D’Eon becomes Resident and Chargé d’Affaires at the British Court—Also the King’s special secret agent—Plans for the invasion of England—Nicknames to secret correspondents—Louis XV.’s letter to D’Eon on the survey of England—De Pompadour discovers the secret correspondence—The King’s vexation—D’Eon advanced to be Minister Plenipotentiary—How he received his new honours—De Broglio’s anxiety for the safety of the King’s papers—De Pompadour’s conspiracy to ruin D’Eon—Claims against the Crown—Letter of State in favour of D’Eon.
The appointment, dated April 17, of the Chevalier D’Eon as Resident and Chargé d’Affaires, relieved de Nivernois of his functions and left him free to return to his home and ‘get rid of the violent and well-seasoned cold from which he was suffering—an English cold that seemed to have no end;’ but he delayed his departure for the purpose of proceeding to Oxford and receiving the degree of Doctor, in facultate juris. The duke, who had never been in England before, declared the journey had been most instructive to him. He saw some of the finest things in the world, was greatly astonished at the general high state of cultivation, and at the absence of poor people in the districts through which he travelled—the poorest seemed well to do, and would pass for burgesses in any small French provincial town. De Nivernois left London in May, travelling leisurely to Dover, chiefly in consequence of the state of his health, but also from a wish to see places on the road, and especially Chatham dockyard, and was no doubt the identical French ambassador of whom Smollett, who posted over the same ground a week or two later, relates in one of his letters that he was charged forty pounds by a knave of a publican at Canterbury for a supper that was not worth forty shillings!
On leaving for England, D’Eon had become the secret correspondent of Louis XV., with whom and with the Count de Broglio and Tercier he was to communicate, in cypher or otherwise, as occasion might require, his instructions being similar in every particular to those he received when on his earliest journey to St. Petersburg in 1755.
The first duty upon which the Chevalier was engaged in the capacity of secret agent was to assist in the perfection of a scheme for the invasion of England, devised by the Count de Broglio, approved by the King, whose hatred towards England had greatly intensified since the conclusion of peace, and a task ultimately accomplished to the satisfaction of his Majesty in the face of numerous difficulties. Two persons were selected by de Broglio to effect, in concert, the great work in hand—one, the active agent, was a young officer of Engineers of considerable ability and established reputation, Carlet de la Rosière, who had served during the war, and had been attached for a time as aide-de-camp to the Duke de Broglio. A prisoner of the Prussians, Frederick refused to sanction his exchange. ‘When an officer of distinction is taken,’ said that monarch, ‘he is retained as long as possible.’[101] The other, the passive agent, was de la Rosière’s kinsman, the Chevalier D’Eon. The undertaking was to be completed without the knowledge of any of the King’s ministers, and besides the two named, one other person only was admitted into the secret, according to the King’s will.
‘M. Durand,—The Count de Broglio having communicated to me the ideas you have originated as to the more desirable means to be employed for resisting the ambition and arrogance of the English nation, I have approved of the plans he has proposed to me on this subject, and have ordered him to proceed with the work. I have enjoined him not to communicate on the matter with anybody except the Sieur D’Eon and Tercier. But as I am aware of the knowledge you possess with regard to this object, and of the service you can render, I desire to send direct word to you, that you are to work in concert with the Count de Broglio and the Sieur Tercier in all that concerns this affair, and that you will communicate to them all you may find having reference thereto, in the depôt of foreign affairs of which you are in charge. You will continue to maintain the most profound secrecy towards everybody, no matter who, with the exception of the persons named above.[102]
Louis.’
‘June 5, 1763.’
Every conceivable precaution was taken to avoid discovery and ensure success, and that de la Rosière might not incur the smallest risk of detection by papers of a compromising character being found about his luggage or person, he was ordered to make his periodical reports orally, if possible, to the Chevalier D’Eon, who was to note and retain them within the inviolable precincts of the Embassy, of which he was the genius loci. The King was not indifferent to his own safety.
Louis XV. to M. Tercier.
‘... The Sieur de Rozières runs the risk of being arrested in the course of his researches and travels; I do not wish that, in such a case, anything in my hand should be found in his possession; it is my desire, therefore, that he leaves everything with the Sieur D’Eon, who, being officially accredited, cannot be arrested in the same manner.’[103]
The special cypher to be employed being considered scarcely sufficient security, a nickname was assigned to each person likely to be named in the correspondence:
| The King | The counsellor. |
| Count de Broglio | The deputy. |
| M. Tercier | The solicitor. |
| M. Durand | Prudence. |
| Duke de Nivernois | The honey-tongued. |
| Duke de Praslin | The bitter-mouthed. |
| Duke de Choiseul | The red lion, or porcelain.[104] |
| Count de Guerchy | The novice, ram, or horned sheep. |
| Chevalier D’Eon | Intrepidity, or the dragoon’s head.[105] |
The Chevalier’s instructions were contained in the following letters:—
The Count de Broglio to the Chevalier D’Eon.
‘May 17, 1763.
‘I have to thank you for your zeal and friendship towards my brother and myself, for which we are very grateful; we are only afraid lest you should follow the impulse of your heart and be led into taking some step or forming some design that might prove prejudicial to you, and which we should deeply regret. Be sure to observe the greatest prudence on this point.... I need not speak to you of the new ambassador with whom you have to do, for it appears to me that you have already formed a pretty correct estimate of his character. I will only add that he is the most astute man I know, and at the same time the most mistrustful; you therefore cannot be too much upon your guard against his suspicious and uneasy disposition. You must make such arrangements in the house in which you are living as will secure you from being surprised by him or by any other person, at such times as you may be engaged in the secret affairs entrusted to you by the King. Every precaution should be taken to keep all papers connected therewith entirely separate from others; and provision should be made for their safety in case of death or other accident.’
The count recommended D’Eon to invite his cousin, D’Eon de Mouloise, to stay with him, so that in the event of any unforeseen circumstance he might give him charge of the correspondence, with the strictest injunctions not to pass it on to any person whatsoever, and more especially not to de Guerchy. The count concluded by recommending to D’Eon’s protection the Marquis de la Rosière—
‘whose governor I appoint you.... It only remains for me to testify to the pleasure I experience in having you for one of my lieutenants, on service of such importance as is likely to contribute to the prosperity and glory of the nation....’[106]
Louis XV. to the Chevalier D’Eon.
‘The Sieur D’Eon will receive through the Count de Broglio or M. Tercier, my orders on the surveys to be made in England, whether on the coasts or in the interior of that 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 will not make any communications thereon to any person living, not even to any ministers wheresoever they may be.
‘He will receive a special cypher for corresponding on this subject, under cover of addresses to be indicated to him by the Count de Broglio or the Sieur Tercier, and he will communicate to them, by means of this cypher, all the information he is able to obtain on the designs of England, as regards Russia and Poland, the North, and the whole of Germany, so far as will, in his opinion, conduce to the interests of my service, of his zeal and attachment to which I am sensible.’[107]
‘Versailles, June 3, 1763.’
De Praslin failed, as we have seen, to incriminate the Chevalier in a correspondence with the exiled de Broglios, but it so happened that shortly after receiving the duke’s report of his midnight interview with D’Eon, on the subject of the battle of Villinghausen, de Pompadour obtained certain information tending to confirm her suspicions, without, however, affording sufficiently tangible evidence. Unsuccessful in securing this, whichever way she directed the scrutiny of those at Court too pliant to her will, her spirit of malevolence impelled her not to stop short of anything in the attainment of her wishes.
‘The delightful discovery,’ says D’Eon, ‘was made by the fair Marquise de Pompadour, who, one evening in June 1763, relieved the pocket of her lover, as he lay fast asleep, of several papers, amongst which was a letter from me in cypher, deciphered, signed Auguste. To rid himself of the importunate questions of this second Maintenon, Louis XV. simply replied: “It is from a woman of letters who is of no importance in England, and who has my permission to give me special news.” This new Herodias—inquisitive, restless, jealous and piqued—with the aid of the enlightened Duke de Choiseul fixed her suspicions on me; and as she could not have my head brought by her daughter on a charger, had recourse to one of her worthless adulators,[108] who readily undertook to dispose of me by poison, and thus possess himself of all my letters as he would have the right to do, in the position of ambassador which he was about to occupy in London.’
D’Eon attributed de Pompadour’s attention being directed towards himself to the action of an informer with whom he had long been acquainted. We quote his own narrative:—
‘During the time that the negotiations in support of the pretensions of the Prince de Conti to the throne of Poland and to the hand of the Empress Elizabeth were being conducted, a secret correspondence had been organised between the King, the Prince, M. Tercier, the Count Woronzoff, the Chevalier Douglas, and myself. The Sieur Monin, private secretary to the Prince de Conti, was not only privy to it, but was also the most active agent at work with the Chevalier Douglas, in behalf of myself, and of M. Tercier who had unlimited confidence in him. M. Tercier, the most honest of men, and who fancied that everybody else was like himself, had concealed nothing from friend Monin. He had frequently shown him, in my presence, the various communications received from ambassadors and ministers, whether in Poland or in Russia. Unhappily, friend Monin had formerly been tutor to the Count de Guerchy, who had received from him his fine education, and in token of gratitude to the Prince de Conti, the Count de Guerchy turned this counsellor over to him. Monin, in his turn, wishing to testify to his own gratitude, considered it his duty to apprise the Count de Guerchy of what he knew concerning me, so soon as his pupil had become an ambassador and he himself was aware of the inquisition instituted by Madame de Pompadour. He declared to de Guerchy that I had been for a long time in secret correspondence with the King, and that he strongly suspected me of being a link in the mysterious chain which united the House of Broglio to the sovereign. Count de Guerchy lost no time in communicating his conjectures to his friend of thirty years’ standing, the Duke de Praslin, who passed them on to Madame de Pompadour. She resolved upon verifying them, and employed every effort to ascertain the truth; but neither the woman’s cunning, nor the caresses of the mistress, nor the stratagems of ministers, were able to wrench the secret from the King, and de Pompadour determined upon resorting to other measures. She had noticed that Louis XV. habitually carried about him the small golden key of an elegant piece of furniture, a sort of escritoire, in his private apartments. Never could the favourite succeed, even in moments of her greatest influence, in obtaining access to this piece of furniture. It was a kind of sanctuary, a holy ark, the refuge, as if a place of exile, of the sovereign’s wishes. Louis XV. no longer reigned except over this escritoire. He remained king of this article of furniture only; it was the sole portion of his states wherein he had not allowed the courtesan to trespass and defile; the only jewel of his crown he had not laid at her feet. “It contains State papers!” This was his reply to her frequent questions, his laconic and decisive refusal to all her solicitations. Now those were no other papers than the Count de Broglio’s and my own correspondence. The Marquise was mistrustful. Besides, it was enough that access to the escritoire should be forbidden to make her the more anxious to get at the inside of it. To her policy and hatred was united the feeling of curiosity; forbidden fruit has irresistible charms to a woman. This is a fact since the beginning of the world, and will be to the end.’[109]
After relating de Pompadour’s act for satisfying her cupidity, the Chevalier continues:—
‘From that day my ruin was resolved upon. I was pointed out to the Duke de Praslin and the Count de Guerchy as an enemy, and I should, no doubt, have incurred immediate disgrace if the favourite’s first object had not been to possess herself of the correspondence and papers in my possession. From that time were lavished upon me delusive attentions alternately with real vexations, the preludes of the enormities and villainies about to follow. The Count de Guerchy had been recommended to practise dissimulation until such time as he should be with me in England; but the inexperienced diplomatist was unable to restrain himself from being overbearing and insulting towards a man whom he considered as hopelessly lost. The secret confided to him showed itself through all the wretched vexations with which he annoyed me upon the slightest pretext, and I should have guessed it, had not M. Tercier spared me the trouble, in making the following revelation, under date of June 10: “The King sent for me this morning; I found him very pale and very agitated. He told me in an unusual tone of voice that he feared the secret of our correspondence had been violated. He related that having sat down to a tête-à-tête supper with Madame de Pompadour a few days ago, he became drowsy after having slightly indulged, the Marquise, he thought, not being altogether innocent in the matter. She took advantage of his nap to relieve him of the key of a particular piece of furniture[110] which his Majesty keeps closed to everybody, and in this way made herself acquainted with your relations with the Count de Broglio. His Majesty suspects this from the state of confusion in which he has found his papers. I am accordingly commanded to require you to observe the greatest prudence and the greatest discretion in your intercourse with his ambassador, who is about to leave for London and who, he has reason to believe, is entirely devoted to the Duke de Praslin and Madame de Pompadour. His Majesty has also declared most positively that he should never have decided upon sending him to England if he had not entirely relied upon you.”’[111]
The Chevalier’s nomination as Resident at the Court of St. James’ was succeeded by that, on May 31, of Mr. Neville, in succession to the Duke of Bedford, as Resident and Chargé d’Affaires at the French Court, the same rank with which D’Eon was invested, and with whom Neville was placed in every respect on the same footing. D’Eon had been received by George III., but when, in due course, Neville demanded an audience, he was informed by the ‘Introducteur des Ambassadeurs’ that there never was an instance of a resident having had an audience to present his credentials. Neville pressed his rights until, finding it impossible to approach the King, he reported the difficulty of his situation. De Praslin had in the meantime given official intimation to the above effect to Lord Egremont through D’Eon, and afterwards suggested as a means out of the dilemma that Neville should be accredited minister plenipotentiary, the lowest rank that could be received at the French Court. Lord Egremont quickly reminded the French ministers that since a resident could not be received in audience at the Court of France, they should have better considered their action when making such an appointment. The error was theirs, and it was for them to rectify it by being the first to appoint a minister plenipotentiary, in which case England could reciprocate. An active interchange of letters between the two ministers, from June 13 to July 22, resulted to the great advantage of D’Eon, who received new credential letters giving him the character of minister plenipotentiary, in which quality he was again presented to the King of England; after which, other credentials were furnished to Neville, then for the first time received by his Most Catholic Majesty.[112]
We have reached that period of D’Eon’s life—he was but in his thirty-fifth year—when he had become minister plenipotentiary from France at the Court of Great Britain; he had obtained the coveted knighthood of Saint Louis; he was the secret correspondent of Louis XV., and the secret agent of his Majesty and of the Count de Broglio in the drafting of plans for the invasion of England. Numerous congratulations poured in upon him, among them being those of Count Woronzoff and the Marquis de l’Hôpital, his fellow-workers in Russia. How he took his promotion appears in the following letter—a free and outspoken denunciation of what he felt might be in store for him—to the man he most esteemed and loved.
D’Eon to the Count de Broglio.
‘Providence rewards me above my merits; it is useless for me to shut out fortune; she razes walls to get at me. When I say fortune, I do not mean wealth, for you know that our minister is more than economical; but by fortune I mean honour, preferment. You are aware of my latest promotion in the diplomatic service, for which I neither sought nor asked. A fortuitous chance gave birth to it, another chance will destroy it. I will be none the less the slave of events. You will take notice that I frankly speak the truth when necessary, and whether it be found good or bad, I will go on my own way, and it is quite immaterial to me whether I be retained or sent about my business. I look upon fortune as my waiting-woman, and on truth as my mistress, and it will ever make me sick at heart to have to do my duty under certain chiefs; you understand me. They would turn the course of events to their own special advantage, or to their private views; it is precisely in this that lies what is revolting to my sense of truth, and many take for pride what is but integrity of heart and purpose.’[113]
The Chevalier was greatly liked in English society, and had become a favourite of good George III. We find him included by Horace Walpole amongst the distinguished guests at the Strawberry Hill breakfast given to Madame de Boufflers, and his countrymen were proud of their representative; but a storm was gathering which was about to engulf him, and turn the tide of his fortunes, so brilliant at the outset, in a completely different direction.
The Count de Broglio’s apprehensions for the safety of de la Rosière’s reports and other private papers of the King, increased as the time of de Guerchy’s departure for England drew nigh. In his restless anxiety, he instructed D’Eon to remove himself and every private document in his charge from the French Embassy, before the ambassador made his appearance, to apartments where they should be absolutely beyond his interference and reach. Any excuse would do to account for his change of residence, and he was recommended to take to live with him either of his kinsmen, D’Eon de Mouloise or Carlet de la Rosière, who would be valuable protection against any attempt at a surprise, and trusty substitutes in the event of any unforeseen accident to himself; in fact, every precaution was to be taken to prevent the secret correspondence from falling into the hands of strangers, and especially of the King’s ambassador and ministers. In a few days the precious documents were securely deposited in a house in Dover Street, to which D’Eon removed immediately upon the arrival of the Count de Guerchy.
So thoroughly was the secret maintained that after four months even the late ambassador, the Duke de Nivernois, who was on the most intimate and friendly terms with all at Court, expressed his surprise at D’Eon’s having quitted the Embassy. ‘Why do you always wish to live by yourself and remain in loneliness?’ he wrote; ‘how can you live separated from your work, and where can your work be, but under the ambassador’s roof?’ The Chevalier quotes Psalm cii. 7, and adds cynically: ‘I prefer the solitude of my little library to the society of the great. Men are not good for much. Knaves or fools; so much for three-fourths of them; as for the other fourth, they stay at home.’
The Marquise de Pompadour had condemned the Chevalier D’Eon for acts he had not committed—he had not betrayed his connection with the de Broglios, he refused to betray the King his master—both ever existing grievances in her mind, and she decreed his fall and disgrace. Men willing to stoop to do her will, and sufficiently powerful to carry it out, were not wanting at Versailles. With such as the Duke de Praslin, the Count d’Argental, and the Count de Guerchy, pretexts could never fail, and the Chevalier’s epistolary dissensions with de Praslin on certain monetary claims against the State, which he honestly persisted in making, as also his just resentment of de Guerchy’s censures on what the latter considered excessive outlay at his expense, during the term of D’Eon’s office as French representative in London, readily made up the sum of heavy charges wherewith to crush him. We would avoid anticipating events, but let us say here, that designs even on the life of the minister plenipotentiary were contemplated by two, at the least, of the triumvirate which had bound itself to wreck him.[114]
When D’Eon was first sent on secret service to Russia, he had to contract a loan of ten thousand livres on his own account to meet his expenses. Ordered by M. Rouillé, Minister for Foreign Affairs, when despatched to Russia for the second time officially, to remain with the Chevalier Douglas until the arrival of the ambassador, Douglas considered it desirable, in view of the coming changes, that D’Eon’s application for reimbursement should not be made except to his own Court, feeling persuaded that sooner or later his claim would be acknowledged by the latter. Acquiescing in this, D’Eon deferred pressing for money, and contented himself by zealously carrying out what he knew to be the wishes of M. Rouillé, who had frequently and authoritatively promised him promotion and rewards, should the mission upon which he was employed turn out a success; but upon his return to France that minister was no longer in office, and when he solicited the Cardinal de Bernis and the Duke de Choiseul for a settlement, was met by each with the reply, ‘You should have obtained payment of my predecessor.’
From the time that de Praslin, as Count de Choiseul, had succeeded his cousin, the Duke de Choiseul, in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, D’Eon took frequent occasion to remind him of his entangled situation, arising from having to pay interest on the original loan of ten thousand livres expended in the interests of the Crown. His debt had increased to fifteen thousand livres, and he found himself seriously compromised and threatened by his creditors, with no prospect whatever, considering his own limited resources, of being able to satisfy their just demands. Having settled his small property on his mother, he was entirely dependent on his own exertions, and, notwithstanding the estimation in which his services were held, he had always been kept a poor man. His salary as secretary of Embassy in Russia never exceeded three thousand livres, and even that was reduced to one thousand crowns upon the Duke de Choiseul assuming office. When on leave of absence from his regiment, awaiting orders to proceed to St. Petersburg, his pay was stopped; and as secretary of Embassy in London he was in receipt of three thousand livres only. ‘Three thousand livres a year,’ wrote de Nivernois to de Praslin, when pressing the Chevalier’s claims to greater consideration, ‘does not go so far in London as would fifteen thousand livres in Paris. These are but the wages of an ordinary clerk ... his salary should be more in accordance with the style of living in England, where everything is singularly expensive.’ De Praslin was not to be moved, and yet what stronger proof was needed of his sense of the wrongs under which D’Eon was suffering, and of the recognised serious nature of his embarrassments, than is to be found in the singular document supplied to him as protection in France against arrest and detention, at a moment when he was required to proceed to Versailles, with the ratifications to the Treaty of Peace.
Letter of State, in favour of the Sieur D’Eon de Beaumont.
‘Louis, by the grace of God, King of France and of Navarre, to our well-beloved and trusty Councillors, the bodies holding our Courts of Parliament, the Grand Council, the Court of Aids, ordinary Requests of our House and of our Palaces, Bailiffs, Seneschals, Prevosts, Judges, their Lieutenants, and all other our Officers and Justiciaries whom it may concern, Greeting. Our dear and well-beloved Charles, Geneviève, Louis, Auguste, André, Timothée D’Eon de Beaumont, captain in the regiment of the d’Autichamp dragoons, Censor Royal, and Secretary of our Embassy in England, being at present in London in the performance of the functions of his office, and unable, in consequence, to attend to his own private affairs: We desire and command by these presents, signed with our hand, that all and each of the actions at civil law instituted, or about to be instituted before you, in which he shall appear, whether as plaintiff or as defendant, shall be holden by you, as they are holden by Us, in their present state and in suspension for the space of six months, during which time We very expressly forbid you to have any knowledge thereon, or that you take any proceedings thereon, under pain of nullity, annulment of procedure and of all expenses, damages, indemnities, and interests. We also desire and require that all processes moved, or about to be moved, in our Council concerning his civil interests, be and remain in suspension for the said term, during which we also forbid his accusers, under the said penalties, to take any proceedings; nevertheless, it is not our intention to derogate in the least degree, by these presents, from the declaration of the twenty-third December, one thousand seven hundred and two, containing general instructions as to Letters of State, and which we require to be observed and executed according to their form and tenour. We command our principal usher or sergeant, upon being required, to issue in execution of these presents all summonses, notification, and other requisite and necessary acts without asking further leave or permission. For such is our pleasure. Given at Versailles, the twenty-second February, in the year of grace one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three, and the forty-eighth of our reign.
‘Louis.’
‘In the King’s name.
‘Choiseul, Duke de Praslin.’
Pursued and worried by his creditors at home and abroad, and in despair at the extremities to which he was being reduced, the Chevalier lost all control over himself in his communications with the Foreign Minister, who, he considered, had failed to keep his word.
‘You were good enough to hold out hopes of payment being made to me, when I was leaving for Paris with the ratifications to the Treaty of Peace. I have been paying interest for nearly nine years, on the money I borrowed to enable me to serve the King in the extreme north, when nobody dared to go there.... 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.... If the affairs of the King are in a bad state, mine are going from bad to worse.... Soon I shall complete ten years’ service as a diplomatist, without having become richer or sharper.... I have incurred debts to the amount of 20,000 livres for having dabbled in politics.... I entreat you to decide upon my present and future prospects, and upon the favours I am to expect from your sense of justice; otherwise, I admit to you frankly, Monsieur le Duc, it will be impossible to carry on the war at my expense, during a time of peace.... If you are not good enough to think of me, I will die of consumption[115] instead of dying of molten grease as was the case with ——. I do not ask to be fattened at the King’s expense; I only wish for sufficient flesh to keep body and soul together.’
A friendly note of reproof from his late chief, de Nivernois, for having written so ‘churlish’ a letter to de Praslin, was met by D’Eon’s regret that his ‘churlish’ letter had given cause for vexation. The truths he exposed, and the integrity of his demands, were not intended to vex two just and enlightened ministers.... He respectfully demanded justice of a minister he respected ... he respected the minister’s economy that refused to pay his debts, but he respected much more his justice that should pay them. So soon as he received the money, he would become as meek as a paschal lamb.
‘If you are curious to know,’ continued the Chevalier, ‘what is passing in this country, the accounts are too long to repeat here, see my letters to the Duke de Praslin, and if you can then say I am an idle fellow, I will ask nothing more of the minister. When one serves the King well, one should at least have the wherewithal to meet the little liabilities incurred in unbounded zeal for his service.’[116]
‘D’Eon,
‘Ne variatur.’