The Creevey Papers
Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 21 October 1820
“House of Lords, Oct. 21st, 1 o’clock.
“Before I begin with the trial, let me tell you a
story. On my arrival here at 10 this morning, I perceived a black man of an
extraordinary appearance in Tom
Tyrwhitt’s‖ box at the other end of the House, and another
black by his side, both in bushy black wigs. Upon enquiry, I found it was no
less a person
![]()
![]()
| 330 | THE CREEVEY PAPERS | [Ch XIII. |
![]()
than the King of New Zealand and his Grand Chamberlain;
and it was presently reported that they were white, and
not black men, and that the black shade was merely the effect and impression of
tattooing. Western and I went round, and got
near enough to touch his Majesty; when I found his royal face to be one of the
very finest specimens of carving I have ever beheld. The Chamberlain’s
face was fair: the sunflowers on it were highly respectable; but the
King’s nose, which surpassed the average size, was one blaze of stars and
planets. The groundwork of their faces, of which a mighty small portion
remained without ornament, was evidently fair, but had been painted a deep
orange colour. . . . I just learn it was the Minister of the King, and not his
Chamberlain; and also that they are both just entered at some college in
Cambridge, where I flatter myself these dingy academicians will do honor both
to themselves and my favorite University. . . .
“Sefton called
yesterday on his uncle Lord Harrington, who
is confined with the gout. In the course of the visit, to
Sefton’s surprise and, as you may suppose,
delight, Lord Harrington said—‘I shall be
well enough to go and give my vote against this infamous Bill.’
Upon Sefton leading him on, the other
said—‘After the evidence of Lady
Charlotte Lindsay, Mr.
Craven and Sir Wm.
Gell, no man with the pretensions to being a gentleman ought
to have gone a step further with the Bill.’—Well done, old
Gold Stick!”
Hon. Keppel Richard Craven (1779-1851)
A Chamberlain to the Princess of Wales (1814), he was a friend of Sir William Drummond,
Sir William Gell, and the Countess of Blessington while residing at Naples. He published
A Tour through the Southern Provinces of the Kingdom of Naples
(1821).
Sir William Gell (1777-1836)
English traveler and archaeologist; author of the
Topography of
Troy (1804),
Geography and Antiquities of Ithaca (1807),
the
Itinerary of Greece, with a Commentary on Pausanias (1810),
Itinerary of the Morea (1817),
Narrative of a
Journey in the Morea (1823), and
Itinerary of Greece
(1827).
Lady Charlotte Lindsay [née North] (1771 c.-1849)
The daughter of Frederick North, second Earl of Guilford; in 1800 she married Lt.-Col.
John Lindsay (d. 1826), son of James Lindsay, fifth Earl of Balcarres. She was Lady in
Waiting to Queen Caroline.
John Scott, first earl of Eldon (1751-1838)
Lord chancellor (1801-27); he was legal counsel to the Prince of Wales and an active
opponent of the Reform Bill.
George Tierney (1761-1830)
Whig MP and opposition leader whose political pragmatism made him suspect in the eyes of
his party; he fought a bloodless duel with Pitt in 1798. He is the “Friend of Humanity” in
Canning and Frere's “The Needy Knife-Grinder.”
Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt (1762-1833)
The nephew of the scholar of the same name; he was educated at Eton and Christ Church,
Oxford, and was MP for Okehampton (796-1802), Portarlington (1802-06) and Plymouth
(1806-12), private secretary to the Duke of Clarence, and Black Rod.
Charles Callis Western, baron Western (1767-1844)
Of Rivenhall in Essex, politician and agricultural reformer; he was educated at Eton and
Queens' College, Cambridge and was MP for Maldon (1790-1812) and Essex (1812-32). He was a
school friend of Thomas Creevey.
