Part 3

Availing himself of this chance meeting, d’Eon retraced his steps as far as Bialestock, and accompanied the Marquis de L’Hospital to the house of the great Polish General Branicky. On the way he gave the ambassador the latest news of the Russian court, informed him that the annulment of the secret clause was an accomplished fact, doubtless without concealing the active part he had taken in the successful transaction, and left him overjoyed at not having so unpleasant a matter to settle on entering upon his functions at St. Petersburg. D’Eon then urged on the six horses which he had attached to his chaise, and crossed the plateaux of Moravia and Silesia post-haste. Stopped on the road by a band of four hundred Prussian deserters, he threw to them part of the Czarina’s ducats, and reached Vienna at nightfall. Here, despite his furious protestations, the customs’ officials prevented him from entering the city, and he had to resign himself to waiting in a guard-room of hussars until he could obtain a pass from the embassy. He was thinking of staying at Vienna for the arrival of the Comte de Broglie, the new secret minister, who was on his way to his post in Poland, when news came of the Austrian victory won at Prague, on May 6, over the King of Prussia. He at once set out again, never halting, exhausting his horses, and driving at such reckless speed that he fell headlong and broke his leg. Barely allowing time to have his injury attended to he continued his journey with the same hot haste, and arrived at Paris, prostrate, and burnt up with fever, but outstripping by thirty-six hours the courier sent by Prince Kaunitz to the Austrian ambassador at the court of France, and so bringing simultaneously the first tidings of two happy events.

Louis XV. was glad of the message and highly pleased with the messenger, whose unflagging zeal impressed and flattered him the more as it emanated from one of the agents of his secret correspondence. He instantly despatched his own surgeon to the limping courier, and a few days later sent him a gratuity from the privy purse, a gold snuff-box ornamented with pearls, and a commission as lieutenant of dragoons. This last mark of favour d’Eon prized more highly than all the others, and it did much to hasten his recovery, which promptly followed. He was the first to acknowledge that by falling he had picked up a fortune, since, thanks to his broken leg, he was now a lieutenant of dragoons honoured by the King, having henceforward, both literally and figuratively, a foot in the stirrup. Nevertheless, he remained in the diplomatic service, his initial success showing how profitably he might still be employed in that career, and he had to rest content for a few years with an honorary rank in the army. During the period of compulsory relaxation which ensued after his return to Paris, d’Eon occupied his time in drawing up notes relating to his mission.

II

DIPLOMATIC AND MILITARY

D’Eon’s active mind, stimulated by success and hope, adapted itself ill, it is true, to this temporary rest, and the flattering reception he met with at Compiègne from the King and the court did not help him to restrain his impatience. He called at the Hôtel du Temple to acquaint Conti with the indifferent result of his mission, and to obtain the Prince’s directions for pursuing the affair, in view of his departure. The duchy of Courland and the command-in-chief of the Russian troops were no longer in question. Louis XV. seemed already to have lost his interest in that project, and, if he permitted d’Eon to see his former secret minister, he deferred giving him instructions with regard to it; and, through fear of embroiling the already critical situation at St. Petersburg, soon definitely abandoned the interests of a cousin who had ventured to incur the displeasure of Madame de Pompadour.

Meanwhile d’Eon’s departure had just been fixed for the end of September. The Minister for Foreign Affairs had granted his earnest request; Tercier, too, was anxious that he should rejoin his post; and the Marquis de L’Hospital, who had been impressed by his shrewdness and the experience of Russian affairs he had shown in their brief interview, was also urging him to return to St. Petersburg.

In point of fact, the marquis found himself, almost from the moment of his arrival, in an extremely false and annoying position. He had been despatched to Russia for the purpose of cementing the friendly relations between the two courts; but an apparently insignificant incident occurred which hindered his mission, and threatened to compromise an alliance so arduously obtained, and to wreck the new policy whereby past blunders were to be remedied.

Elizabeth, who had never been deterred from making advances to France—frequently complimentary, sometimes of pecuniary interest, but in either case politely evaded—had just found an opportunity for demonstrating her friendly feelings towards the King at the same time as her sympathy for her new allies. Godmother of the child to which the Grand Duchess was about to give birth, she desired that Louis XV. should stand godfather. She devoted to this end all the energy and tenacity of a woman intent upon the gratification of a whim, and when the council suggested the choice of some other god-parent she replied: “No, no; I will have none but Louis XV. and myself....” Upon this, Woronzow sounded the Marquis de L’Hospital, who communicated the imperial proposal to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

With an obstinacy that would be unaccountable had he not given numerous examples of similar scruples, the King refused to accept “engagements which constrain him to see that, as far as possible, the child be brought up in the Catholic faith.” Elizabeth was greatly vexed by this repulse to her advances, and the motives were calculated to surprise her on the part of a monarch whom she had good reasons for believing to be even more sceptical than herself. She chose no other godfather, and the child was baptised in her arms. The Marquis de L’Hospital, fearing that the wound dealt her royal and feminine self-esteem would be adroitly envenomed by the party hostile to France led by Bestuchef, was impatiently awaiting d’Eon’s return, knowing his favour with the Empress. The able secretary did not disappoint his chief’s expectations; thoroughly acquainted with every intrigue of a palace in which he had been plotting for two years, he worked to such good purpose that Woronzow’s party got the upper hand again and soon became strong enough to attack the omnipotent Chancellor. At the time of his passing through the Russian lines, d’Eon had ascertained beyond doubt the existence of a secret correspondence between Apraxin and the Chancellor. The marshal’s inaction after the victory he had gained over the Prussian troops at Gros Jägersdorf, and the defeat to which he had exposed himself at Narva, made it manifest that instructions contrary to those he had received from his sovereign had been transmitted to him surreptitiously. Apprised by d’Eon, who had discovered the hiding-place of Bestuchef’s secret papers, Woronzow did not hesitate to denounce to the Czarina the treason which threatened completely to foil a campaign so successfully begun. Elizabeth passed over definitely to the French party, and Bestuchef’s disgrace was decreed a few days later.

When, in the course of an audience granted by the Empress to the Marquis de L’Hospital, upon his recovery after a long illness, the ambassador complained of ill usage on the part of the Chancellor which was quite inconsistent with the sovereign’s kindness, “Count Bestuchef, who, according to etiquette, was standing behind the Empress, on her right, rushed forward like a madman, and went out, with his eyes glittering, boding some catastrophe for the night.” He withdrew to his palace; but the next day the Empress bade him attend her council. He pleaded sickness, but was obliged to comply with a second order. The following account of his arrest, too graphic not to have been taken from life, has been handed down to us by La Messelière:—

Bestuchef, thinking that his intrigues had not yet been unravelled, stepped into his coach with the pomp and circumstance of his rank. On reaching the gates of the Palace he was greatly astonished to see the guard of grenadiers, who usually presented arms to him, surround the carriage by a movement made from the right and left. A lieutenant-general of the guard arrested him and got up beside him, to conduct him back to his palace under escort. What was his surprise upon his arrival at seeing it invested by four battalions, grenadiers at the door of his study and seals affixed to all his papers. As was customary, he was stripped to the skin, and all razors, knives, scissors, pins, and needles were taken from him. His cruel and immovable character made him smile sardonically, notwithstanding all the evidence against him that was to be found in his papers. Four grenadiers, with fixed bayonets, kept a constant watch over the four corners of the bed, the curtains of which remained open. All attempts had failed to discover a note which the Chancellor had written in anticipation of his arrest, and which he intended to send to the Grand Duchess. He asked to see his physician, Boirave, who was summoned, and on his approach to feel his pulse Bestuchef tried to slip this note into his hand; but the doctor, not understanding what was expected of him, let it fall to the ground. The major on guard picked it up, and its contents were never known. The poor doctor, thinking he was going to be involved, was so alarmed that he died of the shock three days afterwards.

The Chancellor’s papers left no room for doubt as to his secret schemes. Charged with high treason, it was owing to Elizabeth’s mercy that he was not condemned to death, and was exiled to Siberia. Over eighteen hundred persons were arrested; Apraxin had just committed suicide, and a movement more favourable to French interests was in course of formation at the instigation of Woronzow, who succeeded his rival in office.

[Illustration: LA CHEVALIERE D’EON

_From the Painting by Angelica Kaufmann after Latour_]

D’Eon, whose part in this affair was so active and successful, had, according to La Messelière, unwittingly saved his own head. At all events, he had a claim upon Woronzow’s gratitude, and fresh titles to Elizabeth’s confidence; consequently the idea was mooted of attaching d’Eon to the service of Russia, and a formal request to that effect was made by the Marquis de L’Hospital to the Abbé de Bernis. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and M. Tercier, being at one in this matter, were not at all opposed to the scheme, suggested, no doubt, by the Czarina herself, whereby an agent esteemed at the same time by the ministry and the secret service should be established at her court. D’Eon, although flattered by this proposal, which he never omitted to mention in the rough drafts of his memoirs, did not think fit to accept it. The favour which he enjoyed at Versailles, a career brilliantly opened in diplomacy, the scope given to his aspirations in the army—all gave promise of a sufficiently enviable future for him in his own country. He knew, too, that foreigners seldom attained to high places in Russia. Fortune was particularly fickle there, and her wheel was more often than not broken on the road to Siberia. Lastly, his health was beginning to suffer from the effects of the severe climate; and he did not hesitate to refuse. “Had I a bastard brother,” he wrote to Tercier, “be assured I should prevail upon him to accept such an offer, but for myself, who am legitimate, I should be glad to die like a faithful dog in a ditch in my native land.” In thanking the Abbé de Bernis, “he begged him to dismiss him from his memory whenever there was a question of his destiny removing him entirely from France.”

The Minister for Foreign Affairs did not insist, and even congratulated him upon his attachment to his country. At that time, moreover, d’Eon had other projects in view. He was tired of Russia, where he feared his energies would be wasted for many years to come, while he aspired to other spheres of action. He had followed from his distant post the disastrous campaign of 1757, which ended in the crushing defeat of the French army at Rosbach. Couriers arriving at the embassy in March brought no better news. Hanover had just been evacuated, and the Comte de Clermont’s troops, compelled to quit Westphalia, had to cross the Rhine again. Everywhere hostilities were being resumed with fresh vigour. D’Eon, who had been for some time impatiently waiting an opportunity for making his first campaign, was longing to join his regiment before the end of the war: “To do so after peace had been declared would,” he said, “be too great a blow to his honour and his self-esteem.”

He determined, therefore, to apply (April 14) to the Minister for War for a captain’s commission. Marshal de Belle-Isle did not refuse him such rapid promotion. Less than three months afterwards d’Eon received a commission as captain on half-pay; but he had again to exercise patience and give up for the moment his warlike plans.

Circumstances prevented him from leaving St. Petersburg, the King’s secret diplomacy necessitating his presence near the ambassador on whom he was constantly to keep watch, and whose actions he had often to prompt. The Duc de Choiseul, Bernis’ successor as Minister for Foreign Affairs, had just informed the Marquis de L’Hospital of the treaty, signed December 30, 1758, which drew Louis XV. and Maria Theresa more closely together in a policy directed against Prussia. The ambassador’s task was to obtain Russia’s adhesion to the agreement. He was, besides, to give the Czarina to understand that her mediation between France and England would be welcomed by the cabinet of Versailles, who in return would show less devotion to the interests of Poland. As circumstances might make the Grand Duchess’s support invaluable, they would be obliged to pay her greater deference, whereat it was hoped the Empress would not take umbrage.

Such double-dealing was not calculated to attract the ambassador, who, disliking intrigues, would not have been successful and did not take part in it. He had found favour with Elizabeth, and was particularly anxious to retain her esteem. His witty conversation, his good manners, and a liberality which Louis XV. called extravagant, had won for him the sympathies of the court. If he possessed all the qualities of the man of high rank whom his government had sought as a worthy representative of France at a stately court, his age, his infirmities, and a want of natural energy prevented him from reaping the advantages of an alliance which he confined himself to maintaining and strengthening as best he could. He deemed that to be the most important part of his mission, and relied upon d’Eon, to whom he had become genuinely attached, for the management of current affairs. So highly did he value his young secretary’s attainments, and his experience of Russian people and affairs, that he made it a practice never to come to a decision without first consulting “his little d’Eon,” whose functions as secret agent were thus singularly facilitated. Consequently the ambassador did not omit to communicate to him the instructions he had just received from the Duc de Choiseul.

D’Eon was already aware of their purport. But he had learned too, by a letter from Tercier, that the King would by no means consent to Elizabeth extending her dominions at the expense of Poland; such an aggrandisement being calculated to give her a preponderance in Northern Europe which the offer of mediation would strengthen. On those terms Louis XV. preferred to continue the war with England. In short, he desired no change in the attitude which had been adopted towards the Grand Duchess. D’Eon, without revealing his source of inspiration, pointed out these considerations to the Marquis de L’Hospital, who contented himself with negotiating the ratification to the treaty, and awaited more urgent orders before broaching the other points. These orders soon arrived. Choiseul, put out of patience by an inaction so inconsistent with the instructions transmitted, wrote a letter to the ambassador, the intimate and affectionate character of which alone mitigated the asperity of the language, and in which he gave him the option of obeying or of applying for his recall.

D’Eon renewed his entreaties to the Marquis de L’Hospital, and did all he could to dissuade him from launching out into intrigues which might not meet with the King’s approval. So he managed to defer the project for over a year, and the defeats inflicted upon Frederick by the Russians made the minister abandon it of his own accord.

Unable to obtain what he desired from an ambassador whom his friendship prevented him from reprimanding, Choiseul decided to appoint a colleague to the marquis, with the title of minister plenipotentiary, and despatched to St. Petersburg the Baron de Breteuil, a young man enabled by his talents, his distinguished appearance, and his high rank to ingratiate himself with the Grand Duchess and the young count. The King approved this mission officially; but as it was prejudicial to the interests of his personal policy he resolved to counteract its effects by admitting the baron to the secret correspondence. Accordingly he signed a long letter, indited by Tercier, instructing d’Eon to let the new envoy know the King’s private designs.

D’Eon’s functions were thus about to become considerably restricted. After intriguing during five years and acting as intermediary in the secret correspondence between Louis XV. and Elizabeth, after working at the negotiations of several treaties, he found his diplomatic career hindered, and so he again entertained the idea of applying for active service in the army. He had, moreover, kept up a friendly intercourse with the superior officers of his regiment, having corresponded on several occasions with his colonel, the Marquis de Caraman, and his comrade, Captain de Chambry. He had even been considerate enough to look for furs for the Duc de Chevreuse, colonel-general of dragoons, who had acknowledged the delicate attention in a friendly note.

The historical studies to which he devoted the leisure left him by the negotiations (the mere titles of which show clearly that he lacked the sense of proportion in all he did) could not reconcile d’Eon to the kind of life which he led in Russia. In the month of July, 1760, he lost all patience, his health being seriously impaired, and he entreated the Marquis de L’Hospital for permission to return to France:

Your Excellency is aware that for over eighteen months I have been more often ill than well. M. Poissonier has seriously advised me to leave Russia, in order that I may recover my former strength by breathing my native air. Though I fear neither death nor physicians, and though I am fully persuaded that the medical profession has not the privilege of alarming your secretaries of embassy, yet I feel the approach of a general collapse, which is more convincing than all the doctors’ arguments, and warns me not to spend a fifth winter in Russia.... By gaining still more experience of politics, I may aspire to follow some better trade than that of a scribe and a pharisee.

De L’Hospital did not detain d’Eon any longer, and commissioned him to convey to Versailles the ratifications to the treaty of 1758 and to the maritime convention concluded between Russia, Sweden and Denmark.

D’Eon left St. Petersburg with the fixed determination of never returning, and carried away with him eulogistic testimonials from the Marquis de L’Hospital and the Baron de Breteuil, and letters of recommendation to the Minister for War. The Czarina graciously presented him with a snuff-box ornamented with diamonds, and upon his taking leave of Woronzow, the Chancellor said: “I am sorry you are going away, even though your first journey here, with the Chevalier Douglas, cost my sovereign more than two hundred thousand men and fifteen million roubles.”

As on the first occasion, the bearer of excellent news, d’Eon again met with a warm reception in Paris and at Versailles. The Duc de Choiseul caused a pension of two thousand livres to be conferred upon him out of the privy purse, and promised to do something for his career.

D’Eon, whom the journey had exhausted, had just been attacked by small-pox, and was obliged to take care of himself and to await until the spring the realisation of his long-cherished wish. At last, in the month of February, 1761, he was able to ask the Duc de Choiseul, Minister for War, “for permission to serve as aide-de-camp to the Marshal and the Comte de Broglie in the army of the Upper Rhine, and for his transference to the regiment of d’Autichamp’s dragoons, in the same army, the colonel-general’s regiment doing duty that year on the coast.”

The minister was anxious to comply with his request by despatching him to the army; but this official sanction was insufficient for d’Eon; he required further the consent of the King. The Comte de Broglie, whose aide-de-camp he wished to become, and who, in fact, continued to attend to the business of the secret diplomacy from the army, submitted his desire to the sovereign, and obtained the following reply:—

... I do not think we have need at present of the Sieur d’Eon; you may, therefore, take him as your aide-de-camp, and it will be all the better as we shall know where to find him in case of necessity.

D’Eon was immediately appointed and started without delay for the army, where he at once entered active service. At Höxter he was entrusted with the removal of the ammunition and some of the King’s stores which had been left in the fortress: these he put on board the boats moored on the banks of the Weser, and crossed the river several times under the enemy’s fire. A little later, in an action at Ultrop, near Löft, he was wounded in the face and thigh. On November 7, 1761, when commanding the grenadiers of Champagne and the Swiss, he attacked the Scottish Highlanders, who were ambushed in the mountain gorges close to the camp of Einbeck, dislodging them and pursuing them as far as the English quarters. Lastly, at Osterwieck, when in command of a small detachment of only about a hundred dragoons and hussars, he fearlessly charged the Frankish Prussian battalion of Rhes, which had intercepted the communications of the French army near Wolfenbüttel. So sudden was his attack that the enemy, put to confusion, laid down their arms, enabling him to take eight hundred prisoners. The Prince Xavier de Saxe profited by this daring exploit in advancing his troops and occupying Wolfenbüttel. All these great feats, which d’Eon was wont to recount complacently, and which he bade his biographer, La Fortelle, relate, are attested besides by the certificate delivered to him by the Marshal and the Comte de Broglie on his leaving the army:

Victor-François, Duc de Broglie, Prince of the Holy Empire, Marshal of France, Knight of the Royal Orders, Commander in Alsace, Governor of the town and castle of Béthune, and in command of the French army on the Upper-Rhine;

And Charles, Comte de Broglie, Knight of the Royal Orders, Lieutenant-General of the King’s armies, and Quartermaster-General of the army of the Upper Rhine.