ABSTRACT
Madame du Chatelet was in many respects a remarkable woman and an ideal mistress for a man of letters. Her knowledge and accomplishments, though less extensive than Monsieur de Voltaire fondly believed, were considerable and prevented her from boring others or herself. If she was eventually unfaithful to Voltaire, she managed to keep on friendly terms with him even when he found it out. Her greatest trouble with him was the necessity of watching his correspondance with Frederick the Great who had made up his mind to bring Voltaire to Germany permanently. Voltaire was delighted with his reception and yet, when he and Frederick parted, discovery of their mutual treachery had destroyed their first full confidence—for ever. On the return journey, Voltaire stayed a fortnight at Bayreuth, flirting poetically with the Margravine ; he also spent a few days at the Court of Brunswick—minor infidelities which distressed the Marquise even more than the triumphs at Potsdam and Berlin.
