The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-10-26
A STATE SECRET.
How 1t Was Keptsby the Fifteen
Year.Old Son Of Minister.

State secrets, as rule, are not permitted
to fall into the hands Of the young. All ma
tons guard their interests with jealous care,
but there was once boy, says writer IN
Golden Days, who for long time held pos
session Of a very important State secret,
which affected, to large extent, the welfare
Of this country at a time of pressing need.
1t came about in this way:
In the month of March, 1T76 the Cont
mental Congress sent Silas Deane as a poiti-
cal agent to the French court to enlist Louis
XVI in our cause and bring about negotla-
tions which would result in treaty OF ALI
ance At the same time Arthur Lee, an
ether distinguished American, was IN Lon
don in secret corresponds nee with infiuen-
tial Frenchmen.
Lee one day was approached by Beau
marchis, secret envoy of tue French Gov
eminent, who told him that the King was
DESTROYS of helping the colonies, but did not
want TO do so in a manner Which would In
yulye him in an open war with England.
Beaumarchi5 said that Louis would give US
plenty of money and some arms, II he could
do so without exciting suspicion, for be COR
daily hated England, though l fear he did
not like the thought OF helping to establish
a republic il America.
Accordingly Lee, Deane and the crafty
Beaumarchis put their heads together and
agreed upon witty plan of secrecy When
Beaumarchis returned to Paris CORE
spondence began between firm called
Roderique Hortales u Co. and one Mary
JohusOn-the former being, in reality, Beau.
marchis and the latter Arthur Lee.
Lea represented that he had large amounts
of tobacco to sell, and directed that the pur-
chase money received from Hortale5 81 Co.
be sent to him by the way OF Cape Francois.
In the meantime Vergennes, the French
Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the King
had been informed of the plan and had APP
proved of it, and Louis directed his Treas
urer to hold 900, 000 liYTes subject to Yer
gennes' orders.
Now, it was very important that all the
correspondence on behalf OF the French
Government should be conducted by one
person, and the one selected to conduct it
was Minister Vergennes' son, a boy of
only 10.
He was we'll educated, bright. and knew
how to keep State secret as well as his
illuStrious parent. The boy took charge of
the important business, and from time to
time large sums of money found their way
from the royal treasury to the Golfers of the
colonies.
In order to give the transaction business
complexion some tobacco was sent IN re-
turn.
If England had discovered that shrewd
little boy in the Office of the French Minis
ter was thus damaging her cause with his
pen over the signature OF "H0rtale5 "
Co.," she would have called King Louis to
dcCOuut iol hio Dut luo ocCIOt Wdo
so well kept that England never suspected
it. Young Yergennes displayed so much
tact in the part he played that, when it was
all over, he was summoned to court and re-
ceiyed the thanks of the King.
In one of his letters he offered, as Hortales
4 Co., TO furnish the Americans with any,
thing they needed" or course. all he did
was done with the free consent of the French
court.
The little fellow would couch his letters in
adr0it commercial phrases, SO that If they
had fallen into the hands of the enemy the
truth would not have been suspected. In
all, Messrs. Hortales 6 Co." furnished the
struggling colonies with S1S5,000.
History is silent concerning the subse-
quent career of the boy with the State secret,
but | am almost ready to say that he became
a noted diplomatic, for he had shown that he
could keep an important secret and conduct
correspondence between two nations. No
doubt his illustrious father, the great Minis
ter, was proud of him.