If the conclusion of peace with England presented difficulties, the
choice of the arbitrator was an excellent one. The Duc de Nivernais met
with a thoroughly good reception in English society, which was able to
appreciate the qualities of a true nobleman, and recognised them in the
person of the new French ambassador. The son of the Duc de Nevers and of
a princess of the Spinola family, he had married Hélène de Pontchartrain.
To the influence which his birth and his alliance gave him he had been
able to add the intimate friendship of Madame de Pompadour, gained by
organising those dramatic entertainments at Versailles by means of which
the favourite succeeded in retaining the King’s interest. In the numerous
notes which she sent him the marquise hardly ever omitted to call him “my
dear little husband”; nicknames had been brought into fashion by the King
himself, and this one serves to show on what an intimate footing the duke
was treated at the palace. He had talents, however, more genuine and more
rare than the qualities necessary to a good courtier.
As ambassador to the Holy See in 1748, at the time that the _Unigenitus_
bull was promulgated, he succeeded at once in astonishing the Romans
by the splendour of his retinue, and in gaining the confidence of Pope
Benedict XIV. by the ability of his diplomacy. Sent afterwards to
Berlin, he managed to captivate Frederick, but unfortunately too late
to detach Prussia from the English alliance, an understanding secretly
arrived at. The failure of his mission was due entirely to the tardiness
and hesitation of the King’s government. For this reason nobody blamed
him for it, and the general opinion was that he was the man most likely
to obtain the least stringent terms for a treaty which had become
indispensable to France. An accomplished nobleman and able negotiator,
a witty talker and charming writer, as well as a good horseman and
musician, he was at home in every society. No one then had a better
chance of reconciling two nations which pride themselves equally on being
judges of good breeding, and the English gave him a warm reception,
Horace Walpole going so far as to say that France had sent them the best
she had to offer.
Nivernais had been selected as the most able ambassador, and d’Eon was
appointed to assist him as the cleverest and best-informed secretary.
Having already taken part, on several occasions, in extremely delicate
and important transactions, he was likely to be an invaluable adviser
for his chief and to develop in his ingenious mind many an expedient
for the negotiation. They embarked at Calais together on September 11,
1762, and reached London as soon as the 14th, thanks to the swift horses
of the Duke of Bedford. If the English seemed eager to receive the
ambassador of France, they were not in so great a hurry to proceed with
the negotiations for peace. The Opposition, which desired to continue
the war, were on the watch for an opportunity for breaking them off and
for upsetting Lord Bute’s ministry. The news of the taking of Havana,
which was received in London on October 1, turned everyone’s head, and
the King and the cabinet became more exacting under pressure of public
opinion, demanding Florida, which France had still, under difficulties,
to obtain from Spain. “That wretched Havana, my little husband,” wrote
Madame de Pompadour to the Duc de Nivernais, “I am alarmed about it.” It
was important that the preliminaries of peace should be signed before the
opening of Parliament, the Opposition being intent upon overthrowing the
ministry, and resuming hostilities. Nivernais was afraid, besides, that
another British naval victory would make the terms of the treaty still
less favourable: “I fear now,” he wrote to Choiseul, “that Lisbon will be
taken before that confounded signature.”
Lisbon was not taken, for on November 5 Choiseul was able to inform
Nivernais that the preliminaries of peace had just been signed at
Fontainebleau, adding, with self-complacency somewhat irritating for
the ambassador, whose task in London had proved less profitable, that
he had been raised on that occasion to the peerage, with the title of
Duc de Praslin. A large share of the success of this first agreement,
which, notwithstanding all that it cost France, was regarded at the
French court as highly advantageous, was due indeed to the mission of the
Duc de Nivernais. Are we to believe that in order to induce the English
ministers to conclude peace, in spite of the Opposition, the French
ambassador was obliged to bribe them, as was boldly asserted in London
some years later, at the time of the action for libel brought against Dr.
Musgrave? It would not have been in the least improbable, for it is known
that more than once during the long struggle which fills the history
of the eighteenth century, England and France endeavoured to bribe one
another. At all events d’Eon relates how he succeeded one day, at the Duc
de Nivernais’ house, in alluring Mr. Wood, Under Secretary of State, by
the offer of some good wine from Tonnerre, and how he took copies, while
this latter was drinking copiously, of the papers he had brought in his
portfolio. Among these there happened to be the ultimatum about to be
transmitted to the Duke of Bedford, the British ambassador at the court
of Versailles. Thanks to this impudent trick, Choiseul, already apprised
of all the difficulties about to be raised, was enabled to come to terms
with the Duke of Bedford, expeditiously and without taking any risks.
This amusing story was given considerable publicity throughout France,
and the papers of the Opposition soon published it in England, taking
advantage of it to heckle the cabinet.
The preliminaries signed, there was nothing more for the two governments
to do but to come to an agreement on certain minor points and the actual
wording of the treaty. This task, somewhat ungrateful and difficult on
account of Choiseul’s anxiety about recovering some of the concessions
he had made in his great haste to negotiate before the opening of
Parliament, kept Nivernais and d’Eon occupied for three more months;
the definite treaty being signed only on February 10. This disastrous
peace, which cost France a fine colonial empire full of still finer
possibilities, was welcomed there with transports of joy, while in
England it raised genuine reprobation. D’Eon was too ambitious not to
turn to good account the transactions in which he had taken part. Two
personal experiences had taught him that it was always profitable to
bear good news to the court, and that the King showed his pleasure
on such occasions by granting favours to the messenger. He had won
a lieutenancy in the dragoons by bringing to Versailles the Empress
Elizabeth’s ratification to the Treaty of Versailles, and three years
later a life-pension of two thousand livres by discharging a similar
commission. The new treaty which had been so earnestly desired and so
well received in France should evidently obtain from him still greater
advantages, only he must reach the King himself, not surreptitiously,
as the agent of the secret correspondence, but before the whole court,
as the accredited secretary of an official embassy. D’Eon, who thought
nothing was impossible, urged his chief to request the British Government
to grant him the favour of conveying the ratifications to the treaty to
Versailles. Such a selection on the part of a foreign government for
a mission regarded as highly honorific was unprecedented and contrary
to all usage. Nevertheless, the ambassador consented to make the
application, however irregular, although the Duc de Praslin considered it
to be doomed to failure. The Minister for Foreign Affairs put Nivernais
on his guard, assuring him that the court of St. James’ would certainly
not entrust such a mission to a French secretary. It would appear
also that the minister, out of patience at the aspirations with which
premature successes had inspired d’Eon, was anxious to put him in his
place. “He is young,” he wrote, “and has still time enough to be of good
service and to earn distinction. I take an interest in his welfare and
will gladly put him in the way of gaining advance by time and work.”
In spite of de Praslin’s sceptical conjectures, the Duc de Nivernais
obtained for “his little d’Eon” the difficult favour he had requested.
This success was a clearer indication of Nivernais’ great influence at
the court of St. James’ than any testimonial; and the ambassador did not
omit to banter the minister on his incredulity:
I am very glad you were stupid enough to believe it impossible
that the French secretary—my little d’Eon—should be the bearer
of the King of England’s ratifications. The fact is, you did
not fully realise the great kindness and esteem which your
ambassador enjoys here, and it is just as well that you have
done so, for otherwise you would be capable of despising me all
your life, while now you will doubtless have some regard for me.
D’Eon reached Paris on February 26, as bearer of the ratifications.
Praslin did not fail to remark that he had made “great haste,” but,
without grudging him his success, exerted himself in his behalf. On March
1, he informed Nivernais that the Cross of Saint Louis and a gratuity
were to be conferred upon his little d’Eon by the King: “I think he
will be satisfied,” he added; “as for me, I am delighted, for he is a
handsome young fellow and a hard worker, and I am his well-wisher.” D’Eon
met with a warm reception at court, and took good care not to forget
the commissions with which his chiefs had charged him. He gave Madame
de Pompadour news of the wretched health of her “little husband,” and
delivered to her some purses from England which she pronounced to be very
ugly and “coarse as ropes.” The favourite thought d’Eon was “an excellent
person,” and considered it “a great act of politeness on the part of
the English to entrust him with the treaty.” Congratulating Nivernais
upon having terminated his work, she urged him to return and “repair his
health by the good air of France.”
As the Duc de Nivernais had accomplished to his master’s satisfaction the
delicate and difficult negotiation for which he had been sent to London,
the Duc de Praslin could not think of prolonging an embassy from which
his friend had reaped every advantage and honour, and which was hardly
better than an honourable exile for that wealthy and literary nobleman.
The choice of a successor had, moreover, preoccupied Nivernais himself
for several months. He had thought of his friend, the Comte de Guerchy,
lieutenant-general of the King’s armies, who had earned distinction in
the Seven Years’ War, and enjoyed a great reputation for courage at
Versailles. A fearless soldier, Guerchy had never been afforded the
opportunity of proving himself a diplomat, and even his friends doubted
his qualifications for that career. Such was the opinion of de Praslin,
who replied, on January 8, 1763, to the proposals which the Duc de
Nivernais had just made:
I am still much concerned about Guerchy. I am not sure,
however, that we are doing him a good service by appointing
him ambassador in London.... I dread his despatches like fire,
and you know how defective despatches injure a man and his
work. A minister is often judged less by the manner in which he
conducts business than by the account he gives of it.... But
he cannot write at all; we must not deceive ourselves on this
point.
Nevertheless, Guerchy was named for the post—first, because it was
not deemed desirable that Nivernais’ candidate should be rejected—the
ambassador being in high favour at Versailles—secondly, because Praslin,
in spite of his too just opinion of Guerchy’s merits, was glad to oblige
two of his intimate friends at the same time. On February 16, 1763, the
Duc de Nivernais was apprised of this selection in London. It was settled
that d’Eon should remain at the embassy for the purpose of assisting his
new chief, and wielding the pen in his stead. In the interim he was even
left in charge, and, upon Nivernais’ earnest recommendation, Praslin
agreed to give him the title of Resident Minister. D’Eon was still in
France when Nivernais recalled him to London to commit the embassy to
his care. He was somewhat long in complying with his chief’s order, and
even gave out that he was ill. In reality, the intrigues of the secret
diplomacy were detaining him in Paris.
The Comte de Broglie was at that time an exile in his estates in
Normandy. He had been involved in the disgrace of his brother, the
marshal, to whom the Marquise de Pompadour, notwithstanding facts and
the force of public opinion, had attributed the responsibilities really
incurred by Soubise during the Seven Years’ War. Louis XV., unable to
oppose the favourite openly, but unwilling to be deprived of his secret
minister’s services, resigned himself to transferring the headquarters
of his private diplomacy to the Château de Broglie. It was during this
temporary seclusion that the Comte de Broglie matured a plan for the
invasion of England which had been formed a long time before, but the
recent hostilities had prevented its execution. If the conclusion of
peace put back the opportunity for doing so, it allowed, at least, of the
conditions and means likely to lead to a successful issue being studied
on the spot. The King and the minister understood better than the nation
the fatal terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and were anxious to prepare
themselves quickly for counteracting its effects. Accordingly Louis XV.
examined with interest the plan submitted to him, and sent it back to
Tercier with his approval. It was at this latter’s house that d’Eon and
the Comte de Broglie, who was passing through Paris at the time, met for
the purpose of organising this perilous mission. D’Eon’s position in
London and his experience of intrigues of this description enabled him to
conduct the researches, and a colleague was given to him—his cousin, the
Sieur d’Eon de Mouloize, who should take charge of the documents in the
event of the discovery of the scheme. As for the technical part, it was
to be entrusted to an engineer, Carrelet de la Rozière. Lastly, the basis
of a cypher to be employed in the affair was arranged. The King gave his
instructions himself:
The Chevalier d’Eon will receive through the Comte de Broglie
or M. Tercier my orders on the surveys to be made in England,
whether on the coast or in the interior of the country, and he
will comply with the instructions he will receive to that end,
as if he received them direct from me. It is my desire that he
shall observe the greatest secrecy in this affair, and that he
shall not make any communications thereon to any living person,
not even to my ministers wheresoever they may be.
These instructions were precisely stated and commented upon by the Comte
de Broglie in a letter which he sent, on May 7, 1763, to the Chevalier
d’Eon in London. He recommended him to observe the utmost prudence in his
conduct, apprising him that the Comte de Guerchy’s suspicious character
would render his secret mission extremely difficult, and urged him to
take every conceivable precaution for the safety of the papers connected
with the correspondence. The Count appointed him tutor to M. de la
Rozière, adding: “He is a somewhat wild pupil, but you will be pleased
with him.” In conclusion he congratulated himself upon having d’Eon as
“lieutenant in so important an affair, which may contribute to the safety
and even to the prosperity of the nation,” and thanked him for the zeal
and devotion which he had never ceased to show to the Marshal de Broglie
and to himself.
D’Eon’s attachment to the exiled de Broglies had awakened the suspicions
of the Duc de Praslin, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs did not
hesitate to subject the young representative of the King at the court
of St. James’ to a regular interrogatory, in the presence of his senior
clerk, Sainte-Foy, and the Comte de Guerchy. He began by abruptly asking
him to give an account of the battle of Villinghausen, at which he
was present while serving in the dragoons. D’Eon did not require much
pressing, and boldly laid to the charge of Soubise all the blunders
officially imputed to the Duc de Broglie. Praslin, who was striding
impatiently up and down the room, suddenly interrupted him, exclaiming:
“I know it to have been just the opposite of what you say, and this from
one of my intimate friends who was also there.” And he turned to the
Comte de Guerchy. “But, my dear d’Eon, you surely did not witness all you
tell me.”
“The minister pulled a long face,” d’Eon relates, “and gave a sardonic
smile, for I persisted in assuring him, as I shall do to the end of my
days, that I had indeed seen and heard what I had told him.” The duke
concluded by saying: “It is your attachment to the Broglies that makes
you speak as you do.” “Faith, sir,” d’Eon replied, “it is my attachment
to the truth. You question me, and I can only tell you what I myself
know.”
Upon leaving the minister, Sainte-Foy rebuked d’Eon and advised him not
to remain “in a country where he would never make his fortune, but to
return to England.”
Another attempt to discover d’Eon’s real sentiments towards the Broglie
party was made—more discreetly this time—by the Duchesse de Nivernais,
who, chancing one day to be alone with him, asked if he was not in
correspondence with M. de Broglie. “No, madam,” replied d’Eon, “and I am
sorry for it, as I am very fond of Marshal de Broglie, but I do not wish
to weary him with my letters; I am satisfied with writing to him on New
Year’s Day.” “I am very glad to hear this for your sake, my dear little
friend,” continued the duchess. “Let me tell you in confidence that
intimacy with the House of Broglie might be of injury to you at court,
and in the estimation of Guerchy, your future ambassador.”
D’Eon had barely arrived in London, where the Duc de Nivernais, longing
for departure, was impatiently awaiting him, when he was invested “in
the prescribed forms” with the Cross of the Order of Saint Louis by
his chief, at his own request. He had brought with him presents from
the King to the Sardinian minister, one of the negotiators of the
peace. Count Viry accepted “his Majesty’s favours with great pleasure
and gratitude.” The presents consisted of the King’s portrait set in
diamonds, accompanied by an autograph letter, a Gobelin tapestry, and a
Savonnerie carpet. The first idea of the happy recipient of these gifts
was to go to the Prime Minister, Lord Bute, and show them to him. The
latter, Nivernais relates, “took them at once to the King of England, who
considered they were magnificent and the letter charming.”
On May 4, the Duc de Nivernais was received in a farewell audience by
George III., and two weeks later he set out for France, tired of London
fogs, and happy to be again at Versailles, and at the Academy, and on his
beautiful estate at St. Maur.
D’Eon became his own master in London, and began immediately to play the
part and to lead the life of an ambassador. He kept open house, and among
his visitors there were de Fleury, the Chevalier Carrion, a friend of the
Duc de Nivernais, “a deputation of the Academy of Sciences which was to
go to the Equator for the purpose of measuring the terrestrial meridian,”
scholars and men of letters, among them Duclos, Le Camus, Lalande, and La
Condamine. The Comtesse de Boufflers, who had captivated the Prince de
Conti and the frequenters of the Hôtel du Temple by her wit and elegance,
did not disdain, when on a visit to London, to do the honours of the
embassy, as the following note testifies:—
Madame de Boufflers and Lady Mary Coke will come to dine with
M. d’Eon on Monday if that suits him, and will bring Lady
Susannah Stuart. Madame de Boufflers will, perhaps, avail
herself of M. d’Eon’s offer by bringing two other friends of
hers if they have returned to town, which she, however, thinks
unlikely. She presents her compliments to M. d’Eon, and begs
to say that she will help him to do the honours of the dinner
to the ladies, both as a fellow-countrywoman and as one quite
ready to be counted among his friends.
She has to inform M. d’Eon that Lord Holderness has returned,
and that he therefore should be invited.
Thanks to the Duc de Nivernais, who did not consider himself quits with
him, and was still exerting himself on his behalf in France, he received
letters in July accrediting him minister plenipotentiary to the King of
England.
Fortune and distinctions had come apace to “little d’Eon.” In less than
two years he had risen from the post of secretary of embassy to that of
Louis XV.’s representative to his Britannic Majesty, and had exchanged
the title and uniform of a captain of dragoons for the position of a
minister plenipotentiary. The obscure gentleman of Tonnerre could
henceforth entertain on an equal footing the ambassadors of the highest
rank and the great dignitaries of the court of St. James’. He took care
not to miss the opportunity, and on August 25, St. Louis’ day, he gave
a gala dinner, at which Lord Hertford, Lord March, David Hume, and the
whole diplomatic corps were present. So sudden a success intoxicated him.
But everything was extraordinary in the career of this young man of quite
mediocre extraction, who, employed occasionally in secret diplomacy, was
afterwards received into the regular service by favour; rewarded for his
services by a lieutenancy of dragoons, and who, when barely thirty-six,
was representing the King of France at the most magnificent court of
Europe, after that of Versailles, and carrying on the mission of the Duc
de Nivernais, a peer of the realm. D’Eon did not realise how surprising
this rapid ascent through the most rigid aristocracy and the most
exclusive classes appeared to the onlookers, nor how scandalous to his
rivals. It was more in keeping with his character to abuse his advantages
than to preserve them. His survey of the ground that had been covered,
the remembrance of innumerable obstacles he had surmounted, far from
teaching him prudence, only increased his presumption. He did not believe
he was at the zenith of his fortune, but merely at the outset. His head
was turned, although, anticipating reproaches, he denied it. He wished to
access himself in the eyes of the English, his countrymen, his minister,
and even of his King.
He continued to assume the position of ambassador until they should
decide to confer the title upon him, and so raise him to the same
rank as the premier lords of France. But if his determination never
waned, if the resources of his active mind never diminished throughout
this wild enterprise, his money was rapidly dwindling away. The
almoner, the equerry, the five cooks and butlers, the four footmen, the
porter, the two coachmen, the two grooms, and others, who formed his
household, had to be paid, and, as his emoluments were insufficient
for the purpose, d’Eon was obliged to apply to the Duc de Praslin for
additional subsidies. He did so with admirably feigned moderation
and disinterestedness, explaining that the appointment of minister
plenipotentiary, for which he had never asked, compelled him, much
against his will, to wear a few decent clothes and a little lace:
The appointment of minister plenipotentiary, for which I never
asked, has certainly not turned my head, thanks to a little
philosophy; it has only involved me in heavier expenses, as the
enclosed account testifies. When I was secretary of embassy I
went about plainly dressed in my uniform and cambric cuffs;
now, much against my will, I must wear a few decent clothes and
a little lace. If the King’s affairs are in a bad state, mine
are going from bad to worse. Your kindness and your sense of
justice will not suffer this. Soon I shall complete ten years’
service as a diplomatist, without having become richer or more
proud. Many promises have been made to me, but promises and
promisers have vanished. Till now I have sown much and reaped
little. When the happy time comes for my release from politics,
I shall be obliged to abscond and become bankrupt, unless you
are humane enough to help me with some additional donation.
The more zealously and courageously I work, the poorer I
become: my youth is passing away, and I have nothing left
but bad health, which is growing worse every day, and debts
to the amount of over twenty thousand livres. These various
little debts have been worrying me for so long that my mental
capacities are completely absorbed and are no longer free,
as I should wish, to serve the King’s interests. The time of
reckoning appearing to be imminent, I entreat you to decide
upon my present and future prospects, and upon the favours I am
to expect from your sense of justice and kind-heartedness....
The Duc de Praslin was all the less inclined to grant the request as he
had received at the same time serious complaints against d’Eon from the
Comte de Guerchy. Not satisfied with incurring debts, the Chevalier had
already spent a part of the future ambassador’s stipend. He regarded
these emoluments as his own, for he would not admit that after being
in the first rank he was once more in a subordinate position, that “he
should descend from peer to peasant.” He persisted with Burgundian
tenacity in his fanciful dream of gaining the title as well as the
functions of ambassador, and of succeeding his former chief, Nivernais,
in London. In spite of the warnings which he received from every quarter,
and of the counsels of moderation which his best-informed and most
devoted patrons, Sainte-Foy, the chief secretary of the Foreign Office,
and the Duc de Nivernais himself, continually urged upon him, he would
not yield and ended by receiving a well-deserved reproof from the Duc de
Praslin:
I could never have believed that the title of minister
plenipotentiary would cause you so quickly to forget the
point whence you started, and I had no reason to expect that
your aspirations would increase in proportion as you received
new favours. In the first place, I gave you no ground for
anticipating the reimbursement of your former journey to
Russia, because three of my predecessors upon whom you made a
similar demand had not, it appeared, found it legitimate. In
the second place, you complain to me of empty promises having
been made, but surely such has not been my way of dealing with
you. Remember that I received you at Vienna when I had no
reason for obliging you, for you were a perfect stranger to
me. Upon your arrival you were ill, and I looked after you.
When you left me you were uncertain as to your prospects here,
and it was I who obtained the pension which was conferred
upon you. Two years afterwards, being without employment, you
applied to me, and I gave you the most suitable post and the
most favourable opportunity for rising to notice. Lastly, when
you brought the ratification of the treaty with England to
us, the expenses of your journey were paid, and his Majesty
rewarded you as if you had made ten campaigns in the field. If
you are not yet satisfied, I shall be obliged to discontinue
employing you, for fear of being unable to recompense your
services adequately. But I prefer to believe you will feel
the truth of my statements, and put your trust in future
rather in my good will than in such groundless claims. I
must not forget to mention that I have not noticed that the
character of plenipotentiary involved M. de Neuville in any
expenses here; his style of living is the same as when he was
in the service of the Duke of Bedford. I cannot conceive the
necessity for this extraordinary outlay at the expense of
the Comte de Guerchy, which is quite out of place. I do not
conceal from you my displeasure at your having involved in so
great expenditure one in whom I take such an interest, and
who trusted in you on my recommendation. I hope that you will
be more circumspect in your demands for the future, and more
sparing in your use of other people’s money, and that you will
endeavour to be as useful to him as you have been to the Duc de
Nivernais.
The Duc de Praslin was singularly mistaken if he expected to have the
last word with his impetuous correspondent. D’Eon, far from giving in,
was exasperated by such sensible advice, and, giving full vent to his
ill-humour, replied the same day:
As soon as I learned, Monsieur le Duc, that the title of
minister plenipotentiary was to be conferred upon me against my
will, I had the honour of writing to the Duc de Nivernais that
I regarded the title rather as a misfortune than as a boon.
The point whence I started, when very young, was my native
town, Tonnerre, where I possess a small property and a house
fully six times as large as that occupied in London by the
Duc de Nivernais. The point whence I started in 1756 was the
Hôtel d’Ons-en-Bray, Rue de Bourbon, Faubourg St. Germain.
I am the friend of the owner of that mansion, which I left
against his will to make three journeys to Russia and to other
courts in Europe, to join the army, to come to England, and to
bring four or five treaties to Versailles, not as courier, but
as a man who had contributed to the framing of them. I have
frequently travelled when very ill, and once with a broken
leg. Nevertheless, I am prepared to return to the place whence
I started, if such be my fate. I shall recover my former
happiness there. The points whence I started are those of being
a gentleman, a soldier, and a secretary of Embassy—all of them
naturally leading to the position of a minister at foreign
courts. The first gives a claim to it; the second confirms the
idea and endues with the necessary firmness for such a post;
but the third is the school for it....
If a marquis had accomplished one-half the things which I have
accomplished in ten years, he would ask no less than the title
of duke or of marshal. As for me, my aspirations are so modest
that I ask to be nothing at all here, not even secretary of
Embassy.
D’Eon, who felt excited that day, and courted disgrace for the pleasure
of indulging in witticisms, was not yet satisfied. By the same post he
sent similar impertinencies to the Comte de Guerchy, who had not ceased
exhorting him to be more circumspect in his behaviour:
... I take the liberty of observing to you on the character
which chance has given me, that Solomon said, a long time
ago, everything here below was vanity, opportunity, mere
accident, happiness, and misfortune, and that I am more
than ever persuaded Solomon was a great preacher. I will
modestly add that the chance which gave the title of minister
plenipotentiary to a man who has negotiated successfully during
the last ten years was perhaps not one of the blindest. What
has come to me by chance might come to another by good luck....
A man, no matter who, can only form an estimate of himself by
comparison with one or many men. There are several proverbs
which serve to prove the truth of this. It is commonly said:
_He is as stupid as any thousand—he is as wicked as any four—he
is as mean as any ten—men_. This is the only scale by which
we can be guided except in certain cases where men measure
themselves by women. An ambassador, no matter who, may be
worth half a man, a whole man, twenty, or ten thousand men.
The question is to determine how a minister plenipotentiary,
who is a captain of dragoons, and has completed ten political
campaigns (without counting campaigns in the field), stands
relatively to an ambassador who is a lieutenant-general, and is
making his début....
I have already had the honour, sir, of thanking you sincerely
for all your kind offers of assistance. As to my prospects, I
frankly confess I am a second edition of Sister Anne in Blue
Beard, who was always watching but saw nothing coming, and this
often induces me to sing that beautiful song:
_Belle Philis, en désespère_
_Alors qu’on espère toujours._