The Chevalier D’Eon de Beaumont

So far as the ministers were concerned, the Chevalier D’Eon was regarded in the light of a rebel and traitor, when all of which he could have stood convicted was, like poor Clinker, ‘hunger, wretchedness, and want; but de Broglio and the King knew otherwise. The compromising papers with the existence of which we have become so familiar, were still in his possession, and their immediate recovery having become an absolute necessity, the count was directed to arrange in a kindly and generous spirit for their surrender. He accordingly sent to London the Marquis de Prunevaux, an officer of distinction and a kinsman of the Duke de Nivernois, to propose the following conditions:—D’Eon to give up every document relating to the late King’s private or official correspondence; to give his word of honour to abstain, ever thereafter, from writing anything of a nature likely to awaken the recollections of his contentions with de Guerchy and de Praslin, and to avoid all such places where he would be liable to meet the Countess de Guerchy and her children. In return, he should receive a life-pension of twelve thousand livres,[280] have his military rank restored to him, all charges pending against him should be withdrawn, and a safe conduct signed by the King granted, enabling him to return to France and live in any part of the country most agreeable to himself. But D’Eon had lost his beloved master, whose slightest wish had ever been a law to him; he knew that his occupation was gone, but he thought he might recover the position he had lost if he played his cards well, and accordingly rejected the terms, substituting his own instead, in which he asked—(1) that his conduct should be purged of the calumnies imputed to it by the Duke de Praslin and the Count de Guerchy, and that he should be reinstated in the diplomatic rank and title he had held, as was done to the celebrated La Chalotais;[281] and (2) that all sums and indemnities due to him during the past twenty-one years, amounting altogether to 13,933l. sterling, or 318,477 livres, should be paid to him in full.

In urging his claims to a sum of such large proportions, the Chevalier’s argument was a repetition of what he had advanced in days gone by, when soliciting Louis XV. and de Broglio for pecuniary assistance:—

‘All the debts I have contracted in England are the natural consequences of the orders I received from the King being contradictory to those of the Duke de Praslin; a natural consequence of the means to which I had recourse in defence of my honour and of my life; a natural consequence of the measures I adopted to prevent my person and papers from being carried off out of England, and a natural consequence of the criminal proceedings I was obliged to institute against the late Count de Guerchy, for having poisoned me at his table, and for having ordered and bribed de Vergy to assassinate me in London; also for having sought to kidnap me—all atrocious crimes of which I adduced proofs at the trial, notwithstanding the indignation of the French Court, notwithstanding the presence of the ambassador, who owed his escape from the punishment he richly merited simply to a nolle prosequi mercifully granted by the King of England, in answer to his supplication, and to the everlasting disgrace of the said ambassador.’[282]

‘Prodigious for you,’ replied D’Eon, ‘who insist on crown pieces doing duty in a country where guineas are fingered! Prodigious in your native Morvan, where a horse costs two louis, an ox six livres, and an ass a crown; but as for me, I have been living for the last thirteen years in London, where a turkey costs six livres before it is roasted!’

Notwithstanding a four months’ residence in London, De Prunevaux could not prevail upon the Chevalier to leave England, for he insisted, after the example of the brave and virtuous La Chalotais, on a temporary re-establishment in his post of plenipotentiary which he occupied with distinction, and from which Madame de Pompadour, with a cabal of the great, by little and base intrigues expelled him; deeming all pecuniary satisfaction beneath his honour, gold being but a means and not the object of great souls.[283]

De Broglio’s friendly remonstrances and reproaches were without effect upon D’Eon, who became the more obdurate from the moment that de Prunevaux resolutely, and once for all, refused to entertain any such idea as his reinstatement to his former official position. De Prunevaux was succeeded by Captain Pommereux of the Grenadiers, ordered to treat with D’Eon on the basis of an indemnity; but the only concession the Chevalier would make being to reduce his claim to 256,000 livres, de Vergennes submitted to the King that since a high sum was still persisted in, it would be unwise to underrate the importance of keeping on good terms with the Chevalier, and recommended that for the present, at least, his quarterly allowance should be paid as before, anticipating that he would become more tractable with time, and if less importance were attached to the recovery of the papers of which he was the depositary. Louis XVI. approved, but said that he had never read a more impertinent or ridiculous letter than D’Eon’s,[284] and were it not for the safety of the documents, he should certainly send him about his business.[285] I cannot conclude this paragraph without noticing that the gallant captain became so thoroughly persuaded, during his stay in London, of the truth of the reports on the presumed sex of the Chevalier, that he became enamoured of the heroine, and actually proposed marriage before taking his departure for France!

There now appears on the scene a remarkable man, one who, relying upon his abilities, of which he was singularly vain, was prepared to act as mediator, and by pursuing a policy of something like oppression, bring D’Eon to his bearings. This was no less an individual than Beaumarchais, the watchmaker’s apprentice, lieutenant-general of the royal hunt, champion of the Americans in revolt against Britain, and in the secret service of Louis XVI., but more universally known, perhaps, as the author of ‘Le Barbier de Seville,’ a play first published with the authority of that sovereign, and unjustly condemned for a season as being a plagiary on Molière’s ‘École des Femmes.’ When D’Eon and Beaumarchais met for the first time, the latter was in London on a mission from the King, in which D’Eon was likewise concerned, and it is scarcely to be doubted he was under instructions from de Vergennes to make the Chevalier’s acquaintance with a view to entering eventually into further relations with him. By Beaumarchais’ management were shaped the destinies of D’Eon, who has left a record of how they met and what their intercourse, in a written statement he addressed to the Count de Vergennes, on May 27, 1776,[286] and from which we quote the following passages:—

‘There was in 1773, and there still is, in England, a libelling adventurer named Théveneau de Morande, the counterpart of the Sieur Goudard described by me elsewhere. He had set up a newspaper called “Le Gazetier Cuirassé,” a sort of laboratory for defamation of character, in which he abused everybody and dealt in slander. Before printing “Le Gazetier Cuirassé,” he wrote to all those persons (including M. de Voltaire) whom it was his intention to defame, to demand a certain sum of money if they did not wish such abominations to be made public. The Marquis de Villette, one of those to whom he had written, replied:—

‘“You scoundrel! You demand fifty louis that you may not publish certain facts in which I am concerned; if you give me one hundred, I will supply you with many other facts far more curious and private, which you can add to your manuscript. I await your answer.”

‘2. In a letter dated July 6, 1773, Louis XV. and his secret minister, the Count de Broglio, instructed the Chevalier D’Eon to find out whether M. de Morande was really at work on “Notes on the Life of Madame la Comtesse Dubarry,”[287] and what sum would suffice to induce M. de Morande to give up his MS. and the publication of it.’

‘You could not have recourse to anybody more able to assist and bring to a satisfactory termination the affair you have mentioned to me, M. Morande being a countryman of mine, who boasts of being connected with a branch of my family in Burgundy.... For two months I refused to make his acquaintance for very good reasons. He has so frequently called since, that I have occasionally received him rather than be annoyed by a young man of an exceedingly turbulent and impetuous disposition, who knows no bounds, and without any respect for things sacred or profane. Such is the man.... Fœnum habet in cornu, tu Romane, caveto. This is why I keep him at a certain distance....

‘He is a man who swindles several rich people in Paris through fear of his pen. He has produced the most outrageous libel it is possible to conceive against the Count de Lauraguais, with whom he picked a quarrel. The King of England (himself so frequently attacked in the papers) asked, with reference to this affair, what he thought of English liberty.’

‘I have nothing to complain of, Sire,’ replied the count, ‘it treats me like a King.’

‘I am not aware that Morande is at work on the scandalous account of the Dubarry family; but I have very strong suspicions that such is the case. If it should be so, there is nobody in a better position than I am to negotiate for its being relinquished; he is very fond of his wife, and I undertake to get her to do anything I wish.... I believe that if he were offered 800 guineas he would be quite satisfied. I know that he is in want of money just now, and I will do my best to arrange for a smaller sum. But, sir, to tell you the truth, I should be delighted if the money were given to him by some other person, so that nobody will suppose that I have made a single guinea by such a business.’

‘3. M. D’Eon is on the point of concluding the bargain in consideration of the sum of 800l. sterling, M. Morande giving his bond that he will pay 1,000l. sterling to the poor of the parish, should he hereafter be convicted before a tribunal, of having caused to be printed any work to the prejudice of the late King, of his mistresses or ministers.’

‘4. M. D’Eon receives another letter from the Count de Broglio, dated August 26, 1773, approved by the King, in which he is instructed to suspend his negotiations with Morande, seeing that the celebrated Count Dubarry had taken other measures; but he is to watch Morande and his publications.’

‘5. Secret emissaries of police arrive in London for the purpose of kidnapping Morande. The scheme fails, and the frightened emissaries promptly make their escape to Paris.’

‘6. Under censure of the Parliament of Paris, Beaumarchais is on the point of being arrested, when he takes refuge in the King’s wardrobe, an asylum worthy of such a personage.’

‘7. M. de la Borde, the late King’s valet-de-chambre,[288] confides to Beaumarchais, in the gloom of the wardrobe, that the King’s heart is saddened by a rascally libel on the amours of the charming Dubarry, in the course of being written in London by the scoundrel Morande.’

‘8. ... The Sieur Caron entertains hope of success in fawning to his master’s love affairs, humbling his enemies and increasing his own fortune. He communicates to la Borde his design of going to London, and secretly bribing with gold the already corrupted Morande. This project is communicated by la Borde to Louis XV., who deigns to give his approval.’

‘9. Accordingly, Beaumarchais arrives in London incognito, escorted by the Count de Lauraguais in publico.’

‘10. The day of their arrival, Morande calls on M. D’Eon to inform him that two French noblemen had been to see him that morning, with their pockets full of gold, to invite him to suppress his work against the Countess Dubarry; but not wishing to conclude any arrangement without first consulting M. D’Eon, who was the first to commence negotiations on this business, the two noblemen had remained in their coach at the corner of the street, and desired to confer with him.’

‘11. M. D’Eon asks Morande the names of these two French noblemen, and whether they bring letters to him from Versailles or Paris.... Morande declares they wish to preserve the strictest incognito.’

‘12. M. D’Eon replies that he has no wish to confer with unknown individuals; they might be emissaries of police who would induce him to say what he would rather leave unsaid; that the love affairs of kings were ticklish matters to meddle in.... The only advice he could offer to Morande, encumbered as he is with a wife and family and debts, in so expensive a place as London, and pursuing a dangerous avocation comparable to that of a highwayman, would be to exact the largest sum out of the richest gilt coach he might meet. His own coach could only offer 800l. sterling for the suppression of the libel....’

‘13. A few days later, M. D’Eon learns that the two unknown nobles are, the unknown noble, Caron de Beaumarchais, and the most illustrious and well-known noble, Louis François Brancas, Count de Lauraguais, and that they had concluded an agreement with Théveneau de Morande, in the name of Louis XV., for the suppression of his libel in consideration of the sum of 1,500 louis, in cash, and a life-pension of 4,000 francs, to be reduced to a life-pension of 2,000 livres in favour of his wife, should she survive him....’[289]

‘14. Morande not ceasing to trouble M. D’Eon with his obtrusive visits, the latter was induced to tell him that he was curious to make the acquaintance of such a man as Beaumarchais, because the papers he had published gave him reason to suppose, judging by the boldness of his style and opinions, that there was still a man left in Paris.’

‘15. ... Morande brought him to my house when he came to London for the third time, and thus we saw each other, led no doubt by a curiosity natural to extraordinary animals to meet one another.’

‘16. In May, 1775, I saw this rake whom I might call, without offence, by the name of that animal who with his eyes turned up, and his snout to the ground, searches for truffles in my country. After several interviews and conferences, he became acquainted with some of the circumstances of my political and physical condition.’

‘17. He was profuse in his offers to be of service at Versailles, and I accepted. Like a drowning man abandoned, so to say, by the late King and his private minister for high reasons of state, to the current of an infected river, I hung on for an instant to the boat of Caron as I would to a red-hot rod of iron. Although I took the precaution to protect my hands with gauntlets, I had my fingers burnt after all....’

According to Loménie,[290] D’Eon solicited the assistance of Beaumarchais, and that he might the more effectively enlist his sympathies, confessed to him, with tears, that he was a female, which, never doubting, and delighted at the prospect of obliging a woman become interesting by her daring courage, political talents and misfortunes, and wishing also to bring to a successful issue a somewhat difficult task, Beaumarchais wrote some touching words to Louis XVI. in favour of his client.

‘When it is considered that this creature, so persecuted, is of a sex to which all is forgiven, the heart is moved with sweet compassion.... I venture to assure you, Sire, that in treating this wonderful creature with tact and gentleness, even though she be soured by twelve years of misfortune, she will be easily prevailed upon to submit herself, and give up the whole of the late King’s papers on reasonable conditions.’

Having familiarised himself with D’Eon’s story, his difficulties and necessities, Beaumarchais returned to Versailles, and exaggerating the importance of the hidden secret correspondence, although he had not seen any of it, pleaded the cause of his new client, and secured for himself the congenial employment of treating for the King’s papers by instructions contained in a letter from the Count de Vergennes, in which allusion is made for the first time to the Chevalier’s change of sex, although spoken of throughout in the masculine gender.

‘... You have the King’s authority to agree to every reasonable guarantee upon which M. D’Eon may insist, for the regular payment of his pension of 12,000 livres, on the understanding, however, that he will not claim an annuity to that amount when out of France; the capital to be devoted to the realisation of this sum is not at my disposition, and I shall experience much difficulty in obtaining it; but it is easy enough to convert the pension into a life-annuity, of which the title-deed would be given up. The liquidation of debts will be a difficult matter, M. D’Eon’s claims in this respect being very great, and he must reduce them considerably to enable us to come to terms. As you are not to allow it to appear that you are sent to him on a mission, you will enjoy the advantage of his having to wait upon you, and you will thus be in a position to dictate terms. M. D’Eon is of a violent disposition, but I believe him to be an honest fellow, and I will do him the justice to say that I am quite persuaded he is incapable of treachery. It is impossible for M. D’Eon to take leave of the King of England; the disclosure of his sex renders such a thing impracticable; it would be casting ridicule upon the two Courts ... a certificate will be granted, provided he remains satisfied with the praise that his zeal, intelligence, and loyalty have merited; but we cannot compliment him on his moderation and submission, and in no case must there be any allusion to his disputes with M. de Guerchy. You are an enlightened man, and I have no misgivings that you will make a good bargain with D’Eon, if such a thing is to be done at all. If you fail, then we must take it for granted that we cannot expect to meet with success, and make up our minds for the worst. Our first feelings will be disagreeable, but the consequences will be terrible to D’Eon. It is very humiliating to an exile to turn traitor. He becomes an object of contempt.’[291]

Even though the Count de Vergennes was thus engaged in determining the final disposal of D’Eon, such was the opinion continued to be entertained of his devotion to his country, of his abilities and usefulness, that we see him recommended by that minister to the new French ambassador in London, as being a man fully competent to obtain information of which they stood in need, and this at a time that France was still guided by a feeling of hostility towards the rebels against British authority in America.

The Count de Vergennes to the Count de Guines.

‘Versailles, June 23, 1775.

‘... You will be good enough not to neglect any opportunity for assuring his Britannic Majesty of the King’s sentiments towards him, and his wish for the establishment of the most perfect understanding between them as sovereigns, on the basis of the peace and friendship that so happily exists. The principles of moderation and justice by which the King is constantly guided, and which directs him in all his resolutions, should serve to reassure his Britannic Majesty on the nature of our views, sought to be misrepresented by the enemies to public peace. Far from desiring to take advantage of England’s difficulties under the present aspect of affairs in America, we would rather be able to assist in extricating her. The spirit of revolt, wherever it may break out, is always a dangerous example. There are mental as well as physical maladies, and both may become contagious.... We have no wish to carry our precautions to such a point as to alarm the English. I request that you will keep a strict watch over the changes we may expect to see, and especially over what Lord Chatham might effect on the mind of the King of England, should he yield, as reported, to the solicitations of that prince for the purpose of drawing him towards himself. Perhaps M. D’Eon will be able to procure for you some interesting information on this subject. If you believe in the possibility of entertaining direct relations with him, I know that he will not refuse to be of service to you. His heart is ever French, although his misfortunes and hasty temperament seem sometimes to have estranged him. He has friends in the opposition, which is by no means a bad channel for obtaining information.’[292]

To resume. Beaumarchais’ earliest success consisted in obtaining from the Chevalier the keys of an iron safe said to contain the King’s secret papers, and which Lord Ferrers was supposed to hold as security from D’Eon for the loan of five thousand pounds.

‘... I place at your disposal, Captain D’Eon, a brave officer, an accomplished diplomatist, and possessing all the virile qualities of manhood so far as his head is concerned. I bring to the King the keys of an iron safe securely sealed with my own seal, and in safe deposit, and containing all the papers it is necessary for the King to have. It is thus that I served the late King in the case of another exile whose pen was dreaded.[293] At any rate, the King and you may remain perfectly well assured that matters in England will remain in statu quo during my absence, when completing with you the task I have commenced with D’Eon.... I take advantage of the first sure opportunity for having a letter posted at Calais to inform you, without its being known in London, that I have placed in the King’s hands certain papers, and an individual whom it was sought, at any price, to employ against him ... people are curiously inquiring what I am doing here!...’[294]

The letter intimating to Beaumarchais, for the first time, that D’Eon should, in the future, be considered a female, was succeeded two months later by another ministerial despatch, in which allusion is made, also for the first time, to the necessity for his complete change of sex by the assumption of female attire; the Count de Vergennes, as will be noticed, still referring to the Chevalier by employing the personal pronoun of the masculine gender.

‘... However great my desire to see, to know, and to converse with M. D’Eon, I do not conceal from you that I have one cause for anxiety. His enemies are on the alert, and will not easily forgive him for all he has said of them. Should he come here, however prudent and circumspect he may be, they might impute to him conduct in opposition to the reserve imposed by the King; denials and justifications are always embarrassing and odious to the well-meaning. Should M. D’Eon consent to disguise himself, all would be well; it is a proposition that can emanate from himself alone; but in his own interest it is desirable that he should avoid, at least for some years, a residence in France and necessarily in Paris. You may make such use of these observations as you think proper.’[295]

Having displayed his keys at Versailles, and assured de Vergennes that four days would suffice to regulate affairs finally with D’Eon, Beaumarchais returned to London, the first step he took being to inform the Chevalier, in the clearest terms, that as the primary condition of all future negotiations it was absolutely necessary she should agree to resuming female attire. D’Eon became very noisy upon receiving intimation for which he was so little prepared, and persistently refused to assent; but the determined attitude and dictatorial bearing assumed by Beaumarchais were not without effect, and for the first time in his life, perhaps, he quailed, and in the end, yielded.

CHAPTER XIII.