The Monmouth inquirer., 1922-09-28
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HISTORY, particularly that portion
= \ which deals with the intrigues
and plots that honeycombed the courts
of Europe during the Eighteenth CEN
tury, is filed with the accounts Of q
number of unusual personages-but 1t
is doubtful If any Of these are quite
as remarkable as the ones connected
with the career Of the Chevalier
d'Eon, whose exploits were directly
responsible for much Of the glory which
surrounds the name of Louis XIV.
Born at Tonnere, France, in IT'S,
Charles Genevieve Louis Auguste An
dree Tmothee d'Eon de Beaumont de-
veioped o talent early in life for
impersonating members of either sex
with a facility which appears to have
been little less than marvellous. In
fact, the mystery which surrounds the
true sex of this adventurer -or adven-
turess-becOmes more startling with
the examination of each exploit. Ac-
cording to contemporary historians,
d'Eon was able to appear either as q
man or as woman, with an ease
which rendered penetration of his dis
guise impossible. and his ability In
this line gained for him (the mascu-
line prononn being used advisedly) a
position at the head Of the secret
agents employed by Louis, and 1t was
not long before he became the most
accomplished spy who ever delved into
the secrets of a court or OWNED the
intention of ruler.
Part of the time he would be the
Chevalier d'Eon, dashing, debonair and
fearless. Then the chevalier would
allow it to be known that he was
going somewhere on a visit, and o
beautiful woman-versed In all the
arts which make men open their hearts
and their lips, forgetful Of the seal OF
secrecy which they would never lift
to their closest male friend would
appear, and another report would soon
be on its way to the private sanctum
of the king.
No one suspected that the dashing
chevalier and the fiirtatious coquette
were one and the same, though when
the exposure was finally made, even
his enemies had the grace to say that
d'Eon had fought over half Of Europe
and fiirted over the other half" In
Paris, in London. In Rome and In
Genoa, the chevalier added success
after success to his long list Of vic
tories, prying into secrets and ferret
ing out the truth when the greatest
spies of five kingdoms had utterly
failed.
But it was whilesat the court Of the
Empress Elizabeth of Russia, In the
feminine role, that the chevalier
achieved his crowning triumph. Eu-
rope was then on the verge of the
Seven Tears' war, and Louis desired
an alliance with Russia. One after an
other the veterans of the diplomatic
service returned to Paris, stoop-
shouldered and beaten. The imperial
palace, they said, was closed to them.
The empress would have none Of their
advice. She was adamant In her de-
cision to stand aloof in the struggle
which was approaching.
AS last resort, d'Eon was dis
patched to Moscow, and before many
weeks had passed, it began to be ru-
mored about the Russian capital that
her majesty had new maid of honor
who appeared to have strange hold
over the queen The girl, as charming
as she was pretty, was careful not to
play her cards too rapidly, but she
lost no opportunity to shift the con-
versation to discussion of diplomacy
and at first to suggest and then to
prove the wisdom Of an alliance be-
tween France, Russia and Austria
against Frederick the Great. Little by
little the decision of the queen began
to crumble, and, some two weeks after
the new maid of honor disappeared
from the palace which was about the
same time that d'Eon was making his
report to Louis-it became known that
the alliance would be ratified at an
early date, thus completely altering
the map of Europe;
This, however, was destined to be
the chevalier's last success. He was
growing old, and lines we're appearing
in his face which 1t was difficult to
hide by the application Of cosmetics.
Following an almost total collapse Of
his plans at the Court of st. James, In
London, d'Eon retired from public life,
and. during the SO years which elapsed
before his death. ne dressed contin-
ually as a woman, using the name
ssMme. d'Eon.'' This would appear to
lend weight to the belief that he be
longed to the feminine sex, bat beyond
the fact that he was one of the worlds
super-spies, nothing definite has ever
been discovered about the ambi-sex-