Provost Goodall recounts his journey through France, beginning with a description of Dijon. He remarks upon his arrival in Geneva and includes a description of a visit to Ferney during which time he viewed Voltaire’s rooms.

Harold Bruce has argued that this play was plagiarised by Saint-Hilaire in Un Proscrit chez Voltaire due to the striking similarities between the two pieces in terms of both the plot and the text itself. As this MS has too many variants, Bruce dismisses the idea that this is an early iteration of Saint-Hilaire’s later work.

The manuscript is an autograph letter, written in the hand of Du Gard d’Echichens, expressing gratitude to an unidentified recipient for a gift. The letter makes references to Voltaire, both indirectly and directly, portraying him as an unparalleled author and expressing a desire to create a monument titled ‘Triomphes de Voltaire’. The letter also mentions the unknown correspondent’s stay at Ferney. NB: Besterman maintains that ‘This letter is clearly not to Voltaire, as stated by ED1, but if it is correctly dated I cannot identify the addressee with any certainty. At so remote a spot as Echichens, the writer may not have heard of the sad events of the previous year, and if so the letter was probably to La Harpe.’

The author of the document notes that they removed these papers from among the waste papers left at the Chateau de Ferney where tey were called in April 1780 by the father-in-law of the Marquis de Villette, who then became the owner of the property, taking control of the chateau and all of the furniture and effects which were assigned to an Englishman (Mr. Pigott) as tenant. The author adds that they will try to get hold of another little brochure that they saw in Pregay with the certificate and declaration attached. They note that this brochure contained some of Voltaire’s correspondence.

The verse was sent with a letter from Voltaire to Pierre Paul d’Ossun, marquis d’Ossun, written from Ferney and dated 16 July 1770 [D16527], and a price list for watches produced at a Ferney factory. One of the watches available was a repeating watch featuring a portrait of Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea y Jiménez de Urrea, 10th Count of Aranda. The verse mentions his triumph over the Jesuits, his suppression of superstition, and his masterful control of Spain.

The list was sent with a letter from Voltaire to Pierre Paul d’Ossun, marquis d’Ossun, written from Ferney and dated 16 July 1770 [D16527].

The traveller asks to be shown where Voltaire’s ashes were laid to rest. The gardener replies that it stirs his heart to approach the tomb. On the reverse of this dialogue is a list of womens’ names.

Voltaire gives his recommendation for two watchmakers, Mr Carré and Mr Ronzel, who had worked for three years in Ferney in the watchmaking factory.