chief the Emperor's army, with the title of Vicar

The Duke of Mantua also announced in this conference, that he put himself, on this occasion, entirely into the hands of Matthioli, whom he promised to reinstate in his place of Secretary of State, and to appoint his first minister, as soon as he himself should have regained his authority, and that the treaty, he was now projecting with the King of France, had been duly executed.

To Matthioli were joined in the negociation the two counsellors of the Duke of Mantua, in whom he had the most confidence; the Marquis Cavriani and Joseph Varano; and these, together

Vicar General of the Empire in Italy, during the interregnum which followed the death of the Emperor Ferdinand III. in 1657, in virtue of a diploma, lately granted to him by that Prince. His right was contested by the Duke of Savoy, who, upon the ground of old usage, claimed the office for himself. The Electors of the Empire annulled the appointment of the Duke of Mantua.

*Appendix, No. 1.

with Giuliani, Estrades, Pinchesne the French Secretary of Embassy at Venice, and the Duke himself, were the only persons in Italy acquainted with the business; so that the Ambassador had certainly very fair grounds for expressing his hopes, "that the secrecy, so necessary in this affair, would remain impenetrable."*

This conference was followed by another, in which the Duke showed the greatest impatience to conclude the treaty; entreating that Lewis might be instantly made acquainted with the state it was at present in, and requesting, or rather imploring, for a French army; on the arrival of which he hinted much might be done against the Duchy of Milan. Finally, he promised to have a conference with Estrades, " he was soon going to Venice, where they might see one another conveniently, and without being observed, on account of the Carnival, during which all the world, even the Doge and the

Appendix, No. 1.

as

oldest Senators, were accustomed to go about in mask."*

He also requested that the Cardinal d'Estrées† might not be made a party to the negociation; because he was so well known to be employed generally by Lewis to negociate with the Italian Sovereigns, that his entering into it would naturally excite the suspicions of the Spaniards that something secret was going on; and that they would then ruin him, the Duke of Mantua, before he could receive the assistance of the French Monarch; and that thus the hopes of both the con

* Appendix, No. 1.

+ Cæsar, Bishop of Laon and Cardinal d'Estrées, son of the first Marshal of France of that name, was employed in various negociations with the Princes of Italy; but is now more remembered for his courtier-like reply to Lewis XIV. That Monarch one day at dinner complained of having lost all his teeth. "And who is there, Sire, that has any teeth?" said the Cardinal (Sire, et qui est-ce qui a des dents?) What made the flattery the more ludicrously gross was, that the Cardinal, though an old man, had remarkably fine teeth, and showed them very much whenever he opened his mouth.

tracting parties, from the treaty at present under discussion, would be frustrated. To this proposition Estrades agreed, though unwillingly. We cannot but here remark how skilful a negociator he seems to have been; beginning as he does by making trial of his tools, and then of his arguments, and afterwards bringing both of them to bear very judiciously on the negociation, in the way the most likely to lead to a favourable result.

When the affair was advanced thus far, Estrades lost no time in forwarding an account of it to Lewis, to whom, as he says himself, he had not before ventured to write upon the subject, because at first he despaired of being able to bring the intrigue to bear but he now thought it in so good a train, that, upon receiving the approval of his proceedings from Lewis, he could almost answer for its success. The letter of Estrades was accompanied by a schedule, containing the demands of the Duke of Mantua, and by a letter from Matthioli, also addressed to Lewis, in which he offers to devote himself to his service, to strive to detach his

master, the Duke of Mantua, from the Austrian interest, and insinuates very plainly his wish and intention of selling him and his fortress of Casale to the French Monarch; whom, he says, he "regards and reveres as a Demigod." To these protestations Lewis returned, as was natural, a very civil answer; generally promising his protection and favour to Matthioli.

On the 24th of December of the same year, Estrades writes to M. de Pomponne,§ (then one of the Secretaries of State,) to inform him of a discovery he has made from the Duke of Mantua himself, that the Austrian party have

* Appendix, No. 2.

1677.

† Appendix, No. 8.

§ Simon Arnaud de Pomponne, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1671 to 1679, when he was dismissed from his office, but retained the title of Minister of State, with permission to attend the Council. A man, like so many of his race, who united considerable talents to great excellence of character. Madame de Sévigné says, in speaking of the eminent station he had filled, that "Fortune had wished to make use of his virtues for the happiness of others."