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

The letter opens with seven lines of verse known as ‘À Monsieur de Chennevières’.

This copy of the letter is limited to the verse, known as ‘Vers sur Monsieur S[ilhouette], contrôleur général’ and a few words of the prose. It is dated 8 August 1759 and is said to have been written from Paris. Other copies of the text, however, give the date as 26 May 1759 and claim to have been written from Les Délices instead.

The present whereabouts of this MS are unknown.

The present whereabouts of this MS are unknown.

The letter contains a poem known as ‘À Madame Du Bocage’.

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.

In the letter, Voltaire notes that as soon as Émilie du Châtelet has finished her great business, he will have no more pressing matters than to take advantage of the kindnesses of the Prince and Princess. He ends by asking them to accept his deepest respects. The letter is dated 15 August 1749.

The poem preceding the letter was written by Voltaire whilst in Lorraine, likely between February and December 1748. In it, he praises Lunéville and the pleasures he experienced there amongst the wise. The final lines of the poem have been heavily corrected. Besterman suggests that they may have been transcribed from the autograph original (CMV34556) which is similarly revised.