Further light is thrown by Sir Richard Lodge on George
Irs Minister, the Duke of Newcastle, in the Private Correspondence of Chesterfield and Newcastle, 1744-6 (Royal Historical Society). It confirms Sir Richard's view, as set forth in his recent Studies in Eighteenth Century Diplomacy, that Newcastle was by no means the fussy fool that he is usually represented by bio- graphers of the elder Pitt. He was in truth most ambitious and most persistent in getting his own way, even if the King or his own brother, the sluggish Henry Pelham, disapproved. To Chesterfield at The Hague during the Fontenay campaign, and afterwards at Dublin as Viceroy, Newcastle wrote without reserve. His alarm at the Young Pretender's successes in 1745 is manifest, though Chesterfield was more hopeful. Sir Richard Lodge has made a valuable addition to the printed sources of information for this difficult period.
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