The Portland daily press., 1897-05-08
WOMEN in DIPLOMACY.
Pressure on the President to Appoint
a Female Envoy.

No Lack of observation-disclosures yyho
Have Served as Ambassadors-Tba
Rights of Ambassadors Wives-Tb
Famous Chevalier D'con Whose SEX
| Was in Doubt.
| Correspondence Of the Boston Transcript. }
Washington, April 30.-The advanced wom-
en- have been bringing strong pressure to
bear upon President Mckinley for the pur-
pose of persuading him to give diplomatic
| post TO one of their sex. Though it is not
| likely that he will comply with the demand,
| there are plenty of precedents to which he
might point as warranting such an appoint
ment. History shows that on number of
occasions ladies have been formally invest
ed with the functions of minister plenipo-
Tertiary, and even OF ambassador. Inc
King of Persia once sent a woman as ampas-
sador to the Grand Sultan, and the famous
and beautiful Countess of Konigsmark, mis-
tress of Augustus H., King OF Poland, was
charged by the latter with a similar mission
to his enemy the Queen of Sweden, whom
he was anxious to placate. The widow OF
| the French Marshal de Guebriant served in
1916 as an ambassador to the King of Po-
land, accomplishing her duties with nota-
BILE success, Notwithstanding extraordinary
difficulties.
Everybody, of course, has heard of the
Chevalier d'Eon, distinguished as diplo-
matist and soldier, whose sex was in doubt
for half a century. He was sent to Russia
by the Prince de Cont to back up that no.
bleman's pretensions to the crown of Po-
| land. Adopting the dress of woman, he
obtained employment as reader to the EN-
press Elizabeth. Subsequently, resuming
male apparel, he became secretary of the
Russian embassy at Paris, passing as a
| brother of the reader aforesaid. As a re-
| ward for his political services, he receive a
pension rom the French government and
the rank of captain of dragons. Returning
| to France in 1850, he earned some renown
in fighting for his country, and when peace
came he was sent back to Russia with the
| rank of minister plenipotentiary.
Afterwards he became minister to Great
Britain. But he fell into disgrace, and was
| only permitted to go back to France, in 1I77,
on condition that he appear in the attire
| and character of woman. During that
period he was accustomed to sign himself
Chevaliere D'Eon, and in letter to Nine.
de Stael he speaks of himself as citizen
ness of the new French Republic. The last
years of his life were spent in London,
where he helped out his finances by giving
exhibitions of fencing, in which he was very
expert. Bets we're frequently made as to
his SEX and an action for the recovery of
the amount of wager in 1777. brought the
question to judicial decision, by which the
was declared to be q female. Nevertheless,
VIXEN he died, in 1910, the autopsy proved
that ne was man. Beardlessness and femi-
nine features gave color to the mistake in
this regard
The assertion has been made that women
are good as councillors, but bad as actors.
Whether or not this view of the case is cor
rect, it is beyond a doubt that women have
played great part in the game of diplo
macy. 1t was not until the seventeenth cen
fury that ambassadors wives accompanied
them to foreign courts and it came TO be
recognized that official honors were due to
them. AS might be imagined, they lost no
time in asserting their newly acquired digni-
| ties. and their pretensions became so
troublesome at length that some courts in
Europe refused to treat them with any cere-
mony whatever, though leaving to them
| their titles and immunities. At the Con-
| gress of Westphalia the ambassadresses
appeared with such Importance and mag
nificence that they impeded very seriously
| the transaction of business. Incidentally
the profession of the diplomats, which had
| been rather jolly, owing to the absence of
| their wives, became as gloomy as the pri-
| vate life of d comic actor.
| Much. has been said in the newspapers
lately about the privileges due to an ambas-
sador These are shared to great extent
| BY the ambassadors. From the moment
when she enters the territory of the SOW
ereign OF President to whom her husband is
accredited she becomes entitled to the
rights and privileges belonging to his rank.
| In an exceptional degree she is under the
protection of the State in which he resides.
| In accordance with an ancient custom the
Qneen of Great Britain sends royal yacht
| to fetch an ambassadress. If she travels
| alone the honors afforded to her are not so
| great as if she were with her husband. Some
| times, however, ambassadTesses unaccom-
panied by their spouses have insisted sue
cessfully on being received with salvos of
| artillery.
At Rome an ambassadress used to be well
coined by the whole College of Cardin ais
Formerly these distinguished ladies pos
sessed a very singular privilege which was
called the privilege of the STOOL" That is
to say, they were permitted to sit ON a
stool in the presence of queens and en-
presses. The wives of ambassadors used
! to be entitled to special audience by the
| sovereign, whereas the consorts of ENJOYS
and other ministers were merely presented
at court in the regular way. This is mere
ly a chance illustration of the very essen
tial difference in official character between
| an ambassador and a minister plenipoten =
tiary. The latter merely represents his own
government, whereas the ambassador is
the personal representative of his sovereign.
Mr. Bayard, as the personal representative
of President Cleveland, always went in to
dinner before Lord Salisbury. and the same
privilege will be enjoyed by Colonel Hay,
our new ambassador at the court of St.
| James.
From the point of view of republican in
situations, the flummery and etiquette of
| foreign courts is distasteful and even ride