The Creevey Papers
Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 9 May 1823
“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† Althorpe,
Bennet, Lambton, Ferguson,
Titchfield, my lady [Kensington], 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
![]()
![]()
| 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 anywhere without him. . . .”
Prosper Louis, duc d' Arenberg (1785-1861)
Belgian nobleman, the son of the sixth duke; he was at the Duchess of Richmond's ball the
night before Waterloo.
Henry Grey Bennet (1777-1836)
The son of Charles Bennet, fourth earl of Tankerville; educated at Eton and Peterhouse,
Cambridge, he was a Whig MP for MP for Shrewsbury (1806-07, 1811-26) and a legal
reformer.
Henry Peter Brougham, first baron Brougham and Vaux (1778-1868)
Educated at Edinburgh University, he was a founder of the
Edinburgh
Review in which he chastised Byron's
Hours of Idleness; he
defended Queen Caroline in her trial for adultery (1820), established the London University
(1828), and was appointed lord chancellor (1830).
Lady Mary Anne Brougham [née Eden] (1785-1865)
The daughter of Thomas Eden; she married (1) the Scottish MP John Spalding (d. 1815) in
1807 and (2) Henry Brougham, first Baron Brougham and Vaux in 1819.
Elizabeth Farren, countess of Derby (1759-1829)
Comic actress; she was courted by Charles James Fox but became the lover and later the
wife of the Earl of Derby upon the death of Elizabeth Hamilton in 1797.
Sir Ronald Craufurd Ferguson (1773-1841)
Scottish officer who served in India and fought with a Highland brigade; he was MP for
Dysart (1806-30) and Nottingham (1830-41).
Bernard Edward Howard, twelfth duke of Norfolk (1765-1842)
Educated at the English College at Douai, in 1815 he succeeded his third cousin, Charles
Howard, eleventh duke (d. 1815), and took his seat in Parliament after passage of the Roman
Catholic Relief Bill of 1829.
Peter King, seventh baron King (1775-1833)
Whig politician, son of the sixth baron; he was educated at Harrow and Trinity College,
Cambridge before succeeding to the title in 1793. His son William married Ada Byron.
Leopold I King of Belgium (1790-1865)
The son of Prince Francis Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld; after serving in the Russian
army he married Princess Charlotte in May 1816; in 1831 he was inaugurated as the first
king of the Belgians.
John Charles Spencer, third earl Spencer (1782-1845)
English politician, son of the second earl (d. 1834); educated at Harrow and Trinity
College, Cambridge, he was Whig MP for Northamptonshire (1806-34) and chancellor of the
exchequer and leader of the lower house under Lord Grey (1830).
