_”Any crisis which puts in peril all that society undertakes to secure
to us by its laws, uncovers our hearts to the world, strips our native
selfishness of all its disguises, and makes us appear to each other
pretty nearly as bad as we must always appear to the angels.”_
_Hon. John Bigelow in “Beaumarchais the Merchant.”_
De Francy Sails for America—His Disappointment in the New
World—Beaumarchais Recounts His Grievances against the Deputies
at Passy—Rejoices Over American Victories—Manœuvers to Insure
Safety to his Ships—The Depreciation of Paper Money in America—De
Francy Comes to the Aid of Lafayette—Contract between Congress
and De Francy Acting for Roderigue et Cie.—Letters of Lee to
Congress—Bad Faith of that Body—Deane’s Signature to Documents
Drawn up by Franklin and Lee—Beaumarchais’s Triumph at Aix—Gudin
Seeks Refuge at the Temple—Letters of Mlle. Ninon.
Theveneau de Francy arrived in the States the 1st of December, 1777. He
was the bearer of letters to Congress from Roderigue Hortalès et Cie.,
filled with polite reminders of the fact that great advances had been
made for arms, ammunition, etc., and that it was very important that
much tobacco should be returned as soon as possible. (Spark’s
_Diplomatic Correspondence_, Vol. 1, p. 112.)
De Francy, young and enthusiastic, had set out full of admiration for
the brave people with whom he had to deal. A little experience, however,
convinced him that it was no easy or brilliant task which lay before
him. On the 14th of December, two weeks after his arrival, he addressed
a lengthy letter to his superior, in which, after giving details of the
voyage, he proceeded to describe the condition of the country to which
he had come. He begged Beaumarchais to obtain for him a captain’s
certificate from the Ministry, “for,” he said disconsolately, “it is all
I am likely to get out of this enterprise. Government currency is in
such poor credit that the 28 per cent. you promised me, to-day is worth
only ½ per cent. The paper money is so discredited that merchants
prefer keeping their merchandise to selling it at any price for paper.
The farmers bring nothing to market, so that everything is selling at
the most extravagant prices; chickens sold for $25.00 after the capture
of Burgoyne. There is no doubt that what you have done has been
presented here in a false light. I expect to have many prejudices to
destroy, and many heads to set right, for the sending of several vessels
without invoices (a thing which, to tell the truth, is unprecedented)
and the errors found in the bills of lading of the _Amphitrite_
especially, have caused it to be suspected that the shipments were not
made for a merchant. I have explained to General Whipple the reason for
this apparent disorder, and have made him admit that it was inevitable.
Nevertheless, there were articles furnished at Havre, which differ so
widely from what was delivered, that the General told me that our
correspondent in this country is either a poor merchant or a swindler.
For example: on my invoice there are 62 boxes or barrels of tinned iron.
Captain Fautrelle has delivered but 41.... They have given him notice of
missing boxes, but will they ever arrive?”
In his second letter, written two days later, he announced that Silas
Deane had been recalled and John Adams appointed to replace him. He
recommended Beaumarchais to put his affairs in order and get his
accounts regulated at once, “for,” said he, “Mr. Adams has the
reputation of being the first statesman on the continent and he has in
fact an air, _extrêmement fin_. I fear that, aided by his colleagues, he
may be disposed to play sharp with you. Be on your guard.
“The Colonel Langdon thinks that the affair of the officers has had
something to do with the recall of Deane. I am almost sure that it is
the work of that famous politician of Spain and Berlin, Arthur Lee. It
is he in part who has alienated Doctor Franklin from you, and no doubt
he will do what he can to have his opinion adopted by Deane’s
successor.”
“I have not yet been able to obtain direct news of your nephew but I am
assured that he is in the Army and well placed, and that he has received
honorable mention. As to his contract with Deane, I warn you not to
reckon upon that. I do not doubt that he will obtain by his own merits,
the grades which Mr. Deane promised him, but Congress will give no heed
to a contract made with him. Mr. Deane has far exceeded his powers in
granting commissions to officers who were recommended to him in the
beginning of his sojourn in France. He had not even the right to make a
lieutenant, consequently nearly all who came out with commissions signed
by him, and who have not wished to serve until they were placed, have
been obliged to return. If M. du Coudray had not died, they would have
been greatly embarrassed to place him.... Almost all our officers who
brought letters of recommendation, and have conducted themselves well,
have advantageous places. La Rouërie is colonel and much esteemed. The
Marquis de Lafayette has been wounded in the leg. This did not prevent
his keeping the saddle, however, all day. He cried, ‘There, I am
wounded, now I am content.’”
In the meantime, Beaumarchais had written to de Francy from Paris, “I
profit, my dear Francy, of every occasion to send you news; let it be
the same with you, I beg of you. Although it is to-day the 20th of
December, 1777, my largest ship has not yet set sail; but this is the
common lot of all merchantmen destined for America. The ministry fears
that our commerce will take away too many sailors at a time when the
state may have need of them from one day to another. The most rigorous
orders have been given in all the ports, and especially in the ports
where I arm. It seems that the force and capacity of my ships have made
Lord Stormont attack the ministry in a way to make them fear that he
suspects them of favoring an operation, which in truth, is carried on
without them and in spite of them. Ready to set sail, my artillery has
been taken from me, and the delay in getting it back or in forming
another is what detains me in port. I struggle against obstacles of
every kind, but as I struggle with all my force, I hope to conquer with
patience, and courage and very much money. The enormous loss which all
this occasions me seems to touch no one. The minister is inflexible;
there is no one, even to Messrs. the deputies at Passy, who do not
pretend to the honor of thwarting me,—me—the best friend of their
country. At the arrival of my vessel, the _Amphitrite_, which at last
unloaded at Lorient a small cargo of rice and indigo, they had the
injustice to seize upon it, saying that it was sent to them and not to
me; but, as M. de Voltaire has very well said, ‘Injustice in the end
produces independence.’ They have very probably taken my patience for
weakness, and my generosity for stupidity. In proportion as I have been
attached to the interests of America, in so far I have been offended by
the dishonest liberties which the deputies of Passy have wished to take
with me. I have written them a letter of which I send you a copy, and
which they have left without reply up to the present. While waiting, I
have left the cargo in the hands of MM. Berard brothers, of Lorient, and
in so doing I have not believed myself to have deviated in any way from
the frank and generous attitude I always have maintained towards
Congress, but simply to use my legitimate right in regard to the first
and very small return which they make upon an enormous advance; that
cargo is worth about 150,000 livres. You can see the great difference
between that drop, and the ocean of the debt owing me.” (Note of
Loménie, “Franklin and Lee, who in this instance acted in spite of
Deane, did not dare insist, and the cargo remained for Beaumarchais.”)
“As for you, my dear, I suppose you have arrived and that you have
obtained from Congress a reasonable adjustment, such as the situation of
America permits them to give. I hope that following my instructions, you
have obtained and will continue to obtain much tobacco, and I expect
that my vessels will find their return cargoes ready to be embarked as
soon as they arrive where you are. I still hope that if events should
retard my vessels still longer, that you will send me at least by _le
Flammand_ a ... cargo that will deliver me from the horrible pressure in
which I find myself.
“I do not know whether I flatter myself, but I count upon the honesty
and equity of Congress as I count upon mine or yours. The deputies here
are not in comfortable circumstances, and pressing need often make men
indelicate; this is the way I explain the injustice which they tried to
do me. I do not despair even of winning them back to me by the
gentleness of my remonstrances and the firmness of my conduct.”
Loménie says, “This explanation may seem strange ... but the fact is
that the deputies from America received no more remittances from
Congress than Beaumarchais. Silas Deane had been obliged to borrow from
the latter the funds absolutely necessary for his personal expenses.
Arthur Lee tried later to make use of this fact to inculpate Deane ...
but it has been well proved that necessity alone forced Deane to
contract the debt. As for Franklin, he was a little richer when he
landed in France, because he wrote to his colleague, Silas Deane, from
Quiberon, December, 1776; ‘Our vessel has brought indigo to the value of
about 3000 pounds sterling which will be at our orders to pay our
expenses.’ ...
“During the year 1777, the French Government itself gave money at
different times to the deputies at Passy, up to the moment when it
passed to them, through the Banker Grand, the two millions, which were
used partly to support the agents and under-agents of America in France,
and partly to buy munitions for Congress.”
To return to Beaumarchais’s letter:
“It is very unfortunate my friend, for the cause of the colonies
that their interests in France have been confided to several
persons at once; a single one would have succeeded better. As for
what regards myself I must do M. Deane the justice to say that he
is ashamed and sorry both together, at the conduct of his
colleagues with me, of which the blame belongs entirely to M.
Lee.
“I am having trouble also with the provincial Congress of South
Carolina, and I wrote by L’Estargette to M. the President
Rutledge demanding justice from himself to himself. L’Estargette,
who will correspond with you, will inform you of the success
which follows my just demands.
“Across all these annoyances, the news from America overwhelms me
with joy. Brave, brave people! whose military conduct justifies
my esteem, and the beautiful enthusiasm felt for them in France.
In a word, my friend, I only want returns in order to be in a
condition to serve them anew, to meet all my engagements, so as
to be able to make others in their favor.
“It seems to me, from what I hear, that our French soldiers have
done wonders in all the battles in Pennsylvania. It would have
been a disgrace for me, for my country, for the name of a
Frenchman, if their conduct had not been equal to the nobility of
the cause they had espoused....
“The City of London is in a terrible commotion; the ministry at
bay—the opposition triumphant, and the King of France, like a
powerful eagle, hovering above all these events, reserves to
himself another moment of pleasure to see the two parties,
divided between the hope and fear of his decision, which will
have such a great weight in the quarrel of the two hemispheres.
“To prescribe to you your conduct when you are three thousand
miles from me would be foolishness ... serve me to the best of
your ability is the only way to render yourself useful to me, to
yourself, and to become interesting to the Americans themselves.
“Do as I do; despise small considerations, small measures, small
resentments. I have associated you in a magnificent cause; you
are the agent of a just and generous man. Remember that success
is always uncertain, that the money due me is at the risk of a
great concourse of events, but that my reputation is my own, as
you are to-day the artisan of yours. Let it be good my friend,
then all will not be lost, even if everything else should be. I
salute you, esteem you, and love you.”
In the postscriptum which follows, “we see Beaumarchais,” says Loménie,
“applying the resources of comedy to politics, and ingeniously
combining the means to elude the ministerial orders, as he would have
arranged a theatrical play.”
“Here,” wrote Beaumarchais in the postscriptum, “is what I have
thought out relative to my large vessel—_le Fier Roderigue_. I
must keep my word given to M. de Maurepas, that my ship is to
carry only seven or eight hundred soldiers to Santo Domingo, and
that I will return without touching the continent. Nevertheless,
its cargo is very valuable to Congress and to me; it consists in
ready made clothing for the soldiers, cloth, blankets, etc. It
carries an artillery of sixty-six bronze cannons, ... and much
other merchandise.
“After much thinking, it seems to me that you might arrange
secretly with the committee of Congress, to send two or three
American corsaires immediately to Santo Domingo. One of them will
send its gun-boat to Cape Francis ... then M. Carabasse
(Beaumarchais’s agent at the Cape) will go aboard her with M. de
Montaut, the captain of my vessel _le Fier Roderigue_. They will
arrange together that when my vessel sets out, the American
Corsaire will capture it under any pretext he chooses, and carry
it off. My captain will protest violently, and threaten to
complain to Congress. The vessel will be taken to where you are.
The Congress will disavow the brutal act, liberate my vessel,
with obliging excuses for the French flag; during the time this
takes, you will have unloaded the cargo quickly, and filled the
ship with tobacco, and you will send her back to me with just
what you have been able to gather together. As the bearer of
this, M. Carmichaël, returns directly, you will have time to
arrange this manœuver either with the Secret Committee of
Congress, or directly with a friendly and discreet corsair. By
this means, M. de Maurepas will be disengaged from his promise
made to others, I from mine to him, because no one can oppose
himself to violence, and my operation will have been successful
in spite of all the obstacles which cross my path.... My vessel
starts before the 15th of January. It bears orders to wait news
from you at Cape Francis. After all that I am doing, the Congress
cannot longer doubt, I hope, that the most zealous partisan of
the republic in France is your friend
“Roderigue Hortalès et Cie.”
Commenting upon the above letter, James Parton has written:
“Such was Caron de Beaumarchais; unique among merchants and men.
Whether it was by those or by other manœuvers that the ship was
enabled to reach America, no one has informed us. Certain it is
that she arrived safely at Yorktown, Virginia, and was loaded
with tobacco for her return. I trust M. de Maurepas was
satisfied.” (_Life of Franklin_, Vol. II, p. 271.)
The next letter in this series which has been preserved to us is from De
Francy and is dated May 14, 1778. In it he announced that it was the
twelfth since his arrival, all of which he feared had failed in reaching
their destination. Continuing his account of the disorderly consequences
of the depreciation of paper money, he said, “I have just extricated the
Marquis de Lafayette from a serious mistake into which he had fallen
unsuspectingly.
“You have, of course, heard of the excessive depreciation of paper
money. At one moment in Pennsylvania it reached the point of absolute
worthlessness. The expenses of the Marquis at this time, as he received
no pay, were absolutely enormous. He at first borrowed money on bills of
exchange at 2 for 1, afterwards at 3 for 1. He supposed that was
borrowing at the rate of $2 for $1 and $3 for $1; instead, the rate was
2 and 3 pounds Pennsylvania currency for 1 pound sterling. The pound
sterling was worth 34 shillings Pennsylvania currency. He had signed the
bills presented to him without reading them and his expenses far
exceeded the amount he supposed them to reach. I informed him of his
error and ... have advanced him very considerable sums on account of the
House ... my arrangement with him is that he shall reimburse the
principal in one year in Paris, paying 6 per cent., the same as Congress
allows you.”
The allowance of 6 per cent. made by Congress to Beaumarchais, to which
De Francy here alludes, had been settled in a contract drawn up the 6th
of April, 1778 duly signed, sealed and delivered to the indefatigable
agent, of which the following is the substance: (The contract in full is
given by Durand, p. 119-126 in his _New Material for the History of the
American Revolution_.)
“To whom it May Concern:
“Whereas, Roderigue Hortalès et Cie. have shipped or caused to be
shipped ... considerable quantities of cannon, arms, ammunition,
clothing, and other stores, most of which have been safely landed
in America ... and Whereas as Roderigue Hortalès et Cie., willing
and desirous to continue supplying those stores ... provided
satisfactory assumption be made and assurance given for the
payment in France of the just cost, charges, freight of the
cargoes already shipped as well as those to be hereafter
shipped....
“Now know ye that John Baptist Lazarus Theveneau de Francy, agent
of Peter Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, as representative of the
house of said Roderigue Hortalès et Cie., by him especially
appointed and empowered to act ... in virtue of the powers in him
trusted, to contract, agree and engage to and with M. Ellery,
Jas. Forbes, Wm. Henry Dayton, Wm. Hurer, Esq., a Committee of
commerce, properly appointed and authorized by the delegates of
the United States of America in Congress assembled to enter into,
execute, ratify and confirm this contract for and in behalf of
the said United States as follows:
“1st. That the cost and charges of the cargoes already shipped
shall be fairly stated in current prices ... at the date of
shipment.
“2nd. The freight to be charged agreeably to contract entered
into by Caron de Beaumarchais, Silas Deane, and M. Monthieu.
“3rd. All orders to be transmitted to Messrs. Roderigue Hortalès
et Cie. or their agents, subject to the inspection and control of
an agent appointed under the authority of Congress, who shall
have liberty to inspect the quality of such merchandise.
“4th. All articles hereafter shipped to be provided as nearly as
possible to order ... and not higher than the current price ...
attended with most moderate charges.
“5th. Good ships shall be chartered or bought at moderate price
for transportation of the stores.
“6th. That agents appointed under the authority of Congress,
shall have free liberty to inspect the quality, and require the
prices of all articles to be shipped for the account of the
United States, with power to reject such as they judge unfit or
too high priced; they shall also be party in the charters and
purchasing of ships to be employed in the service.
“7th. Bills on the House of Roderigue Hortalès et Cie., for
24,000,000 _livres tournois_, annually, shall be honored and
paid....
“In consideration whereof, the said William Ellery, James Forbes,
William Henry Dayton, William Durer, Esq., Committee of Commerce
for Congress ... agree and engage with Roderigue Hortalès et
Cie., by their said agent as follows:
“1st. That remittances shall be made by exports of American
produce ... for the express purpose of discharging the debt
already justly due, or thereafter to become justly due in
consequence of this agreement....
“2nd. That all cargoes ... for the discharge of said debt, be
addressed to Roderigue Hortalès et Cie.... subject to the
inspection and control of an agent appointed under the authority
of congress, who shall have liberty to inspect the quality of
such merchandise, assent to or reject the prices offered,
postpone the sales and do everything for the interests of his
constituents.
“3rd. That the customary interest of France not exceeding 6 per
cent. per annum shall be allowed on the debt already due, or that
from time to time, shall be due to the said Roderigue Hortalès et
Cie.
“4th. That any payments of Continental Currency in America ...
shall be computed at the current, and equitable course of
exchange at the date of payment ... and interest to be discounted
on the amount from that date.
“5th. That remittances to be made for the purpose of discharging
the debt now due, or to become due to the said Roderigue Hortalès
et Cie., shall be made at such times and seasons, as shall be
most convenient for the American interest, but are to continue
until the entire debt, principal and interest, shall be fully and
fairly discharged.
“6th. That a commission of 2½ per cent. shall be allowed to
the said Roderigue Hortalès et Cie.... on all charges and monies
paid and disbursed by them for the account of the United States.
“In witness whereof the contracting parties have hereunto set
their hands and seals, this 16th day of April in the year of our
Lord, 1778.
Signed: “William Ellery,
James Forbes,
William Henry Dayton,
William Durer,
Jean Baptiste Lazarus Theveneau de Francy.
Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of
Charles Thomson,
Secretary of Congress.”
[Illustration: ROBERT MORRIS]
Naturally enough, having obtained a contract of such precise
stipulations, signed, not as formerly, by an agent three thousand miles
from the seat of Congress, but by a committee chosen from the bosom of
that body, de Francy thought the greatest difficulty of his mission
already accomplished, and Beaumarchais, when he received the glad
tidings, set about with renewed vigor, the gathering together and
dispatching of supplies. The Americans, however, still found reasons for
delaying the fulfillment of their part of the contract; and it was only
after two more months of ceaseless activity that de Francy succeeded in
getting enough tobacco to freight the _Fier Roderigue_ for its return
voyage. Which cargo, the second that had reached Beaumarchais, was
destined when it arrived in France to be seized upon by Lee, as that of
the _Amphitrite_ had been, with the same results. In a letter to
Beaumarchais, June, 1778, de Francy announced the order which he had
received for the delivery of the tobacco, “The rest of the letter,” says
Bigelow, “is filled with complaints of the bad faith of these
republicans, who refuse him the vessels they had promised to carry off
his tobacco, and urges Beaumarchais to send out at least six himself.”
A letter dated July 11th is filled with still more bitter complaints.
“In spite of the most formal engagements,” he wrote, “these people find
the means of obstructing all business, the pretext for breaking promises
the most solemn.” In a word, he thinks it better to suspend business
until “laws better established put a bridle upon the bad faith which
reigns in the country.” A little later he wrote: “If this business were
to be continued, which I do not advise unless you have special reasons,
it would be one of the greatest commercial operations ever engaged in,
if one could only rely upon the good faith of these republicans. But
they have no principle and I desire sincerely to see all your accounts
closed with them.
“I believe Carmichaël is the only one who appreciates all you have done
for this country. He arrived at York two days ago, before I went to
Virginia. The moment of our meeting was one of the most agreeable that I
have passed in this country. We did not quit each other for two days.
During these two days, I rendered him a service by letting him into the
private character of all the members of Congress. I told him those who
were his friends, and those who were opposed to his nomination as
Secretary of Legation. In gratitude I hope he will serve you well.... I
made the President feel that your letter to M. Sartine clearly
demonstrated that the assertions of du Coudray and Lee were vile and
infamous lies. The force and energy of this letter astonished him. He
could not help saying to me that he would not have believed that anyone
could have written with such freedom to a minister in France....
“I believe Carmichaël is your friend; if I am mistaken, I never wish to
speak to an American again, as long as I live.” Then follows a most
doleful picture of the discord, selfishness, and greed, which seemed to
reign everywhere. Upon this part of the letter, Hon. J. Bigelow has
commented admirably. He says:
“A little more experience with the world would probably have
taught the young man that any crisis which puts in peril all that
society undertakes to secure to us by its laws, uncovers our
hearts to the world, strips bare our native selfishness of all
its disguises, and makes us appear to each other, pretty nearly
as bad as we must always appear to the angels. There is no doubt
but the revolted colonists, struggling for their very existence,
appeared disadvantageously to a sentimental enthusiast like de
Francy, but we have yet to hear of any people while having so
much at risk, appearing better.
“Of course after having been kept so long without tobacco, and
treated with undisguised distrust as a swindler or as the agent
of one, de Francy takes very dyspeptic views of the men who
compose the Continental Congress.”
As a matter of fact, he hits off one after another of our great heroes
with anything but the reverential tone which we are wont to use in
referring to them. “President Laurens,” he says, “is a very upright
merchant, but no more; in important affairs he is an old woman.” “Samuel
Adams is an old fox who has genius.” “The famous Hancock is precisely
the _Corbeau revêtu_.” “Robert Morris works for himself while working
for the Republic.” “General Washington,” here his tone changes, “has
honor, courage, and a truly disinterested patriotism.... I have seen
much of him and I really believe he is the first man on the continent,
although to tell you the truth, he is very difficult to know well....”
The unaccountably bad faith of Congress began to arouse the suspicions
of the agent of Beaumarchais, which he hastened to communicate to his
superior. On the 31st of July, 1778, de Francy wrote: “I have not been
able to obtain a perusal of the letters of Lee. Two of his brothers,
members of Congress, had possession of the foreign correspondence during
the past year, and they have abstracted all his letters for fear they
would be prejudicial to him; but I cannot doubt but you are there
painted in the blackest colors. I know at least that anonymous letters
were written against you, filled with lies, insults, and atrocities; and
what is of a marked fatality, your excessive zeal for the Americans has
been the basis of the lies of Lee, and of all the misgivings with regard
to you. Doubtless you recollect that at the commencement of 1776, while
you were in London, you promised this little doctor, then humble and
suppliant, that if the Americans fully decided never to reunite with
England, you would send out under the name of Roderigue Hortalès et
Cie., all the succor of which they would have need; and the enthusiasm
which then animated you, gave great latitude to your promise. At least,
the doctor so communicated it; and to give importance to what he said,
he made an ambassador of you, and instead of naming you, he remarked
that the promise came from the ambassador of France. Behold here the
origin of his elevation! His brothers have strongly supported his high
pretensions and he was named agent. He was obliged to maintain what he
had written, but fearing lest the reserve of the ministers towards the
agents in France should make Congress suspect that the French Ambassador
never had spoken to him in England, he abandoned his first assertion and
then wrote that it was you who called upon him in London to make him
such beautiful promises on the part of the French Minister. The Memoir
of du Coudray attests, on the other hand, that the minister put you
forward that he might disavow you if he desired. Congress readily
allowed itself to be persuaded that everything that arrived on your
vessels was a present, or at least a loan from your government which it
might acquit at its pleasure.
“When after my arrival at York, I announced my purpose and the
reclamations I came to make, I did not find a single member of Congress
disposed to believe that it was an individual who had rendered them such
signal services, and that he was to be paid for them, as it was
impossible to find on this continent a man who would ever have attempted
for the freedom of his country the one-hundredth part of what you have
done.... True Americans are infinitely rarer here than in Paris, and I
am satisfied there is not one whose zeal approaches yours.”
As a sample of what Lee had been writing to Congress, the few following
passages quoted at random, will suffice: “Upon this subject of returns I
think it my duty to say ... that the ministry have repeatedly assured me
that no returns are expected for these subsidies.” At another time he
wrote, speaking of a shipment just being made, “this is gratis as
formerly, and what has been sent I have paid for; so that those
merchants Hortalès et Cie. have no demand upon you; nor are you under
any necessity of sending effects to them, unless you think it a proper
market for some things, as it certainly is for fish.” (See _Vindication
of Arthur Lee_.)
“These assertions,” says Loménie (Vol. II, p. 178), “offering the
advantage of dispensing America from all gratitude and all payment to
Beaumarchais, Congress was naturally disposed to adopt.” It must be
remembered, however, that at this moment the party which upheld Arthur
Lee, headed by his two brothers and Samuel Adams, were at the height of
their power, so that the opposite side, in whose ranks stood the upright
and clear-sighted John Jay, was temporarily overruled.
Before inserting the last letter which we give of de Francy, a short
explanation is necessary. Already the reader has been apprised through
these letters, of the difficult position in which Silas Deane had been
placed, through the secret disavowal of his acts by Congress, even while
he still remained their credited commissioner in France. Unconscious of
the perfidy of Lee, yet thoroughly distrusting him, dismayed at the
attitude of Franklin, who explained nothing, but who took from the first
the part of ignoring all Deane’s previous transactions, the latter was
forced to submit for the present to this embarrassing state of affairs,
and to place his whole hope of adjustment in the equity of Congress in
which he still firmly believed. Slowly it began to dawn on him, that the
ground of his colleagues’ resentment to him was largely a matter of
money. In the beginning Deane, realizing to the full the lack of trained
military men among the insurgents, had freely promised commissions of
high rank, with proportionately high pay, to the French officers who
came to him well recommended and who had a desire to serve. As most of
these men were either unable or unwilling to provide their own equipment
and traveling expenses, Deane had advanced them money in the name of
Congress, but taking it, not from his own resources, for he had none,
but from those of his friend Beaumarchais, with the understanding, of
course, that it should all be repaid.
When Franklin arrived, Deane soon realized that repayment would be very
difficult, and dreading to face the effect which the whole truth would
have produced, he had begged Beaumarchais to delay sending in his
accounts until Congress should have ratified his agreements. This
Beaumarchais, with characteristic generosity, readily conceded. De
Francy wrote: “You appear still to have the blindest confidence in Deane
and you neglect your own interests.... Well, now, on February 16th, when
Deane passed the morning with you, they had written to Congress—(I have
seen the letter signed by the three agents)—that you got possession of
the cargo of the _Amphitrite_ contrary to their expectations, and that
they did not oppose it because their political situation did not permit
them to come to any explanation with you. They add that they had been
informed that you had sent an agent to Congress to solicit the payment
of a very considerable debt, but that it was not necessary to settle
anything with this agent; that the commercial venture to which it
related was a mixed business which it was necessary to sift before
closing the account; that they would occupy themselves with the
business, and that it was better to leave it with them to arrange with
you.
“I will make no reflections upon this transaction; I will only say that
it appears to me very extraordinary, an incredible weakness even, that
Mr. Deane should have consented to sign what it pleased his colleagues
to write, up to the very moment when you had the generosity to sacrifice
everything for him and he knew it. You can well imagine, that with such
news, doubts are reinforced, objections multiplied, etc., etc.”
Of the recall of Deane, already announced in a previous letter of De
Francy, we shall speak at length, in another chapter. For the present
let us return to France to follow Beaumarchais in his private career as
citizen.
It will be remembered that when, in 1776, the restored parliament had
annulled the decree of the parliament Maupeau, Beaumarchais had
petitioned the Ministers to obtain for him the adjournment of the final
decision in the matter of the suit instituted against him by the Comte
de la Blache so many years before. “This suit,” says Loménie (Vol. II,
p. 54), “which had been the origin of his tribulation, and of his
celebrity, still subsisted, and in the midst of his triumphs held his
fortune and his honor in check.... The Count de la Blache, seeing the
credit of his adversary so rapidly growing, urged on with all his force
the final decision. Beaumarchais was in less haste; occupied in
organizing his operations with America, and in reconquering his civil
existence, he did not wish to terminate the other case until he had
assured himself very well of his position.
“The decisive combat came off at Aix in July, 1778. The author of the
_Barbier de Séville_, accompanied by the faithful Gudin, started for
Provence. He was going at the same time to despatch two vessels from
Marseilles for the United States and to finish with the most desperate
of his enemies.”
“At Marseilles,” says Gudin in his memoir, “Beaumarchais covered the
part he played in public affairs, by the veil of amusements or his
private business.”
Of the memoirs which he published at Aix, in relation to this important
suit, Loménie has said: “They contain passages which are not below the
best to be found in the memoirs against Goëzman ... one feels a man who
is conscious of his power, who conducts vast operations, who enjoys a
great celebrity and who considers his social importance as equal at
least to that of a field-marshal.
“The city of Aix seemed predestined to famous lawsuits. In the same
place where Mirabeau was soon to come to give forth the first bellowings
of his eloquence, was seen to glitter the sparkling fancy of the
_Barbier de Séville_. Vainly, the Count de la Blache surrounded himself
with six lawyers, and prepared from very far back his triumph.... At the
end of a few days, Beaumarchais had conquered the public.”
“You have completely turned the city,” his attorney said to him. His
triumph was complete; a definite decree of Parliament disembarrassed
him forever of the Comte de la Blache. The latter was condemned to
execute the agreement drawn up and signed, du Verney, 1770.
“The affair,” says Gudin, “was examined with the most scrupulous
attention and judged after fifty-nine seances. The legatee, all of whose
demands were rejected, was condemned, and his memoirs were suppressed.”
Beaumarchais, in turn, was condemned to pay 1,000 _écus_ to the poor of
Aix as a punishment for the severe witticisms against his antagonist, in
which he had indulged in his memoirs. They were also publicly condemned.
Beaumarchais, however, was triumphant. Overwhelmed with joy to find his
honor and his fortune restored to him, he desired only that the good
people of Aix should rejoice with him. Instead, therefore, of the 1,000
_écus_ demanded of him, he instantly doubled the sum, requesting that it
might be distributed in dowries to twelve or fifteen poor, but worthy
young women; the benediction of so many families happily established
seeming to him the most beautiful which he could draw upon himself.
“The intoxication of this triumph, after so many years of uncertainty
and combat, the enthusiasm with which he was received by the people of
Aix,” are graphically described by Gudin in a letter written at the
moment of his triumph.
“All the city,” wrote Gudin, “which subsists on suits, was in a state of
the greatest impatience. While the judges deliberated, the doors of the
court house were besieged; women, idlers, and those interested, were
under the trees of a beautiful avenue not far off. The cafés, which
bordered this promenade, were also filled. The Comte de la Blache was in
his well lighted salon, which looked out on this avenue. Our friend was
in a quarter at some distance away. Night came; at last the doors of the
court house opened and these words were heard: ‘Beaumarchais has
gained;’ a thousand voices repeated them, the clapping of hands spread
down the avenue. Suddenly the windows and doors of the Comte were
closed, the crowd arrived with cries, and acclamations, at the house of
my friend; men, women, people who knew him and those who knew him not,
embraced him, and congratulated him; this universal joy, the cries and
transports overcame him, he burst into tears, and see him, like a great
baby, let himself fall fainting into my arms. It was then who could
succor him, who with vinegar, who with smelling salts, who with air;
but, as he himself has said, the sweet impressions of joy do no harm. He
soon returned to himself, and we went together to see and thank the
first president.... On returning ... we found the same crowd at the
house; tamborines, flutes, violins succeeded before and after supper;
all the fagots of the neighborhood were piled up and made a fire of
joy.... The mechanics of the place composed a song, and came in a body
to sing it under his windows. Every heart took part in his joy, and
everyone treated him like a celebrated man, to whose probity, due
justice had at length been rendered.”
Gudin’s enthusiasm for his friend was destined, however, to a singular
recompense. Arrived in Paris, he had composed a lengthy epistle to
Beaumarchais (Loménie II, p. 66), which began as follows:
“The severe justice of Parliament has confounded the malice of thy
enemies, though they had hoped that the dark art, which a _vile senator_
in unhappy times had made to incline the balance, would surprise the
prudence of our true magistrates.”
This chef-d’œuvre, composed of a hundred or more verses, had been
inserted in a copy of _Courrier de l’Europe_, which was published in
London, and which had altered the text by putting at the place of the
words, “of a _vile senator_”—“_a profane senate_,” so that the personal
allusion to the judge Goëzman was transformed into an allusion to the
whole parliament Maupeou. But most of the members of this judicial body
had gone back to their places in the grand council, from whence Maupeou
had drawn them. Irritated at the triumph of Beaumarchais, and not daring
to attack a man so strong in the favor of the public and the confidence
of the ministers, “they seized this opportunity of scourging
Beaumarchais over the back of his friend.”
The latter was absent from Paris, busy with the despatching of vessels
from one of the seaports, when, suddenly, a warrant, “issued,” says
Loménie, “without the slightest warning, came to surprise the pacific
Gudin.” As he sat at table one evening with his mother and niece, a
letter was handed him, which proved to be from a friend, Mme. Denis,
niece of Voltaire. He glanced it through and there read the startling
announcement: “You are about to be arrested, and that for verses printed
in the _Courrier de l’Europe_. You have not an instant to lose.”
“I lost none,” wrote Gudin. “Having read the letter, I quitted the table
without a word and passed into my room, where I hastily dressed myself,
and then took refuge at the house of Beaumarchais. I read the letter to
Mme. Beaumarchais....
“My first care was to send a messenger to prepare my mother for the
strange visit she was about to receive, and bidding her not to alarm
herself, and to reply that she did not know where I was, and that it was
possible I was with Beaumarchais at a hundred leagues from Paris.”
After calling about him several of his friends, men of experience, they
deliberated what was to be done. “Do not allow yourself to be taken,
these men of the grand council hate Beaumarchais, and are quite capable
of revenging themselves upon his friend....”
“I decided therefore to withdraw into the enclosure of the Temple. This
castle, ... so scandalously taken by Philipp the Bel from the Templars,
and since ceded to the Chevaliers of Malta, was at this time, owing to
the privileges of that order, an asylum, not for criminals, but for any
person, who, without having given serious offense, found himself in
difficulty, as for instance, a debt, a challenge, in a word, an affair
like the present. (The Temple, famous for being the stronghold in which
a few years later the royal family was imprisoned, and from which Louis
XVI was led to execution, was subsequently destroyed by Napoleon. It
stood near the present Place de la République. Much of its site is now
occupied by the _Magasins du Temple_, the great second-hand shops of
Paris.)
“The custom was to inscribe one’s name upon the bailiff’s register on
entering the Temple; he asked me why I had come to claim the privileges
of the place.
“‘Is it debts?’
“‘I have none.’
“‘An attack?’
“‘My enemies, if I have any, have never used any weapon against me
except their pen.’
“‘A quarrel at cards, or an affair with a woman?’
“‘I never play cards, and I have never caused either disorder in a
family, nor scandal in a house of joy.’
“‘But why then?’
“‘For verses, which grave personages do not find to be good, verses
printed I don’t know how in London, denounced, I don’t know why in
Paris, and which the grand council, who has not the control of books and
is in no way judge of what takes place in England, pretends to be
injurious to a tribunal which no longer exists.’”
“Beaumarchais, on his return to Paris, learned of my adventure, and was
justly angry. He came and took me from my retreat. ‘Be sure,’ he said,
‘they will not dare to arrest you in my carriage or in my house.’”
“At the end of several days,” says Loménie, “Beaumarchais had succeeded
in liberating his friend; nothing could paint better his situation at
this period than the tone of his letters to the ministers, especially to
the keeper of the seals:
“‘Monseigneur,’ he wrote, ‘I have the honor to address to you the
petition to the council of the King, of my friend Gudin de la
Brenellerie, who unites to the most attractive genius the simplicity of
a child, and who, in your quality of protector of the letters of France,
you would judge worthy of your protection if he had in addition the
honor of being known to you.’”
Beaumarchais thus was able to ignore the smoldering resentment of his
enemies and to press forward his vast enterprises. The war had now
broken out between France and England. French merchantmen went to sea
completely at the mercy of events. The French flag, instead of a
protection, was now a signal for attack. It was therefore clear that if
Beaumarchais was to continue his mercantile operations, it must be upon
a new basis. But before we follow him into the equipping of armed
vessels to protect his merchant fleet, let us linger a moment, that we
may gain a still nearer view of Beaumarchais, the man.
The popular enthusiasm which everywhere had welcomed the uprising
amongst the colonists continued to voice itself in every quarter of
France and on all occasions where it was a question of the rights of
man. The wild joy which had greeted the triumph of Beaumarchais at Aix
was due largely, Gudin tells us, to the fact that for the first time in
the annals of that city a nobleman had been so signally humiliated as
had been his antagonist. In this general desire for a recognition of
human rights, the aristocracy of France themselves took the lead.
Rousseau, calling so loudly for human beings, men and women, to leave
the lines marked out for them by authority and tradition and to return
to nature as their guide, was heard, not only in the remotest hamlet of
the realm, but his voice found echo in its lordly castles and its palace
halls. In _Emile_, he traced the revolution which was to take place in
the instruction and training of the child; in _La Nouvelle Heloïse_, he
laid down a scheme of morals, the teaching of which was directly opposed
to the Christian code. The effect of these teachings upon contemporary
France could not be more strikingly exemplified than in the following
letter addressed to Beaumarchais by a girl of seventeen. It gives at the
same time an idea of the confidence which the name of the latter
inspired among the masses of the people. The letter is written from Aix
and is dated not long after the successful termination of his suit:
“Monsieur:
“A young person crushed under the weight of her anguish, comes to
you and seeks consolation. Your soul, which is known, reassures
her for a step which she dares take, and which, were it anyone
else, would remain without consequences. But are you not Monsieur
de Beaumarchais, and do I not dare hope that you will deign to
take my cause and direct the conduct of a young and inexperienced
girl? I am myself that unfortunate who comes to lay her sorrows
in your bosom; deign to open it to me. Allow yourself to be
touched with the recital of my woes.... Ah! if there are hard
hearts, yours is not of that number.... Shall I say to you,
Monsieur, that I feel in you a more than ordinary confidence? You
will not be offended; my heart tells me to follow that which it
inspires. It tells me that you will not refuse me your succor.
Yes, you will aid me, you will support despised innocence; I have
been abandoned by a man to whom I have sacrificed myself. I avow,
with tears that I yielded to love, to sentiment and not to
vice.... I enjoyed a certain consideration; it has been taken
from me. I am only seventeen, and my reputation is lost already.
With a pure heart and honest inclinations I am despised by
everyone. I cannot endure this idea; it overwhelms me and I am in
despair.... Ah, Monsieur, lend me your aid, reach out to me your
generous hand, cause to spring up in my oppressed soul, hope and
consolation. I do not wish to injure the perfidious one who has
betrayed me; no, I love him too much. It is at the foot of the
throne that I wish to carry my plaint. If you will deign to aid
me, I promise myself everything. You have powerful protectors,
Monsieur; you know the Ministers, they respect you. Say to them
that a young person implores their protection, that she sighs and
groans night and day; that she desires only justice.... (The
ungrateful one must in the end do me justice.) I can say without
presumption that I am not unworthy of his tenderness. He opposes
nothing to my happiness but my fortune, which is not sufficient
to arrange his affairs, which are not in too good order. He has
no aversion to me. There is nothing about me to inspire it. The
only crime of which I am culpable is to have loved him too well.
Do not abandon me, Monsieur; I put my destiny in your hands....
If you are kind enough to reply to this, be so good as to address
your letter to M. Vitalis, rue de Grand-Horloge, at Aix, and
above the address simply to Mlle. Ninon. You will be so good as
to pardon me, Monsieur, if I still hide my name.... I know that
with you I have nothing to fear, but still a certain fear that I
cannot conquer, that I would not know how to define, holds me
back. You have connections in Aix; I am very well known here. In
small towns one knows everything; you know how they talk. I
implore you, do not divulge the confidence which I have taken the
liberty of making to you.... Monsieur, I have the honor to be,
with sentiments of the most perfect consideration, your very
humble and very obedient servant,
“Ninon.”
[Illustration: THE TEMPLE]
“Let one imagine a similar letter,” says Loménie, “suddenly falling from
six hundred miles away, upon a man forty-six years of age, the busiest
man of France and Navarre, who had need to confer every morning with the
Ministers, who had forty ships on the seas, who pleaded against the
comedians, who was preparing a pamphlet against the English Government,
who was busy founding a bank, who dreamed of editing Voltaire; surely
this man would throw into the waste basket the sorrows of a young and
unknown girl. Not in the least. Beaumarchais had time for everything.
Here is his reply to Mlle. Ninon:
“‘If you are really, young stranger, the author of the letter
which I have received from you, I must conclude that you have as
much intelligence as sensibility, but your condition and your
sorrows are as well painted in this letter as the service which
you expect of me is little. Your heart deceives you when it
counsels you an act like the one which you dare conceive; for
although your misfortune might secretly interest all sensible
persons, its kind is not one whose remedy can be solicited at the
foot of the throne. Thus, sweet and interesting Ninon, you
should renounce a plan whose futility, your inexperience alone
hides from you. But let me see how I can serve you. A half
confidence leads to nothing and the true circumstances of an open
avowal might perhaps furnish me the means of seeing how the
obstacles may be removed which separate a lover from so charming
a girl. But do not forget that in desiring me to keep the matter
secret you have told me nothing. If you sincerely believe me the
gallant man whom you invoke, you should not hesitate to confide
to me your name, that of your lover, his position and yours, his
character and the nature of his ambition; also, the difference in
your fortunes, which seems to separate you from him.’ He next
attempts to persuade the young girl to forget a man who has shown
himself so unworthy of her regrets. ‘Forget him, and may this
unhappy experience of yours hold you in guard against similar
seductions. But if your heart cannot accept so austere a counsel,
open it to me then entirely, that I may see, in studying all the
connections, whether I can find some consolation to give you,
some view which will be useful and agreeable.
“‘I promise you my entire discretion, and I finish without
compliment, because the most simple manner is the one that should
inspire the most confidence. But hide nothing from me.
‘Beaumarchais.’
“Mademoiselle Ninon,” continues Loménie, “asked for nothing better than
to unburden her poor heart; she addressed to Beaumarchais an avalanche
of letters of which several contain no less than twelve pages; she gave
her name, the name of her seducer, and recounts her little romance with
a curious mixture of naïveté, of precocity, sensitiveness, intelligence
and garrulity. This _Provençale_ of seventeen is literally saturated
with the _Nouvelle Heloïse_.
“‘Fatal house,’ she cried, in speaking of the place where she first met
her lover, ‘’tis thou which causes my pains.’ She has all its
contradictions, ... protesting that if she has left the path of virtue,
she has only all the more felt the worth of a pure and virtuous soul.
‘Lovely innocence,’ she cried, ‘have I lost thee? Ah! no, no; I have
sounded to the remotest depths of my heart; it is too sensitive, but it
is still honest. I implore you, Monsieur, do not believe it corrupt.’
“Whether,” continues Loménie, “these rather wordy dissertations of the
little philosopher in skirts gave to Beaumarchais the idea that it would
be too difficult to correct such an exalted brain, or whether it was
that the work which was crushing him on every side prevented his
following this strange correspondence, true it is that he replied no
more to the long letters of Mlle. Ninon, although she addressed to him
the most melancholy reproaches. But what could he do? The war had just
broken out between France and England. Beaumarchais, who had had his own
part in bringing about that result, was engaged himself in the conflict;
he drew up political memoirs, he armed vessels; where could he find the
time to reply to the confidences of Mademoiselle Ninon? Nevertheless it
would seem that these letters interested him because he has classed them
in a package by themselves, upon which he has written with his own hand:
‘Letters of Ninon, or affair of my young client, unknown to me.’”