The Creevey Papers
Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 7 March 1827
“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, suppose 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
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| 1827.] | CREEVEY ENJOYS HIS FREEDOM. | 109 |
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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.”
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).
George Canning (1770-1827)
Tory statesman; he was foreign minister (1807-1809) and prime minister (1827); a
supporter of Greek independence and Catholic emancipation.
Thomas Creevey (1768-1838)
Whig politician aligned with Charles James Fox and Henry Brougham; he was MP for Thetford
(1802-06, 1807-18) Appleby (1820-26) and Downton (1831-32). He was convicted of libel in
1813.
William Wentworth Fitzwilliam, second earl Fitzwilliam (1748-1833)
The nephew of the Marquis of Rockingham and lifelong friend of Charles James Fox and Lord
Carlisle; he was president of the Council (1806-07) and lieutenant of the West Riding from
1798 to 1819 when he was dismissed for his censure of the Peterloo massacre.
Barbara Palmer, duchess of Cleveland [née Villiers] (1640-1709)
The daughter of William Villiers, second viscount Grandison (1614-1643) and mistress of
Charles II, who granted her the title in 1670. Her sexual adventures were detailed in
Delarivier Manley's
The New Atalantis (1709).
Thomas Raikes (1777-1848)
English dandy and friend of Beau Brummel; his diary was published 1856-57.
William Harry Vane, first duke of Cleveland (1766-1842)
The son of Henry Vane, second earl of Darlington (d. 1792); educated at Christ Church,
Oxford, he was a lifelong friend of Henry Brougham and a notable sportsman.
