The Creevey Papers
Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 12 November 1834
“12th.
“So Lord
Spencer is dead by this time! Just in time to save Althorp from that horrible position in the House
of Commons which his late folly put him into. But what comes of the House of
Commons itself? Who is to lead that precious assembly? . . . Stanley would be the only man if he had only
common sense and common manners; but I think Spring
Rice must be the man. . . . Talking of Lady Howick,† Lady
Grey said:—‘I never liked her, and I do so now less
than ever. I believe she is clever and has been agreeable; her natural
character is to be saucy and pert, but with me is artificial and guarded in the
extreme; curious and inquisitive to the greatest degree, and sending to her
sister in Yorkshire everything she
picks up;‡ which somehow or other comes to me on its return from
Yorkshire. Then, if I deny having said it in part or in whole, I am told it
must be so, for “Maria took it down in her journal
at the time!” which is not very pleasant you know. But Henry is quite devoted to her, and she has supreme
influence over him.’ . . . Just as I was in the midst of writing the last
sentence, Lord Grey stalked into the great
library, his spectacles aloft upon his forehead, and I saw at once he was for
jaw, so I abandoned my letter to you and joined him. . . . He had received a
letter from Lord John Russell to-day, and I
saw in a minute both Holland and
Lord John were making offers to Lord
Howick of a berth in the Government (in the Cabinet, of course)
thro’ Lord Grey; and then we began to talk on that
subject in good earnest. I gave my own decided opinion that the Government
could not last; that I had always thought so before the late insanity of
Brougham and Durham’s scrape, even if Lord
Spencer had lived; and that the Government would have broken
down in the House of Lords,
![]()
![]()
| 296 | THE CREEVEY PAPERS | [Ch. XII. |
![]()
Melbourne, with all his merits, being
utterly incapable of sustaining it; but that now it
would go to the devil at once in both Houses. On that account, I would have
Lord Howick extremely cautious in taking office
without more daylight, the design in having him being obvious—to pass for
having Lord Grey’s support. Lord
Grey was quite with me that the Government must go,
Althorp being gone, and he thinks it could not have
weathered the session had he remained; but he has an evident hankering for
Howick being in office, and evidently has a most false
estimate of his talents, and of every other property belonging to him. . . . I
will stop here, as every day must bring us new speculations as to the result of
Althorp’s political demise.”
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).
Elizabeth Mary Copley (1801 c.-1887)
The daughter of Sir Joseph Copley, third baronet, and sister of the third countess
Grey.
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.
Henry Richard Fox, third baron Holland (1773-1840)
Whig politician and literary patron; Holland House was for many years the meeting place
for reform-minded politicians and writers. He also published translations from the Spanish
and Italian;
Memoirs of the Whig Party was published in 1852.
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).
Henry George Grey, third earl Grey (1802-1894)
The son of the second earl; he was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and was a Whig
MP (1826-45) when he succeeded his father. He was secretary for the colonies
(1846-52).
Lady Maria Grey [née Copley] (1803-1879)
The daughter of Captain Sir Joseph Copley, third baronet; in 1832 she married Henry
George Grey, afterwards third earl Grey.
William Lamb, second viscount Melbourne (1779-1848)
English statesman, the son of Lady Melbourne (possibly by the third earl of Egremont) and
husband of Lady Caroline Lamb; he was a Whig MP, prime minister (1834-41), and counsellor
to Queen Victoria.
Thomas Spring Rice, first Baron Monteagle (1790-1866)
The son of Stephen Edward of Limerick; he was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and
was MP for Limerick City (1820-32) and Cambridge borough (1832-39). He was chancellor of
the exchequer (1835-39) and contributed to the
Edinburgh
Review.
John Russell, first earl Russell (1792-1878)
English statesman, son of John Russell sixth duke of Bedford (1766-1839); he was author
of
Essay on the English Constitution (1821) and
Memoirs of the Affairs of Europe (1824) and was Prime Minister (1865-66).
George John Spencer, second earl Spencer (1758-1834)
Educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge, he was a Whig MP aligned with Edmund
Burke, first lord of the Admiralty (1794-1801) and home secretary (1806-07). He was a book
collector and patron of the poets John Clare and Herbert Knowles.
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).
Edward Stanley, first Baron Monteagle (1460 c.-1523)
The son of Thomas Stanley, first earl of Derby; fighting under Thomas Howard, earl of
Surrey, he was instrumental in the English victory at Flodden Field.
