254,
268, 290
Molyneux, Viscount, i. 170; ii. 232,
268
Monck, i. 217
Monckton, i. 56
Monk, Sir Charles, i. 108
Monson, Lady (afterwards Lady
Warwick), i. 247
Monson, Lord, i. 247
Montalembert, Baron, i. 149
Monteagle, Lord (Spring Rice), ii.
107, 108, 112, 114, 180, 269, 276,
295, 298
Montgomery, ii. 198
Montholon, M., ii. 26
Montron, M., ii. 137, 138, 167, 316
Moore, R.N., Captain Graham, i. 12,
1 8, 133 j his letters to Creevey, i. 17,
24, 77. 90, 95
Moore, General Sir John, i. II, 18,
90, 93~95i & 8 > ". 315 J hi s letters
to Creevey, i. 17, 29
Moore, Lady, i. 17
Moore, Peter, i. 256
Moore, Thomas, i. 255 j ii. 89, 232,
272, 286
Morant, Mrs., i. 67, 68
Morelaix, Abbe, i. 7
Morillo, ii. 74
Morley, Countess of, ii. 243, 306
Morley, Earl of, ii. 69, 243, 306
Morning Chronicle, i. 4, 132, 176,
178, 269 ; ii. 316
Morning Herald^ ii. 220
Morning Post, i. 4 ; ii. 22O
Morpeth, Lord, 6th Earl of Carlisle,
i. 27, 78, 121 ; ii. 123, 306
Morpeth, Lord, 7th Earl of Carlisle,
ii. 223, 276, 278, 307
Morris, General, ii. 168
Morris, Lieut. -Colonel, ii. 169
Mcrritt of Rokeby, "Avoirdupois,"
ii. 125, 126
Morritt of Rokeby, " Troy," ii. 126
Motteux, M., ii. 167
Mountague, Lord, his fountain at
Cowdray, ii. 163
"Mountain, the," name assumed by
Radicals, i. 124, 174, 181, 210, 212,
215, 216, 247, 253, 257, 265, 290,
299, 341 ; ii. 136
Mountcharles, Earl of, Under Secre-
tary Foreign Affairs, ii. 103, 148
Mulgrave, Countess of, ii. 330
Mulgrave, Earl of, i. 96 ; ii. 241, 276,
296, 303
Municipal Reform Bill, ii. 308
Munster, Earl of, ii. 300, 323
Murat, King of Naples, i. 213, 218
Murillos, offered by Soult for
; 100,000, ii. 70
Murphy, Mrs., ii. no
Murray, General Sir George, i. 272,
279, 283, 285
Murray, General Sir John, i. 185
Murray, John, and Byron, i. 294 ; the
Quarterly Review on O'Meara's
book, ii. 65; on the Ladies of
Llangollen, ii. 185
Murray, Lady Augusta, Duchess of
Sussex, ii. 243
N
Napier, Peninsular War, i. 101, 314,
315
Napoleon Buonaparte, Mackintosh
and, i. 5 ; suppresses the Sections,
i. 6 ; commander of army in Italy,
ibid. ; his fits of passion, i. 7 ; his
restless ambition, i. 10, 14, 24, 29 ;
and Lord Whitworth, i. 10, 13 ; and
Addington, i. 1 1 ; swept through the
Black Forest, i. 44 ; Austerlitz, i. 49;
his armies in all parts of Europe, i.
86 ; Spain, i. 86, 88, 90 ; "a tem-
perate hardy knave," i. 96 ; overshot
his mark, i. 174 ; abdicates, i. 186,
1 86, 189, 191, 239 ; the difference
between Emperor of Russia and
King of Prussia, i. 196 ; his popu-
larity, i. 196 ; escapes from Elba, i.
213 ; Ney's offer, i. 214 ; Waterloo,
before and after, i. 219, 231, 237,
240 ; Kinnaird's arrest, i. 244 ; at
St. Helena, i. 266, 288 ; and Blucher
at Laon, i. 280 ; Sir Hudson Lowe,
i. 288 ; Tierney and, ii. 4 ; Princess
Borghese's appeal, ii. 26 ; O'Meara's
book, ii. 39, 42 ; Castlereagh one of
INDEX.
361
his imbtciles> ii. 43 ; Major Popple-
ton, ii. 47 j Las Casas' book, ii. 6l ;
and Montron, ii. 137, 138; and
General Gerard, ii. 202 ; Brougham
on, ii. 207
Nash, the architect, ii. 156
Navarino, battle of, ii. 134, 139-143
Navy Estimates, ii. 35
Nelson, Earl, i. 69, 70, 73 ; ii. 161
New Zealand, king of, i. 330
Newcastle, Duke of, i. 337 ; ii. 227
Newcastle-on-Tyne, i. 186
Newport, Sir John, i. 127
Newton, Lord, *. 333
Ney, Marshal, i. 190, 214, 246
'Nimrod,". 291
Nivelle, battle of, i. 186, 235
Nollekens, sculptor, i. 184
Non mi rtcordo, i. 322
Norfolk, i ith Duke of, " the Jockey,"
i. 3, 154, 167, 168, 186, 212, 245,
252 ; ii. 71
Norfolk, Bernard Howard, I2th Duke
of, "Scroop," i. 167-169, 245,
313, 322,335>336; ii. 35,71, 78,
104, 162, 195, 196, 303, 310, 329,
335 > deprives Creevey of Thetford
seat, i. 274, 275 ; Prince of Wales'
advice to Sam Spring, i. 310 ; letter
to Creevey, i. 325 ; Pains and
Penalties Bill, ibid. ; in pursuit of
Creevey, i. 337 j denounced by
O'Connell, ii. 188
Norfolk, 1 3th Duke of (Earl of
Arundel), i. 245
North, Lord, ii. 246, 318
Northumberland, Duchess of, ii. 140
Northumberland, 5th Duke of, *.
278
Northumberland, 6th Duke of, i. 31,
100, no, 296, 336; ii. 157;
Viceroy of Ireland, ii. 174, 193
_. Norton, Hon. Mrs. (n& Sheridan),
afterwards Lady Stir ling- Max well
of Keir, *. 39; ii. 305, 311
Norton, Mr., ii. 311
Nugent, Earl, ii. 89
O'Callaghan, ii. 98
O'Connell, David, the Clare election,
ii. 167, 193 ; Creevey on, ii. 183,
251 ; denounces Duke of Norfolk
on Catholic question, ii. 188 ; his
"Catholic cookery," ii. 199; Ms
arrest, ii. 216; Stanley and, ii.
219 ; challenged by Alvanley, ii.
304, 305
Oldenburg, Duchess of, i. 195
Oldi, Madame, i. 328, 339 ; ii. 14
Olivia of Cumberland, Princess (Olive
Wilmot Serres), i. 339, 340 ; ii. 7
O'Meara, A Voice from St. Helena^
i. 224, 288 ; ii. 39, 42, 47, 65
Omnibus, Creevey's first experience
of an, ii. 262
Oporto, i. 101
Orange, Prince of, King of Holland,
i. 197, 217, 222, 285, 286 ; Com-
mander-in-Chief of British forces
in Brussels, i. 224
Orangemen (Ireland), ii. 174, 177
Ord, Charles, i. 224, 230, 231
Ord, Miss (Mrs. Hamilton), i. 220,
225, 228, 277, 283, 286
Ord, Miss Elizabeth, i. 232, 267, 283,
295 ; letters from Creevey to, i.
296, 299, 305-318, 320-342 ; ii.
1-15, 20, 23-28, 31-39, 42, 46-49,
53, 56-58, 65, 67-92, 98-102, 104-
112, 120-134, 137, 141-143, 147-
!57 159-167, 169-192, 194-205,
208-214, 215-238, 240-336
Ord, the Misses, i. 17, 47, 147, 149,
224, 229, 276, 277
Ord, Mr., i. 4, 121
Ord, Mrs., i. i, 128
Ord, William, ii. 279
Ordnance Office, Creevey appointed
treasurer of, ii. 215
O'Reilly, George IV. 's doctor, ii. 211
Orkney, Earl of, ii. 96
Orleans, Duke of, i. 244 ; ii. 253,
269, 270
Ormonde, i6th Earl of, //. 185
Ormonde, I7th Earl of, ii. 186
Osbaldiston, Mr., ii. 200
Ossory, Archdeacon of, ii. 1 75
Ossory, Lord, i. 156
Ossulston, Lady, ii. 9
Ossulston, Lord (afterwards 5th Earl
of Tankerville), i. in, 121, 122,
150, 151, 167, 210, 243-245, 254,
295, 331 J . 9, 36, 39, 132, 152,
211
Oswald of Auchencruive, Alexander,
ii. 311
Oswald, Lady Louisa, ii. 311
Ouvrad, the banker, /. 7
Owen, Mr. and Mrs. Smythe, ii.
170
Oxford, Countess of, i. 3, 60, 255 ; ii.
60
362
INDEX.
Paget, Lord and Lady William, ii.
181
Paget, Sir Arthur, ii. 315
Pains and Penalties Bill, i. 304-342
Palfy, Count, i. 45
Palk, Miss Elizabeth Mallet (after-
wards Lady Seymour), i. 266
Palmerston, Lady, ii. 268
Palmerston, Viscount, ii. 199, 213, 226,
310 ; opposes Petty at Cambridge,
i- 75 76 ; Secretary at War, ii. 123 ;
votes for disfranchisement, ii. 158;
and Lady Jersey, ii. 268, 269 j and
Mrs. Petre, ii. 276 ; Grey and, ii.
286 ; dismissed by Wellington, ii.
298 ; " Cupid," ii. 307 ; on Queen
Victoria's great merits, ii. 324
Paoli, Sefton's valet, ii. 256
Papal States, the, i. 213
Paripol, the dancer, ii, 283
Paris, treaty of, i. 249 ; awaiting
Napoleon's entry, i. 220, 221
Parkes, Joseph, of Birmingham, an
organizer and demagogue, ii. 270
Parliamentary Reform, 1.263 J ii- 5 1 *
97-99, 251
Parnell, Charles Stewart, /. 163
Parnell, Henry Brook (Lord Congle-
ton), i. 31, 163
Parr, Dr., i. 3; ii. 17
Patronage, ii. 103, 215
Paull, his exertions to obtain Welles-
ley's impeachment, i. 226 ; his
suicide, i. 226 j ii. 41
Payne, George, i. 113; ii. 80, 313,
316
Pearce, Henry, " the Game Chicken,"
champion of England, i. 64
Pechell, Captain, i. 312
Peel, Sir Robert, " Spinning Jenny,"
i. 126 ; ii. 141, 275 ; his first speech,
i. 122; M.P. for Oxford, i. 263;
Creevey on, ii. 12, 43-45, 100 ;
Brougham on, ii. 50, 145 ; for Spain
against France, ii. 62 ; Ward on,
ii. 69; and Canning, ii. 103, 112,
133; and George IV., ii. no;
resigns office, ii. 112, 113 ; Sefton
on, ii. 117; his difficult position,
ii. 146, 147; his "preconceived
prejudices," ii. 152; the Roman
Catholic question, ii. 174, 194, 244,
246 ; Home Secretary, ii. 195 ;
Grey's panegyric on, ii. 196, 198 ;
Reform, ii. 233 ; consulted by Grey
about the coronation, ii. 234 ; a
most remarkable declaration from,
ii. 246 ; and William IV., ii. 284 ;
his absence in Rome, ii. 296, 298,
299 ; "the humbug of Jenny," ii.
302 ; predicted failure, ii. 303 ; his
Scotch sentiment, etc., ii. 317 ;
"every word was gospel^ ii. 334
Pelham, Bishop, i. 323
Pellew, Admiral, i. 95
Pembroke, Countess of, ii. 312
Peninsular War, i. 87, 152, 156, 159,
174
Penryn borough, bribery and corrup-
tion in, ii. 119; disfranchised, ii.
IS?
Pension lists, ii. 218
Pepys, ii. 280
Perceval, Spencer, i. 96, 99, 100,
109-111, 114, 119, 124, 126, 132,
136-138, 146, 174 ; ii. 227 ; assas-
sinated, i. 145, 153 ; ii. 50
Percy, Colonel the Hon., A.D.C. to
Sir John Moore and Wellington,
carried Wellington's despatches to
London after Waterloo, i. 278
Percy, Earl, i. 76, 100, no
Perry, editor of Morning Chronicle^
i. 132, 298
Persia, Russian successes in, ii. 139
Petre, Lady, i. 108, 325
Petre, Lord, i. 37, 108, 167, 168,
252 ; ii. 79, 234
Petre, Mrs., ii; 276, 288
Petworth, Crecvey's description of,
ii. 163
Philips, Sir R., i. 112
Phillimore, ii. 140
Phillips, George, i. 274 ; ii. 64
Picton, General, i. 238
Pierrepont, M., i. 183
Pieton, Madame, i. 69
Piggott, i. 108
Pillet, General, i. 255
Piltown (Ireland), ii. 172, 173
Pire, General, Red Lancers, i. 231
Pitt, William, i. 3, 4, 12, 22, 69, 73,
160, 263 ; in retirement, i. 8, 10 ;
his intolerance of Addington, i. 9,
23 ; his treatment of Sir John
Moore, i. 1 1 ; returns to House of
Commons, i. 14 ; his speech for
war, i. 15, 16, 20 ; and Fox, i. 21,
23 ; Lord St. Vincent, i. 24 ; his
last administration, i. 26, 27, 31 ;
and George III., i. 27 ; in a
dilemma, i. 28 ; feai-s of French in-
vasion, i. 29 ; Brougham on, i. 30,
119, 120, 134, 171 ; his schemes
INDEX.
363
of reform, i. 32 ; Melville's im-
peachment, i. 33 ; Roman Catholic
question, i. 33, 43 ; Boyd, Benfield
& Co., i. 35-37 J Beresford and, ?'.
42; Castlereagh and, i. 43; the
capitulation of Ulm his death-blow,
i. 44 ; his illness, i. 74 ; and death,
i. 79; ii. 119; his despotic authority,
i. 260; Maynooth college, ii. 175,
179, 1 80 ; and the Catholic dele-
gates, ii. 179
Piato, Bipontine edition of, i. 293
Platoff, i. 196
Plunket, Lord, ii. 181, 188, 189, 261
Plymouth, Lord, i. 337
Pole, Sir Charles, i. 114, 122
Police, origin of the, i. 304
Ponsonby, Frederick, i. 107, 238
Ponsonby, John, $th Earl of Bess-
borough, ii. 268
Ponsonby, Lady, i. no, in ; ii. 243
Ponsonby, Lady Betty, ii. 186
Ponsonby, Lord, i. no, in, 128; ii.
243
Ponsonby, Major-General the Hon.
Sir "William, i. 242
Ponsonby, Miss, ii. 185
Ponsonby, Rt. Hon. George, Leader
of Whigs in House of Commons, i.
91, 94, 107, 117, 121, 122, 124,
125, 128, 141, 153, 161, 163, 164,
217, 251, 257
Ponsonby, Sir John, of Cumberland,
ii. 171
Poppleton, Major, ii. 47
Porchester, Lord, i. 124, 128
Portarlington, 4th Earl of, ii. 320
Porter, Colonel, i. 22 ; ii. 10
Portland, Duke of, i. 31, 85, 86, 96,
106, 145, 331
Portsmouth, Lord, insane, ii. 63
Portugal, i. 130, 134, 147-149. *59 5
her "soldiers the fighting-cocks of
the army," i. 123
Portugal, King of, ii. 310
Powell, Mr., i. 322, 329 ; ii. 329
Power of Kilfane, John, ii. 176,
182-184
Power of Kilfane, Mrs., ii. 175
Powlett, Lady Caroline, ii. 100
Powlett, Lord (afterwards 3rd Duke
of Cleveland), ii. loo, 107, 126,
I3O-I32, 2OI
Poyntz, Miss, i. 264 ; ii. 47
Pozzo di Borgo, M. and Mdme, ii.
307
Pretyman, George (afterwards Tom-
line), Bishop of Lincoln, i. 202
Price, Rev. W., i. 76
Property tax, i. 211, 250
Prussia, i. 213, 218
Pruth river, ii. 139
Pyrenees, the, i. 185, 187
Quarterly Review, ii. 65
Quatre Bras, i. 230
Radicals, named "the Mountain,"
q.v. ; schism between Whigs and,
i. 260
Radnor, 2nd Earl of, i. 89, 96
Radnor, 3rd Earl of. See Folkestone,
Viscount
Raganti, i. 326
Raglan, Lord, ii. 74, 289
Raikes, " Dandy," ii. 106-109
Railway movement, the great, ii. 87
Raine, Jonathan, ii. 115
Ramsay, General Norman, ii. 193
Ramsden, Lady, ii. 93
Ramsden, Mr., ii. 34
Ramthorne, i. 171
Ranelagh, Lord, ii. 210
Rastelli, i. 325, 326
Rawdon, Hon. John, ii. #95
Redesdale, Lord, i. 314; ii. 157
Reeves, ii. 261
Reform, i. 263 ; Act, i. 274 ; ii. 221,
223 ; Creevey's letters on, ii. 93,
97-99 ; Bill, ii. 12, 225, 227, 228,
230, 233, 235, 236, 238, 240-247,
251, 292
Retrenchment and Reform, ii. 272
Ribblesdale, Lord, ii. 305, 307
Ricardo, ii. 55
Richelieu, Due de, i. 285, 287 j ii.
290
Richmond, Dowager Duchess of, ii.
3, 87, 185
Richmond, Duchess of, ii. 88, 162
Richmond, 3rd Duke of, ii. 162
Richmond, 5th Duke of, i. 223, 229,
337 j ii. 162, 246, 264, 273, 274,
276, 297, 305
Ridgway, ii. 93, 97, 98
Ridley, Sir M., i. 197, 217, 326; ii.
37, 81
Ripon, Lord, ii. 273
Rivers, Lord, i. 196
Robespierre, / . 7
INDEX.
Robinson, J. See Goderich, Lord
Roden, Lord, i. 320
Roder, General, i. 223
Roebuck, Mr., ii. 317
Rogers, Miss, ii. 272, 285, 286, 322
Rogers, Samuel, the dead poet, i. 255,
256, 334, 335 ; ii- '95. '96, 272,
285, 286, 305, 312, 322, 323;
Human Life, i. 294 ; Lady Hol-
land's cat, ii. 58 ; Creevey's opinion
of, ii. 162 ; a blue dinner at, ii. 275 ;
Lady Holland's procession, ii. 313
Rolle, Lord, i. 261
Roman Catholic question, i. 31, 43,
47, 84, 100, 148, 152, 156, 157, 165,
245,293; ii. 12, 31, 67, 94, 103,
108, 112, 116, 167, 170, 174-176,
178-180, 188, 193
Romilly, Sir Samuel, Solicitor-Gene-
ral, in "All the Talents," i. 5,
122, 130, 278, 290 ; Prince of
Wales' offer of a seat in House of
Commons, i. 40, 63 ; Grey on, i.
108 ; calls Erskine "The Green
Man and Still," i. 212 j his suicide,
i. 243, 293 ; ii. 41, 44 ; on Tierney,
i. 265; "in high force," i. 272;
and Duke of Roxburgh, ii. 3
Romney, George, his works at Pet-
worth, ii. 165
Ros, Lord de, ii. 78, 198, 237, 238,
254, 3 12
Ros, Olivia de (Lady Cowley), ii. 204,
237, 263, 320
Roscoe, William, historian, Creevey's
election agent at Liverpool, i. 168-
170, 211 ; Leo: Lorenzo de Medici,
ii. 256, 280
Roscommon, Countess of, ii. 3
Rose, Mr., i. 36
Rosebery, Lady, ii. 36
Rosebery, 4th Lord, i. 335 ; ii. 36
Rosebery, 5th (and present) Lord,
Napoleon, the last Phase, ii. 40
Rosslyn, Earl of, i. 305, 326, 333 ; ii.
26, 79, 99, 15, 1 S*> J S4J and
Brougham, ii. 129 ; Lord Lieu-
tenant of Fife, ii. 153, 155 ; Privy
Seal, ii. 202
Rothschild, ii. 90
Roxburgh, Duke of, Queen Caroline's
Grand Chamberlain, ii. 3
Royal Exchange, burnt, ii. 334
Royal Naval Commission, i. 33
Russell, Francis, ii. 74, 100, 167
Russell, Lady John, widow of 2nd
Lord Ribblesdale, ii. 305, 307, 328,
331.
Russell, Lady William (ne Rawdon),
ii. 285
Russell, Lord John, i. 156, 309, 333 ;
". 34, 5 1 , 79, "2, 114, 133, 261,
268, 275, 276, 296, 307, 328;
Creevey's Reform letters addressed
to, ii. 93, 97-99 ; motion for dis-
franchisement of Penryn borough,
ii. 119 j Reform, ii. 217, 221, 264 ;
split between Stanley and, ii. 273,
274 ; offer to Howick, ii. 295 ; " the
conceited puppy," ii. 297; "the
Widow's Mite," ii. 305
Russell, Lord William, i. 210, 277,
278; ii. 114, 155, 275, 285 ; mur-
dered by his valet, ii. 109, 329
Russell, Miss, ii. 80
Russell, Mrs., alias Funnereau. See
Cleveland, Duchess of
Russia, i. 213, 218 ; and Greek inde-
pendence, ii. 133 j and Turkey,
ii. 139; her successes in Persia,
ibid.
Rutland, Duke of, i. 323 ; ii. 101,
1 10, 135, 195, 199
Ryder, Hon. Henry, Bishop of Lich-
field, ii. 170
St. Albans, Duchess of (Mrs. Coutts,
Conway), ii. 120, 217, 324
St. Albans, 9th Duke of, ii. 73, 120,
217
St. Antonio, Countess, ii. 141
St. John of Jerusalem, Knights of, i.
10
St. Laurent, Madame, i. 268-271
St. Leger, General, i. 195, 199, 201-
203, 322
St. Paul's Cathedral, thanksgiving
for peace on 7th July at, i. 202
St. Vincent, Earl, ist Lord of the
Admiralty, i. 24, 68
Salamanca, Battle of, i. 128, 172', ii.
247
Salisbury, Dowager Marchioness of,
ii. 1 66, 210, 230, 234, 263
Salisbury, Marquis of, ii. 37, 73
Salisbury, Sarah, Marchioness of, i.
197, 236 j ii. 37, 67, 108, 197
Salmo-Braunfels, Prince Frederick
William of, *. 205
Sambre, Napoleon's passage of the, i.
233, 240
San Sebastian, fall of, i. 186, 187
Sandys, Lord (Lord Arthur Hill), i.
236, 238, 239, 282 ; ii. 87, 198, 210
INDEX.
365
Savory, i. 66-68
Saxe-Coburg, Princess of, i. 271
Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld,Dukeof (Prince
Leopold), i. 258, 266
Saye and Sele, Lord, ii. 107
Scarlett, Sir James. See Abinger,
Lord
Scheldt Expedition, i. 125, 133
Scotsman, ii. 45
Scott, Harry, i. 80, 81
Scott, Sir Walter, Antiquary ', i. 255 ;
Rob Roy, i. 264 ; George IV.'s visit
to Edinburgh, ii. 45 ; Rokeby, ii.
125 ; Life of Napoleon, ii. 203
Seaford, Lord (Charles Rose Ellis),
i. 97
Seaton, Lord, Governor- General of
Canada, ii. 334
Seaton, Mr., ii. 40
Sebastiani, General, i. 250; ii. 307
Sebright, Sir John, i. 114; ii. 198
Sections in France, the, i. 6
Sefton, Countess of (Hon. Maria
Craven), ii. 9, 71, 83, 89, 197, 198,
209, 212, 219, 223, 233, 252, 256,
275. 3io, 315, 320, 322, 324, 326 ;
and William IV., ii. 308
Sefton, Dowager Lady, i. 57, 148
Sefton, 1st Earl of ("the Pet"), i.
57, 121, 154, 158, 170, 200, 203,
208, 211, 261, 262, 267, 294, 300,
303, 305. 312, 317, 318, 326-331 ;
ii. 3-5, 10, 11,15, 32-37> 39, 40, 5 6
62, 64, 65, 69, 72, 75, 76, 79, 84,
87-89, 93, 97, 99, 101, 102, 108,
112, 114, 117, 118, 121, 151, 154,
159, 166, 168, 196, 198, 199, 204,
210, 211, 215, 223, 226, 237, 243,
249, 252, 260, 261, 267, 274, 277,
279, 281, 286, 288, 301, 304, 308,
3*2, 317, 328 ; Creevey's great ally,
ii. 136-139 ; Grey on, ii. 141 j his
letters to Creevey, ii. 144, 156, 170,
186, 200, 214, 250, 268, 269, 271 ;
and Brougham, ii. 142, 143, 219,
222, 227, 230, 236, 245, 275, 287,
297, 298, 300 j cracking his jokes
at the expense of Huskisson and
Dudley, ii. 152; and Lady Holland,
ii. 155, 256; on Rogers, ii. 162;
and Lord Egremont, ii. 164 ; corre-
spondence between Anglesey and
Wellington, ii. 194 ; breaks the
bank at Crockford's, ii. 195 ;
Lambton's nonsense, ii. 217 ; ill
with influenza, ii. 233, 234 j Lord
Foley's family, ii. 253 ; a story of
Grey, ii, 283 ; wins 600 at whist,
ii. 289 j and Lady Grey, ii. 290 ;
contrast between Grey and, ii.
299 ; Charles X., ii. 315, 316 j and
Sir John Lade, ii. 335
Sefton, 2nd Earl of, ii. 232
Sefton, 3rd Earl of, ii. 232
Serres, Olive Wilmot, claims to be
Duke of Cumberland's daughter,
i. 339, 340
Seymour, Lady (nte Palk), i. 266 j ii.
310, 322
Seymour, Lady Charlotte (nte Chol-
mondeley), i. 266
Seymour, Lieut.-Colonel Hugh Henry,
i. 266
Seymour, Lord (afterwards 1 2th Duke
of Somerset), ii. 191, 310
Seymour, Lord Hugh, i. 266
Seymour, Miss, ii. 47
Seymour, Sir Horace Beauchamp,
i. 266 ; ii. 225
Shaftesbury, 6th Earl of, ii. 222
Shaftesbury, 7th Earl of, ii. 198
Sharp, Richard, ii. 275
Shaw, Colonel, ii. 267, 328
Shelley, P. B., ii. 79, 100
Shelley, Sir John, ii. 222, 225
Sheridan, Charles, i. 53
Sheridan, Mrs. R. B., i. 4, 39, 52, 54,
55, 60, 72, 80-82 ; ii. 278
Sheridan, R. B., i. 4, 22, 46, 73, 78,
141, 142, 146, 149, 156, 161, 164,
195, 202, 204 ; ii. 317 ; his plan to
substitute Council for Viceroy in
Ireland, i. 16 ; Creevey's distrust
of, i. 21, 25 ; his diabolical project,
i. 25 ; and Prince of Wales, i. 25,
26, 32, 51-60, 68; his speech v.
Melville, i. 33 ; The Rivals, i. 55 ;
Treasurer of the Navy in " All the
Talents," i. 81 ; ill, i. 84 ; on
Grenville's resignation, i. 85 ; the
Regency Bill, i. 138 ; and Whit-
bread, i. 158, 163, 179; Madame
de Stael and, i. 189 j his death, i.
256 ; and Lord Dacre, ii. 278 ; his
letters to Creevey, i. 38, 39, 138 ;
to Mrs. Creevey, i. 39
Sheridan, Thomas, i. 38, 39, 51, 190
Sheridan, Mrs. Thomas, i. 38, 39
Shiel, ii. 181, 183
Shoenfeld, ii. 96
Sicard, Brougham's courier, i. 297
Sidmouth, Rt. Hon. Henry Adding-
ton, Speaker, created Viscount
(nicknamed "the Doctor"), i. 4,
43, 97, 114, 122, 123, 130, 147;
Premier, i. 8 ; and Pitt, i. 9, 20, 23,
366
INDEX.
26 j war-clouds, i. 10 ; and Napo-
leon, i. II ; " this accursed apothe-
cary," i. 14 ; and his colleagues, i.
19 ; Prince of Wales and, i. 25,
158, 194; resigns, i. 26, 28 ; Privy
Seal in "All the Talents," i. 75 ;
Home Secretary, i. 166; for peace,
i. 214 ; Queen Caroline's trial, i.
314 ; Tierney's attempt to enlist
Creevey in support of, ii. 10 ; " was
never sober," ii. 31
Sidney, Sir Henry, ii. 165
Sierra Morena, i. 130
Sieyes, Abbe, i. 190
Simmonds, Dr., i. 28
Siniavin, Admiral (Russia), i. 89
Six's iron index, i. 2
Slang, ladies' use of, ii. 86
Slave trade, i. 120, 166, 214
Smiles, Dr., Memoir of John Mwray t
ii. 1S6
Smith, Adam, i. 264
Smith, Alderman Christopher, ii. 76
Smith, Bobus, ii. 275
Smith, Cullen, ii. 314
Smith, Rev. Sydney, i. 165 ; ii. 79,
148, 243, 255, 268, 269, 323,
329
Smith, Sir William, i. 8l
Smith, Thomas Assheton, ii. 49
Smyth, Jack, i. 230
Sneyd, Rev. (Brighton), i. 60
Society for the Diffusion of Useful
Knowledge, ii. 206
Somerset, Lady Charlotte Douglas-
Hamilton, Duchess of (wife of nth
Duke), ii. 64
Somerset, Duchess of (nk Sheridan),
wife of I2th Duke, Queen of Beauty
at Eglington Tournament, /. 39
Somerset, nth Duke of, i. 336; ii.
64, 191
Somerset, I2th Duke of, ii. 191
Somerset, Lord Charles, ii. 132, 165
Somerset, Lord Fitzroy (Lord Raglan),
ii. 74, 254, 289
Soult, Marshal, i. 101, 102, 186,
220 ; ii. 70
South American Colonies of Spain,
i. 86, 87
Southey, Robert, ii. 147
Souza, Madame de (formerly Fla-
hault), i. 6, 7, 251
Souza, M. de, Portuguese Ambassador,
i. 62
Sovilliano, i. 88
Spain, i. 86-88, 90, 105 ; ii. 6l, 62 ;
French invasion of, ii. 52
Spalding, Mrs. (#?Eden). .&<? Broug-
ham, Lady
Speirs, Mrs. Alexander (afterwards
Ellice), ii. 273
Speirs of Elderslie, Alexander, it. 273
Spencer, George John, 2nd Earl of, i.
77, 214, 305, 308; ii. 208, 255, 295
Spencer, 3rd Earl of. See Althorp,
Viscount
Spencer, Hon. and Very Rev. George,
Superior of the Order of Passionists,
ii. 208
Spencer, Lord Robert, i. 13, 77, 121 ;
ii. 148, 162, 196
Spring Rice, Lord Monteagle, ii. 107,
108, 112, 114, 180, 269, 276, 295,
298
Spring, Sam, waiter at Cocoa Tree
Club, i. 310
Stael, Albert de, ii. 39
Stael, Albertine de, i. 184
Stael, Madame de, i. 184, 189 j her
house at Geneva, i. 258
Stafford, Lady, i. 274; ii. 48
Stafford, 2nd Marquess of, 1st Duke
of Sutherland, i. 27, 194, 216, 245 t
322, 328, 336 j ii. 48, 59
Standish, ii. 312
Stanhope, 3rd Earl of, i. 277, 308
Stanhope, Hon. Augustus, ii. 191
Stanhope, Hon. James Hamilton,
i. 277, 278; ii. 112
Stanhope, Mrs., ii. 112
Stanhope of Revesby Abbey, Banks,
i.277
Stanistreet, i. 208
Stanley, Lord, I3th Earl of Derby,
i. 170 ; ii. 76, 88
Stanley, Edward, I4th Earl of Derby,
ii. 40, 76, 128, 203, 226, 269, 282,
284, 295, 297, 299, 309 ; Secretary
for Ireland, ii. 219, 265 ; and
Durham, ii. 264 ; M.P. for Cheshire,
ii. 255 ; resigns, ii. 273, 276 ; split
between Russell and, ii. 273, 274
Stanley, Lady Mary (afterwards Lady
Wilton), i. 305
Stanley, Mrs. Edward (ne'e Dillon),
ii. 226, 255
Star, i. 178
Statesman, i. 107 ; ii. 94
Stephens, Catherine (Lady Essex),
vocalist and actress, ii. 286
Stephenson, Henry Frederick, natural
son of nth Duke of Norfolk, ii. 6,
47, 97. 107, 126, 155, 329
Stephenson, Lady Mary (nte Keppel),
ii. 97, 109
INDEX:
367
Stepney, Tom, i. 149, 150
Stevenson, the American Minister,
ii. 322
Stirling-Maxwell of Keir, Lady, /. 39
Stormont, Viscount, . 31
Strafford, Lord, ii. 310
Strachan, Admiral Sir Richard, i. 95,
97, 129, 131, 133
Strathaven, Lady, ii. 148
Stratheden, Baroness, ii. 312
Strickland, i. 186
Stuart, Lady Elizabeth, i. 326
Stuart, Mr., ii. 45
Stuart, Mrs. Eliza (afterwards Moly-
neux), ii. 253
Stuart de Rothesay, Lord (Sir Charles
Stuart), British Minister at Brussels,
i. 210, 227, 228 ; ii. 144, 154, 157
Sturges, i. 20
Suchet, General, i. 185
Suffolk, 1 5th Earl of, ii. 112
Sumner, Bishop of Winchester, ii. 157
Sunderland, Lord, i. 266
Surrey, Earl and Countess of, ii. 48
Sussex, Duke of, i. 297 j ii. 3, 6, 75,
109, 155, 229, 231, 258, 322, 323,
329 ; " talked very sad stuff," i.
192; absent from Queen Caroline's
trial, i. 308 ; his stories of his cousin
Olivia ot Cumberland, ii. 7 ;
Creevey's/<?te-<J-^with, ii. 47 ; "it
had been a walancholy day," ii.
79 ; his two marriages, ii. 243
Sussex, Lady Augusta Murray,
Duchess of, ii. 243
Sussex, Lady Cecilia Buggin, Duchess
of (created Duchess of Inverness),
ii. 230, 243, 258, 329
Sutherland, Dowager Duchess of,
i. 245 ; ii. 306
Sutherland, ist Duke of, i. 27, 194,
216, 245, 322, 328, 336
Sutherland, 2nd Duke of, ii. 47, 48,
3 2 3
Sutherland, Harriet Elizabeth
Howard, Duchess of, ii. 306, 323
Sutton, Charles Manners, Speaker
(Viscount Canterbury), i. 114, 271
Suwarrow, Madame, i. 283
Swift, Dean, ii. 181
Tabley, Lord and Lady de, ii. 170
Taglioni, ii. 252, 283
Talavera, i. 95, 105, 107, 123
Talbot, ii. 198
Talleyrand, his Paris house, i. 5 ;
demands evacuation of Malta, i.
IO ; Napoleon's abdication, i. 239 ;
his reputed son. General de Fla-
hault, i. 251 ; ii. 271 ; Napoleon's
Memoirs, ii. 26 ; and Montron, ii.
137, 138; and his niece, Madame
de Dino, ii. 217, 236, 241, 262 ;
cordiality between England and
France, ii. 218 ; Creevey and, ii.
249 ; Lady Grey's hatred of, ii.
263 ; Grey's changed tone towards,
ii. 269 ; Lady Keith, ii. 270 ; kept
away from Oxford, ii. 279 ; Grey
dining with, ii. 286 ; on Melbourne,
ii. 309
Tallien, Jean Lambert de, i. 7
Tallien, Madame de (previously
Comtesse de Fontenay), i. 6, 7
Tankerville, Armandine, Countess of
(nk de Grammont), ii. 98, 152, 307
Tankerville, Charles, 4th Earl of,
i. 36, 157, 237
Tankerville, Charles Augustus, 5th
Earl of. See Ossulston, Lord
Tankerville, Emma, Countess of (nee
Colebrooke), i. 36
Tarleton, General Sir Banastre, i.
126, 155, 168
Tarragona, siege of, i. 185
Tavistock, Marquess of (7th Duke of
Bedford),his speech on Whitbread's
death, i. 242 j Bennet on, i. 257 ;
to move a vote of censure, ii. 5,
II ; "infinitely below himself,"
ii. 12 ; Castlereagh and, ii. 38, 42 ;
at Newmarket, ii. 79 ; half a buck
from, ii. 91 ; Church Reform Bill,
ii. 255 ; split between Stanley and
Russell, ii. 274 ; Creevey on, ii.
321 j and Queen Victoria, ii. 322,
3 2 4
Taylor, Michael Angelo, his house
in Whitehall a rendezvous of the
Whigs, i. 118, 159, 160, 199, 211,
212 ; ii. 2, 3, 19, 24, 42-44, 60, 61,
65, 89-91, loo, 105, 106, 116, 152,
155, 213, 215, 284
Taylor, Mrs. M. A., i. 137, 140, 141 ;
ii. 3, 28, 29, 38, 58, 60, 65, 81,
89-91, 95, "3, "9, 120, 121, 123,
129, 132, 148, 160, 165, 184, 194,
208, 209, 219, 267
Taylor, Sir Herbert, ii. 124 ; the
Garth case, ii. 197, 200
Tempest, Bart., Sir Harry Vane, of
Wynyard, it. 58
Tempest, Mr., ii. 93
368
INDEX.
Tennant, Dr., i. 2
Tennyson, Clerk to the Board of
Ordnance, ii. 233, 241, 252
Thackeray, W. M., Vanity Fair,
i. 218
Thanet, Sackville Tufton, pth Earl
of, i. 120, 257, 295, 317, 318, 328,
336 ; ii. 6, 9, 11, 15, 62 ; Creevey's
opinion of, i. 125 ; ii. 36 ; compares
Prince Regent with Moliere's
Bourgeois Gentilhomme^ i. 182 j his
illness, i. 243 ; Creevey M.P. for
Appleby by favour of, i. 298 ;
Queen Caroline's trial, i. 308, 313 ;
his bet with Sefton, i. 328 j the
Whigs little better than old apple-
women, i. 33 1 j a curious fact about
/unius, ii. 8 ; letter to Creevey, ii.
5 1 ; wins ,40,000 at Paris Salon,
ii. 67 ; his death, ii. 85, 165
Thayer, Miss, i. 190
Thermometer, Dr. Currie's clinical,
i. 2 %
Thetford, Creevey M.P. for, i. 3, 168
Thomas, Captain, killed at Waterloo,
ii. 223
Thompson, B., ii. 302, 303
Thompson, Powlett, ii. 269, 322
Thornhill, Colonel, ii. 188
Thorpe, Lord Mayor, i. 340
Thorpe, Miss, i. 340
Thurlow, Lord, i. 30, 114; and Home
Tooke, i. 60 ; Creevey on, i. 61 ;
and Johnstene's port wine, i. 64
Tierney, George, " Mother Cole," or
" Old Cole," i. 68, 71, 94, 100,
122, 123, 137, 161, 191, 200, 256;
ii. 120, 157, 281, 313 ; incessantly
intriguing, i. 22 ; and Whitbread,
i. no, 121, 242; on Grey and
Whitbread, i. in ; proposes Petty
or Cavendish as Whig leader, i.
Ii2j "personal questions never
answer," i. 114; "will end in
smoak," i. 124; the thanks of
Parliament to Wellington, i. 126 ;
his tricks, i. 127 ; "is doing very
well," i. 217 ; his temporising plans,
i. 247 ; his style in speaking, i. 248 ;
"expert, narrow, and wrong as
ever," i. 251 ; selected as leader
of Whigs, i. 265, 278, 290; ii.
1 06 ; Wellington on, i. 278 ; his
motion on the Bank forgeries,
i. 292 ; his nickname, /'. 827 ;
Creevey's attack on, i. 329, 330,
336 ; Brougham his fellow-coun-
sellor, ii. 2 ; and Decaze, ii. 4 ; his
inveterate folly, ii. 5 j attempts to
enlist Creevey as Addington's sup-
porter, ii. 10 j "the Venerable," ii.
123; P.C., ii. 141
Tighe, Lady Louisa, ii. 184, 185
Tighe, Mrs., ii. 87
Tighe of Woodstock, Hon. W. F.,
ii. 182, 184, 185
Times, ii. 15, 48, 219, 220, 223, 237,
257, 308, 310, 316
Tindal, i. 328
Titchfield, Lord, ii. 71, 100
Tomline, George (previously Prety-
man), Bishop of Lincoln, i. 202
Tooke, Home, i. 60, 6 1
Tories, under Pitt, i. 3 ; and Roman
Catholic Emancipation, ii. 193
Torres Vedras, i. 131
Towneley, Charles, ii. 312
Towneley, Lady Caroline (nh Moly-
neux), ii. 312
Townshend, Lord John, i, 13, 125,
184
Trafalgar, i. 44, 69
Traveller, i. 342
Trippe, Baron, i. 221
Tufnell, i. 81
Tullamore, Lord, ii. 288
Turkey, and Greece, ii. 133 ; and
Russia, ii. 139
Twiss, Horace, ii. 12
Tynte, Mr. Kemeys-, ii. 313
Tyrone, Earl of (ist Marquess of
Waterford), ii. 127
Tyrrell, John, ii. 236
Tyrwhitt, Sir Thomas, Black Rod,
i- 3 2 9> 34 5 " 120 ; the Queen's
trial, i. 306 ; George IV.'s illness,
ii. 104, 197
U
Ulm, capitulation of, i. 44, 45
Ultras, the, ii. 147
Useful Knowledge, Library of, ii. 206
Uxbridge, Earl of (afterwards 2nd
Marquess of Anglesey),/. 230 ; ii.
231
Valenciennes, i. 282, 283
Van de Weyer, Belgian Minister,
11. 329
Van M
Van Merlen, General, /. 230
Vane, Mr., ii. 96
INDEX.
369
Vane-Tempest, Bart., Sir Harry, it. 58
Vansittart, N. (afterwards Lord
Bexley), "Mouldy," i. 114, 262,
342 ; ii. 129 ; on Whitbread's
death, i. 242 ; his attempt to
punish Creevey, ii. 9
Vaughan, "Hat," i. 208, 236
Verbyst, i. 293
Vernon, Edward Venables, Arch-
bishop of York, i. 328, 337
Vernon, Sir Charles, i. 161 ; ii. 63
Verona Congress, ii. 52, 60, 62
Victor, Marshal, i. 190, 223, 225
Victoria, Queen, ii. i, 51, 228, 257,
310, 321-336 ; her accession, ii.
322 ; her reception of I yndhurst,
ii. 323 ; Melbourne's health, ii.
325 ; Creevey presented to, ii. 326 ;
Hayter the artist, ii. 330; Mel-
bourne on, ii. 332 ; and Durham,
" 335 5 h er generosity to the Fitz-
clarences and Sir John Lade, ii.
335 336
Vienna Congress, i. 213
Villa Real, Marquess, ii. 167
Villeneuve, Admiral, i. 69
Villiers, John, i. 136, 140
Villiers, Viscount, ii. 311
Vimeira, battle of, i. 237
Viotti, the violinist, i. 148
Vitry, i. 280
Vittoria, battle of, ii. 193
Vivian, Sir Hussey, afterwards Lord,
i. 309
Voeykoff, Mdlle., i. 69
Voltaire, i. 2
W
Waithman, Robert, i. 129-131, 341 ;
ii. 18
Walcheren Expedition, i. 93, 95, 96,
118, 124, 127, 129, 131, 250
Waldegrave, Countess, i. 246
Waldegrave, Earl, i. 246 ; ii. 267
Walker, Mr. and Mrs., ii. 186
Wallachia, ii. 139
Walpole, George, i. 47
Walpole, Horace, ii. 163, 261, 267
Walpole, Sir Robert, ii. 246, 267
Walsham, Lady, ii. 235
Walter, M.P. for Berkshire, pro-
prietor of Times \ ii. 308
Ward, John William. See Dudley,
1st Earl of
Ward, Lord, 2nd Earl of Dudley,
" 333
Ward, Robert, i. 45
VOL. II.
Wardle, Colonel, i. 97, 112, 113, 115,
116
Warner, i. 66, 68
Warren, Charles, lawyer, i. 60, 113 ;
ii. 8
Warrender, Lady Julia (nte Maitland),
i. 209 ; ii. 60
Warrender, of Lochead, Sir George,
4th Baronet, i. 127 ; ii. 60, 74, 167,
211
Warrender, Sir John, $th Baronet,
i. 209 ; ii. 60, 76
Warwick, Lord, i. 247 ; ii. 7
Waterford, Marchioness of, ii. 127
Waterford, 1st Marquess of, ii. 127
Waterloo, i. 172, 230
Waters, Colonel, i. 101
Watley, Colonel, i. 67
Waverers, the, ii. 244
Wear, Whitbread's valet, i. 242
Webster, Lady Frances, i. 255
Webster, Sir Godfrey, i. 255
Weekly Political Register, Cobbett's,
i. 89, 132, 133
Weissenberg, Herr, ii. 262
Wellesley, Marchioness of, i. 70 ; ii.
248
Wellesley, Marquess of, i. 95, 113,
163, 174 ; ii. 285, 288 ; the Copen-
hagen Expedition, i. 85 ; attacks
on his Indian administration, i. 86,
90 ; the revolution in Spanish South
America, i, 86, 118 ; Whitbread
hostile to, i. 88 ; Foreign Secretary,
i. 96, 1 18 ; " the Atlas of the falling
State," i. 123 ; Portuguese soldiers,
i. 130; resigns office, i. 152, 174 ;
and Lord Holland, i. 153 ; Prince
Regent and, i. 153, 155-158, 160,
162; "our new patron," i. 156;
Prime Minister, i. 157, 162 ; and
Sheridan, i. 158 ; and Canning, i.
160, 161 ; Paull, i. 226 ; " there
seems an idea of," ii. 16, 20 ; Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland, ii. 63, 267,
328 ; Reform Bill, ii. 247 ; letter
to Creevey, ii. 327
Wellesley, Sir Henry, Lord Cowley,
i. 218 ; ii. 263, 320
Wellington, Duke of, "the Beau,"
i- 95 H3> 132, 148, 217, 260, 267,
303, 307, 337 J . 18, 20, 42, 44,
79, 117, 140, 234, 269, 273, 284,
303 ; Secretary for Ireland, i. 86 ;
2nd Peninsular War, i. 87-90, 93 ;
3rd Peninsular War, passage of
the Douro, i. 101-105, 109 ; Tala-
vera, i. 107, 123, 125 ; Perceval's
2 B
3/o
INDEX.
notice of thanks, i. 124-127 ; a
pension for, i. 128; "Portuguese
are now the fighting cocks of the
army," i. 128 ; Hutchinson on, i.
130; Torres Vedras, i. 131 ; Siege
of Badajos, i. 145 ; Congreve's
rockets, i. 147 ; siege of Burgos, i.
172 j on General Murray's opera-
tions, i. 185 ; in winter quarters on
French soil, i. 187 j the thanks of
the House of Commons, i. 198 ;
British Plenipotentiary at Vienna
Congress, i. 213; predicts a Re-
public in Paris, i. 215, 226 ; in
command of the Allies in Belgium,
i. 218; composition of his forces,
i. 219; Waterloo, i. 221-231, 235-
239; Lord Holland v., /'. 246;
Kinnaird and the Marinet incident,
i. 273, 276 ; extracts from Creevey's
journal about, i. 276-289 ; on the
English Princes, i. 277 ; onTierney,
i. 278 ; on the Prince Regent's
figure, i. 279 ; Duke of Kent, i. 282,
284 ; Richelieu, i. 285 ; on Grey
and Lansdowne, i. 286 ; Canning's
and Whitbread's sparring bout,
287 ; withdraws Army of Occupa-
tion, i. 288 ; on Lowe, i. 289 ; his
"scrape" when Lord Lieutenant
of Hants, ii. 6 ; violent against
Queen Caroline, ii. 14 ; ill, ii. 49 ;
the Verona Congress, ii. 52, 60 ;
France v. Spain, ii. 64 ; and Duke
of York, ii. 67 ; and Canning, ii.
103, in, 121, 135; resigns Com-
mand - in - Chief, ii. 104, 123 ;
Creevey's confidence in, ii. no ;
resigns office, ii. 112, 113; " curious
times these, Duke!" ii. 121 ; and
Brougham, ii. 122; correspondence
with George IV. as to Command-
in - Chief, ii. 123, 124 ; Com-
mander-in-Chief, ii. 131, 135 ;
identifying himself with the Old
Tories, ii. 131 ; Lady Jersey and,
ii. 133, 232 ; Goderich's resigna-
tion, ii. 141 ; Prime Minister, ii.
144, 153, 196 ; stands firm, ii.
147 ; Grey satisfied with, ii. 151 ;
" will do capitally," ii. 152 ; and
the new Buckingham Palace, ii.
156; his view of Corn Laws, ii.
158; Huskisson's resignation, ii.
*$%> 159 ; and George IV., ii. 159 ;
his "horrible appointments," ii.
160 ; and the Roman Catholic
question, ii. 170, 190, 193, 194,
198, 199 ; recalls Anglesey from
Ireland, ii. 174, 193-195 ; and Lady
Louisa Tighe, ii. 184 ; his inten-
tions about Ireland, ii. 186 ; duel
with Winchilsea, ii. 199, 200 ; a
fall from his horse, ii. 201 ;
Brougham on, ii. 208 ; in tip-top
spirits, ii. 210 ; and William IV.,
ii. 212, 296, 298 ; at opening of
Liverpool and Manchester Railway,
ii. 213 ; on Brougham as Chan-
cellor, ii. 218 ; and Sir John
Shelley, ii. 222 ; George IV.'s ex-
ecutor, ii. 233, 320 ; the Ordnance
tents, ii. 233 ; Lord Hill votes
against, ii. 240 ; fails to form Min-
istry, ii. 244, 246, 247 ; mobbed,
ii. 248; the Irish Church Bill, ii.
258 ; at Lord Cowley's wedding,
ii. 263 ; Chancellor of Oxford
University, ii. 279 ; Mrs. Arbuth-
not's death, ii. 286 ; removes Duke
of Clarence from office of Lord
High Admiral, ii. 300 ; his evidence
before Flogging Commission, ii.
310; Mrs. Fitzherbert, ii. 319,
320
Wellington Despatches, Civil and
Military, i. 87, 128, 131, 185, 273,
304 ; ii. 53, 123, 124, 314, 315,
3 2 4
Werneck, i. 44
Western, Charles Callis ("Squire
Western "), created Baron Western
of Ravenhall, i. 114, 313, 339;
ii. 5, 236, 310 ; on the Castlereagh-
Canning duel, i. 98 ; Folkestone
and Mrs. Clarke, i. 115, 116 ; on
Brougham's Treaty of Paris speech,
i. 249 ; " no superior mind amongst
us," i. 251 j on agricultural depres-
sion, etc., i. 252 ; Queen Caroline's
trial, i. 310; on the abandonment
of the Divorce clause, i. 319 ; on
Cobbett, i. 334 ; at the Lord
Mayor's dinner, i. 340 ; his letters
to Creevey, i. 98, 249, 251, 319,
334
Westmacott, editor of The Age, ii.
200
Westminster, 2nd Marquess of, ii. 260
Westminster Review, ii. 98
Westmorland, Earl of, i. 158 ; ii.
105, 112, 128, 171
Wetherell, Sir Charles, Attorney-
General, ii. 224, 248
Wharncliffe, Lord, ii. 242, 244
Whateley, Councillor, ii. 231
INDEX.
3/1
Whetham, General, i. 150
Whigs, under Grenville, i. 3 ; schism
between Radicals and, i. 260 ; their
fusion with the Canningite Ministry,
135
Whishaw, J., i. 5, in, 138, 250
Whitbread, Lady Elizabeth, i. 109,
156, 196; ii. 153
Whitbread, Miss, i. 139
Whitbread, Samuel, i. 13, 14, 34.
114, 128, 139, 141, 155, 156, 172,
181, 185, 207, 217; ii. 117;
Sheridan and Adair, i. 22 ; im-
peachment of Melville, i. 33, 88 ;
the Boyd, Benfield and Co. incident,
i. 35, 36 ; opposes war policy of
Government, i. 88 ; Cintra Conven-
tion, i. 89 ; and Sir Arthur Wel-
lesley, i. 103-105 ; discusses nothing
but politics with Creevey, i. 109 ;
and Tierney, i. no, 112 j the
"old trader," i. 118; Ponsonby
and, i. 121 ; "stout and strong,"
i. 123 ; the Walcheren Expedition,
i. 131 ; Creevey 's advice as to
Office, i. 137, 140 ; his offer to
Creevey, i. 142, 143 ; his projected
exclusion from the Cabinet, i. 157,
182 ; and R. B. Sheridan, i. 158,
163, 164, 179 ; Brougham, i. 176 ;
the only peacemaker, i. 178 ; his
two capital blunders, i. 180 ;
correspondence with Tom Sheri-
dan, i. 190 ; Princess Charlotte
and Prince of Orange, i. 197 ;
against grant to Wellington, i.
198 ; Princess of Wales' letter to,
and his reply, i. 200, 201 ; his
strange backwardness about West-
minster, i. 204 ; " all for Boney,"
i. 214 ; commits suicide, i. 240-
244, 249; ii. 41, 42, 44; a
sparring bout with Canning, i. 287 ;
Grey and, ii. 118; his letters to
Creevey, i. 88-90, 94, 99> I", "7,
193, I95 199
Whitbread, Samuel, son of above,
ii. 71
Whitbread, William, ii. 71
Whitworth, Lord, British Ambas-
sador at Paris, stormy interview
with Napoleon, i. 10 ; leaves Paris,
i. 13 ; his liaison at St. Petersburg,
1.67
Wilberforce, William, M.P. for Hull,
i. 36, 99 ; an inimitable speech for
peace, i. 15 ; and Brougham, i. 30 ;
Sydney Smith on, i. 166 ; his
opinion of Whitbread, i. 242 ; on
exclusion of Queen Caroline's
name from Liturgy, i. 306 ; and
Lord John Russell, i. 309 ; a frus-
trated intention, ii. 76
Wilbraham, i. 298
Wilde, Sir Thomas (afterwards Lord
Truro), i. 328 ; present at Queen
Caroline's death, ii. 21, 22 ; her
funeral arrangements, ii. 24
Wilkie, Sir David, ii. 322
William IV., Duke of Clarence, i. 46,
47, 50, 62, 190, 277, 314 ; ii. 3,
99, 325 J letter to Creevey, i. 32 ;
present at the Pearce-Gully prize-
fight, i. 64; and the Bank Note
Bill, i. 146 ; Duke of Kent on, i.
268-270 ; ill, i. 272 ; " that Prince
of Blackguards," i. 298 ; his vote
v. Queen Caroline, i. 339 ; " our
Billy is a wag," ii. 104 ; 9000 a
year for, ii. 106 ; and Lady Sefton,
ii. 212 ; his wish to be comfortable,
ii. 224 ; dismisses Seymour and
Meynell from his household, ii.
225 ; "I beg you won't kneel,
Lord Derby," ii. 226 ; Grey's
appeal for dissolution, ii. 227-229 ;
at the Opera, ii. 228 ; his greeting
to Creevey, ii. 229 ; and Grey, ii.
231, 244-246, 274, 276, 286; his
Coronation, ii. 235 ; and the
Duchess of Kent, ii. 238 ; peer-
making, ii. 241, 244, 245 ; the
Reform Bill, ii. 244, 264 ; com-
mands Wellington to form admini-
stration, ii. 244 ; and Brougham,
ii. 246, 318 ; his gracious behaviour
to Creevey, ii. 258-260; "exactly
so, Ma'am," ii. 262 ; at Olivia de
Ros' wedding, ii. 263 ; sends for
Melbourne, ii. 282-284, 285 ; and
Coke's speech against George III.,
ii. 294 ; dismisses Melbourne, sends
for Wellington, ii. 296-298 ; repri-
manded and removed (when Duke
of Clarence) from office of Lord
High Admiral, ii. 300 ; his 7oth
birthday, ii. 308 ; his death, ii. 321 ;
his last act, ii. 322 ; his generosity
to Sir John Lade, ii. 335
Williams, John, ii. 39
Williams, Owen, i. 99, 1 1 1
Williams, Sir Thomas Hanbury, ii.
38,39
Williamson, Sir Hedworth, ii. 81
Willoughby, d'Eresby, Lady (Dow-
ager Lady Gwydyr), i. 311
372
INDEX.
Wilmot, a house-painter at Warwick,
i. 339
Wilson, the artist, ii. 322
Wilson, M.P. for City, i. 278
Wilson, General Sir Robert ("Jaffa "
Wilson), i. 240 ; ii. 26, 32, 64, 68,
95, 107, 269 ; History of the British
Expedition to Egypt, i. 312 ; letter
from Taylor to, ii. 90
Wilson, Harriet, i. 294
Wilson, Richard, ii. 300
Wilson, Sir M., ii. 114
Wilton, Lady Mary Stanley, Countess
of, i. 305 ;jii. 48, 81,83, 203
f, ii. 81, 82, 100,
128, 129
Wilton, 3rd Earl of,
Winchester, Lord Mayor, ii. 308
Winchilsea, Countess of, (nee Bagot),
11. 329
r inchil
Winchilsea, 9th Earl of, his duel with
Wellington, ii. 199, 200
Windham, Mr., i. 9, 19-21, 38 ; ii. 55
Windsor, Mrs., i. 47
Winslow, Lord, i. 62
Wolcott, John, " Peter Pindar," The
Lousiad, ii. 29
Wood, Alderman, his support of
Queen Caroline, i. 202, 302, 318 ;
ii. 14, 17, 18
Wood, Mr., Lord Grey's Secretary,
ii. 242, 249, 250
Woodville, Mrs., i. 279
Woronzow, Count, i. 283-285
Wortley, i. 160 ; ii. loo
Wrights, the, i. 112, 113, 115
Wyatt, the architect, ii. 289
Wykeham, Miss, i. 272
Wyndham, General Sir Henry, ii. 165
Wyndham, Hon. Charles, ii. 164
Wyndham, Hon. Mrs. (daughter of
Lord Charles Somerset), ii. 165
Wyndham, Hon. William, ii. 164
Wyndham, Miss, ii. 164
Wynn, Rt. Hon. Charles W.
Williams, i. 128, 194, 214, 271 ;
ii. 70, 113
Wynn, Sir W T . W., i. 282 ; ii. 31
Yarborough, Lord, i. 308
Yarmouth, Earl of, i. 150; ii. 191 ;
Castlereagh's second in duel with
Canning, i. 97 j Sheridan and,
i. 146, 195 ; Prince Regent and,
i. 149 ; the Courier, i. 178 ;
" preaches peace at the corners of
all the streets," i. 214
York, Duchess of, i. 181, 182, 305 ;
ii. 27
York, Duke of, i. 17, 31, 34, 44, 53,
123, 146, 150, 294, 297 ; ii. 3, 7,
61, 79, 89, 100, 157, 325 ; Com-
mander-in-Chief, i. 63 ; Prince of
Wales and, i, 63, 159 ; Mrs.
Clarke, i. 97, 112, 115, 124, 151,
310 ; ii. 2 ; motion to reinstate as
Commander-in-Chief, i. 140, 147 ;
his debts, i. 209; "so tipsy," i.
184; Duke of Kent on, i. 268,
271 ; "won't live long," i. 298 ;
Queen Caroline's trial, i. 314, 339 ;
Lauderdale's story, ii. 27; at
Ascot, ii. 77 ; the insidious Scroop,
ii. 78 ; his natural son, ii. 97 ;
building a new palace, ii. 99 ; his
death and funeral, ii. 104, 106
Yorke, Mr., i. 127, 137
Young, Mr., Lord Melbourne's
Secretary, ii. 311
Younger, an English merchant from
Riga, ii. 290
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