Rousseau served as secretary to Count Montaigu, the ambassador of France in
Venice, from September 1743 to August 1744. In that capacity, he wrote a series of
diplomatic notes. See J.-J. Rousseau, "Depeches de Venise," in Oeuvres Completes,
Vol. m (Paris: Gallimard, 1964), pp. 1045-1234