A 'CHURLISH' LETTER. 89 you frankly, Monsieur le Duc, it will be impossible to carry on the war at my expense, during a time of peace. . . If you are not good enough to think of me, I will die of consumption' instead of dying of molten grease as was the case with —————. I do not ask to be fattened at the King's expense; I only wish for sufficient flesh to keep body and soul together.' A friendly note of reproof from his late chief, de Nivernois, for having written so 'churlish' a letter to de Praslin, was met by D'Eon's regret that his 'churlish' letter had given cause for vexation. The truths he exposed, and the integrity of his demands, were not intended to vex two just and enlightened ministers. . . . He respectfully demanded justice of a minister he respected . . . he respected the minister's economy that refused to pay his debts, but he respected much more his justice that should pay them. So soon as he received the money, he would become as meek as a paschal lamb. 'If you are curious to know,' continued the Chevalier,' what is passing in this country, the accounts are too long to repeat here, see my letters to the Duke de Praslin, and if you can then say I am an idle fellow, I will ask nothing more of the minister. When one serves the King well, one should at least have the wherewithal to meet the little liabilities incurred in unbounded zeal for his service.' 2 'D'EON, 1 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. 2 The Duke de Nivernois Correspondence. Lett. Mém. &c. CHAPTER VI. D'Eon charged with extravagance at the Embassy-Irritating correspondence -Influx of French visitors-Odious proposal to D'Eon-Is to return to subordinate duties on being superseded-His remonstrances-The Earl of Hertford-The Count de Guerchy's arrival in England. and D'Eon's letters of recall-Secret despatch from Louis XV.-Official recall on the plea of mental alienation-Disregard of the ministerial orders. SIMULTANEOUSLY with the griefs that were being so vigorously laid before de Praslin, the Chevalier was indulging in a brisk interchange of letters with de Guerchy, in which he vindicated himself with no little dexterity against the charges of wanton extravagance as host at the embassy in London, for the general maintenance of which the count was solely responsible, the liberal allowance of a minister at one of the first Courts in Europe being enjoyed by him, though only ambassador in petto, and not by the minister plenipotentiary in situ. The spirit of satire and sarcasm in which D'Eon had latterly indited his letters to both those ministers was more than either could bear with; but, forgetting their dignity in the face of what, after all, was gross insubordination, they gave way to a feeling of resentment, the former in admonitions and threats, after receipt of the 'churlish' note; the latter, by being offensive and insulting, and persisting in peevish and unbecoming lamentations on the frequent requisitions to which his pocket was subjected. We cannot undertake to reproduce in full the mutual recriminations, brimming with scorn, that brought to a close the un IRRITATING CORRESPONDENCE. 91 seemly paper war which irrevocably sealed the fate of the Chevalier D'Eon; but we must at least find room for a few of the ugly things that were said by the strong, as well as by him who was on the defensive, and whom they were deliberately luring to his destruction. The Duke de Praslin to the Chevalier D'Eon. 'Paris, September 17, 1763. Sir, I never could have believed that the title of Minister Plenipotentiary would cause you so quickly to forget the point whence you have started, and I had no reason to expect that your aspirations would increase in proportion as you received new favours. . . . I cannot conceive the necessity for the extraordinary outlay at the expense of the Count de Guerchy, and which is quite out of place. I do not conceal from you my displeasure at your having involved in so great expenditure one to whom I am attached, and in whom I take such an interest, and who trusted in you on my recommendation. . . . I hope that you will take better care of other people's money for the future, and that you will endeavour to be as useful to him as you have been to the Duke de Nivernois, &c. &c.' This and much more was irritating matter enough, and might perhaps have been borne with patience by the Chevalier; but one other paragraph there was which placidly gave him the lie, and banished all hopes of relief out of his financial difficulties, so long as de Praslin remained at the Foreign Ministry. 'I gave you no reason to expect the reimbursement of your former journey to Russia, because three of my predecessors upon whom you made a similar demand had not, it appeared, found it legitimate.' It was not in D'Eon's nature to receive this prevaricating statement with composure. He was not sufficiently cool-headed to make a perfectly good courtier. Smarting under insult and what he considered undeserved injury, he relieved his agitated mind in emphatic language such as this: 'London, September 25, 1763. 'I received, the day before yesterday, the private letter you did me the honour to write to me on the 17th inst.; I can only look upon it as a Testament ab irato.1 The point whence I started, when very young, was my native town, Tonnerre, where I have a small property and a house fully six times larger than that occupied in London by the Duke de Nivernois. The point whence I started, in 1756, was the Hôtel d'Ons-en-Bray, Rue de Bourbon, Faubourg St. Germain. I am the friend of the owner of that mansion, and I left him, against his will, to make three journeys to Russia and to other Courts in Europe, to join the army, to come to England, to bring four or five treaties to Versailles, not as a courier, but as a man who had contributed to the framing of them. I have frequently travelled although sick to death, and upon one occasion with a broken leg; nevertheless, I am prepared to return to the point whence I started, if such be my fate. I can only certify, as a geometrician, that all points proceed from and should meet in a common centre. The points whence I started are those of being a gentleman, a soldier, and a secretary of embassy; all so many points which naturally lead to becoming a minister at foreign courts. The first gives a claim, the second strengthens consciousness and endues with the necessary firmness for such a post, but the third is the school for it. I acquitted myself so creditably in the latter, according to your own judgment, Monsieur le Duc, as to merit reward. . . . But whatever may have been the point whence I started, the King, my master, having chosen me to represent him, I should have forgotten everything, and kept in sight only the point I have reached. This is my rule of right, and you it.. will remind me of it if I forget it. . . . I venture to assure you, that you were good enough to promise that you would again inquire into the matter of my first journey to 1A 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. CLAIMS UPON THE STATE. Russia, and that you should do me justice. . . . . 93 . . . At Vienna you told me that were you minister I should very soon be paid . . you repeated your promise the last time I had the honour of dining with you at Versailles. . . the Duchess was present. . . I reminded you that I had been paying interest for nearly nine years on 10,000 livres borrowed for my first Muscovite journey. The Duchess' heart was touched, and she said to you: "Really you should see that poor M. D'Eon, who has served his King so well, is paid." You, also, were touched, and kindly replied: "I will make inquiries. I should be very glad to see that he is paid, but how is it to be done!" That same evening I left for England, and have remained crushed ever since under the burden of my debts. . . . It is no proof that my claims are groundless, because your predecessors failed to do me justice. They succeeded each other in office with such rapidity, as rarely to have had time to inquire into the many matters on hand, and it is precisely because they failed in their justice towards me, that I seek it at your hands. . . . Whether you be pleased or displeased, Monsieur le Duc, I will respectfully continue to appeal to your sense of justice and I will not cease to serve the King with my wonted zeal. . . . I respect your economy which is not disposed to pay my debts, but I have greater regard for your justice, which should pay them. . . for mercy's sake let me be paid my first expenses to Russia, that I may satisfy my creditors... ;' then, defending himself against the charge of extravagance, he says: Life and style of living in Paris is very different to what both are in London . . . my accounts should be seen and examined. . . . I defy any housekeeper to find in my accounts a single item of useless expenditure of fifteen or twenty guineas throughout. . . . I have never been at the head of any house except that of my father, and in a twelvemonth it came to grief. . . . If you desire to know me, Monsieur le Duc, I tell you frankly that I am of use only for thinking, imagining, questioning, reflecting, comparing, reading, writing, or to run from east to west, from north to south, to fight on hill and dale. Had I lived in the time of Alexander or of Don Quixote, I should certainly have been Parmenion or Sancho 14 Eight' in 4to. and 8vo. editions of Lett. Mém. &c.; altered by D'Eon tonine.' Ch. MSS. |