The Man with Jane: Another Look into Bellamy’s Kitchen

Abstract

The Man with Jane: Another Look into Bellamy’s Kitchen William F. Long (bio) “The House” and “Bellamy’s,” two sketches by Boz published in the Evening Chronicle on 7 March and 11 April 1835 respectively, contain short, vivid descriptions of some dozen unnamed parliamentarians.1 Their subjects are likely to have been readily recognized by many contemporary readers.2 Seven “originals” were named in 1954 (Carlton) and the identity of a further three suggested more recently (Long). In the present paper, another of the subjects and the circumstances in 1835 which made him noteworthy are considered. The Man with Jane The subjects of Boz’s descriptions, in addition to members of parliament, included the staff of Bellamy’s kitchen, the refreshment-room which served both Houses of Parliament.3 Here, in the second of the sketches, he remarks [End Page 239] on Jane, the “Hebe” of the establishment, who is attending a man the identity of whom has not previously been established: Have you observed the delicate flirtation she has been carrying on with that young man, who displays a large quantity of hair under the back of his hat? He is a constant visitor here, possesses an enviable facility of dispatching brandy and water, and is nearly related to the noble leader of a “section” of the House. Observe the glee with which she listens to something he mutters somewhat unintelligibly in her ear (for his speech is rather thick from some cause or other), and how playfully she digs the handle of a fork into the arm with which he detains her; by way of reply. The man glimpsed flirting with Jane, then, is described by reference to a near relation, who is “the noble leader of a ‘section’ of the House.” This description deserves attention. Characteristics of the Near Relation First, Boz uses the term “the House” in the two sketches to signify specifically the House of Commons. Second, his use of “section” to denote a grouping within it is unusual. “Party,” “faction” or perhaps just “group,” depending on the context, are more common usages. Boz gives some emphasis to the name chosen, perhaps with a hint of irony, by placing it in inverted commas. Third, Boz refers to the head of this group as its “noble leader.” In the parliamentary context of the sketch, this descriptor is not a complimentary comment on the leader’s character. Instead it implies that he is a nobleman. The English nobility, then and now, comprises immediate families of peers. The latter are those who bear a title (duke, marquess, earl, viscount or baron) inherited from an immediate antecedent or bestowed directly by the monarch. Until recently all peers were eligible to sit in the House of Lords.4 In contrast, members of the nobility generally, then and now, have courtesy titles, or honorifics, and are eligible to be elected to sit in the House of Commons. With these points in mind, we may now consider the possible identity of the near relation of the young man glimpsed with Jane. [End Page 240] Groups and their Leaders in the Commons Readily discernible parliamentary groups in the mid-1830s comprised Whigs, Conservatives, Tories, Irish members, and Radicals. The Whigs and the Conservatives/Tories were led in the Commons by Lord John Russell and Sir Robert Peel respectively. The small but influential group of Irish members was led by Daniel O’Connell. The Radicals’ particularly vocal members, for example, Joseph Hume and William Cobbett, might arguably be said to have “led” opinion within this group of otherwise independently operating individuals. Of those mentioned, only Russell and perhaps Peel, as nobleman and near-nobleman respectively, qualify as possible candidates for the role of “near relation” of the man in Bellamy’s. Russell bore the courtesy title “Lord” by virtue of being the son of a peer (the sixth Duke of Bedford), and was formally referred to in the Commons as “the noble lord.” Peel had inherited the baronetcy of his father and was therefore a member of the “gentry,” a grouping at the lower border of the nobility. He was usually referred to as “the honourable baronet,” but also, very occasionally, as...