I have not had the honour of receiving any letter from you this week. You will see by the account I send to the King, what passed at the conference I had with the Duke of Mantua. I will only add to it, Sir, that, if his Majesty deems it to his advantage, that this Prince should be united with him, according to the conditions which have been proposed, it appears to me that it will be necessary, before the Count Matthioli sets off for Paris, to put this affair in a situation in which it is no longer liable to be broken off; because I have seen the Duke of Mantua so alarmed at the menaces of the Spaniards, and at the protection they afford openly to the Count de Prades,[186] who pretends that the Duchy of Guastalla belongs to him, that I have been unable to tranquillize his fears, except by giving him the hope that the return of the Count Matthioli will deliver him from all his embarrassments; and if he was to see him return without bringing the King’s consent for the conclusion of the affair, and without a certain assurance of speedy assistance, I do not know whether the fear of being stripped of his territories would not make him change his resolution. I have thought, Sir, that I ought to inform you faithfully of the situation in which I find the mind of the Duke of Mantua, in order that you may regulate yourself accordingly. The Senate has discovered that the Pope[187] has let drop, of his own accord, the affair of the adjustment between the Republic and Spain, on the occasion of what has passed at Trieste, because His Holiness wishes to be the only Mediator of the Catholic Princes at the Assembly of Nimeguen, and that the Ambassador of Venice should not divide this honour with his Nuncio. * * * I am, &c. THE ABBÉ D’ESTRADES.[188] [186] This is one of those mistakes into which the French are so liable to fall from their slovenly way of writing the names of foreigners. The _Count de Prades_ means Emmanuel _Count d’Eparêdés_. Viceroy of Valentia, a Spanish nobleman, whose daughter married Vespasian Gonzaga, only brother of Ferdinand III., Duke of Guastalla. The sole offspring of this marriage was Maria Louisa, who, as has before been mentioned, (see note, page 18,) married Thomas de la Cerda, Marquis of Laguna. [187] Innocent the Eleventh (Odescalchi;) see note, page 109. At this time, the conferences for the peace of Nimeguen had commenced. That peace was concluded and signed on the 10th of August of this same year. [188] From the archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at Paris. No. 17. ESTRADES TO LEWIS THE FOURTEENTH. Account of his Interview with the Duke of Mantua.--The latter insists upon sending Matthioli to Paris. Venice, March 19th, 1678. SIRE,