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Memoirs of Mademoiselle D'Eon de Beaumont; commonly called the Chevalier D'Eon.

T

H E extraordinary perfon, age who has been known in London, and many other parts of England, by the name of the Chevalier D'Eon ever fince the year 1763, when the Duke de Nivernois was ambaffador from the court of France; having been finally discovered to be a woman, by authentic, indubitable evidence given in the court of King's Bench, at a trial for recovering a fum of money on certain policies opened on the fex of the pretended Chevalier; every anecdote relative to our heroine has become a new fubject of curiofity, and though many of the principal tranfaftions of that part of her life which the passed in England are generally known, and have frequently appeared in print; yet it was the defire of many of our refpectable correfpondents, that we fhould draw up a concife account of the whole, to ferve as a memorial of fo fingular an event; and as a warning in future again that credulity which leads fo many of the good people of this kingdom into egregious errors, to the prejudice of their fortunes, and to the impeachment of their understanding. In compliance with the request of our friends, no pains have been fpared to

procure every anecdote relative to

Mifs D'Eon de Beaumont that merits

the public notice, and in order to con

vey a proper idea of the perfon of this lady, in whom we fhall find a frange heterogeneous compound of male and female qualities, we obtained a ftriking refemblance of her face, from an original drawing from the life, by a private gentleman, at the time of the difputes between D'Eon and the count de Guerchy. The reafons for directing the ingenious artifl, who executed the whole figure, to decorate it in a manner truly chara&eriftic, will appear in the fequel.

Mifs D'Eon de Beaumont is defcended from a genteel family of the town of Beaumont fur l'Oife, in the Isle of France, from which place fhe takes the addition to her family name, a circumftance very common among the French, in order to diflinguish the gentry, from yeomen and tradesmen. The rank in life of her parents, the time of her birth, and every thing relative to her domeftic fituation during her infant years, feems involved in profound fecrecy ; however, from her uncommon understanding and critical knowledge in claffical and polite learning, it feems as if great care was taken to give her a finished education. what time the first appeared in the habit of a man,or what were the motives for fo extraordinary a difguife, no perfon

At

has

has been able to ascertain upon proper evidence; all that has been circulated in public, is founded upon conjecture.

Some affert, that her parents put her upon this fcheme, that he might fucceed to an eftate in the family entailed on the male heirs. Others fay, that he had a brother an officer in the Gens-d'armes, whom the frequently vifited at Verfailles, and who, finding her a girl of high (pirit and of afpiring genius, advifed her to enter herself as

cadet, and to pursue the military path to honour and fortune in the character and drefs of a man. A thirdreport, and the most probable is, that the abfconded from her friends with a Jover in this difguife, and being afterwards forfaken by her fwain, who was an officer, he took the military life from choice, after having acquired a tafte for it during her co-habitation with him. But all we can depend on ms authentic is, that the obtained a cor netcy of horfe in the French fervice, when he was very young, that the afterwards role to the rank of captain of dragoons, and aid de camp to Marthai Broglio, under whom the made nore than one campaign in Germany in the last war; and for her personal bravery, as well in reward for fome political tracts on the internal adminitration of government, he was honoured with the royal and m litary or der of St. Louis, the crois of which order the constantly wore in England, pendant from a ribbon faftened to a button hole of her coat. In fine, by

ne of thote intrigues-not unusual in courts, especially in that of France, The was taken into the minifterial department; but they must be frangers. indeed to the private hiftories of the galantries of Verfalles, who afcribe Tuis promotion to any degree of traofcendent merit in Mifs D'Eon. In arms, letters, and in love, the was equally killed, and equally fuccef-ful. Ky her word the acquired renown, for personal courage, wearing it ever 19dy to ftop the tongue of calumny, and to jutimidate forward inquirers. With her pen fie fupported her patroas, the French miniftry, and even affifted them wither advice; and by the powers the poffeffed in her natural cpicices, the opened to herself a can-, nej to better promotion at court, unde the difgaile of a marry than the

could have obtained as a miftrefs of the marshal Dukes de Broglio, de Choifeul, &c. &c.

By fecret influence then, eafily to be gueit at, fhe was appointed minifer plenipotentiary to the court of Peterí burgh, vefted with full powers to conciude a private negociation with the unfortunate emperor, Peter III. foon after his acceffion; the has not thought proper to favour us with the object of this commiffion; all we know is, that the executed it to the entire fatisfaction of the French miniftry; and as a reward for this importent fervice, the was nominated Secretaire d'Am. baffade to the Duke de Nivernois, when be was fent to England in the character of his late Mott Christian matcfty's ambalador extraordinary, and minifter plenipotentiary to the court of London in 1262. Upon the return of the Duke de Nivernois to .France, in the month of May 176. D'Eon was left as is ufual charge d'affaires in the abfence of the ambas fador; but the nomination of another being, fufpended for. fome time, the Doke de Nivernois made fuch a reprefentation, it is faid, of the fecretary's abilities, that the French miniftry thought proper to honour him with the commiffion and title of minifter plenipotentiary; but this was in fac only an empty honour, for there could be no occafion for the exercise of any full powers, after the ratifications of the treaty of peace were exchanged. To fay the truth,.no affair of any con fequence, with refpect to the two crowns, fell under this lady's management; but having been fecretary to the embaffy, a poft in fome measure minifterial, because all the difpatches pals through the hands of the fecretary, this gave her an opportunity of detaining fome papers in her hands to antwer the purposes of felf inte eft at the expence of political intrigues. In the month of Ocber 1763, the Count de Guerchy appeared at St. James's in the character of ambaffader from Flauce, and the fham Chevalier D'Eon had orders to re-affume the functions of fecretary to the new ambafíader, but this the Chevalier pollitively refufed,and confronted the count de Guerchy in the circle at court, retaining the quality of minifter plenipotentiary, and expecting the houeurs

of

following the returned after an abfence of fix weeks, about the time fufficient for lying-in, and a ftrange le ter from her to Mr. Fontaine was put in the papers, importing that the had been in Germany. All this time the game of the policies went on, and the fums done upon them are faid to amount to half a million. As the parties became more and more inter: Red, it was neceffary for the lady to be upon her guard; and fuch was the fpirit and addrefs the thewed upon all occafions, when any attempt was made at a difcovery, that no man durft offer any violence: however, to avoid too critical obfervations the fhifted about from place to place. At length, a quarrel with Mr. Maurande, one of her countrymen, to whom the had imparted the fecret, and to whom the had given frong demonftrations of her fex, brought the matter to light, and Mr. Hayes, a furgeon, in Lerefter-fields, maintained a prolecution against the under-writer of a policy for 700 l. the evidence produced was clear and pofitive, a verdict was given for Mr. Hayes, the 2d of July, and before the end of the month, our heroine decamped for France; in an advertisement before the left England, the difclaimed all interest in the policies; but advised thofe who may be infers by the decifi on of the Court of King's Beuch, not to pay the money. This is a pitiful evatiɔù ; undoubtedly the prefents made lei, or any collateral benefit the might have for the fecret, might be re demanded on 'its difcovery: fhe was therefore in their got to return hout; but it is the height of van ty and French duplicity to say, "the goes to enjoy, near ber auguit maiter, a reater afurance of tranquilty, than all the magna chart's of this ifland could giver er," when it is well known the La received an order from court to confine herself with the walls or a convent. In a word, after all the great praifes beftowed upon her; ferious, impartial perfons will only confider iri as a fuccefsiul, accomplithed unpofer.

To the Editors of the Bofton Maga

phical principles, and a practice of that art confonant to fuch principles, in every part of the United States of America, would make them eminently independent.

The Earth hath God given to the children of men; and from a rational cultivation of that earth, may be produced, every thing neceffary for food, phyfick and cloathing, even to luxury.

I heartily with that fome benevolent pen, equal to the task, would take up the theme, and, for the good of this young world, amufe the learn ed and instruct the vulgar, in this important art. I mean to throw my mite into the public treafury, and, though it be but a mite, I hope it will be accepted, in as much as I give accord. ing to that I have.

To write a regular fyftem of hufbandry, might not fo well antwer the purpose of a Magazine publication, as not being fo immediately ufeful. Climate, foil, feed and plants, domeftic and exotic, and appropriating the feed to its propereft foil, are subje&ts that may be handled occafionally, and when any perfon fhall be in a MOOD, to handle either of thofe fubjects, the mind then would be unfettered, and, in time, a regular fyftem might grow out of fuch fpeculations. I mean to have no hand in the fublimer parts of this fcheme, but to fay fomething upon the mere practical part. As the feed is committed to the earth for the present fealon, I shall only make fome few remarks on the erroneous mode of cutture, common among us. I have spare time, at prefent, only to mention that very ufeful root, the potatoe. This root delights mott in a r en loom, but not too moift: wet land produces too much top and watry fruit, which will not keep thiengh the winter, and is always ftrong and unpleasant to the tafte. Very dry land, produces a small crop, and nurley from. Land that is apt to bake (as we commonly phrafe it; fhould also be avoided.

The earth for this crop fhould be well ploughed and kept clear of wreds, and not hady, as an orchard, &c. But the principal error in tending a field of potatoes, is, the enormous hilling. I have found, by many years experience, that if potatoes are planted in a meilow fl, they need scarcely

any