_ 448 _ As he has much of the Florentine about him, it appears to me that we should not proceed much further for the time being. I asked him to write another letter, different from the one he had already shown me, to be sent to Your Highness. I agreed with him that we should not proceed with matter until we know the content of Your Highness’s reply. He wanted peace with the Turk, and he, the Cardinal, could attempt to negotiate through some friend of his, one of those who he says is a friend of Rustem Pasha, with all possible dissimulation. If the Turk accepts to negotiate, without it being revealed in the first round of talks that this is Your Highness’s initiative, rather than that it is the Cardinal who proposes this approach, and who deals with it in this manner, it could appear that the Cardinal is motivated by respect for the Turk and the wish to give him advantage. Once Your Highness’s wishes are known, you would be in a position to proceed further through your own ministers, or through whoever you consider best able to conclude the matter. He then became quieter and more moderate and said that he would write a letter saying this to Your Highness. This matter is serious and of much moment, since there is no doubt that the quantity of spices coming through the
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