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Thankfully, there was nothing to do in the House of Commons on July 7, 1831. This meant that Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859) -- the young, up-and-coming MP for the pocket borough of Caine -- could reply in the affirmative to a very prestigious dinner invitation indeed. Macaulay had been requested to dine with Henry George Grey, Viscount Howick (1802- 1894) and his father. The latter just happened to be Charles, the second Earl Grey (1764-1845), who had been prime minister since the resignation of the Duke of Wellington the previous November. Although Macaulay's star was already rising -- both within the resurgent Whig party and in the nation at large -- this was a signal that he had truly "arrived" in politics. Unfortunately for Macaulay, the rather careless Howick had not specified a time in his note, and so the young MP decided to turn up at 10 Downing Street around seven in evening: an eminently-civilized time, likely to be just ahead of the evening meal. |
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