The Greville Memoirs, Part 1 (of 3), Volume 2 (of 3): A Journal of the Reigns of King George IV and King William IVGreville, Charles
History
The Greville Memoirs, Part 1 (of 3), Volume 2 (of 3): A Journal of the Reigns of King George IV and King William IV
Greville, Charles
Great Britain -- History -- George IV, 1820-1830; Great Britain -- History -- William IV, 1830-1837
Conyngham tribe and one or two Tory Ministers and foreign
Ambassadors; but a plain, vulgar, hospitable gentleman, opening
his doors to all the world, with a numerous family and suite, a
Whig Ministry, no foreigners, and no toad-eaters at all. Nothing
can be more different, and looking at him one sees how soon this
act will be finished, and the same be changed for another
probably not less dissimilar. Queen, bastards, Whigs,[6] all will
disappear, and God knows what replaces them. Came to town
yesterday, and found a quarrel between Henry Bentinck and Sir
Roger Gresley, which I had to settle, and did settle amicably in
the course of the evening.
[6] Not Whigs--they are _les bienvenus_, which they were
not before.--_July 1838._
June 7th, 1831 {p.148}
[Page Head: DINNER AT HANBURY'S BREWERY.]
Dined with Sefton yesterday, who gave me an account of a dinner
at Fowell Buxton's on Saturday to see the brewery, at which
Brougham was the 'magnus Apollo.' Sefton is excellent as a
commentator on Brougham; he says that he watches him incessantly,
never listens to anybody else when he is there, and _rows_ him
unmercifully afterwards for all the humbug, nonsense, and palaver
he hears him talk to people. They were twenty-seven at dinner.
Talleyrand was to have gone, but was frightened by being told
that he would get nothing but beefsteaks and porter, so he stayed
away. They dined in the brewhouse and visited the whole
establishment. Lord Grey was there in star, garter, and ribband.
There were people ready to show and explain everything, but not a
bit--Brougham took the explanation of everything into his own
hands--the mode of brewing, the machinery, down to the feeding of
the cart horses. After dinner the account books were brought, and
the young Buxtons were beckoned up to the top of the table by
their father to hear the words of wisdom that flowed from the
lips of my Lord Chancellor. He affected to study the ledger, and
made various pertinent remarks on the manner of book-keeping.
There was a man whom Brougham called 'Cornelius' (Sefton did not
know who he was) with whom he seemed very familiar. While
Brougham was talking he dropped his voice, on which 'Cornelius'
said, 'Earl Grey is listening,' that he might speak louder and so
nothing be lost. He was talking of Paley, and said that 'although
he did not always understand his own meaning, he always contrived
to make it intelligible to others,' on which 'Cornelius' said,
'My good friend, if he made it so clear to others he must have
had some comprehension of it himself;' on which Sefton attacked
him afterwards, and swore that 'he was a mere child in the hands
of "Cornelius,"' that 'he never saw anybody so put down.' These
people are all subscribers to the London University, and Sefton
swears he overheard Brougham tell them that 'Sir Isaac Newton was
nothing compared to some of the present professors,' or something
to that effect. I put down all this nonsense because it amused me
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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