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.

This copy is limited to the verse only. The autograph copy is dated 2 November 1744, rather than 1 November as stated on this MS.

The text contains substantial variants, many of which do not appear in the print editions. A leaf between f.199 and f.200 appears to be missing.

The text contains substantial variants, many of which do not appear in the print edition.