The manuscript is a lettre en vers in the hand of Pierre Robert Le Cornier de Cideville, featuring the prefatory poem comprised of 30 lines. The author has recently arrived in Rouen and is enjoying the company of Formont. In urging Voltaire to share his latest works for review, the author references a copy of Zaïre currently in his possession. P.S. D525 and that of 23 March 1763 appear to be the only letters from Cideville to Voltaire hitherto printed. The verse of MS1 exactly reproduces that of MS2, but the prose shows several differences.

Extracts within the collection include: Voltaire (Merope, Zaire, Alzire, Rome saved, Orestes, Sémiramis), Racine (Andromaque, Britannicus, Bérénice, Bajazet, Mithridates), Corneille (Le Cid, Horace, Polyeucte, Rodogune, Pulchérie), Gresset (Édouard III) , Chateaubrun (Philoctetes), etc., with some comments in the margins: “Noble despair, Tyranny, Cruel politics, Maternal tenderness”, etc.

The authors note that they have just arrived in Provins and will continue their story of their time in Cirey. They note that they went to bed at 7am, and were made to rise three hours later at 10am to sing an opera with Émilie du Châtelet. This lasted until 1pm, when they rehearsed Zaïre, and they note that they had rehearsed 37 acts the day before, with the first three acts being rehearsed after dinner. They rehearsed Zaïre until 6pm, and note that there were constant snags, then the ladies curled their hair and dressed in a Turkish style until 9:30pm at which point the performance began. The performance of Zaïre was followed by one of l’Esprit de contradiction, which lasted until 12:30pm. The party then sat together and ate supper, failing to notice that they were violating the rights of Ash Wednesday in doing so. Graffigny and Desmarest add that they left at 8am, having performed 44 acts in 48 hours.

They discuss the various plays performed over the weekend, and provide a cast list which reads as follows: Madame Du Châtelet (Zaïre), La Grosse (styled with a Fatime veil), Voltaire (Orosmane), Mr Du Châtelet (Nerestan), his son (Corasmin), Chatillon (paper in hand). They state that the recipient does not know the other members of the cast. Graffigny and Desmarest remark that Voltaire did not know his role, being unable to perform two lines in a row whilst dressed like a chienlit. Émilie Du Châtelet, meanwhile, they note, played everything soullessly and monotonously, enough so to make one vomit. Her husband, said not a verse without stuttering. They go on to explain Voltaire’s faults in more detail: whilst the tragedy provoked tears, Voltaire is said to have known little of his role, a defect which prompted him to be impatient and attack his valet who was acting as their prompter. He is also said to have spat in the face of one of the party with fury.

The letter then turns to Voltaire’s dispute with Desfontaines, before recounting two letters received by Voltaire concerning his writings. Madame de Graffigny notes that Voltaire is beginning to work on an opera for her about Les Titans, adding that he had read them some of his Samson which she describes as as beautiful as Joseph-François Duché de Vancy’s Iphigénie en Tauride (1704). Voltaire is likewise said to have read his apology of his Mondain in the bathing apartment of Émilie Du Châtelet whilst she bathed, a reading which also included a lavish meal served at 2am in the same room by her son who had disguised himself as Love because of the carnival.

Buffon opens by stating that he has only just found Ruffey’s previous letter which should have been forward to the recipient sooner. He mentions several acquaintances including M. de la Bastide, M. Lebault, and Charles de Brosses before offering to run errands for Ruffey whilst he is in Paris. He asks if Ruffey will visit Paris, and mentions the theatre, discussing Voltaire’s Zaïre and the Mercure de France. He concludes by noting that he is sending a catalogue of books for Jean Bouhier.

Gries presents Goethe with a volume of his translation of Calderón and asks for his opinion on it. He then goes on to discuss printed tragedies, arguing that Eifersucht, das größte Scheusal could be considered a prototype of all modern tragedies of fate. He concludes by discussing the frequent editing of works undertaken by older poets, making reference to Voltaire’s Mariamne and Zaire, Calderón’s Mariamne, and Shakespeare’s Othello.

Voltaire writes to his ‘divins anges’ in order to present them with his Mémoire à tous les anges. He notes that their committee is as good as the committee of the intended recipient because it is made up of people from the gambling den and very good actors, and that they must inform the recipient that they cannon share his opinion on most of his objections. The committee, he writes, shudder with indignation when it is suggested that they put their play on ice and that though the recipient quotes Zaire at them, they miss out the vital context of love. The committe believes that the recipient is mistaken in thinking that Olympe is the leading role as he only assumes this position when Statira is dead. Voltaire concludes by discussing Olympe’s willingness to throw herself into the stake for love, writing ‘if you don’t find that honestly beautiful, in my faith you are difficult.’

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.