spected the nature of the theft. The deficiency being no longer
doubtful, I looked over my rough drafts to see whether or not it was the
only one. I found several, which on account of the badness of my memory,
made me suppose others in the multitude of my papers. Those I remarked
were that of the 'Morale Sensitive', and the extract of the adventures of
Lord Edward. The last, I confess, made me suspect Madam de Luxembourg.
La Roche, her valet de chambre, had sent me the papers, and I could think
of nobody but herself to whom this fragment could be of consequence; but
what concern could the other give her, any more than the rest of the
letters missing, with which, even with evil intentions, nothing to my
prejudice could be done, unless they were falsified? As for the
marechal, with whose friendship for me, and invariable integrity, I was
perfectly acquainted, I never could suspect him for a moment. The most
reasonable supposition, after long tormenting my mind in endeavoring to
discover the author of the theft, that which imputed it to D'Alembert,
who, having thrust himself into the company of Madam de Luxembourg, might
have found means to turn over these papers, and take from amongst them
such manuscripts and letters as he might have thought proper, either for
the purpose of endeavoring to embroil me with the writer of them, or to
appropriate those he should find useful to his own private purposes. I
imagined that, deceived by the title of Morale Sensitive, he might have
supposed it to be the plan of a real treatise upon materialism, with
which he would have armed himself against me in a manner easy to be
imagined. Certain that he would soon be undeceived by reading the sketch
and determined to quit all literary pursuits, these larcenies gave me but
little concern. They besides were not the first the same hand

[I had found in his 'Elemens de Musique' (Elements of Music)
several things taken from what I had written for the 'Encyclopedie',
and which were given to him several years before the publication of
his elements. I know not what he may have had to do with a book
entitled 'Dictionaire des Beaux Arts' (Dictionary of the Fine Arts)
but I found in it articles transcribed word for word from mine, and
this long before the same articles were printed in the
Encyclopedie.]

had committed upon me without having complained of these pilferings. In
a very little time I thought