Voltaire begins by saying that the Count de Rochefort, and the old woman of nineteen years old, left Macon. According to the letter written by the trio, Voltaire adds that he expects that the travellers will soon be either in Paris or Vandoeuvre. He advises the travellers that they will not see ‘Les Lois de Minos’ because they will be in their quarters when it will be presented and begs them not to show the ‘Lois’ to anyone other than D’Alembert. Voltaire goes on to say that he doesn’t think it necessary to make even the slightest reasonable allusion; but one must always expect the worst from frivolous, troubled and mean spirits. What’s more, he adds, the copy that they have is incorrect and it two pages need to be redone. Voltaire concedes that such ‘bagatelles’ are not deserving of much attention but as there are people in the world who seek to take every opportunity to harm, he asks that the recipients do not give them this opportunity. He ends by stating that Madame Denis very respectfully thanks ‘Madame dix neuf ans’ and that he himself does the same for the third person to whom he has the honour to address his letter. The closing of the letter is added in Voltaire’s own hand. Here, he states that he throws himself at the feet of the old lady.

The letter concerns Voltaire’s death on 30 May 1778 and discusses the difficulties his servants faced in finding a burial place for him after they removed his body from Paris.

The letter begins with a poem, ‘A monsieur le maréchal duc de Richelieu, à qui le sénat de Gènes avait érigé une statue’. In a concluding prose section, Voltaire notes that he imagines the recipient, Maréchal Louis François Armand de Vignerot du Plessis, will be invited to dine with the President in Paris upon his arrival as his glory means that he must lack nothing. Voltaire ends by saying he has just received Louis’ letter.

The letter begins with a poem, ‘A monsieur le maréchal duc de Richelieu, à qui le sénat de Gènes avait érigé une statue’. This is written in a secretarial hand.

In a concluding prose section, added in his own hand, Voltaire notes that he imagines the recipient, Maréchal Louis François Armand de Vignerot du Plessis, will be invited to dine with the President in Paris upon his arrival as his glory means that he must lack nothing. Voltaire ends by saying he has just received Louis’ letter.

This copy of the poem is given an alternative title: ‘A Mr le Prince et Mme la Pcesse de Craon qui l’invitaient à venir chez eux.’

In the letter, Voltaire notes that as soon as Émilie du Châtelet has finished her great business, he will have no more pressing matters than to take advantage of the kindnesses of the Prince and Princess. He ends by asking them to accept his deepest respects. The letter is dated 15 August 1749.

The poem preceding the letter was written by Voltaire whilst in Lorraine, likely between February and December 1748. In it, he praises Lunéville and the pleasures he experienced there amongst the wise. The final lines of the poem have been heavily corrected. Besterman suggests that they may have been transcribed from the autograph original (CMV34556) which is similarly revised.

The phrase ‘concernant le XVIe siècle en France’ is written in Voltaire’s hand.

The verse seems to have been composed during Voltaire’s stay at Cirey, likely in September/October 1734.

Bolaffi asks that the booksellers, Dey and Gravier, be kind enough to give to Mr. Daninos (the deliverer of the letter) the fifty copies of La Henriade that Bolaffi had translated into Italian. He notes that these copies were sent to Dey and Gravier by Mr. Fayolle, another bookseller.