Voltaire is writing to Lambert with a business proposal from the Cramer brothers, who have approached Voltaire, interested in publishing his works. According to the offer, Cramer and Lambert would share the printing of the estimated dozen volumes of Voltaire’s Histoire universelle (later the Essai sur les mœurs), thus enabling it to be ready more quickly. The letter, most of which is in Villaume’s hand, contains several minor corrections. The last two paragraphs, as well as the valediction, signature and date, are in Voltaire’s hand. Voltaire first wrote ’28 aoust 1754′ before adding a curved vertical line to approximate a ‘9’.

Voltaire is replying to a correspondent, casting doubt on the veracity of an anecdote that this person has shared with him concerning an Englishman who wanted his son dead. Voltaire assures the recipient that he remembers his presence in Berg[en] op Zoom. The signature appears to be autograph.

A variant for Canto 14 has been added in a second hand.

This copy of the text contains two grammatical oddities that align with those of the printed edition: the plural form ‘aucunes’ and ‘prière […] qu’il a traduit’.

The MS forms part of a recueil of works from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

The text is part of a recueil compiled by Charles-Marie Fevret de Fontette.