As explained above, the text of this song changed so much in the course of its transmission that no single version can be accepted as definitive. I have located nine manuscript copies:

1. Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, ms. 11690, ff. 67-68. This is the copy found in the pockets of Guyard during his interrogation in the Bastille. It is entitled "Echos de la cour. Chanson" and has verses numbered 1 through 20; but verses 5, 6, and 7 are missing.

2. Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, ms. 11683, fo. 134. This is the older of the two copies seized by the police during the search of Pidansat de Mairobert's apartment. It is entitled "L'Etat de la France, sur l'air Mon amant me fait la cour," and it has 11 verses.

3. Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, ms. 11683, fo. 132. This copy, also from Mairobert's dossier in the archives of the Bastille, contains more recent verses, the older ones being indicated merely by their first lines. It is scribbled on a single sheet of paper without a title and contains 23 verses in all.

4. Bibliothèque Nationale, Chansonnier dit de Clairambault, ms. fr. 12717, pp. 1-3. This copy is entitled "Chanson sur l'air Quand mon amant me fait sa cour. Etat de la France en août 1747," and it contains 11 verses.

5. Bibliothèque Nationale, ms. fr. 12718. This copy, from the same chansonnier in the volume for 1748, is dated "août 1748." It has no title and includes only 6 verses, all of them new.

6. Bibliothèque Nationale, ms. fr. 12719. This copy comes from the next volume of the same chansonnier and is dated "février 1749." It lacks a title but is identified as a "suite" of the earlier song, and it includes 11 verses, some of them new.

7. Bibliothèque historique de la ville de Paris, ms. 648, pp. 393-396. This copy in the volume of a chansonnier for 1745-1748 is entitled "Chanson satirique sur les princes, princesses, seigneurs et dames de la cour sur l'air Dirai-je mon Confiteor." It has 15 verses.

8. Bibliothèque historique de la ville de Paris, ms. 649, pp. 70-74. This copy comes from the next volume of the same chansonnier and is entitled "Chanson sur l'air Ah! le voila, ah! le voici." It has 11 verses, some of them new.

9. Bibliothèque historique de la ville de Paris, ms. 580, ff. 248-249. This copy comes from another chansonnier. It lacks a title, except for the word "Air" and is dated "octobre 1747" in the left margin, which also contains elaborate notes identifying all the persons satirized. It contains 12 verses.

Two other versions of the text, each different and different from the above, have been printed: one in Emile Raunié, Chansonnier historique du XVIIIe siècle (Paris, 1879-1884), VII, pp. 119-127; the other in Recueil dit de Maurepas: pièces libres, chansons, épigrammes et autres vers satiriques (Leiden, 1865), VI, pp. 120-122.

As an example of how the text changed in the course of its transmission, here are several versions of the verse satirizing the maréchal de Belle-Isle:

1. Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, ms. 11690, fo. 67

Que notre moulin à projets
Ait vu dans sa molle indolence
A la honte du nom français
Le Hongrois ravager la Provence

2. Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, ms. 11683, fo. 134

Que notre héros à projets
Ait vu dans la lâche indolence
A la honte du nom français
Le Hongrois piller la Provence

3. Bibliothèque Nationale, ms. 12717, p. 1

Que notre héros à projets
Ait vu dans sa lâche indolence
A la honte du nom français
Le Hongrois piller la Provence

4. Bibliothèque Nationale, ms. 12719, p. 83

Que notre moulin à projets
Ait vu dans sa molle indolence
A la honte du nom français
Les Hongrois quitter la Provence

5. Bibliothèque historique de la ville de Paris, ms. 648, p. 393

Que notre héros à projets
Ait vu dans sa lâche indolence
A la honte du nom français
Les Hongrois piller la Provence

6. Bibliothèque historique de la ville de Paris, ms. 649, p. 70

Que notre moulin à projets
Ait vu dans sa molle indolence
A la honte du nom français
Les Hongrois quitter la Provence

7. Bibliothèque historique de la ville de Paris, ms. 580, fo. 248

Que notre héros à projets
Ait vu dans sa lâche indolence
A la honte du nom français
Les Hongrois piller la Provence

A Conceptual Problem
Policing a Poem
A Communication Network
Ideological Danger?
Court Politics
Crime and Punishment
A Missing Dimension
The Larger Context
Poetry and Politics
Oral Communication
Chansonniers
Reception
A Diagnosis
Public Opinion

Appendix I: The Songs and Poems Distributed by the Quatorze
Appendix II: Texts of "Qu'une bätarde de catin"
Appendix III: Poetry and the Fall of Maurepas
Appendix IV: The Trail of the Quatorze

Notes

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