[Paris] 14 avril 1732
You are my friend, you love liberty, you have a thinking soul; therefore England must please you.
J am not surprised you like mr de Chavigny, he is one of these men born to engratiate themselves everi where, to humour the dull german, to sooth the haughty english, to converse with the french, to negotiate with the subtle italian. J know he was highly beloved by the late King Georges, and all his court. T'is not my business to guess whether he is charged to day with so favourable a commission as he was formerly. But whatever will be the foot upon which he treats now with the english, sure j am his person will be very acceptable tho is comission should not. J do not question but you have seen all those whom you have asked letters for. J hope my lord Bolingbrooke, mr Pope, mr Gay, mylord Harvey, mr Pultney are yr friends by this time. Sure you talk english with them; and the first letter j shall receive from you will be entirely english. You'll tell me whom you like best, Ben Jonson or Congreve or Vanbruk or Wicherly. You'll set up for a judge between Dryden, Pope, Adisson and Prior. In the mean time if you remember something of the french poetry, j'll tell you j have made three acts entirely new which will be acted in a very few days, J hope Eriphile by these means will rear up her head even above the sacred laurels of Jephté. But J have a more gallant work to perform. Yesterday mr Ballot came to see me, and carried me to mr Lancret's, where j saw a very prety picture which represents the most charming nun of Diana who ever trod the stage. Mrs Salle's picture is as it should be, better than that of Camargo. Yet j require something again in the likeness which is not perfect. The verses which are to be engraved under the print should be better too than those of mr Lafaye made for Camargo but j will not fight it against the young Bernard's amiable muse. He is a very assiduous courtier to mrs Sallé, he must sing the nimph whom he sees every day. For my part j had not the good luk to find her at home all these days. J went thither three or four times, she was allways out. J design to go to day and to talk much of you with yr divinity.
Now a word about some other afairs. First J entreat you not to show Julius Cesar before j have sent you many alterations j have made in this poem. If you please jll send you by the surest way the new Eriphile with a compliment in rhimes which Dufrene will recite at the ouverture of the french theatre.
There's another Business which J have exceedingly at heart. The plates of the Henriade great and small, are in the hands of the book seller Woodman who lives Russel street, Covent garden. If you could buy them at a reasonable rate, t'voud be a notable service to me. J know they want to be work'd again by some able hand, and that j will take care of at Paris. Woodman could not make any use of those plates, and they are necessary to me for the great edition of the Henriade which j design to print at Paris. You must not let him suspect you have any great desire to have these plates, nor that you set a great value upon them. T'will be an easy matter to you to buy them very cheap. Jll send you the money by the banker you shall apoint.
Forgive me if j have not seen mrs Salé oftner. Eriphile engrossed all my time and my thoughts, but now j am free from tragik fopperies j intend to pay my court often to true and modest virtu. Farewell my friend, jll drink yr health to day with mesdames Tilly et Berenger. The old countess is just the same woman you left, and j yr the same friend.
V.