Apraxin’s defection was a fine thing for Frederick. Two great events followed—the humiliating defeat of the French at Rosbach (October 31), by Seidlitz and his cavalry, shall we say? and the battle of Leuthen (December 5), in which eighty thousand Austrians were worsted by thirty thousand Prussians. And thus ended the campaign of 1757. The following year Field-Marshal Fermor, Apraxin’s successor, entered Eastern Prussia, occupied Königsberg, and was beaten by Frederick at Zorndorff (August 25, 1758). Prince Soltikoff, who replaced Fermor, was also about to lose a battle at Künersdorff (August 12, 1759); but the day ended happily for him, his ninety thousand men having almost annihilated the forty-eight thousand Prussians by whom he was opposed.

This much of what the Russians did, and we shall have got to the end of 1759, after an illustration, from concurrent testimony, of D’Eon’s share in the progress of the war.

Let us first turn to the pages of Vandal.[46]

On December 30, 1758, was signed by Louis XV. and Maria Theresa a treaty in confirmation of their previous treaty still in force, except that it determined with greater precision respective obligations; France, for instance, binding herself to keep an army of 100,000 men in Germany. Elizabeth was invited to join, and she did so. Of this matter the Duke de Choiseul, for some months Minister for Foreign Affairs, was completely ignorant. There was a time, it was but short, when the duke in his patriotic desire to recover influences lost to France through the feeble administration of the Cardinal de Bernis, his predecessor, had determined upon not entertaining any idea of capitulating with England, so long as soldiers, guns and ships remained, and on prosecuting the war against Prussia until France met with success. A partisan of Austria, his feelings towards Russia were of a different nature, but he was wisely inclined to turn to the best account the alliance with those Powers. As regards Russia, he instructed the ambassador at St. Petersburg (January 9, 1759) to tell Woronzoff, for the information of the Empress, that if the King were to desire peace for the happiness of his people and the repose of Europe, it should only be on conditions honourable to his Majesty and his allies, and which would ensure general tranquillity; but that so far from contemplating such a thing, every arrangement was made for effectively continuing the war during the present and a succeeding campaign, to the end of bringing the enemy to just and reasonable terms. That the Empress might have undoubted proofs of his Majesty’s sentiments on the subject, and to do away with every possible misunderstanding, the King was disposed to conclude, jointly with the two Empresses, or with the Empress of Russia alone, such convention as might be considered necessary for strengthening their union, thereby giving fresh assurances that his Majesty would only act in concert with his allies, communicating with them on all points with that entire confidence which should exist between Powers bound by friendly ties, and whose interests were in common.

Unable to cope with Great Britain on the seas, the Duke de Choiseul formed a plan of invasion, in which he sought the co-operation of Russia and Sweden, whose spheres of action would be the Scottish coast. ‘Should fifty thousand men perish in the first expedition,’ he wrote to Count Bernstorff, ‘the King has signed the determination to send other fifty thousand, and we shall not be discouraged so long as we have men in France.’[47] The hesitations of those Powers, the destruction of the French fleets in the East Indies, off Cape Lagos, and in Quiberon Bay, and of the flotilla prepared for the invasion of England, upset the whole of the duke’s schemes, and gave him good cause to change his tactics. He would now hail peace if he could. He turned to de l’Hôpital (July 8, 1759), and desired him to seize an early opportunity for feeling his way with the Grand Chancellor, and suggesting to that minister, as a private opinion of his own, the desirability of Russia’s mediation between Austria and Prussia, whereby she would secure to herself the gratitude of Europe. De Choiseul believed that if the Germanic Powers could but arrange their differences, Russia might become useful in bringing about an understanding between France and England.

De l’Hôpital—gouty, good-natured, and easy-going—had made it a practice never to act without first consulting his confidential secretary. That secretary, at the present time, was D’Eon, who recommended that no notice whatever should be taken of the minister’s letter. De l’Hôpital agreed. At the expiration of a couple of months de Choiseul again wrote, this time impatiently and reproachfully.

We will let D’Eon lift the veil of Louis XV.’s diplomacy in his own words:—

Turning again to Vandal, we find the King’s approval of D’Eon’s counsel to de l’Hôpital, and verification of the former’s statement in the paragraph above quoted.

Four years of anxious and hard toil in a climate which did not suit him had told on D’Eon’s health, until he felt seriously inconvenienced from scurvy and an affection of the eyes, and his return to France became but a question of time. He was longing for home. Apart from his dislike to life at Court, where he felt that ‘it was impossible for a simply virtuous, non-intriguing and dispassionate man to succeed,’ he had made up his mind that Russia was not a country for a freeman to live in. He could not forget that he and five other officers attached to the Embassy had to lay aside their uniforms, to avoid the insults offered by soldiers and people of the lower class, at times when France was meeting with reverses, such as those at Rosbach and Minden; and the mortification he endured at hearing the Empress’ words of comfort to his chief, the French ambassador. It was reported that D’Eon had determined upon not remaining in Russia because he had seen the daughter of Pope Urban X. (sic), who was married to the gardener of a boyar, receive twenty blows with a stick for several days consecutively; and because the said boyar and thirty other boyars were broken on the wheel, two years afterwards, for their share in some Court broil. He mentions this report of himself without adding any comment, but relates an anecdote which clearly confirms his unfavourable opinion of the country he was in. A Russian nobleman said to him one fine summer’s day:—

D’Eon applied for permission to resign on the score of ill-health, and to be allowed to join his regiment, but his departure was necessarily postponed until a suitable successor could be found. For his own part de Choiseul became convinced that de l’Hôpital was no longer fitted for the post of ambassador at St. Petersburg, an opinion shared by the King for quite different reasons, which need not be entered into here. De l’Hôpital, however, was an old and faithful servant to the Crown and deserving of every consideration, so that it was felt to be impossible to recall him abruptly, and such a step was likely to give offence to the Empress, who had taken a fancy to him, and received him at her Court with favour and distinction. As a solution of the difficulty, de Choiseul conceived the idea of appointing a colleague to the marquis with subordinate rank, who should eventually succeed him on his resignation, which, considering his age and increasing infirmities, could not long be delayed. This colleague should be a personal friend of his own, to whom he might confide and entrust his policy and intentions, and he nominated the Baron de Breteuil, a young man of twenty-seven, of distinguished appearance and refined manners. The Count de Broglio, however, also had his candidate, M. Durand, a gentleman attached to the Embassy at Warsaw, the King’s secret agent in that capital, initiated in the system, well conversant in Russian affairs, and therefore eminently qualified to serve the King’s private interests at the Court of Russia in the room of D’Eon. This nomination the duke resolutely refused to entertain. He had undeniably good cause to suspect the existence of some occult influence to his disadvantage, having already found himself thwarted in his plans, in various quarters, without being able to trace the obstruction to its source, and had determined upon carrying his point, which he completely succeeded in doing, by prevailing upon the King to sign the Baron de Breteuil’s credentials as minister plenipotentiary. No sooner had the minister’s choice become an irrevocable fact, than the Count de Broglio and Tercier urged upon the King the expediency of admitting the baron to the secret correspondence, and informing him that he should best be pleasing his master by not carrying out the orders of the minister. The King had great objection to the admission of new disciples, but there appeared to be no alternative, and after a little hesitation his Majesty yielded to the recommendations of his advisers.[53]

On August 23, 1760, de l’Hôpital informed the Minister for Foreign Affairs that M. Poissonnier,[56] the Empress’s private physician, had recommended D’Eon’s instant departure from Russia, his ailments threatening serious consequences.

In a private communication to the same minister, de l’Hôpital reminded the duke that D’Eon’s services in foreign affairs were well known; he had not a little contributed to a renewal of the alliance with Russia, and had exerted himself with zeal equal to his activity and intelligence. Such men were deserving of the protection of ministers such as he was, and of the favours he had a right to expect.... The state of poor D’Eon’s health was unsatisfactory, and his private affairs were in a bad condition; and yet his family had long and usefully served the King and State.[57]

The old marquis followed up these strong recommendations of his young friend with a graceful tribute to his mother at Tonnerre.

Previous to quitting the capital, D’Eon went to Peterhof to take leave of the Empress, who required he should promise to return to Russia so soon as he had recovered his health. In parting from Woronzoff, the colleague with whose aid he had accomplished so much, the Grand Chancellor said:—

D’Eon carried away with him a souvenir from the Empress, consisting of a snuff-box with her cipher in diamonds.

Sick and faint, D’Eon left St. Petersburg for the third and last time in August 1760, taking with him the ratifications to the Treaty of December 30, 1758, and the ratifications to the Maritime Convention concluded between Russia, Sweden, and Denmark. Travelling through Finland, Livonia, Courland, Poland, and Hungary, as fast as horses could carry him, he reached Vienna completely exhausted and scarcely able to move. His friend, the Count de Choiseul,[60] received him in comfortable quarters and supplied all his wants; but he was restless and impatient to complete his journey, which he did in equally imprudent haste. Sickening of small-pox at Paris, a long illness and convalescence entirely unfitted him during several months for any kind of employment.

Upon his recovery, D’Eon was received by the King, who was pleased to confer upon him a life pension of two thousand livres, under warrant dated December 24, 1760, ‘in acknowledgment of his zeal and ability as secretary of Embassy in Russia, a post he has held for several years,’[61] and by the following February he was well enough to be able to realise his dearest and long-deferred wish, that of active service on the field. He requested the Minister for War to transfer him from his own regiment, the dragoons of the Colonel-General, doing duty on the coasts of France, to the regiment of dragoons of the Marquis d’Autichamp, in the army on the Upper Rhine, and applied for permission to serve as aide-de-camp to the Marshal and the Count de Broglio, with both of which solicitations the Minister readily complied, the King specially approving of D’Eon’s being on the staff of those officers, remarking that they should know where to find him if he were wanted.[62] This appointment was a great compliment, for the marshal was intractable in the selection of officers to serve on his staff, and most punctilious in surrounding himself with scions of the noblest families.[63]

We first hear of D’Eon after joining the army as having been present at the battle of Villinghausen,[64] then with the French force that crossed the Weser on August 19. He was under orders that day to remove the powder waggons to a place of safety on the opposite side of the river, and this under the heavy fire of the enemy—‘a perilous operation,’ as allowed by the Duke de Broglie; and being across he was to find the Count de Guerchy, and deliver to that officer a written order from the marshal.

Had de Guerchy promptly carried out the marshal’s instructions the ammunition would have been instantly removed, the enemy’s fire would have ceased, and the lives of one officer and several grenadiers, occupying a redoubt which covered the two bridges of boats on the Weser, to the right and left of Höxter, would have been spared. But upon reading the note the general preferred to gallop out of the way, shouting, as he went: ‘If you have a supply of ammunition, you have only to remove it to a park of artillery you will find at half a league’s distance.’ D’Eon gave spur after him, saying, that since he did not wish to, or was unable to execute the marshal’s order, he might return it, and he should do his best to execute it or cause it to be executed. ‘Take the order, sir,’ said de Guerchy, returning the note, ‘and carry it out according to your own judgment.’ The enemy’s fire being largely directed to where the powder waggons had been removed, and there being no time to lose, D’Eon took it upon himself to distribute the cartridges, with the assistance of several officers of artillery who had volunteered their services.[66]

D’Eon was next engaged in a reconnaissance and action at Ultrop, where he was wounded in the head and thigh; and later (November 7), when at the head of the grenadiers of Champagne and of a body of Swiss, he dislodged the Scottish highlanders in the gorge of the mountain at Einbeck, near Meintos, and pursued them to the English camp; a service he performed with the greatest difficulty, owing to the tenacity of the enemy in keeping up a rapid fire. In the latter engagement he carried the following despatch:—

At Osterwiek, some six to seven hundred Frankish Prussians having intercepted communication with Wolfenbüttel, which was being besieged by Marshal Xavier de Saxe, M. de Saint-Victor was ordered to dislodge them from their position with a few volunteers, twenty hussars, and eighty dragoons of the regiment of d’Autichamp and of de la Ferronaye, in charge of D’Eon. The little detachment of horse was bravely led, and the exploit proved a brilliant one, for the enemy’s battalion was completely routed and every man made a prisoner.

The dispute between the Marshals de Soubise and de Broglio as to who was in the right and who in the wrong at the battle of Villinghausen, had never come to an end; for de Broglio, as became the first soldier of France, refused to be put on a par with the hero of Rosbach. The campaign of 1761 being virtually over, de Broglio felt it was quite time the matter were resolved; and having obtained permission to return to Versailles, hoping to justify his conduct in person, he delivered to the Duke de Choiseul, now Minister for War, for delivery to the King, a lengthy statement particularising the events of July 15 and 16; but the Marquise de Pompadour had taken care that her favourite should not be the sufferer, and nothing the marshal could have urged was likely to serve his cause, or alter de Pompadour’s determination to punish him. His Majesty disapproved of the marshal’s ‘Mémoire’ as being contrary to the interests of his service and a bad example in his kingdom, and ordered him to retire to his country seat, there to remain until further notice.[67]

On leaving Cassel for Versailles, the Marshal and Count de Broglio were accompanied by their aide-de-camp D’Eon, who separated himself from the army never to return to it, through no fault, however, or wish of his own. Short as was his military career, it was at least brilliant, the qualities he displayed of a brave soldier meeting with the high commendation of his superiors, to whom he had become so closely attached by the nature of his duties.

It was the fate of the Count de Broglio, for no ostensible reason, to share the exile of his brother, but with that spirit of contradiction and fickleness inherent in Louis XV., he was retained on the staff of the secret correspondence and ordered to continue his customary duties, the King telling Tercier he was forced to act as he did. The truth is that the King could scarcely do without him, and had felt the force of the remonstrance the count had the courage to offer when on the point of leaving Paris for the family estate. ‘Your Majesty may recollect that for several years past I have foreseen the storm which to-day bursts over me. The very marks of your Majesty’s favour have gathered it about me,’—words that were but the echo of others the count had addressed to the King years before, when similarly misunderstood and suspected by his Majesty’s ministers.

We are purposely dwelling on these murmurings of the Count de Broglio that we may be the better able to show hereafter that he was not the only victim, amongst the confidential correspondents and agents, to the King’s caprice and selfish indifference.

The new year opened with an event—perhaps upon the whole unfortunate for France—the not altogether unexpected death of Elizabeth (January 5); and the accession of Peter III. was the signal for a cessation of hostilities and a complete change of front on the part of Russia. The new Tsar agreed with Frederick to a truce, which developed into an alliance, and afforded him the opportunity for gratifying his tastes for all that was German, and further alienating the respect and sympathy of his people. In her struggle against her husband, for liberty and even life, Catherine turned to France for succour—a circumstance that called for decision and steadfastness of purpose on the part of the French representative at her Court; but the Baron de Breteuil proved himself unequal to the occasion by his pusillanimity and hesitation,[70] and Catherine effected her will independently of French support. The disease was quickly acknowledged and the remedy as quickly found. De Breteuil was to be replaced by D’Eon upon the recommendations of the Duke de Choiseul and of the Count de Broglio, although on different grounds; the King readily approving, because in him would be combined with the minister plenipotentiary what was of greatest importance to his Majesty—a well-tried secret correspondent.[71] Other events, however, bid fair to change these plans. The Emperor was disposed of, and Catherine, in grasping the sceptre, said: ‘If I go to war it will be to suit my own convenience, and not to please others, as was the case with the Empress Elizabeth.’ From various causes Louis XV. refused to continue with Catherine the secret correspondence he had entertained with her predecessor, and D’Eon’s services were consequently no longer required at the Russian capital. De Breteuil was suffered to remain at his post until, too glad to escape the ever-increasing difficulties of his position, he was removed, at his own request, to Stockholm.