may not this too,--in the present state of my King, of my Two
Kings, and of all Europe,--be itself a kind of spheral thing?"
So that the aquiline lightning was but momentary; and abated to
lambent twinklings, with something even of comic in them, as we
shall gather. Voltaire had his difficulties with Valori, too;
"What interloping fellow is this?" gloomed Valori, "A devoted
secretary of your Excellency's; on his honor, nothing more!"
answered Voltaire, bowing to the ground:--and strives to behave as
such; giving Valori "these poor Reports of mine to put in cipher,"
and the like. Very slippery ice hereabouts for the adroit man!
His reports to Amelot are of sanguine tone; but indicate, to the
by-stander, small progress; ice slippery, and a twinkle of the
comic. Many of them are lost (or lie hidden in the French Archives,
and are not worth disinterring): but here is one, saved by
Beaumarchais and published long afterwards, which will sufficiently
bring home the old scene to us. In the Palace of Berlin or else of
Potsdam (date must be, 6th-8th September, 1743), Voltaire from his
Apartment hands in a "Memorial" to Friedrich; and gets it back with
Marginalia,--as follows:

"Would your Majesty be pleased to have the kind condescension
(ASSEZ DE BONTE) to put on the margin your reflections and orders."

MEMORIAL BY VOLTAIRE.
"1. Your Majesty is to know that the Sieur Bassecour [signifies
BACKYARD], chief Burghermaster of Amsterdam, has come lately to beg
M. de la Ville, French Minister there, to make Proposals of Peace.
La Ville answered, If the Dutch had offers to make, the King his
master could hear them.