The Creevey Papers
Thomas Creevey to James Currie, 11 May 1803
“11th May.
“. . . I supped last night with Fox at Mrs.
Bouverie’s . . . There were there Grey, Whitbread,
Lord Lauderdale, Fitzpatrick, Lord
Robert Spencer,† Lord John
Townshend and your humble servant. . . . You would be perfectly
astonished at the vigour of body, the energy of mind, the innocent playfulness
and happiness of Fox. The contrast between him and his old
associates is the most marvellous thing I ever saw—they having all the
air of shattered debauchees, of passing gaming, drinking, sleepless nights,
whereas the old leader of the gang might really pass for the pattern and the
effect of domestic good order. . . . A telegraphic dispatch announces that
Lord Whitworth has left
Paris.”‡
Harriot Bouverie [née Fawkener] (1750-1846)
The daughter of Sir Everard Fawkener; in 1765 she married Edward Bouverie (d. 1810) and
was active as a Whig hostess; in 1811 she married Lord Robert Spencer.
Richard Fitzpatrick (1748-1813)
English military officer, politician, and poet allied with Fox and Sheridan in
Parliament; he was secretary of state for war (1783, 1806) and author of
Dorinda, a Town Eclogue (1775).
Charles James Fox (1749-1806)
Whig statesman and the leader of the Whig opposition in Parliament after his falling-out
with Edmund Burke.
Charles Grey, second earl Grey (1764-1845)
Whig statesman and lover of the Duchess of Devonshire; the second son of the first earl
(d. 1807), he was prime minister (1831-34).
James Maitland, eighth earl of Lauderdale (1759-1839)
Scottish peer allied with Charles James Fox; he was author of
An
Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Public Wealth, and into the Means and causes of
its Increase (1804) and other works on political economy.
Lord Robert Spencer (1747-1831)
Of Woolbeding in Sussex; the youngest son of the second Duke of Marlborough, he was Whig
MP for Woodstock (1768-71, 1818-20), Oxford City (1771-90), Wareham (1790-99), and
Tavistock (1802-07). He was a friend of Charles James Fox.
Lord John Townshend (1757-1833)
The son of George Townshend, first Marquess Townshend; he was educated at Eton and St
John's College, Cambridge and was a Whig MP for Cambridge, Westminster, and Knaresborough.
He was a denizen of Holland House and Sheridan's literary executor.
Samuel Whitbread (1764-1815)
The son of the brewer Samuel Whitbread (1720-96); he was a Whig MP for Bedford, involved
with the reorganization of Drury Lane after the fire of 1809; its financial difficulties
led him to suicide.
