But to return to the facts of the case: D’Eon, at the time of the death of Louis XV was living in constant hope of being restored to favor and allowed to return to France. His pension of 12,000 francs had proved all too small for his support and he was heavily in debt. No sooner had the young king, Louis XVI, mounted the throne than the Chevalier sent word to Vergennes, minister of foreign affairs, announcing that he had in his possession important letters which were of such a nature that should they fall into the hands of the English, it might precipitate a war between the two nations. An agent was therefore dispatched to enter into negotiations. “Understanding,” says Gaillardet, “that if he did not profit by this occasion, he would have little to expect from the new reign, d’Eon resolved to put a high price on the papers in his possession. He demanded: first, that he be solemnly justified of the imputations directed against him by his enemies—especially the family of the Comte de Guerchy; second, that all the sums, indemnities, advances, etc., due him for the past 26 years, be paid, amounting in all to 318,477 livres, 16 sous.” Unable to come to any reasonable terms, the negotiations were broken off and the agent returned to France. He was replaced by another who was equally unsuccessful, and for a time the matter was dropped. In the meantime noise of the affair reached the English government, and d’Eon soon had the satisfaction of receiving large offers from that quarter if he would consent to give up the papers. The Chevalier, whatever his faults, or the violence of his character, was not a traitor; he had no intention of giving the papers in his possession to the English at any price, but he was well satisfied that their value should be thus enhanced. In the meantime, his pension was suspended and finding himself without funds, “he borrowed 5,000 pounds from his devoted friend and protector, the Lord Ferrers, giving him as security a sealed chest, which, Ferrers supposed, contained the famous correspondence. He took care, however,” says Gaillardet, “to withdraw from that deposit precisely the personal documents of the late King, which were the most important for the court of France and for himself. These papers contained a plan for the restitution of the Stuarts, a descent upon England, and other dreams, constituting what d’Eon called _le grand projet_ of Louis XV.” At this juncture Beaumarchais appeared on the scene. “To interest the latter in his cause, and give him a mark of confidence (Gaillardet) d’Eon avows with tears that he is a woman, and this avowal was made with so much art that Beaumarchais did not conceive the least doubt.”