D’Eon and Wilkes—Fickle Louis XV.!—Literary labours—Doubts
raised as to D’Eon’s sex—Princess Dashkoff—Heavy gambling
transactions on D’Eon’s sex—Insult resented—Irritation at being
thought a female—Indignant denial of being concerned in the
bets made—State of penury—Offers of relief from Poniatovsky,
now King of Poland—Saves England from war—Officially reported
to be a female—Personal appearance—Death of Louis XV.—D’Eon’s
estimate of the late king—Count de Broglio’s report on D’Eon to
Louis XVI.—System of secret correspondence abolished—D’Eon to
continue his reports in cypher.
The expulsion of John Wilkes from the House of Commons and his trial
for libel, and D’Eon’s conviction on a similar charge, both of which
took place in 1764, were almost contemporary events, and although the
Chevalier abstained from taking any part in the riots of that year, he
never failed, when opportunity offered, to show his sympathy for _Wilkes
and Liberty!_ After the great agitator had returned to England in 1768,
and was undergoing his sentence of twenty-two months’ imprisonment in
King’s Bench for seditious libel and blasphemy, D’Eon one day sent him a
present of twelve smoked tongues, with a note in which he expressed the
wish that ‘the tongues might have the eloquence of Cicero and the nicety
of speech of Voltaire,’ to laud him worthily upon the anniversary of his
birth, which, in the future, would ever be regarded as that of English
liberty.’[248]
A singular letter from Louis XV. to the Count de Broglio, dated February
12, 1767, commences thus:—
‘You know that D’Eon is a madman, and perhaps a dangerous one,
but there is nothing better to be done with madmen than to lock
them up, and certainly in England he is recognised as such,
and cannot be of any use to the English except to afford them
amusement, and enable them to make fun of M. de Guerchy. I do
not know what instructions M. de Fuentes has had, or expects
to receive, in regard to him.[249] For all that, all I have
promised him must be performed, but nothing more. I have a
deadly hatred to madmen....’
Yet the man who was considered insane only when it suited the King to say
so, was retained as secret agent enjoying the royal confidence, and upon
the Baron de Breteuil, nominated ambassador to Holland, being sent to
England in 1768 on a special mission, he was ordered ‘to see and confer
with D’Eon,’ which, however, he was to do ‘in the most secret manner
possible.’[250]
[Sidenote: BRIEF LULLS.]
For the next few years D’Eon beguiled his leisure in literary labours,
spending his summers chiefly at Staunton Harold, Earl Ferrers’ seat in
Leicestershire. He retired late and rose early, worked fifteen hours a
day, partook of one meal only, at two P.M., and refused to receive any
visitors except on Sundays. His ordinary residence from July 1769, when
he quitted 32 Brewer Street, and 1772, when he returned to those his old
quarters, was Petty France, Westminster, the house he occupied having
a garden bordering on the park, and to which he removed to be near his
friend, Mr. Cotes. He produced ‘Les Loisirs du Chevalier D’Eon, &c., in
thirteen volumes,[251] which he dedicated to his friend and protector,
the now disgraced and exiled Duke de Choiseul.
‘... It is, my lord, in the land of philosophy and liberty,
where one learns not to bestow praise except on virtue and
merit, that my mind, freed from prejudice, publicly exposes the
traits that characterise you.’
[Illustration: THE CHEVALIER D’EON.
1770.
_See Appendix._]
Commenting on this dedication, a newspaper article thus eulogises D’Eon:—
‘There is as great a singularity in the character of the
Chevalier D’Eon, as _in our ignorance of his sex_. The rule
of his life is peculiar to himself; no other man or woman
would, in the same position, write and behave as he does. Is
it reason, virtue, or caprice that dictates his conduct, and
makes him in his manners the reverse of our men of fashion? Let
our readers judge from the following fact. Our courtiers adore
the man upon whom fortune smiles, and rail at him as soon as
he is no longer in favour; the Chevalier follows an unjustly
disgraced minister in his exile, and there pays him the tribute
of praise he refused him in the time of his prosperity. When
the French Court conceal their esteem for the Duke de Choiseul,
and bend the knee to the favourite they despise, to that duke
the Chevalier dedicates his “Loisirs”—him he openly dares to
commend! That oddity will not make a fortune at St. James’; it
cannot be applauded when folly holds the place of merit, and
immorality rides triumphant over the ruins of religion!’[252]
The work was well received, and especially, it was said, at Berlin, where
the notices it contained on political administration, and particularly
that branch relating to finance, caused so favourable an impression on
the ministers, for they found therein a quantity of new and extremely
useful ideas, that his Prussian Majesty ordered they should immediately
be put into operation for the benefit of the public and of the
Government.[253]
[Sidenote: FEMALE OR MALE?]
The Chevalier’s popularity, chiefly amongst those who interested
themselves in the politics of the day, had never waned since his first
introduction into English society, much of the favour he enjoyed being
due to his genial and agreeable manners, his openness of character, and
the dignity and spirit of independence with which he bore his trials;
but in the year we have reached—1769—his name, somewhat more freely
canvassed, began to attain unenviable notoriety, for doubts were being
seriously entertained as to the nature of his sex, and what was at first
whispered from mouth to ear became openly revealed, until public opinion
had fairly fastened on the idea that the Chevalier D’Eon was not a man at
all but a woman! And when the Princess Dashkoff, who chanced to arrive
in England at this juncture, related that D’Eon, whom she perfectly well
knew at St. Petersburg, had been received and entertained by the Empress
Elizabeth with all the intimacy to which his believed in sex admitted
him, further doubts existed in the minds of a few only; and what had been
suspected was boldly advanced as a certainty, the Count de Châtelet,
French ambassador in London, among the number, writing to tell Louis
XV. he was persuaded that the Chevalier was a _fille_. According to a
biographical memoir in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine,’ vol. liii., the first
indications that led to a suspicion of D’Eon’s sex was a wound received
in a duel.
John Taylor, the author of ‘Monsieur Tonson,’ who had met the Chevalier
in advanced life, was assured by a very old friend of his father,
one well acquainted with D’Eon at this period, that his manners were
captivating and that he might have married most advantageously, as
several ladies of good family and with large fortunes had made overtures
to him at their country seats where he visited; but that upon all such
occasions he immediately left the house, whence it was inferred he
quitted the place on account of his being really of the female sex.[254]
It was the fashion in England for all matters of dispute to become the
subject of betting, and gambling transactions attained extraordinary
proportions, the lead being taken at Brooks’s, White’s, and other clubs,
as Walpole relates in some curious anecdotes. The uncertainty of the
sex of a noted character was too fair an opportunity to be wasted,
and gambling policies of insurance were effected to large amounts, as
shown in the opposite statement, giving an idea of the extent to which
such transactions were carried within the first few months of their
being started, reaching, as they subsequently did, considerably larger
proportions.
_Insurance on the Sex of Monsieur the Chevalier D’Eon._[256]
DR.
1770. £ _s._ _d._
March 28. To premium on 600_l._ at 15 gs.
per cent 94_l._ 10_s._
Policy. 10_s._ 6_d._
------------------- 95 0 6
March 30. To premium on 200_l._ at 15 gs.
per cent. 31 10 0
Do. 300_l._ do. 47 5 0
Do. 200_l._ do. 31 10 0
Do. 100_l._ do. 15 15 0
April 10. Do. 500_l._ do. 78_l._ 15_s._
Policy. 10_s._ 6_d._
------------------- 79 5 6
April 30. To premium on 500_l._ at 20 gs.
per cent. and Policy 105 10 6
Do. 1,000_l._ at 10 gs. per cent. 105 0 0
--------- -----------
3,400_l._ 510 16 6
To profit 658 13 6
-------------
1,169 10 0
CR.
1770. £ _s._ _d._
June 19. By 300_l._ compromised at 50 per cent. 150 0 0
” 2,300_l._ sold at 40 per cent. 920 0 0
” 300_l._ sold at 20 per cent. 60 0 0
” 500_l._ sold at 20 per cent. 100 0 0
--------- -------------
3,400_l._ 1,230 0 0
Brokerage at 5 per cent. 60 10 0
-------------
1,169 10 0
Whereof par ¼ of the profit is 164_l._ 13_s._ 4_d._
To add to the chagrin endured at the gross liberties taken with his name,
the Chevalier was reproached by his enemies with being an accomplice in
the scandalous jobbing affairs and a sharer in the plunder, charges he
indignantly repudiated when unburdening himself to his old friend the
count.[255]
‘... I am grieved to hear, and even to read in the English
papers, all the extraordinary reports that reach from Paris,
London, and even St. Petersburg, on the uncertainty of my sex,
and which gain ground in a country of enthusiasts such as
this, and to such an extent, that policies of insurance for
considerable sums are being publicly effected upon so indecent
a subject, both at Court and in the city. I held my peace for a
long time. My silence only served to increase suspicion and the
number of insurances. I consequently repaired, last Saturday,
to the Exchange and to the several neighbouring coffee-houses,
where all kinds of insurances and stock-jobbing take place,
and there, in uniform, walking-stick in hand, I obliged the
money-broker Bird, who was the first to start one of these
impudent insurances, to beg my pardon. Yielding the choice
of weapons, I challenged to fight anybody who might consider
himself the most incredulous, the bravest, or the most insolent
of the entire assembly, and several thousands were present. All
treated me with great courtesy, and in their amazement not one
of those male adversaries, in this great city, dared either to
cross sticks or to fight me, even though I remained in their
midst from noon until two o’clock, to afford them ample time to
decide amongst themselves. I took my leave, making my address
generally known in the event of any one changing his mind. This
is the way in which such people should be taken in hand and
silenced. They are most insolent in the liberties they take,
even with the greatest persons at Court, and the more reason
with me, a private individual whom they know to be exiled
from France, and lonely. Bird assured me, in the face of his
apologies, that he and his colleagues were able to effect the
most extraordinary insurances or wagers, even in regard to the
royal family, except, in observance of an Act of Parliament,
so far as concerned the life of the King, the Queen, and their
children, and that he was employed by a great lady, whose name
he refused to communicate, to effect an insurance on my sex....’
‘... I beg of you, sir, not to be displeased with your old
aide-de-camp, if you read in the _Gazette_, or elsewhere, that
on the 7th of this month I broke my cane across two Englishmen
for taking impudent liberties with my name. My conduct has
been approved by military men and others alive to a sense of
honour. Since making my two visits to the city, nobody has
dared, either at court or anywhere about town, to make a wager,
publicly, on the nature of my sex, of which I have stamped
virile proofs on the faces of two insolent fellows....’
‘Some of my discreet friends have recommended me to leave
London for a month or two, and travel quietly in Ireland under
an assumed name, for I am not known there. In spite of my
threats and the blows I have dealt, and of my conduct through
life, an inconceivable mania for effecting insurances to a
considerable amount on the uncertainty of my sex has again
taken hold of people in the city, and I am cautioned, from
several quarters, that some rich persons entertain the idea of
having me carried off, by artifice, force, or stratagem, so
that the point may be settled in defiance of me, a thing I will
not tolerate, and which, should the attempt be made, will place
me under the cruel necessity of killing somebody.... I can
declare to you, sir, upon my honour, that I am not interested
to the value of even one _sou_ in these bets and insurances....
I am sufficiently mortified at being what nature has made me,
and that the dispassion of my natural temperament should induce
my friends to imagine, in their innocence, and this in France,
in Russia, and in England, that I am of the female sex. The
malice of my enemies has confirmed all this since the beginning
of my misfortunes, which I have not by any means deserved, and
of which I should have been rid long ago. I leave all to the
King’s and to your own kindness of heart....’[257]
[Sidenote: ON THE DEFENSIVE.]
The tone of swagger repeated in the above letters, would dispose to the
belief that D’Eon was exaggerating the degree of front he had shown to
those Englishmen who were taking unwarrantable liberties with his name;
but the measure of his veracity would appear to be out of the question.
In the ‘Public Advertiser’ of November 16, 1774, it was stated that—
‘the Chevalier D’Eon with justice complains of our public
prints; they are eternally sending him to France, when he is
body and soul fixed in this country; they have lately confined
him to the Bastille, when he fled to England as a country of
liberty, and they lately made a woman of him, when not one of
his enemies dared to put his manhood to the proof. He makes no
complaint of the English ladies.’
That the calumnies of which D’Eon continued to be the object were not
chargeable to all classes of society, is to be inferred from a notice
which appeared in the papers a few days later, announcing—
‘Earl Ferrers, Sir John Fielding, Messieurs Addington and
Wright, and other worthy magistrates and gentlemen, and their
ladies, did the Chevalier the honour to dine with him in Brewer
Street, Golden Square, a convincing proof that he is not
confined in the Bastille, as certain weak and wicked persons
have popularly asserted, ignorant of the justice and honour his
worth and merit have deserved.’
Being at dinner one day with his friend Angelo, D’Eon was informed of the
presence, in the next room, of a Jew named Treves who would, on condition
that he discovered his sex, on the instant pay him one thousand pounds;
when, says Henry Angelo, he flew into such a violent passion, that it was
with much difficulty his father could restrain him in his rage against
the Israelite.
For the second time in his life the Chevalier found himself to be in
imminent peril of being kidnapped in the interests of those who had
heavy stakes on his sex, and were pressing for having the question
resolved off-hand. Leaving London, he wandered restlessly in the north,
until he saw in the papers that his disappearance was causing anxiety
to his friends, who were offering a handsome reward and the payment of
all reasonable expenses for any intelligence that should lead to his
recovery, if concealed or restrained of his liberty. He was described
as being dressed, upon leaving his home, in scarlet faced with green,
and wearing the cross of Saint Louis; he had a new plain hat with silver
button, loop and band, and his sword, but no cane. Inquired after and
sought, and no trace of him being obtainable, a _caveat_ was entered
at Doctors’ Commons against his goods, on the supposition that he was
dead. Hastening back he informed his friend, Mr. Fountain, of Litchfield
Street, who had been most active in searching after him, of his arrival
in London, in a note which appeared in the papers[258] the following
morning with the announcement:—
‘This night, about eleven o’clock, the Chevalier D’Eon, whose
extraordinary disappearance above six weeks ago has been the
subject of much conversation and inquiry, arrived in good
health at his house in Petty France, Westminster.’
[Sidenote: A PROTEST.]
Then, in due course, he presented himself before Lord Mayor Crosby,[259]
as the most public way of testifying that he was alive, and made an
affidavit to the effect that—
‘he never had, and never would have any part, directly or
indirectly, in the policies of insurance made on his sex; that
he had never touched and never would touch a single guinea
from any person or persons, on account of the said insurances;
that he never would enter into any negotiations with any
person or persons, however considerable the sums that had been
offered to him, and which had amounted to 25,000_l._, to prove,
judicially, his sex.’
In reporting his proceedings to de Broglio the Chevalier wrote:—
‘I have only had time to travel over the North of England,
and a part of Scotland. Two important reasons prevented me
from going to Ireland as I had intended. 1. My funds were
insufficient. 2. Because, whilst on my travels, I noticed
in the English papers that the public, ever jealous of its
liberties, was much alarmed, and that my own friends were
greatly concerned at my supposed abduction, and that all
the doors of the house I occupy had been sealed. I returned
immediately to reassure the public and my friends, as well as
to attend to my private affairs. With regard to the cypher and
King’s papers, I had, as you are aware, insured their safety
before I went away, and they would not have been found, at
least not unless the house was razed to the ground.
‘By last Tuesday’s post I sent to you the “Public Advertiser,”
which contains the declaration I made, under oath, before
the Lord Mayor, that I am not interested to the value of one
shilling, directly or indirectly, in the policies of insurance
that have been effected on my person. It is not my fault if
the rage for betting, on all matters, is a national disorder
amongst Englishmen, who will frequently risk even more than
the fortune they possess on a single horse-race. I do not
care for all their policies of insurance, their articles,
newspapers, prints, or themselves either, and they are aware of
it. I have given proof, and will again do so to their hearts’
content, that I am not only a man, but a captain of dragoons
with sword in hand. It is not my fault if the Court of Russia,
and notably, the Princess Dashkoff, has assured the English
Court that I am a female. It is not my fault if the Duke de
Praslin has caused secret, and almost public, inquiry to be
pursued in France to confirm this fact, whilst his friend de
Guerchy sneakingly spread the report at this Court that I am
a hermaphrodite! Anyhow, it is not my fault if I exist such
as nature formed me; perfectly or imperfectly formed, I have
ever, heart and soul, faithfully served the King in politics
as in war. I am in a condition to serve him better than ever,
and shall be at all times ready to fly, at his bidding,
whithersoever he may send me.’[260]
[Sidenote: THE KING OF POLAND TO THE RESCUE.]
D’Eon never allowed anything to interfere with his first object in
life, that of supplying his royal master with the fullest information
on every subject of interest; this, however, was not to be effected
without resources of some kind; and as it was his misfortune ever to be
left without funds, even to not receiving his pension with any degree
of regularity, he became fast involved in serious difficulties, which
obliged him to live in a state of misery that became a terrible burden
for one of his past life and habits to bear. He might have been the
possessor of thousands had he been less patriotic, less scrupulous, and
less resolved to put up with his every-day distressing privations. Patent
as the Chevalier’s condition was to everybody, still did he stand accused
of being a confederate in the dishonest transactions of which he was the
innocent cause. At length relief appeared to be at hand. Poniatovsky,
King of Poland, who had not forgotten the pleasant evenings he had
enjoyed at sword practice with D’Eon at St. Petersburg, wrote with his
own hand to offer him an asylum and employment, and for the second time,
driven by want and despair, did the faithful servant’s loyalty waver, for
he asked permission of his cruel master to accept the invitation. But
it was not to be, as de Broglio notified in his reply, approved in the
King’s hand.
‘... I am not surprised that the King of Poland should have
said such kind things to you through his chamberlain. This
prince is acquainted with you, has heard you well spoken of
in Russia, and knows how useful you might be to him; but
you should also bear in mind that you cannot serve the King
elsewhere so usefully as in London, especially under present
circumstances; nor is there any other place where you can be
in greater safety against the malice of your enemies than in
London. Continue, therefore, your correspondence with me and
his Majesty; it is the wish of the King, who again bids you not
leave England without his orders. But his Majesty approves of
the correspondence you have been invited to entertain with the
King of Poland. There is nothing to be apprehended in this.
Being convinced of your attachment and loyalty, his Majesty
authorises me to leave you at full liberty in this matter. I
have only to call your attention to all that may be of interest
to his Majesty, and to assure you that I shall have much
pleasure in bringing to the notice of the King your services
upon the present and upon all future occasions.’[261]
Much of D’Eon’s correspondence with the King at this time was
pseudonymous, the assumed name being William Wolff. There is no
probability, whatever, of the subjects of it becoming generally known,
but it may be said that the Chevalier saved England, France, and Spain
from a ruinous war that was nearly taking place on account of the dispute
relative to the Falkland Islands. This was done through his secret
communications with Louis XV., to whom he represented the worthlessness
of those islands and their barrenness.[262]
De Broglio’s letter of May 11, given above, was entrusted to Drouet[263]
for delivery to the Chevalier, the startling report he made upon quickly
returning to France, as the result of his interview with D’Eon, being
immediately communicated by de Broglio to Louis XV.
‘... I must not omit to inform your Majesty that the suspicions
entertained on the sex of this extraordinary personage are
well founded. M. Drouet, who had received my instructions to
do his best to verify them, has assured me, since his return,
that he has succeeded and is able to certify ... that M. D’Eon
is a female, and nothing but a female (_fille_), of which he
has all the attributes ... we must admit that this statement
forms the climax to his history.... He begged M. Drouet to keep
the secret, justly observing that if discovered his occupation
were gone. May I entreat your Majesty to be pleased to allow
that the confidence he has reposed in his friend be not
betrayed, and that he will have no cause to regret what he has
done....’[264]
[Sidenote: PERSONAL APPEARANCE.]
Let us here note that although D’Eon was described at this period as
having a rather effeminate countenance, blue eyes, small features, and
as being pale, he had a dark beard, wore a wig and cue, and ever appeared
in the same dress—that of an officer of dragoons, red with pea-green
lapels and silver lace. He stood about five feet seven inches, and was
rather inclined to corpulency.[265]
Whether or no de Broglio and the King believed in Drouet’s bewildering
assertion, made with so much circumstance, it is certain that no action
was taken either to the prejudice or in favour of D’Eon, who was left
in trust of his old office, and again forced to appeal pitifully to the
count.
‘... I am in want ... having ceded to my mother the whole of my
patrimony, and pensioned my old nurse, and having to support
my nephews.... I venture to say, that had I been born actually
as weak and timid as I appear to have been destined by nature,
great evils would have been the consequences. I shall never
regret having sacrificed myself to save the counsellor from
sorrows and your family from troubles....’[266]
D’Eon was sighing to leave England, and negotiations with a view to his
being permitted to return to France had been conducted from time to
time since the fall of de Choiseul (1770) by the new minister, the Duke
d’Aiguillon; but the Chevalier comprehensively notes, with reference to
that minister’s proposals—_Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes_.[267] When the
reiterated appeal for succour reached its destination, the count was
again in exile at his seat, Ruffec.
In the early part of 1774, Versailles was visited by an epidemic which
ran through the palace, infecting some fifty or more of its inmates
(amongst them the King’s daughters, Adelaide, Victoire, and Sophie), and
of whom about a dozen, including Louis XV., were carried off.[268] Those
curious to know what were the last days of the profligate and careless
monarch will find, on consulting Sismondi, how a death-bed repentance was
wrested from him by his confessor, the unflinching and unimpeachable Abbé
Mandoux; how the old Marshal de Richelieu remonstrated angrily, and how
the _fils emancipé_ received absolution at the hands of the disconcerted
Cardinal de la Roche-Aymon, the _grand aumônier_, who read the royal
confession.
‘Although the King owes an account of his conduct to God
only, he declares that he repents having been the cause of
any scandal amongst his subjects, and that he wishes to live
solely for the maintenance of religion and the happiness of his
people.’
The interment was anything but royal, for the corpse of _le Bien-aimé_
was hurried in the darkness of the night to the tomb—not its last
resting-place—amidst the execrations of the numbers who had turned out to
see the procession as it hastily passed their way, and who kept shouting
the late King’s favourite cry on the hunting field, _tayau! tayau!_—and
_hallali! hallali!_ his favourite cry at the death, as his remains were
being borne into St. Denis.
Wishing to rid himself of a tipsy customer, the keeper of a drinking-shop
warned the troublesome fellow that the funeral of Louis XV. was about to
pass. ‘What!’ was the answer, ‘we were dying of hunger so long as _ce b——
là_ lived, and are we to die of thirst now that he is dead?’[269]
D’Eon’s faith in the good intentions of his master had never deserted
him, but now that master was dead; and yet, though the Chevalier lived
to see the country he loved so well reap what Louis XV. had sown, his
estimate of that monarch’s character never changed!
‘After having been so long concealed under the shadow of the
wings and of the secret protection of Louis XV., in losing him
I lost all. Soon after his death I became like a victim who
has been publicly sacrificed. An unjust idea has ever been
entertained of the character and talents of Louis XV. If the
truth were but known, it would be allowed that this prince was
endowed with great penetration, great judgment, and a profound
knowledge of men and things. The only quality in which he was
deficient, was the needed strength of character to control his
ministers and ambassadors as became a King. Had Heaven endowed
me with one-half the goodness of the King, my master, and my
master with one-half of my firmness, not one-half of all that
occurred would ever have come to pass. I need not be miserable
for the rest of my days, nor fancy that my honour is tarnished,
because Louis XV. would never disclose to his ministers the
nature of my extraordinary position, or openly uphold the
secret orders and instructions he caused to be secretly
conveyed to me.’[270]
[Sidenote: THE COUNT DE BROGLIO AND LOUIS XVI.]
Scarcely had Louis XVI. ascended the throne, than the Count de Broglio
addressed a memorandum to the new King, in which was recapitulated the
history of the late sovereign’s secret correspondence from the beginning,
and describing the mode in which it had been conducted. The count exposed
the anomaly of his position, then and during the two-and-twenty years
that he had been secretly employed by Louis XV.; suggested the probable
causes of his exile, maintained he had never fallen away from the royal
favour, and asked his Majesty’s instructions, for his guidance, under
the peculiar circumstances in which he found himself. The King’s
reply—laconic, formal, and unsigned—simply acknowledged the receipt of
the despatch, enjoined the count to continue to observe the strictest
secrecy, and informed him that inquiries should be made in the proper
quarter for the reasons that induced the late King to order him into
exile.[271] De Broglio followed up his memorandum with several letters,
soliciting permission in one of them to communicate certain matters with
which he considered it necessary his Majesty should become acquainted:—
‘... I will commence with what concerns the Sieur D’Eon. I
conceive it to be possible that your Majesty has heard him
unfavourably spoken of, and that you are therefore astonished
at finding him included amongst the number of those persons
honoured with the confidence of the late King. I cannot forbear
observing that he was initiated in the secret correspondence at
the time it was under the direction of the Prince de Conti. He
was sent to Petersburg by that prince in 1756, after which he
was specially chosen by the Dukes de Praslin and de Nivernois
for the negotiations for peace in London, in 1762; and the
late King having at that time important designs on England,
ordered him to make direct reports. He was then made Minister
Plenipotentiary in England, during the interval between the
Embassage of the Duke de Nivernois and the arrival of the
Count de Guerchy. It is evident that it was this special mark
of confidence which gave him reason to hope he would receive
support in his misplaced contentions with that ambassador, who,
on his part, exhibited perhaps too much hastiness at first, and
a little want of tact afterwards; but this does not excuse the
faults of the Sieur D’Eon, whose excessive hastiness was beyond
all bounds, and gave rise to unseemly incidents between persons
honoured as they were by the offices they respectively held.
The Duke de Praslin exercised such extreme severity upon that
occasion, that the Sieur D’Eon was not to be tranquillised, and
the latter, unable to return to France, and driven to despair
and into difficulties, was well-nigh failing in his allegiance
to his Majesty and about to divulge the secret confided to him,
which would have shockingly compromised the sacred name of the
late King, and especially in such a country as England. I was
for a long time in the greatest fear. I asked his Majesty what
I was to do, and took the liberty to represent to him that
anything was preferable to allowing the subject of the secret
correspondence to be known in England. I received orders to
send my secretary to England. He knew the Sieur D’Eon, and
appeased him a little, and it was at length arranged that
he should remain in London for the purpose of communicating
intelligence; but it was necessary to guarantee to him, in
the late King’s own hand, a monthly allowance of one thousand
livres, which he has enjoyed ever since.[272]
‘This singular being (because the Sieur D’Eon is a female) is,
more so than many others, a compound of good qualities and of
faults, and he carries the one and the other to extremes. It
will be necessary that I should have the honour of entering
into the minutest details on this subject, so soon as your
Majesty will have definitely decided in the matter of the
secret correspondence. In the meantime, I venture to take the
liberty to entreat that his case be not determined until I
shall have submitted my respectful observations thereon to your
Majesty. I must not conclude these observations on the Sieur
D’Eon without having the honour of stating that he occasionally
signs his letters, “William Wolff.” ...’[273]
[Sidenote: ABOLITION OF THE SECRET CORRESPONDENCE.]
All the details of the secret correspondence, as they were fully
treated upon by the Count de Broglio, proved entirely novel to the
King, who promptly put an end to the system. The money allowed for this
secret service by Louis XV. amounted to 120,000 livres annually, his
confidential agents, with one sole exception, being in the service of the
State, and in receipt of established salaries—as ambassadors, ministers,
residents or secretaries of Embassy; but to several, the reduction
of their emoluments by discontinuance of the secret correspondence
allowances would prove a serious inconvenience, the count therefore
submitted a plan for ensuring to his former colleagues, the faithful
depositaries of State secrets, a life-pension as a reward for their
loyalty and discretion. Approving the scheme, the King responded
liberally, and life-pensions, varying from 1,100 livres to 20,000 livres
per annum, were settled upon the various members of the abolished
department, D’Eon excepted, whose case necessitated special and careful
consideration.
As to the count himself and his recall from exile, he insisted upon
a thorough investigation into his conduct, whether as regarded his
personal acts or his correspondence, both of which too clearly proved
how completely removed from the slightest taint had been his loyalty and
integrity of purpose.
‘I have found amongst the King’s effects,’ wrote Louis XVI.,
‘several maps and papers, such as you have intimated to me,
and have tied them together. I have since made every inquiry
respecting yourself, and find that in all you did you acted
in accordance with the King’s orders. You have therefore my
permission to return to Paris or to Court at Compiègne.... I
approve of your writing to the several ministers to instruct
them to discontinue the correspondence. I send you a rough
draft of the letters which you must send to me for my
signature. As regards yourself, sir, you will collect the whole
of your papers upon your arrival in Paris, for delivery to M.
de Vergennes, after which you may take your rest.’[274]
[Sidenote: CLAIMS TO CONSIDERATION.]
The Count de Vergennes had succeeded as Minister for Foreign Affairs[275]
upon the disgrace and exile of the Duke d’Aiguillon, the avowed enemy
of the de Broglios, and whose attitude towards D’Eon had been one of
dangerous hostility. Rejoicing in his fall and full of hope in the new
order of things, the Chevalier appealed to de Broglio for intercession in
his behalf with the young King.
‘His late Majesty and you have deigned to approve, by your
letters of August 22, 1766, &c., my conduct in delivering
to M. Durand and the Baron de Breteuil the secret papers
you required. You equally approved my conduct, by letter
of February 10, 1767, in communicating to the Prince de
Masseran[276] the discovery I had made of England’s design to
invade Mexico and Peru in the approaching war, on the plan
devised by the Sieur Caffaro, that is to say, the Marquis
d’Aubaret, for which he receives 600_l._ sterling per annum
from the English ministry.... You also approved, by letter of
September 23, 1769, my vigilance in giving you eight months’
notice of the naval expedition projected by Russia against
the Turks, and of which you were a witness. His Majesty, as
also the King of England, deigned to approve my conduct in
the affair of Dr. Musgrave on the subject of the peace, which
created so great a sensation in London in 1769 and 1770. I
will not worry you by entering into particulars on the various
testimonies of approbation you have deigned to give me, on
behalf of his Majesty, as to my zeal in keeping you informed
of interesting events that have already occurred, that are now
passing, and are yet to take place.
‘It is time, after the cruel loss we have experienced of our
Counsellor-in-Chief[277] at Versailles, who, in the midst of
his own court, had less power than a king’s advocate at the
Châtelet; who, through incredible weakness, ever suffered his
faithless servants to triumph over his secret servants who
were true to him, and who had ever more largely favoured his
declared enemies rather than his real friends; it is time, I
say, that you should inform the new King, who loves truth,
and of whom it is said that he is as firm as his illustrious
grandfather was weak; it is time, for us both, that you should
inform this young monarch of your having been the secret
minister of Louis XV. during upwards of twenty years, and of
my having been under-minister, under his orders and yours; that
during the last twelve years I have sacrificed my fortune,
advancement, and happiness, in desiring to obey, to the
letter, his secret order of June 3, 1763,[278] and the secret
instructions relating thereto;’ ...
that for particular reasons, known only to the late King, he thought it
his duty to sacrifice him, openly, to the wrath of his ambassador de
Guerchy, to that of his ministers, and to the hysterics of de Pompadour;
but that his sense of justice and kindness of heart had never, in secret,
allowed him to abandon him, but that he had, on the contrary, given him,
in his own hand his royal promise to reward and justify him in the future.
‘... Posterity could never believe in these facts, had not you
and I all the necessary documents to establish them, together
with others still more incredible.... Had the late good King
not expelled the Jesuits from his kingdom, and had he a
Caramuel or a Malagrida for his confessor, nobody would have
been surprised; but, thank God, I hope the new King will soon
deliver you and me out of our embarrassments. I trust that no
Jesuit will ever be his confessor, friend, or minister, whether
he be disguised as priest, chancellor, duke and peer, courtier
or courtesan.’[279]
De Broglio had said much more in his favour to Louis XVI. than he chose
to tell D’Eon, and he now conveyed to him the King’s desire that he
should continue to make his reports in cypher, addressing all such
communications to the Count de Vergennes.