Virginia Argus — Richmond, Va., 1810-08-03 00:00:00, page 1

AV1HTH.J V' A FREE P; ESS MAINTAIN. ™ - " '
free p.ess maintains the sovereignty of the people. j-No 17y0J
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Sales at Auction.
Thursday the 9th day of’August next,
will be sold before the door of the La.
gle Tavern, at 11 o'clock, A. M.
3600 Acres of Land,
Lying in the county of Buckingham,/be.
tween the Pick Skioand Main Bucknagham
Hoads, and on both sides of each, ch€vhnie
of it in wood, and generally welt timbered.
There are several excellent stands for Ta
verns on each Hoad, and undoubted title
will be made* A plat of the Land inay be
seen at cur Vendue Office.
Terms of Sale. One half Cash, the bal.
ance payable at 6 months ior an approved
endorsed negotiable note.
PROSSER & MONCURE, V. M.
litclimord, July SO, 1810. t d s.
w ■ — ■■■ ■ - ■ -.
NOTICE,
WILL BE SOLI),
At the Eagle Tavern in the City of Rich*
niond, for the benefit of the creditors
of Pleasant Younglmsband dec’d.
the reversion of the dower of
the wid^v of saicLYoung*
huViand, tor a
T R \ oYr OF
L AXN DV
Lying and being ijpth^tounty of Hen^co,
containing one hfmdred^and twenty^fonr
scree, and a psrt of the Land formerly
belonging to Francis Lewis, dec’d.
Likewise, WILL BE SOLD, about
•SIXTY ACRES
more, adjoining the first tract, in fee aim*
• pie,—The sale will take plate at 12 o*.
clock, on Friday the 3d of next month, Au
gust *—The terms of sale will be one thiid
cash, and the other two-thirds will be di*
Tided into two equal annual payments
L Eonris to carry inurist from the “date, if
^ not punctually paid, and a dred of trust or
the property will be required, to secure
thr punctual paymcn\ of said bonds,® Any
■ person wishing lopurchase, will be shew;
If Che land by the subscriber.
Samuel p. parsons,
7th Mo. 25Ui, lb 10. *
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CORRESPONDENCE
Between Mr. Erskine and Mr. - Can,
tting.—(concluded.)
No. 14*
Dispatch from the Hon. David M. Er.
skine to Mr. Secretary Canning, da
ted Washington, 7th August 1809.
SlIt* *.
Before I proceed to lay before
you such explanations as I have to of.
fer relating to the points mentioned in
your dispatch, No. tl of the 23d May,
in which you have expressed to me his
majesty’s entire disapprobation of my
deviations from the instructions con
tained in your No. 2, transmitted to
nurby Mr Oakley, I will take this op
portunity of informing you that the
American government did not consult
with me on the propriety or expedien
cy of publishing the notes, which pas
sed between the Secretary of State,
Mr Robert Smith, and myself in our
negotiations, but according to their
practice they made public the state of
their foreign relations at the moment
when thpy thought it was for the in
terest of the U. S. that it should be
known.
The reasons which were assigned by
the Secretary of State for having done
so, were certainly intended as favora
ble to his majesty’s- interest, since he
declared it was with a view to exhib
it to the people of this country the
adjustment of differences with G. Bri
tain which had taken place, and the
piuspcci or a iurtner good understan
ding, in order that the members of
Congress might assemble with favor
able sentimeuts towards Great Britain,
as also that the event might b- spee
dily and generally known in France,
so as to bring that power to a defini
tive determination respecting its rela
tions with the U. S. "
It would be not only superfluous but
might be deemed improper, that I
should repeat the reasons already de
tailed in my No. 20 of the 18th April,
which led me to believe, that I had
not conformed to the spirit if not to
the letter of your instructions contain
ed in your No. 2, sinse I have receiv
ed the communication through you of
his majesty’s disapprobation of the
mauner in which I hare executed
them.
It remains for me only to declare,
that I was greatly influenced in my
conduct by the repeated intimations in
your instructions, (in No. 6, Jan. 23,)
that “ the sincerity of the good dispo
sitions professed by the persons com
posing the new American administra
tion was the point most important in
the view ot the British government.”
I hat disposition I was fully con
vinced, was entertained by this govern
ment, which they were ready to evince^
in any way consistent with the power'
they held by the Constitution of the U.
States.
His majesty having thought proper
to cause you to communicate his sur
prise and regret, that I should have
received such a note as that from Mr.
■ Smith, in answer to the offer for repar
dllon attair of the Chesapeake,
as a proof of the acceptance by ihe go
vernment of the United States, of the
honorable reparation tendered by his
majesty, “in the same spirit ol con
ciliation in which it was proposed I
am therefore precluded from offering
any observations upon thatsubjf ct, o
ther than such as I have ventured to
make in the preceding number of my
dispatches.
As a further apology, I may be per
mitted to observe that as I had (I con
ceive) full reason for believing that
the disposition of the government of
the United States was conciliatory, I
may have dwelt in my own mind, while
w riting my note in answer to that of
Mr. Smith, upon thet impression, and
may have on that account, attributed
to Mr. Smith's note, a stronger appear
ance of conciliation than the language
of it may justify.
It is remarked by you in your No,
11, of the 23d May, that my instruc
tions did not authorise me to hold out
rhe expectation, that his majesty would
send an envoy extraordinary to con
clude a treaty with tire government of
the U, S. until his majesty should
oave received from him an authentic
md oli.cial recognition of the con
dttiona which I was directed to re
quire. >
ihe conditions were undoubtcdl)
not recognized in the formal manner
required by you because this govern*
ment had not sufficient authority to
make any engagement as to what should
be the determination of the U. States,
through its a legislative assemblies,
upon the state of their foreign rela
tions. ✓
It rested with 'the Congress alone
to declare, that the non-intercourse
law should be continued or not, and in
what manner it should be carried in
to effect1* The President could do no
more than act upon the law as it exis
ted. I have already furnished you, in
my No. 20, with my reasons for be
lieving that all the conditions would
have been accomplished by the Con
gress, which had pledged themselves
in the most solemn mauner, to resist
the restrictions upon their neutral
rights, against such powers as should
infringe them.
I had informed you in some dis*
patches sent before I had received my
instructions, that the American govern
ment did not know with sufficient accu
racy, what nations had issued or enfor
ced decrees violating neutral rights,
but that when they could ascertain that
fact, there could ^be no doubt that the
Congress would make the non-inter
course act to comprehend all such pow
ers as should adopt or act under th*
decrees of France.
It appears from the general tenor of
your dispatches, Nos. 10 and 11, that
his majesty’s government were not
willing to trust to assurances from the
American government, but that official
pledges were to have been required,
which could not be given for want of
power, some of them also being of a
nature which would prevent a formal
recognition.
Had I believed that his majesty’s
government were determined to insist
upon those conditions being complied
with, in one particular manner only,
I should have adhered implicitly to my
instructions ; but as I collected from
them, that his’ majesty was desirous
of accomplishing his retaliatory system
by such means as were most compati
ble with a good understanding, with
f riendly and neutral powers, I felt con
fident that his majesty would have ap
proved of the arrangements I had con
cluded, as one likely to lead to a cor
dial and complete understanding and
co-operatioq on the part of the United
States, which co-operation never could
be obtained by previous stipulation,
either from the government of the
United States who have no power to
accede to them, or from the Congress,
which would never acknowledge them
as recognitions to guide their con
duct. I have, &c.8cc.
(Signed) D. M. ERSKINE.
No. 6.
Dispatch from the Hon. David M. Er
skine to Mr. Secretary Canning, da
ted Washington, 10 th of Aueust,
1809.
Sir, I beg leave to request that you
will be pleased to lay before his ma
jesty my most grateful acknowledge
ments for the communication which
you have made to me by his commands,
that, “ his majesty entertains no doubt
of the good intentions and zeal foi
his majesty’s service by which I have
ueen iea 10 depart irom my instruc
tions.”
Nothing could have induced me tc
Have deviated in the slightest degree
from the orders I had received, but s
thorough conviction upon my mind
that by so doing, to a certain extent, ]
should accomplish the object which
his majesty had in view, when by toe
strictly adhering to the letter of m\
instructions, I might lose the oppor
tunity of promoting essentially hit
majesty’s wishes and interests,
I submit myself with great deference
to his majesty’s commands and shal
accordingly deliver to Mr. Jackson
whom his majesty has been pleased t<
appoint in my place as envoy extraor
dinary and minister plenipotentiary tr
the U. S. all the papers and document!
belonging to the mission, whenever h«
shall present to me hia majesty’s ordei
for that purpose.
PROM A LATE LONDON PAPER.
. CHEVALIER D’F.ON.
In the vast range of biographica
bistory, from the earliest period dowi
•O the present time, there never per
haps, has been found a combination o
events so remarkable——an assumption
of character so various, and in many
ascs directly opposite, as in the life of
<his mostextraordinarv personage. Af
er having sustained for the first fifty
years, and in the most distinguished
manner, the character of a scholar, a
soldier and a statesman, we suddenly |
and unexpectedly find M. D’Eon as
suming the dress, and apprently with
great reluctance submi'tingto be taken
for a woman ; and it is not till upwards
of thirty years afterwards, that, on his
death bed, are verified,* beyond the
possibility of doubt, his claims to the
personal as well as mental distinctions
of a man. As some of the account of
the principal events which have mark
ed the life of this mysterious being,
may not be unacceptable to the public,
the following brief sketch is submited,
and its authenticity may be relied upon:
“ Charles Gcnevien Louise Auguste
Andree T. imothee Jj’Eon de Beaumont,
was born at Tonnere, in Burgundy on
the 27th October, 1727, of an antient
family. He received his education at
the College Mazerin, at Paris. After
the death of his father, he was patron
ized by the Prince of Conti, and was
presented by Louis XV. with a corner
cy of Dragoons.
“ In the year 1755, he was employ
ed under the Chevalier Douglas, in
transacting a negotiation of a most de
licate and important nature at the court
of St. Petersburg, which hu
means was reconciled to France.
“ The Chevalier at the time of his
first coming over to England, wps cap
tain of dragoons in the French Service,
and Secretary to the duke de Nivernois,
in which character he behaved so much
to the duke’s satisfaction, that that no
bleman, upon his departure for France,
got M. D’Eon appointed minister ple
nipotentiary in his room. In this situ
ation he remained until superseded by
the count- de Guerchy.
u From this period until the death
of Louis XV. M. D’Eon continued to
reside in England, destitute it is true of
any official character, but honored with
the notice and friendship of the most
distinguished persons in this country
And here we enter upon a circumstance
of D’Eon’s life now rendered as myste
rious in its origin, as it is wonderful in
its successful concealment for so many
years. Some faint rumors had spread
at various preceding periods, that M.
D’Eon was a woman, and, in addition
to certain feminine appearances in his
voice and person, still.stronger surmise
was indulged, especially at Petersburg,
on account of the total indifference, &
even aversion as to all affairs of gal
lantry constantly exhibited by D’Eon
towards the females of that voluptuous
court, where amorous intrigue is well
known to have mixed itself on most oc
casions with political events. Not that
the manners or deportment of D’Eon
were either harsh or forbidding towards
women, but the extreme rnminn ur'nh
which he always’avoided any private or
particular intercourse with them, gave
: strength to the doubts excited us to his
sex; and other circumstances concur
ring (the detail of which our present
limits forbid,) at this time to place the
sexual claim of D’Eon, as a woman, on
the most absolute footing of proof both
in France 8c England, he assumed the
female dress, and from the year 1777
down to his death was universally re
garded as a woman. The first few
1 years after this metamorphosis were
► passed by, M. D’Eon, in France, where
it the merits ol the newly established
Demoiselle are to be estimated by the
1 reception she met at the court of Louie
XVI. and the expressions of esteem
made to her by almost every person ir
1 the kingdom—she was deserving of the
highest praise.—About the year 1785
M. D’Eon returned to England, where
1 he. has resided ever Rinct.
| “In the year 1777, we find sucf
strong doubts entertained of his sex ai
( to produce wagers to a large amount
and a curious trial before lord Mans
| field.
It is now evident that the fraud ol
the Gambling Policies was the result
of* a direct conspiracy, to which the
Chevalier himself must have been c
party. On the above trial, it was sworn
by M. de Morande and M. le Gout, on
the testimoney of occular demotyptrati
I on, that the Chevalier was a female,
i He affected to quarrel with M. de Mo
. rande for the discovery, but finally ac
H quiesced in the Ltl&chood* and put os
the female habit. The verdict On the
case tried was afterwards set aside, up
on the act requiring an interest in ca
ses of assurance for life. But many
t thousand pounds were paid by gentle
men, who considered the debts as dehts
° hoqor. It now becomes a question,
whether in point of honor, the sums
ought not to be refunded, as we pre
sume there is no prescription in debt* *
of honor.
Since the year 1778, little has been
heard of the Chevalier. The French
revolution, fatal to so many establish
ments, deprived him also of a pension
granted by Louis XV. and confirmed
by his successor. For a few subse
quent years, the sale of part of his ef
fects, and the profits of a public fenc
ing exhibition in various parts of the
United Kingdom, enabled, M. D’Eon
to subsist with decency, but the in
creasing weight of age, and infirmities,
gradually rendered him incapable of
these exertions, and for many yean
past he has been struggling with pover
ty and distress.
For these two years past M. D’Ecn
scarcely evef quitted his bed, though
it was only within these few months
that he has laid aside the pen. His
health gradually grew weaker, and at
lengm an extreme state of d-biiity en
sued, which terminated in hi3 death on
Monday se’nnight, about 10 o’clock_
It was not till after his decease that
Madame Cole, the old and respected
iricndot the Chevalier, whose fortunes,
or rather misfortunes, she had shared
for many years, on performing the last
sad office to her friend, of laying out
the corpse, found it was that of a m »n«
After the first surprise had subsided,
the discovery was the next morning
communicated to some of the Cheva
lier’s intimate friends, who judgecHhat
it would be proper to ascertain all
points relative to so singular an occur
rence; and accordingly on Wednesday
i last» the presence of the Pere Elize,
who had attended the Chevalier in his
last illness, Mr. Wilson, the professor
of anatomy, Mr. Ring, &' Mr. Burton,
two respectable snrgeons, Sir Sidney
Smith, the Hon. Mr. Littleton, the
lion. Mr. Douglas, Mr. Hoskins, a
respectable solicitor, Mr. Richardson,
bookseller, of Cornhill—the bodv w u
examined, and proved beyond a d u't,
by the certificate of Mr. T. Cope
land, the surgeon, to be a male. Tnat
! doubt of the identity of the p-rson
| nught be removed, some persons of
the first respectability were called up.
on, who gave their positive testimony
that the person then before them was
the same who haci always passed fof
the Chevalier or the Chevalier D’Eo-u
M. D’Eon has left two if not throe nc
■ phews, of the name of O’Cionman, re
lated also, we believe, to the noble fa.
mily of Thomond, in Ireland. None
of those gentlemen are however in
England at this time.
The body of this extraordinary
character has undergone not nnl« .ki
anatomical inspection of the whole fa
culty, but also of many hundreds of the
most distinguished curiosity of the
metropolis. Strange to say the famale
visitants have exceeded those of the
other sex as three to one. lli8 high.,
ness, the Duke of (Gloucester, and se
veral other persons of distinction,
were among the latter. It lies in I
handsome oak coffin, covered with
black cloth and a black velvet cross on
the lid, at the house of Mrs. Col**, in
New Millimanst. to whose benevolent
kindness and attention, the Chevalier
was indebted for the principal comforts
of his latter days. A cast was taken
from the lace on b ritlay. It is propos
ed to inter the body in St. Pancra*
Church-yard the day after to-morrow,
’ The Chevalier had completed the 84th
year of his age.
The declaration now made of the
sex of this generally supposed female
1 character, is likely to give rise to seve
, ral attions, for the recovery of sum*
| unjustly paid by various underwriter*
Ion the faith given to a certificate, af^
ter an examination of surgeons, nj
■! yago ; several of these duped pav
j masters being still alive to reclaim such
sums and many of the payees also re^
maining in existence to answer such
demands of re-pay menu It may
remembered, that immediately after
this pecuniary speculation was decided
the Chevaher assumed the female ha
bit—which to keep up the imposture
d was worn to the day of his death.