Voltaire writes that he is currently hosting the recipient’s son at Ferney and that he would be failing his duty if he did not write to de Plessis to tell him how much his son seemed to be imbued with a respectful tenderness that he owes to his father, the recipient. Voltaire adds that he was charmed to find all the honest feelings in his heart with the merit and graces of his mind, but that he may have abused the privilege of old age by informing the son of a fault he may have committed, assuring de Plessis that the more the son feels his mistake, the less de Plessis should feel it. He continues by saying that the son tells himself enough that de Plessis’ kindness to him, his place, and his adventure demand of him the wisest conduct, and assures de Plessis that it is sometimes a ‘great happiness’ to make a few mistakes in one’s youth.