Be that as it may, Monsieur le Comte, I believe I have severed one of the heads of the English hydra. I place at your disposal Captain d’Eon, a brave officer, an accomplished diplomatist, and possessing all the virile qualities of manhood as far as his head is concerned. He brings to the King the keys of an iron safe, securely sealed with my own seal, and containing all the papers it is necessary for the King to recover. It was, indeed, an important result; but another was necessary, which alone, in Vergennes’ opinion, could completely reassure the court in preventing for ever any recurrence of the scandal. Since he was a woman, d’Eon should declare the same officially, and wear in future the attire of his real sex. The Chevalier was hardly prepared for the last stipulation. He protested and entreated, but, seeing there was nothing to be gained by further resistance, in the end he yielded; apprehending, moreover, that he could not persist in his refusal without exciting suspicions as to the reality of his presumed sex, which would spoil everything. On October 7, 1775, Beaumarchais announced his victory to the Minister for Foreign Affairs: “Written promises to be prudent do not suffice to restrain one whose blood boils at the mere mention of de Guerchy. The positive declaration of her sex, and her engagement to live henceforth in female attire, are the only means of averting scandal and misfortunes. I have been resolute in exacting this, and have succeeded.” The semi-official negotiator had now come to a definite understanding with the strange rebel who had kept in check the French ambassador, the ministers, and the King himself. But it would seem that this affair was destined to be extraordinary from beginning to end, and the climax surpassed all that the most fertile imagination could conceive. In order that he might ratify the agreement concluded between himself and d’Eon, a kind of official character was conferred on Beaumarchais, who was promoted, from the post of secret agent which he had hitherto filled, to the rank of ambassador—ambassador to the Chevalière d’Eon. Invested with full powers, as if the matter in question were the negotiation of some important treaty, Beaumarchais signed, in the King’s name, a covenant into which d’Eon entered, thus treating with his sovereign on a footing of equality. The document, in its solemn form, is a comedy unquestionably more brilliant than any that Beaumarchais ever composed; but the merit is not due to the creator of _Figaro_, for only d’Eon could enjoy to the full the humour of the situation. The complete text of this unprecedented diplomatic deed runs as follows:—