The Riverside Biographical Series

NUMBER 12

PAUL JONES

BY

HUTCHINS HAPGOOD

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The Riverside Biographical Series

1. ANDREW JACKSON, by W. G. BROWN. 

2. JAMES B. EADS, by LOUIS HOW. 

3. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, by PAUL E. MORE. 

4. PETER COOPER, by R. W. RAYMOND. 

5. THOMAS JEFFERSON, by H. C. MERWIN. 

6. WILLIAM PENN, by GEORGE HODGES. 

7. GENERAL GRANT, by WALTER ALLEN. 

8. LEWIS AND CLARK, by WILLIAM R. LIGHTON. 

9. JOHN MARSHALL, by JAMES B. THAYER. 

10. ALEXANDER HAMILTON, by CHAS. A. CONANT. 

11. WASHINGTON IRVING, by H. W. BOYNTON. 

12. PAUL JONES, by HUTCHINS HAPGOOD. 

13. STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS, by W. G. BROWN. 

14. SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN, by H. D. SEDGWICK, Jr. 

15. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, by HORACE E. SCUDDER. 

Each about 140 pages, 16mo, with photogravureportrait, vols. 1-9, 75 cents; other subsequentvols. , each 65 cents, _net_; _School Edition_, each, 50 cents, _net_. 

HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. BOSTON AND NEW YORK. 

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[Illustration: Paul Jones [signature]]

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PAUL JONES

BYHUTCHINS HAPGOOD

[Illustration: Publisher's logo]

BOSTON AND NEW YORKHOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANYThe Riverside Press, Cambridge1901

COPYRIGHT, 1901, BY HUTCHINS HAPGOOD

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

_Published November, 1901_

PREFACE

The amount of material bearing on Paul Jones is very large, and consistsmainly of his extensive correspondence, published and unpublished, hisjournals, memoirs by his private secretary and several of his officers, published and unpublished impressions by his contemporaries, and anumber of sketches and biographies, some of which contain richcollections of his letters and extracts from his journals. Thebiographies which I have found most useful are the "Life, " by John HenrySherburne, published in 1825, which is mainly a collection of Jones'scorrespondence; another volume, composed largely of extracts from hisletters and journals, called the "Janette-Taylor Collection, " publishedin 1830; the first and only extended narrative at once readable andimpartial, by Alexander Slidell MacKenzie, published in 1845; and therecently published "Life" by Augustus C. Buell. To Mr. Buell'sexhaustive work I am indebted for considerable original material nototherwise accessible to me. On the basis of the foregoing mass ofmaterial I have attempted, in a short sketch, to give merely an unbiasedaccount of the man. 

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

 I. EARLY VOYAGES 1

 II. CRUISES OF THE PROVIDENCE AND THE ALFRED 17

 III. THE CRUISE OF THE RANGER 30

 IV. EFFORTS IN FRANCE TO SECURE A COMMAND 44

 V. THE FIGHT WITH THE SERAPIS 56

 VI. DIPLOMACY AT THE TEXEL 70

 VII. SOCIETY IN PARIS 80

VIII. PRIVATE AMBITION AND PUBLIC BUSINESS 91

 IX. IN THE RUSSIAN SERVICE 108

 X. LAST DAYS 118

_The portrait is from the original by C. W. Peale, in Independence Hall_

PAUL JONES

I

EARLY VOYAGES

John Paul, known as Paul Jones, who sought restlessly for distinctionall his life, was born the son of a peasant, in July, 1747, near theocean on which he was to spend a large portion of his time. His fatherlived in Scotland, near the fishing hamlet of Arbigland, county ofKirkcudbright, on the north shore of Solway Firth, and made a living forthe family of seven children by fishing and gardening. The mother, Jeanne Macduff, was the daughter of a Highlander, and in Paul Jones'sblood the Scotch canniness and caution of his Lowland father was unitedwith the wild love of physical action native to his mother's race. 

Little is known of the early life of the fifth and famous child of theScotch gardener. He went to the parish school, but not for long, for thesea called him at an early age. When he was twelve years old he couldhandle his fishing-boat like a veteran. His skill and daring were thetalk of the village. One day James Younger, a ship-owning merchant fromWhitehaven, then a principal seaport on the neighboring coast ofEngland, visited Arbigland, in search of seamen for one of his vessels. It happened on that day that Paul Jones was out in his yawl when asevere squall arose. Mr. Younger and the villagers watched the boy bringhis small sailing-boat straight against the northeaster into the harbor;and Mr. Younger expressed his surprise to Paul's father, who remarked:"That's my boy conning the boat, Mr. Younger. This isn't much of asquall for him. " The result was that Mr. Younger took Paul back with himto Whitehaven, bound shipmaster's apprentice. A little while after that, Paul Jones made his first of a series of merchant-ship voyages to thecolonies and the West Indies. He continued in Mr. Younger's employ forfour years; when he was seventeen he made a round voyage to America assecond mate, and was first mate a year later. 

Paul left Mr. Younger's service in 1766 and acquired a sixth interest ina ship called King George's Packet, in which he went, as first mate, tothe West Indies. The business instinct, always strong in him, receivedsome satisfaction during this voyage by the transportation of blacksfrom Africa to Jamaica, where they were sold as slaves. The slave-tradewas not regarded at that time as dishonorable, but Jones's eagerness toengage in "any private enterprise"--a phrase constantly used by him--wasnot accompanied by any keen moral sensitiveness. He was always inpursuit of private gain or immediate or posthumous honor, and his grandsentiments, of which he had many, were largely histrionic in type. Afterone more voyage he gave up the slave-trading business, probably becausehe realized that no real advancement lay in that line. 

On the John O'Gaunt, in which Jones shipped for England, after leavingJamaica, the captain, mate, and all but five of the crew died of yellowfever, and the ship was taken by Paul into Whitehaven. For this hereceived a share in the cargo, and in 1768, when he was twenty-one yearsold, the owners of the John (a merchantman sailing from the same port)gave him command, and in her he made several voyages to America. Life ona merchantman is rough enough to-day, and was still rougher at thattime. To maintain discipline at sea requires a strong hand and a not toogentle tongue, and Jones was fully equipped in these necessaries. Duringthe third voyage of the John, when fever had greatly reduced the crew, Mungo Maxwell, a Jamaica mulatto, became mutinous, and Jones knocked himdown with a belaying pin. Jones satisfactorily cleared himself of theresulting charge of murder, and gave, during the trial, one of theearliest evidences of his power to express himself almost as clearly andstrongly in speech as in action. 

Up to this time in Paul's career there are two facts which stand outdefinitely: one, that his rough life, in association with common seamenfrom the time that he was twelve years old, and his lack of previouseducation, made difficult his becoming what he ardently desired tobe, --a cultivated gentleman. Stories told of his impulsive roughness inlater life, such as the quaint ones of how he used to kick hislieutenants and then invite them to dinner, are probable enough. It iseven more clear, however, that in some way he had educated himself, notonly in seamanship and navigation, but also in naval history and in theFrench and Spanish languages, to a considerable degree. On a voyage hishabit was to study late at night, and on shore, instead of carousingwith his associates, to hunt out the most distinguished person he couldfind, or otherwise to improve his condition. His passion for acquisitionwas enormous, but his early education was so deficient that hishandwriting always remained that of a schoolboy. He dictated many of hisinnumerable letters, particularly those in French, which language hespoke incorrectly but fluently. 

It was during Paul's last voyage as captain of a merchantman that theevent took place which determined him to change his name and to live inAmerica. Several years previously his brother, who had been adopted by aVirginia planter named Jones, had come at the death of the latter intopossession of the property, and Captain Paul was named as next insuccession. In 1773, when the captain reached the Rappahannock duringhis final merchant voyage, he found his brother dying, and, inaccordance with the terms of old Jones's will, he took the name by whichhe is famous and became the owner of the plantation. He consequentlygave up his sea life and settled down to "calm contemplation and poeticease, " as he expressed it at a later period. 

But Jones was very far from being contemplative, although he certainlywas rather fond of inflated poetry, and even as a planter, surrounded byhis acres and his slaves, there is no evidence that he led a lazy life. He seems to have been partly occupied in continuing the importantacquaintances he had made at the intervals between his voyages and inwatching the progress of events leading to war with England. Jones wasgiven to gallantry, and while on the plantation he carried on the socialaffairs which he afterwards continued, as recognized hero and chevalierof France, on a magnificent scale. He resisted, as he did all throughhis life, any benevolent efforts on the part of the colonial dames tomarry him off, and as the war grew nearer his activity in promoting itgrew greater. He made frequent visits to his patriot friends, met, besides Joseph Hewes, whom he had already known, Thomas Jefferson, Philip Livingston, Colonel Washington and the Lees, and was later, ifnot at this time, in an intimate official relation with Robert andGouverneur Morris. In Jones's intercourse with these men he showedhimself one of the most fiery of Whigs. In a letter to Joseph Heweswritten in 1774, he tells how a British officer made a remark reflectingon the virtue of colonial women. "I at once knocked Mr. Parker down, "he adds, in a style that suggests the straightforward character of hisofficial reports. 

Although dueling was at that time the conventional method of settlingaffairs of that nature, no personal encounter resulted between Jones andMr. Parker. Jones, indeed, did not seem averse to such an issue, for hesent a friend to propose pistols, with which he was a crack shot. It isnevertheless a striking fact that Paul Jones, the desperate fighter, whowas certainly as brave as any one, and was often placed in favorablesituations for such settlements, never fought a duel. Add to this thathis temper was quick and passionate, and that he had to the full thehigh-flown sentiments of honor of the time, and the fact seems all themore remarkable. The truth is that Jones was as cautious as he wasbrave. He acted sometimes impulsively, but reflection quickly came, andhe never manifested a dare-devil desire to put his life unnecessarily indanger. When there was anything to be gained by exposing his person, hedid it with the utmost coolness, but he consistently refused to puthimself at a disadvantage. When, on at least one occasion, he waschallenged to fight with swords, with which he was only moderatelyskillful, he demanded pistols. Fame was Jones's end, and he knew thatpremature death was inconsistent with that consummation. 

Although Jones was, at the time, in financial difficulties, he no doubtwelcomed the outbreak of the war. Service in the cause of the coloniescould not be remunerative, and Jones knew it. A privateering commandwould have paid better than a regular commission, but Jones constantlyrefused such an appointment; and yet he has been called buccaneer andpirate by many who have written about him, including as recent writersas Rudyard Kipling, John Morley, and Theodore Roosevelt. Nor is itlikely that a feeling of patriotism led Jones to serve the coloniesagainst his native land. The reason lay in his overpowering desire ofaction. He saw in the service of the colonies an opportunity to employhis energies on a larger and more glorious scale than in any other way. Service in the British navy in an important capacity was impossible fora man with no family or position. Jones accordingly went in for thehighest prize within his reach, and with the instinct of the truesportsman served well the side he had for the time espoused. 

Soon after the battle of Lexington Jones wrote a letter to Joseph Hewes, sending copies to Jefferson, Robert Morris, and Livingston. "I cannotconceive of submission to complete slavery. Therefore only war is insight. .. . I beg you to keep my name in your memory when the Congressshall assemble again, and . .. To call upon me in any capacity which yourknowledge of my seafaring experience and your opinion of myqualifications may dictate. " Soon after Congress met, a MarineCommittee, Robert Morris, chairman, was appointed, and Jones wasrequested to report on the "proper qualifications of naval officers andthe kind of armed vessels most desirable for the service of the UnitedStates, keeping in view the limited resources of the Congress. " He wasalso asked to serve on a committee to report upon the availability ofthe vessels at the disposal of Congress. Jones was practically the headof this committee, and showed the utmost industry and efficiency inselecting, arming, and preparing for sea the unimportant vessels withinthe disposition of the government. 

At the beginning of the war there was no American navy. Some of thecolonies had, indeed, fitted out merchant vessels with armaments, toresist the aggressions of the British on their coasts, and in severalinstances the cruisers of the enemy had been captured while in port byarmed citizens. The colonial government had empowered Washington, ascommander in chief, to commission some of these improvised war vesselsof the colonies to attack, in the service of the "continent, " thetransports and small cruisers of the British, in order to secure powderfor the Continental army. It was not, however, until October of 1775that the first official attempt towards the formation of a continental, as opposed to a colonial, navy, was made. The large merchant marine putat the disposal of the new government many excellent seamen and skippersand a good number of ships, few of them, however, adapted for war. Tobuild regular warships on a large scale was impossible for a nation sobadly in need of funds. It was almost equally difficult to secureofficers trained in naval matters, for the marine captains, although asa rule good seamen, were utterly lacking in naval knowledge and theprinciples of organization. 

In this state of affairs Paul Jones proved a very useful man. He was notonly a thorough seaman, but had studied the art of naval warfare, was insome respects ahead of his time in his ideas of armament, and wasfamiliar with the organization and history of the British navy. In theearly development of our navy he played, therefore, an important part, not only in equipping and arming ships for immediate service, and indetermining upon the most effective and practicable kind of vessels tobe built, but also in laying before the committee a statement of thenecessary requirements for naval officers. 

To the request of Congress for reports, Jones answered with tworemarkable documents. One was a long, logical argument in favor of swiftfrigates of a certain size, rather than ships of the line, and showedthorough knowledge, not only of naval construction and cost of building, but also of the general international situation, and the best method ofconducting the war on the sea. On the latter point he wrote: "Keepingsuch a squadron in British waters, alarming their coasts, interceptingtheir trade, and descending now and then upon their least protectedports, is the only way that we, with our slender resources, can sensiblyaffect our enemy by sea-warfare. " This is an exact outline of the policywhich Jones and other United States captains actually carried out. 

Jones also made the statement, wonderfully foreshadowing his ownexploits and their effect, that, "the capture . .. Of one or two oftheir crack frigates would raise us more in the estimation of Europe, where we now most of all need countenance, than could the defeat or evencapture of one of their armies on the land here in America. And at thesame time it would fill all England with dismay. If we show to the worldthat we can beat them afloat with an equal force, ship to ship, it willbe more than anyone else has been able to do in modern times, and itwill create a great and most desirable sentiment of respect and favortowards us on the continent of Europe, where really, I think, thequestion of our fate must ultimately be determined. 

"Beyond this, if by exceedingly desperate fighting, one of our shipsshall conquer one of theirs of markedly superior force, we shall behailed as the pioneers of a new power on the sea, with untold prospectsof development, and the prestige if not the substance of Englishdominion over the ocean will be forever broken. Happy, indeed, will bethe lot of the American captain upon whom fortune shall confer thehonor of fighting that battle!"

Jones was that happy captain, for both the events mentioned as highlydesirable he brought to pass. 

In the report on the qualifications of naval officers Jones showedhimself to be quite abreast of our own times in the philosophy of navalorganization, and, moreover, possessed of a pen quite capable ofexpressing, always with clearness and dignity and sometimes withelegance, the full maturity of his thought. George Washington, one ofwhose great qualities was the power to know men, read this report ofJones and said: "Mr. Jones is clearly not only a master mariner withinthe scope of the art of navigation, but he also holds a strong andprofound sense of the political and military weight of command on thesea. His powers of usefulness are great and must be constantly kept inview. "

Jones was appointed first lieutenant in the navy on the 22d of December, 1775. He was sixth on the list of appointees, the other five being madecaptains. Subsequent events showed that Jones would have been the bestman for the first place. He thought so himself, but hastened on boardhis ship to serve as lieutenant, and was the first man who ever hoistedthe American flag on a man-of-war, --a spectacular trifle that gave himmuch pleasure. 

II

CRUISES OF THE PROVIDENCE AND THE ALFRED

The infant squadron of the United States, under the command of EzekHopkins, consisting of the Alfred, of which Jones was the firstlieutenant, the Columbus, the Andria Doria, and the Cabot, sailed inFebruary, 1776, against Fort Nassau, New Providence Island, in theBahamas. The only vessel of any force in the squadron was the Alfred, anEast Indiaman, which Jones had armed with twenty-four nine-pounders onthe gun-deck, and six six-pounders on the quarter-deck. The only officerin the fleet who, with the exception of Jones, ever showed any abilitywas Nicholas Biddle of the Doria. The expedition, consequently, wassufficiently inglorious. A barren descent was made on New ProvidenceIsland, and later the fleet was engaged with the British sloop of warGlasgow, which, in spite of the odds against her, seems to have had thebest of the encounter. Jones was stationed between decks to command theAlfred's first battery, which he trained on the enemy with his usualefficiency. He says in his journal what was evidently true: "Mr. Jones, therefore, did his duty; and as he had no direction whatever, either ofthe general disposition of the squadron, or the sails and helm of theAlfred, he can stand charged with no part of the disgrace of thatnight. "

A number of courts-martial resulted from this inept affair and fromother initial mistakes. Captain Hazard of the Providence, a sloop of warof fourteen guns and 103 men, was dismissed from the service, and Joneswas put in command of the ship. "This proves, " said Jones, "that Mr. Jones did his duty on the Providence expedition. "

Jones continued to do his duty by making a number of energetic descentson the enemy's shipping. His method was to hunt out the merchant vesselsin harbor, whence they could not escape, rather than to search for themon the open sea. In June, 1776, he cruised in the Providence fromBermuda to the Banks of Newfoundland, a region infested with the warvessels of the British, captured sixteen vessels, made an attack onCanso, Nova Scotia, thereby releasing several American prisoners, burnedthree vessels belonging to the Cape Breton fishery, and in a descent onthe Isle of Madame destroyed several fishing smacks. He twice escaped, through superior seamanship, from heavy English frigates. One of thesestrong frigates, the Milford, continued to fire from a great distance, after the little Providence was out of danger. Of this Jones wrote: "Heexcited my contempt so much, by his continued firing, at more than twicethe proper distance, that when he rounded to, to give his broadside, Iordered my marine officer to return the salute with only a singlemusket. "

While Jones was on this cruise his plantation was ravaged by theBritish--buildings burned, live stock destroyed, and slaves carried off. He was dependent upon the income from this estate, having drawn up tothat time only £50 from the government, not for pay, but for the expenseof enlisting seamen. On his return to port he wrote to Mr. Hewes: "Itthus appears that I have no fortune left but my sword, and no prospectexcept that of getting alongside the enemy. "

It was during the same cruise that Jones, by the act of Congress ofOctober 10, 1776, was made captain in the United States navy, anappointment that brought him more bitterness of spirit than pleasure, for he was only number eighteen in the list of appointees. This was aninjustice which Jones never forgot, and to which he referred atintervals all through his life. He thought he ought to have been notlower than sixth in rank, because, by the law of the previous year, there were only five captains ahead of him. In the mean time, too, hehad done good service, while the new captains ranking above him wereuntried. It was no doubt an instance of political influence outweighingpractical service, and Jones was entitled to feel aggrieved, --aprivilege he was not likely to forego. Rank was to him a passion, notmerely because it would enable him to be more effective, but for its ownsake. He liked all the signs of display, --busts, epaulets, medals, marksof honor of all kinds. "How near to the heart, " he wrote, "of everymilitary officer is rank, which opens the door to glory!"

In regard to this appointment he wrote Thomas Jefferson a bitter andsarcastic letter. He attributed the injustice to the desire of JohnAdams to create captains from among the "respectable skippers" of NewEngland. "If their fate, " he wrote, "shall be like that of his share inthe first five captains last year, I can only say that Mr. Adams hasprobably provided for a greater number of courts-martial than of navalvictories! You are well aware, honored sir, that I have no familyconnections at my back, but rest my case wholly on what I do. As Isurvey the list of twelve captains who have been newly jumped over me bythe act of October 10th, I cannot help seeing that all but three arepersons of high family connection in the bailiwick of Mr. Adams!"

He wrote, at this time and later, many vehement letters about these"skippers. " To Joseph Hewes: "There are characters among the thirteen onthe list who are truly contemptible--with such, as a private gentleman, I would disdain to sit down--I would disdain to be acquainted. .. . Untilthey give proof of their superior ability, I never shall acknowledgethem as my senior officers--I never will act under their command. " Hewrote to Robert Morris: " . .. Nor will I ever draw my sword under thecommand of any man who was not in the service as early as myself, unlesshe hath merited a preference by his superior services or abilities. " Inthese and similar remarks, Jones did not show that sense of absolutesubordination which he had said, in his report on the qualifications ofnaval officers, was of prime importance, and which he strenuouslydemanded from his inferiors in rank. He was always jealous of anysuperior in his own line, but, fortunately, after his first cruise, hewas always the ranking officer on his ship. 

Jones protested, however, without avail, but on the 4th of November, 1776, he was put in command of the Alfred, and with the Providence incompany made a cruise of about a month, captured seven merchant ships ofthe enemy, several of them carrying valuable supplies to the army, andagain cleverly avoided the superior British frigates. Complaining of theaction of the Providence, "which gave him the slip in the night, " as heput it, Jones wrote Hewes: "If such doings are permitted, the navy willnever rise above contempt!. .. The aforesaid noble captain doth notunderstand the first case of plain Trigonometry. " On the subject of thenavy he wrote Robert Morris, at a later period: "The navy is in awretched condition. It wants a man of ability at its head who couldbring on a purgation, and distinguish between the abilities of agentleman and those of a mere sailor or boatswain's mate. " In stillanother letter: "If my feeble voice is heard when I return toPhiladelphia, our navy matters will assume a better face. " Again, aslate as 1782, he wrote Captain O'Neill: "I am altogether in the darkabout what has been done to reëstablish the credit of our marine. In thecourse of near seven years' service I have continually suggested whathas occurred to me as most likely to promote its honor and render itserviceable; but my voice has been like a cry in the wilderness. "

After his return from the cruise in the Alfred, Jones served on theBoard of Advice to the Marine Committee, and was very useful in manyways. He urged strongly the necessity of making a cruise in Europeanwaters for the sake of moral prestige, --he, of course, to be in commandof the squadron. His energy and dashing character made a strongimpression on Lafayette, who was then in the country, and who heartilysupported Jones in the projected scheme. Lafayette was one of thestrongest advocates for an alliance between the colonies and France, andbelieved that a fleet fitted out in French ports under the UnitedStates flag would not only help out the weak colonial navy, but wouldprecipitate war between England and France. He wrote a letter to GeneralWashington strongly recommending Jones as leader of such an undertaking. About the same time Jones had an interview with Washington to appealagainst what he deemed another injustice. The Trumbull, one of the finenew frigates just completed and built in accordance with Jones'srecommendations, was placed under the command of Captain Saltonstall, who had been captain of the Alfred when Jones was first lieutenant ofthe same ship, and against whom the latter had made charges ofincompetence. Jones did not get the Trumbull, but the interview wasprobably instrumental in procuring an order from the Marine Committeefor Jones to enlist seamen for a European cruise. On June 14, 1777, Congress appointed him to the command of the sloop of war Ranger, eighteen guns, and on the same day the permanent flag of the UnitedStates was determined upon. Jones, as usual, saw his spectacularopportunity and said: "That flag and I are twins; born the same hourfrom the same womb of destiny. We cannot be parted in life or in death. So long as we can float, we shall float together. If we must sink, weshall go down as one!"

Jones, with the Ranger, sailed for France under the Stars and StripesNovember 1, 1777, bearing with him dispatches to the Americancommissioners, the news of Burgoyne's surrender, and instructions fromthe Marine Committee to the commissioners to invest him with a fineswift-sailing frigate. On his arrival at Nantes he immediately sent tothe commissioners--Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee--aletter developing his general scheme of annoying the enemy. "It seems tobe our most natural province, " he wrote, "to surprise their defenselessplaces, and thereby divert their attention and draw it from our owncoasts. "

It had been the intention of the commissioners to give Jones the Indien, a fine strong frigate building secretly at Amsterdam. But this proved tobe one more of Jones's many disappointments, for the British ministerto the Netherlands discovered the destination of the vessel andprotested to the States-General. The result was that the commissionerswere forced to sell the ship to France, to keep her out of the hands ofEngland, and Jones was compelled to make his invasion in the Ranger. 

While proceeding in this little sloop to L'Orient, for the purpose offitting her out, he met the great French fleet and demanded and obtainedthe first salute ever given the United States flag by the war vessels ofa foreign power. He wrote to the Marine Committee triumphantly: "I amhappy in having it in my power to congratulate you on my having seen theAmerican flag, for the first time, recognized in the fullest andcompletest manner by the flag of France. .. . It was in fact anacknowledgment of American independence. " As the secret treaty betweenFrance and the United States was signed about that time, it perhapsneeded less than the pertinacity of Paul Jones to extract a salute fromthe imperial fleet. Shortly before sailing on his first famous cruise, the restless man sent Silas Deane a letter proposing a plan ofoperations for the French fleet in the coming war with England. Thescheme was for the superior French fleet to attack the English fleetunder Lord Howe, and destroy it or block it up in the Delaware. Jonessaid in his journal that the plan, which was adopted, would havesucceeded if it had been put in immediate execution, and complainedbecause the credit of the scheme had been given to others. 

This was only one of the bits of business which the energetic Jonestransacted before he sailed in the Ranger to harass England. He wrote, as usual, innumerable letters, proposing, condemning, recommending. Hehad trouble with an insubordinate first lieutenant. He began, too, hissocial career in France. It was then that he met the Duchesse deChartres, great-granddaughter of Louis XIV. And mother of LouisPhilippe, who at a later time called Jones the Bayard of the Sea, andwhom Jones at that time promised "to lay an English frigate at herfeet. " He kept his word in spirit, for years afterwards he gave her thesword of Captain Pearson, commander of his famous prize, the Serapis. 

III

THE CRUISE OF THE RANGER

Jones started on his cruise in the Ranger April 10, 1778, and, aftertaking several unimportant prizes on the way to the Irish Channel, decided to make a descent upon the town that had served him asheadquarters when he was a merchant sailor, Whitehaven, where he knewthere were about two hundred and fifty merchant ships, which he hoped todestroy; "to put an end, " as he said, "by one good fire, in England, ofshipping, to all the burnings in America. "

Owing to contrary winds Jones was unable to make the attack untilmidnight of April 22. His daring scheme was, with the small force ofthirty-two men in two small boats, to land in a hostile port, defendedby two forts, surprise the sleeping inhabitants, and burn the shipsbefore the people could assemble against him. By the time the boatsreached the outer pier, day had dawned and no time was to be lost. Theforts were surprised and taken, the guns spiked by Jones with his ownhand; but while he was thus occupied his officers had failed to fire theshipping, in accordance with his orders, Lieutenant Wallingford statingas an excuse that "nothing could be gained by burning poor people'sproperty. " Jones thought otherwise, however; and although thetownspeople were beginning to assemble in consequence of the pistolsthat had been fired in capturing the forts, he made fire in the steerageof a large ship, closely surrounded by many others, and an enormousconflagration ensued. He stood, pistol in hand, near the burning wreck, and kept off the constantly increasing crowd until the sun was an hourhigh, when he and his men retired to the Ranger, taking away with themthree of the captured soldiers, "as a sample, " Jones said, and followedby the eyes of the gaping multitude of English country folk. 

Although the amount of property destroyed by this raid was small, theimportance of it was considerable, and is well stated by Jones himself, who, if proper allowance is made for the effects of his vanity, is, as arule, his own best biographer: "The moral effect of it was very great, "he writes, "as it taught the English that the fancied security of theircoasts was a myth, and thereby compelled their government to takeexpensive measures for the defense of numerous ports hitherto relyingfor protection wholly on the vigilance and supposed omnipotence of theirnavy. It also doubled or more the rates of insurance, which in the longrun proved the most grievous damage of all. "

On the same day Jones made a descent on the estate of the Earl ofSelkirk, near his old home in Kirkcudbright, with the intention ofcarrying off the earl as a hostage. But the earl was not at home, andJones consented, he says, to let his men, mutinous and greedy, seize theSelkirk family plate, which Jones put himself at a great deal of troubleand some expense to restore at a later date. This incident isinteresting chiefly as it was the cause of a letter illustrative ofJones's character, sent by him to the Countess of Selkirk, who waspresent at the time of the raid. After stating in rather inflatedlypolite terms that he could not well restrain his men from the raid, Jones promised to return the plate, condemned the brutalities of theEnglish, spoke of the horrors of war, boasted of his victory over theDrake the evening following the raid, spoke of the English dead and hischivalrous treatment of them, --"I buried them in a spacious grave, withthe honors due to the memory of the brave, "--and then made the followingrather amusing statements: "Though I have drawn my sword in the presentgenerous struggle for the rights of men, yet I am not in arms as anAmerican, nor am I in pursuit of riches. My fortune is liberal enough, having no wife nor family, and having lived long enough to know thatriches cannot secure happiness. I profess myself a citizen of the world, totally unfettered by the little mean distinctions of climate or ofcountry, which diminish the benevolence of the heart and set bounds tophilanthropy. Before this war had begun, I had, at an early time oflife, withdrawn from sea service in favor of 'calm contemplation andpoetic ease. ' I have sacrificed not only my favorite scheme of life, butthe softer affections of the heart and my prospects of domestichappiness, and I am ready to sacrifice my life also with cheerfulness ifthat forfeiture could restore peace among mankind. .. . I hope this cruelcontest will soon be closed; but should it continue, I wage no war withthe fair. I acknowledge their force, and bend before it withsubmission. "

Jones was probably sincere when he wrote that letter, although it isfull of misstatements. He was not a self-conscious man and did notanalyze his motives very carefully. He always posed, with perfectsincerity, as a hero, and when he had to do with a distinguished womanhis exalted words exactly expressed, no doubt, his sentiments. 

Jones's next exploit was the famous capture of the Drake on April 23. Previous to the attack on Whitehaven, while off Carrickfergus, he hadconceived the bold project of running into Belfast Loch, where theBritish man-of-war Drake, of twenty guns, was at anchor; where he hopedto overlay the Drake's cable, fall foul of her bow, and thus, with herdecks exposed to the Ranger's musketry, to board. He did, indeed, enterthe harbor at night, but failed after repeated efforts, on account ofthe strong wind, to get in a proper position to board. Three days later, after the Earl of Selkirk affair, Jones was again off Carrickfergus, looking for the Drake, which, having heard of his devastations from thealarmed country people, sailed out to punish the invader of the sacredsoil of England. The two sloops of war were very nearly matched, thoughthe Drake technically rated at twenty guns and the Ranger at eighteen. When they came within range of one another they hoisted their colorsalmost at the same time, but the Drake hailed:--

"What ship is that?"

Jones directed the sailing-master to answer:

"The American Continental ship Ranger. We are waiting for you. Come on. The sun is now near setting, and it is time to begin. "

The Ranger then opened fire with a full broadside. The Drake repliedwith the same, and the two ships ran along together at close quarters, pouring in broadsides for more than an hour, when the enemy called forquarter. The action had been, as Jones said in his terse officialreport, "warm, close, and obstinate. " There was little manoeuvring, just straight fighting, the victory being due, according to Jones, tothe superior gunnery of the Americans. At first Jones's gunners hulledthe Drake, as she rolled, below the water-line, but Jones desired totake the enemy's ship as a prize, rather than to sink her, and told hismen so. 

"The alert fellows, " he said in a letter to Joseph Hewes, "instantlytook this hint and began firing as their muzzles rose, by which practicethey soon crippled the Drake's spars and rigging, and made her anunmanageable log on the water. I am persuaded that if I had not advisedthem to this effect, my gunners would have sunk the Drake in an hour! Asit was, we had to put spare sails over the side after she struck, tokeep her afloat, and careen her as much as we could the next day to plugthe holes they had already made between wind and water. "

The Drake, indeed, was almost a wreck, while the Ranger was littleinjured. Jones lost only two men killed and six wounded, to the enemy'sapproximate loss of forty-two killed and wounded. It was the firstbattle of the war which resulted in the capture of a regular Britishman-of-war by a ship of equal if not inferior force. The Drake belongedto a regularly established navy, not accustomed to defeat. Perhaps thatfact inspired her commander with overconfidence, but McKenzie'sstatement of the cause of the victory is no doubt correct: "The result, "he said, "was eminently due to the skill and courage of Jones, and hisinflexible resolution to conquer. " That resolution, which was indeed acharacteristic of Jones, reached on at least one occasion, that of thelater battle with the Serapis, a degree of inflexibility which amountedto genius. 

The effect of this bold cruise was great. Jones had not, however, beenthe only American captain, by any means, to render good service indestroying the commerce of the enemy and in annoying the British coast. Before the French alliance more than six hundred British vessels fell aprey to American cruisers, mainly privateers. There were, likewise, captains in the regular United States navy who had before this cruise ofJones's borne the flag to Europe. The first of these was the gallantWickes, in the summer of 1777. Though Jones was not the first captain, therefore, to make a brilliant and destructive cruise in the EnglishChannel, he was nevertheless the first to inspire terror among theinhabitants by incursions inshore. The cruise of the little Rangershowed that the British, when they ravaged the coast of New England, might expect effective retaliation on their own shores; and the captureof the Drake inspired France, then about to take arms in support of theAmerican cause, by the realization of what they themselves had longed todo--to worst England on the high seas--with increased respect for theirallies. It filled Great Britain with wild, exaggerated, and unjustcondemnation of Paul Jones, who has been looked upon for more than ahundred years, and is even to-day in England, by sober historians, as abloody-handed, desperate buccaneer. The persistent charge, often of laterefuted, hardly needs refutation, in view of the well-authenticated factthat Jones never served on a war vessel except under a regularcommission. Moreover, he was a man too ambitious and too sensible tohurt his prospects by being anything so low and undistinguished as apirate. 

After the battle with the Drake, Jones saw that he would have to bringthe cruise to a close. His crew of 139 men had, through the necessity ofmanning the several merchant prizes and the Drake, been reduced toeighty-six men, and he consequently put into Brest, reluctantly, on the8th of May, 1778. He was there met by the great French fleet, thenactually at war with England, and he and his prize were admired byvisiting French officers. From that time Jones, hated in England, was ahero in France, fêted whenever he was at the capital, and favored byfair ladies. 

He was a hero, however, with a thorny path all through life. He arrivedat Brest with a miserably clothed, wholly unpaid, discontented, andpartly mutinous crew. During the voyage his first lieutenant, Simpson, had stirred up dissatisfaction among the men, and had refused to obeyorders, for which Jones had him put in irons. The unpaid men, notassigning their troubles to the true but unseen cause, the poverty ofthe government, easily believed that their captain was responsible forall their ills. Under no conditions, however, was Jones likely to bepopular with the greater number of his men, for the energetic man wasbent on making them, as well as himself, work for glory to theuttermost, and the common run of seamen care more for ease and pelf thanfor fame. Jones's unpopularity with the crew of the Ranger is attestedby a passage from the diary of Ezra Green, one of Jones's officers, onthe occasion, at a later period, of the Ranger's sailing back toAmerica: "This day Thomas Simpson, Esq. , came on board with orders totake command of the Ranger; to the joy and satisfaction of the wholeship's company. "

With the impulsive inconsistency which, in spite of his shrewdness, sometimes marked his conduct, Jones alternately demanded a court-martialfor Simpson and recommended him to the command of the Ranger, he himselfhoping for a more important vessel; it was Jones's own conduct, as muchas any other circumstance, which finally resulted in the sailing away ofthe Ranger under the mutinous Simpson. With the frankness customary withhim when not writing to anybody particularly distinguished, Jones wroteSimpson, at one stage of their quarrel: "The trouble with you, Mr. Simpson, is that you have the heart of a lion and the head of a sheep. "

Even more annoying to the imperious and high-handed Jones than thetrouble with Simpson was the manner in which, on his arrival at Brest, the commissioners refused to honor his draft for 24, 000 livres. He helda letter of credit authorizing him to draw on the commissioners formoney to defray necessary expenses; but instead of dealing with theregular American agent at Brest, he placed his order with a Brestmerchant, who, when Jones's draft was returned dishonored, stopped hissupplies. Jones thereupon wrote the commissioners: "I know not where orhow to provide food for to-morrow's dinner to feed the great number ofmouths that depend on me for food. Are then the Continental ships of warto depend on sale of their prizes for the daily dinner of their men?Publish it not 'in Gath'!"

He then, without authority, but very possibly forced by the necessitiesof his crew, sold one of his prizes, with the money from which he paidthe Brest merchant. Of this act he said: "I could not waste timediscussing questions of authority when my crew and prisoners werestarving. "

The point of view of the commissioners is tersely expressed in a letterfrom them to the French Minister of Marine, de Sartine, June 15, 1778:"We think it extremely irregular . .. In captains of ships of war to drawfor any sums they please without previous notice and expresspermission. .. . Captain Jones has had of us near a hundred thousandlivres for such purposes [necessaries]. "

The frugality of Benjamin Franklin, the most important commissioner, iswell known, and also the financial straits of the country at that time. That Jones was in a difficult position at Brest is certain, and heperhaps asked for no more than he needed. But that he was naturallyinclined to extravagant expenditure there can be no doubt, --a fact thatwill appear saliently in a later stage of this narrative. 

IV

EFFORTS IN FRANCE TO SECURE A COMMAND

War having broken out between England and France, Jones was detained inEurope, instead of sailing home in the Ranger, through the request ofthe French Minister of Marine, de Sartine, who wished an importantcommand to be assigned to the famous conqueror of the Drake. Thedifficulties, however, in the way of doing so were great. Thecommissioners had few resources, and one of them, Arthur Lee, washostile to Jones. Moreover the French government naturally thought firstof its own officers, of whom there were too many for the availablevessels. Several privateering expeditions were suggested to Jones, whichhe quite justly rejected. Several opportunities had also been given himfor small commands, which he had likewise rejected. His manner in doingso could not exactly be called diplomatic. He wrote M. Chaumont, thatpatriotic and benevolent gentleman whom Jones alternately flattered andreviled, a rather typical letter: "I wish to have no connection with anyship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go _in harm's way_. Youknow, I believe, that this is not every one's intention. Therefore buy afrigate that sails fast, and that is sufficiently large to carrytwenty-six or twenty-eight guns on one deck. I would rather be shotashore than sent to sea in such things as the armed prizes I havedescribed. "

The innumerable delays which consequently intervened between his arrivalat Brest, in May, 1778, and his departure on his next cruise a yearlater, in June, 1779, put the active Scotchman in a state of constantirritation. He continued his dunning correspondence with the greatestenergy, alternately cajoling, proposing, complaining, begging to be senton some important enterprise. He wrote innumerable letters to deSartine, Franklin, the Duc de Rochefoucauld, de Chaumont, and manyothers, and finally to the king himself, with whom he afterwards had aninterview. The statement of his wrongs in his letter to the king, reiterated in letters to many others, involves an account of the manypromises de Sartine had made and broken, and of Jones's variousimportant proposals for the public good, which had been slighted. 

"Thus, sire, " he writes, "have I been chained down to shamefulinactivity for nearly five months. I have lost the best season of theyear and such opportunities of serving my country and acquiring honor asI can hardly expect again in this war; and to my infinite mortification, having no command, I am considered everywhere an officer cast off and indisgrace for secret reasons. "

Jones's pertinacity and perseverance in working for a command are quiteon a par with his indomitable resolution in battle, and he was finallyrewarded, probably through the king's direct order, by being put incommand of a small squadron, with which he made the cruise resulting inthe capture of the Serapis and in his own fame. 

Jones was highly delighted with the appointment, but his troublescontinued in full measure, and to all his troubles Jones gave wide andfrequent publicity. All the ships of his squadron, with the exception ofthe Alliance, were French, largely officered and manned by Frenchmen. The expense of fitting out the expedition was the king's. The flag andthe commissions of the officers were American. The object of the Frenchgovernment was to secure the services of the marauding Jones against thecoasts and shipping of England. This could better be done under theUnited States flag than under that of France; for the rules of civilizedwarfare had up to that time prevented the British from ravaging thecoasts of France as they had those of rebel America, and France wastherefore not morally justified in harassing the English shipping andcoasts directly; as, on the principle of retaliation, it was fair forAmerica to do. 

This peculiar character of the expedition brought with it many drawbacksand difficulties for the unfortunate Jones. He had a motley array ofships, --those which were left over after the French officers had beensatisfied. The flagship, the Bonhomme Richard, was a worn-out old EastIndiaman, which Jones refitted and armed with six eighteen-pounders, twenty-eight twelve-pounders, and eight nine-pounders--a battery offorty-two guns. The crew of 375, of many nationalities, contained, whenthe fleet sailed, only about fifty Americans; but fortunately, a fewdays later, Jones was compelled to put back to port, where he wasunexpectedly able, owing to a recent exchange of prisoners, to get ridof some of his aliens, and to secure 114 American officers and sailors, who proved to be the backbone of the Richard's crew. The Alliance, theonly American ship, was a good frigate rating as a large thirty-two ormedium thirty-six, but captained by a mad Frenchman in the Americanservice, Landais, who refused to obey Jones, and in the important fightwith the Serapis turned his guns against his commander. The Pallas, thirty-two guns, the Vengeance, twelve guns, and the little Cerf wereall officered and manned by Frenchmen. 

The greatest hindrance, however, to the efficiency of the squadron wasthe famous _concordat_, or agreement between the captains, which Joneswas compelled to sign just before sailing. The terms, indeed, whichrelated largely to the distribution of prize money, left Jones in theposition of commander in chief, but the fact that there was anyagreement whatever between Jones and his subordinates weakened hisauthority. Of this, as of so many other injustices, Jones complainedmost bitterly all through his subsequent life. He signed it, however, because, he said in his journal, he feared that he would otherwise beremoved from his position as commodore. In a letter to Hewes he gaveFranklin's command as the cause. 

The squadron, accompanied at the outset by two French privateers, sailedfinally from L'Orient, after one futile attempt, August 14, 1779, andmade during the first forty days of the fifty days' cruise a number ofunimportant prizes. On the 18th of August, the privateer Monsieur, which was not bound by the _concordat_, took a prize, which the captainof the Monsieur rifled, and then ordered into port. Jones, however, opposed the captain's order, and sent the prize to L'Orient, whereuponthe Monsieur parted company with the squadron. According to Fanning, oneof Jones's midshipmen, who has left a spirited account of the cruise, Jones attempted to prevent the departure of the privateer by force, andwhen she escaped was so angry that he "struck several of his officerswith his speaking trumpet over their heads, " and confined one of thembelow, but immediately afterwards invited him to dinner. "Thus it waswith Jones, " says Fanning, "passionate to the highest degree one minute, and the next ready to make a reconciliation. "

The defection of the Monsieur was, however, only the beginning ofJones's troubles with the insubordinate officers. While attempting tocapture a brigantine, Jones, through the desertion of some of hisEnglish sailors, lost two of his small boats, for which he was bitterlyand unjustly reproached by the crazy, incompetent, and greedy Landais, captain of the Alliance, who said that hereafter he would chase in themanner he saw fit. Shortly afterwards, the Cerf abruptly left the fleet, and the other privateer also went off on its own account. Jones was leftwith only the Bonhomme Richard, the Pallas, the Vengeance, and theAlliance; and it would have been better, as the result showed, if thelast-mentioned vessel and its extraordinary captain had also decamped atthis time for good. Landais paid no attention to Jones's signals, butleft the squadron for days, unfortunately returning. Against Jones'sorders he sent two prizes into Bergen, Norway, where they were given bythe Danish government to the English, and were for many years after thewar a source of trouble between Denmark and the United States. 

Jones was also compelled to treat with the other French captains, andseveral times modified his course in compliance with their demands. Hehad formed a daring design to lay Leith, on the coast of Scotland, andperhaps Edinburgh, under contribution, but first he had to argue thematter with his captains. Fanning says: "Jones displayed so artfully hisarguments in favor of his plan that it was agreed pretty unanimously toput it in immediate execution. " Jones's art was manifested in thisinstance, according to his account, by showing the captains "a largeheap of gold at the end of the prospect. " During this enforcedconference, however, the wind shifted, and the undertaking had to begiven up. Fanning quaintly remarks: "All his [Jones's] vast projects ofwealth and aggrandizement became at once a shadow that passeth away, never more to appear again!"

Jones, however, said that he would have succeeded, even at this latehour, if his plan had been followed, and showed a touch of the weak sideof his character when he added: "Nothing prevented me from pursuing mydesign but the reproach that would have been cast upon my character, asa man of prudence, had the enterprise miscarried. It would have beensaid: 'Was he not forewarned by Captain Cottineau and others?'"

With his old ship, his motley squadron, and his insubordinate officers, Jones then cruised along the Yorkshire coast, destroyed or captured anumber of vessels, and was preparing to end his voyage at the Texel, Holland, when chance threw in his way the opportunity which he sogreatly embraced. 

On the 23d of September the squadron was chasing a ship off FlamboroughHead, when the Baltic fleet of merchantmen, for which Jones had beenlooking, hove in sight. The commodore hoisted the signal for a generalchase. Landais, however, ignored the signal and went off by himself. Themerchant ships, when they saw Jones's squadron bearing down upon them, made for the shore and escaped, protected by two ships of war, frigates, which stood out and made preparations to fight, in order to save theirconvoy. 

These British ships of war were the Serapis, a new frigate of forty-fourguns, and the Countess of Scarborough, twenty guns. The Alliance, atthat time, which was late in the afternoon, was not in sight, and thelittle Vengeance, which had been sent to look for Landais, was also notavailable. There were, therefore, two ships on each side, and Jonesordered Captain Cottineau, of the Pallas, to look after the Countess ofScarborough, while he himself took care of the Serapis. Jones never losthis head in action, and yet he decided, with that "cool, determinedbravery, " of which Benjamin Franklin spoke, and with "that presence ofmind which never deserted him" in action, recorded by Fanning, to engagea ship known by him to be the superior of the Bonhomme Richard in almostevery respect. It has been said of Jones by one who fought with him thatonly in battle was he absolutely at ease: only at times of comparativeinaction, when he could not exert himself fully, was he restless andirritable. On this occasion he joyfully engaged a ship which threw aweight of metal superior to his by three to two, that sailed muchfaster, and was consequently at an advantage in manoeuvring forposition, and that had a crew equal to that of Jones in numbers, andfar more disciplined and homogeneous. A battle resulted which fordesperate fighting has never been excelled, and perhaps never equaled onthe sea. 

V

THE FIGHT WITH THE SERAPIS

Jones crowded on all possible sail, and the Bonhomme Richard came withinpistol shot of the Serapis. It was seven o'clock of a fine moonlightnight. Captain Pearson, of the British ship, then hailed, and wasanswered with a whole broadside from the Bonhomme Richard, an unfriendlysalute which was promptly returned by the British ship. 

From the beginning the fight seemed to go against the Bonhomme Richard. There was hardly any stage of the three and a half hours' desperatecombat when Jones might not, with perfect propriety, have surrendered. Hardly had the battle begun when two of the six old eighteen-poundersforming the battery of the lower gun-deck of the Richard exploded, killing the men working them and rendering the whole battery useless forthe rest of the action. Captain Pearson, perceiving his advantage inspeed and power of shot, attempted again and again to pass the bow ofthe Richard and rake her. Jones's whole effort, on the other hand, wasto close with the Serapis and board, knowing that it was only a questionof time when, in a broadside fight, the Richard would be sunk. 

After the broadsiding had continued with unremitting fury for aboutthree quarters of an hour, and several of the Richard's twelve-poundersalso had been put out of action, Captain Pearson thought he saw anopportunity, the Serapis having veered and drawn ahead of the Richard, to luff athwart the latter's hawse and rake her. But he attempted themanoeuvre too soon, and perceiving that the two ships would be broughttogether if he persisted in his course, he put his helm alee, bringingthe two vessels in a line; and the Serapis having lost her headway bythis evolution, the Richard ran into her weather quarter. Jones wasquick to make his first attempt to board, but he could not mass enoughmen at the point of contact to succeed, and the ships soon swung apart. 

The Richard, even at this early stage of the action, was in a deplorablecondition. Little of her starboard battery was left. Henry Gardner, agunner during the action, stated in his account of the battle that, atthis time, of the 140 odd officers and men stationed in the maingun-deck battery at the beginning, over eighty were killed or wounded. There were three or four feet of water in the hold, caused by theSerapis's eighteen-pound shot, which had repeatedly pierced the hull ofthe Richard. 

It is no wonder that Captain Pearson, knowing that his enemy was hardput to it, thought, after the failure to board, that Jones was ready tosurrender. 

"Has your ship struck?" he called, and Jones made his famous reply:--

"I have not yet begun to fight. "

That Jones really made some such reply, there is no doubt. Certainly, itwas characteristic enough. Jones fought all his life, and yet when hedied he had hardly begun the conflict, so many of his ambitiousprojects remained unrealized. 

When the ships had swung apart, the broadsiding continued, increasinglyto the advantage of the Serapis. Had not a lucky wind, favorable to theRichard, arisen at this point, doubtless her time above water would havebeen short. The veering and freshening breeze enabled the Richard toblanket the enemy's vessel, which consequently lost her headway, andanother fortunate puff of wind brought the Richard in contact with theSerapis in such a way that the two vessels lay alongside one another, bow to stern, and stern to bow. Jones, with his own hand, helped to lashthe two ships together. The anchor of the Serapis fortunately hooked thequarter of the Richard, thus binding the frigates still more firmlytogether. 

During the critical time when Jones was bending every nerve to grapplewith the Serapis, the Alliance made her first appearance, poured abroadside or two into the Richard, and disappeared. Of this remarkabledeed Jones wrote to Dr. Franklin: "At last the Alliance appeared, and Inow thought the battle at an end; but to my utter astonishment hedischarged a broadside full into the stern of the Bon Homme Richard. " Itis probable that the Serapis also suffered from Landais's attack, butnot so much as the Richard, which lay between the other two ships. 

After the Serapis and the Richard had been well lashed together, therebegan a new phase of the battle, which had already lasted about an hour. There were only three guns left in action on the Richard, nine-pounderson the quarter-deck, and the ship was badly leaking. Theeighteen-pounders of the enemy had riddled the gun-deck of the Americanship, rendering her, below-decks, entirely untenable. The real fightfrom this time to the end was consequently above-decks. Jones abandonedany attempt at great gun fire, except by the three small pieces on thequarter-deck, drew practically his entire remaining crew from below tothe upper deck and the tops, and devoted his attention to sweeping thedecks of the enemy by the musketry of his French marines from thequarter and poop decks, and of the American sailors in the tops. Thecrew of the Serapis, on the other hand, were forced mainly to takerefuge in their well-protected lower decks, from which they continued tofire their great guns into the already riddled hull and lower decks ofthe Richard. 

After the juncture of the vessels Captain Pearson made several desperateattempts to cut the anchor loose, hoping in that way to become freeagain of the Richard, in which case he knew that the battle was his. Jones, of course, was equally determined to defend the anchorfastenings. He personally directed the fire of his French marinesagainst the British in their repeated attempts to sever the two ships, to such good purpose that not a single British sailor reached thecoveted goal. So determined was Jones on this important point that hetook loaded muskets from the hands of his French marines and shot downseveral of the British with his own hand. 

The captain of the French marines, who rendered at this important stageof the action such good service, had been wounded early in the battle, and the succeeding lieutenants had also been either killed or disabled. The marines had been greatly diminished in numbers and were muchdisheartened at the time Jones took personal command of them. NathanielFanning vividly narrates the manner in which Jones handled theseFrenchmen: "I could distinctly hear, amid the crashing of the musketry, the great voice of the commodore, cheering the French marines in theirown tongue, uttering such imprecations upon the enemy as I never beforeor since heard in French or any other language, exhorting them to takegood aim, pointing out objects for their fire, and frequently givingthem direct example by taking their loaded muskets from their hands intohis and firing himself. In fact, toward the very last, he had about hima group of half a dozen marines who did nothing but load their firelocksand hand them to the commodore, who fired them from his own shoulder, standing on the quarter-deck rail by the main topmast backstay. "

A French sailor, Pierre Gerard, who has left a memoir of the battle, tells how his countrymen responded to Jones's presence: "Commodore Jonessprang among the shaking marines on the quarter-deck like a tiger amongcalves. They responded instantly to him. In an instant they were filledwith courage! The indomitable spirit, the unconquerable courage of thecommodore penetrated every soul, and every one who saw his example orheard his voice became as much a hero as himself!"

Both vessels were at this time, and later, on fire in various places. Captain Pearson says in his official report that the Serapis was on fireno less than ten or twelve times. Half the men on both ships had beenkilled or disabled. The leak in the Richard's hold grew steadily worse, and the mainmast of the Serapis was about to go by the board. TheAlliance again appeared and, paying no heed to Jones's signal to lay theSerapis alongside, raked both vessels for a few minutesindiscriminately, went serenely on her way, and brought her ingloriousand inexplicable part in the action to a close. Captain Pearson had, fora moment, towards the end of the action, a ray of hope. A gunner on theRichard, thinking the ship was actually sinking, called for quarter, butJones stunned him with the butt end of a pistol, and replied to Pearson, who had again hailed to know if the Richard had struck, to quote his ownreport, "in the most determined negative. " About the same time, themaster at arms, also believing the ship to be sinking, opened thehatches and released nearly two hundred British prisoners, taken in thevarious prizes of the cruise. 

Nothing, apparently, could be more desperate than the situation of PaulJones then. His guns useless, his ship sinking and on fire, half of hiscrew dead or disabled, the Alliance firing into him, a portion of hiscrew panic-stricken, and two hundred British prisoners at large on theship! But with Lieutenant Richard Dale to help him, he boldly orderedthe prisoners to man the pumps, and continued the fight withundiminished energy. Soon after occurred the event which practicallydecided the battle in his favor. He had given orders to drop handgrenades from the tops of the Richard down through the enemy's mainhatch. It was by this means that the Serapis had been so often set onfire. Now at an opportune moment, a hand grenade fell among a pile ofcartridges strung out on the deck of the Serapis and caused a terribleexplosion, killing many men. This seemed to reduce materially thefighting appetite of the British, and soon after a party of seamen fromthe Richard, with the dashing John Mayrant at their head, boarded theSerapis, and met with little resistance. Captain Pearson thereuponstruck his colors, and the victory which marked the zenith of Jones'scareer, and upon which all else in his life merely served as commentary, was scored. Captain Pearson, in his court-martial, which was a formalityin the British navy in case of defeat, explained Jones's victory in anutshell: "It was clearly apparent, " he said, "that the American shipwas dominated by a commanding will of the most unalterable resolution, "and again, "the extraordinary and unheard-of desperate stubbornness ofmy adversary had so depressed the spirits of my people that, when morethan two hundred had been slain or disabled out of 317 all told, I couldnot urge the remnant to further resistance. "

The capture of the British ship, which took place about half-past ten atnight, came none too soon, for the old Bonhomme Richard was sinking. Theflames were extinguished by combined efforts of crew and prisoners byten o'clock the next morning, but with seven feet of water, constantlyincreasing in the hold, it was then apparent that it was impossible tokeep the old vessel afloat, and men, prisoners, and powder weretransferred to the Serapis. On the morning of the 25th Jones obtained, "with inexpressible grief, " as he said, "the last glimpse of theBonhomme Richard, " as she went down. 

The desperate battle fought in the bright moonlight was witnessed bymany persons in Scarborough and on Flamborough Head, and they spreadthe alarming tidings throughout England. In a letter to Robert Morris, written soon after, Jones said, of the cruise in general: "We alarmedtheir coasts prodigiously from Cape Clear round to Hull; and had I notbeen concerned with sons of interest I could have done much. "

With his two new prizes (for the Countess of Scarborough had after ashort action struck to the greatly superior Pallas) Jones set off forthe Texel, with a most dilapidated crew and fleet. The Alliance, wellcalled a "Comet" by the editor of the Janette-Taylor collection ofJones's papers, disappeared again after the battle. Landais, whoseconduct was described by Jones as being that of "either a fool, amadman, or a villain, " was afterwards dismissed the service, but notuntil he had cut up other extraordinary pranks. He now went off with hisswift and uninjured frigate to the Texel, leaving Jones, laden down withprisoners and wounded, unassisted. Of the Richard's crew of 323, 67 menhad been killed, leaving 106 wounded and 150 others to be accommodatedon the injured Serapis. Then there were 211 English prisoners on theRichard at the beginning of the action; and of the 332 (including 8 sickmen and 7 non-combatants) men composing the crew of the Serapis, therewere 245 left to be cared for--134 wounded, 87 having been killed. Therewere, consequently, only 150 well men to look after 562 wounded andprisoners. Some of the latter were afterwards transferred to the Pallas, but altogether it was an unwieldy fleet which slowly sailed for theTexel, at which neutral port Jones arrived October 3, none too soon, foras he entered the roads, an English squadron, consisting of a sixty-fourship of the line and three heavy frigates, which had been looking forhim, hove in sight. 

The effect of the cruise was very great. The English people, alarmed andincensed, never forgot it. Never before had one of their ships of warbeen conquered by a vessel of greatly inferior force. Their coasts, deemed impregnable, were again invaded by the man whom they called, inthe blindness of their rage, pirate and renegade. Professor Houghton, aserious-minded historian, writing of Jones said: "His moral charactercan be summed up in one word--detestable. " English comment on Paul Jonesmay be summed up truthfully in one word, --envenomed. Jones's exploits, moreover, greatly increased the prestige of young America, and made ofhimself a still greater hero at home and particularly in France. For therest of his life, indeed, Jones, in France especially, where spectaclesare peculiarly appreciated, was the man on horseback, and he enjoyed theposition intensely. Fanning narrates how Jones, while at Amsterdam, soonafter his arrival in the Texel, "was treated as a conqueror. This soelated him with pride, that he had the vanity to go into the StateHouse, mount the balcony or piazza, and show himself in the frontthereof, to the populace and people of distinction then walking on thepublic parade. "

VI

DIPLOMACY AT THE TEXEL

Jones found himself in a position at the Texel which demanded all theshrewdness as well as the determination of his character. Impatient, irritable, and passionate as he often was, his judgment was neverthelessexcellent. Benjamin Franklin, when Jones at a later time was again putin a delicate situation, wrote him:--

"You have shown your abilities in fighting; you have now an opportunityof showing the other necessary part in the character of a greatchief, --your abilities in policy. "

Jones's ability in policy appeared in a more favorable light in theTexel than at any other period of his career, although too great weighthas been laid upon the degree of it. The important problem to be solvedwas how to induce the Dutch authorities to allow him and his batteredships to remain for a time in the shelter of their port. Jones knewthat the attainment of this object would help to bring about a rupturebetween England and Holland. The latter country was secretly in sympathywith the revolted colonies, but eager at that time to maintainofficially friendly relations with England. Consequently, when Jonesarrived with his prizes, the Dutch authorities were in a quandary, muchaggravated by the action of the British minister in Holland, Sir JosephYorke, who demanded that the "pirate's" prizes be delivered up toEngland. He reiterated his demand to the States-General in the followinglanguage: "I only discharge the orders of his Majesty in renewing themost strong and urgent demand for the seizure and restitution of saidvessels as well as for the enlargement of their crews, who have beenseized by the pirate, Paul Jones, a Scotchman, a rebellious subject, andstate criminal. "

Jones, in reply to the allegations of the British minister, copies ofwhose letters had been sent him, wrote the States-General an ableletter. He inclosed a copy of his commission from the United Statesgovernment, and then argued that the United States was a "sovereignpower" and entitled to issue such a commission. He pointed out that thesovereignty had been recognized by France and Spain, and thatbelligerent rights had been recognized by Prussia and by Russia. Onlyone of Sir Joseph's charges he admitted to be true, --that he was aScotchman, but he denied the inference made from it, --that he was a"state criminal. " He wrote: "It cannot have escaped the attention ofYour High Mightinesses that every man now giving fealty to the cause ofAmerican Independence was born a British subject. " If he were a "statecriminal, " then, he argued, General Washington, Benjamin Franklin, andall other American patriots were also "state criminals. "

Soon after this letter was received the States-General passed aresolution declining to "consider any question affecting the validity ofPaul Jones's commission or his status as a person. " They declinedlikewise "to do anything from which it might lawfully be inferred thatthey recognized the independence of the American colonies. " They alsoresolved that Paul Jones should be asked to leave their port, but notuntil the wind and weather should be favorable. They had refused, therefore, to consider Jones as a pirate, or to deliver up his prizes. 

Paul Jones's plan was not to admit that a favorable wind had arisenuntil the last possible moment. He did not wish to be taken by thestrong British fleet waiting for him outside the harbor, and he desired, as he said, in order to provoke war between Holland and England, "to trythe patience of the English party to the last bit of strain it wouldbear by keeping my anchorage in Dutch waters on plea of distress, and atthe same time I wished to be ready for instant departure the moment Isaw that the plea of distress could no longer be plausibly held. "

The French Minister of Marine, de Sartine, however, fearing thatultimately the pressure would be so great that the squadron would becompelled to depart and thus fall into the clutches of the British, demanded that the French flag, which naturally commanded greater respectfrom Holland than the flag of the United States, should be displayed. Benjamin Franklin agreed with the French minister, but Jonesprotested:--

"In vain I expostulated with them that by accepting the shelter of theFrench flag I should do exactly of all things what Sir Joseph Yorkewished me to do, namely, withdraw all pretensions of the United Statesas a party to the situation, and thereby confess that the United Statesclaimed no status as a sovereign power in a neutral port. "

Jones was forced to yield, the French flag was displayed, the commandwas given to the French captain, Cottineau, and Jones retained only theAlliance, an American ship, from which he was allowed, however, to flythe American flag. 

To add to Jones' sorrows de Sartine offered him, through the Duc deVauguyan, a French commission to command the Alliance as a letter ofmarque. He rejected it with indignation: "My rank from the beginningknew no superior in the marine of America; how then must I be humbledwere I to accept a letter of marque! I should, my lord, esteem myselfinexcusable were I to accept even a commission of equal or superiordenomination to that I bear, unless I were previously authorized byCongress, or some other competent authority in Europe. " That theSerapis, the prize for which he had so bravely contended, had been takenfrom him, was another of the wrongs which rankled deeply in Jones'ssoul. 

Jones must have got a great deal of satisfaction, however, from the factthat he continued defiantly to wave the American flag from the Alliance, and that he delayed his enforced departure, in spite of great pressurefrom the admiral of the Dutch fleet, until December 26, when with theAlliance he dashed out of the harbor "under his best American colors, "ran the gauntlet of the British fleet cruising outside, and escaped intothe open sea. 

Before leaving the Texel, Jones, on December 17, 1779, wrote Dr. Bancroft: "I am sure that the strain put upon the relations betweenHolland and England must end in rupture between them within this year. "

War was indeed declared between England and Holland on December 19, 1780, and in the bill of grievances set forth in the proclamation of astate of war against Holland, the statement is made: "That, in violationof treaty, they [the States-General] suffered an American Pirate (onePaul Jones, a Rebel, and State Criminal) to remain several weeks in oneof their ports. "

It is clear, therefore, that Jones's pertinacious stay in the Dutch portbrought about important results. 

Another instance of Jones's _sang-froid_ in matters where time was givenfor his judgment to come into play, was the way he treated Landais atthe Texel. On his arrival at that port Jones sent to Dr. Franklincharges against the captain of the Alliance, whom he removed fromcommand. Whereupon Landais sent Jones a challenge to a duel. Fanningnarrates: "But the latter [Jones], perhaps not thinking it prudent toexpose himself with a single combatant, who was a complete master of thesmallsword, declined. " In the second edition of his memoir Fanning saidthat Jones accepted Landais's challenge, but insisted on substitutingpistols, with which he was an expert, for swords, a proposition whichLandais refused. 

Although again on the sea and free from the irritations of the Texel, Jones, when he had eluded the British fleet, found plenty of otherthings to annoy him. He had fortunately transferred many of histrustworthy men from the Serapis to the Alliance, but there were enoughof the latter ship's old officers and men to divide the crew into twohostile camps. The discontent at the delay over payment of wages andprize money had deepened. Although the crew was large, fierce in temper, and at first very anxious to look for further prizes, they yet, afterthe cruise had continued for some time without success, refused tocontinue unless they were paid. Jones, in order to induce them to embarkfrom Corunna, Spain, where the Alliance had put in for repairs andprovisions, promised that he would sail immediately for L'Orient, wherethey should receive their prize money. As soon as he was again at sea, however, Jones informed his officers that he intended to make a furthercruise of twenty days. Fanning, one of the officers, quotes Jones:--

"'And, ' says he, with a kind of contemptuous smile, which he was muchaddicted to, 'Gentlemen, you cannot conceive what an additional honor itwould be to all of us, if in cruising a few days we should have the goodluck to fall in with an English frigate of our force and carry her inwith us. .. . This would crown our former victories, and our names, inconsequence thereof, would be handed down to latest posterity by somefaithful historian of our country. '" Fanning adds in a footnote: "Joneshad a wonderful notion of his name being handed down to posterity. "

When the officers remonstrated on the ground that the men were badlyclothed, Jones flew into a rage and ordered them to go to their duty. He found, however, that he could not, with a mutinous crew, continue hiscourse effectively, and reluctantly sailed for L'Orient, where hearrived on February 10, 1780. 

VII

SOCIETY IN PARIS

The following year, passed mainly in France, at Paris or L'Orient, wasspent by Jones in trying to collect prize money, secure an importantcommand, and in society, where he shone more resplendently than ever. Hewrote rather more than his usual large number of letters, --to Franklin, Robert Morris, the Duchesse de Chartres, Arthur Lee, Dr. Bancroft, andmany others, --in practically all of them urging some one of his warmlydesired projects. 

His correspondence with Benjamin Franklin was largely about prize moneyand the expense of repairing the Alliance, which he undertook to doimmediately on his arrival at L'Orient. The frugal doctor attempted tocurb, in the matter of expense, the free-handed Jones. The latter had anenormous respect for Franklin, and it is quite likely that he attemptedto be economical, but he seems to have been less successful in thatdirection than in any other. Fanning speaks of the "great andunnecessary expense" involved in Jones's elaborate alterations, andnarrates how, at a later period, when Jones was in command of the Ariel, anchored in the harbor at L'Orient, a magnificent spectacle was given onboard for the entertainment of the ladies and gentlemen invited byJones. A mock fight between the Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis, inwhich vast quantities of ammunition were destroyed, took place. Thevessel was finely carpeted and decorated, a regal banquet was served, military music played, and in general "neither cash nor pains, " saysFanning, "were spared in order that the scene every way should appearmagnificent. " Although the hero never seemed to take account of theextreme poverty of the infant republic, it is only fair to add that hespent his own money as freely as any one else's, and that he oftenserved without pay, a fact continually attested to by himself in hisletters and journals. 

Jones's lack of success, in spite of his energetic attempts incollecting at this time the prize money, about which there were manyannoying technicalities, increased the discontent of his crew, andprepared the way for the seizure of the Alliance by the mad Landais. Arthur Lee, formerly one of the American commissioners in Europe, hadalways been hostile to Jones and unsympathetic with Dr. Franklin andwith the revolutionary party generally; to such a degree, indeed, thathe was accused, not unjustly, of treachery to the cause of Americanindependence. At the time that the Alliance was at L'Orient, Lee waswaiting an opportunity to return to America. Captain Landais, who hadbeen deprived of the command of the Alliance by order of BenjaminFranklin, then the sole representative of the United States in France, and who had likewise been ordered by the doctor to report to the MarineCommittee on the charge of infamous conduct, planned to take theAlliance from Jones, and was supported in the attempt by Lee, whocontended that neither Franklin nor Jones could deprive Landais of acommand given him by Congress. Lee's desire to take the ship from Joneswas augmented by the latter's refusal to make room for theex-commissioner's many effects, including two fine coaches, --space whichwas much needed for the accommodation of supplies for Washington's army. 

Lee and Landais consequently encouraged the discontent among the crew ofthe Alliance, and one day, June 13, when Jones was on shore at L'Orient, Landais went on board the ship, and, supported by his old officers andby Lee, took possession. When Jones heard of it he was very angry, andacted, according to Fanning, "more like a madman than a conqueror;" but, as usual, his anger was quickly controlled and the definite steps hetook in the affair were marked by great moderation. The commandant ofthe defenses at L'Orient had received orders from the French governmentto fire on the Alliance, if Landais should attempt to take her out ofthe harbor; and it seems he would have obeyed and probably sunk theship, had not Jones himself interfered, and induced him to stay hishand. In a letter to Franklin, Jones said:--

"Your humanity will, I know, justify the part I acted in preventing ascene that would have made me miserable the rest of my life. "

Jones was probably not over sorry to lose the Alliance. There wasnothing very thrilling in the prospect of carrying supplies to America, and Jones at that time hoped fervently to get hold of the Serapis andother ships and make another warlike cruise against the coast ofEngland. So Landais sailed away with the Alliance, but to his own ruin, as the clear-sighted Jones had predicted in a remarkable letter writtena short time before the ship sailed to a mutinous officer on theAlliance. On the voyage Landais's eccentricity caused his friend Lee toput him under arrest, and on the arrival in America, a court of inquiryfound him unfit for command, and he never again burdened the service. 

Jones was left at L'Orient with the little Ariel, armed with eighteentwelve-pounders and four six-pounders, a ship loaned by the king to Dr. Franklin, and with high hopes, as usual, of more glorious opportunities. But many months intervened before he sailed again, --a time he devoted tobusiness and society. As Jones and his interesting midshipman Fanningseparated at the end of this period, the latter's final impressions ofhis captain may here be given:--

"Captain Jones was a man of about five feet six inches high, well shapedbelow his head and shoulders, rather round shouldered, with a visagefierce and warlike, and wore the appearance of great application tostudy, which he was fond of. He was an excellent seaman and knew navaltactics as well as almost any man of his age; but it must be allowedthat his character was somewhat tinctured with bad qualities . .. Hiscourage and bravery as a naval commander cannot be doubted. Hissmoothness of tongue and flattery to seamen when he wanted them waspersuasive, and in which he excelled any other man I was ever acquaintedwith. .. . His pride and vanity while at Paris and Amsterdam was notgenerally approved of. "

Fanning has many anecdotes to relate in regard to Jones's affairs ofgallantry of an humble character. Several of Jones's biographers havedwelt upon the gorgeous and aristocratic nature of the hero's amours. Fanning has the solitary distinction of narrating the other side. Jones, indeed, was a good deal of a snob, but he was broadly appreciative ofthe fair sex. He probably was never deeply in love with anybody, certainly not with any woman of humble character. Of such hisappreciation was of a simple and earthly kind. 

Although Jones seems to have had no intimate friends, with possibly oneexception, there certainly was about him a very strong charm, which madehim a favorite in good society. He had a flattering tongue, a ready wit, and a gallant manner. Of Jones's attractions Benjamin Franklin oncewrote to a woman:--

"I must confess to your Ladyship that when face to face with him neitherman nor, so far as I can learn, woman can for a moment resist thestrange magnetism of his presence, the indescribable charm of hismanner, a commingling of the most compliant deference with the mostperfect self-esteem that I have ever seen in a man; and, above all, thesweetness of his voice and the purity of his language. "

Mr. Varnum of Rhode Island, who met Jones only in connection with publicbusiness, said of him:--

"I confess there was a magic about his way and manner that I have neverbefore seen. Whatever he said carried conviction with it. "

Even more sensible of Jones's charms than the men were the women, whowere universally dazzled by the brilliant hero. Miss Edes-Herbert, anEnglishwoman living in Paris, writes, among other flattering thingsabout him:--

"Since my last, the famous Paul Jones has dined here and also beenpresent at afternoon teas. If I am in love with him, for love I may die, I am sure, because I have as many rivals as there are ladies. "

She records that Jones wrote verses for the ladies extempore, and givesa sample, the sentiments of which are as characteristic of thedeclamatory century as of the naïvely vain Jones:--

 "Insulted Freedom bled, --I felt her cause, And drew my sword to vindicate her laws, From principle, and not from vain applause. I've done my best; self-interest far apart, And self-reproach a stranger to my heart; My zeal still prompts, ambitious to pursue The foe, ye fair, of liberty and you: Grateful for praise, spontaneous and unbought, A generous people's love not meanly sought; To merit this, and bend the knee to beauty, Shall be my earliest and latest duty. "

Many of Jones's flowery letters to distinguished women are preserved. Onone occasion he wrote to a certain countess, informing her that he wascomposing a secret cipher for a key to their correspondence, and added:"I beseech you to accept the within lock (of hair). I am sorry that itis now eighteen inches shorter than it was three months ago. "

The only case in which Jones's affections seem to have reached beyondgood nature, common kindness, or gallantry, to the point of love, wasthat of Aimée de Thelison. She was the natural daughter of Louis XV. , and this fact no doubt greatly heightened her interest in the eyes ofthe aristocratic Jones. She was a person of beauty and charm, and feltdeep love for Jones. His love for her was of a cool character, which didnot interfere with any of the enterprises taking him so frequently awayfrom Paris. His letters to her are with one exception hardly loveletters. The warmest words in that exception are:--

"The last French packet brought no letter to me from the person whosehappiness is dearer to me than anything else. .. . Your silence makes evenhonors insipid. "

It was while Jones was waiting thus gayly to sail for America, that theking of France bestowed upon him, in recognition of his services to thecommon cause, the Royal Order of Military Merit and a gold-mounted swordof honor, and made him Chevalier of France. It was, as Jones himselffrequently wrote, a singular honor, he being the first alien to be madea French chevalier; and Jones prized this favor from a king more than hewould the gift of a million dollars. The gold sword also pleased himdeeply, and he asked the countess to whom he had sent the lock of hairto keep it for him, lest he lose it. He wrote of this gift:--

"His Majesty ordered a superb sword to be made for me, which I havesince received, and it is called much more elegant than that presentedto the Marquis de la Fayette. "

VIII

PRIVATE AMBITION AND PUBLIC BUSINESS

Benjamin Franklin, knowing the value of the supplies to Washington'sarmy, had implored Jones to embark several months before the littleAriel actually set sail, October 8, 1780. But Jones, hoping for animportant command in Europe, and delayed by business in connection withfitting out his ship, and perhaps by the gayeties he was engaged in atParis, did not show much concern over General Washington's distress. When he finally did sail, he encountered a terrible storm, and it wasonly the best of seamanship which enabled him to avoid shipwreck. As itwas, he was compelled to put back for repairs to L'Orient, where, in aseries of letters, he manoeuvred in vain for the loan of the fine shipTerpsichore. 

It was not until December 18 that the Ariel got under way again forAmerica. The voyage was uneventful, with the exception of a nightbattle with a British privateer sloop of inferior force. Jones cleverlyconcealed his greater strength, and thus lured the Englishman to engage. After a ten-minute fight, the Triumph struck its colors, but, when theAriel ceased firing, sailed away and escaped, to Jones's exceedingmortification. 

"The English captain, " he wrote in his journal, "may properly be calleda knave, because after he surrendered his ship, begged for and obtainedquarter, he basely ran away, contrary to the laws of naval war and thepractice of civilized nations. "

Paul Jones, when he arrived in Philadelphia, the 18th of February, 1781, was thirty-three years old and had actively served in the United Statesnavy for five years and five months. He never fought another battleunder the United States flag; indeed, with the exception of hisdistressing experiences in Russia, he never fought again under any flag. But to his dying day he did not cease to plan great naval deeds and tohope for greater opportunity to harass the enemy--any enemy. In view ofhis great ambition and ability, circumstances allowed him to accomplishlittle. He had only one opportunity, and the way he responded made himfamous; but though it brought him honor it did not satisfy him, and therest of his life was a series of disappointments. His bitterness grewapace, and before he died he was a genuinely pathetic figure. 

Soon after Jones's arrival at Philadelphia, the Board of Admiraltyrequired him to give "all the information in his power relative to thedetention of the clothing and arms in France intended for Washington'sarmy;" and a series of forty-seven questions, on the subject not only ofthe delay but also on matters connected generally with his cruises, weresubmitted to him. He attributed, with probable justice, the instigationof this investigation to his enemy Arthur Lee, whom he desired inconsequence to challenge to a duel. He was dissuaded, however, from thisstep, as well as from the publication of a paper he had written called"Arthur Lee in France, " in which he made a circumstantial chargeagainst Lee of "treason, perfidy, and the office of a spy, " by some ofhis distinguished friends, including Morris and Livingston. 

Without either the duel or the publication of the paper, Jones was, however, completely vindicated. He answered the questions with clearnessand skill, to the complete satisfaction of the board, which recommendedthat Congress confer on the hero some distinguished mark of approbation. A committee was appointed to question Jones personally, and theimpression he made upon it is another proof of the remarkable suavity, plausibility and magnetism of the man. One of the examining committeemenwrote:--

"From his beginning no one thought of disputing him. Toward the end weseldom ventured to ask him any questions. He made himself master of thesituation throughout. At the end the committee felt honored by havinghad the privilege of listening to him. "

On the committee's recommendation Congress, which had already on Jones'sarrival resolved "that Congress entertain a high sense of thedistinguished bravery and military conduct of John Paul Jones, Esq. , captain in the navy of the United States, and particularly in hisvictory over the British frigate Serapis, " gave Jones a further vote ofthanks, "for the zeal, prudence, and intrepidity with which he hassupported the honor of the American flag; for his bold and successfulenterprises to redeem from captivity the citizens of these States whohad fallen under the power of the enemy, and in general for the goodconduct and eminent services by which he has added lustre to hischaracter and to the American arms. "

Soon after, the intrepid man to whom were given so many testimonials andso few satisfactory commands received an appreciative letter fromGeneral Washington, who, after stating his satisfaction with Jones'sexplanation of the delay of the supplies, said:--

"Whether our naval affairs have in general been well or ill conductedwould be presumptuous in me to determine. Instances of bravery and goodconduct in several of our officers have not, however, been wanting. Delicacy forbids me to mention that particular instance which hasattracted the admiration of all the world and which has influenced themost illustrious monarch to confer a mark of his favor which can only beobtained by a long and honorable service or by the performance of somebrilliant action. "

It now seemed to Jones a favorable opportunity to improve his rank, andon May 28 he sent a memorial to Congress reiterating his claims to standabove the captains who had been unjustly put ahead of him. He failed, probably on account of the political influence wielded by the captains;but in the way of compensation he was appointed commander of the newvessel then building at Portsmouth, a seventy-four, called the America, the only ship of the line owned by the States, --a "singular honor, " ashe expressed it. John Adams, who had at one time been unfriendly toJones, looking upon him as "a smooth, plausible, and rather capableadventurer, " wrote him, _à propos_ of this appointment:--

"The command of the America could not have been more judiciouslybestowed, and it is with impatience that I wish her at sea, where shewill do honor to her name. "

Jones had hoped to join Washington's army, then campaigning againstCornwallis, as a volunteer, but he cheerfully gave up this excitingprospect in order to prepare the America for sea, --"the most lingeringand disagreeable task, " he wrote, "he had been charged with during thewhole of the war. " He did his job with his usual efficiency, however, and with his usual extravagance, which he called simplicity. He wrote inhis journal: "The plan which Captain Jones projected for the sculptureexpressed dignity and simplicity. The head was a female figure crownedwith laurels. The right arm was raised, with the forefinger pointing toheaven. .. . On the left arm was a buckler, with a blue ground andthirteen silver stars. The legs and feet were covered here and therewith wreaths of smoke, to represent the dangers and difficulties of war. On the stern, under the windows of the great cabin, appeared two largefigures in bas-relief, representing Tyranny and Oppression, bound andbiting the ground, with the cap of Liberty on a pole above their heads. On the back part of the starboard quarter was a large Neptune; and onthe back part of the larboard quarter gallery, a large Mars. "

As a reward for all this industry and æsthetic effort Jones had anotherdisappointment; for in August, 1782, the French seventy-four gunship, the Magnifique, was wrecked at the entrance to Boston harbor, andCongress gave the America to the king of France. 

With undaunted energy Jones now attempted to get hold of the SouthCarolina, originally called the Indien, which he had formerly, when hecrossed the ocean in the Ranger, failed to secure. She was now, underthe new name, in the service of the States, and Robert Morris tried toturn her over to Jones, that he might again "harass the enemy. " But theplan failed, and Jones remained without a command. Unable to rest, although his health had for some time been failing, he now requested andobtained consent "to embark as a volunteer in pursuit of militarymarine knowledge with the Marquis de Vaudreuil, in order to enable himthe better to serve his country when America should increase her navy. "He went off, accordingly, on the cruise with the French fleet; but theexpedition, during the course of which peace was declared, wasuneventful, and Jones, who had had an attack of fever, spent the summerof 1783 quietly in the town of Bethlehem. In the following November, however, he renewed his activity, and on his application was appointedby Congress agent to collect all moneys due from the sale of the prizestaken in European waters by vessels under his command. 

Although money was subordinate, in Jones's mind, to glory and theopportunity for action, he was an excellent business man. His commercialtransactions had been successful enough to enable him to pay with hisown resources the crews of the Alfred and Providence, so that when heset sail in the Ranger he had advanced £1500 to the United States. Afterthe close of the war, at a period of comparative inactivity, he began aprofitable trade in illuminating oils, and in his character as prizemoney agent he continued to show his business dexterity. He began a longcampaign of a year of most pertinacious and vigorous dunning for moneydue the United States, himself, and the officers and sailors under hiscommand. He wrote innumerable letters to Franklin, to de Castries, thenew Minister of Marine, to de Vergennes, Minister of Foreign Affairs; tomany others, and prepared for the king a careful account of his cruises, in order to show that prize money was due. In arguing for all that hecould get he showed great acuteness, legal sense, and, beyondeverything, invincible determination. He also again demonstrated hishappy talent for abuse of those who stood in his way. He finally securedthe allowance of his claims; and the settlements, which began inJanuary, 1784, were completed, as far as France was concerned, in July, 1785. He was paid 181, 000 livres, which he turned over, less deductionsfor expenses and his own share of the prize money, to Thomas Jefferson, then minister to France, who approved the account. Jones charged forhis ordinary expenses, however, the sum of 48, 000 livres and his shareof prize money was 13, 000 livres, a total of 61, 000 livres, a generousallowance. One of the free-handed man's biographers, A. S. MacKenzie, pointed out that Jones "charged his shipmates for his expenses, duringless than two years, more than General Washington did the people of theUnited States throughout the Revolutionary War. "

The next public business of Jones was to attempt to collect indemnityfrom the Danish government for the delivery to England of the prizessent by the mad Landais, during Jones's most famous cruise, to Bergen, Denmark. He delayed his trip to Copenhagen, however, for a number ofreasons. At this time he was carrying on several private businessenterprises of importance, was occupied with society in London andParis, and was eagerly desirous of being sent by the French governmentagainst the Dey of Algiers, who held in bondage many Christians. Atvarious times during his career Jones showed a keen sense of the wrongsinflicted on Americans by the Barbary pirates in search of tribute, andin his letters to Jefferson and others he often suggested plans fortheir extermination. For de Vergennes and de Castries he prepared amemorandum urging the necessity of a movement against the pirates, andably pointing out the good that would accrue therefrom to the world, andparticularly to France, to which nation he attributed future dominion inNorth Africa, provided action was taken in time to forestall GreatBritain. 

"The knowledge of the race persuades me, " he wrote, "that England willsoon invade the Mediterranean--doubtless as soon as she recovers fromthe exhaustion of the late war. "

The United States, however, were after the war lacking so completely inresources that a war with the pirates was impossible, and France was onthe brink of her great Revolution, and had more important things toconsider. So Jones died before the expedition for which he had soardently hoped, and which brought so much honor, as he had predicted, to the man who commanded it--Commodore Dale, once Jones's firstlieutenant on the Bonhomme Richard--was dispatched. 

Jones finally set off for Copenhagen to collect the indemnity from theDanish government; but hearing of a crisis in an important businessmatter in which he was interested, he made, before arriving at hisdestination, a flying trip to America. While there, he was awarded agold medal by Congress, and said in his journal that such a medal hadbeen given to only six officers. 

"To General Washington, for the capture of Boston; General Gates, forthe capture of Burgoyne's army; General Wayne, for the taking of RockyPoint;. .. General Morgan, for having defeated and destroyed adetachment of 1100 officers and soldiers of the best troops of England, with 900 militia merely; General Greene, for having scored a decisivevictory on the enemy at Euta Spring. .. . But all these medals, althoughwell merited, were given in moments of enthusiasm. I had the uniquesatisfaction of receiving the same honor, by the unanimous voice of theUnited States assembled in Congress, the sixteenth October, 1787, inmemory of the services which I rendered eight years earlier. "

It was not until January, 1788, that Paul Jones arrived at Copenhagen, where, during his short stay, he was magnificently entertained by thecourt. The negotiations for the indemnity, which he began almostimmediately, were abruptly terminated by the transfer of the matter forsettlement to Paris. Jones, on the day he agreed to suspend thenegotiations, received from the Danish government a patent for a pensionof 1500 crowns a year, "for the respect he had shown the Danish flagwhile he commanded in the European seas. " Jones kept this transaction, for which he possibly felt ashamed, to himself, until several yearsafterwards, when, writing to Jefferson, he said: "I have felt myself inan embarrassing situation, with regard to the king's patent, and I havenot yet made use of it, though three years have elapsed since I receivedit. "

On Jones's return to Paris from America, previous to his Copenhagentrip, the Russian ambassador to France, Baron Simolin, had made, throughMr. Jefferson, a proposition looking to the appointment of the conquerorof the Serapis to a position in the navy of Russia, then about to warwith the Turks. Simolin wrote Catherine II. Of Russia that, "with thechief command of the fleet and _carte blanche_ he would undertake thatin a year Paul Jones would make Constantinople tremble. " This excitingpossibility was no doubt constantly in Jones's mind while he was atCopenhagen, and probably increased his willingness to dismiss theindemnity negotiations. He began immediately to manoeuvre for thehighest command possible. He demurred to the rank of captain-commandant, equal to that of major-general in the army, and maintained that nothingless than rear-admiral was fitting. He laid the account of all his deedsand honors before the dazzled Russian minister at Copenhagen, and said:"The unbounded admiration and profound respect which I have long feltfor the glorious character of her Imperial Majesty, forbids the ideathat a sovereign so magnanimous should sanction any arrangement that maygive pain at the outset to the man she deigns to honor with her notice, and who wishes to devote himself entirely to her service. " In order tobe in a better position for extorting honors from the empress, Joneswrote Jefferson suggesting that Congress bestow upon him the rank ofrear-admiral; and took occasion to assert, on the eve of taking serviceunder a despot, the undying character of his love for America. 

"I am not forsaking, " he wrote, "the country that has had so manydistinguished and difficult proofs of my affection; and can neverrenounce the glorious title of _a citizen of the United States_"[Italics are Jones's]. 

Jones left Copenhagen on his ill-fated Russian mission, April 11, andmade a flying and perilous trip to St. Petersburg. He crossed theice-blocked Baltic in a small boat, compelled, at the muzzle of hispistols, the unwilling boatmen to proceed, and on his arrival at hisdestination, on April 23, was presented to the empress, who conferredupon him the coveted rank of rear-admiral, to the intense irritation ofmany of the English officers in the service of Russia, who looked uponJones as a red-handed pirate. In June Catherine wrote to her favorite atthe time: "I am sorry that all the officers are raging about Paul Jones. I hope fervently that they will cease their mad complaints, for he isnecessary to us. " In 1792, long after the war in which Jones had playeda part, Catherine said, with a different accent: "Ce Paul Jones étaitune bien mauvaise tête. " Certainly Jones's diplomacy, which was of adirect character, was not equal to his present situation, unfamiliar tohim, and for success demanding conduct tortuous and insincere to anOriental degree. Jones, in comparison with his associates in Russia, wasremarkably truthful, --a trait which involved him in humiliatingdifficulties, and which was a source of irritation to the empress and toall concerned. 

IX

IN THE RUSSIAN SERVICE

Paul Jones left St. Petersburg on May 7, to take command of the Russiansquadron in the Black Sea. Before his departure he requested of theempress "never to be condemned unheard. " This, one of the most modestdemands Jones ever made, was, as the sequel will show, denied him. Hearrived on the 19th at St. Elizabeth, the headquarters of PrincePotemkin, the former favorite of the empress and the commander in chiefof the war against the Turks. Potemkin, under whose orders Jones stood, was of a thoroughly despotic type. As Potemkin was a prince, Jones wasat first disposed to flatter him extravagantly, but the commodore was bynature averse to being dictated to, particularly by those whom he deemedhis inferiors, and it was not long before they began to quarrel. 

Paul Jones was put in command of the squadron which was to oppose thefleet of the Capitan Pacha, and thus help the Russian army to takeOczakow, a town lying at the junction of the Bog with the Knieper, whichhad been strongly fortified by the Turks. Unfortunately, Jones was notonly subject to the orders of Prince Potemkin, but the immediate commandof the fleet was divided between him and a thoroughly incompetent andarrogant adventurer, the Prince of Nassau. Jones commanded the heavierships, forming the squadron, while Nassau was in charge of aconsiderable force of Russian gunboats and barges, composing what wascalled the flotilla. Between Jones and Nassau existed extreme jealousy. In fact, the only officer in high position with whom Jones stood on anamicable footing was the distinguished General Suwarrow. Early in thecampaign the Russian had advised Jones to allow Potemkin to take thecredit of any success that might result, and to hold his tongue, --twothings which Jones, unfortunately, was quite incapable of doing. 

It is impossible to enter into the details of this campaign, but enoughmay be given to explain the difficulties which Jones encountered. Aftersome unimportant engagements between the two fleets, an action ofimportance occurred which disclosed the deep differences between Jonesand his Russian allies. The Capitan Pacha attempted to attack theRussian fleet, but one of his ships ran aground, and the othersanchored. Jones saw his opportunity and ordered a general attack on theconfused Turkish fleet, which cut anchor and fled, with Jones inpursuit. The Wolodimer, Jones's flagship, steered straight for theCapitan Pacha's ship, which ran aground; whereupon one of Jones'sofficers, without orders, dropped the Wolodimer's anchor. In the meantime the flotilla, under Nassau, lagged behind, and Jones, in order tooffset the operations of the Turkish flotilla, which had alreadydestroyed one of the Russian frigates, left his anchored flagship to goin search of Nassau, whom he found with his flotilla occupied in firingon two Turkish ships which were aground and were, moreover, under theguns of the Russian ships, and might justly be regarded as prizes. Nassau persisted in this useless undertaking until the enemy's vesselshad been burned and the crews had perished in the flames. When Jonesfound he was unable to withdraw the prince from this bloody andunprofitable proceeding, he ordered an attack, with a part of Nassau'sships, upon the Turkish flotilla, which was soon driven off. 

During the night the Capitan Pacha attempted to pass out from the Liman, with the remains of his squadron; but nine of his ships grounded, and, being thus brought within range of the Russian fort on the extreme pointof Kinburn, were fired upon and were practically at the mercy of theRussians. Nevertheless, the Prince of Nassau advanced in the morningwith his flotilla, and, to Jones's extreme rage, burned the groundedTurkish ships, three thousand Turks who were practically prisonersperishing in the flames. 

On July 1 Nassau, with his flotilla, advanced against the flotilla ofthe Turks, but did not seem anxious to go within grapeshot; and Jones, with his heavier ships, went to capture five Turkish galleys lying underthe cover of the guns of the Turkish battery and flotilla. Two of thesegalleys were captured and the others destroyed. Nassau and Alexianodirected their belligerent efforts against the captured galleys, one ofwhich was--with all the slaves on board, --ruthlessly burned. OtherTurkish ships were likewise needlessly destroyed, a mode of warfarequite at variance with the traditions of Jones. He expressed hisconsequent disgust in terms more genuine than diplomatic. 

As a reward of his idiotic actions, on the basis of an inflated anddishonest report of the battle which was sent to the empress, Nassaureceived a valuable estate, the military order of St. George, andauthority to hoist the flag of rear-admiral; other officers were alsosubstantially rewarded; while all that was given to Jones, whose honestbut unflattering report had been rejected by Potemkin, was the order ofSt. Anne. It is easy to imagine Jones's bitterness. He says in hisjournal: "If he (Nassau) has received the rank of vice-admiral, I willsay in the face of the universe that he is unworthy of it. "

Referring to the cowardice of his associates who, in order to escape, hesays, provided their boats with small _chaloupes_, Jones writes:--

"For myself I took no precautions. I saw that I must conquer or die. "

Jones's bitterness, partly justified by the facts, seems at this time tohave reached almost the point of madness, and the quarrel between himand his associates increased in virulence. In the course of theunimportant operations following the defeat of the Turks, during whichthe squadron maintained a strict blockade of Oczakow, Jones was sent ona number of trivial enterprises by Potemkin, whose language wascarefully chosen to irritate the fiery Scotchman. On one occasion hecommanded Jones "to receive him (the Capitan Pacha) courageously, anddrive him back. I require that this be done without loss of time; ifnot, you will be made answerable for every neglect. " In reply, Jonescomplained of the injustice done his officers. Shortly afterwards Jonesdoubted the wisdom of one of Potemkin's orders, and wrote: "Every man ismaster of his opinion, and this is mine. " When Potemkin again wroteJones "to defend himself courageously, " the latter's annotation was: "Itwill be hard to believe that Prince Potemkin addressed such words toPaul Jones. " To the prince he wrote in terms alternately flattering andcomplaining:--

"Your Highness has so good a heart that you will excuse the hastiness ofexpression which escaped me. I am anxious to continue in the service. "

But the despotic Potemkin had made up his mind that he could not getalong with Paul Jones, and with an indirectness characteristic of him, secured an order for the latter for service "in the northern seas. " Thiswas practically a dismissal for Jones, who returned in virtual disgraceto St. Petersburg, where he hoped to be put in command of the Balticfleet. Catherine, however, was now sincerely anxious to get rid ofJones, but on account of his powerful friends in France did not dare todo so openly. She had "condemned him unheard, " and repeated herinjustice in a still more pointed way; for in March, 1789, while Joneswas waiting for the command which never came, he was falsely accused ofan atrocious crime and forbidden to approach the palace of the empress, being again "condemned unheard. " Had it not been for the Frenchambassador, de Ségur, who had a strong influence on Catherine, the crimemight always have been attributed to Paul Jones. De Ségur, however, proved to Catherine that Jones was the victim of a plot, and she wasforced to recall the unfortunate man to court. Soon afterwards Jones, who had for a long time been greatly suffering in health, was given twoyears' leave of absence. 

Paul Jones's experience in Russia was the most unfortunate part of anunfortunate career. His services to that country, which wereconsiderable, were never recognized. His report of the Liman campaignhad been rejected, and he had been unjustly deposed from the actualcommand and an empty promise substituted. His letters had beensystematically intercepted, and he was a victim, not only of adetestable plot involving his moral character, but of many other chargesequally virulent and untrue. 

It was grotesquely reported, for instance, that he had murdered hisnephew, who in reality did not exist. The leave of absence, moreover, must have been to a man of his spirit a severe blow. 

At the close of the journal of the Liman campaign Jones's bitterness ispathetically expressed in inflated self-praise, called out by the desireto confute the calumnies of his enemies. "Every one to whom I have thehonor to be known, " he wrote, "is aware that I am the least selfish ofmankind. .. . This is known to the whole American people. .. . Have I notgiven proofs sufficiently striking that I have a heart the mostsensitive, a soul the most elevated?. .. I am the only man in the worldthat possesses a sword given by the king of France . .. But whatcompletes my happiness is the esteem and friendship of the most virtuousof men, whose fame will be immortal; and that a Washington, a Franklin, a D'Estaing, a La Fayette, think the bust of Paul Jones worthy of beingplaced side by side with their own. .. . Briefly, I am satisfied withmyself. "

X

LAST DAYS

On August 18, 1789, Paul Jones left St. Petersburg, never to return, andnever again to fight a battle. He was only forty-two years old, butalthough his ambition was as intense as ever, his health had throughunremitting exertions and exposure become undermined. For many years theactive man had not known what it was to sleep four hours at a time, andnow his left lung was badly affected, and he had only a few years moreto live. After an extended tour, devoted mainly to business andsociety, --during the course of which he met Kosciusko at Warsaw, visited, among other cities, Vienna, Munich, Strassburg, andLondon, --Jones reached Paris, where Aimée de Thelison and his true homewere, on May 30, 1790. He resigned from his position in the Russiannavy, and remained most of the time until his death in the Frenchcapital. 

The great French Revolution had taken place; and Paul Jones occupied theposition, unusual for him, of a passive spectator of great events. Acquainted with men of all parties, with Bertrand Barère, Carnot, Robespierre, and Danton, as well as with the more conservative men withwhom his own past had led him to sympathize, --Lafayette, Mirabeau, andMalesherbes, --Jones's last days were not lacking in picturesqueopportunity for observation. He felt great sympathy for the king, withwhom he had been acquainted, and who had bestowed upon him the title ofchevalier and the gold sword. For Mirabeau, as for other really greatmen Jones knew, --Franklin, Washington, and Suwarrow, --he had extremeadmiration, and on the occasion of the famous Frenchman's death wrote:"I have never seen or read of a man capable of such mastery over thepassions and the follies of such a mob. There is no one to take theplace of Mirabeau. " Of the mob Jones wrote with aristocratic hatred:"There have been many moments when my heart turned to stone towardsthose who call themselves 'the people' in France. More than once have Iharbored the wish that I might be intrusted by Lafayette with thecommand of the Palace, with _carte blanche_ to defend the constitution;and that I might have once more with me, if only for one day, my oldcrews of the Ranger, the Richard, and the Alliance! I surely would havemade the thirty cannon of the courtyard teach to that mad rabble thelesson that grapeshot has its uses in struggles for the rights of man!"

Jones always had much to say on the organization of navies and theprinciples of naval warfare. About this time he wrote a letter toAdmiral Kersaint, of the French navy, in which he criticised fearlesslyand trenchantly the naval tactics of the French. Their policy, heexplained, was to "neutralize the power of their adversaries, ifpossible, by grand manoeuvres rather than to destroy it by grandattack;" and objecting to this policy, the dashing Jones, who alwaysdesired to "get alongside the enemy, " wrote: "Their (the French)combinations have been superb; but as I look at them, they have not beenharmful enough; they have not been calculated to do as much capturing orsinking of ships, and as much crippling or killing of seamen, as trueand lasting success in naval warfare seems to me to demand. .. . ShouldFrance thus honor me [with a command] it must be with the unqualifiedunderstanding that I am not to be restricted by the traditions of hernaval tactics; but with full consent that I may, on suitable occasion, to be decreed by my judgment on the spot, try conclusions with her foesto the bitter end or to death, at shorter range and at closer quartersthan have hitherto been sanctioned by her tactical authorities. "

Paul Jones, although in these last years he was forced, more than wasagreeable to him, to play the rôle of an intelligent commentator, remained a man of action to the end. He sought, this time in vain, toextract from the French government wages still due the crew of the oldBonhomme Richard. His failure brought out an unusually bitter letter, inwhich he again recounted his services and the wrongs done him by thevarious ministers of marine. As he grew older and more disappointed thedeeds he had done seemed mountain high to him. "My fortitude andself-denial alone dragged Holland into the war, a service of thegreatest importance to this nation; for without that great event, nocalculation can ascertain when the war would have ended. .. . Would yousuppose that I was driven out of the Texel in a single frigate belongingto the United States, in the face of forty-two English ships and vesselsposted to cut off my retreat?"

With equal energy the failing commodore never ceased to hope and strivefor an important command. To head an expedition against the Barbarypirates had long been with him a favorite scheme, and now he lookedforward eagerly to a position in the French navy. 

By the irony of fate a letter came from Mr. Jefferson announcing Jones'sappointment as commissioner for treating with the Dey and government ofAlgiers. But it was too late, for before the letter arrived in ParisPaul Jones was dead. On July 11, 1792, a week before he died, he hadattended a session of the French Assembly and had made a felicitousspeech. He expressed his love for America, for France, and for the causeof liberty, and regretted his failing health as interfering with hisactivity in their service. He closed with the pathetic words:--

"But ill as I am, there is yet something left of the man--not theadmiral, not the chevalier--but the plain, simple man whom it delightsme to hear you call 'Paul Jones, ' without any rank but that offellowship, and without any title but that of comrade. So now I say toyou that whatever is left of that man, be it never so faint or feeble, will be laid, if necessary, upon the altar of French Liberty ascheerfully as a child lies down to pleasant dreams! My friends, I wouldlove to pursue this theme, but, as you see, my voice is failing and mylower limbs become swollen when I stand up too long. At any rate I havesaid enough. I am now ready to act whenever and wheresoever bidden bythe voice of France. "

Jones's cough and the swelling in his legs continued; a few days laterjaundice and dropsy set in, and it was clear to his friends that the endwas near. Aimée de Thelison, Gouverneur Morris, and some of thedistinguished revolutionists were about him during the last few days ofhis life. On the afternoon of July 18, 1792, his will was witnessed, andabout seven o'clock in the evening he was found in his room, lying withhis clothes on, face down across the middle of the bed, dead. 

The next day the National Assembly passed a resolution decreeing "thattwelve of its members shall assist at the funeral of a man who has sowell served the cause of liberty. "

True or not, the words attributed to Napoleon after Trafalgar, in 1805, are no more than justice to Paul Jones. 

"How old, " Napoleon asked, "was Paul Jones when he died?"

On being told that Jones was forty-five years old at the time of hisdeath, Napoleon said:--

"Then he did not fulfill his destiny. Had he lived to this time, Francemight have had an admiral. "

Paul Jones has been called by his friends patriot, and by his enemiespirate. In reality he was neither. He was not one of those deeplyethical natures that subordinate personal glory and success to thecommon good. As an American he cannot be ranked with his greatcontemporaries, for his patriotism consisted merely in being fair anddevoted to the side he had for the time espoused rather than in quietwork as a citizen after the spectacular opportunity had passed. He wasready to serve wherever he saw the best chance for himself, whether itwas with the United States, Russia, or France. In no unworthy sense ofthe word, however, was he an adventurer. The deepest thing in his soul, the love of glory, rendered him incapable at once of meanness and oftrue patriotism. In search for fame he gave up family, friends, andreligion. In these relations of life he would have been and was, as faras he went, tolerant and kind; but in them he was not interested. Loveof glory made him a lonely figure. It rendered him a _poseur_, vain andsnobbish, but it also spurred him on to contend, with phenomenal energy, against almost innumerable difficulties. 

As far as his deeds are concerned, Paul Jones appears in the popularconsciousness as he really was, --a bolt of effectiveness, a desperate, successful fighter, a sea captain whose habit was to appear unexpectedlyto confound his enemies, and then to disappear, no one knew where, onlyto reappear with telling effect. He has been the hero of the novelists, who, expressing the popular idea, have pictured him with essentialtruth. A popular hero, indeed, he was, and will remain so, justly, inthe memory of men. 

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The Riverside Press

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