SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE TO APPENDIX I., P. 363. As disputes are at this time rife in Paris concerning the remains of Voltaire, it may not be out of place here to add, that, twelve years after Voltaire found a resting-place at Scellières, his body was claimed by the revolutionists in Paris. To assure themselves that it was really contained in the coffin which had been buried, the lid was raised, and there, for the moment, was once more seen the patriarch of philosophy, who, embalmed, had resisted the effect of time; but sudden exposure to the air caused the body, almost instantaneously, to change its aspect. The coffin, however, was transported with much pomp to the Panthéon in Paris. Doubts were subsequently raised as to whether the heart of Voltaire was in truth enclosed in the urn which was declared to contain it, enshrined at his château of Ferney, which had been purchased by the Marquis de Villette, of Madame Denis; but the fact of Dr. Tronchin having assisted at the deathbed of Voltaire confirmed the state VOL. II. CC SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE. ment of M. de Villette and others upon this point. Tronchin was one of the first in France to advocate dissection of the human body after death, and Voltaire's pen had maintained the supposed materializing doctrine of his physician, in upholding against the clergy the scientific necessity of this practice. A few words may be welcome here with regard to the Marquis de Villette (who was the disciple both of Voltaire and Tronchin). He was born in Paris, 1736. From his father he inherited a large fortune, and from his mother the love of Voltaire, an intimate friendship having subsisted between her and that philosopher. The young Marquis distinguished himself as an officer of cavalry during the Seven Years' War; and, after the peace, rendered himself notorious by a duel, which led to his incarceration in the citadel of Strasbourg. Subsequently, he took refuge at Ferney, in the neighbourhood of Voltaire, and, in 1777, married Mademoiselle de Varicourt ('Belle et Bonne'), Voltaire's adopted daughter. In 1788, de Villette published a “Choix des Mémoires Secrets de Bachaumont" (of which liberal use has been made in the course of the Narrative), and at a later date he contributed revolutionary articles to the journal known as the “ Chronique de Paris." In 1792, he caused his son to be baptized by the names of Voltaire Villette, and having suffered much from the attacks of Marat and of Robespierre, he died in 1793. His wife (born in 1757), who had, since the death of Voltaire, much cause to lament the licentious life of her husband, was not only the daughter of a family loyal to the Church and Crown, but of a singularly pure and religious nature. Not until after the death of Voltaire did she know that he was the author of works she considered heretical, if not impious; but so great was her veneration for his memory, that none the less did she 66 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE. continue, until the end of her life, to burn incense, daily, be- ERRATA. VOL. I. PREFACE, page 7, line 10, Parenthesis omitted be- 9, for first read created Lord Chatham. Page 34 (foot-note); for ben read bon. 42 ; for Portarlier read Pontarlier. 32 and 244; for Abbe read Abbé. 276; for near read at Ferney. ,, 305 and 306; for Boncher read Boucher. VOL. II. Page 119; for Capucins read Capuchins. N Admiral, the Count d'Orvilliers 0 The Chevalier de la Luzerne 369 370 373 To be had at all the Libraries, in two vols., post 8vo, with Portraits, 21s., bound, THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE COURT OF FRANCE UNDER LOUIS XV. FROM RARE AND UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS. Opinions of the Press. "These volumes are very useful and valuable contributions to the history of France during one of its most important epochs. They are, moreover, entertaining to the general reader, as well as highly instructive to the student."-Observer. "A valuable and interesting work. It unites the fascination of a romance with the integrity of history."-Chronicle. "The author could not have chosen a period of French history less known to the English reader or more fraught with interest than that embraced by these volumes. Much as French history has been explored, little has been said of this epoch except to give those general features with which we are familiar. 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