Pierre-Charles-François PORQUET (1723-1796) poet and abbot, - Lot 290

Pierre-Charles-François PORQUET (1723-1796) poet and abbot, tutor to Boufflers and chaplain to King Stanislas in Lunéville. 4 L.A., [1770, and one s.d.], to his friend François-Antoine Devaux; 4 pages in-4 and 6 pages oblong in-8 (traces of mounting). Attached is an interesting autograph letter from Léopold Desmarest (1708-1747) to Devaux, March 12, 1736; literary news (Voltaire's Alzire, Destouches' comedies, Marivaux's novels, l'abbé de La Mare chez Voltaire...). Beautiful letters with poems to his beloved "Pampan". Much about his patron, the Marquise de Boufflers. [François-Antoine Devaux (1712-1796), known as Panpan or Pampan, was a charming poet from Lorraine and a fixture at the court of Lunéville]. February 1st. He read Pampan's verses with Mme de B.: "It seems to me that I like them all much more than anyone else. I would give them some preference over your old ones, except for the placet, which yields to nothing. I wouldn't deviate from Mme de B.'s sentiment to a certain extent, in relation to her fears for the future. He is happy, moreover, to have only the abundance of good things to fear"... And he copies two quatrains addressed to the Bishop of Orléans, from whom he asks for help for his "poor family"... - August 17, on the subject of Mme de B.'s reconciliation with the Prince with the Prince; Mme du Deffand and a letter with verses she received from Voltaire, in which he says "a lot of bad things about Rousseau"; a performance of La Harpe's Mélanie ou la Religieuse in Gonesse: "Mélanie's convent was a pretty little country house belonging to two demoiselles de Verrières, one of whom once belonged to the Maréchal de Saxe". Copies two poems "that we keep very secret" concerning Baron d'Holbach's Système de la nature and Mme du Deffand... - August 29. Explanations on previous verses. He goes to read Voltaire's pamphlet refuting the System of Nature: "I doubt that the defense is as strong as the attack. I have seen particular letters from V. where he seems very shocked by this System, which destroys part of his own, but where he cannot help showing how much he values it"... Attached is an interesting autograph letter from Léopold Desmarest (1708-1747) to Devaux, March 12, 1736; literary news (Voltaire's Alzire, Destouches' comedies, Marivaux's novels, l'abbé de La Mare chez Voltaire...).