This version of the text reproduces only the dialogue, omitting the Mandarin’s ‘profession of faith’ at ll.393-504.

The copy begins at l.244 of the text and runs to l.276.

Marx opens by saying that he has enclosed a photograph for Mrs Beesly. He then goes on to say that the Christian name of Mr. Greenwood is Frederick, adding in French that this is not the Frederick the Great. He continues by remarking that when Voltaire was in his Swiss retreat, he was accompanied by a Jesuit named Adam whom he introduced by visitors by saying: ‘he is not the first of men’. Returning to writing in English, Marx concludes the letter by saying that Jenny von Westphalen will call on Mrs Beesly the following Wednesday at 1pm.

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 humbly apologises to a lady, calling himself unworthy of her and her grandmother’s kindness. He praises the grandmother’s generosity, which has extended even to helping his craftsmen, though he feels too ashamed to address her directly after past criticisms. He encloses an article on the soul, inviting the lady to burn it if she dislikes it, and jokes about his ignorance on the subject.

He recounts how he once defended nine impoverished Huguenots from the Jesuits, who had tried to seize their property, and expresses satisfaction at having thwarted them. One of these Huguenots now seeks a favour at Versailles, but the writer refuses to trouble the grandmother to intercede, feeling he has already abused her benevolence.

He gratefully acknowledges that all the pleasures of his later life stem from the lady’s introduction to her grandmother, whose friendship and conversation he deeply values. He ends with a tender, self-deprecating farewell, wishing to serve her until his last breath despite his inability to be of use.

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.”