em. Sir A. Bagot says his Russian colleague has,
with the consent of the King and the Dutch Ministers, written home to say
Belgium can only be preserved by foreign aid.

At dinner at the Duke of Wellington's met Talleyrand and Vaudreuil. The
others there were Aberdeen, Goulburn, Herries, Murray, Beresford, Lord F.
Somerset, and Rosslyn.

Talleyrand is not altered since 1815, except that he speaks thick. He has
not even changed his hairdresser or his tailor.

Lord Rosslyn showed me a letter from Lady Janet, who was in Brussels during
the fight. She walked about frequently, and was treated with civility by
the armed burghers. A few grape-shot fell into the courtyard, and she
picked up one. She was at the Hotel de Brabant in the Rue Neuve. There was
no pillage, nor any riot. The loss of the people was great. She left the
town on Sunday (I think) with a passport from Count Hoogwoorst, and got
round to Antwerp.

The troops are said to have lost only 600 men. Prince Frederick is about
two leagues from Brussels, on the road to Louvain, waiting for heavy guns.
This is the report. I suspect he will retreat altogether.

_October 1._

On consideration thought it would be better to have a secret letter on the
press, authorising the Government to allow their servants to be connected
with the press. To this letter I thought it advisable to add an exhortation
to redoubled zeal on the part of the Company's servants on account of the
unsettled state in which the minds of men must be until it was decided
under what form the future Government of India should be administered, and
I directed the Government to make all thoroughly understand that no
possible change could effect the public debt, or the rights of the natives
or the just expectations of the European servants. My reason for thinking
the officers of Government should be permitted to be concerned in the press
is this, that if none but those who are unconnected with the Government,
and who, according to the existing system, cannot be connected with it,
manage the press, the probability is that everything will be said against
the Government and nothing for it.

I showed the proposed letter to the Duke. He thought it would be better to
pay people for writing than to employ the Company's servants, and that the
concluding paragraphs would lead the Government to suppose it was quite
decided that the Company should be put an end to. It is wonderful the sort
of prejudice he has in