Besterman thanks Lady Bristol for information she had given him about a Voltaire manuscript in her possession.

The remainder are to the following correspondents (annotated in Hervey’s hand):-
Count Algarotti 30 October 1736 Page (pencil numbers) 581
Count Algarotti 27/16 January 1737 Page (pencil numbers) 597
Count Algarotti 17/28 September 1737 Page 607
Count Algarotti 24 July 1738 Page 635
Lord Bateman 11 December 1731 Page 272
Lord Bateman 23 December 1731 Page 280
Lord Bateman 28 December 1731 Page 283
Lord Bateman 13 October 1733 Page 432
Lady Bristol 9 May 1732 [copy also in 941/47/2] Page 284
Lady Bristol 9 September 1735 Page 530
Lady Bristol undated From Mrs. Bradshaw Page 46
Lord Bristol 21 December 1731 Page 277
Lord Bristol 31 July 1733 ? Page 413
‘Mr Bromley’ 27 December 1733 Page 449
Dr. Robert Butts [Rector of Ickworth, 1717-33; Dean of Norwich, 1731-33; Bishop of Norwich] 14 November 1732 Page 344
Dr. Robert Butts [Rector of Ickworth, 1717-33; Dean of Norwich, 1731-33; Bishop of Norwich] Undated [1733] Page 409
Dr. Robert Butts [Rector of Ickworth, 1717-33; Dean of Norwich, 1731-33; Bishop of Norwich] 15 October 1733 Page 433
Queen Caroline 1 July 1733 Page 397
Queen Caroline undated Page 505
Dr Cheyne 9 December 1732 Page 350
Dr Cheyne 31 January 1738. Page 619
Mrs Clayton (Lady Sundon) 31 July 1733 Page 416
Charlotte Digby (nee Fox) 5 July 1733 Page 389
Charlotte Digby (nee Fox) 6 October 1735 Page 521
Charlotte Digby (nee Fox) 13 November 1735 Page 533
Charlotte Digby (nee Fox) 25 November 1735 Page 557
Charlotte Digby (nee Fox) 4 March 1738 Page 627
Frederick, Prince of Wales 12 July 1731 Page 198
Frederick, Prince of Wales 14 July 1731 Page 200
Frederick, Prince of Wales 16 July 1731 Page 206
Frederick, Prince of Wales 21 July 1731 Page 209
Frederick, Prince of Wales 6 November 1731 Page 266
Frederick, Prince of Wales 8 November 1731 Page 338
Frederick, Prince of Wales 10 November 1731 Page 342
King George II 18 June 1733 Page 395
Felton Hervey 30 September 1731. Page 193
‘Cornet Hervey’ [Henry] 21 December 1731. Page 275
Thomas Hervey 1733 Page 442
Benjamin Hoadley [Bishop of Salisbury] 20 July 1733 Page 403
Benjamin Hoadley [Bishop of Salisbury] 28 July 1733 Page 410
Benjamin Hoadley [Bishop of Salisbury] 14 August 1733 Page 418
Benjamin Hoadley [Bishop of Salisbury] 6 September 1733 Page 425
Dr Middleton 25 July 1733 Page 405
Dr Middleton 6 September 1733 Page 422
Dr Middleton 15 November 1733 Page 440
Dr Middleton Ref. to Voltaire Page 441
Dr Middleton 1 June 1734. Page 461
Dr Middleton 19 November 1734 Page 464
Dr Middleton 21 November 1734 Page 468
Dr Middleton 26 November 1734 Page 471
Dr Middleton 10 April 1735 Page 501
Dr Middleton 9 October 1735 Page 524
Dr Middleton 29 November 1735 Page 562
Dr Middleton 22 October 1737 Page 615
Col Norton [MP for Bury St. Edmunds] 18 September 1733 Page 431
The Prince of Orange 29 January 1734 Page 456
Lord Poulett 8 July 1735 Page 503
Duke of Richmond 11 November 1732 Page 362
Duke of Richmond 18 July 1733 Page 400
Duke of Richmond 27 December 1733 Page 450
The Princess Royal 24 January 1735 Page 480
‘Mr Selwyn’ [George Augustus Selwyn] 15 October 1733. Page 435
Sir Robert Smyth [husband of Lady Louisa Hervey] 28 September 1731 Page 188
Sir Robert Smyth [husband of Lady Louisa Hervey] 7 October 1731 Page 195
Horace, 1st Lord Walpole of Wolterton 29 August 1735 Page 509
Horace, 1st Lord Walpole of Wolterton 9 September 1735 Page 517
Horace, 1st Lord Walpole of Wolterton 29-18 November 1735 Page 547
Sir Robert Walpole undated Page 593
‘Alderman Wright’ [of Bury St. Edmunds] 22 August 1733 Page 421
Lord Chancellor 25 December 1735. Page 573

The letters from Voltaire are likely to be D652 & D455.

Lord Hervey begins by thanking Voltaire for the copy of d’Alzire that he had sent him, noting that he very much approves of the preface, found ‘l’Epitre à madame de Chatelet’ incomparable, and the tragedy itself the most beautiful of all Voltaire’s works. He writes that the subject is new and without the slightest absurdity, noting that there is a lot in the characters that an audience is unaccustomed to yet nothing that shocks. He then discusses Mr. Algarotti, who has been tasked with sending the letter to Voltaire, praising his vivacity, good taste, and accuracy of mind. Lord Hervey then returns to d’Alzire, noting that the Queen had read the tragedy before Voltaire had sent him a copy, but that her edition lacked the Epitre. He adds that the Queen approved of the play but felt herself deserving of the praises given to Madame du Chatelet. He then writes that he is glad to hear that Voltaire has obtained permission to return to Paris, but warns him against doing anything that would attract a third exile.

French verses titled: A Madame La marquise Duchastelet; Le mondain; Deffense du Mondain; La mule du pape. Cf. mention of Voltaire’s verses in Lord Hervey’s letters, 941/47/4, p.439, 614.

The miscellany includes: P.1: Copy [c1700], endorsed ‘Coppie Letter Queen Katherine to King Henry being gone in an Expedition to France’
p.5: Copy [c.1800] endorsed: ‘Princess Mary’s letter to the Lord Admiral…’ [c1547]
p.9: Copy [c.1700] of letter from Lady Brian, governess to Princess Elizabeth, to Lord Cromwell [c1536]
p.13: Copy [c1700] of Wm. Cecil’s declaration on his actions after the death of Edward VI
p.17: Copy [c1700] of letter from Elizabeth to Mary, nd
p.19: Copy [c.1700] of letter from Elizabeth to Mary, 1558
p.23: Copy [c.1730] of letter from Elizabeth to Protector, Somerset, 21 February
p.27: Copy [c.1700] of letter from Elizabeth to Somerset, 7 March
p.31: Copy [c.1720] of letter ‘from Sir Henry Sydney to his son, Sir Philip Sydney’, nd
p.35: Letter to Nicholas Hardinge (Clerk to the House of Commons) from on the origin of the King’s Champion, 1734
p.39: Copy [c1750] of letter from M. de Fenelon to the Duke of Burgundy
p.43: Copy [c1750] of letter from King Stanislaus to his daughter, nd
p.51: Copy of letter from Voltaire to Mme. Denis, 1753
p.55: Verses, endorsed: Rondeau de Fontenelle sur le systeme cartesien
p.59: Verses on Mme. de Pompadour, by Fontenelle
p.61: Copy of letter from Voltaire to Rousseau, 1755, with reply
p.69: ‘Epitre de Voltaire en arrivant dans sa terre pres du lac Leman’, 1755
p.73: Verses, endorsed: ‘Voltaire a sa maison, 1755’, [in Lady Hervey’s hand]
p.75: ‘Supply and Ways and Means 1757’ [detailed estimate]
p.79: Letter from M. Gottched on the King of Prussia, 1757
p.83: Letter from Voltaire to M. D’Argent, 1758
p.88: ‘Supply of 1758’ [detailed estimate]
p.89: Copy of verses sent to the King of Prussia by his sister, 1758
p.91: ‘Supply for 1759’
p.96: ‘Supply for 1760’
p.97: ‘Verses of Voltaire to the President Renault, 1760’
p.99: ‘Vers de Voltaire – 1762’
p.103: Verses on Mme. d’Egmont
p.105: Epitaph on Mme. de Pompadour
p.107: Copy of above
p.111: Tragedy of Persifle (in French verse)
p.119: French verses
p.121: Letter to Lady Harvey from Mme. d’Estille[?]
p.125: Copy [by Lady Hervey[?] of French epigram on Marshal Soubise
p.127: French verses on Mme. du Deffand
p.129: French verses on Cupid, entitled ‘Enigme’
p.133-139: French verses
p.141: Verses, ‘a Madame de Clermont D’Amboise’
p.143: Endorsed by Lady Hervey: Vers de l’Abbe de Voisenon
p.145: Copy of undated letter from the King of Prussia to ‘my Lord Marshall’, [in French]
p.149: Verses by Voltaire and the Chevalier de Bouflers, 1765
p.153: Copy of letter from Voltaire to M. Thomas, 1765
p.157: Verses ‘A Mademoiselle Clairon’ by Voltaire. [printed paper]
p.161: Letter (partly in verse) from Voltaire to Tronchin, 28 April
p.165: Verses: ‘Epitre de M. de Voltaire au Roy de Prusse’
p.169: ‘Epitre de Volterre [sic] au Marechall de Richelieu’
p.173: ‘Verses: ‘M. de Voltaire au Roi de Prusse’
p.177: ‘Vers de M. de Voltaire au Cardinal Quirini’ [Querini]
p.181: Les Torts [Copy by Lady Hervey, endorsed by der: ‘de Voltaire’]
p.185: ‘Vers a mademoiselle de liveri’. [endorsed: ‘Epitre de Voltaire’]
p.189-197: Verses by Voltaire
p.201: ‘Voltaire a sa maison’