TWO SIGNATURES OF MARIE ANTOINETTE ON A WARRANT, OCTOBER, 1783.
A.L.S. OF NAPOLEON III. TO LORD ALFRED PAGET FROM WILHELMSHOHE, OCTOBER 29, 1870.
In the early part of the nineteenth century MSS. of every description were sold at prices which now seem incredible. Miss Berry tells us that the "Deffand collection of letters and documents consisting of 1 folio of œuvres de Boufflers; 1 do. of letters from different persons; 2 do. of letters from Voltaire to Madame de Deffand; 1 do. Journal of do.; 1 do. divers ouvrages of do.; 5 large bundles of manuscript papers; 1 packet containing several hundred letters from Voltaire, Rousseau, Delille, Montesquieu, de Staël, Walpole, Henault, and 7 large packets containing 800 letters from Madame de Deffand to Horace Walpole were sold in one lot to Dyce Sombre for £157." Lucky Nabob! I may say without indiscretion that the single letter from Napoleon to Talleyrand mentioned at the opening of this chapter obtained a better price. Letters of Voltaire are worth from £1 to £5 each. I gave 10 francs for the apothecary's account for the embalming of his body prior to its inhumation in the Pantheon. The following letter in English from Voltaire to Lord Chesterfield—certainly a rarity—cost me £3 3s.:—
Voltaire to the Earl of Chesterfield.
À FERNEY PAR GENEVE,
5 August 1761.
my Lord,—give me leave to apply from the foot of the Alps to the english nobleman whose wit is the most adapted to the taste of every nation. j have in my old age a sort of conformity with you. tis not in point of wit, but in point of ears, mine are much hard too. the consolation of deaf people is to read, and sometimes to scribble. j have as a scribbler, made a prety curious commentary on many tragedies of corneille. t'is my duty since the gran daughter of corneille is in my house.
if there was a gran daughter of Shakespear j would subscribe for her. j hope those who take ponticheré will take subscriptions too. the work is prodigeously cheap and no money is to be given but at the reception of the book