APPENDIX. (continued 2)

De Pinchesne.213

No. 37. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE.

Fontainebleau, October 6, 1678.

I have received, Sir, this week, your letter of the 17th, together with the two others from M. Matthioli, which were joined to it; but I cannot reply to them till the next post, not having as yet had an opportunity of rendering an account of182 them to the King. We shall wait for the arrival of the aforesaid Sieur Matthioli, to know what propositions he intends to make.

I am, &c. Pomponne.214

No. 38. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE.

Paris, October 14, 1678.

Since the last post, I have found an opportunity to read to the King your letter of the 17th of September, and he appears to me to approve of the account, you give in it, of what regards his interests, in the place where you at present are.

His Majesty has learnt with pleasure, that the Count Matthioli will soon be in a state to come here, when he will listen to him with favour.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

Pomponne.215

183

No. 39. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Intention of Estrades to leave Venice.

Venice, October 15, 1678.

Sir,

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

I sent you word, some time back, that the Abbé d’Estrades was gone into the country, from whence he intended to continue his journey into France. The uneasiness he felt at the delay of the Count Matthioli in his departure, (although it only proceeded from his illness, and from the necessity he had to be near his master,) and his desire to see him set off before him, or at least at the same time, are the causes why he has always deferred his own departure; but having had four days ago a conference with the Count Matthioli, in which he assured him that he would without doubt set off for France to-day, and that he had even received the order of the Duke of Mantua to that effect ∗ ∗ ∗216

De Pinchesne.217

184

No. 40. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Continued delay of Matthioli.

Venice, October 22d, 1678.

Sir,

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

While I was in the belief that the Count Matthioli had set out for the Court, according to the promise he had made to the Abbé d’Estrades in the last conference, which, as I sent you word, Sir, they had together, I have been surprised by learning at this moment, by a letter which he has written to the Sieur Giuliani, who has just brought it me, that some affairs, which he has had to transact with the Duke of Mantua, have obliged him to delay his departure till to-day. He has written to the aforesaid Sieur Giuliani to be to-morrow evening at Verona, in order to continue his journey to the Court from thence. He has judged it proper, in order to keep the whole affair as secret as possible, to take him with him rather than any other, as he is already informed of all the circumstances of the case, the Abbé d’Estrades having made use of him185 in all the journeys that were necessary during the course of this affair. He is a very good sort of man, who is already entirely French in his dispositions, and full of affection for the service and interests of the King. ∗ ∗ ∗

De Pinchesne.218

No. 41. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Venice, October 29th, 1678.

Sir,

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

I have received this instant a letter from the Count Matthioli, written from Berheta, on the 26th of this month; in which he acquaints me that he will immediately continue his journey to the Court with the Sieur Giuliani; where, perhaps, they will be arrived before you receive this letter. ∗ ∗ ∗

De Pinchesne.219

186

No. 42. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE.

Versailles, November 4th, 1678.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

According to appearances the Abbé d’Estrades will soon arrive here, and with him the Count Matthioli, through whom we shall be able to know more distinctly the sentiments of the Duke of Mantua. ∗ ∗ ∗

Pomponne.220

No. 43. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE.

November 11th, 1678.

I have received your letter of the 22d, the principal point of which is, the making the King acquainted with the reason, for which the Count187 Matthioli did not set off so soon as he had promised the Abbé d’Estrades. We must wait for his arrival to know what he has to propose to the King.

Pomponne.221

No. 44. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE.

Versailles, November 18th, 1678.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

Neither the Count Matthioli, nor the Sieur Giuliani are yet arrived here.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

Pomponne.222

188

No. 45. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Venice, November 19th, 1678.

Sir,

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

I have just received a letter from the Count Matthioli, written from Zurich on the 5th of this month, in which he informs me, that the bad roads have been the cause, which has prevented him from travelling as quick as he could wish in his journey to the Court, but that he hopes to be there in a few days, and perhaps may be arrived before you receive this. ∗ ∗ ∗

De Pinchesne.223

No. 46. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Venice, November 26th, 1678.

Sir,

I have received this week the two letters which you did me the honour to write to me, on the 4th189 and on the 7th of this month. I see by both of them, how much the King is disposed to receive the Count Matthioli favourably, and to listen willingly to his propositions, as soon as he shall be arrived at the Court. I think he must be there at present, as I have again received to-day a letter from him, from Soleure, dated the 9th of this month, in which he informs me that he has made as much expedition as possible, in order to arrive there quickly. ∗ ∗ ∗

De Pinchesne.224

No. 47. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE.

December 2d, 1678.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

I send you only a packet belonging to the Count Matthioli, who arrived here some days ago, and who acquaints the Duke of Mantua with the circumstance. You must take great care to send190 the letters that are in this packet to their destination.

I am, &c. Pomponne.225

No. 48.

Powers granted to Pomponne, to treat with Matthioli.

The Duke of Mantua having testified to his Majesty, through the medium of the Count Matthioli, the extreme desire he has to make known his zeal for his interests; and to acquire for himself, by the most intimate alliances into which he can enter with him, the same friendship and the same protection, which his predecessors have received from France on great and important occasions. His Majesty, therefore, who has always preserved a sincere affection for the family of the aforesaid Duke and for his person, has received with pleasure the sentiments that he has manifested to him; and in order to take the necessary mea191sures with him for an alliance, which shall be both most intimate and most advantageous to the aforesaid Duke, he has given full power to the Sieur de Pomponne, counsellor in ordinary in all his councils, secretary of state and of his commandments and finances, in order to, with the aforesaid Count Matthioli, agree, treat, and sign such articles as to him shall seem good, for this particular alliance with the aforesaid Duke of Mantua; promising, on the honour and word of a king, to consent to, and to confirm and establish now and always, all that the aforesaid Sieur de Pomponne shall, for this effect, conclude and settle, without contravening, or suffering the contravention of any part of it, in any manner whatsoever, and to furnish his ratification of it in proper form, within the time that shall be stipulated by the treaty. In witness whereof his Majesty has signed the present with his hand, and has caused to be affixed to it his privy seal.

Done at Versailles, the 5th day of December, 1678.

Lewis.226

192

No. 49. LEWIS THE FOURTEENTH TO THE DUKE OF MANTUA.

Promises his protection to the Duke.

My Cousin,

The Count Matthioli, will instruct you so particularly, both of the manner in which he has acquitted himself of the orders with which you have charged him for me, and of the extreme satisfaction with which I have received the assurances he has given me of your zeal for my interests, that I can have nothing further to add upon these subjects. I am only desirous of testifying to you myself, the entire confidence which I wish you to place in my friendship. You may promise yourself, that it will be useful and glorious to you upon all occasions; and you may always rely with certainty and security upon my alliance. I hope to be able to give you very evident marks of this in the sequel; and after having borne testimony to you of the satisfaction which the conduct of the Count Matthioli, through the whole of this affair, has given me, I will not lengthen the pre193sent letter any more, except to pray to God that he may have you, my Cousin, in his holy and worthy keeping.

Written at Versailles, this 8th Dec. 1678. Lewis.

(And lower down),

Arnaud.227

No. 50. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE.

December 16th, 1678.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

I send you a letter of the King to the Duke of Mantua, which you will deliver to the Count Matthioli, as soon as he shall arrive at Venice, taking care always to keep his journey very secret.

I am, &c. Pomponne.228

194

No. 51. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Interview of Pinchesne with Don Joseph Varano.

Venice, December 24th, 1678.

Sir,

As soon as I had received, together with the letter that you did me the favour to write me on the second of this month, that which the Count Matthioli sent to the Duke of Mantua, under cover to Don Joseph Varano, who is here with that Prince, and who is one of the two persons to whom his Highness has confided the design he has to deliver Casale into the hands of the King, I made known to M. Varano, by the son of the Sieur Giuliani, that I was very desirous of being able to deliver to him a letter from a French gentleman, who was one of his friends, and who had begged me to give it into his own hands. He understood very well what that meant to say; and at the same time sent me word, that if I would find myself that evening in mask at the Opera, he would not fail to be there also; which was exe195cuted according to our resolution. He told me, when I gave it him, that the Duke of Mantua would be delighted to receive it; because, for some days, he had shown great impatience to hear of the arrival of the Count Matthioli at the court, and to know in what state the affair was, which he was gone there to negociate. He asked me, at the same time, if I could not give him some news upon the subject; but as I know nothing about it, I contented myself with only telling him that I did not doubt but it was in a good train, and that I was persuaded his Highness would receive, on this occasion, the marks of that esteem and friendship which His Majesty has for him. I thought, Sir, I might be permitted to speak to him in these terms; because what I told him was from my own head, and not as if I had received any order to that effect. We afterwards agreed together, that, during the stay of the Duke of Mantua at Venice, we would make use of the same means to deliver to him the letters which might come to me from the Count Matthioli. ∗ ∗ ∗

De Pinchesne.229

196

No. 52. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE.

A courier sent to Venice with a new cypher.

St. Germain, December 25th, 1678.

This courier, whom I despatch to you, has orders not to come to your house as a courier, but to enter Venice as a tradesman, or a private French individual, who comes there on his own business: he brings for you a cypher, which you will only make use of in what regards the affairs of the Duke of Mantua, according to the occasions which you may deem necessary after the return of the Count Matthioli. We have been afraid that, for so important an affair, the cypher of the Abbé d’Estrades was too old, and had probably been discovered, in the many times it has passed through the territories of Milan. You will make use of it as usual in your ordinary despatches; but you will only write on the affairs of Mantua in the new one, which this courier brings to you.197 Take care to inform us exactly, of the arrival of the Count Matthioli, and of all that he shall communicate to you on the subject of his journey.

I am, &c. Pomponne.230

No. 53. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS.

Catinat sent to Pignerol.

St. Germain-en-Laye, December 29, 1678.

These few words are to let you know, that it is necessary for the King’s service, that the person who will send you this note, should enter into the citadel of Pignerol, without any body’s knowing it. To this effect, cause the Gate of Aid231 to remain open till night-fall, and send him one of your servants; or even, if you are able, go yourself198 to meet him, at the place to which his valet will conduct you; in order that he may enter in your suite into the aforesaid citadel, and into the aforesaid dungeon, without any one’s perceiving it.

I am truly yours, De Louvois.232

No. 54. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE.

D’Asfeld sent to Venice.

St. Germain, Dec. 30, 1678.

The King has despatched this day the Sieur d’Asfeld, Colonel of Dragoons, who is to go to Venice, under pretext of a journey of curiosity and pleasure. He will not come directly to your house, but will appear as a stranger, whom curiosity alone leads to the place where you are. He will afterwards come to see you, as if on account of the199 natural obligation which all Frenchmen have to visit those who are placed in a country for His Majesty’s service. He will deliver to you, from me, a short letter, as of introduction for him, in which I request you to contribute to the success of his particular interests at Venice. He will communicate to you the orders he has received; and you will take the necessary measures to make known his arrival to the Count Matthioli, and to arrange a meeting between them, if necessary.

I am, &c. Pomponne.233

No. 55. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE.

St. Germain, Dec. 30, 1678.

Sir,

You will receive this letter by the hands of M. d’Asfeld, who goes to Venice, for an affair which he will communicate to you himself, and of which200 you will have had, before his arrival, a more particular instruction by my letters. All that I will therefore add is, that you will put an entire reliance on what he tells you, and that you will contribute, in every way that depends on you, to the success of his particular interests at the place where you are.

I am, &c. Pomponne.234

No. 56. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Venice, Dec. 31, 1678.

Sir,

In order to deliver to Don Joseph Varano the letter, which I have received for him from the Count Matthioli, at the same time with that which you did me the favour to write on the 9th of this month, I have made use of the same means which I had the honour to acquaint you with in my last letter, and which we had agreed upon together, for the time during which the Duke of Mantua should201 remain at Venice. He told me, when he received it, that this prince had experienced great pleasure by learning from the first, that the affair was in a good state; and that he was most impatient to hear of the conclusion of it; to which I answered him in two words, that that was a hope which his Highness might, with reason, flatter himself to see realized. ∗ ∗ ∗

De Pinchesne.235

No. 57. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Venice, Jan. 7, 1679.

Sir,

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

As soon as the Count Matthioli shall arrive at Venice, I will immediately deliver into his hands the letter which the King has done the Duke of Mantua the honour of writing to him. That prince left this place the day before yesterday, to return202 to his own States; but he is to come back to Venice towards the end of this month, to pass the rest of the Carnival there. I will keep the journey of the Count Matthioli secret, as you order me; but I beg you to believe, Sir, that it was not necessary you should take the trouble to recommend this to me, since I know very well of what importance it is to preserve an inviolable secrecy in this affair.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

De Pinchesne.236

No. 58. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Venice, Jan. 15th, 1679.

Sir,

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

I shall execute with all the punctuality possible, every order which it shall please you to give me on this affair; and as soon as the Count Matthioli shall be returned to this place, I will not fail to203 acquaint you with it, and to give you an exact account of all he shall tell me respecting the business which he has been negociating at the Court.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

De Pinchesne.237

No. 59. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Arrival of d’Asfeld at Venice.

Venice, Jan. 21st, 1679.

Sir,

Before I received the letter, which you did me the honour to write to me on the 30th of last month, and by which you informed me that the King intended to send here the Count d’Asfeld, Colonel of a regiment of Dragoons, he was already arrived, and had been to see me, to communicate to me the orders he had received from his Majesty; but204 as he was not charged with any letter from you, for me, I should have had some difficulty in opening my plans to him, in an affair of this consequence, if M. Giuliani, who happened to be with me just then, and who was come to see me for the first time since his return, had not told me, a few moments before, that there would shortly arrive here a gentleman from the King; and if I had not found him himself so well-informed of the whole of this affair, that I could have no doubt of the truth of what he told me; since it appeared to me impossible that he could know so much upon the subject without having learnt it from you, or from those who are alone acquainted with it. He told me that M. de Louvois had obliged him, before his departure, to burn the letter which you had given him to deliver to me, from fear lest, if he was stopped in the Milanese, it might give some ground of suspicion to the Spaniards. He even detailed to me so precisely all that it contained, that I could have no farther cause for fear, after I had seen that what he told me, tallied so well with all that you have done me the favour to write to me upon his subject. We have not been able to agree upon any thing together since he has been here, because the205 Count Matthioli is not yet arrived; but as he has written to me and to M. Giuliani, from whom he separated himself near Turin, in order to excite less observation, that he will be here in a few days, I hope to be able, by the next post, to give you an account of all we shall have settled with him. I will not fail, Sir, to represent strongly to him, according to the order which M. d’Asfeld has given me, on the part of the King, to that effect, that it is absolutely necessary for the Duke of Mantua to be at Casale by the 20th of next month, to make the exchange of the treaties; and I will make him so clearly understand that diligence is most necessary in an affair of this importance, lest, from delay, it should be discovered, that I am almost bold enough to promise, that he will persuade his master to go there at that time. However, Sir, if this prince, who is accustomed to pass the last days of the Carnival here every year, wished also to do so this year, in order not to make his conduct appear extraordinary; and that he should think that from the 15th of February, which is the first day of Lent, to the 20th, there will be too little time for his journey to Casale, without showing an anxiety which might occasion suspicions; and that, therefore, he might206 wish to defer for some days the exchange of the treaties, I think you will approve of my sending you an extraordinary courier to inform you of it; it being impossible for me to do so sufficiently quickly by the post.

De Pinchesne.238

No. 60. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Delays of Matthioli, and of the Duke of Mantua.

Venice, Jan. 28th, 1679.

Sir,

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

According to the letters which M. Giuliani and I received last week from the Count Matthioli, we thought he would, without doubt, be this week at Venice, with the Duke of Mantua. However, neither one nor the other are yet arrived, on account of a slight illness which the Duchess dowager207 of Mantua has had, which has obliged that prince to remain with her; but the Sieur Giuliani has received to-day a letter from Don Joseph Varano, in which he informs him, that the Count Matthioli is at present at Padua, where he is waiting for the Duke of Mantua, in order that they may come here together, on Monday, or Tuesday at the latest. This has obliged M. d’Asfeld and myself to send Giuliani this evening to Padua, to the Count Matthioli, to give him intelligence of the arrival of M. d’Asfeld at Venice, and to represent to him that it is of the last importance, on account of the shortness of the time, for us to have, as soon as possible, a conference together, in order to take all the measures that shall be necessary to induce the Duke of Mantua to be at Casale the 20th or 25th of next month, according to the wish of the King.

I think I can say to-day more securely than I did last week, that I shall inform you by the next post of all we shall have arranged with the Count Matthioli, since certainly the next week will not pass away without our meeting.

De Pinchesne.239

208

No. 61. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Further Delays of Matthioli.

Venice, February 4th, 1679.

Sir,

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

The Duke of Mantua has been here since Tuesday. The Count Matthioli was to have come with him, but the fever he has been suffering from for the last ten or twelve days prevented him, and obliged him to remain at Padua, where he still is, for the purpose of going through a course of remedies. Nevertheless, Sir, as time presses, M. d’Asfeld and I have sent M. Giuliani to him twice this week, to represent to him the necessity we have of seeing him, to arrange together the day when the Duke of Mantua is to be at Casale. He has sent us word for answer, that to-morrow he will certainly be at Venice, whatever his state of health may be, and that on Monday or Tuesday, at the latest, we may see one another, to209 conclude all things; after which, M. d’Asfeld can set off for Pignerol: that, besides, he could assure us, that in all the conversations he had had with the Duke of Mantua, since his return from France, he had found that Prince in the best possible dispositions for the success of the affair, within the time that had been fixed upon with you, and that he had even done himself the honour of acquainting you with this in a letter which he had written you. I have also seen, within the last two days, Don Joseph Varano, who has also given me assurances to the same effect on the part of his master. So, Sir, there is every reason to hope, that the King will soon receive the satisfaction that he expects from this business. When M. d’Asfeld and myself shall see the Count Matthioli, we will represent to him the diligence that is necessary to be made use of in this affair; which is the more so, because the march of the troops towards Pignerol begins to give suspicion to the Spaniards in the Milanese, although thus far they are persuaded that they are only sent to that place to work at the fortifications. M. d’Asfeld, who, as well as myself, is rendered uneasy by the delay of the Count Matthioli, had made a resolu210tion, on Friday evening, to go and pay him a visit at Padua, and to take as a pretext his wish to go and see some of the towns of the Terra Ferma; but we reflected, that two days, more or less, was not of great consequence; and that, besides the uselessness of this journey, since it is necessary that the Count Matthioli should speak to the Duke of Mantua before he can settle any thing with us, it might also cause some suspicion in his inn, where there are many strangers, if he was seen to leave Venice during the time when the diversions there are at their height, to go and make a tour in towns where there are none. Therefore we have thought, that it was better to wait the arrival of the Count Matthioli in this city, in order not to risk any thing by too much precipitation, in an affair in which secrecy is so necessary, and respecting which one can never take too many precautions.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

De Pinchesne.240

211

No. 62. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS.

St. Germain, Feb. 7th, 1679.

I send you a letter for the same person241 to whom you were to deliver the two packages, which the individual named Barrere ought to have brought you by this time. I beg that you will give it to him, and send me by the return of the same courier, who will deliver to you this letter, whatever answer he shall make to it. The person who despatches this courier from Lyons, has orders to tell him, that he is the bearer of the letters of Madame Fouquet. It will be right for you to tell him the same thing when you send him back. You will observe, if you please, to put an envelope over your letter to me, addressed to the Sieur Du Bois, Clerk of the Foreign Post at Lyons.

If the person to whom you have to deliver this212 letter is not arrived, you will send me word of it by the return of the courier, and will keep the letter till his arrival.

De Louvois.242

No. 63. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Interviews with Matthioli.—Further Delays in the Ratification of the Treaty.

Feb. 7th, 1679.

We had hoped, M. d’Asfeld and I, according to the promises which had been given us to this effect by the Count Matthioli, through M. Giuliani, as often as we sent him to Padua, that we might be able to dispose the Duke of Mantua to go to Casale the 25th of this month, according to the King’s intentions; but notwithstanding all that we have been able to allege to the Count in the two conferences we have had with him, last213 Thursday and this morning, we have not been able to succeed, and we have therefore been obliged to defer the day of the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty till the 10th of next March; on which day the Duke of Mantua promises to be, most assuredly, and without any further delay, at Casale.

We have despatched you this extraordinary courier, Sir, to give you intelligence of this; and we have so strongly recommended diligence to him, that we hope our letters will still arrive soon enough at court, to afford the King sufficient time to give whatever orders his Majesty shall judge necessary, for the delaying of the march of the troops towards Pignerol.

M. d’Asfeld writes in this intention, to M. de Louvois; but I will take the liberty to request you, Sir, in case the King has any new orders to give us on this affair, to order them to be sent directly to me; because, as it is possible that M. d’Asfeld may be obliged to depart before they arrive, I could not be made acquainted with them if they were sent to him, the cypher he has received from M. de Louvois being different to214 that which you have sent me. We think, nevertheless, we can assure you, Sir, that we do not see, from this delay of time, any reason to doubt the sincerity of the sentiments of the Duke of Mantua; who has again assured us, through the Count Matthioli, that he is more than ever in the intention of executing the treaty he has just made with his Majesty, and of keeping the promise he has given to him.

The Count Matthioli had written to you; but as his letter was not in cypher, and did not contain any thing but what I have sent you word of in this, I have not thought it necessary to send it to you.

De Pinchesne.243

215

No. 64. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS.

St. Germain, February 15th, 1679.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

When the affairs for which the Sieur de Richemont is with you shall be concluded, you may, &c.244 ∗ ∗ ∗

De Louvois.245

No. 65. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE.

February 17th, 1679.

I have given an account to the King of what you tell me, in your last letter of the 28th of January, you have done concerning the affair which is entrusted to you, and of your expecting216 the Count Matthioli soon, from the assurance that the Sieur Giuliani had given you to that effect. His Majesty was very glad to see that you still have hopes both of the success of the affair, and of prevailing upon the Duke of Mantua to leave Venice on the 20th or 25th of this month.

I have nothing particular to acquaint you with, beyond what you already know. You will continue, if you please, to inform me exactly of all that shall pass on this subject; even despatching me an extraordinary courier if you shall deem it necessary.

Pomponne.246

No. 66. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Reasons for the Duke of Mantua’s delay in going to Casale.

Venice, February 18th, 1679.

Sir,

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

The necessity, which M. d’Asfeld and myself were under a week ago, of sending off in all haste217 the courier whom we despatched to the Court, prevented me, Sir, from being able to acquaint you in the letter, which I then did myself the honour to write to you, with the reasons, which the Count Matthioli has alleged to us, to make us understand that the Duke of Mantua cannot be at Casale the 25th of this month, according to the wishes of the King expressed to him by us. He told us three: the first was, that this Prince, wishing to send to Casale, as soon as he should be arrived there, his guards and the greater part of his court, (intending to make some stay there after the conclusion of the affair,) it became necessary for him for this purpose to have some money, which could not be got in so short a time. The second, that it was absolutely necessary first to persuade Don Vincent Gonzaga,247 who is at present at Mantua, to make this journey with his Highness, since, being the presumptive heir of the Duke of Mantua, it would be very dangerous to leave him at Mantua, at the time when the affair of Casale would be known; because the Mantuans regarding him as likely to be their future sovereign, there would be danger that they218 might allow themselves to be persuaded by him to rebel against the Duke of Mantua, which, without doubt, he would not fail to try to make them do, when he should see that his Highness was attaching himself to the party of France, and abandoning that of the House of Austria, to which Don Vincent is absolutely devoted. And the third, the obligation under which the Duke of Mantua found himself of holding here a sort of carousel with several Venetian gentlemen, to whom he had given his promise to that effect, which he could not now retract, without occasioning some suspicion here. This last reason, Sir, although the least considerable of the three, appears to me notwithstanding to be a truer one than the others; because this Prince is so much attached to all pleasures, of whatever kind they may be, that when he finds an occasion of indulging in them, the most important affairs cannot turn him away from them. This little carousel is certainly to take place some day next week; after which the Count Matthioli has assured us that the Duke of Mantua will, without doubt, leave this place, in order to be at Casale the 10th of next month, as he has promised us; his people are even to set off to-day to return to Mantua. To-morrow219 we are to have another conference with the Count Matthioli, to regulate in what manner M. d’Asfeld is to open the business at Casale with the Duke of Mantua, for the purpose of making the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty. Meanwhile, Sir, I think it right to inform you, that the march of the troops to Pignerol, and the munitions and money which are carried there, cause great fear through the whole of Italy; and that it is said publicly here, that the King has some great plan, without its being possible to penetrate what it is, suspicions falling upon Casale, upon Geneva, upon Savoy, and more particularly upon the Republic of Genoa, on account of what has lately passed there: I even know that M. Contarini248 has written in these terms to Venice. There are also two couriers, arrived during the last eight or ten days from Turin, at Milan; the one despatched by Madame Royale249 to her envoy, and the other by the Duke of Gioninazze250 to the government of220 Milan, to give them intelligence of these movements. The Count Matthioli has told us, that the Duke of Mantua intended to make an excuse for his journey to Casale, by saying, that the fear he is in of the designs of France, obliges him to go to that place, to give the necessary orders for its security. I have just now learnt, that a courier is arrived to the Spanish Ambassador from Milan. I am persuaded he is sent for the same reasons I have before stated.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

De Pinchesne.251

No. 67. POMPONNE TO MATTHIOLI.

February 21st, 1679.

Sir,

I have received the letters, that you have taken the trouble to write to me, and I think I cannot do better than address my answer to them to the221 care of the Abbé d’Estrades, as you intend making a journey to Turin. I have not failed to give an account to the King of your sorrow at the long delay of an affair, which was commenced and is to be concluded through your means. His Majesty is still willing to promise himself a good success in it, and will not entertain any doubt of the promise which has been so solemnly given to him being kept. You know how much you may promise yourself from his goodness when you shall have accomplished the success of the project, of which you yourself laid the foundation. Upon this subject the Abbé d’Estrades will speak to you still more in detail, and therefore I will not lengthen this letter any more than to assure you, that I am, &c.

Pomponne.252

222

No. 68. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Arrangements for the Exchange of the Ratifications of the Treaty.

Venice, February 25th, 1679.

Sir,

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

I sent you word in my last letter of the reports, which the march of the troops to Pignerol caused through the whole of Italy: these have much increased this week from the news which has been received that M. de Vauban253 is gone there by the King’s order; which makes it be believed more than ever, that his Majesty certainly meditates some great design on that side, although the strongest suspicion falls always on Genoa, and, next to that, on Casale. The Spanish Ambassador, and the Abbé Frederic, the resident of the Emperor, went together on Wednesday to the Duke of Mantua, to tell him they had heard from223 Turin that he wished to give Casale and the Montferrat to the King, and to represent to him the disadvantages that would arise to all Italy from this measure, and particularly to the House of Austria, on account of the Duchy of Milan. That Prince answered them that he was astonished they could believe in reports of this nature, which had no solid foundation. This answer was all they could draw from him on the subject. Nevertheless, Sir, as he is always in the intention of executing the treaty he has made with the King, which he has again assured us through the Count Matthioli, M. d’Asfeld and I have had two more conferences this week with the aforesaid Count, the last of which was yesterday evening; in which we arranged that M. d’Asfeld and he should find themselves on the 9th of next month at Notre-Dame d’Incréa, which is a village ten miles from Casale, in order to make there the exchange of the ratifications; and that the Duke of Mantua should arrive without fail at Casale on the evening of the 15th, to wait there for the troops of his Majesty, and to put them in possession of the place when they should arrive there on the224 18th, which is the day that M. d’Asfeld has said they would be there, having, according to the order of M. de Louvois, demanded nine days between that of the exchange of the ratifications and that of their arrival at Casale. M. d’Asfeld left this place yesterday after this conference to go to Pignerol, and the Count Matthioli is to set off this evening for Incréa: but as the Duke of Mantua wishes to remain only a single day at Mantua, and intends to travel post to Casale, he will remain here till the 11th or 12th of next month: it is even better he should do so, because as long as they shall see him amusing himself here with a carousel and similar trifles, there will be less suspicion of him than if they saw him take his departure. ∗ ∗ ∗

De Pinchesne.254

225

No. 69. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Suspicions of the House of Austria respecting the Negociations.

Venice, March 4th, 1679.

Sir,

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

All the advices that come from France and from Turin declare so positively that the Duke of Mantua has made a treaty with the King for the cession of Casale and of the Montferrat, that they are beginning here to change into certainties those suspicions which I mentioned to you, Sir, in my two last letters, they had had, ever since the first news arrived at Milan by the couriers which Madame Royale and the Duke of Gioninazze despatched there. The Governor of Milan immediately sent two others to Madrid and Vienna to give intelligence to the Emperor and the King of Spain. The courier, who was sent to Vienna, returned here on Wednesday evening, with express orders to the Marquis Canozza, the Imperial Vicar, in Italy, to226 speak strongly to the Duke of Mantua, and to try and deter him from doing a thing so contrary to the interests of the whole House of Austria; and to go afterwards to Turin and Milan, to concert there the means of preventing it, in case the news proved true. This same Marquis Canozza having been, for the last five or six months, in the prisons of Venice, accused of having had a gentleman of Verona assassinated, the Emperor has also written by the same Courier to the Republic, to beg that he may be enlarged, which was done on Thursday evening. He has not been able as yet to see the Duke of Mantua, who defers, as much as he can, giving him audience, in order to gain time. The fear I have been in, Sir, lest what he has to say to this Prince, from the Emperor, might be capable of producing some change in him, has obliged me to charge M. Giuliani to go, as from me, to Don Joseph Varano, who is at present, since the departure of Count Matthioli, the only confidant of the Duke of Mantua, to try to know from him what are the sentiments of his master upon the subject of this mission. He has answered me, that his master would assuredly execute the treaty he has made with His Majesty, notwithstanding the ob227stacles which the House of Austria puts in the way of it, and that he would leave this place on Wednesday or Thursday, in order to arrive at Casale within the time at which he has promised to be there. All that we have to fear is, that the Spaniards, who are extremely suspicious, may watch him, and oppose his passage,255 and that of the Count Matthioli, of whom they have an equal distrust. ∗ ∗ ∗

De Pinchesne.256

No. 70. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Arrest of d’Asfeld.—Departure of the Duke of Mantua from Venice.

Venice, March 11th, 1679.

Sir,

The Courier, whom we sent you a month ago, not having complied with the order I had given228 him to write to me as soon as he should be arrived at Lyons, in order to acquaint me whether he had passed through the Milanese without being arrested, I was under great uneasiness until I received the letter, in which you do me the favour to inform me that you have received the despatch which I sent you by him. You may believe, Sir, that when M. d’Asfeld and I were obliged to defer the day of the exchange of the ratifications till the 10th of this month, we did not do so, till we saw that it was impossible to persuade the Duke of Mantua to perform his part within the period desired by the King.

All the world says here, that he is to go away this evening, or to-morrow, without his suite; and he has always told us, through the Count Matthioli, that when he left this place, he would only pass through Mantua, and travel post from thence to Casale. He has still more time than is necessary for him to be there before the 18th of this month, which is the day when the troops of the King are to enter the place, according to what we agreed upon with the Count Matthioli.

M. Giuliani has received a letter from him257 this229 week, in which he writes him word that M. d’Asfeld has been arrested at La Canonica, which is a village beyond Bergamo, but that he was released shortly after.

I do not know, Sir, if this news is really true, it having been impossible for me to verify it, and the Count Matthioli only writing word of it because a Voiturier, whom he met on the road, told him that a gentleman whom he had conducted three or four days ago from Verona to La Canonica, had been arrested at the latter place, and released afterwards. In any case, I cannot doubt but that you are already informed of it, since the Count mentions, in the same letter, that it has been written to the Abbé d’Estrades, who will not certainly have failed to make you acquainted with it.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

I have just this moment heard, Sir, that the Duke of Mantua set off yesterday evening at four o’clock at night,258 and that the Marquis Canozza is also gone to Verona, which is his country, from230 whence it is believed he will be very likely to go to Milan.

De Pinchesne.259

No. 71. POMPONNE TO MATTHIOLI.

Letter of Credence to be presented to Matthioli by Catinat.

St. Germain, March 14, 1679.

Sir,

The King has been informed by the Sieur de Pinchesne, of all the measures which you have taken with him and with M. d’Asfeld, for the execution of the affair, which has been conducted by your labours, and of the time which the Duke of Mantua has arranged for being at Casale. He is, besides, aware that M. d’Asfeld was to leave Venice some days earlier, according to the agreement that you had made together; but as he231 learns by his letters from Piedmont, that it is very possible he may have been arrested in his passage through the Milanese, and placed in the Castle of Milan, he has judged it right to supply his place with the person who will deliver you this letter; it is the same whom he has honoured principally with his confidence for the execution and the conduct of all that shall be to be done with you and the Duke of Mantua, after the arrival of that Prince at Casale. Therefore you will, if you please, place entire confidence in him, and particularly in the assurances which he will give you of the good-will of his Majesty for you, and of his sense of the service you are rendering to him.

For myself, Sir, I intreat you to believe me with the most perfect truth, &c.

Pomponne.260

232

No. 72. ESTRADES TO MATTHIOLI.

Complaints of the Delays in the Conclusion of the Negociation.

Turin, March 24th, 1679.

I have thought it my duty, Sir, to give you advice of my arrival at this court, in order that you may be able to let me know whatever you shall judge necessary; and that whatsoever remains to be done, for the termination of what has been already resolved, may be the more easy of execution, from the proximity of the places at which we respectively are. You cannot doubt its being with this view, that the wish has been expressed for my coming here; and I have been the more glad to come, because I hoped that I should not be long without seeing the effect of the engagements which you have entered into with the king. If I was not aware of your probity and of your zeal for the interests of His Majesty, and for the advantage of the Prince to whom you are attached, I should have been dreadfully uneasy at the233 delay of our affair, which ought without fail, and at the latest, to have been concluded at the commencement of this month. But though we are already at the 24th, and that all you can desire on our part is entirely ready, I cannot persuade myself that the intentions of his Highness and your own are other than they always were. You have been so well aware, how much this affair would be useful to him at present, and glorious for the future, and you have made him so well comprehend this, that I cannot have any suspicions on this head; neither can I, when I represent to myself the very considerable interest you have in completing an affair of this importance, of which the conclusion will be considered so great a merit on your part in the eyes of the most generous and the greatest King in the world, who has testified to you himself the good-will he bears you for it; who has praised the address with which you have conducted the negociation; who has begun by giving you several marks of his esteem and liberality; and who has promised you besides such great advantages as would be sufficient to establish all your family, and to make you happy for the rest of your days. As his word has always been234 inviolable, you no doubt rely upon it implicitly: you must be aware, also, how dangerous it would be to deceive him, and that, after all the steps he has taken, and the measures he has agreed upon, you would expose his Highness, and yourself, to very great misfortunes, if his Majesty had reason to think that bad faith had been made use of towards him, after a treaty concluded in all the proper forms with himself, and founded upon a full power; the inexecution of which would only serve to ruin a Prince, who abandons himself to your councils, and who would be infallibly stripped by the Spaniards, who would be willing once for all to deliver themselves from the alarms which they have received from the reports spread about on all sides respecting this affair. I have already told you, Sir, that I believe you as well-intentioned as ever, and that it is not for the purpose of exciting you to return to these good sentiments, or to strengthen them, that I speak to you in this manner; but only lest a longer delay should diminish the good opinion entertained of you, and lest umbrage should be taken that an affair in which secrecy was so important, has been made public, although the King, and those who have235 the honour to serve him, have kept the secret so well that it cannot have been got at through them. I hope, nevertheless, that we shall soon be satisfied; and that I shall have the pleasure to see you worthily recompensed for your zeal: I assure you, Sir, that your interest, more than my own, though I have much in this affair, makes me desirous of it.

The Abbé d’Estrades.261

No. 73. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS.

St. Germain, March 26th, 1679.

I have received your letter of the 21st of this month. You will have seen by my former ones, that the King approves of the officers of the citadel of Pignerol visiting your prisoners, and passing the mornings and afternoons with them when they desire it, in the presence of one of your236 own officers.262 I can only now repeat the same thing to you, and tell you, that with regard to the governor, the officers, and the inhabitants of the town, you may act in the same manner by them, when you shall judge fit: not, however, until after the affair, for which the Sieur de Richemont is at Pignerol, shall have succeeded or failed.

I address to you a packet for the Abbé d’Estrades, which you will send him, if you please, by one of your officers, with a direction in your hand-writing; and when he shall have despatched to you his answer, you will send it to me by the return of the same courier, whom, in the meanwhile, you will keep concealed in the prison.

De Louvois.263

237

No. 74. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE.

St. Germain, March 26th, 1679.

The King is extremely anxious for the success of the affair of the Duke of Mantua. We have heard nothing from M. d’Asfeld, and, therefore, can have no doubt of his being prisoner in the Milanese. The news which you received of his being arrested at La Canonica, was doubtless as true as that of his being released again was the reverse. We shall now see if the firmness of the Duke of Mantua, which has thus far resisted the efforts of the Count Carrossa, and of the Republic of Venice, will continue to the end: we cannot be long without having this point cleared up, if, as you mention in your letter of the 11th, he had set off the night before to go to Casale. Your next letters will, of course, bring us fresh intelligence upon the subject.

Pomponne.264

238

No. 75. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE.

Suspicions of the Fidelity of Matthioli.

St. Germain, April 5th, 1679.

I have received your letter of the 18th of March, which shows the bad state in which, according to the Count Matthioli’s own accounts, the affair of Mantua is: he is very possibly, as you say, the sole author of all the accidents and impediments in it, which he writes word, in his letter to Giuliani, have happened. Your next letters will give us still clearer intelligence on this subject; but we have many reasons for apprehending that this negociation, which appeared so much advanced, may fail at last, when we were in the immediate expectation of seeing it happily concluded. ∗ ∗ ∗

Pomponne.265

239

No. 76. CHANOIS TO LOUVOIS.

Reports of Catinat being at Pignerol.—Different Rumours respecting the Negociation.

Pignerol, April 5th, 1679.

As I have discovered, Sir, since the last post, that the Marquis d’Herleville (governor of Pignerol) is aware that M. de Richemont is incognito in the citadel of this town, and that, in fact, he knows his real name; I do myself the honour of acquainting you with the circumstance. M. de Saint-André even sends word, that he has been told at Turin that M. de Catinat is to take him with him to Casale. I do not know how they can have discovered so much, unless it is, that the absence of M. de Catinat has given occasion to some of the Guards266 to write from Paris, that he is in these parts. These reports also mention the days on240 which he has gone out of the citadel, and the spot where the Abbé d’Estrades came to speak to him the last time from Turin. I have answered nothing when I have heard these things said, except that I knew of no one in the citadel, and nothing upon the subject.

The Marquis of Saint-Maurice told several people that the French Ambassador wished to be very cunning; but that he knew very well that there had been a treaty made between the King and the Duke of Mantua, on the subject of Casale; and that he also knew that during the last ten days it had been absolutely broken off. The retrograde movements of the troops cantoned in the Briançonnois and the valley of Chaumont, on the side of Dauphiny and Provence, seem to confirm the report of the Marquis of Saint-Maurice; but the arrival of the battalion of the regiment of Piedmont in this town two days ago, makes the people of the country, who love to reason upon every thing, suspend their judgments; their reasonings will be of no importance, if the Duke’s sentiments are always well-disposed, for between this place and Casale there is no fortress, nor any241 obstacle which can delay the march of the King’s troops.

I am always with profound respect, &c.

De Chanois.267

No. 77. CATINAT TO LOUVOIS.

Pignerol, April 8th, 1679.

Sir,

The roads being good, and the days as long as they are at present, a body of cavalry can go in less than thirty hours from Pignerol to Casale. There is no fortified place through which we should be obliged to pass, and I am not aware of any difficulty that we could find on the passage, provided we took the country by surprise in our march. I have thought it right to state this to you, Sir, because the possibility of using this degree of diligence may materially assist the mea242sures you may wish to take. The Duke of Mantua has never been at Casale, which seems to me an obstacle to the finding good excuses for his going there, at a time when his conduct is so much watched and suspected. But we could do very well without him, if he is always well-intentioned, and if he is the master of a good part of his garrison. The Governor is of Mantua, and therefore his actual subject; which is perhaps a favourable circumstance.

I am, &c. Catinat.268

No. 78. CATINAT TO LOUVOIS.

Rumours of Catinat’s being at Pignerol.—Civilities of Saint-Mars to him.

April 15th, 1679.

Sir,

M. d’Herleville must have received some letters from Paris by the last post, which have given him243 the suspicion that I might be here; at least, he has put some leading questions on the subject to M. de Chanois: he is not a man without curiosity, and he thought by these means to gain certain intelligence. As I have been now a long while absent, and there has been no doubt at Paris of some design in agitation in these parts, on account of the troops which have been sent here, it is probable that some reasoner of the regiment of Guards, or some other person, may have given him this idea.

I did myself the honour to send you word, Sir, of all that passed in my journey to Incréa. I have received letters from the Abbé d’Estrades, in which he informs me that the troops have retired a little, in order to get into quarters where they can subsist more conveniently; and also of the accounts he has received respecting the delay in the execution of the affair you are acquainted with. I am treated here with so much attention and civility, that a long residence, while waiting for intelligence, ought not to give me any impatience, nor can I complain of any, except that which is caused by my anxiety and zeal to see the conclusion of an affair which His Majesty is anxious about, and for244 the conduct of which you, Sir, have thought proper to honour me with your confidence. I should have some uneasiness at being for so long a time a burden and an inconvenience to M. de Saint-Mars; but he executes with so much pleasure the orders which he receives from you, that all the care he takes of me does not distress me. I receive it all as a very evident mark of the kindness with which you, Sir, write to him on my subject, for which I am infinitely obliged to you; as well as for the honour you do me in permitting me to remain, with all the respect that is due to you,

Your very humble and very obedient Servant,

De Richemont.269

245

No. 79. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE.

Continued Suspicions of Matthioli.

St. Germain, April 18th, 1679.

The account you gave me in your letter of the 25th of last month of the conversation you had had with the Count Matthioli, could not be more exact. It is still very difficult to discover what is the real case with this affair, and whether the good faith that was to be desired in it has been kept to. Try to discover this adroitly, but without showing any suspicions; and be careful to inform me of every thing that shall come to your knowledge upon the subject.

This is all I have to reply to your letter. The rest does not require any particular answer.

Pomponne.270

246

No. 80. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS.

St. Germain, April 18th, 1679.

I have received your letter of the 8th of this month. The period of time during which M. de Richemont will have to remain in the place where he is at present being uncertain, I advise you to let him walk with your prisoners, even if it should only be in the dungeon. You may even permit him to pay them visits, and to converse with them, which will assist in enabling him to pass the time of his stay, which, whether it will be long or short, I cannot at present tell you.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

De Louvois.271

247

No. 81. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE.

Confirmation of the Suspicions respecting Matthioli’s want of Fidelity.

St. Germain, April 19th, 1679.

The account you have given in your letter of the first of this month, of your interview with the Count Matthioli, of the assurances he gave you of his good intentions, and of the journey he was preparing to make to the Abbé d’Estrades, does not prevent his being suspected with great reason of want of fidelity. Do not, however, let him discover, in case you see him again, the knowledge we have upon this subject, but tell him always that we cannot doubt but that the Duke of Mantua will execute the promises he has so solemnly given through him. In truth, this Prince ought not to be allowed to believe, that it is permitted to him to fail in a treaty he has made with His Majesty; and if the occasion presents itself, make it appear to him that you can have no doubt of the promises which have been made to the King being kept, and of the engagements which248 have been once entered into with him being executed. Take care to inform us exactly, as you have already done, of all that shall take place in this affair, and of the manner in which it shall continue to be regarded at Venice.

I am, &c. Pomponne.272

No. 82. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS.

Order to receive Matthioli as a Prisoner.

Saint Germain, April 27th, 1679.

The King has sent orders to the Abbé d’Estrades, to try and arrest a man, with whose conduct His Majesty has reason to be dissatisfied; of which he has commanded me to acquaint you, in order that you may not object to receiving him, when he shall be sent to you, and that you may guard him in a manner, that not only he may not have communication with any one, but that also249 he may have cause to repent of his bad conduct; and that it may not be discovered that you have a new prisoner.

De Louvois.273

No. 83. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE.

Further confirmation of the Treachery of Matthioli.

St. Germain, May 3d, 1679.

The letter you wrote me on the 15th of last month, has confirmed to the King the treachery of the Count Matthioli, which already was but too much suspected. There never was so signal a piece of perfidy. We must hope that the sentiments of his master will not be of the same kind, and that he will not wish to break the promises he has given to his Majesty. Meanwhile we hear that this Count has arrived at Turin, where he thinks, without doubt, to impose again upon the Abbé d’Estrades. It is important always not to show that you are acquainted with his conduct.

Pomponne.274

250

No. 84. CATINAT TO LOUVOIS.

Arrest of Matthioli.

Pignerol, May 3d, 1679.

I arrested Matthioli yesterday, three miles from hence, upon the King’s territories, during an interview which the Abbé d’Estrades had ingeniously contrived between him, Matthioli, and myself, to facilitate the scheme. For the purpose of arresting him, I only made use of the Chevalier de Saint-Martin and de Villebois, two officers of M. de Saint-Mars, and of four men of his company: it was effected without any violence, and no one knows the name of the rascal, not even the officers who assisted in his arrest: he is in the chamber which the individual named Dubreuil occupied, where he will be treated civilly, according to the request of the Abbé d’Estrades, until the wishes of the King, with regard to him, are known. I do not write any thing to you, Sir, respecting the certain conviction we have acquired of the villanies of this man, the Abbé d’Estrades having already given his Majesty all the information251 possible upon this subject. In the interview we had together before his arrest, we talked of various things, and among others of the place in which he had placed the essential and original papers respecting the affair in question, which consist in a letter of the Duke of Mantua to the King, the full powers he himself had for negociating, the treaty of his Majesty, executed by M. de Pomponne, the ratification of the aforesaid treaty signed by the Duke of Mantua, and a letter of the Duke of Mantua to the Governor of Casale, ordering him to receive the troops of the King in conformity with the treaty. All these papers are in a box at Bologna, in the hands of his wife, who is retired into the convent of the Nuns of Saint Lewis. The Abbé d’Estrades is of opinion that no time should be lost in obtaining these papers. As I only brought this man here yesterday very late, and that the post goes early this morning, I have not as yet had any conversation with him, for the purpose of obtaining his papers; but two hours hence I will go to his room, and I do not doubt the menaces I shall make to him, which his criminal conduct will render more terrific to him, will oblige him to do all that I wish. I have252 chosen M. de Blainvilliers, a choice approved of also by M. de Saint-Mars, to go to Bologna, considering him as very capable to conduct himself well in such a business. I will try to give him a route by which he will avoid passing over the territories of the King of Spain. I will give an account to you, Sir, the next post, of all that I shall have done on this subject with Matthioli, to whom I have given here the name of Lestang, no one here knowing who he really is.

I am, &c. Richemont.275

No. 85. CATINAT TO LOUVOIS.

Intelligence respecting Matthioli’s Papers.

Pignerol, May 6th, 1679.

Sir,

Since I did myself the honour of writing to you, I have taken down shortly in writing all the information I have been able to draw from the253 Sieur de Lestang. By making him perceive, and roughly too, the misery to which his bad conduct exposed him, I induced him to seek for the means of avoiding it, by doing readily and frankly all that was desired of him. I have not said any thing to him which could make him discover the means by which we have been so certainly informed of his treachery; but I have spoken to him in such a manner on that subject, that he cannot doubt that we know it, and are convinced of it. He is a rascal; but I believe him to be honest in his desire of delivering up the papers, either from the fear which his present condition causes him, or with the view of rendering a service to the King, which may be agreeable to him, and may make him forget what is past. The original papers are at Padua, concealed in a hole in the wall of a room, which is in his father’s lodging, and which he says is known to him alone. These papers are the treaty made by M. de Pomponne, signed by him and by Matthioli, signed below by the Duke of Mantua, a blank being left for the insertion of the ratification, when the exchange should be made for that of the King; a blank paper signed by the Duke of Mantua, intended for a letter to the Go254vernor of Casale, to order him to receive the troops of the King; the full power given to M. de Pomponne to treat with him respecting Casale; and a list of the troops destined to the execution of this affair. If we once have possession of these papers, the affair is concluded as far as regards negociation; but this is a fact that we need only make known when we think proper. As I am aware of what importance it is to have possession of these original papers, I have acquainted the Abbé d’Estrades with the expedients I thought might be made use of for this purpose, in order that I may be assisted by his advice. I do not detail them at present to you, Sir, because I expect to-day the Sieur Giuliani, whom the Abbé d’Estrades is to send to me, together with the Abbé de Montesquiou, his relation, for the purpose of the former’s being confronted with the Sieur de Lestang. As this interview will probably suggest to me more certain means of getting possession of these papers, I will not, as yet, acquaint you, Sir, with those that I had proposed to myself. There are, besides, other papers at Bologna, which are only letters and papers we have, as it seems to me, little need255 of; knowing, as we do, by the list of those which are at Padua, that it is these alone which particularly regard the affair in question. I will do myself the honour to send you word, Sir, by the next post, what shall have been the issue of the interview between the Sieur de Lestang and Giuliani.

The Abbé d’Estrades, by his care and address, has found means to send to Pignerol the servant of the Sieur de Lestang, with his goods and all his papers. I have made an inventory of the latter; they consist in tables of cyphers, and letters, which I have docketted, and extracted the substance of; they are of no importance. I will send to you, Sir, by the next post, a copy of what I have extracted, and a short summary of what I have been able to learn from the Sieur de Lestang in the conversations that I have had with him; respecting which he tells me he has already sent information to the King, or to the Abbé d’Estrades, which has diminished the impatience I should otherwise have had of acquainting you, Sir, with them. M. de Saint-Mars treats the Sieur de Lestang very kindly in all that regards256 cleanliness and food; but very rigorously in preventing him from holding intercourse with any one

I am, with all respect, &c. C.276

No. 86.

Inventory sent by Catinat to Louvois, of the Papers which Matthioli had about his person.

1. A Memorandum of what he had to do at Turin, at the place where he expected to receive letters from Carbonini.

2. A little note of the papers of consequence he has at Padua, among which are those which the King is desirous of having, and which the Sieur Giuliani is gone to take possession of.

3. A note of the road he was to take in his way to Casale.

257

4. Another note, which states that he has sent four blank papers, signed by the Duke of Mantua, to the governor of Casale; also the dates of the departure from Venice of M. d’Asfeld, and of the day, on which he, the Sieur de Lestang, and the Sieur d’Asfeld were to meet at Incréa.

5. A memorandum, to make him recollect the name of a man living at Placentia, to whom he owes five hundred livres.

6. A little memorandum, of the places where he had bought some small barrels of good wine, which he intended to make a present of to M. de Varengeville,277 the new ambassador at Venice; and of his intention to write to the Governor of Navarre the news of what should happen in the affairs regarding Casale.

7. A note, stating that the Marquis de Rebouf can give intelligence to the King of what passes at Genoa; and his reasons to the Marquis de Cavetto for the pretensions to Savona.

8. Another, stating that the Duke of Mantua had taken poison on the 22d of February, at258 Venice, which was suspected to have been given him by an individual, named George Hacquet, a man about his person, and the minister of his pleasures.

9. Another memorandum, by which it appears that the Duke of Mantua received, on the 14th of January, 2,500 pistoles from his mother; and on the 10th of February, 3,000 pistoles from the Abbé Frederic, the resident of the Emperor at Venice; also containing an account of the communication which he, the Sieur de Lestang, has with the Governor of Casale.

10. Memorandum, by which it appears that he had an interview, on the 26th of April, near Moncalvo, with the Governor of Casale; that he told him he must return once again to Mantua, or to Venice, because he had written him word that he would come to him on Ascension-day; that the aforesaid Governor was content with the expedients that he had proposed to him for the purpose of delivering the place to the King, by means of which his honour appeared to him to be saved; that for this purpose, at the return of the Sieur de Lestang, it was necessary there should be an interview be259tween him, the Sieur de Lestang, the Governor, and some man on the part of the King, to execute this affair, and to agree upon means that should make it infallible; that he would deliver up the gate of the Citadel which goes into the country, to which Panissa, who is the Governor of it, would offer no opposition; that the Count Vialardo, Governor of the Castle, is entirely devoted to the Spaniards; that the Governor of Casale requests that this affair may be quickly concluded, fearing always lest he should be removed; that he (Lestang) will make known to the aforesaid Governor what he shall have done, when he is with the Duke of Mantua, through the Father Viveti, a Jacobin living at Padua; that he will continue to write to all the Courts that the affair of Casale has failed, and that it will not be completed.

11. A small piece of paper, about as large as a card, upon which he has written four or five reasons, to be inserted in the manifesto, when the troops of the King shall be introduced into Casale. Also a statement that all that has been done has been in virtue of the Duke’s orders, grounded upon a treaty, signed and ratified by him; but that he (the Duke) now wished to make another260 with the Spaniards, contrary to the promise he had given, and that he has even received money to that effect.278

No. 87. CATINAT TO LOUVOIS.

First Examination of Matthioli.

Pignerol, May 10th, 1679.

I have delivered to the Abbé d’Estrades, by the hands of his relation, the Abbé de Montesquiou, all the letters and papers of the Sieur de Lestang, which consisted in many letters, of which I have kept a list, containing shortly the subject of each letter. These letters only show his journeys backwards and forwards; there are some of them in which he is advised to take care of himself; one, among others, is from the Ministers of Mantua, informing him of the joy of the Duke at his prosperous return from France, and of his having sent261 a boat to Placentia for him, in order that he may come to him more securely and more conveniently. He had many other papers, among which I have seen nothing of consequence, except a Spanish cypher, which he confesses to have come from the Count de Melgar.279

I made him relate before me to the Abbé de Montesquiou, all that he had done since his return from France, without interrupting him; having, nevertheless, let him know, before I permitted him to speak, that we were perfectly well-informed of his villainy, in order to see what colour he would give to his bad conduct. He says, that on his return from France, he went to Turin, where, from gratitude to that court, which had done him the honour of making use of him in many affairs, he thought himself obliged, on account of civility, to see the President Turki;280 that it was true, in talking of news and of the state of affairs at present, he allowed him to discover that something new was about to take place in Italy; and that the afore262said President, in the course of the conversation he had with him, gave him to understand that he had no doubt there had been a treaty made respecting Casale. It is thus that the Sieur de Lestang relates what he did at Turin, in order to excuse his treachery there, of which you, Sir, are already perfectly well-informed, as well as of the money he received for it. This was the first discovery that had been made of this affair, which hitherto had been conducted so secretly.

From Turin he went, by Placentia, to Mantua, to join his master, whom he found still well-intentioned for the completion of the affair. Even two days after his return, having fallen ill, the Duke of Mantua came to see him; and he took this occasion to make him sign the ratification, and to write a letter to the Governor of Casale, in which he recommended him to do all that should be told him by the Sieur de Lestang. Another letter, in form of a command, was written to the aforesaid Governor, to receive the troops of the King; in a word, he was provided at this moment with all things necessary for the entire conclusion of this affair. A few days afterwards, he was informed that his master had changed his resolution; and that it was263 even his intention to take out of his hands all that he had done and signed, which could render the treaty valid. That the Duke of Mantua began by saying that nothing had been done in this business with his participation; and that he disavowed entirely all that he, the Sieur de Lestang, had done. This prince could not then do otherwise, the Spaniards and his mother being so particularly informed of this transaction, that they showed him exact copies of the whole treaty. (These they had acquired, either by a second piece of treachery of the Sieur de Lestang, or through the court of Savoy.) The Sieur de Lestang says, that, under divers pretexts, he always eluded giving up the originals to the Duke of Mantua, in order that he might himself remain master of the affair; and that he had not despaired of being able to complete it, by contriving expedients to enable him to surmount the obstacles that had occurred; as well as through the intelligence that existed between him and the Governor of Casale.

He says, that the Spaniards, knowing he was master of these papers, had made him considerable offers in order to obtain them. That the Spaniards being so well-informed, he thought it neces264sary to make a false confidence to them on the subject, in order to amuse them, by telling them that the affair had entirely failed; hoping by this confidence, to diminish their suspicions, and the precautions they might have taken to prevent his profiting by the advantages which his intelligence with the Governor of Casale gave him for the conclusion of the business. That he even took this cypher, of which I have before spoken, from M. de Melgar, in order to make this false confidence the more credible to him. Thus it is that this rascal pretends to escape the accusation that has been made against him on account of the Spanish cypher, which has been found in his possession.

He has told us positively, that the Duke of Mantua was poisoned at the house of an individual named Le Romain, at Venice, where he went to drink iced water; that the deed was done by the Spaniards, and the poison administered by one of his own domestics; that this prince could not live more than three or four months. He says that he learnt this from the Spaniards, with whom he kept up a communication, for the purpose of amusing them.

In the midst of these events, he says that he agreed upon the rendezvous of Incréa, where he265 was to meet d’Asfeld, on the 7th March, for the exchange of the ratifications; after which he did not doubt but he should be able to conclude the affair, having all the orders necessary, besides his intelligence with the Governor, so that he could not have found any obstacle, nor any difficulty; that in going to the before-mentioned Incréa, he had been searched and robbed, on the frontiers of the Brescian and the Milanese; that, notwithstanding, having remained master of his papers, which were concealed in a saddle, he had afterwards continued his journey as far as Buffacore, where the arrest of d’Asfeld was confirmed to him in a manner he could no longer doubt; that M. de Villars, who was still Ambassador at Turin, having no knowledge of this affair, and being doubtful himself, whether, if he came to Pignerol, I281 should place confidence in him, he took the resolution of going back to Venice, to inform M. de Pinchesne of all that had happened, and to concert new measures with him; that upon a simple letter of the Abbé d’Estrades, who sent him word it was necessary they should have an interview, he had not lost a moment of time in going to Turin; that with the266 consent of the aforesaid Abbé d’Estrades, he had been at Asti, for the purpose of managing a secret interview with the Governor of Casale, at a mile from Moncalvo, in order, by promising him great recompenses, to engage him to receive the troops, when, for the saving of his honour, he should have received an order from his master, and been shown that he had made a treaty with the King. He says that he left him in a very good disposition. That afterwards he returned to Turin, where the Abbé d’Estrades proposed to him an interview with me, in which I arrested him.

This, Sir, is the simple and true recital of what the Sieur de Lestang has told me, which confirms me in the belief that he is a thorough rascal; not having been able to give me any good reason why he discovered this affair to the President Turki, when he passed through Turin; or why he concealed from M. de Pinchesne his communication with the Spaniards, his acceptation of their cypher, and his interviews with an Inquisitor of State at Venice; if, as he says, he only did these things in order the better to advance the affair in question.

I have made him write three letters for the purpose of getting possession of the original papers267 which are at Padua, which have been put into the hands of the Sieur Giuliani, by the advice of the Abbé d’Estrades, who places an entire confidence in him: he will make use of these three letters as he shall judge most fit, according to the disposition in which he shall find the father of the Sieur de Lestang. The first is only a letter of the Sieur de Lestang to his father, in which he acquaints him, that there are reasons which oblige him to remain at Turin, or in the neighbourhood, but that he may place an entire confidence in the Sieur Giuliani, and deliver to him such and such papers, of which I have made him give the inventory to the Sieur Giuliani. The second acquaints his father with the real state in which he is, and that it is important, as well for his life as his honour, that his papers should be immediately delivered into the hands of the Sieur Giuliani. In the third, which is the last to be made use of, in case the two first have no effect, he desires him to come to Turin; and tells him that at the house of the Abbé d’Estrades he will be instructed where he is, and the means to be employed to speak with him. The Sieur de Lestang has no doubt of being able, in this interview between him and his father, to persuade him to all268 he may wish. I have inspired him with so great a fear of the punishments due to his bad conduct, that I find no repugnance in him to do all that I require of him, and he appears sincere in the wish of obtaining the delivery of the papers, which will be sent to M. de Pinchesne at Venice, in order to avoid any accidents that might happen to them in so long a journey as that from Padua to this place, or to Turin.

I place no confidence in what this rascal tells me; nevertheless I think it right to inform you, Sir, that he declares positively that the Governor of Casale is his friend, and that, by promising him a considerable recompense, and by furnishing him with a pretext to save his honour, which may be done by giving him the order of his master, (which the Sieur de Lestang says is at Padua,) to receive the King’s troops, we can make him do whatever we wish. That he can deliver up the town, and that the Governor of the citadel is his intimate friend, whom he can persuade to do whatever he shall order him. As for the castle, which I saw when I was passing through Casale, it is rather a sort of little citadel than a simple castle. The Sieur de Lestang says, that assuredly the governor269 of it will not submit himself to the orders of the Governor of Casale, although the latter has the command over him, because the aforesaid governor, whose name is Vialardo, is entirely devoted to the Spaniards; that this is a thing which he has heard from the Spaniards themselves, and that on the least change at Casale, or the march of troops towards it, the Governors of Valenza, Novara, and Pavia, have orders to send detachments of their garrisons to the aforesaid Casale, and that they will be infallibly let into the place through the castle. This Vialardo is brother of a secretary of the Duke of Mantua, who bears the same name, and who is also entirely in the Spanish faction.

However, when we shall have obtained possession of the papers, it is not impossible but we may be able to contrive something with the Governor of Casale, if he is in those sentiments that the Sieur de Lestang ascribes to him, and if he is the master to receive troops in the town and citadel. This affair, if conducted very secretly, and with the rapid march of a regiment or two of dragoons, might take the Spaniards so much by surprise, that they might not have any sufficient means in their power to be able to counteract it. If we270 were masters of the town and citadel, and had as large a number of troops as that which was destined to the execution of this affair, I am certain that the castle could not prevent any resolutions that we might wish to take. We might receive upon this subject important intelligence from an interview with the Governor of Casale. The difficulty is how to contrive it so as to discover his intentions, without the negociations passing through the hands of our rascal, in whom we cannot place any reliance. But, when we have the papers, if this affair was despaired of as far as regards the Duke of Mantua, and that the King thought that the plan I send to you, Sir, was worth trying, I would concert what was to be done with the Abbé d’Estrades, according to the orders I should receive upon the subject. I beg pardon, Sir, for troubling you with so long a letter; but I could not acquaint you in fewer words with the conduct of the Sieur de Lestang, and with what has passed between him and me.

I am,

With all the respect which is due to you, &c. C.282

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No. 88. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE.

St. Germain, May 10, 1679.

Your letter, Sir, of the 22d of last month serves still more to confirm the treachery of the Count Matthioli, of which we had even before had too many proofs. He was, in fact, arrived in Piedmont, and had seen the Abbé d’Estrades. It is impossible to conceive the insolence of his daring to show himself, at a moment when all Italy rings with his perfidy. However, it is to be wished that he should deliver up the ratification of the Duke of Mantua, if it is true, as that Prince states, that he has still got it in his hands; If the Sieur Tarani283 has more fidelity than him, it would be desirable he should have the confidence of his master, and should dispose him to satisfy His Majesty, by showing him that it is dangerous to break promises which have been so solemnly made to him. ∗ ∗ ∗

I am, &c. Pomponne.284

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No. 89. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE.

Interviews between the Duke of Mantua and the Senator Foscarini.

Venice, May 13th, 1679.

Sir,

I beseech you very humbly to be persuaded that I will not fail to execute, with all the exactitude and zeal possible, the orders which it has pleased you to give me, (in the letter which you have done me the honour to write to me on the 26th of last month,) to inform you of all that shall come to my knowledge respecting the affair of Casale, and on the subject of the Count Matthioli. The annoyance I had, at not being able to discover what brought the Duke of Mantua to Venice, the last time when, as I sent you word, he came there, obliged me to redouble my endeavours to try and learn something upon the subject; and at last they have not been in vain, since I know at present, so certainly that I cannot doubt of it, that this prince had, during that time, two long conversations, in the Convent of the Capuchins, with M. Foscarini, a sage and a grandee, who is the person named by the Republic, to continue the273 history which the Procurator Nani was about, and who is one of the most able men of this state: in which this senator represented to him very strongly how dangerous it would be for him and for all Italy if he gave up Casale to the King, as it was said he had the intention to do, and had even made a treaty for that purpose with His Majesty, and that the Republic hoped he would not take a step so prejudicial to all the princes of Italy; to which I know that the Duke of Mantua answered, that he knew his own interests, and that assuredly he would never voluntarily give up Casale to the King; but that His Majesty was the most powerful Prince in Europe, and in a condition to attempt every thing, without its being easy to prevent him; that it would be therefore necessary to seek for the most proper means to do this, which, however, could not be hoped for, without having considerable troops to oppose to his, in case he wished to attempt some enterprise; that of himself he was not sufficiently powerful to resist His Majesty; that it was for those, who had as much interest as himself in the preservation of that place, to find the means of preserving it, without which he would not answer for what might happen; and that274 the fault even could not be attributed to him, but to his bad fortune and to his want of aid.

I know, besides, that the ministers of the Republic consider it certain that Casale is to be attacked by the King, and that they say they have this intelligence from such good authority, that they cannot doubt of it.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

I cannot, Sir, refrain from testifying to you the joy I felt in learning this week, by a letter of the Abbé d’Estrades, that the Count Matthioli has been carried prisoner to Pignerol, and that thus this rogue will no more be in a condition to execute, every day, fresh perfidies.

I am, with the most respectful submission, and all the attachment possible,

Sir,

Your very humble and very obedient Servant,

De Pinchesne.285

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No. 90. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS.

Orders to treat Matthioli with severity.

St. Germain, May 15th, 1679.

I have received your letter of the 6th of this month, which requires no answer, except to say that you will have sufficiently seen by my former letters, that it is not the intention of the King that the Sieur de Lestang should be well-treated, nor that, except the absolute necessaries of life, you should give him any thing that may make him pass his time agreeably.

I address to you a packet of importance for M. de Richemont, which I beg of you to give into his own hands, and to tell the Commissary du Channoy, not to send away the courier who carries him this, until you shall have given him the answers he is to bring back.

De Louvois.286

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No. 91. CATINAT TO LOUVOIS.

Plans of Catinat for obtaining possession of Casale.

Pignerol, May 16th, 1679.

I send you, Sir, the second examination of M. Matthioli, according to the order which I received to that effect, by the extraordinary courier you sent to this place. You will find it little different from the first. I put him into the greatest possible fear of the torture, if he did not tell the truth. One sees very well by his answers that his conduct has been infamous. I see no good reason which can excuse him for having had such intimate communication with the Court of Savoy, with the Abbé Frederic (the resident of the Emperor at Venice), and with Don Francis Visconti, one of the partizans of Spain, without any participation or correspondence upon the subject with M. de Pomponne, the Abbé d’Estrades, or M. de Pinchesne; this fact prevents my having any confidence in him. Nevertheless he persists, with the utmost obstinacy, in declaring, that the Go277vernor of Casale is well-intentioned; that this Governor sees very well that the Duke of Mantua is a lost man; that he sees also that there cannot happen any change in the Court of Mantua, without his being removed from Casale; and that he is a man who would be accessible to any offers that might be made him; this is what he, Matthioli, is willing to stake his life upon; that if he is furnished with a specious excuse for receiving the troops of the King, he will assuredly do it, which will be easy, when we have the original papers which his father is to deliver into the hands of Giuliani; that provided the Governor is not absent from Casale, he, Matthioli, will find means to contrive an interview between this Governor, me, and himself; and that I shall both see and understand the means of rendering the King master of Casale. As I know beforehand that I am conversing with a rascal, and that it is almost of necessity, if his propositions are adopted, that he should himself be again employed in this affair, I cannot bring myself to answer for him in any thing; nevertheless I have thought it right to communicate all this, Sir, to you. When the King once has possession of the papers, my hav278ing an interview with this Governor is a step that would not hazard any thing; I do not see any inconvenience in it, except the chance of the Sieur Matthioli’s escaping, on account of the degree of liberty which must in that case be permitted to him, however vigilant I might be in watching him. I should be obliged to go with him to Asti, where he is acquainted with a Dominican monk, who would carry to Moncalvo a note to a physician whose name is Viveti; this Viveti would go to Casale to inform the Governor of the place of rendezvous, which had been settled for our interview with him. But it is almost impossible in all these proceedings to answer for the person of Matthioli: as there is, therefore, this inconvenience in the plan, the Abbé d’Estrades could, if it is the King’s wish that any proposition should be made to this Governor, according to the orders he should receive, have him spoken to, and his intentions sounded by some one. I beseech you, Sir, to be persuaded that in this affair I place my own interest beneath my feet, and that I only venture to make you proposals upon the subject, from the desire I have that the affair should succeed to the satisfaction of the King.