D’Eon surrenders the King’s papers—Earl Ferrers’ share in their
custody—Covenant between Beaumarchais and D’Eon, who receives
permission to return to France—and is ordered to resume female
attire.
The next few weeks were employed in arranging the terms of that Covenant
by which D’Eon irrevocably bound himself to renounce his style as a man,
and appear for ever thereafter in the character of a female, that being
the sex to which he more properly belonged. During this interval also
the iron safe was opened, and its contents declared by Beaumarchais to
be far from meriting the importance attached to them. D’Eon insisted,
on the contrary, that they were very precious, including, as they did,
the earliest instructions supplied to the Duke de Nivernois on his
proceeding to England; the earliest despatches of that minister giving
the secret details of the negotiations for peace; and the family pact of
the House of Bourbon, together with the secret convention—the whole of
which were made up into four bundles; but he admitted that the papers of
the greatest consequence were not in the iron safe at all. To produce
these he took Beaumarchais to his residence, led him into his bedroom,
and from beneath the flooring withdrew four parcels securely sealed and
directed: _Secret papers to be given to the King only_, which, he avowed,
completed the collection. D’Eon then drew up a list of the whole, in
detail, Beaumarchais affixing his initials and a numeral to each sheet as
he hastily perused it.
In conferring with Lord Ferrers, whose name appeared on D’Eon’s list
as one of his principal creditors, Beaumarchais shrewdly observed that
either the debt owed to him was imaginary, or his debtor had been
imposing upon him, by obtaining large sums of money on the security of
papers held to be of considerable importance, but which papers had never
really been consigned to him, they having been concealed in his own
residence. To this Lord Ferrers replied that he regretted Beaumarchais
should seek to create a breach between his friend the Chevalier and
himself—he little cared to which sex he belonged—as he valued him for
the spirit he showed and for his virtues. He had not been deceived, he
said, on the nature of the papers in the iron safe, represented to have
been State papers, and having seen the inventory of them, signed by
Beaumarchais himself, he was more than ever convinced of the Chevalier’s
honesty and truthfulness, such papers being all he could have desired as
security for his money. Even had his creditor died, he might have easily
recovered what was owed to him, for the Court of France, or at any rate,
the British Court, would have paid ten times the sum he claimed, rather
than that publicity should be given to their contents. He was surprised,
he added, at the dishonourable treatment by the French Court and its
ministers of so extraordinary a person as the Chevalier D’Eon, who had
worthily served his country, and yet had been so badly used.
Defending himself against the charge of having deceived Lord Ferrers,
D’Eon says:—
‘M. de Beaumarchais makes me aver, upon his own private
authority, what I never thought of or said. When I deposited
the iron safe with his lordship he never even asked to see the
outside coverings of the papers. He trusted entirely to my word
when I declared to him that it contained State papers, and the
detailed list signed by M. de Beaumarchais has proved to his
lordship that I told the truth.... I know how to conduct myself
abroad, and especially amongst the natural enemies of France,
with the prudence and policy acquired by long experience and
a residence of twenty-two years in foreign lands. Mine was
consequently an act of wisdom and prudence, in not revealing
to an admiral, an English peer allied to the royal family, the
fact of my holding secret correspondence with the King, and
that the said voluminous correspondence was hidden beneath the
flooring of my bed-chamber. It was for me alone to know this,
and that the papers were near a mine of gunpowder which would
have blown all into the air had any attempt been made to drive
me out of my last retrenchment. How can M. de Beaumarchais
distinguish by the name of deceit the reticence I have
necessarily observed towards everybody except himself, coming
to me as he did, in behalf of the King and of his minister?
Should he not rather blush at having betrayed to an English
nobleman, through a feeling of revenge, my secret, which was
that of the late King, who commanded me not to breathe a word
thereon to any living soul? But M. de Beaumarchais thinks that
all secrets, even the most important of State secrets, are but
green-room secrets.’[297]
[Sidenote: BEAUMARCHAIS’ COVENANT WITH D’EON.]
In the Covenant[298] between Beaumarchais and D’Eon, settling the terms
for the surrender of the King’s papers, and the return of the latter to
France, the emendations and alterations, as they appear in footnotes, are
written in the Chevalier’s hand.
‘We, the undersigned, Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais,
specially entrusted with the private instructions of the King
of France, dated Versailles, August 25, 1775, communicated to
the Chevalier D’Eon in London, and of which a copy certified
by me shall be annexed to the present act—on the one part:
[Sidenote: STIPULATIONS IN THE COVENANT.]
‘And Demoiselle Charles-Geneviève-Louise-Auguste-André-Timothée
D’Eon de Beaumont, spinster of age, hitherto known by the name
of the Chevalier D’Eon, squire, formerly captain of dragoons,
knight of the royal and military order of Saint Louis,
aide-de-camp to Marshal the Duke and to the Count de Broglio,
minister plenipotentiary from France at the Court of Great
Britain, late doctor of civil law and of canon law, advocate
in the Parliament of Paris, Censor Royal for history and
_belles-lettres_; sent to Russia with the Chevalier Douglas for
effecting the reconciliation of the two Courts, secretary of
Embassy to the Marquis de l’Hôpital, ambassador plenipotentiary
from France at the Court of her Imperial Majesty of all the
Russias, and secretary of Embassy to the Duke de Nivernois,
ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from France to
England for the conclusion of the late peace, are agreed upon
what follows, and have subscribed our names:
‘Art I. That I, Caron de Beaumarchais, do require, in the
name of the King, that all official and private papers having
reference to the several political negotiations with which
the Chevalier D’Eon has been entrusted in England, notably
those concerning the peace of 1763, correspondence, minutes,
copies of letters, cyphers, &c., at present deposited with Lord
Ferrers, Earl, Peer, and Admiral, of Upper Seymour Street,
Portman Square, London, ever a particular friend of the said
Chevalier D’Eon in the course of his troubles and law-suits in
England, that the said papers, enclosed in a large iron safe
of which I have the key, be delivered to me after having been
initialled by me and by the said Chevalier D’Eon, and of which
the inventory shall be added and annexed to the present act, as
a proof that the said papers have been faithfully delivered.
‘Art. II. That all papers of the secret correspondence between
the Chevalier D’Eon, the late King, and the several persons
entrusted by his Majesty to entertain that correspondence,
designated in the letters by the names _deputy_, _solicitor_,
in the same way in which his Majesty himself was styled
the _counsellor_—which secret correspondence was concealed
beneath the flooring of the bed-chamber of the said Chevalier
D’Eon, whence it was withdrawn by him, on October 5 of the
present year, in my presence alone, being carefully sealed
and addressed, _To the King only, at Versailles_—That all the
copies of the said letters, minutes, the cyphers, &c., shall be
delivered to me, equally attested with initials, and with an
exact inventory, the said secret correspondence consisting of
five portfolios or thick volumes in quarto.
‘Art. III. That the said Chevalier D’Eon is to desist from
every kind of proceeding, judicial or personal, against the
memory of the late Count de Guerchy, his adversary, the
successors to his title, the members of his family, &c.,
and undertakes never to revive any such proceedings under
whatsoever form, unless he be forced thereto by judicial or
personal provocation on the part of some relative, friend, or
adherent of that family; for which there can be no longer any
apprehension, his Majesty having, in his wisdom, taken every
necessary precaution to prevent the recurrence, in the future,
of any such unseemly quarrels, whether on the one side or on
the other.
‘Art. IV. And to the end that an insurmountable barrier be
for ever raised between the contending parties, and that
all ideas of law-suits or personal quarrels, no matter
whence they arise, be permanently nullified, I require,
in the name of his Majesty, that the disguise which has
to this day enabled a female to pass for the Chevalier
D’Eon, shall entirely cease, and without seeking to blame
Charles-Geneviève-Louise-Auguste-André-Timothée D’Eon
de Beaumont for a concealment of condition and sex, the
responsibility of which rests entirely with her relatives,[299]
and whilst rendering justice to the prudent, decorous, and
circumspect conduct she has at all times observed in the
dress of her adoption whilst preserving a manly and vigorous
bearing; I require, absolutely, that the ambiguity of her
sex, which has afforded inexhaustible material for gossip,
indecent betting, and idle jesting liable to be renewed,
especially in France, which his pride would not tolerate,
and which would give rise to fresh quarrels that could only
serve, perhaps, to palliate and renew former ones; I require,
absolutely, I say, in the name of the King, that the phantom
Chevalier D’Eon shall entirely disappear, and that the public
mind shall for ever be set at rest by a distinct, precise,
and unambiguous declaration, publicly made, of the true sex
of Charles-Geneviève-Louise-Auguste-André-Timothée D’Eon de
Beaumont before she returns to France—her resumption of female
attire settling for ever the public mind with regard to her;
with all of which she should the more readily comply just
now,[300] considering how interesting she will appear to both
sexes, all being in like manner honoured by the incidents of
her life, her courage, and her talents. Upon which conditions
I will deliver to her the safe-conduct on parchment, signed by
the King and his Minister for Foreign Affairs, which allows
her to return to France and there remain under the special and
immediate protection of his Majesty, who is desirous not only
of according protection and security under his royal word,
but who is good enough to change the yearly pension of 12,000
livres, granted by the late King in 1766, and which has been
paid to her punctually to this day, into a life-annuity of the
same amount, with an acknowledgement that the capital for the
said annuity has already been provided and advanced by the
said Chevalier D’Eon in furthering the concerns of the late
King, besides other larger sums,[301] the total of which will
be remitted by me for the liquidation of her debts in England,
with a copy on parchment of the deed for the said annuity of
12,000 livres tournois, dated September 28, 1775.
[Sidenote: THE CHEVALIER’S CONDITIONS.]
‘And I, Charles-Geneviève-Louise-Auguste-André-Timothée D’Eon
de Beaumont, spinster of age, hitherto known as the Chevalier
D’Eon as above styled, submit to the whole of the above
conditions imposed in the name of the King, solely that I
may afford to his Majesty the greatest possible proofs of my
respect and submission, although it would have been far more
agreeable to me had he deigned to employ me again in his army
or in the diplomatic service, in compliance with my earnest
solicitations and in accordance with my seniority—And because,
excepting some exhibition of feeling rendered in a measure
excusable from a legitimate and natural desire to defend
oneself, and the most justifiable resentment, his Majesty is
pleased to allow that, as an officer, I have always behaved
with bravery, and that I have been a laborious, intelligent,
and discreet political agent.
‘I submit to declaring publicly my sex, to my condition
being established beyond a doubt, to resume and wear female
attire[302] until death, unless, taking into consideration my
being so long accustomed to appear in uniform, his Majesty
will consent, on sufferance only, to my resuming male attire
should it become impossible for me to endure the embarrassment
of adopting the other, after having tried to accustom myself
to it at the _abbaye-royale_ of the Bernardine ladies of
Saint-Antoine-des-Champs, Paris, or at any such other convent
as I might select, to which I wish to withdraw for some months
on arriving in France.
‘I declare that I entirely relinquish all proceedings, judicial
or personal, to the prejudice of the late Count de Guerchy and
of his successors, promising never to renew them unless forced
to such a step by judicial proceedings as above stated.
‘I further pledge my word of honour, that I will deliver to M.
Caron de Beaumarchais all official and secret papers, whether
concerning the Embassy or the above said secret correspondence,
without reserving or retaining to myself a single document,
upon the following conditions, to which I entreat his Majesty’s
approval:—
‘“1. Seeing that the letter of the late King, my most honoured
lord and master, dated Versailles, April 1, 1766, by which
he insured to me the annual pension of 12,000 livres until
such time as he should improve my position, is of no further
service to me so far as the said pension is concerned, which
has been changed, to my advantage, by the King his successor,
into a life-annuity of like amount—That the original letter
should remain in my possession as testimony of the honour the
late King deigned to bestow on my loyalty, my innocence, and
my irreproachable conduct during all my troubles, and in all
matters he deigned to confide to me, whether in Russia, whilst
serving in his army, or in England.
‘“2. That the original receipt given to me in London on
July 11, 1766, by M. Durand, minister plenipotentiary in
England,[303] in exchange for the secret order of the late
King, dated Versailles, June 3, 1763, delivered by me to him,
intact, and of my own free-will, shall remain in my possession,
as authentic testimony of the complete submission with which I
gave up the secret order in the own hand of the King my master,
which of itself justified the course of my conduct in England,
so often described as being obstinacy by my enemies, and which,
in their ignorance of my extraordinary situation in relation to
the King, they have even dared to qualify as high treason.
‘“3. That his Majesty will deign, as a special favour, to
satisfy himself at the expiration of every six months, as did
the late King, of my being alive and of my whereabouts, to
prevent my enemies from ever again being tempted to undertake
anything to the prejudice of my honour, my liberty, my person,
and my life.
‘“4. That the cross of Saint Louis, won by me at the peril of
my life, in combats, sieges, and battles in which I took part,
where I was wounded, and served as aide-de-camp to the general
and as captain of dragoons and of volunteers in Broglio’s army,
with bravery to which all those generals under whom I served
have borne witness, shall never be taken from me, and that the
right to wear it on any garments I may adopt shall be conceded
to me for life.
‘“And if I may be permitted to add a respectful demand to these
conditions, I would venture to observe that, at the moment I
am about to obey his Majesty in consenting to abandon for ever
my male attire, I am entirely destitute of everything—linen,
clothing, and apparel suited to my sex, and that I have no
money to procure even ordinary necessaries, M. de Beaumarchais
being well aware who is to receive the amount destined in part
payment of my debts, and of which I do not wish to touch one
sou. Consequently, although I have no right to expect further
favours from his Majesty, I do not refrain from soliciting at
his hands the gift of a sum of money for the purchase of my
female outfit, this unexpected, extraordinary, and compulsory
expense not being my own idea, but uniquely in obedience to his
orders.”
[Sidenote: BEAUMARCHAIS’ CONCESSIONS.]
‘And I, Caron de Beaumarchais, still as above styled, I leave
with the said Demoiselle D’Eon de Beaumont the original letter
conferring so much distinction, which the late King wrote
to her from Versailles, April 1, 1766, when awarding her a
pension of twelve thousand livres in acknowledgment of faithful
services.
‘I further leave with her M. Durand’s original document.
Neither of these papers can be taken from her by me without
harshness that would ill accord with the benevolent and
equitable intentions at present entertained by his Majesty
towards the said Demoiselle D’Eon de Beaumont. As to the cross
of Saint Louis, which she desires to retain with the right of
wearing it in female attire, I must admit that, notwithstanding
the exceeding kindness with which his Majesty has deigned to
trust to my prudence, zeal, and intelligence in the conduct of
this affair, I am afraid I should be exceeding my powers in
determining so delicate a question.
‘Considering, on the other hand, that the cross of the royal
and military order of Saint Louis has ever been regarded
uniquely as the proof of, and reward for, valour, and that
several officers who were thus decorated, having abandoned
the military career for the church or the law, continued to
wear on their new garments this honourable evidence that they
had worthily performed their duties in a calling fraught with
greater dangers; I do not think that there can be any objection
to a like indulgence being granted to a valorous maiden who,
having been brought up in male attire by her parents, and
having courageously fulfilled all the perilous duties imposed
by the profession of arms, may not have been aware of the
impropriety of adopting the attire in which she had been
compelled to live, until it became too late to change, and is
therefore not in the least to blame for not having done so
until now.
‘Considering, also, that the rare example offered by this
extraordinary maiden is not likely to be followed by those
of her sex, and can have no consequences; that had Jeanne
d’Arc, who saved the throne and the states of Charles VII.,
fighting in male attire, obtained during the war, as has the
said Demoiselle D’Eon de Beaumont, some military reward or
decoration such as the cross of Saint Louis; it does not appear
that, her task being completed, the King would have deprived
her of the honourable guerdon for valour when requiring her to
resume the garments of her sex, nor that any chivalrous French
knight would have considered the distinction as being profaned,
because it ornamented the breast and dress of a female who, on
the field of battle, had ever shown herself worthy of being a
man.
‘I therefore venture to take it upon myself, not in the quality
of envoy, lest I should abuse the power confided to me, but as
a man persuaded of the rectitude of the principles I have just
enunciated; I take it upon myself, I say, to leave with the
Demoiselle Charles, &c. D’Eon de Beaumont the cross of Saint
Louis, and liberty to wear it on her female attire, without,
however, its being understood that I bind his Majesty to this
act should he disapprove my conduct on this point; promising
only, in the event of any difficulty arising, that I will plead
with his Majesty in her behalf, and, if necessary, establish
her right thereto, which I believe to be legitimate, with all
the power of my pen and the strength of my heart.
‘With regard to the request made by the said Demoiselle D’Eon
de Beaumont to the King, for a sum of money to enable her
to procure a female outfit—although such a matter is not
included in my instructions, I will not delay taking it into
consideration, such an outlay being, as a fact, the necessary
consequence of the instructions of which I am the bearer, to
the effect that she is to assume the garments of her sex. I
therefore allow her, for the purchase of a female outfit, a sum
of 2,000 crowns, on condition that she will not bring away with
her from London any of her clothing, arms, or any male apparel,
lest the desire to wear them should at any time be stimulated
by the sight of them. I consent to her retaining one complete
suit of uniform of the regiment in which she has served, the
helmet, sabre, pistols, musket and bayonet, as souvenirs of
her past life, just as are preserved the relics of loved ones
now no more. Everything else will be given up to me in London,
to be sold, the proceeds to be disposed of in such way as his
Majesty may direct.
‘And this act has been made out in duplicate, between
us, Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, and
Charles-Geneviève-Louise-Augusta-André-Timothée D’Eon de
Beaumont, under private seal, giving to it, on one side and the
other, the most complete force and assent, and we have, each
of us, affixed the seals of our arms, in London, the fifth day
of October, 1775.[304]
‘(Signed) CARON DE BEAUMARCHAIS.
‘D’EON DE BEAUMONT.’
[Sidenote: THE KING’S WARRANTS.]
When the wording of this Covenant had been first agreed upon,
Beaumarchais went to Staunton Harold, paid a large portion of the sum
presumably owing to Lord Ferrers, then left for France, returning almost
immediately, bringing with him three warrants the production of which
was indispensable to the signing of the Covenant no longer delayed,
and effected on November 4. Those warrants, all bearing the same date,
we reproduce in full—the first confers on Beaumarchais full powers
to negotiate with D’Eon for the surrender of the official and secret
correspondence of Louis XV.—the second grants permission to D’Eon to
return to France—the third requires the Demoiselle D’Eon to reassume
female attire, the right to wear the cross of Saint Louis being at the
same time conceded to her.
I.
IN THE KING’S NAME.
‘His Majesty being informed that there are in the possession of
the Sieur D’Eon de Beaumont sundry papers relating to secret
negotiations and correspondence with the late King, his most
honoured grandfather, and with some of his Ministers of State,
and it being his Majesty’s desire that these papers should be
withdrawn, he has to this end empowered and commissioned by
these presents the Sieur Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais
to proceed to London, there to discover all the documents in
question, to withdraw them out of the hands or custody of
whoever may have them, to take charge of them, to bring them
to France, and to deliver them for his Majesty. His Majesty
authorises the Sieur Caron de Beaumarchais to make all such
arrangements and dispositions as he may deem necessary, with
the view of enforcing all the conditions that prudence will
suggest, for the complete execution of the commission confided
to him, his Majesty being pleased to trust to his intelligence
and zeal in this matter. And as assurance of his will, his
Majesty has of his own hand signed the present order, which he
has caused to be countersigned by me, Councillor, Secretary of
State for his commands and finance.
[Illustration: L.S.]
‘LOUIS.
‘(Signed) GRAVIER DE VERGENNES.’
‘At Versailles, August 25, 1775.’
To a certified copy of the above warrant was appended the following
affirmation:—
‘And upon the 4th day of November, 1775, all minutes and the
original ministerial correspondence during the embassage
of the Duke de Nivernois, and during the ministry of the
Chevalier D’Eon; the despatches, letters, memorandums, notes
and instructions of the Dukes de Choiseul and de Praslin, and
of the Ministers of the English Court, as well as the minutes
of the correspondence between the Chevalier D’Eon and the King,
Louis XV., from 1762 to 1774, have been faithfully delivered to
me.[305]
‘CARON DE BEAUMARCHAIS.’
[Sidenote: SAFE-CONDUCT GRANTED BY LOUIS XVI.]
II.
IN THE KING’S NAME.
‘His Majesty having been pleased to cause information to
be laid before him of the different commissions, both
public and private, which the late King, his most honoured
grandfather, heretofore most graciously confided for his
service, as well in Russia as in England and other places,
to Charles-Geneviève-Louise-Auguste-André-Timothée D’Eon de
Beaumont, and of the manner in which he executed them, as
also of the said D’Eon de Beaumont’s military service, his
Majesty was convinced that, as an officer and as a minister,
in politics, in war, and upon every occasion, he has given
such indisputable proofs of attachment to his country, and
of zeal for the King’s service, as render him worthy of the
protection which his Majesty is pleased to grant him; and his
said Majesty, willing that the said D’Eon de Beaumont should
partake of his royal favour, deigns to continue the pension
of twelve thousand livres per annum, which the late King, his
grandfather, granted to him in 1766, and which has been paid to
him to this day without interruption. His Majesty, moreover,
being willing that the unhappy quarrels which broke out so
publicly, to the scandal of Europe, should be for ever buried
in oblivion, imposes absolute silence for the future in that
respect, not only upon the said D’Eon de Beaumont, but also
upon all his officers and subjects; upon this condition his
Majesty grants permission to the said D’Eon de Beaumont to
return into his kingdom, to remain there, and to attend to his
affairs in full liberty, as also to choose any other country
which he shall think proper, according to the choice given him
by the late King, dated April 1, 1766. His Majesty, moreover,
willing that, upon no occasion, at no time, and in no place
whatever, the said D’Eon shall be troubled, disquieted, or
molested in his honour, his person, or his fortune, by any
of the ministers—past, present, or future, or by any other
person, either about the negotiations or commissions, whether
public or secret, with which the late King had honoured
him, or from any other cause resulting from his quarrels,
disputes, and law-suits, which by these presents are for ever
abolished, as hath been said above; is pleased to grant to the
said D’Eon de Beaumont safeguard and entire security for his
person, and to put him under his said Majesty’s special and
immediate protection and safeguard, charging the said D’Eon
de Beaumont to observe the strictest silence, and to demean
himself upon all occasions like a submissive, respectful, and
faithful subject; and as an assurance of the authenticity of
his royal will in this respect, his Majesty has signed this
order and safeguard with his own hand; and in order to prevent
all persons from pretending ignorance, hath caused it to be
countersigned and delivered to the said D’Eon de Beaumont by
me, Councillor, and Secretary of State for his Foreign Affairs,
and for his commands and finances.[306]
[Illustration: L.S.]
‘LOUIS.
‘(Signed) GRAVIER DE VERGENNES.’
‘At Versailles, the 25th day of August, 1775.’
[Sidenote: ORDERS TO RESUME FEMALE ATTIRE.]
III.
IN THE KING’S NAME.
‘Demoiselle Charles-Geneviève-Louise-Auguste-André-Timothée
D’Eon de Beaumont, spinster of age, hitherto known as the
Chevalier D’Eon, formerly captain of dragoons, knight of
the royal and military order of Saint Louis, and minister
plenipotentiary in England, &c., is hereby required to resume
immediately the garments of her sex, never again to lay them
aside, and she is forbidden, under pain of disobedience, to
reappear in France otherwise than in female attire. Upon this
condition only, and others fully set forth in the special
safe-conduct which we have this day granted to her, she may, in
perfect security on my royal word, return to her own country,
there to enjoy the freedom, the honours, favours, and benefits
that have been accorded to her by our illustrious and most
honoured grandfather, as well as by ourselves, in consideration
of her military and political services, without any fear of
molestation to her person, honour, and property by any of my
late, present, or future ministers, or by any other person of
whatsoever rank or quality. And his Majesty, desiring to mark
by special favour his sense of the public and secret services,
in war and in diplomacy, which the said Demoiselle D’Eon de
Beaumont has had the good fortune to render during upwards of
twenty consecutive years to the late King, his most honoured
grandfather, decrees that the cross of his royal and military
order of Saint Louis, won by the said Demoiselle D’Eon de
Beaumont at the peril of her life, in combats, sieges, and
battles in which she took part, when she was wounded and
employed as aide-de-camp to the general, also as captain of
dragoons and of volunteers in the army of de Broglio, with
bravery to which all the generals under whom she has served
have attested, shall never be taken from her, and that the
right to wear it in female attire shall belong to her until
death.[307] And as an assurance of the authenticity of his
will in this respect, his Majesty has of his own hand signed
the present order; and to prevent all persons from pretending
ignorance, hath caused it to be countersigned and delivered
to the said Demoiselle D’Eon de Beaumont by me, Councillor,
Secretary of State for his Foreign Affairs, and for his
commands and finances.[308]
[Illustration: L.S.]
‘LOUIS.
‘(Signed) GRAVIER DE VERGENNES.’
‘At Versailles, the 25th day of August, 1775.’