Marie-Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise Du Deffand begins by saying that she has a copy of Voltaire’s letter to Horace Walpole, which she describes as a masterpiece of taste, common sense, wit, eloquence, and politeness. She adds that she will no longer speak to him about Lableterie, as should would have like Voltaire to have not spoken about it. The Marquise then notes that she is at the height of her joy as she has just received as her birthday gift the first seven volumes of Voltaire’s latest edition, adding that she had the tables read to her.  She then asserts that she only sees and loves those who admire Voltaire, saying that they should forgive Walpole’s former errors because national pride is great amongst the English and they have difficulty in granting the French superiority in matters of taste. She concludes by saying that only Voltaire can get her out of boredom and quotes Philippe Quinault’s Issé.

Voltaire writes that his dear friend Radamiste’s father has trimmed his nails a little but he still has enough left, for which he asks Moncrif to thank him. He adds that he expects to see Moncrif at the rehearsal tomorrow and that it will be good for them to have friends to silence the clever ones and enlighten the fools who would only see the resemblance to Houdard de La Motte’s Issé. If they can successfully navigate this pitfall, Voltaire writes, he thinks that they can count on a very great success. Voltaire concludes by writing that he thinks Moncrif will think about having ‘Mr le génie’ dress differently when he returns to the Alcidon.