I have nothing certain to send you to-day; but next week I shall have the honour of sending to the King an account of the conference, which I am decidedly to have to-morrow evening with the Duke of Mantua. All the measures are taken for this purpose; and that Prince has sent me word that he will explain to me the reasons which oblige him to send the Count Matthioli, without delay, to your Majesty; he will not, however, set off for ten or twelve days, and I explained to him that it was necessary first that I should be made acquainted with the subject of his mission. I thought it necessary to obtain a knowledge of it, in order that his Majesty may be fully informed before the Count Matthioli waits upon him. I can only assure you at present, that things could not be better disposed for the formation of a powerful league in Italy, to drive the Spaniards entirely out of it, in case the King chooses to turn his arms to this side. This is what you shall be informed of more in detail, and more particularly, in my next despatch; because I shall be able to speak to you upon the subject with certainty, after I have learned from the Count Matthioli, the success of a negociation which he has entered into lately with the Republic, in the name of the Duke of Mantua, to which I am privy. We agreed that the pretext he should make use of, was the desire of that Prince to regulate himself by the counsels of the Senate, after having communicated to them his legitimate rights to Guastalla, and the well-grounded fears he entertains from the sentiments displayed by the House of Austria towards him in this affair. M. Matthioli has already had two conferences with a sage of the _terra firma_, named Lando, a deputy of the College, and he is to have three more with him this week; which will discover to us the real dispositions of the Senate towards his Majesty. It is easy to see by the manner in which this senator has already spoken, that if a French army was to arrive in Italy, the Republic would prefer profiting by the misfortunes and weakness of the House of Austria, by joining her arms to those of the King, to remaining in a neutrality, which would appear to her dangerous, while the army of so powerful a prince was carrying on war at her gates. These political views of the Venetians justify what I have already had the honour of remarking to you, that we must expect nothing from them, except what fear or interest may oblige them to. * * * THE ABBÉ D’ESTRADES.[185] [185] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at Paris. No. 16. ESTRADES TO POMPONNE. Fears of the Duke of Mantua. Venice, March 19th, 1678. SIR,