Voltaire opens the letter by saying that his taste agrees with that of the recipient; he likes mysteries to remain secret. He says that he does not know whether or not the recipient has used the thoughts on public administration in the story of the twelfth wolf [lupus duodecimus], adding that if not he will weave them into the patchwork. Voltaire goes on to say that with one hand he is preparing this repetition whilst with the other the continuation of the general jumble of history, adding that if he had a third hand it would be put to the service of the lovely pair of brothers [par amabile fratrum].

There are variants at lines a, b, 2, 4, 11, 14, 19, 26, 30, 35-36.

The complete text is written on one side of the sheet. It contains all but one of the corrections stipulated by Voltaire in D9587 and D9597. There are variants at lines a, b, 2, 4, 11, 14, 19, 26, 30, and 35-36.

The copy was produced by Blin de Sainmore. The letter consists of 16 lines of verse in four stanzas known as ‘Stances à Monsieur Blin de Sainmore’.

This copy was produced for the Beaumarchais-Kehl edition.

A leaf containing notes about Madame de Boufflers, attributed to Saint-Lambert, has been inserted between p.76 and p.77.

The manuscript is incomplete as the beginning of ‘Conciles’ is crossed out.