The manuscript is an eleven-line poem, with a rhyme scheme of ABBAAACACACA. Voltaire wrote the verse in response to Vers de Monsieur de La Harpe à Monsieur de Voltaire, pour le jour de la Saint-François. Composed for the poets La Harpe and Chabanon as a subtle tribute to their literary talent, the poem was published in the periodical press.

Compared with other manuscripts, line 12 shows minor discrepancies, reading ‘Qu’ils m’ont pris aussi mon’.