The Creevey Papers
Henry Grey Bennet to Thomas Creevey, 3 April 1815
“Upper Brook St., 3rd April, 1815.
“. . . You are at the fountain head of all the
continental projects. Here we are certainly for war: the old doctrines of there
being no security for peace with Napoleon
are again broached, and you hear all repeated, which one had almost forgot, of
the nonsense of 1793. Parties are making on these subjects, and they are as you
may imagine. Ld. Grenville started furious
for
* The Right Hon. William
Adam [1751-1839], Attorney-General to the Prince of
Wales and Lord Chief Commissioner to the Scottish Jury Court. |
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| 214 | THE CREEVEY PAPERS | [Ch X. |
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war, or at least declaring there was no chance of avoiding
it. A correspondence has taken place between him and Grey, who is anxious for peace, which has considerably softened
the Bogey, and now he [Grenville]
declares that his opinions are not made up, but that he shall await further
information. So much is gained by Grey’s firmness,
who is behaving very well. Elliot and
the Wynnes and that wise statesman Fremantle* are more hot, and the former holds
as a doctrine of salvation that the existence of the French power, with
Napoleon at the head, is incompatible with the safety
of Europe: so you see what are to be the labours necessary to be accomplished
in case the war faction triumphs. I have not as yet heard of there being any
more lovers of war. Ld. Spencer, the
Carringtons, &c., are for peace, and what is more
amusing still, Yarmouth, who preaches peace
at the corners of all the streets, and is in open war with Papa and Mama† upon that subject. Prinny, of course, is for war: as for the Cabinet, Liverpool and Ld.
Sidmouth are for peace; they say the Chancellor‡ is not violent the other way; but Bathurst, Castlereagh, &c., &c., are red hot, and if our allies
will concur and the plans do not demand too much money, war we shall have.
Sam is all for
Boney, and the Slave Trade decree has done something.
We consider here that the Jacobins are masters at Paris, and let them and the
free press and the representative government come from that source. Leave them
to themselves, and quarrel they will; but war will unite every soul,
particularly if upon the cursed motives of the high party. . . . However, all
the world of all parties speak of Ney with
abhorrence, as his offers to the King—from whom he got everything, double the money he
demanded, &c.—were all made with a firm determination to betray him.
He said, among other things, that he would bring Napoleon
in a cage: to which the King replied—‘Je
n’aimerais pas un tel oiseau dans ma
chambre!’ Chateaubriand has also declared for
Napoleon, and made a speech in ![]()
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| 1814-15.] | BRUSSELS IN 1815. | 215 |
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his favour in the same style of
nonsense and blasphemy for which the Bourbons had named him Minister to Sweden.
“Most brilliant court at the Tuilleries, and the
French say ‘L’Empereur est la bonté
même.’ They would say the same of the devil; but if I was a
Frenchman, I should be all for Napoleon. .
. . The Guards have marched this morning to embark at Deptford for Ostend. I
consider they will be there in two days. The fellows went off in high spirits,
as it is known here that beer, bread, meat and gin are cheap in Flanders. . .
.”
William Adam (1751-1839)
Scottish barrister, Whig MP (1784-1812) and ally of Charles James Fox (whom he once
wounded in a duel); he was privy councillor (1815) and a friend of Sir Walter Scott.
Henry Bathurst, third earl Bathurst (1762-1834)
Tory statesman, the son of the second earl (d. 1794); he was master of the mint (1804),
president of the Board of Trade (1807-12), and secretary of state for war (1812-24).
François-René, viscomte de Chateaubriand (1768-1848)
French romantic poet and diplomat, author of
The Genius of
Christianity (1802). He was a supporter of the Bourbon restoration. He was
ambassador to Great Britain in 1822.
William Elliot [The Castle Spectre] (1766-1818)
Born in Wells, Roxburghshire, he was an Irish politician and friend of Edmund Burke who
after the Union was a Whig MP for Portarlington and Peterborough.
Sir William Henry Fremantle (1766-1850)
After a military and civil career in Ireland he was MP for Enniskillen (1806), Harwich
(1806-07), Saltash (1807-08), Tain Burghs (1808-12), and Buckingham borough (1812-27); he
was afterwards treasurer of the royal household.
William Wyndham Grenville, baron Grenville (1759-1834)
Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, he was a moderate Whig MP, foreign secretary
(1791-1801), and leader and first lord of the treasury in the “All the Talents” ministry
(1806-1807). He was chancellor of Oxford University (1810).
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).
Louis XVIII, king of France (1755-1824)
Brother of the executed Louis XVI; he was placed on the French throne in 1814 following
the abdication of Napoleon.
Emperor Napoleon I (1769-1821)
Military leader, First Consul (1799), and Emperor of the French (1804), after his
abdication he was exiled to Elba (1814); after his defeat at Waterloo he was exiled to St.
Helena (1815).
Michel Ney, first Duc d'Elchingen (1769-1815)
Marshall of France who covered Napoleon's retreat from Moscow and led the Old Guard at
the battle of Waterloo, for which he was tried and executed by firing squad.
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.
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.
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.
