Voltaire discusses his comedy writing, particularly in relation to his ‘Moors’. He notes that he has received d’Argental’s draft of the third act and thanks him for ‘aiding the weaknesses’ of his imagination, though he begs him not to imitate the Italian actors. Voltaire then discusses fireworks, claiming that the use fireworks for the sake of it imitates the Italians, but to use them to explain a secret and unravel a plot seemed to be a good use of them. He then provides some critical remarks on act one, commenting on the plot and music, and noting areas where he feels he is not immitating anyone else. He adds that d’Argental felt that there were two themes to the act: tenderness and comedy. He counters d’Argental’s claims that the act is comedic, noting that the scene between the princess and her confidante is one of the ‘least bad’ of the whole work. Voltaire concludes by saying that the whole play will be a beautiful spectacle but that the prologue must be given to Rameau. He adds that he would rather discuss things in person but that that would mean either d’Argental travelling to Cirey or Voltaire travelling to Paris so large packages will have to do instead.