But the worst was still to come. When the Empress became fully informed of the treaty between Prussia and England she was furious, and immediately declared that the arrangement just made between her own country and England should be declared void. Bestuzhev was frantic at this order which destroyed the work which had cost him so much time and labor. Indeed, so far did he go that the Empress reprimanded him for his impertinence. The changed condition of diplomatic relations in the world now made it more desirable than ever that France should be represented at the Russian Court. The Chevalier Douglass was sent by Louis XV to St. Petersburg for the second time. He reached there in April, 1756, and was so eager to present himself that late on the evening of his arrival he called on the Vice Chancellor and handed him a letter from the French King to the Russian Empress. The Vice Chancellor, who was in sympathy with the program of the French, made it a point to present the messenger from Paris to the Empress that very night. Elizabeth was not very well pleased that the Chevalier Douglass should be sent to her Court as an unofficial agent instead of an accredited minister, but in spite of this fact she received him graciously and listened to what he had to say. A few days later she sent for Douglass and gave him a note addressed to the French Minister of Foreign Affairs in which it was stated that it would be agreeable to her Imperial Majesty if the Chevalier Douglass was more fully authorized or accredited as chargé d’affaires, so that it would be possible for both sides to treat with greater authority on the matters included in his instructions. She added that this would not only be to the mutual advantage of both courts but would also tend to hasten their reunion in a diplomatic sense. It was further stated that notwithstanding the failure to make the Chevalier Douglass an accredited minister he would be treated with distinction and listened to with great consideration as being a person sent to Russia on the part of Louis XV. Shortly before this meeting between the Empress and Douglass, the Chevalier D’Eon had returned to Paris, but during his stay in St. Petersburg he had won the friendship and favor of the Empress. He had on numerous occasions acted as her reader and his great knowledge of men and things in all parts of the world had furnished her with more than ordinary entertainment. She learned that he had a real knowledge of art and literature and also that while living in Paris he had been in the midst of many men distinguished in literature, politics and art. Also she had him recount to her his early experiences as the son of a Tonnere lawyer and the descendant of a good family. D’Eon was not the sort of a person to boast of his personal courage, but by close questioning she learned that he had been engaged in many military exploits which redounded to his credit.