Appendix
They who have seen the face of the eiserne jungfrau in the dread dungeon of the Inquisition at Nuremberg, even though by the lurid light of the keeper’s candle-stuffs, will experience little difficulty in figuring to themselves the habitual expression of the Chevalier D’Eon’s features, where every sentiment implanted by nature and conveyed in the open face, intelligent eyes, and well-shaped nose, was subjugated by the agitated spirit of sarcasm and disdain that kept rippling, as it were, out of the spacious brow, and overspreading the otherwise attractive countenance.
In the various portraits herewith described, the Chevalier or Chevalière D’Eon is represented in female attire except in those marked *.
1. Angelica Kauffmann after Latour. Francis Haward, R.A., sculpsit (mezzo-tinto) published (by the engraver), January 18, 1788, from the picture in the collection of George Keate, Esq.
Carola Genovefa Louisa Augusta Andrea Timothea D’Eon de Beaumont, Knight of the Royal and Military Order of St. Louis, Captain of Dragoons and the Volunteers of the Army, Aide-de-Camp to the Maréchal Duke and Count de Broglio, Minister Plenipotentiary from the King of France to the King of Great Britain in 1763. Born at Tonnerre, October 5, 1728. Painted in her twenty-fifth year. (See p. 14, from a photograph by C. Prætorius.)
To represent D’Eon de Beaumont as a Chevalière of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis at the age of twenty-five, is an anomaly. The cross in this picture may have been introduced by Angelica Kauffmann395 when she copied La Tour’s portrait, or it may have been added many years after its execution, by La Tour himself, before Angelica Kauffmann saw it. His biographer gives authority for such a conjecture where he says: ‘Towards the close of his life, the mind of this artist began to give way. He vitiated a large number of his works by retracing them, under the pretext that in a portrait everything should be sacrificed to the head.’
2. *Mackenzie sc. LE CHEVALIER D’EON (beardless).
3. Printed for S. Hooper, 25 Ludgate Hill, 25 January, 1771 (mezzo-tinto, full length). The Discovery or Female Free-mason, Lady Charles Louis Cezar Augustus Alexander Timotheus D’Eon de Beaumont (here follow style and titles) and accepted free-mason at the lodge of Immortality at the ‘Crown and Anchor’ in the Strand.
4. *Huquier, pinxt; Burke, fect. Published as the Act directs, August 7, 1771, by I. Wesson. THE CHEVALIER D’EON. (See p. 208, from a photograph by C. Prætorius.)
5. Published as the Act directs by S. Hooper, Ludgate Hill, 20 March, 1778 (mezzo-tinto). Represented as Minerva, with lance and shield, upon the latter this legend: At nunc dura dedit vobis discrimina Pallas. On one side: Impavidam ferient ruinæ. A long inscription in English, concludes: Læsæ sed invictæ Palladi, per bella, per acta publica in patriæ suæ honorem et famam inclytæ, cujus virtutes nec inimici vituperare, pauci homines imitari possunt. Exul mi Deone, ne quidem ossa patria habeat! In perpetuum amoris monumentum offerebant amici sociales milites.
6. Dessiné et Gravé par J. B. Bradel d’après nature et les Originaux communiqués par Mademoiselle D’Eon à ce Seul Artiste. Charlotte Geneviève Louise Auguste Andrée Timothée D’Eon de Beaumont (here follow style and titles) Ætatis 35.396 A la Mémoire des Héroines Françoises, Jeanne D’Arc, Jeanne Hachette, etc. etc.
7. Frontispiece to ‘La Vie Militaire, Politique et Privée de Mademoiselle D’Eon de Beaumont, etc.’: by de la Fortelle, 1779. LA CHEVALIÈRE D’EON DE BEAUMONT, Née en 1728.
8. A. Stöttrup sc. 1779. Same as 7.
9. Painting in oils, life size. CHEVALIER D’EON, 1782. (See Frontispiece, from a photograph by Arthur King.)
In a short biographical notice of the Chevalier D’Eon, dated 1812 (?), at the back of this canvas, allusion being made to the trial on sex policies, it is asserted—‘Sir Joshua Reynolds was in Court during the trial and requested the Chevalier to pay him a visit, which he did in female attire on 4 August, 1777, when this Sketch was taken of the Chevalier by Sir Joshua, and presented by him in 1782 to his friend Sir Wm. Chambers.’
According to this statement, the signature to which is indistinct, the sketch of the Chevalier was taken when in his fiftieth year, and completed in 1782, the date inscribed by the artist to the left of the figure, whilst the Chevalière, then in her fifty-sixth year, was residing in France!
This picture is now the property of General Meredith Read, New York, U.S.A.
10. Dupin (Pierre?) artist and engraver. Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-César-André-Timothée D’Eon de Beaumont, née à Tonnerre, en 1728 (here follow style and titles). A Paris chez Esnauts et Rapilly.
11. Peint par Ducreux, de l’Académie Impériale et Royale de Vienne. Gravé par Cathelin, de l’Académie Royale de Peinture et Sculpture à Paris. Læsæ sed invictæ Palladi. Name, style, and titles close with.... plus célèbre encore par sa Vertu que par son nom. Pensionnaire de Louis XV. et de Louis XVI. Née à Tonnerre, le 5 8ᵇʳᵉ, 1728, Ætatis 58.
12. Cosway, R.A., 1787. Thos. Chambers sculpsit. Published July 12, 1787. LA CHEVALIÈRE D’EON.
13. Painted by Robineau. Engraved by V. M. Picot. From a picture of Robineau’s in the possession of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Published June 20, 1789, by V. M. Picot. Dedicated by Permission to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. The assault or Fencing-Match which took place between Mademoiselle La Chevalière D’Eon de Beaumont and Monsieur de Saint-George, on the 9th of April, 1787, at Carlton House, in the presence of His Royal Highness, several of the Nobility, and many eminent Fencing Masters of London.
14. J. Condé delin. et sculp. LA CHEVALIÈRE D’EON, née à Tonnerre, le 5 8ᵇʳᵉ, 1728.
15. Published by I. Sewell, March 1, 1791 (for the ‘European Magazine’). Same as 14.
16. Medallion portrait. Vigil audax—by J. Condé, published June 24, 1791, upon the occasion of the entertainment given by the Managers of Ranelagh for the benefit of the Chevalière D’Eon... deprived of a considerable part of her fortune by the odious detention of a deposit. Minerve Gauloise, née a Tonnerre, le 5 8ᵇʳᵉ, 1728. Proprio Marte Tuta. The French artist who engraved this plate designed it for a monument of English generosity and French gratitude.
Dic mihi, Virgo ferox, cum sit tibi cassis et hasta,
Quare non habeas Ægida? Cæsar habet.
Pax est fœminei generis, dat fœmina pacem;
Quæ Bellona fuit nunc Dea pacis erit.
17. Dance, R.A., 26 May, 1793. Engraved by William Daniell, August 15, 1810. THE CHEVALIÈRE D’EON. This profile, to the left, was drawn at the request of Mr. W. Seward, F.R.S.
18. Robert Cooper sculp. Published July 2, 1810, by J. Bell, Southampton Street, Strand. Engraved for La Belle Assemblée. Same as 14.
19. From a Cast taken after death. Engraved by C. Turner from the Cast taken May 24, 1810, in the presence of J. C. Carpuc, Esq. and Dr. Pearson. Published June 29, 1810, by C. Turner. THE CHEVALIER D’EON.
A tinted engraving of the torso, from a drawing by C. Turner, was published with the surgical attestation (see p. 331) by C. Turner, June 14, 1810. This print was never sold publicly, and was not to be obtained without an order from a magistrate.
Caricatures
In September 1777 was executed for the ‘London Magazine’—Mademoiselle de Beaumont, or the Chevalier D’Eon. Female Minister Plenipo., Capt. of Dragoons, etc. etc.—a full-length figure, the right half being a lady holding a fan, and the left half a man in uniform, with hat under the arm.
In Paris was published a print similar to the above, illustrating both sexes, inscribed—Dédié aux dragons de l’armée.
Another sketch that appeared in London, in 1778, represented the right half of a dragoon, with drawn sword in hand, back to back with the right half of a lady.
Hail! Thou production most uncommon,
Woman half-man and man half-Woman!
In a caricature, by Gillray, of the Assaut d’armes at Carlton House in April 1787 (see pp. 308, 367), we see ‘the Chevalière D’Eon making a successful thrust and hitting Saint George in his right arm. A railing divides the combatants from a highly select audience, in which the Prince of Wales occupies the post of honour, while Mrs. Fitzherbert sits on his right hand, and a crowd of political and fashionable worthies exhibit the greatest interest in the contest.’
Other ludicrous drawings of this fencing-match made their appearance at about the same time.
Needless to observe that the Chevalière D’Eon did not escape being made the subject of foul and obscene illustrations, in the same way in which it had become the fashion to treat the most distinguished and highest in the land!
Footnotes
1 Accused of being a fanatic, Eon de l’Estoile was committed to prison by the Council of Rheims on March 22, 1148, and died a few days later of the ill-treatment to which he was subjected by those in whose charge he was placed. See De Bois de la Chesnaye’s Genealogical Dictionary, for the D’Eon family.
2 Ch. MSS. 161.
3 Ch. MSS.
4 De la Fortelle, 126.
5 Ch. MSS.
6 Rede’s Anecdotes and Biography. London, 1779.
7 Valcroissant obtained his liberty after a twelvemonth’s confinement, through the instrumentality of D’Eon. Lett. Mém. &c. 1, 5.
8 Russia Correspondence, Public Record Office.
9 Gaill. 373-377.
10 This correspondence, arranged by Woronzoff and D’Eon, was not fully commenced until 1757. See Mémoire on the Secret Correspondence in Russia, 1757-1774, by the Count de Broglio. Boutaric, ii. 465.
11 D’Eon to the Count de Vergennes, May 28, 1776: Archives des affaires étrangères. Gaill. 23. D’Eon to Louis XVI.: Ch. MSS. 861.
12 Russia Correspondence, Public Record Office.
14 Russia Correspondence, Public Record Office.
15 Campan, i. 190
16 Note Book, dated 1754: Ch. MSS.
17 Elizabeth was much prepossessed in favour of the English. Being a great admirer of their fashions, and wishing to introduce them at her Court, she had dolls sent to her in the various dresses worn, and which were fitted by Miss Church of St. James’s Street.
18 Russia Correspondence, Public Record Office.
19 A tradition exists to the effect that Count Woronzoff’s palace in the Sadovaya Oulitza, St. Petersburg, now occupied by the Corps des Pages, was constructed with English guineas. Later, in 1758, the count received a gratuity of fifty thousand roubles from Louis XV.
20 In acknowledging the receipt of despatches of May 12 and 18, brought to Paris by Michel the merchant, M. Rouillé warmly congratulates Douglas, in the name of the King, by letter dated June 18, on the distinction with which he had been received by the Ministers of Russia and even the Empress herself.—Copies of French Correspondence, Public Record Office.
21 Russia Correspondence, Public Record Office.
22 Lett. Mém. &c., iii. 6.
23 Copies of French Correspondence in Russia Correspondence, Public Record Office.
24 Prince Tcheckbatoff says of Apraxin: The field-marshal was entirely devoid of military talents. Whilst awaiting orders at Riga he astonished the people by his display of wealth, and when moving with the army indulged in all the comforts and luxuries to be found only in a large city, and this in the midst of the sound of arms or in fatiguing marches. His tents extended over the space of a small town, five hundred horses being required to transport his baggage. Apraxin was a heavy, unwieldy man, fond of ladies’ society. Apraxin is described by Sir Hanbury Williams as very corpulent, lazy, luxurious, and certainly not brave.
25 M. Wolkhoff to D’Eon, April 15/27, 1757. Lett. Mém. &c. iii. 6. Gazette d’Utrecht, xiii. 1757.
26 D’Eon to the Count de Broglio, June 12, 1775: Archives des affaires étrangères. Gaill. 71.
27 Lett. Mém. &c. i. 48.
28 Boutaric, i. 222, 223.
29 Poutaric, i. 86, 224. Vandal, 307.
30 Napoléon I. auteur du testament de Pierre le Grand: par G. Berkholz. (Bruxelles, à l’Office de Publicité, 1863.)
31 Terms not understood.
32 Lett. Mém. &c. iii. 9.
33 Vandal, 327.
34 Russia Correspondence, Public Record Office.
35 This is the fifth or sixth minister who is anxious to make my fortune. Fortune, however, unhappily wears a wig, and is continually slipping away from my grasp. The next time we meet I shall seize her by the hair.—Note by D’Eon.
36 Lett. Mém. &c. iii. 11.
37 De la Fortelle, 33.
38 Note-book, dated 1754: Ch. MSS.
39 Loménie, i. 414.
40 Ch. MSS. In his Mémoires Secrets, &c. (London, 1781), Petit de Bachaumont states that D’Eon was sent as fencing-master to the Grand-Duke Peter, who had wished for one; a piece of information he obtained in all probability from the Count de Guerchy, who told George III. a similar story. He adds that D’Eon was at the same time entrusted to arrange with the grand-duke for the reception of a French ambassador at St. Petersburg; as manifest an absurdity, there being at the Russian Court no person more hostile to French interests than Peter.
41 La Messalière, 77.
42 Lett. Mém. &c. iii. 14.
43 Gaill. 74.
44 Lett. Mém. &c. iii. 15.
45 An English version of portions of this work appeared in the Political Register for 1766, &c.
46 Vandal, 348 et seq.
47 Duke de Choiseul to Count Bernstorff, July 29, 1759. ‘Si j’étais maître,’ de Choiseul used to say, ‘nous serions vis-à-vis de l’Angleterre comme l’Espagne vis-à-vis des Maures; si l’on prenait ce parti, l’Angleterre serait détruite d’ici à trente ans.’ Louis XV. thought differently.
48 Private, from the Duke de Choiseul to the Marquis de l’Hôpital, October 2, 1759. Vandal, 360.
49 D’Eon to Louis XVI.: Ch. MSS. 861.
50 D’Eon to Beaumarchais, January 7, 1776. Gaill. 406.
51 Secret instructions to the Baron de Breteuil, April 1, 1760. Affaires étrangères, Vandal, 373.
52 Ch. MSS.
53 Vandal, 265 et seq.
54 Flassan, vi. 289.
55 Flassan, vi. 190.
56 A distinguished physician at the French Court, sent by Louis XV. to attend upon the Empress, who had complained to the King of her physical sufferings.
57 Lett. Mém. &c. iii. 17.
58 Lett. Mém. &c. iii. 19-20.
59 De la Fortelle, 40. Writing under the persuasion that D’Eon was of the female sex, Flassan, vi. 110, says:—‘Woronzoff and D’Eon were the intermediaries in the correspondence between Louis XV. and Elizabeth.’ Capefigue, Louis XV. et la Société du XVIIIᵐᵉ Siècle, Paris, 1842, says, iv. 32: ‘By means of his renown, D’Eon was enabled to accomplish the most delicate and most difficult missions... his correspondence with Louis XV. is eminently remarkable... he was chiefly instrumental in arranging the treaty of alliance between France and Russia.’
60 French ambassador at Vienna, afterwards created Duke de Praslin.
61 Lett. Mém. &c. iii. 24.
62 Louis XV. to the Count de Broglio, May 31, 1761. Boutaric, i. 265.
63 De Broglie, i. 384.
64 See Scots Mag. vol. xxiii. for Marshal de Broglio’s account of this action.
65 Lett. Mém. &c. i. 145.
66 D’Eon to the Duke de Choiseul, January 12, 1764, and MS. notes. Lett. Mém. &c. i. 145.
67 Louis XV. to Marshal de Broglio. De Broglie, i. 438.
68 I would here say what I have said to my generals, that the success of this little enterprise is due chiefly to the Chev. de la Tulley, Captain of the de la Ferronaye dragoons, and to M. Casette, formerly Lieutenant of the d’Autichamp dragoons. Note by D’Eon, Pièces Relatives, &c. 31.
69 The Count de Broglio to Louis XV., February 19, 1762, and March 24, 1758. De Broglie, ii. 5; i. 300.
70 The Marquis de l’Hôpital had retired the preceding autumn.
71 Louis XV. to Tercier, June 1, June 19, July 28, 1762. Boutaric, i. 274, 275, 277. D’Eon received a gratuity of three thousand livres from the King (probably as a salve to the disappointment he must have felt at missing promotion). Louis XV. to Tercier, August 31, 1762. Ibid. i. 278.
72 D’Eon to the Count de Broglio, July 1, 1762. De Broglie, ii. 105. Peter III. was assassinated July 14, 1762.
73 Madame Campan, the contemporary who notices the employment of D’Eon as reader to Elizabeth, employs the term lecteur. I do not know on what equally reliable authority the duke uses the word lectrice.
74 De Broglie, ii. 607. I have not been able to consult the original work.
75 Peter III.
76 Lett. Mém. &c. i. 382.
77 Countess Catherine Woronzoff was the maiden name of this lady.
78 Lett. Mém. &c. i. 104.
79 Lett. Mém. &c. MS. notes, 99, 101.
80 The Duke de Choiseul, during whose ministry (1764) the Jesuits were expelled from France, the Order being wisely suppressed by Clement XIV. in 1773.
81 Lett. Mém. &c. MS. note, i. v. Junius taunts the Duke of Grafton on his wife’s infidelity. This lady, a daughter of Lord Ravensworth, obtained a divorce from the duke in 1769, and was afterwards married to the Earl of Ossory.
82 The Duke de Nivernois to the Duke de Praslin, January 12, 1763. De Broglie, ii. 107. Gaill. 92.
83 European Mag. vol. xiv.
84 The Duke de Nivernois to the Duke de Praslin, October 2, November 14, 1762. Lett. Mém. &c. i. 246.
85 The signatories were—the Duke of Bedford, the Duke de Praslin, and the Marquis Grimaldi.
86 D’Eon left London with the ratifications of the definite treaty on February 23rd, and delivered them to the Duke of Bedford on the 26th. France Correspondence, Public Record Office.
87 The Duke de Nivernois was little aware that he was saying a great truth. Note by D’Eon.
88 The Duke de Nivernois Correspondence. Lett. Mém. &c.
89 The Duke de Nivernois Correspondence. Lett. Mém. &c.
90 France Correspondence, Public Record Office.
91 January 8, 1763. Lett. Mém. &c. iii. 74.
92 The Duke de Nivernois Correspondence. Lett. Mém. &c.
93 Mém. de la Chevalière D’Eon. Gaill. 115.
94 De Pompadour.
95 Ch. MSS. 951.
96 De Broglie, ii. 105.
97 Written circa 1806. The Count de Broglio died in 1781.
98 Ch. MSS. 814, 767. ‘Preamble to Will.’
99 This highly esteemed order, instituted in 1693 by Louis XIV., fell in abeyance in 1830.
100 The presents, valued at fifty thousand crowns, consisted of his Majesty’s portrait set in diamonds, a costly Savonnerie carpet, and superb Gobelin tapestry. They were shown by Lord Bute to the King, who considered they were magnificent, and the letter charming.
101 De Broglie, ii. 97.
102 Boutaric, i. 295.
103 July 27, 1763; ibid. i. 297.
104 ‘His brain of whipped cream enclosed within a head of Rouen porcelain, relates pleasantly a quantity of tittle-tattle, accompanied by little nothings.’—D’Eon on the Duke de Choiseul. Ch. MSS.: ‘Comparing what has passed between the Duke de Choiseul and us at different times, there does not appear to have been the same frankness and veracity in the latter part of this negotiation as we had hitherto experienced in that minister.’—Duke of Bedford to the Karl of Egremont, Paris, February 16, 1763. France Correspondence, Public Record Office.
105 Tête de dragon.
106 May 17, 1763. De Broglie, ii. 119.
107 Boutaric, i. 293.
108 Regnier, Count de Guerchy, was frequently admitted into the private apartments of the Pompadour. He never missed the opportunity for replacing on her foot her fallen slipper, or carrying her candlestick to her small boudoir or private closet. Such little services were of great weight in the mind of de Pompadour and of every Messaline at Court. Ch. MSS. ‘Preamble to Will.’
109 Gaill. 117. The Duke de Broglie maintains (Le Secret du Roi, ii. 138) that not a word of this pretty tale can be accepted as true—in the first place, because in the year 1763, de Pompadour, already in failing health, enjoyed in appearance only the honours to which she had been accustomed; and because the discovery of the secret by de Pompadour, on becoming known to Tercier, would have been immediately communicated by that gentleman to the Count de Broglio, amongst whose papers is not to be found the least trace of any reference to so important an incident. The duke’s assumptions, unsupported by counter-evidence, do not appear to justify his unqualified rejection of the story. His Grace deplores more than once the want of other papers, for the absence of which he is unable to account.
110 Later, in the Musée des Souverains.
111 Mém. de la Chevalière D’Eon. Gaill. 117.
112 France Correspondence, Public Record Office.
113 D’Eon to the Count de Broglio, July 21, 1763. De Broglie, ii. 125.
114 Treyssac de Vergy to the Duke de Choiseul, p. 25. Pièces Relatives, &c.
115 De Praslin, who was exceedingly lean, took a great dislike to fat people. The first time he saw Favier, secretary to the Count de Broglio, a man of stout proportions, he said, ‘You appear to me to be a worthless fellow, for you are very fat.’ This fat and a good appetite was the cause of all that worthy man’s misfortunes at the hands of Praslin.... The best thing he can do to recover the good graces of the duke is to die of consumption. Note by D’Eon. See Boutaric, for de Praslin’s persecutions of this man.
116 The Duke de Nivernois Correspondence. Lett. Mém. &c.
117 A Testament ab irato is one drawn up under the influence of choler; it is not only null and void according to custom and written law, but it is rescinded and destroyed in the Parliament of Paris. Note by D’Eon.
118 ‘Eight’ in 4to. and 8vo. editions of Lett. Mém. &c.; altered by D’Eon to ‘nine.’ Ch. MSS.
119 De Broglie, ii. 122.
120 The mistress of the Prince de Conti, and aspiring to be his wife. Walpole describes her as being an Anglomane.
121 Ch. MSS. 977.
122 Lett. Mém. &c. i.
123 France Correspondence, Public Record Office.
124 Autograph letter. Boutaric, i. 298.
125 Campan, i. 190.
126 De Broglie, ii. 139.
127 D’Eon MSS. Gaill. 128.
128 France Correspondence, Public Record Office.
129 Ch. MSS. 782.
130 ‘You will see by my letter of yesterday that I was aware of the Sieur D’Eon’s recall....’—Louis XV. to Tercier, October 12, 1763. Boutaric, i. 299. It seems clear enough that the order of recall did not originate with the King. How just were the Chevalier’s conclusions!
131 Ch. MSS. 789, 769, 946.
132 Ch. MSS.
133 Lett. Mém., &c. xxxiii. MS. notes.
134 No authorised duel had taken place in France since the reign of Henri II., when La Châteigneraie was killed in single combat with Jarnac. A decree of the Legislative Assembly, dated September 17, 1792, abolished prosecution for duelling, and rescinded all punishments for duels fought after July 14, 1789. Since 1832-33, the Court of Cassation has decreed death at a duel to be murder anticipated by the law.
135 ‘High words arose at a nobleman’s house in Great George Street between two foreign gentlemen, and some hard expressions dropping, a challenge ensued; but the company present interposing, and a party of the Guards being sent for, further mischief was prevented.’ Scots Magazine, vol. xxv.; Daily Advertiser, October 28, 1763, and other newspapers.
136 Note, &c. 16.
137 Lettre d’un Français à M. le Duc de Nivernois à Paris (October 1763, by M. Goudard.) 2. Lettre à M. de la M——, Ecuyer, &c. (by M. Treyssac de Vergy, November 19, 1763) D’Eon sent copies to the Duke de Choiseul, ‘that he might have an idea of the real liberty enjoyed in England.’
138 The Count de Guerchy to the Duke de Choiseul, November 12, 1763.—De Broglie, ii. 151.
139 See p. 76 for these terms.
140 D’Eon acquits the Countess of having had any part in the plot against his life. Of a house rendered illustrious by its virtues and courage, she would never have consented to such an act. Was she to be reproached for having married an unknown poisoner? She was, perhaps, to be reproached for avarice and ugliness, but for this, nature was to blame. As for her soul it was pure and Christian.—‘Preamble to Will.’ Ch. MSS.
141 Ch. MSS. 737.
142 Boutaric, i. 299-310.
143 Boutaric, i. 302, 303.
144 Boutaric, i. 302-304.
145 De Broglio, ii. 148.
146 Ch. MSS. 786.
147 France Correspondence, Public Record Office.
148 Ch. MSS. 669. So late as September 1764, the Chevalier made a declaration before his friend Sir John Fielding, and other magistrates, to the effect that with the support of a band of men he was retaining for the purpose, he should resist by force any attempt on the part of the French constables to kidnap him. The house, 32 Brewer Street, remains unchanged.
149 Lett. Mém. &c. i. 109.
150 ‘D’Eon has replied by putting it (the order) into his pocket.’—Louis XV. to Tercier, December 30, 1763. Boutaric, i. 310.
151 Boutaric, i. 307.
152 Boutaric, i. 309.
153 France Correspondence, Public Record Office.
154 Old newspapers.
155 See p. 53.
156 The Count de Broglio to Louis XV., December 6, 1763. De Broglie, ii. 155.
157 Chevalier, or as he was sometimes called Doctor, O’Gorman, related to the Thomond family, was married in 1757 to D’Eon’s sister, whose dowry was a valuable property in Burgundy. O’Connell maintained he had thereby spoiled his pedigree. Roche, who was well acquainted with him, describes his stature as exceeding six feet five inches. O’Gorman spent his time in genealogical studies, when not more profitably employed in Ireland, selling the produce of his wife’s vineyards.
158 Lett. Mém. &c. i. 124.
159 De Broglie, ii. 153.
160 See p. 119.
161 Note remise à Son Excellence Monsieur le Comte de Guerchy, par Monsieur le Chevalier D’Eon (November 30, 1763).
162 Lines on the Duke de Choiseul, to whom D’Eon was much attached, written after his exile:—
‘Dans ses traités et dans sa vie
Régnent la droiture et l’honneur;
L’Europe connaît son génie,
Et les infortunés son cœur.
Comme tout autre dans sa place,
Il dut avoir des ennemis;
Comme nul autre, en sa disgrâce
Il acquit de nouveaux amis.’—(Ch. MSS.)
163 Contre-Note ou Lettre à Monsieur le Marquis L——, à Paris (by M. Goudard, December 1763).
164 Ch. MSS.
165 Ch. MSS. 667.
166 Walpole to the Earl of Hertford, March 27, 1764, and more besides in a letter to Charles Churchill, Esq., March 27, 1764.
167 D’Eon to the Duke de Nivernois, February 15, 1764, and to the Duke de Choiseul, same date. Gaill. 163.
168 See p. 76.
169 Colonel Nardin had been employed by Louis XV. to watch over the security of D’Eon and his papers.
170 According to the terms of the late treaty, the town and port of Dunkirk were to be restored to the state fixed by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and other treaties, and particularly the lunette should be destroyed immediately after the exchange of ratifications, as well as the forts and batteries which defended the entrance from the sea. The work proceeded so slowly, that it was considered it would take seven years to complete; eventually all the fortifications were demolished by September 1764.
171 This offer amounted to 20,000l.
172 Boutaric, i. 313.
173 Louis XV. to Tercier, December 30, 1763; March 25, 1764. Boutaric, i. 311, 316.
174 Louis XV. to Tercier, December 30, 1763. Ibid. 311.
175 ‘This letter was addressed to the Rev. Father Loris, Rue du Regard, and was sent to me by his Majesty on April 5, 1764.’ Endorsement in the hand of Tercier. Loris was probably a fictitious name. Ibid. 317.
176 ‘The Sieur de Nort will leave for England as soon as he receives my orders to that effect through the Count de Broglio, and he will strictly comply with the instructions he will receive from him in my name, and in behalf of my service, so that he may be guided in his proceedings, whether as regards the Sieur D’Eon, or the Count de Guerchy, my ambassador. He will also execute whatever he may receive by word of mouth, or in writing, from the Sieur Tercier on this subject, and will preserve the most profound silence on this mission towards everybody, without any exception, but the persons above named.’—Louis XV. to M. de Nort, Versailles, April 9, 1764. Boutaric, i. 319.
177 In 1769, after the destruction of the Bastille, D’Eon wrote a letter to Lord Stanhope, as President of the Revolution Society, and presented him with a stone from its ruins.
178 Plans for the invasion of England.
179 The Marquise de Pompadour died April 15, 1764, ‘d’une maladie de cœur,’ says Guizot.
180 Mém. de la Chevalière D’Eon, Ministère des affaires étrangères.—De Broglie, ii. 173.
181 ‘The foreign ministers agreed, as to be sure you have been told, to make Monsieur de Guerchy’s cause commune.’—Walpole to the Earl of Hertford, April 20, 1764. See Pièces Relatives, &c. p. 218.
182 ‘I do not wish that any steps should be taken to arrest the judicial proceedings commenced.’—Louis XV. to Tercier, May 1, 1764. Boutaric, i. 322.
183 May 15, 1764. Mém. de la Chevalière D’Eon.—De Broglie, ii. 174.
184 Examen des Lettres, Mémoires, et Négotiations Particulières du Chevalier D’Eon, Ministre Plénipotentiaire de France auprès du Roi de la Grande Bretagne, dans une Lettre à M. N——, 1764, pp. 52. Goudard received twenty guineas from the ambassador for his work, and was arrested at the instance of Becket, printer, in the Strand, for non-payment of expenses!
185 Ch. MSS.
186 Ch. MSS.
187 De Guerchy’s treatment of D’Eon de Mouloise, lieutenant of cavalry, a cousin of D’Eon, one of the secret agents sent by Louis XV. to watch over the safety of the Chevalier and his papers, was scandalous and cruel.
188 Lords of the Treasury to Lord Halifax, May, 1, 1764.—France Correspondence, Public Record Office.
189 Lord Halifax to Lord Hertford, July 5, 1764.—France Correspondence, Public Record Office.
190 D’Eon to the Count de Broglio, June 8, 1764.—Ministère des affaires étrangères. De Broglie, ii. 175.
191 When in Paris Walpole saw this beast, which he declared to be a wolf of enormous proportions.
192 Ch. MSS. 480.
193 This was a singular case of kidnapping. The Marquis de Fratteau had been carried out of France and imprisoned in Spain on account of some family quarrel, but having made his escape, he fled to England. On March 27, 1752, a marshal’s court officer called at his apartments in London, and presented a writ. Having consulted the French pastor, who recommended him to go quietly, since some mistake had surely been made, he did so. Upon his disappearance becoming known, Justice Fielding granted a warrant on the supposition that the marquis was murdered, and an application was also made to prevent his being carried out of the kingdom. It was all to no purpose, for he was put on board of a small vessel at Gravesend, conveyed to Calais where he was landed during the night of the 29th, and thence sent on to the Bastille.—Scots Magazine, xiv. 212.
194 The Times, May 26, 1810, and old newspapers.
195 Ch. MSS.
196 Gentleman’s Magazine, vol. xxxiv. and old newspapers.
197 De Guerchy left for France under pretence of reviewing the regiment of which he was colonel.
198 France Correspondence, Public Record Office.
199 France Correspondence, Public Record Office.
200 Scots Magazine, vol. xxvi.; from London papers.
201 Gentleman’s Magazine, vol. xxxv. It was absurdly reported that D’Eon was to be delivered to France in exchange for Wilkes.
202 Lettre aux Français, par M. Treyssac de Vergy, en réponse à une Note, Contre-Note, etc., et servant à la justification de M. D’Eon: Londres, 16 Décembre, 1763.
Dicere verum quis vetat,
Spectatum admissi risum teneatis amici?
Londres: Se vend chez W. Nicoll, St. Paul’s Churchyard.
203 Seconde Lettre à Monseigneur le Duc de Choiseul, Ministre et Secrétaire d’Etat en France; par M. Treyssac de Vergy, Avocat au Parlement de Bordeaux. ‘Solventur risu tabulæ, tu missus abibis.’ Hor.—1764, pp. 38. De Vergy was sworn before William Bridgen Major, Lord Mayor of London, by George Schuts, Notary Public, on October 11, 1764, that he was the author of two letters in manuscript addressed to the Duke de Choiseul—which letters, with the attestations of the Lord Mayor and Notary Public, were afterwards published for general circulation.
204 France Correspondence, Public Record Office.
205 The interlineations were in sympathetic ink.
206 The French ambassador had been in France on leave of absence.
207 Boutaric, i. 322.
208 France Correspondence, Public Record Office.
209 France Correspondence, Public Record Office.
210 Afterwards minister under Louis XVI.
211 Boutaric, i. 334-337.
212 Louis XV. to Tercier, January 14 to February 6, 1765. Boutaric, i. 334-339. De Broglie, ii. 188.
213 Ch. MSS.
214 Gentleman’s Magazine, vol. XXXV.
215 David Hume was doing duty as secretary of Embassy in Paris.
216 The Count de Broglio to Louis XV., March 22, 1765. De Broglie, ii. 194.
217 This arrangement requires explanation. At the time of the Hugonnet incident, de Broglio, full of concern lest the history of the secret correspondence, in which he was the most prominently concerned, should become generally known, and rather than that any such other accident should occur, expressed to the King his readiness to proceed to London, and to guarantee, by a mortgage on his own estates, the annual pension to D’Eon of 12,000 livres, by way of effectually obtaining from him the desired papers. Louis XV. had the meanness to approve of this security on his royal word, and this proposed settlement being communicated to the Chevalier, he readily acquiesced, save that he required the mortgage to extend to the estates of the countess, which were larger than those of her husband.
218 D’Eon to the Count de Broglio, April 1, 1765. De Broglie, ii. 194.
219 The Duke and Duchess of Burgundy, father and mother of Louis XV., died of the measles (?) within six days of each other; it was long believed they had been poisoned.
220 Preamble to Will. Ch. MSS.
221 Letter 387, April 22, 1765.
222 D’Argental’s words to de Vergy as they appear in the brochure, p. 25, are: ‘Je l’ai assuré [de Guerchy] que vous vous prêteriez à ses projets; et que, suivant les circonstances, vous vous serviriez aussi bien de l’épée que de la plume.’
223 Political Register, September 1767. London Evening Post, and other old newspapers. The Duke de Broglie gives a different account of de Guerchy’s extrication out of his difficulty.
224 D’Eon to the Duke de Choiseul, July 4, 1767, published with Dernière Lettre du Chevalier D’Eon à M. le Comte de Guerchy, &c.
225 The seat of Humphrey Cotes, Esq.
226 Ch. MSS. 695.
227 Ibid. 298.
228 July 22, 1765. De Broglie, ii. 198.
229 Archives des affaires étrangères. Gaill. 182. De Broglie, ii. 204.
230 These papers were afterwards lodged with Earl Ferrers.
231 France Correspondence, Public Record Office. John Rice, a London broker, having absconded in December 1762, was arrested at Cambray, and being taken to England was tried for forgery, convicted, and executed at Tyburn the following May.
232 Ch. MSS. 36.
233 See p. 77.
234 De Broglie, ii. 199.
235 Preamble to Will. Ch. MSS. Of de Guerchy’s father D’Eon relates the following anecdote: At Madame de Sévigné’s house in Paris one evening, the guests entertained each other by telling their dreams of the preceding night. ‘I dreamt’, said the old count, who was a very wealthy man, ‘that I was the Golden Calf.’ ‘J’en suis persuadée,’ observed the hostess, ‘il n’y a que la dorure de trop.’
236 Dernière lettre du Chevalier D’Eon à M. le Comte de Guerchy, en date du 5 Août, 1767, avec l’extrait de la Procédure en bonne forme [qui a été imprimé en un vol. in 4to en 1765, le Comte de Guerchy étant alors Ambassadeur de France à Londres]. Le sacrifice de ma vie a été et sera pour mon roi et ma patrie; celui de mon honneur ne sera pour personne. A Londres, 1767. The words in brackets are in D’Eon’s hand, on the copy consulted by the author.
237 De Vergy’s body, enclosed in a leaden coffin, was kept at the undertaker’s in Church Street, St. Ann, and not interred at St. Pancras until the following March! He desired that his remains should be removed to the family vault at Bordeaux, but his widow, although in easy circumstances, persisted in refusing to supply the necessary funds.
238 By the untimely death of this nobleman in the hunting-field, in March 1767, the Chevalier lost a kind and sympathetic supporter. He was the author of the epitaph inscribed on the Marquis’ tomb at Chenies.
239 Archives des affaires étrangères. Gaill. 388.
240 October 7-9, 1766.
241 Paper of October 23-25, 1766.
242 Dr. Musgrave had practised in Paris, and was known for the publication of some tragedies of Euripides. ‘A weak and credulous man.’ He died in 1780.
243 Solicitor to her Majesty the Queen, and later, Lord Chief Justice.
244 Gentleman’s Magazine, vol. xxxix.
245 The charges were declared in Parliament to be ‘frivolous’; yet Lord Camden was not to be persuaded, even when years had passed, that there had been no foundation whatever for them.
246 European Magazine, 1791.
247 Gentleman’s Magazine, vol. xxxix.
248 B.M. MSS.
249 An incident in Spanish affairs further explained by D’Eon in his letter to the Count de Broglio of July 7, 1774, which see.
[250] Louis XV. to the Count de Broglio, May 5, 1768. Boutaric, i. 354, 361.
251 Les Loisirs du Chevalier D’Eon de Beaumont, ancien Ministre Plénipotentiaire de France, sur divers sujets importants d’Administration, &c., 13 vols. 8vo., Amsterdam, 1774.
252 The Public Advertiser, March 21, 1774.
253 London Evening Post, July 21-23, 1774.
254 Records of my Life, i. 338. London, 1832.
255 The Count de Broglio had been at the head of the Secret Correspondence Department since the death of Tercier in January 1767.
256 B.M. MSS.
257 March 25, April 16, May 7, 1771. These letters, all in cypher, were addressed to M. Koppfing, banker, Rue Quincampoix, Paris. Archives des affaires étrangères. Gaill. 190.
258 Of June 20, 1771.
259 On June 29, 1771.
260 London, July 5, 1771. Archives des affaires étrangères. Gaill. 194.
261 May 11, 1772. Boutaric, i. 430.
262 European Magazine, vol. xix. The Falkland Islands were taken possession of by Captain Byron in 1765, and garrisoned in the following year. Spain demanded their evacuation in 1769, which, not being complied with, the English in occupation were attacked and made prisoners. War was averted by the King of Spain disowning the acts of his commander.
263 For this name, see p. 175.
264 De Broglie, ii. 556, note.
265 Angelo, ii. 53.
266 This letter, dated September 24, 1773, was signed William Wolff. Gaill. 197. Boutaric, ii. 442.
267 Ch. MSS. 734.
268 Louis XV. died May 10, 1774. His three daughters were more familiarly known as nicknamed by their father, Loque, Chiffe, and Graille, interpreted into English, as Rag, Tag, and Bobtail.
269 Hist. des Français, xxix. 507. Dutens, ii. 55. Vie privée de Louis XV. &c. iv. 195.
270 Ch. MSS. 117, 961, 975, 948.
271 May 23, 1774. This letter is not in Boutaric. It was found amongst the count’s papers by the Duke de Broglie. De Broglie, ii. 525.
272 See p. 185.
273 The Count de Broglio to Louis XVI., May 30, 1774. Boutaric, ii. 392.
274 De Broglie, ii. 533.
275 This minister was admitted to the secret correspondence of Louis XV. in 1755, on appointment as ambassador at Constantinople.
276 Spanish ambassador in London.
277 Louis XV.
278 See p. 77.
279 July 7, 1774. Boutaric, ii. 434.
280 This was the largest pension about to be conferred upon any of the secret agents, with one exception, that of General Mokronosky, ‘a Polish patriot,’ who was awarded twenty thousand livres a year.
281 La Chalotais, procureur-général of the Parliament of Brittany, arrested on a charge of having written seditious letters to the King. Although falsely accused, he was exiled by Louis XV., but recalled and reinstated by Louis XVI.
282 Ch. MSS. 859.
283 London Evening Post, April 18-20, 1775.
284 Containing a detailed statement of his claims.
285 Boutaric, ii. 444-445.
286 ‘The Campaigns of the Sieur Caron de Beaumarchais in England during the years 1774, 1775 and 1776; or, a Summary of what preceded and followed the singular proceedings of M. Caron de Beaumarchais during his pretended Negotiations in London with the pretended Chevalier D’Eon de Beaumont.’—Mém. de la Chevalière D’Eon, ii. 179. Archives des affaires étrangères. Gaill. 218.
287 Madame Dubarry became the favourite of Louis XV. in 1769, five years after the death of de Pompadour. According to Boutaric the title of the pamphlet was: Secret Memoirs of a Courtesan.
288 The King’s head valet enjoyed the privilege of being in constant communication with the sovereign, frequently playing the part of a spy at Court. The coveted office was held in the preceding reign by the Marquis de Termes, who was in great favour with Louis XIV.
289 Morande gave up six thousand impressions of this pamphlet, the whole of which, with one exception, were destroyed in a glass-house at Marybone. The one copy preserved was cut into two parts, one part being kept by Beaumarchais, the other by Morande, for the purpose of verifying other editions should the issue of them be attempted. Had any appeared, Morande would have forfeited his pension.
290 Beaumarchais et son temps, i. 416.
291 June 21, 1775. Loménie, i. 419.
292 Archives des affaires étrangères. Gaill. 214.
293 Morande.
294 Beaumarchais to the Count de Vergennes, July 14, 1775. Gaill. 231.
295 August 26, 1775. Loménie, i. 421.
296 Beaumarchais to the Count de Vergennes, October 7, 1775. Loménie, i. 422.
297 Note by D’Eon, written in 1776(?).
298 ‘Dictated by M. de Beaumarchais, then corrected by him and the Chevalier D’Eon.’—Note by D’Eon.
299 ‘Father and uncle.’
300 ‘Seeing that his/her (son sexe) sex has been proved by witnesses, physicians, surgeons, matrons and legal documents.’—Inserted in the margin by D’Eon and cancelled by Beaumarchais.
301 Tardy admission of the justice of D’Eon’s claims against the State, vainly urged during many years.
302 ‘That I have already worn upon several occasions known to his Majesty.’—Inserted by D’Eon and cancelled by Beaumarchais.
303 See p. 185.
304 ‘This Covenant was not actually signed until November 4, after the return of Beaumarchais, who had brought from Paris the instruments of his authority. But M. D’Eon having been born on October 5, 1728, and as the said Covenant endowed him with an existence conformable to his sex, M. de Beaumarchais wished to pay Mademoiselle D’Eon the compliment of dating this document, which was to her a sort of new baptismal certificate, with the same date as that of her birth.’—Note by D’Eon.
305 Gaill. 399.
306 From a leaflet printed in English and French for circulation by D’Eon, who added: ‘N.B.—This judgment given by the King himself serves to authenticate the justice of Chevalier D’Eon’s cause, and ought not to leave him a single enemy under the reign of Louis XVI., when the choice of ministers seems to characterise the monarch’s virtues, and to proclaim that the brave and virtuous citizen is assured of a protector.’
307 One English and ten French ladies are decorated with the cross of the Legion of Honour at the present time.
308 Gaill. 402.
309 Morning Post and Daily Advertiser, &c., November 10-11, 1775.
310 Morning Post and Daily Advertiser, &c., November 13-14, 1775. The Morning Post, established in 1772, was already having a large circulation.
311 Gaill. 249.
312 The Count de Broglio remained passive. ‘He is not a genius of the first water, but lively, and sometimes agreeable,’ said Walpole, who met the count in Paris, to the Hon. H. S. Conway.
313 Loménie, i. 428, 518.
314 The Chevalier’s debt to Lord Ferrers was represented as amounting to 5,333l. minus interest, &c. Beaumarchais paid the earl about 5,000l., and gave a bill for the balance, which, however, he failed to meet. D’Eon stated his liabilities to be 13,933l.
315 It is certain that D’Eon did not deliver every paper of importance. Having dined with M. Hirsinger, French Chargé d’Affaires, on February 1, 1792, she consigned to that minister ‘a valise containing papers of the Court and King.’—Journal for 1792. D’Eon MSS. B.M.
316 Gaill. 414.
317 Loménie, i. 432.
318 Madame de Courcelles to D’Eon, January 1, 1776. Gaill. 396.
319 February 3, 1776. B.M. MSS.
320 Déclaration qui prouve que les Sieurs Morande et de Beaumarchais voulaient absolument, et malgré le Chevalier D’Eon, s’établir une fortune par les polices sur son sexe. B.M. MSS. ii. 341.
321 This, and subsequent correspondence between Beaumarchais, D’Eon, and the Count de Vergennes was published under the title:—Pièces relatives aux démêlés entre Mademoiselle d’Eon de Beaumont, Chevalière de l’Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis, et Ministre Plénipotentiaire de France, &c., et le Sieur Caron dit de Beaumarchais, &c., 1778 (12mo). B.M. MSS. ii. 341, and reproduced in de la Fortelle’s latest edition (1779) of La Vie Militaire, Politique, et Privée de Mademoiselle, &c., D’Eon de Beaumont, &c.
322 The Westminster Gazette, August 6-10, 1776.
323 Gaill. 196.
324 Public Ledger, August 24, 1776.
325 Beaumarchais to D’Eon, August 18, 1776. Loménie, i. 518.
326 Archives des affaires étrangères. Gaill. 292.
327 Le Gueux would have been a more suitable name, as the sequel will show.
328 Gentleman’s Magazine, vol. xliv.
329 Scots Magazine, vol. xxxix.
330 Campan, i. 190.
331 Ch. MSS.
332 Archives des affaires étrangères. Gaill. 296.
333 Preamble to Will. Ch. MSS.
334 This was the prelate who supported the curé of Saint-Sulpice in his refusal to inter the remains of Voltaire.
335 Marie Louise, daughter of Louis XV., was received into the Convent of St. Denis.
336 Ch. MSS. 954, 1,154.
337 Daughters of M. Genest, at whose house the Chevalière was residing.
338 I will quote from one among the several sensational descriptions of D’Eon’s personal appearance, scarcely thinking it necessary to remind the reader that she was not a colonel, nor had she been at Fontenoy. ‘... He was at the period referred to about forty-seven years of age, tall and muscular, swarthy, sunburnt, weather-beaten, scarred, having been wounded in several engagements, since, as a youth of fifteen, he began his career at Fontenoy.... For many years this bold colonel of dragoons has been known as the Chevalier Eon de Beaumont.... From under the shade of his thick shaggy eyebrows gleam a pair of bright bold-looking eyes... in his triple row of ruffles, mantelet à la reine, and bonnet à la baigneuse surmounting a row of grizzly curls, he looks a very odd figure of fun.’—French Court and Society, Reign of Louis XVI. and First Empire, by Catherine Charlotte, Lady Jackson. 1881.
339 Gudin, quoted by Loménie, i. 417, says it was ‘une voix de femme.’
340 Gentleman’s Magazine, vol. xlviii. Scots Magazine, vol. xl.
341 In allusion to Beaumarchais’ early apprenticeship.
342 Pièces Relatives, &c. 243.
343 An Epistle from Mademoiselle D’Eon to the Right Hon. L——d M——d, C——f J——e of the C——t of K——g’s B——h, on his determination in regard to her sex. London, 1778.
345 March 17, 1777.
346 Ch. MSS.
347 Ch. MSS. 719. European Magazine, 1791.
348 Bibliothèque de Tonnerre. Gaill. 310-316.
349 Bibliothèque de Tonnerre. Gaill. 307.
350 Ch. MSS.
351 A drawn battle was fought between Keppel and d’Orvilliers off Ushant, in July 1778, previous to which the French admiral in command of the combined squadrons of France and Spain, consisting of sixty-five ships of the line, besides frigates, &c., had ridden master of the Channel for a considerable time.
352 This unpublished letter, dated Rue de Noailles, Versailles, February 8, 1779, in the Egerton Collection at the B.M., appears to be the original. At the top of the first page is written in another hand: ‘Parler à M. le Comte de Vergennes.’ How did it get into the Egerton Collection?
353 Ch. MSS. Courier de l’Europe, November 9, 1784.
354 Of Kavenmally, near Newport, Monmouthshire. Lord Mount Edgecumbe humorously observed one day, that ‘D’Eon was her own widow!’
355 Robineau, a French artist, executed a painting on this subject, from which a print was published.
356 Ch. MSS. Old newspapers.
357 D’Eon played Mr. Phillidor at another great match on April 13, 1793. Phillidor, a composer of music, was one of the greatest chess players who ever lived, and founder of a school which has proved itself second to none. He died almost literally in a garret. He was the author of a Treatise on Chess, 1749.
358 This sale was held on May 24, 1793.
359 To the Public. An Historical Account of the Facts, Motives, and Reasons which lay Mademoiselle la Chevalière D’Eon under the necessity of making, in her lifetime, a public sale of all she possesses in London, in order to satisfy and pay her creditors, before her departure for Paris.—Justitiæ Soror Fides!
360 Earl Ferrers had rebuilt the mansion of Staunton Harold according to a plan of his own, and lived to see it nearly finished.
361 This lady was put upon her trial for bigamy.
362 His lordship’s superintendent.
363 His lordship’s secretary, residing at Loughborough.
364 See p. 262.
365 Morning Post, April 23-27, 1787.
366 Ch. MSS.
367 ‘I am a great friend to these public amusements, sir,’ said Dr. Johnson, (who often went to Ranelagh, which he deemed a place of innocent recreation) to Boswell; ‘they keep people from vice.’ And a few years later we read of Walpole’s four nieces being at Ranelagh the night of the Gordon riots, together with the Duke of Gloucester.
368 Catalogue of sale.
369 By a strange contradiction, D’Eon purchased later in the year, at Christie’s rooms, the Mead and Douglas collections of Horace in 8vo, 4to, and folio; for which she paid 100l., having herself assisted in the preparation of the catalogue.
370 Scots Magazine, vol. liv. Gentleman’s Magazine, vol. lxii.
371 M. Beauvais, père, Jermyn Street, January 12, 1793. Ch. MSS.
372 Beaten at Nerwinde, on March 18. It was said of this general under the Republic: ‘Qu’il cherchait à sauver sa tête en négociant au dehors avec le Général Cobourg, et dedans avec la faction d’Orléans.’
374 Old newspapers.
375 John Taylor freely expresses it as his opinion that D’Eon disgraced his character by exhibiting himself with Mrs. Bateman in fencing matches at several provincial towns. In March 1794, D’Eon wrote to ask Warren Hastings, with whom he was well acquainted, for a letter of introduction to Mr. Peter Speke, of the Supreme Council at Calcutta, in behalf of the Batemans, who were proceeding to India to claim some property. After Mr. Bateman’s death, his widow was married to Mr. Ester, and died at Calcutta in 1801.
376 B.M. MSS.
377 D’Eon Papers. B.M.
378 Mrs. Cole, a native of Lorraine, born in the same year as D’Eon, was the widow of Mr. W. Cole, pump maker to the Royal Navy, and an ingenious inventor. She had long been on intimate terms of friendship with Mrs. Robinson, of Denston Hall, Suffolk, the daughter of Lord Clive.
379 D’Eon had sold to Major Clive, in 1794, Marshal Saxe’s sword, a huge sabre and a large carbine, for which she received sixty pounds.
380 B.M. MSS.
381 Ch. MSS.
382 The Times, May 25, 1810.
383 See Cansick’s interesting and painstaking work, A Collection of curious and interesting Epitaphs... in the Ancient Church and Burial Grounds of St. Pancras. London, 1869. ‘It is lamentable,’ says the author, ‘to see the dilapidated state of the monuments in this ground, belonging to wealthy and well-known families, which for a few pounds might be restored and made a credit to the churchyard.’
384 The Baroness Burdett-Coutts who is here, there, and everywhere in the practice of benevolence, not unmindful of the desecration to which the remains of the illustrious dead had been subjected, caused to be erected at considerable expense, in St. Pancras churchyard, a monument which bears the names of those whose ashes lie scattered about the parish playground.
385 In the possession of Mr. Christie.
386 Ch. MSS.
387 Histoire de France pendant le dix-huitième siècle. Paris, 1819.
388 Mr. Thomas William Plummer, intimately acquainted with the Chevalier, had undertaken, in 1804, to translate the ample material placed at his disposal, and produce a biography. From some unexplained cause this was never done.
389 History and Topography of the Parish of St. Pancras. London, 1729-1830.
390 Ch. MSS.
391 Ibid.
392 See p. 213. D’Eon to the Count de Broglio, February 10, 1775. Broglie, ii. 563, also pp. 218, 235.
393 Vandal, 264.
394 Frequent errors have been made in the Chevalier’s age. The date of birth on his coffin-plate was October 17, 1727; and the Duke de Broglie imputes to him forty-three years, bien sonnés, in 1775.
395 Angelica Kauffmann was for a long time a neighbour of the Chevalier, her residence being in Golden Square.
396 This is an error. Bradel was born in 1750.