He then
received from Louis XV. the order of St. Louis, and, as de Nivernais
was weary of England, where he had an eternal cold, and resigned,
d'Eon was made minister plenipotentiary in London till the arrival of
the new ambassador, de Guerchy.
Now de Guerchy, if we believe d'Eon, had shown the better part of
valour in a dangerous military task, the removal of ammunition under
fire, whereas d'Eon had certainly conducted the operation with courage
and success. The two men were thus on terms of jealousy, if the story
is true, while de Nivernais did not conceal from d'Eon that he was to
be the brain of the embassy, and that de Guerchy was only a dull
figure-head. D'Eon possessed letters of de Broglie and de Praslin, in
which de Guerchy was spoken of with pitying contempt; in short, his
despatch-boxes were magazines of dangerous diplomatic combustibles. He
also succeeded in irritating de Praslin, the French minister, before
returning to his new post in London, for d'Eon was a partisan of the
two de Broglies, now in the disgrace of Madame de Pompadour and of
Louis XV.; though the Comte de Broglie, 'disgraced' as he was, still
managed the secret policy of the French King.
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