An Italian translation of Voltaire’s La Princesse de Babylone is featured on p.269.

The notebook contains notes from “Baretti’s remarks on Italy”, notes on Voltaire, and notes on various towns in Europe taken from Moores’ Travels (vols. I and II) and Mr. Millars’ Travels in Italy 1770-1771. Also included is a memorandum on the house of Brandenburg.

Authors referenced in the catalogue include: Boileau, C. La Bruyere, Corneille, La Fontaine, Rousseau, Voltaire, Jean-François Marmontel, Fenelon, Aesop, Caesar, Horace, Plutarch, and Virgil. Over 200 titles are listed.

The letter discusses Verona, commenting on its climate, situation, fine arts, and theatres. Bettinelli adds that he will send some information for the history.

Voltaire writes that he has the honour of being between Cicero and Caesar. He notes that they are people of Algarotti’s country that the recipient would do much better at talking to them than Voltaire who adds that they embarras him a lot. He ends by saying that as soon as the task is done well or badly, he will put himself in the ‘historical jumble’ and obey Algarotti’s orders.

Describes his visit to London and the places he visits including numerous museums, exhibitions, theatres and parks, where he has seen famous people including the Duke of Wellington, Duke of Cambridge, Lord Melbourne and Lord Palmerstone. Details his trip to Paris and includes visits to the Louvre, theatres, churches and exhibitions. Describes his visit to Geneva, Milan, Genoa, Leghorn, Florence and Rome with reference to Voltaire, La Scala, Pisa (the Leaning Tower), Tome, St Peter’s, the Colosseum, a climb up Mont Blanc, and Florence.

Voltaire writes that he has just received a letter from m. Turkheim informing him that Schoepfling has satisfied his debt and so has nothing else to do but to beg Dupont to ‘put on the sheath’ and offer him his gratitude. He then notes that he and Marie-Louis Denis [née Mignot] [née Mignot] will be spending the winter at Monrion and assures Dupont that he would be tempted to visit Colmar if there were not Jesuits. Voltaire then asks Dupont to tell Madame de Klinglin that she played a dreadful trick on him as she was at Saint-Claude just six miles from Voltaire in Délices. He adds that if she had told him he would have gone to visit her but he will now, instead, be forced to make a trip to Colmar. He concludes by syaing that new operas are being prepared in Italy, new comedies are going to be given in Paris, and a lottery of thirty million is also to be held.

Voltaire writes that his letter is accompanied by an Italian work written for certain Italian academies of which he is a member. He states that he wants five dozen copies of this work to be printed, and that the copies should be sent to M de Foncemagne.

De Crousaz replies to the two queries that Achard sent to his wife, noting that they have not visited Geneva and that they have not seen Voltaire in the theatre. Through a military analogy, he remarks that according to his friends Voltaire is a better playwright than actor and was not good in the role of Lusignan in the play Zaïre. He goes on to note that the Duke of Randau’s politics mean that he and his Lord [Weymouth?] are to remain in Besançon for three weeks, adding that his Lord wants to go to Italy via Germany but that he [De Crousaz] is against the idea as he does not like Italy. He adds that his wife told him that Achard is angry at him for stopping in Besançon but replies that they were forced to stop by the Lord’s illness in Dijon. He discusses his relationship with his Lord, stating that he is not paid by the Lord (whose money is transferred through Mr Foley in Paris) and has little power, though he listens to Achard’s advice. De Crousaz then turns to health matters, noting that his gout has passed; and that he is sending Achard bottles of virtuous water for his health.