Autograph letter signed : Utrecht, to The Duke of Leeds, 1709 May 14.

Enclosing his abstract of the accounts for the last quarter (no longer with the letter) and explaining the trips they took have increased expenses slightly, "but that could not be avoided as long as My Lady [Bridget Osborne] was in this country"; writing that he hopes the Duke will not object to his charging the cost of a mourning suit to his account at the same time as mourning suits were made for the boys: "had it not been for their credit, I would not have been in black cloathes out of England; and I can assure your Grace, that I have been presented with mourning four times whilst I was with the present Duke of Devonshire [possibly William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire]"; reporting that "There's no talk in this country but of Peace; yea, some speak as confidently of it, as if it were already agreed upon by all parties"; writing that this makes him "give credit to what has been whispered to me, that is, that some of the Chief Men amongst the Deputies to the States General have been bribed by the french to persuade the rest to consent to the proposals of the french"; mentioning that the Marquis de Torcy, secretary of state for war, is currently in The Hague having "Publick & frequent Conferences with the Dutch Ministers"; adding that Prince Eugene is already there, and the Duke of Marlborough is expected soon; speculating that the French may be using and deceiving the Dutch; writing that there was a market the previous day at which he could have gotten very good coach horses, "[i]f I had had positive orders", but that there will also be other opportunities to purchase coach horses when the Duke has decided exactly what he wants; telling him that they are going to Amsterdam this week to take communion on Whitsunday, and that he will draw on "the Last hundred pounds of the Credit your Grace gave us in November Last."