The copy concerns Chapter 38 from the beginning to ‘vieillesse’ on l.156. This Chapter discusses the Jesuits driven out of Portugal and France and the assassination of the King of Portugal.

The MS also includes a section from the end of Chapter 37 beginning with ‘Trianon’ on l.50.

The memoire is a series of requests set out by Ambroise Decroze for Jean Charles Girod. It begins by requesting that the minutes of the assault on Sr Vuaillet by Ancian be presented to the judges as proof of the violence typical of him. It also requests that one of the attackers, Benoit Brochut, should be added to the trial as he had given a confession before witnesses and signed it with his mark. Decroze also requests that the declaration of Gabriel Puet, made in the presence of witnesses be considered, and that a summons be given to Françoise Terron of Crelly who can testify that he was ordered to beat Decroze’s son with a stick. He notes that his lawyers have suggested that these pieces of evidence are favourable to his case. Decroze then requests that his daughter be heard under oath, as she was refused confession until she abandonned the cause of her brother. He demands that the Jesuit who refused her confession shouls also be heard under oath so that he might confess. He ends by saying that he will feel abandoned and betrayed by the world and delivered up to his persecutor if he is denied any of the above requests, begging Girod to assist his case.

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 writer feels unworthy of the kindness extended by the recipient and their grandmother, expressing deep gratitude despite their own perceived inadequacies. They mention ongoing snow and their inability to enjoy the daylight, illustrating their discomfort. The writer reflects on their previous actions in aiding a group of impoverished noble children against the Jesuits and their current inability to ask for further favours from the recipient’s grandmother due to their sense of guilt. They conclude by acknowledging their indebtedness to the recipient for introducing them to their grandmother and express a desire to send more engaging literary pieces in the future.

The collection includes: Discourse on the conduct of the Courts of Vienna and Saxony and their pernicious designs against the King of Prussia. Berlin, 1756 (pp. 1-24). Papers referring to the government of Spain during Ferdinand VI’s illness and after his death, 1759 (pp. 25-32). Response of the King to the letter that the Pope wrote to him, asking him for his mediation for the composition of things in Parma. San Idelphonso on August 9, 1768 (pp. 33-34). Consultation of the Extraordinary Council, on the Brief of the Pope about the estrangement of the Jesuits. Madrid and April 30, 1767 (pp. 35-47). Consultation on the populations of Sierra Morena, 1770 (pp. 48-179). Letter from Voltaire to his correspondent in Madrid (pp. 180-183). The present state of the English colonies and thoughts of them. San Lorenzo on October 16, 1772 (pp. 184-245). Royal orders of S.M., on the license for the marriage of the Lord Infante Don Luis and gifts made by the Infante to the bride, 1776 (pp. 247-252). Letter written to a poet by a friend of his living in Madrid praising Carlos III (pp. 253-260). News from Portugal, with quatrains dedicated to the Marquis of Pombal, 1777 (pp. 261-307)
Sanchez Alonso T. II, p. 443, no. 8354.

The texts include a sequence of Latin odes given by Chopard at the Dijon Académie (probably in the 1740s) in his role as “paranymph” (an official assistant to doctoral candidates at their final defense) in which he extols the virtues of each of the named candidates. The collection also includes a set of satirical texts poking fun at the relatively recent foundation of the Dijon Académie and the quality of its teachers. Also included are copies of several Voltaire texts: the Epître de Mr de Voltaire à sa maison de campagne of 1755 (“O Maison d’Aristippe, o Jardins d’Epicure”); his poem on the Lisbon earthquake (1755), and “La Navigation,” dating from 1773. There is a strong anti-Jesuit bias with several long satires including a “Calendrier Jesuitique,” describing a series of emblematic prints (perhaps imagined). Among the numerous other texts are a satire on the British capture of Île-d’Aix in 1759 following the Battle of Quiberon Bay; verses entitled “Assassinat du Roy de Portugal” on the supposed Jesuit plot to kill the Portuguese king in 1759; a “Chanson sur la prise de Port Mahon sur les Anglois” celebrating the French victory in Minorca; “Stances a M. de Buffon sur son passage dans sa Patrie,” which are verses by M. Baillot of the Dijon Academy, read in 1773 at a public reception for the great naturalist on the occasion of his visit to his alma mater; “La Navigation, ” which is an early copy of La Harpe’s ode which won a prize from the Académie française in 1773; and “Éloge du vin de Rheims ou: la Champagne vangée.”

Voltaire apologises to Joseph de Menoux for an unfortunate case of false letters in which both are involved because of a Jesuit that Voltaire had previosuly complained about to Father Menoux. He writes that not only Paris but the whole of Europe are inundated with the false letters and adds that the said Jesuit lacked the same discretion, widsom, and goodness as Father Menoux. Voltaire writes that he has received a large number of anonymous letters and mémoires about the affair and that he throws these into the fire without answering them. He notes then that he confines himself to ‘the care that my illnesses require, to solitude and to the work that is my consolation.’ He adds that Father Menoux’s conversation and friendship would do him more good than all the mineral waters in the world. Voltaire concludes by saying that he intends to bring Father Menoux a copy of Les annales de l’Empire but that he fears that the work is a little dry and far removed from the eloquence with which Father Menoux has written history.

Voltaire begs forgiveness for having written to ‘Madame Dixneufans’ on ceremony. He adds that he could be much more cross with Rochefort d’Ally for taking so long to reply but he has had a violent fever caused by two fatal illnesses from which he has escaped, noting his dismay at being told that l’abbé de Beauregard, preacher of Versailles, would gladly have refused him burial. Voltaire continues by rallying against this claim, ensuring Rochefort d’Ally that he observed Lent more rigorously than most monks in Europe, that he is a more diaphanous and leaner than any disciples of Loyola, and that he resembles Lazarus coming out of his niche.

Disadvises his return to England; warns him that ‘the Parliament in less than two years will ring with declamation against the Plunderers of the East. How fair, how great it will then be not to see your name in the list. I do assure you Old Lawrence has a reputation in England which may well be envy’d (with all its fortunes) by the name of Clive. It is these cursed presents which stop my History. Why should I be doomed to commemorate the ignominy of my countrymen, and without giving the money story, that has accompanied every event since the first of April 1757, I shall not relate all the springs of action, that is I shall be a Jesuitical Historian, two terms which Voltaire says are incompatible, for no Jesuit could ever tell a true tale, much less write a true History.’