[The Hague, 27 May 1772

I cannot resist, my dear benefactor, the temptation of offering you my homage from this Batavian country, where I have come to see my son.
I find here an anecdote which deserves not to be forgotten in ecclesiastical chronicles, and a trait of wisdom on the part of the magistrates of Amsterdam which should not be ignored. You will have heard that a fire has reduced the theatre of this town to ashes, and that a large number of persons have perished. Here is the text which was chosen the very day of the fire by a Dutch minister, and from which he preached his sermon on the morrow, knowing that the magistrates had already decided to forbid preaching on the occasion of this catastrophe:

Amos, chapter vi, verses 9 and 10. 'And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. And when a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No: Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the lord.'

It is, however, right to tell you that I have this from a member of the clergy who is my friend, who considers it an excess of zeal on the part of his colleague; and that this same man made an excellent sermon while I was at the Hague, preaching the simplest and the most edifying morals, which would have satisfied you.

It is said — merely a rumour — that during the fire a Dutch minister ran about the streets crying to those who were hastening to give assistance: Laet si maer branden, het sijnd deufeln kinderen.

An excess of fanaticism counterbalanced by an excess of libertinage is what I have found greatly increased in this country. I do not know if misery is the cause, but the streets are swarming with very young and very pretty girls, who offer their charms to passers-by. I confess that, without succumbing, these complexions so fresh and so natural have much improved my eyesight, fatigued by the rouge and the excessive art of our Frenchwomen, among whom the corps des filles has played so considerable and so revolting a part for some time past.

I beg you, sir, not to quote from any portion of my letter about this misery which I relate to you, and never to allow my good priest to know that I sent you the text of his colleague's sermon.

I return to my regiment through Paris, where I shall call upon m. le comte de Rochefort, to know if he has anything to send to you. I shall also see m. d'Argental, and if I find the means I shall make a detour of thirty leagues in order to spend a few hours at Ferney, on June 11 or 12. I must be at Huningen on the night of the 15th.

Continue your kindness to me, and accept my very humble and tender homage.]