Voltaire quote in Mason and Dixon

[Damian Hey]

Hello, folks,
 
I need help finding the origin of a quote.
 
In Mason and Dixon, pg. 668, the infamous Mechanickal Duck reads a quote attributed to Voltaire.  The quote Pynchon writes in the novel is "...sans la voix de la Le More et le Canard de Vaucanson, vous n'auriez rien que fit ressouvenir de la gloire de la France."
 
Now, there are many folks throughout the web who translate the phrase "without the shitting duck of Vaucanson, there would be nothing to remember of the glory of France."  
No one, however, is good enough to say where and when, or to whom, he said this.
 
Beyond this, The "shitting duck" translation is not of the French phrase Pynchon wrote.  (I am aware that the actual duck Vaucanson built both ate and defecated, so "shitting duck" would be an apt phrase for Voltaire to use).  In the novel, Pynchon attributes the phrase to a letter written to the Count and Countess d'Argental, and indeed Voltaire wrote many letters to these folk.
 
I have a couple of questions:  1) Did Voltaire actually say or write something the same or similar to the two quotes up above, and if so, what was it (French is fine...)?
 
2) To whom did he say it, and in what context?  I need specifics -- letter date, recipient...
 
I appreciate any insight into this that you might have.
 
Best,
Damian 


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