... The Duke of Newcastle has seen Egmont, who at first talked very high; but at length, “such was his submission to the Princess and duty to the King, that he believed he should accede to what was proposed;” but dropped that he should be unwilling to act offensively to Mr. Pitt. The Duke then asked if he might write to Hanover: Lord Egmont said he could not quite authorize his Grace to go so far yet, but desired a few days; which the Duke of Newcastle interprets to be to consult Pitt. His Grace is to see Pitt, but Legge says Pitt is in no disposition to be paid with such counters as his Grace has to give him. The Chancellor, too, has told him, as he did your father, though not so positively, that he knew of no subsidy but that of Hesse. I think he told your father that the Russian was not _done_ yet, (he must mean ratified, which is an equivocation;) but he told Pitt absolutely that he knew of no other but the Hessian, which was, to my knowledge, an absolute falsehood. The Duke of Newcastle told a friend of mine that he had an overture from me by Lord Granville, which is not true; but his Grace might, perhaps, from what Lord Granville said, conclude it came from me. My friend asked him why he did not close with me then? He answered, _the Duke_ would govern them; and likewise talked of his own family, as he calls it, (Lady C. Pelham and Lord Lincoln,) and he might have added, his expectations through Egmont, &c., at Leicester House. But all or either of them show how sincere at any time his professions have been. _Extract of a Letter from Ditto to Ditto, Sept. 11, 1755._ ... I hear Pitt declares against the Russian subsidy, which, I am told, is growing as unpopular as the excise. _Extract of a Letter from Ditto to Ditto, Sept. 23, 1755._ ... I have never declared my opinion of the subsidies till this morning to the King. His Majesty is in great distress: they have been obliged to tell him that the House of Commons could not go on without some authority within it; that almost every principal person there had declared against subsidies, and they could not name one who had declared for them. They had tried Pitt, Sir George Lee, and Egmont: that the two first and Legge had declared against them; that Egmont doubted and declined accepting the place; that in this situation they had spoken to me. Lord Grenville had spoke of me to him, but could not tell him my opinion.