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her zeal, and expressed her sorrow that such an acci-dent should happen while she was his guest. On this,Voltaire became furious: “ No tergiversation, madam,”he cried. “ You sent the canto ! ” Her counter-asse-verations were of no avail —■ she believed herself themost unlucky person in the world that the suspicionshould fall on her. In vain she protested. Voltaire at 1length asserted that Devaux had read the canto sentby her to various persons, and that madame du Chate-let had the proof in her pocket: her justification wasnot attended to by the angry poet, who declared that hewas irretrievably ruined. In the midst of this fright-ful scene, which had lasted an hour, madame duChatelet burst into the room : her violence, herabuse, and insulting expressions overwhelmed herpoor guest. Voltaire in vain endeavoured to calm her.At length madame de Graffigny was informed of thecause of the tumult and accusation ; she was shown thephrase in her correspondent’s letter,—“ The canto ofc Joan’ is charming—she understood and explained itsmeaning. Voltaire believed her on the instant, andmade a thousand apologies. His friend was lessplacable. Madame de Graffigny was obliged to promiseto write for her own letter containing the account ofthe canto of the poem, to prove her innocence. Shedid this ; and till it came all her letters were opened :she was treated with haughtiness by the lady, andremained shut up in her own room, solitary and sad ;for, to crown her misfortunes, the poor woman had nota sous in the world, and could not escape from a placewhere she was exposed to so much insult. At lengthher letter was returned. Madame du Chatelet tookcare to waylay it, and satisfied herself by reading it;and then, a few days after, she apologised to her unfor-tunate guest; and, fearful, indeed, of her ill report onthe subject, became remarkably civil and kind. Vol-taire conducted himself much better. “ I believe,”madame de Graffigny writes, “ that he was entirelyignorant of the practice of opening my letters ; he