The Creevey Papers
Lady Holland to Eleanor Creevey, [July 1813?]
[1811?].
“. . . I suppose you have heard that Mr. Canning has entirely disbanded his little
Troop. He dismissed them, desiring they would no longer consider him as the
leader of any Party in the House of Commons. Various reasons are assigned for
it. C. Ellis says that a gentleman whom he
did not name, but who is supposed to be W[illegible]
suspected an immediate negociation with Ministers, and implied that he was the
mouthpiece of the party; upon which Canning, in a moment
of pettishness, set them all adrift. There are various conjectures, but the
only fact is that they are released from their allegiance. Ward says it is hard to serve a year without
wages, but he hopes to get a good character from his last place. The story is
that Huskisson has been off some time
and is coming in. . . . All Canning’s friends are
very sore at this last move; but more because the chief sensation it excites
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| 152 | THE CREEVEY PAPERS | [Ch. VII. |
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is laughter, and tho’ jokers themselves, they
cannot endure any ridicule against their own lot. . . . The Regent went to the
Dandy ball last night, and only spoke to M. Pierrepont, one of the four who invited. He
fairly turned his back upon the others. He sent a message to Sr. Harry Mildmay, saying he wished to speak
to him; who replied that it must be a mistake, because His R. H. had seen him
and took no notice whatever of him. . . .”
George Canning (1770-1827)
Tory statesman; he was foreign minister (1807-1809) and prime minister (1827); a
supporter of Greek independence and Catholic emancipation.
Charles Augustus Ellis, second baron Seaford (1799-1868)
The son of Charles Rose Ellis; after education at Eton and military he was service
under-secretary of state for foreign affairs under Canning (1824-26) and a career
diplomat.
William Huskisson (1770-1830)
English politician and ally of George Canning; privately educated, he was a Tory MP for
Morpeth (1796-1802), Liskeard (1804-07), Harwich (1807-12), Chichester (1812-23), and
Liverpool (1823-30). He died in railway accident.
Sir Henry Manvers Pierrepont (1780-1851)
English dandy, the son of Charles Pierrepont, first Earl Manvers. He was a sponsor of the
1813 Dandy Ball and was Envoy to Denmark.
Sir Henry St. John Carew St. John Mildmay, fourth baronet (1787-1848)
English dandy, the son of the third baronet and an associate of Beau Brummel; he was MP
for Winchester (1807-1818). In 1814 he was involved with a crim. con. case with the Earl of
Rosebery; he later became insolvent and shot himself in his residence in Belgrave
Square.
John William Ward, earl of Dudley (1781-1833)
The son of William Ward, third Viscount Dudley (d. 1823); educated at Edinburgh and
Oxford, he was an English MP, sometimes a Foxite Whig and sometimes Canningite Tory, who
suffered from insanity in his latter years.
