Beaumarchais’ reprehensible behaviour—D’Eon challenges
Morande—Miss Wilkes’ curiosity—Feeling against D’Eon—Fresh
difficulties with Beaumarchais—Speculators on D’Eon’s sex
seized with panic—Lord Mansfield’s decision on the policies
effected—D’Eon appears in public as a female—Leaves for
France wearing military uniform—The King’s second order to
reassume female attire—Marie Antoinette furnishes _Mademoiselle
D’Eon’s_ trousseau—Visits her native town—Rejoicings at
her appearance—Presented at Court as a lady—The Queen’s
household—Deportment in society—Another trial before Lord
Mansfield.
The breach was now complete. Beaumarchais had proved himself to be
perfectly indifferent in the matter of his reputation, so far as his
relations with the Chevalière were concerned, and it is certain, after
the admission made by Morande, that D’Eon would never have entered
into further negotiations, even to her own benefit, with the man who
was regardless of the injury he was causing, instead of affording his
protection by virtue of the powers with which he was invested. D’Eon sent
a copy of the declaration to de Vergennes, under cover of a letter, in
which, after recapitulating the shameless conduct of Beaumarchais towards
herself and Lord Ferrers, conduct by no means adapted to re-establish
the good name of a man who had fallen a victim to the passions of the
great, much less of a virtuous female, and his little scrupulousness in
betraying Court secrets, she informed the minister that she declined to
have further intercourse with one whose life in London, in the company of
his friend Morande, was licentious and discreditable to the last degree.
She entreated the count to be persuaded that, although a female, she had
all the qualities and the courage of the most fearless of men, and that
notwithstanding her refusal to consent to a verification of her sex, she
would be willing to do so as a favour or from necessity. This letter,
written throughout in the feminine gender, is signed, ‘Votre dévoué
Serviteur, le Chev. D’Eon.’[321]
When de Vergennes had communicated to Beaumarchais its contents, so full
of abuse directed against him, the latter replied with resignation: ‘She
is a woman, and so horribly influenced, that I forgive her with my whole
heart; she is a woman, and this explains everything.’
But Beaumarchais’ words were inconsistent with his actions. In the first
place he had betrayed his trust in confiding to Morande the nature of his
private dealings with D’Eon, together with many particulars of D’Eon’s
past intercourse with the Court of France, details which Morande made it
his business to repeat in public, the gossip thus spread only serving
to increase the agitation in the public mind on the Chevalier’s sex.
Then, Beaumarchais and Morande having become thoroughly persuaded that
all hope of amassing riches at the expense of Mademoiselle had vanished,
and Beaumarchais being about to return to France, it was arranged that
Morande should publish a pamphlet in disparagement of D’Eon, to whom a
copy was sent by the writer, with the request for an interview at which
terms for permanent reconciliation between them might be agreed upon.
The Chevalier sent his brother-in-law O’Gorman, and his friend the
Chevalier de Piennes, with a message to the effect that the only place
where Mademoiselle D’Eon could meet Morande was in Hyde Park, those
gentlemen being at the same time instructed to invite him to appoint an
early day and the hour, and make his choice of weapons. Morande’s reply
was an outrage on all decency and the foullest insult that could be
offered to a woman;[322] and when D’Eon found himself bound over to keep
the peace in 200_l._, and two sureties in 100_l._ each, he became excited
beyond all control, and committed the fatal error of writing to Morande
in language very similar to that employed in the pamphlet.
[Sidenote: BOUND OVER TO KEEP THE PEACE.]
Morande having declined to fight a woman, O’Gorman took her place; but
Morande avoided the risk of an encounter by apprising the police of the
bellicose designs of the big Irishman, who was also, in his turn, bound
over to keep the peace.
The widespread and unenvied notoriety that had rendered D’Eon’s situation
in London perfectly intolerable, was increasing in spite of himself, and
his yearning to leave the country and return to France became all the
greater as fresh dangers threatened the liberty of his person. He was the
centre of attraction, the chief object of public curiosity, and having
become more familiarly known to the multitude, was more liable to be
seized at some unguarded moment, to be maltreated and insulted by those
whose interests, heavily staked, demanded an expeditious solution of the
problem—Of which sex is the Chevalier? One pretty and innocent little
note from Miss Wilkes, daughter of the _patriot_, who had been brought up
in a French convent and knew the language perfectly, puts the question
point blank.
‘Miss Wilkes presents her compliments to Monsieur the Chevalier
D’Eon, and is very anxious to know if he is really a woman as
everybody asserts, or a man. It would be very kind of Monsieur
the Chevalier D’Eon to communicate the truth to Miss Wilkes,
who entreats, with all her heart, to be informed of it. It
would be still more kind of him if he would come and dine with
her and her papa, to-day or to-morrow, or, in fact, as soon as
he is able to do so.’[323]
[Sidenote: THE COUNT DE VERGENNES’ EXPOSTULATIONS.]
By some the Chevalier was accused of being a spy in disguise, who should
be made to appear in the garments proper to her sex. By others she was
suspected of being a natural daughter of Louis XV.; and one night a party
of stragglers broke the windows and wrenched off several bars of the
railing in front of her house in Brewer Street, violence repeated the
second night after, the perpetrators not being discovered, even though
D’Eon offered a reward of twenty guineas for their apprehension.[324]
His aversion to the assumption of female attire was insurmountable,
but he was pledged to it and had been strengthening his mind for the
inevitable, the essential point ever present to his imagination being
the driving of every bargain to his own special advantage. He sought
to resume the negotiations of 1774-1775 for his return from exile, by
direct communication with the Count de Vergennes, and claimed that if
he were absolutely required to dress as a female, there should at least
be inserted, in the written order to that effect, the words _as had
been required of her in the reign of the late King_, after the words,
‘to resume immediately the garments of her sex never again to lay them
aside.’ In making this request it was clearly the object of D’Eon, now
about to enter upon the world’s stage, openly and permanently, in the
character of a female, to shield _herself_ against the imputation of
having of _her_ own accord, and at any time disguised _her_ sex to pass
the life of a brave and distinguished man, and he shrank from accepting
the smallest responsibility in his approaching compulsory transformation.
The minister found it impossible to accede, and Beaumarchais was
instructed to explain to the Chevalière the impracticability of her
request being entertained, which he did, by repeating, textually,
the minister’s own words, after saying that he wished the Count de
Vergennes had employed some person less odious than he must be to her, to
communicate his reply:—
‘... Can the King of France grant to a female a safe-conduct
intended for an officer? Who is it that served the King? Is it
Mademoiselle or M. D’Eon? If his Majesty in learning, but too
late, the offences committed by her parents to the prejudice of
good manners and against the laws, is desirous of forgetting
the past and unwilling to impute to her the fault of having
wilfully persevered in such a course—is it to be expected that
the King’s leniency is to extend to laying to the charge of the
late King the ridicule that attaches to her indecent disguise,
by employing the words she has suggested?... Never has the
King’s service required that a female should usurp the title
of man, the uniform of an officer, the status of an envoy! It
is in thus increasing the number of her rash claims, that this
woman has succeeded in trying the King’s and my own patience
and the good-will of her partisans. Whether she remains in
England or goes elsewhere is, as you well know, a matter of
perfect indifference to us. As to her eagerness to return to
France, I gave her to understand, through you, it was the
King’s desire that she should not do so unless in the character
of her sex, and that she should here lead a quiet, virtuous,
and circumspect life, such as she should never have departed
from.’
Beaumarchais added, that for his own part he did not believe, more
than the minister, that any fresh claims she made could be of the least
advantage to her, and with many kind words expressed his readiness to
serve her as he had hitherto done, provided she did not persist in
creating further difficulties.[325]
This refusal of Louis XVI. to accede to the request made by D’Eon,
reached him at a moment that Morande had successfully defeated all his
plans to punish him. Foiled in his purpose of chastising Morande by
resort to arms, the Chevalier sued him for libel, and Lord Mansfield
directed rule to be granted; but when it was shown that D’Eon had written
equally libellous matter to Morande, the Court discharged the rule,
and the Chevalier had the mortification of seeing his enemy reap the
advantage of his own imprudence. It was whilst smarting under a sense of
these failures that D’Eon wrote to his tormentor:—
‘I have not replied sooner to the letter you gave yourself
the trouble to write, because at the time you were writing
sweet things to me, you wrote to your protégé Morande in such
a way as to shake the phial or rather the pitcher of venom he
carries in his breast. This was neither honourable nor fair.
You even urged him to write libellous matter against me in
the papers.’... Then in his old spirit of derision: ‘You,
personally, have never been odious to me as you suppose; it was
your conduct, your speech, your actions, your letters to Lord
Ferrers and to myself that were odious to me. Good-night, too
dear M. de Beaumarchais; it is two o’clock in the morning, I
am tired and am going to bed inveighing against all those men
who have treated me so badly, and above all, you yourself, who
I truly esteemed and loved, and who have exasperated me beyond
measure by your own and Morande’s behaviour....’
[Sidenote: TRIAL ON THE LEGALITY OF SEX POLICIES.]
In ever increasing anxiety to make his escape out of the difficulties and
threatening dangers by which he was surrounded, the Chevalier applied to
the Minister for Foreign Affairs to ask whether he might rely upon the
Government for protection, it being his intention to return shortly to
France.
‘... Had you not, Mademoiselle,’ replied the unflinching de
Vergennes, ‘abandoned yourself to feelings of mistrust, which,
I am persuaded, you did not maturely consider, you might have
been enjoying for some time past, in your own country, that
tranquillity which should now, more than ever, be the object of
your desires. If you are seriously thinking of returning, the
way is still open to you, and you know the conditions imposed.
The most absolute reserve on the past; every precaution to be
taken to avoid meeting those persons whom you regard as being
the cause of your misfortunes; and, finally, the resumption of
the garments of your sex. You can no longer hesitate, seeing
the publicity given to this in England. You are doubtlessly
aware that our laws do not tolerate such disguises. I have
only to add that if, after a trial, you do not feel at home
in France, there will be no objection to your proceeding
elsewhere to suit your own pleasure. I have written the above
in conformity with the King’s orders. Let me add that the
safe-conduct with which you have been supplied suffices, so
that you may now do as you please. If you decide upon pursuing
a wise course, I will congratulate you; otherwise, I shall only
be able to pity you for not responding to the good master who
offers you a helping hand. Set your mind at rest, because when
in France you will be able to communicate with me directly,
without the intercession of any person.’[326]
D’Eon was unable to leave England unless he made some arrangement with
his creditors, still oppressed as he was by the liabilities he had
incurred in the furtherance of the late King’s service, and no sooner
had his imminent departure become extensively known, than something
like a panic seized upon all who had engaged in the speculations on
his sex. Three several actions were commenced in Easter term, against
three underwriters in the city, for the recovery of the respective sums
underwritten by them. Upwards of 120,000_l._ had been underwritten at
various times on this mysterious question, but rather than ‘risk a heat
over the Bacon course in Westminster Hall,’ several eminent merchants
forfeited sixty per cent., and even seventy per cent., to have their
names cancelled from the policies they had underwritten.
One trial on the legality of these policies took place before Lord
Mansfield, on July 1, when it was believed that the sex of the Chevalier
was established beyond the possibility of a doubt. The action was brought
by Mr. Hayes, a surgeon in Leicester Fields, against Mr. Jacques, broker
and underwriter, for the recovery of 700_l_., the said Jacques having,
about six years previously, received a premium of fifteen guineas, on the
engagement to return one hundred guineas for every guinea, whenever it
should be proved that the Chevalier was actually a female. Mr. Buller,
as counsel for Hayes, opened the cause by stating the fairness of the
transaction and the justifiable nature of the demand, the plaintiff
believing himself to be in possession of sufficient proof to establish
the sex of the Chevalier. He called for his first witness a surgeon named
Le Goux,[327] who gave evidence to the effect that he had been acquainted
with the Chevalier D’Eon from the time that the Duke de Nivernois was
ambassador in London; that about five years previously he was called in
by the Chevalier to lend professional aid, when she was labouring under a
disorder which led to the discovery of her sex, of which he, Le Goux, was
able to give satisfactory testimony. Another witness was Morande, with
whom we are so intimately acquainted, who deposed that so far back as
July 3, 1774, the Chevalier had made to him a free disclosure of her sex,
even to displaying her bosom, and exhibiting her female wardrobe, which
consisted of sacks, petticoats, and other garments for feminine use. On
the part of the defendant, Mr. Mansfield pleaded that this was one of
those gambling, indecent, and unnecessary cases that ought never to be
permitted to come into a court of justice; that besides the inutility and
indecency of the case, the plaintiff had taken advantage of his client,
being in possession of intelligence that enabled him to lay with greater
certainty, although with such great odds on his side; that the plaintiff,
at the time of laying the wager, knew that the Court of France treated
with the Chevalier as a woman to grant her a pension, and that the
French Court must have some strong circumstances to imbibe that idea; he
therefore hoped that the jury would reprobate such wagers.
[Sidenote: LORD MANSFIELD’S CHARGE TO THE JURY.]
In charging the jury, Lord Mansfield expressed his abhorrence of the
whole transaction, and of its being brought into a Court of Justice when
it might have been settled elsewhere, and wished that their verdict
could so operate that neither party might be the winner; but, as the law
did not expressly prohibit, and the wager was laid, the question before
them was, who had won? His lordship observed that the indecency of the
proceeding arose more from the unnecessary questions asked than from
the case itself. There was every external proof that the defendant was
right in his conjecture. D’Eon was dressed as a man, would have fought
duels, was captain of dragoons, and had resided here as an ambassador;
therefore, to all appearances the defendant had the best of the wager.
On the part of the plaintiff there was a considerable difficulty. Suppose
him to have been right, yet the proof of the fact was not easy. It was
not in the power of any person to compel D’Eon to disclose her sex,
and was it known, the proof still rested on the plaintiff. It had been
thrown out that he was sure of the fact at the time he laid the wager.
The contrary has appeared, for he had no proofs in his power at the time
the contract was entered into.... The Court of France considered D’Eon
as a man; there were reasons afterwards to believe the contrary....
It might have been difficult to prove the sex, if private quarrels of
the parties had not furnished collateral evidence as put the question
out of doubt. The witnesses were either perjured, or their testimonies
must be credited. As was the case in all wagers, both parties conceived
themselves certain of winning. His lordship called upon the jury to
consider all the circumstances, and if they thought that the bet was
fairly won to decide in favour of the plaintiff, for whom a verdict was
given, without any hesitation on the part of the jury—for 700_l._ and
forty shillings—a verdict awaited with intense interest, as numerous
sums on policies were depending on this suit. When, however, this policy
business came to be solemnly signed before Lord Mansfield, in the Court
of King’s Bench, the defendant pleaded a late Act of Parliament for the
non-payment of the policy he had underwritten, a statute which provided
that ‘no insurance shall be valid, where the person insuring cannot prove
an antecedent interest in the person or thing insured.’ The Chief Justice
having admitted the statute to be binding in the present instance, the
decision at once and for ever deprived all insurers in the ‘D’Eon
policies’ of the golden harvest they so long and patiently expected.[328]
[Sidenote: LA CHEVALIÈRE D’EON!]
D’Eon received the intimation that he was declared by the law to be a
female with perfect equanimity. ‘What does it matter to me that the
King’s Bench has proclaimed me to be a female! I am none the better or
the worse. I am in the same condition as before the war—_in eodem statu
ante bellum_.’ He had failed in his application for a postponement of
the trial until he should return from France, and having abstained from
taking any part in the proceedings, it was bruited about that such
discretion was to be rewarded with a bonus of twenty thousand pounds!
D’Eon appeared in London in ‘her real character as a female, for
the first time on August 6, being dressed in an elegant sack, her
head-dress adorned with diamonds, and bedecked in all the other elegant
paraphernalia of her sex;’ but with the laudable desire of completely
disconnecting herself from the smallest suspicion of wishing to
countenance either of the contending parties in the gambling policies,
when the day fixed upon for her departure from London had arrived, she
drove off from her house in Brewer Street, in a neat post-chaise and
four, wearing her uniform with the cross of Saint Louis, and suitably
attended.[329] The whole of her effects remained in England, her stock of
wine, which was large and valuable, being left with her landlord to be
sold for the benefit of her creditors.
Henry Angelo tells us that the first time he saw D’Eon dressed as a woman
was in Brewer Street.
‘To my surprise I beheld a lusty dame dressed in black silk,
the head-dress in rosed _toupet_ and laced cap. He had not
the least beard—a diamond necklace, long stays, and an
old-fashioned stomacher. My father leading me to the assumed
lady, I received, _à la Française_, a kiss on each cheek. Ever
afterwards, when he dined at our house, though dressed as a
woman, when the ladies retired he remained to enjoy the glass
and conversation. He always dressed in black silk, and when I
last saw him, looked like a woman worn out with age and care.’
Angelo was entertained to ‘an excellent dinner’ one day after D’Eon had
donned the petticoat, there being amongst the guests Bach, Abel, and
Cramer.
The Chevalier left London on August 13, and in the ‘Morning Post and
Public Advertiser,’ &c., of the 15th, appeared her protest against the
malicious charge of being interested in the issue of the late trial.
‘I requested with the greatest earnestness the people of
England, who have always shown me the greatest respect, not to
renew any policies respecting my sex; I declared that I would
not agree to a judicial manifestation of it; requested there
should be no fresh policies entered into, and that the old
ones should be annulled, and that if this was not agreed to, I
should be obliged to quit a place which I regard as my second
country. The _auri sacra fames_ which possesses my enemies has
unhappily prevailed. They have not only renewed the ancient
policies, but have obtained a judgment in the Court of King’s
Bench, July 1, to determine my sex. In consequence, I with
regret keep my promise. I quit with grief my dear England,
where I thought to have found repose and liberty, to return
to my native country.... If those interested in the policies
would take my advice, it should be to pay nothing; because the
judgment in the King’s Bench was made without my participation,
and against my consent, which I opposed at the time of the
sitting of the Court, desiring it to be delayed till my master
should permit me again to return to England.... I would rather
perish than rise triumphant by the weakness of that sex which
I am accused to be of.... I here absolutely declare, and
probably for the last time, that if any person, whether in
France or England, can prove before any tribunal that I have
been interested to the value of one shilling, in any policies,
I will agree to distribute all I am possessed of to any public
charity the said tribunal shall name.
THE CHEVALIER D’EON.’
‘London, August 10, 1777.’
[Sidenote: AGAIN ORDERED TO RESUME FEMALE ATTIRE.]
D’Eon’s residence in England had extended over fifteen years, and it
was with no inconsiderable feelings of emotion that he again touched
his native soil. Hurrying to Versailles, he presented himself, equipped
as a dragoon, before the Count de Vergennes, who received him affably
and with distinction, but at once enjoined him to execute the terms of
his Covenant, and not appear unless in female attire. D’Eon demurred,
pleading, first one thing, then another, but the minister was obdurate,
and soon the Chevalière was favoured with the following order:—
IN THE KING’S NAME.
‘Charles-Geneviève-Louise-Auguste-André-Timothée D’Eon de
Beaumont is hereby commanded to lay aside the uniform of a
dragoon, which he has been in the habit of wearing, and resume
the garments of her sex, and is forbidden to appear in any part
of the kingdom in any other garments than those suitable to
females.
‘LOUIS.
‘GRAVIER DE VERGENNES.’
‘Done at Versailles, August 19, 1777.’
The Count de Vergennes had asked M. Genest, chief clerk at the Ministry
for Foreign Affairs, to receive his old friend the Chevalier in his own
house, and manage him as best he could. Upon hearing of his arrival,
the Queen sent word to Genest that he was to bring the Chevalier to
her. Genest, having informed the minister of her Majesty’s commands,
received instructions to accompany the Chevalier; but the count having
previously had a few minutes’ audience of the Queen, she left the room
with him, and finding Genest in the adjoining apartment, her Majesty
told him, smiling, that she was sorry to have given him any trouble,
the few words the count had just said to her having for ever cured her
of her curiosity.[330] And yet she did not remain unmindful of him.
When D’Eon sought to put off the evil hour of his transformation by
pitiably pleading that she had no suitable clothes in which to appear,
even the Queen’s eagerness for novelty and amusement seemed to conspire
against her. Her Majesty seized upon so exceptional an opportunity ‘for
exercising the nobility of her soul and the generosity of her heart, in
causing Mademoiselle Bertin, one of her ladies-in-waiting, to complete an
outfit which would have sufficed for any four girls of the royal house of
St. Cyr.’[331]
D’Eon was delighted at the respite afforded by the time required for
preparing a trousseau in accordance with the Queen’s commands, and he
made the most of it by paying a visit to his mother, whom he had not
seen for many years. In acknowledging the receipt of the King’s order
of August 19, the Chevalier informed the minister that the few articles
of female attire he had by him were quite unsuitable for making his
appearance at Versailles. Mademoiselle Bertin had consequently undertaken
to procure the clothing necessary for his new condition of life, and
to turn him into a fairly modest and obedient woman; and to her, after
Heaven, the King, and his ministers, would belong the greatest merit in
connection with his miraculous conversion. His earnest desire to appear
irreproachable in the eyes of the King and of the Counts de Vergennes and
de Maurepas, sufficed to endue him with the strength required to overcome
himself, and adopt a sweetness of disposition in conformity with the new
existence into which he was forced.[332] This letter was signed, ‘The
Chevalier D’Eon for a little while longer.’
[Sidenote: RECEPTION AT TONNERRE.]
D’Eon likens his reception at his home to that given to the prodigal
son. In transports of joy his mother calls all her friends together to
rejoice with her over the sheep that was lost, and was found again—her
daughter—who had been her son for a time only, but now was, and should
for ever be, a daughter to her! She holds three days’ feasting, to which
all the authorities of the town and neighbourhood are invited. The mayor
and aldermen, the ecclesiastical, monastical, military, and civil bodies,
and a deputation formed of the married and maiden ladies of Tonnerre,
call upon Madame D’Eon and overwhelm her with their congratulations. Each
evening, two casks of wine are placed at the gate of the house, and bread
and meat is distributed to the people, who give vent to their enthusiasm
by firing guns and crackers, and nearly causing a conflagration in the
stable-yard and granaries. It was only after these memorable incidents at
the place of her birth, that the Chevalier’s heart felt less heavy; but
he was very shortly ordered back by the ministers, and having returned
to Versailles, he bound himself, in a written declaration, never to
transgress the orders of the King, to whom he swore, in the presence of
the Counts de Maurepas and de Vergennes, that he should die, as in duty
bound, a female.[333]
The choice of the day upon which, from Chevalier, D’Eon was to be
formally and effectively transformed into Chevalière, was made by his
relative, Christopher de Beaumont,[334] Archbishop of Paris, Madame
Louise[335] having greatly interested herself in his behalf. On the
morning of October 21, 1777, the Feast of St. Ursula, Mademoiselle D’Eon
having been deprived, by order of the King, of all her male attire, was
clothed by Mademoiselle Bertin in her new female habiliments, with the
injunction never to lay them aside, but to wear them to the end of her
days. She was anointed with fragrant perfumes, her hair was curled, and
a magnificent head-dress put on her; her gown, petticoats, and stockings
were of the richest materials, and she was adorned with bracelets, a
necklace, earrings, and rings. At the moment of her transformation,
apparelled like a bride for her bridegroom, she excelled the Queen of
Sheba herself, in all her glory. In this quality she was presented at
Court, and there compelled to remain two years, that she might become
moulded into her new condition.
‘I cannot express my repugnance, my grief, my pain, my troubled
state, my vexation, and my shame, at having to appear thus
publicly at Court in the dress and position of a female; but
the King’s council considered such a change indispensable....
What appeared to some as extraordinary and degrading in an old
chevalier of Saint Louis, appeared to others as most natural,
reasonable, and noble, and the refrain of the ladies at Court
to the chevaliers of Saint Louis was to this effect: “Since
your Chevalier D’Eon is a female, it is but right she should
dress as one, and we wish it for our glory.”
‘My first duty on resuming female attire was to communicate
in the chapel of the Virgin behind the choir of the cathedral
at Paris; then at that of St. Sulpitius, where I had been
confirmed and had taken the name of Mary, and where I had also
communicated for the first time. I afterwards communicated in
the chapel of St. Geneviève in Paris, in the beautiful chapel
of the Virgin at St. Roch, and again in the church of the
sisterhood of St. Mary at Chaillot. In being stripped of man’s
estate and of my uniform, I am divested of every vice and of
every danger incidental to such a condition; and being invested
with the character of a female, am forced, in spite of myself,
to adopt the vocations and virtues incumbent thereon.’[336]
[Sidenote: MARIE ANTOINETTE’S HOUSEHOLD.]
Household of Marie Antoinette at the time of the Chevalière’s
introduction:—
Madame Misery _First Lady-in-Waiting._
Madame Campan[337] _Second Lady-in-Waiting._
Mdlle. Adelaïde Genest[337] _Third Lady-in-Waiting._
Guimard _Groom-in-Waiting to the late Louis XV._
Lasone _Physician._
The Chevalière, we are told by those who saw her at this period, was
slow enough in adapting herself to the requirements of her sex; it would
be long, she used to say, before she became accustomed to them, and
would have continued to dress as a man had it been possible. At first
she laughed at her petticoats and cap, saying it was very hard to be
degraded from captain to a cornet! (_cornette_), and was altogether
careless in her demeanour. She was of a fair complexion, with fair
hair slightly grey, and having a handsome neck and bosom appeared to
advantage as a female; she had formerly made herself a beard, and her
chin being provided with some hairs, she employed herself in nipping
them. Wearing low, though somewhat large heels, her stature did not
exceed five feet four inches, and those who had not seen her in uniform,
could not conceive how she could have looked well in it.[338] Her accent
was peculiar, but not unbecoming as her voice was agreeable,[339] and
in making a courtesy she would bend her knees forward quickly without
otherwise moving her limbs. Being recommended to put on some rouge, she
replied that she had tried it, but it would not stick to her face; she
despised her body, she said, which she considered as the case or shell
only of her soul.
[Sidenote: DEPORTMENT IN SOCIETY.]
Being one day in a room where several gentlemen, strangers to her,
were present, a lady having remarked, ‘Chevalière, to the best of my
recollection when you were dressed as a man you had a very handsome leg!’
‘Parbleu!’ replied D’Eon with vivacity, pulling up her petticoats, ‘if
you are curious to see it, here it is!’ Upon another occasion a lady
observed to her, ‘If you wished to demand satisfaction, would you not
regret your former condition and your arms?’ ‘I have already considered
this matter,’ she replied; ‘when I quitted my hat and sword, I own it
gave me some concern, but I said to myself, what does it signify? I may
do as much, perhaps, with my slipper?’ And to another lady who gave some
advice with regard to her behaviour, she said: ‘Madam, I shall always be
_sage_, no doubt, but I can never be modest.’ Upon the whole, however,
the Chevalière seldom appeared in public, limiting herself to dining with
her old friends. If she chanced, upon such occasions, to be in the same
room with some other knight who happened to be addressed as ‘Monsieur le
Chevalier,’ she would instantly turn round thinking she was meant, and
would equally forget herself in her assiduity towards the fair sex, never
failing to assist a lady to wine, when sitting at table, or rising with
alacrity to relieve her of her empty coffee cup.[340] She was a great
eater, and usually partook of every dish, even if she sent her plate away
directly after.
Since D’Eon was not visible to the world at large in Paris, it became the
fashion to personate her at masquerades, and even at ordinary evening
parties, when Beaumarchais would also be brought into ridicule by the
pretended Chevalière relating, for the amusement of the company, the
incidents of her courtship with that individual. The tales told, however,
were not always harmless, and one report spread, was to the effect
that a portion of the money destined by the King for the Chevalière’s
use in England, and confided to Beaumarchais, had been appropriated
by the latter, who accordingly complained to de Vergennes of the base
accusation, charging D’Eon with being the author of it. He was at
once reassured by that minister, who wrote word that his Majesty’s
satisfaction at the correctness of the accounts he had rendered should
suffice to vindicate his character from any such attacks; and having
obtained permission to publish the minister’s letter, he sent a copy
to D’Eon under cover of some offensive and very angry lines. Calmer
judgments had certainly not as yet prevailed in the unsettled mind
that was ever craving after excitement; and in malicious enjoyment of
Beaumarchais’ participation in his own unenviable notoriety, D’Eon seized
the opportunity for indulging in his favourite recreation, by treating
the Minister for Foreign Affairs to one of the most tedious effusions of
which he had ever been guilty, but humorous and satirical withal.
‘Now that I have obeyed the King’s commands in resuming
female attire on the feast day of St. Ursula, patroness of
the eleven thousand virgins and martyrs in England; now that
I am living in tranquillity and peace in the uniform of a
vestal, and that I had completely forgotten Caron and his
boat, judge of my surprise in receiving an epistle from the
said Caron, enclosing copies, duly certified, of a letter he
addressed to you and of your reply.... What has he done for
me?... He has made me blush for my country by paying a sum
of money in the name of the State, in bills at six, twelve,
eighteen, and twenty-four months date, charging seven per cent.
discount, and finally swindling an English peer out of two
hundred and thirty-three louis.... Was it not M. Beaumarchais
who, unable to persuade me to be dishonest in supporting him
in his speculations on my sex, spread the report everywhere
in Paris that he was to marry me after I should have spent
seven months at the abbey of the Ladies of St. Anthony, when,
as a fact, he was within an inch of being espoused to my
cane, whilst in London?... Let me tell you that fictitious
Demoiselles D’Eon, wearing the cross of Saint Louis, have made
their appearance in more than one fashionable house in Paris.
They were jesters who said the most absurd things of the real
Chevalière, and chiefly with reference to the agreeable and
honourable Caron de Beaumarchais, who proposed marriage to
the Demoiselle D’Eon when on his late embassage in England;
and whose coming embassage to Congress in America is for the
purpose of importing snuff of a quality that will make the
entire audience sneeze each time his plagiary, the “Barber
of Seville,” is performed. The scene of the false Demoiselle
D’Eon was repeated, I am informed, last week, in a house where
Madame de F—— was hoaxed by Musson, the well-known painter,
who personated the Demoiselle at the time that I, lonely and
peaceful, was at work and asleep in my hermitage at Petit
Montreuil.... Does M. de Beaumarchais, so fond of hoaxing
others, desire to enjoy the exclusive privilege?... Let me
tell you, sir, that all the integrity of the four ministers
put together, adding to it that of their chief clerks, would
fail to make an honest man of Caron, so far as I am concerned.
People in England are convinced of this, for they have
nicknamed him _bon marché_....
‘LA CHEVALIÈRE D’EON.’
Passing over the reply sent to Beaumarchais, we find ‘The Appeal of
Mademoiselle D’Eon to her Contemporaries,’ which also went through the
press:—
‘Where is the woman who, having read the famous letters of M.
Carillon[341] or Caron de Beaumarchais, of January 3 and 13,
addressed to the minister and to me, has not said, She will
reply!... He has sought, by base artifice, to deprive me of
that consideration so conducive to my peaceful existence. I
put him to confusion by ridiculing his impotent rage. He is
a Thersites who should be whipped, for having dared to be
insolent to his betters whom he ought to respect. I denounce
and abandon him to all womankind of my day, as one who would
fain have exalted himself at the expense of a woman, enriched
himself by sacrificing a woman’s honour, and avenged his
frustrated hopes by crushing a woman, who, of all others, has
at heart the triumph of her sex.
‘N.B.—Caron has certified to and signed the copies of the two
letters he has published; I cause copies of my two letters to
be certified and signed by Barth. Pille, surnamed La Grenade,
my valet, whose signature has always been respected.’
* * * * *
‘I certify that these two letters are true copies of the
originals in my hands, this 2nd day of February, 1778.
‘PILLE, surnamed LA GRENADE.’
Amongst the later causes tried in London for the recovery of sums
forfeited by the wagers on D’Eon’s sex, was that of Jones and Dacosta,
in which a verdict was given in favour of the plaintiff; but a motion
having been made in the Court of King’s Bench for an arrest in judgment,
Lord Mansfield delivered his opinion in its favour, in which all the
other judges concurred. The decision, he said, tended to indecency, and
to make the courts of justice subservient to the purposes of gamblers and
swindlers—a conclusion that was heartily approved by all right-minded
persons throughout the country.
No sooner had the news reached D’Eon than he issued a ‘Second Letter to
Women,’ dated Paris, February 10, 1778, opening with these words:—
‘Victory! my contemporaries, victory! My honour, your honour,
triumphs. The Lord Chief Justice of England has himself, in
the presence of the twelve judges of England, rescinded and
annulled his own decisions on the validity of the policies
raised on my sex....’[342]