one is held, by those very persons who have occasioned the wrong sought to be remedied, and of which they cannot deprive you since it already belongs to you, notwithstanding any personal dislike they may entertain, and which has arisen solely because of the opposition to their wishes.

5. It is the destiny of popular governments to be believed in only when they make themselves felt; and it is often to their interest and honour rather to make themselves believed in than felt. 6. Power in a people is to be deplored, since they do not consider themselves answerable even for acts they commit in spite of us.

'7. Does familiarity with great dangers accustom us to be ready in resources? Well, do brilliant motives, glory, exertions, great sights, the destiny of nations in one's power, raise humanity and elevate the soul by the vigorous exercise of all its faculties?'

And here we have a reflection after Raphael AbenEzra's own heart!

8. 'Tis said, truthfully enough, that death makes all men equal; but it might also be said, with even greater truth, that it is his origin should humiliate man; for we are nothing but vile insects, more agile and more fortunate than thousands of millions of other similar insects, who have succeeded in insinuating ourselves into worthless vehicles where we have grown, and where we have become worthy of receiving from God a soul, that raises us to the dignity of humanity.

9. The absent are ever in the wrong, and untruths told with assurance easily silence truths told with disdain.

10. He who writes is certain to have as many judges as readers but among this great number of judges, how many, may it be said, are really competent?

'11. A master-mind looks upon minor incidents as victims to be sacrificed to affairs of greater importance.

12. To be above the caprice of fortune, not to be moved by her smiles or frowns, is to be high-souled. They who too easily betray their joy or sorrow, according to circumstances, possess neither strength of character nor courage, whatever their other merits.

13. In France, we can construct perfectly good ships of war, but we cannot turn out efficient naval officers. This is the great misfortune in our country, which will ever give to the English the superiority at sea, through the excellence of their seamen and naval officers. In England, the son of the wealthiest and greatest nobleman will commence life as a sailor in a vessel of war under a good officer-but notwithstanding his influence, the King of France will never be able to do away with the prejudices and pride of our nobles, who aspire to being sea officers without knowing how to sail, even on fresh water.'

From the first moment when society, not in England only, stood perplexed at the enigma presented in the person of the Chevalière D'Eon, a variety of fugitive pieces, some acrimonious, others laudatory, of which she was the subject, appeared in the public prints on both sides of the Channel. With the necessarily limited selections for which we can find space, because we believe they form a fit sequel to the history of our archetype, we gratefully take leave of the reader, who will have had the kindness to accompany us thus far.

Verses believed to have been written by an eminent Doctor of Divinity of the University of Oxford, and addressed to a friend of the Chevalier.

Exul ades, nimium felix! tu victima veri,

Causa boni, patriæ facta, D'Eone, tua est.

Curia quondam habuit magnum Romana Catonem :
Majorem sed habet jam Gallicana suum.

Political Register, 1768.

A Mademoiselle

qui s'était déguisée en homme.

Bonjour, fripon de Chevalier,
Qui savez si bien l'art de plaire,
Que, par un bonheur singulier,
De nos beautés la plus sévère
En faveur d'un tel écolier,
Déposant son ton minaudier

FUGITIVE PIECES.

Et sa sagesse grimacière,
Pourrait peut-être s'oublier,

Ou plutôt moins se contrefaire.

Mon cher, nous le savons trop bien :
(Le ciel en tout est bon et sage)
Pour un si hardi personnage,
Dans le fond vous ne valez rien.
Croyez-moi reprenez un rôle
Que vous jouez plus sûrement :
D'un imposteur déguisement
Que votre sexe se console;
Du mien vous faites le tourment;
Et le vôtre, sur ma parole,

Vous doit son plus bel ornement.

Hélas! malheureux que nous sommes !
Vous avez tout pour nous charmer:
C'est bien être au-dessus des hommes
Que de savoir s'en faire aimer!

Almanach des Muses, 1771.

345

M. D'ARNAUD.

Lines on hearing a greyheaded lady called Miss.
In humdrum, ancient days, the pretty name
Of Miss at twenty was exchang'd for Dame,
But these wise times to compliment exhort ye,
For modern Misses are full five-and-forty.

ELEVEN'S A NICK.

The Westminster Gazette, October 8-12, 1776.

Quatrain pour le buste de Mademoiselle D'Eon, exécuté par
Madame Falconet.

Ce marbre, où de D'Eon le buste est retracé,
A deux femmes assure une gloire immortelle ;
par elles vaincu, l'autre sexe est forcé
D'envier à la fois l'artiste et le modèle.

Et

Almanach des Muses, 1781.

M. BLIN LE SAINMORE.

Impromptu sur Mademoiselle D'Eon, qui lui a été remis à Londres par M. Angelo, père, maître d'armes de la famille Royale d'Angleterre.

D'EON, ce double habit, qui frappe nos regards,
Semble nous annoncer ton double caractère.
Oui, tu sus dans la paix, au milieu des hazards,
Cultiver d'une main politique et guerrière
L'olive de Minerve, et les lauriers de Mars.
Ch. MSS.

On Mademoiselle D'Eon's skill in fencing.
A prodigy! this Chevalier,

A most unrivalled peerless Peer

Is surely Monsieur D'Eon;
In arts of peace and war renown'd,
As well as politics profound,

And brave as Coeur-de-Lion.

In vain may time his page explore,
To find a precedent of yore,

As yet out-done by no man;

Let Britain boast her warlike sons,
Or Asia of her amazons,

While France can boast a woman.

Both sexes' admiration thou,
A female and a manly brow,

At once so oddly met;

Say, can ye sages yet decide

Which, best or both, can D'Eon guide,

Old Newspapers.

The camp or cabinet.

ARGUMENT.

'Toute histoire qui n'est pas contemporaine est suspecte.'-PASCAL. Two events in the career of the Chevalier D'Eon, undisputed by his contemporaries, but controverted of late years, must ever give cause for despair to biographers, so long as they seek to determine, by written evidence alone-(1) That D'Eon went to St. Petersburg for the first time in 1755, appearing there in the disguise of a female. (2) That he declared himself to be a female, and permanently adopted female attire in the year 1777, solely in obedience to the commands of Louis XVI. and his ministers.

The objections raised by the non-contents to these earliest traditions is based uniquely on the complete absence of any documents in their direct support; how far such documents are indispensable the reader will judge in the face of much incidental evidence in their favour.

6

Boutaric (i. 81), writing in 1866, says: About the year 1755 (vers 1755) was conducted a negotiation (during the interrupted diplomatic relations between France and Russia), from which the Count de Broglie was excluded, but wherein took part a personage whose name has become celebrated, the Chevalier D'Eon.' It was with no greater precision, that the Archivist of the Empire was enabled to fix the date of the Chevalier Douglas' departure for Russia (no great matter for surprise) seeing that neither amongst the national