The manuscript is an autograph letter written in response to D16563. Dorat reflects on the badly intentioned individuals adamant to antagonise Dorat and Voltaire, with their efforts proving fruitless. The manuscript is accompanied by Dorat’s epistle dedicated to Diderot. On the 19th mme Gallatin wrote to Frederick of Hesse-Cassel ‘Nôtre ami [Voltaire] se porte bien, il m’envoya tout de suitte des plantes de Légumes pour rétablir mon jardin [after its destruction by the storm]. Pour des fruits malgré L’envie que j’aurois d’en manger il faut m’en passer, il n’en reste nulle part.’ Nôtre ami m’a chargé de vous présenter son profond respect. Mon marie et mes filles prie Vôtre Altesse Sérénissime de recevoir les leurs. Vous recevrez incessamment les deux premiers Tomes de L’anciclopédie, vous les aurez 15 jours avant personnes au monde (h*, Marburt). Enclosed with the first volume, received 9 January 1771, was the following note ‘Son Altesse Sérénissime est priée instamment que ce Livre ne sorte pas de ses mains pendant 3 semaines ou un mois. Je n’ay pas pûs L’avoir sans cette condition, La chose étant de la plus grande importance pour notre ami. Je ferois partir les 2 autres volumes successivement dans peu de jours. Mille respects’ (h*, Marburg).

Price discusses various literary works, stating that the recipient had been unfair in comparing an ode titled Europe Rediviva to a work which had inspired the likes of Wordsworth and Coleridge. He goes on to discuss the nature of literary fame and how this can influence contemporary readers of anonymously published words, recounting an anecdote about Voltaire. He reveals that the author of Europe Rediviva is Henry Gally Knight and asks if this changes her perception of the poem. He concludes with a discussion of his ill health and the ineffectiveness of various diets that he has attempted.

After Voltaire’s death, Longchamp recalls the time he spent in the writer’s service, which coincided with the Cirey period, including trips to Fontainebleau, Sceaux and Lunéville. The document was edited by Decroix for publication.

Voltaire recounts that a woman, eight months pregnant, turned up at the councillor’s address. She claimed that her husband had returned from a long absence and had not noticed her pregnancy but was violent enough that she chose to flee for the safety of herself and her unborn child. These notes were revised for the published edition which reads: ‘Ceux de Lainet ont une anecdote très remarquable. Une dame de qualité de Franch-Comté se trouvant à Paris grosse de huit mois en 1664, son mari absent depuis un an arrive; elle craint qu’il ne la tue; elle s’adresse à Lainet sans le connaître. Celui-ci consulte l’ambassadeur d’Espagne; tous deux imaginent de faire enfermer le mari par lettre de cachet à la Bastille jusqu’à ce que femme soit relevée de couche. Ils s’adressent à la reine. Le roi en riant fait et signe la lettre de cachet lui-même; il sauve la vie de la femme et de l’enfant; ensuite il demande pardon au mari et lui fait un présent.’

The excerpt concerning Voltaire reads: ‘Voltaire writes that the Dutchess told him that after her Four Daughters had got their shares, she had remaining without any favour from ye Government £70,000 a year.’

The collection consists of c.150 separate pieces in English and French, in a variety of different hands, dating mainly from ca. 1780 to 1824. There are also some printed items such as lottery tickets and pages from books. The manuscripts appear in most cases to have been given to Anne Rushout by acquaintances in her circle, which included Fanny Burney, Mrs. Walsingham, Lady Hardwick, Mrs. Hastings, Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire, Miss Lyttelton, Miss Catherine Fanshawe, Princess Augusta Sophia. Almost all are poetry and include charades, acrostics, riddles, engimas, anecdotes, and elegies culled from various sources including: the Thesaurus Aenigmaticus, The Satirist, General Evening Post, Gentleman’s Magazine, and The Universal Magazine. The topics featured range from friendship and love, through virtue and death. Names mentioned as writers or subjects, giving an insight into the circle in which Anne moved and their interests, include: Voltaire, Mr. Selwyn, the Countess Bouchon, Sir William Jones, Lord Lyttelton, Lord Coventry, Lord Palmerston, Lord Strangford, Warren Hastings, William Hayley, Norhtwick, William Shenstone, Colley Cibber, David Garrick, Bishop Richard Heber, Horace Walpole, Walter Scott, John Dryden, the Sheridans and Sarah Siddons. In addition to the poetical contents there are few printed pieces and two accomplished mathematical conundrums. The principal places mentioned are Northwick Park, Worcestershire (now Gloucestershire), Wanstead Grove, and Daylesford Grove.

Included in the collection, in Box 53 are two documents relating to Voltaire:

• Autograph copy of ‘Anecdotes sur l’arrivée du corps de Voltaire á Scelliers par Etienne Faireau’ c.1778. This manuscript was previously part of the library of John L. Gerig.
• Photostat of an autograph letter signed from Voltaire to M. Le President [Ami Camp] dated February 1762. The original copy of this letter is in New York Public Library. The photostat was gifted to Columbia University Libraries by H.M. Judson.

The collection consists of anecdotes and verses, both original and excerpted from various authors, including: biographical anecdotes on Alexander the Great, Voltaire, Sir Walter Raleigh, Philip of Macedon, Socrates, British sailors, Turks, Russians, American Indians, and other individuals and groups; epistolary poetry and extracts from letters, most of which are signed William Thomspon; one letter from a British soldier at the Battle of Bunker Hill to his wife in England; elegiac and farewell poems; poems on nature, plants, and animals; hymns and prayers; religious and moral poems and fables; from speeches, and from religious texts, lectures, and sermons; recipes for burn and lip ointments, stain remover, flea repellent, and other home remedies. Excerpts attributed to Rousseau, Cowper, Goldsmith, and others. Indexed by category.

The letter to Miss Sparrow of Jan. 14, 1779, first passes on an anecdote that Fletcher told about Voltaire, then goes on to present Wesley’s scathing views on the French writer and his successes.

Richard Owen Cambridge begins by offering James Harris advice on how to deal with varnish on a picture befor telling a story involving Voltaire and Sir William Hamilton. He ends with reference to verse published by Jonas Hanway on the death of Lord Lyttelton.