‘Since M. D’Eon is commissioned by M. Woronzoff to see Prince de Conty, he must see him, but he is to give you an exact account of the Prince de Conty’s reply. As this will some day become publicly known, I must be informed of it by other means than these....’ * * * * * ‘August 7, 1757. ‘... The Sieur D’Eon must not communicate to anybody what he knows of the secret....’[28] D’Eon had several interviews and some secret correspondence with the Prince de Conti upon the success of his mission to St. Petersburg; but the Prince and Madame de Pompadour were no longer on good terms, she being too exacting to suit his pride, and the King would or could not make up his mind in favour of his kinsman. _Louis XV. to Tercier._ ‘Fontainebleau, September 15, 1757. ‘... If the Empress of Russia really summons the Prince de Conty to the command of her armies, and desires to give him Courland, until something better turns up, I shall be very glad; but for the present I can no longer take a direct part other than that of not offering any opposition, and give my consent when nothing else will be wanted.... I approve of your giving a cypher to the Sieur D’Eon, if he has not yet left....’ * * * * * ‘September 21, 1757. ‘... When I am morally satisfied that the Empress of Russia destines him (the Prince de Conti) for the command of her army and for Courland, I will give all authority and permission required of me. Until then I am quite averse to it, for fear of taking a false step, which might do us more harm than good....’[29] D’Eon was anxious to take to Russia a decided answer of some sort, and when on his next journey he halted five days at Strasburg by desire of the Prince, who hoped to overtake him there with some favourable settlement of his case. But nothing came. [Sidenote: THE WILL OF PETER THE GREAT.] D’Eon never wasted his time. Whilst laid up under surgical treatment, enduring no little suffering from the resetting of a broken limb, he worked at collating a mass of useful information he had obtained in Russia from various sources, producing a valuable ‘Mémoire,’ upon which he was complimented by King and ministers. In this ‘Mémoire,’ Gaillardet includes a document which has been the subject-matter of frequent controversy, its authenticity being discredited and derided—the will of Peter the Great; but he negligently omits to state where he consulted the copy of the will in D’Eon’s own hand, and as we have been unable to verify the existence of such a copy we forbear reproducing it, because otherwise it has no place here, and leave the task to some one more favoured than we could expect to be, in searching amongst the French archives.