Voltaire has added a postscript in his own hand.

The note reads:

L’empereur 100
l’impératrice 100.
mr de caunits 6
mr de voronsof 10
mr de la balle 4

The letter opens with nineteen lines of verse known as ‘Épître à Monsieur le Président Hénault’. The final seven words of the letter have been added in Voltaire’s hand.

The fragment gives l.16-27 of Act II Scene 2 only.

The poems consists of a quatrain. It was first published by Beuchot in 1833.

The poem would later be included in a letter from Voltaire to Nicolas-Claude Thieriot, written from Les Délices and dated 8 May 1758 [D7728].

The present whereabouts of this MS are unknown.

The letter contains a short poem known as ‘Aux habitants de Lyon’. It begins: ‘Il est vrai que Plutus est au rang de vos dieux.’