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 was such as the high society of the time did not approve. When Voltaire was again dining with the Duke a few days afterwards, he was induced to leave the table by a false message, and descending to the courtyard of the hotel, found there this Rohan-Chabot, who, having brought with him some ruffians armed with sticks, directed them to seize and chastise Voltaire. This accomplished, the party drove away. Burning with rage, the poet rushed back to the dining-room, and called on the Duke of Sully to take a host's part in avenging the outrage. But the Duke preferred to remain neutral (for which reason the name of his ancestor was expunged from the "Henriade," and that of Duplessis-Mornay substituted); and Voltaire, unable of himself to procure redress against a nobleman, challenged Rohan to fight, in terms that he could not evade. The bully, seeming to accept the challenge, made it known to his wife, and his friends obtained from the minister of the young king (the Regent had made a highly characteristic exit from the world in 1723) another order for Voltaire's committal to the Bastille. He remained there six months, and was only liberated on condition that he quitted France.

He chose England for his place of exile, and brought with him excellent introductions. Lord Bolingbroke, then in banishment, had married a French lady, and owned a beautiful place near Orleans—of a visit to which, and of its lord, Voltaire gives an enthusiastic account in a letter to Thiriot. Bolingbroke reciprocated the esteem, warmly praised "Œdipe" and the "Henriade," and recommended him to his friends. These and other such advantages, joined to his charming address and his wit, placed him in the best society of the time, which was the