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 11 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 J. PAUL JONES, '-^7 
 
 LATE REAR-ADMIRAL IN THE RUSSIAN SERVICE, 
 
 CHEVALIER OF THE MILITARY ORBER OF MERIT, AND OF THE 
 RUSSIAN? ORDER OF ST. ANNE, &;C. &C. 
 
 NOW FIRST COMPILED FROM HIS '^ORIGINAL. JOURNALS AND CORRESPONDENCE: 
 INCLUDING AN ACCOUNT OF HIS SERVICES UNDER PRINCE POTEMKIN. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 RE-PUBLISHED BY 
 
 HENRY WASHBOURNE, SALISBURY SQUARE, 
 
 FLEET STREET. 
 
 MDCCCXI.III. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Several years since a work purporting to be a 
 " Life of Paul Jones" appeared in America, 
 compiled by Mr Sherburne, Register of the Navy 
 of the United States. An abridgment of the 
 same work was reprinted in London by Mr 
 Murray. The Life of Paul Jones still, however, 
 remained to be written, for this good reason, that 
 Mr Sherburne possessed no adequate materials 
 for his work. The official correspondence of Paul 
 Jones, while in the service of the United States, 
 a few fragments of papers left by him in Ame- 
 rica, and discovered in a baker's shop of New 
 York, and his letters to Mr Jefferson, though all 
 
 103634 
 
VI PllEFACE. 
 
 probably quite authentic, afford but scanty ma- 
 terials for the memoirs of a life so varied and 
 full of adventure as was that of Paul Jones. 
 
 While Mr Sherburne was arranging these me- 
 moirs, the really private papers of their subject 
 remained in the custody of his relatives in Dum- 
 fries. INIr Sherburne, and other individuals, aware 
 of their existence, endeavoured to obtain these 
 documents, but were refused, as there was a view 
 to the present publication. 
 
 The history of the private papers on which 
 Mr Sherburne rests his narrative is briefly this : — 
 When at the end of the war, in 1783, Paul 
 Jones was appointed by Congress agent for prize- 
 money in Europe, he deposited, among other 
 effects, certain account-books, log-books, and 
 copies of letters, in the custody of his friend, 
 Mr Ross of Philadelphia. His private corre- 
 spondence, and whatever he thought most in- 
 teresting, he brought with him to France. On 
 
PREFACE. VU 
 
 his death, his sisters in Scotland, who were his 
 heirs, removed those books and papers left in 
 America, from ]Mr Ross to the custody of Mr 
 Robert Hyslop, merchant. New York. This 
 gentleman died soon afterwards of the yellow- 
 fever, and the papers left in America by Paul 
 Jones were transferred to the custody of Mr 
 John Hyslop, baker, the cousin and executor of 
 Mr Robert Hyslop. There they remained, the 
 heirs of Paul Jones not thinking it worth while 
 to reclaim them. Mr John Hyslop, baker, also 
 died, and left his affairs in great disorder ; and 
 soon after, or probably before his death, it was 
 mentioned in a New York paper, that a letter 
 " of that distinguished hero, Paul Jones," had 
 been discovered in a baker's shop in the city. This 
 led to inquiry, and Mr Ward obtained the wreck 
 of these loose papers, which have been scattered 
 far and wide ; one original log-book, that of the 
 Ranger, being now in the possession of a gentle- 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 man in Greenock, while that of the Bon Homme 
 Richard belongs to Mr George Napier, advocate 
 in this city. The circumstances under which 
 those fragments were obtained by Mr Ward ob- 
 viates all charge of impropriety on the part of 
 that gentleman. By Mr Ward they were sold, 
 or given, to Mr Sherburne ; and on such slender 
 and mutilated materials, of which he has per- 
 haps made the most that was possible, together 
 with the letters filed in the pubhc offices, that 
 writer has raised the structure entitled " The 
 Life of Paul Jones." 
 
 The papers from which the present work is 
 compiled may now be enumerated : — it is, how- 
 ever, in the first place, worthy of notice, that 
 though Paul Jones acted a prominent part in the 
 American war, a very small portion of his public 
 life was spent in America. His field of enter- 
 prise was Europe. Though he had made two 
 visits to the United States between the years 
 
PKEFACE. IX 
 
 I78O and 1792, when he died m Paris, he spent 
 but a short time in America, and that in com- 
 parative inactivity. 
 
 By his will, dated at Paris on the day of his 
 death, Paul Jones left his property and effects 
 of all kinds to his sisters m Scotland and their 
 children. Immediately on his decease a regular, or 
 rather an official inventory was made of his volu- 
 minous papers, which were sealed up with his 
 other effects, till brought to Scotland by his eldest 
 sister, Mrs Taylor, a few months after his death. 
 They have ever since remained in the custody of 
 his family ; and are now, by inheritance, become 
 the property of his niece. Miss Taylor of Dum- 
 fries. They consist of several bound foho volumes 
 of letters and documents, which are officially au- 
 thenticated, so far as they are public papers ; nu- 
 merous scrolls and copies of letters ; and many 
 private communications, originating in his wide- 
 ly-difiused correspondence in France, Holland, 
 America, and other quarters. There is, in ad- 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 dition to these, a collection of writings of the mis- 
 cellaneous kind likely to be accumulated by a 
 man of active habits, who had for many years 
 mingled both in the political and fashionable 
 circles, wherever he chanced to be thrown. 
 
 The Journal of the Campaign of I788 against 
 the Turks, forms of itself a thick MS. bound 
 volume. This Journal was drawn up by Paul 
 Jones for the perusal of the Empress Catharine 
 II. ; and was intended for publication if the 
 Russian government failed to do him justice. 
 He felt that it totally failed ; but death anticipat- 
 ed his long-contemplated purpose. To this Jour- 
 nal, Mr Eton, in his Survey of the Turkish Em- 
 pire, refers, as having been seen by him. It was, 
 however, only the official report, transmitted by 
 Paul Jones to the Admiralty of the Black Sea, 
 that this gentleman could have seen. This sin- 
 gular narrative, which so confidently gives the 
 lie to all the Russian statements of that moment- 
 ous campaign, is written in French. In the fol- 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 lowing work the language of the original is as 
 closely adliered to as is admissible even in the 
 most literal translation. Several passages have 
 been omitted, and others curtailed, as they refer 
 merely to technical details, which might have un- 
 duly swelled this work, without adding much to 
 its interest. Much of the voluminous official cor- 
 respondence which passed between Paul Jones 
 and the other commanders during the campaign 
 is also omitted. These pieces justificatives were 
 only intended to corroborate, or elucidate, the 
 narrative ; they are, save in a few mstances which 
 are cited, not particularly interesting. 
 
 Besides the above papers and documents, the 
 Editor has been furnished with the letters written 
 bv Paul Jones to his relations in Scotland, 
 from the time that he was a ship-boy at White- 
 haven till he died an Admiral in the Russian 
 service, and the wearer of several Orders. From 
 these materials an attempt has been made to 
 exhibit, for the first time, the real character of 
 
xii PREFACE. 
 
 this remarkable and distinguished individual, 
 fairly, but liberally, — keeping clear of Trans- 
 atlantic hyperbole and exaggeration on the one 
 hand, and of English prejudice and misrepresen- 
 tation on the other. Of each of these, the re- 
 putation, and true character of Paul Jones, have 
 long been the alternate sport or victim. 
 
MEMOIRS OF PAUL JONES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 John Paul Joxes was born on the 6th of July, 
 1747, at Arbigland, in the parish of Kirkbean, 
 and stewartry of Kirkcudbright, in Scotland. 
 
 The family of the Pauls was originally from 
 Fife ; but the grandfather of John Paul, — the 
 name of Jones being long afterwards assumed, — 
 kept a pubhc, or, as it was then called, a mail- 
 garden in Leith, on a spot long since covered 
 with buildings. His son, the father of John Paul 
 Jones, followed the same profession ; and, on 
 finishing his apprenticeship, entered into the em- 
 ployment of Mr Craik of Arbigland, in which he 
 remained till his death, in 1767- 
 
 A gardener at that period was understood to 
 Vol. I. j^ A 
 
2 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 be a person of better education than a common 
 operative mechanic in ordinary handicrafts. The 
 father of Paul Jones must have been a man both 
 of intelHgence and worth. The garden of Arbig- 
 land was laid out by him ; and he planted the 
 trees that now embellish the mansion. The period 
 of his service, and the interest which his employer 
 took in his orphan family, estabhsh the general 
 worth and respectability of his character. 
 
 Shortly after entering into the employment of 
 Mr Craik, John Paul married Jean Macduff, the 
 daughter of a small farmer in the neighbouring 
 parish of New- Abbey. The Macduffs were a 
 respectable rural race in their own district ; and 
 some of them had been smaU landed proprietors 
 in the parish of Kirkbean, for an immemorial pe- 
 riod. Of this marriage there were seven children, 
 of whom John — afterwards known as John Paul 
 Jones — was the fifth : he may indeed be called 
 the youngest, as two children born after him died 
 in infancy.* The first-born of the family, Wil- 
 
 * Among the many calumnies by which the memory 
 of Admiral Paul Jones has been loaded, and the nume- 
 
PAUL JONES. 3 
 
 liam Paul, went abroad early in life, and finally 
 settled and married in Fredericksburgh, in Vir- 
 ginia. He appears to have been a man of enter- 
 prise and judgment. Beyond his early education 
 and virtuous habits he could have derived no ad- 
 vantage from his family ; and, in 177^ or 177^5 
 when he died, still a young man, he left a consi- 
 derable fortune. Of the daughters, the eldest, 
 Elizabeth, died unmarried, — Janet, the second, 
 married ]\Ir Taylor, a watchmaker in Dumfries, — 
 and the third, jNIary Ann, was twice married, first 
 to a Mr Yoimg, and afterwards to Mr Louden. 
 Of the relations of Admiral Jones, several nieces, 
 
 rous vulgar traditions that hang about his reputation, and 
 conceal his genuine character, is an absurd story of his 
 having been the son of either Mr Craik, his father's em- 
 ployer, of one of the Earls of Selkirk, or of some other 
 great personage, name unknown ; as if it were impossi- 
 ble that a man so distinguished by gallantry and enter- 
 prise, could be, in very deed, merely the fifth child of 
 Mr John Paul the gardener. His correspondence in the 
 farther progress of this narrative will sufficiently refute 
 an obsolete slander which was perhaps scarcely worth 
 notice. 
 
4 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and a grand-nephew, now in the United States, 
 still survive. 
 
 The residence of his father, near the shores of 
 the Solway, in one of the most beautiful points 
 of the Frith, must have been favourable to the 
 genius of one who was destined to play the part 
 of John Paul Jones — to have, — 
 
 " His march upon the mountain wave, 
 " His home upon the deep." 
 
 In the traditions of his family, young Paul is 
 described as launching, while a mere child, his 
 mimic-ship, hoisting his flag, and issuing his man- 
 dates to his imaginary crew, with all the firmness 
 and dignity of one born to lead and to command 
 his fellows. 
 
 Among the numerous unfounded slanders and 
 rumours of which this brave and misrepresented 
 man has been the object, is the assertion, that he 
 ran off to sea against the will of his relations. 
 Even this transgression might have been atoned 
 by his after life ; but it was not committed. His 
 inclination for the bold and hardy mode of life 
 which he adopted, appears, as it often does in boy- 
 hood, to have been a strong passion, fostered by his 
 
PAUL JONES. 5 
 
 childish pastimes, and encouraged by much that 
 he saw and heard in his daily intercourse with ships 
 and seamen. Man or boy, Paul Jones was not 
 moulded in the stamp of character which shrinks 
 from facing out what is once firmly resolved. A 
 sailor's life was his decided choice ; and at the age 
 of twelve he was sent across the Solway by his 
 relations, and bound apprentice to Mr Younger 
 of Whitehaven. This gentleman, who was then 
 a respectable merchant in the American trade, 
 he found a kind and Uberal master. 
 
 Though Paul Jones was thus early estranged 
 from his family, and was afterwards prevented 
 from much personal intercourse with them, this 
 narrative will afford abundant e\'idence that, like 
 almost every other young Scottish adventurer — 
 to the national honour be it told — he continued 
 a most affectionate son and brother, even when 
 at the highest elevation of his fortune, gi^'ing 
 constant proof, not merely of his readiness to mi- 
 nister to the comforts of his relations, but of his 
 anxiety for the miion, respectabihty, and prospe- 
 rity of his sisters and their famihes. — To them he 
 at last bequeathed the whole of his fortune. 
 
MEMOIRS OF 
 
 The education which young Paul received at 
 the parish-school of Kirkbean, must have termi- 
 nated when he went to sea. His after acquire- 
 ments — and they were considerable — were the 
 fruits of private study, and of such casual oppor- 
 tunities as in boyhood he had the forethought and 
 good sense to improve as often as his ship came 
 into port. His first voyage was made to America, 
 the country of his after adoption. He sailed in 
 the Friendship of Whitehaven ; and, before he 
 was thirteen, landed on the shores of Rappahan- 
 nock. While the Friendship remained in port, 
 young Paul hved in the house of his brother 
 William, and assiduously studied navigation and 
 other branches of learning, either connected with 
 his profession or of general utility. 
 
 In the course of a short time, his good con- 
 duct, inteUigence, and knowledge of his profes- 
 sion, procured him the confidence and friendship 
 of his master, who promised him his future pro- 
 tection and favour. From the subsequent em- 
 barrassment of his own affairs, Mr Younger was 
 unable to fulfil this promise ; but, in giving the 
 young seaman up his indentures, he did all he 
 
PAUL JONES. 
 
 could then perform. Thus honourably released 
 from his early engagements, Paul Jones, while still 
 a mere boy, obtained the appointment of third 
 mate of the King George of Whitehaven, a ves- 
 sel engaged in the slave-trade. From this ship 
 he went about the year I766, being now nineteen 
 years of age, into the brigantine Two Friends, 
 of Kingston, Jamaica, as chief mate. This ship 
 was engaged in the same nefarious traffic. It 
 is stated by his relatives, the only source of in- 
 formation on the early period of his life that is 
 either accessible or to be rehed on, that he quitted 
 this abominable trade in disgust at its enormities ; 
 and, in consequence of abandoning it, returned to 
 Scotland in I768, as a passenger in the brigan- 
 tine John of Kirkcudbright, Captain Macadam, 
 commander. On this voyage the captain and 
 mate both died of fever ; and there being no one 
 on board so capable of navigating the ship, Paul 
 assumed the command, and brought her safe into 
 port. For this well-timed piece of service he was 
 appointed by the owners, Currie, Beck, & Co., 
 master and supercargo. This was almost the last 
 time that young Paul had an opportunity of see- 
 
8 MEMOIllS OF 
 
 ing his relations. He only met them once again, 
 about the middle of the year 1771- 
 
 While Paul Jones was on board this vessel, a 
 circumstance occurred which afterwards, in times 
 of violent prejudice and party-feeling, was eagerly 
 laid hold of to traduce and blacken his character, 
 and to represent him as a cruel and lawless brig- 
 and, eager for plunder and thirsting for blood,* 
 guilty of a thousand enormities, though of what 
 precise kind no one could specify. It was con- 
 fidently stated — and is still indeed very generally 
 believed — that while in the command of the John 
 he punished a man named Mungo Maxwell, the 
 carpenter of that vessel, so severely, that he died 
 in consequence of the stripes he received. The 
 
 * It is not a little remarkable, that many of his own 
 intelligent countrymen do to this day know of Paul Jones 
 only as a wild reckless adventurer, a sort of modern buc- 
 caneer, possessed of no redeeming quality save great per- 
 sonal courage and intrepidity, — or as the subject of vulgar 
 ballads and marvellous legends, daring impossible and 
 acting horrible deeds, among which was the one above 
 alluded to. 
 
PAUL JONES. 9 
 
 affidavits* given below clearly refute this calum- 
 ny, which probably originated among those of his 
 contemporaries who envied the place and influ- 
 
 " Tohago. 
 * '' Before the Honourable Lieutenant-Governor, Wil- 
 liam Young, Esq. of the island aforesaid, personally ap- 
 peared James Simpson, Esq. who, being duly sworn upon 
 the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, deposeth and 
 saith, That some time about the beginning of May, in the 
 year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy, 
 a person in the habit of a sailor came to this deponent 
 (who was at that time Judge Surrogate of the Court of 
 Vice- Admiralty for the island aforesaid) with a complaint 
 against John Paul, (commander of a brigantine then 
 lying in Rockley Bay of the said island,) for having beat 
 the then complainant, (who belonged to the said John 
 Paul's vessel,) at the same time showing this deponent 
 his shoulders, which had thereon the marks of several 
 stripes, but none that were either mortal or dangerous, 
 to the best of this deponent's opinion and belief. And 
 this deponent further saith, that he did summon the said 
 John Paul before him, who, in his vindication, alleged 
 that the said complainant had on all occasions proved 
 very ill qualified for, as well as very negligent in, his 
 duty ; and also, that he was very lazy and inactive in the 
 
 a2 
 
10 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ence liis superior intelligence and energy had so 
 early acquired for him. So tenacious of life is 
 
 execution of his (the said John Paul's) lawful coramands, 
 at the same time declaring his sorrow for having correct- 
 ed the complainant. And this deponent further saith, 
 that having dismissed the complaint as frivolous, the 
 complainant, as this deponent believes, returned to his 
 duty. And this deponent further saith, that he has since 
 understood that the said complainant died afterwards on 
 board of a different vessel, on her passage to some of the 
 Leeward Islands, and that the said John Paul (as this de- 
 ponent is informed) has been accused in Great Britain as 
 the immediate author of the said complainant's death, by- 
 means of the said stripes herein before mentioned, which 
 accusation this deponent, for the sake of justice and hu- 
 manity, in the most solemn manner declares, and believes 
 to be, in his judgment, without any just foundation, so 
 far as relates to the stripes before mentioned, which this 
 deponent very particularly examined. And further this 
 deponent saith not. 
 
 " James Simpson. 
 
 '^ Sworn before me, this 30th day of 
 June, 1772, William Young." 
 
 *' James Eastment, mariner, and late master of the 
 
PAUL JONES. 11 
 
 slander, however false and groundless, that twenty 
 years afterwards, when Paul Jones was a rear- 
 Barcelona packet, maketh oath, and saith, That Mungo 
 Maxwell, carpenter, formerly on board the John, Cap- 
 tain John Paul, master, came in good health on board 
 his, this deponent's said vessel, then laying in Great 
 Rockley Bay, in the island of Tobago, about the middle 
 of the month of June, in the year one thousand seven 
 hundred and seventy, in the capacity of a carpenter, afore- 
 said ; that he acted as such in every respect in perfect 
 health for some days after he came on board this depo- 
 nent's said vessel, the Barcelona packet ; after which he 
 was taken ill of a fever and lowness of spirits, which con- 
 tinued for four or five days, when he died on board the 
 said vessel, during her passage from Tobago to Antigua. 
 And this deponent further saith, that he never heard the 
 said Mungo Maxwell complain of having received any 
 ill usage from the said Captain John Paul ; but that he, 
 this deponent, verily believes the said IVIungo Maxwell's 
 death was occasioned by a fever and lowness of spirits, 
 as aforesaid, and not by or through any other cause or 
 
 causes whatsoever. 
 
 *' James Eastment. 
 
 *' Sworn at the Mansion House, London, 
 this 30th of January, 1773, before me, 
 James Townsend, Mayor." 
 
J 2 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 admiral in the Russian service, the same calum- 
 nious story was revived, though Maxwell the car- 
 penter was then transformed into Jones''s own 
 nephew. This was done to injure him with the 
 Empress Catherine, and when, instead of his an- 
 cient school-fellows of Kirkbean, or ship-mates 
 of Kirkcudbright, his rivals were the Princes 
 Potemkin and de Nassau. 
 
 One of the earliest letters of Jones now extant 
 relates to this unfortunate affair, which was cal- 
 culated to make a deep impression on a young 
 and ingenuous mind, and gave much uneasiness 
 and pain to him. The letter is addressed to his 
 mother and sisters, and gives a better and fairer 
 
 '' These do certify to whom it may concern, that the 
 bearer. Captain John Paul, was two voyages master of a 
 vessel called the John, in our employ in the West India 
 trade, during which time he approved himself every way 
 qualified both as a navigator and supercargo ; but as our 
 present firm is dissolved, the vessel was sold, and of 
 course he is out of our employ, all accounts between him f 
 and the owners being amicably adjusted. Certified at 
 Kirkcudbright this 1st April, 1771. 
 
 " CuRRiE, Beck, & Co." 
 
PAUL JONES. 13 
 
 view of his youthful character than could be 
 given by the most laboured panegyric of a bio- 
 grapher: — ' , 
 
 " London^ 24th September, 1772. 
 
 " My dear Mother and Sisters, 
 
 " I only arrived here last night from the 
 Grenadas. I have had but poor health during 
 the voyage ; and my success in it not having 
 equalled my first sanguine expectations, has added 
 very much to the asperity of my misfortunes, and, 
 I am well assured, was the cause of my loss of 
 health. I am now, however, better, and I trust 
 Providence will soon put me in a way to get bread, 
 and (which is by far my greatest happiness) be 
 serviceable to my poor but much-valued friends. 
 I am able to give you no account of my future 
 proceeduigs, as they depend upon circumstances 
 which are not fully determined. 
 
 " I have enclosed you a copy of an affidavit 
 made before Governor Young by the Judge of the 
 Court of Vice-Admiralty of Tobago, by which 
 you will see with how little reason my Hfe has 
 been thirsted after, and, which is much dearer to 
 
14 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 me, my honour, by maliciously loading my fair 
 character with obloquy and vile aspersions. I be- 
 lieve there are few who are hard-hearted enousfh 
 to think I have not long since given the world 
 every satisfaction in my power, being conscious 
 of my innocence before Heaven, who will one day 
 judge even my judges. I staked my honour, life, 
 and fortune for six long months on the verdict 
 of a British jury, notwithstanding I was sensible 
 of the general prejudices which ran against me ; 
 but, after all, none of my accusers had the cour- 
 age to confront me. Yet I am wiUing to convince 
 the world, if reason and facts will do it, that they 
 have had no foundation for their harsh treatment. 
 I mean to send Mr Craik a copy properly proved, 
 as his nice feelings will not perhaps be otherways 
 satisfied ;* in the mean time, if you please, you 
 may show him that enclosed. His ungracious con- 
 duct to me before I left Scotland I have not yet 
 been able to get the better of. Every person of 
 feeling must think meanly of adding to the load 
 
 * Mr Craik was perfectly convinced of his innocence, 
 but they never either met or corresponded afterwards. 
 
PAUL JONES. 15 
 
 of the afflicted. It is true I bore it with seeming 
 unconcern, but Heaven can witness for me that 
 I suffered the more on that very account. But 
 enough of this. And now a word or two in the 
 family-way, and I have done." 
 
 ******* 
 
 As the employer and patron of his deceased 
 father, young Paul naturally looked to ^Ir Craik 
 for ad\^ice and countenance to himself, and for 
 protection and kindness to his helpless female re- 
 latives. The following letter illustrates the true 
 nature of his connexion with that gentleman, the 
 fetters of whose cautious kindness do not appear 
 to have sat very easily upon him. It also throws 
 an incidental hght on his energetic and self-de- 
 pending character, even at this early period of his 
 life :— 
 
 " St George's^ Grenada, 5th Aug. 1770. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " Common report here says that my owners 
 
 are going to finish their connexions in the West 
 
 Indies as fast as possible. How far this is true I 
 
16 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 shall not pretend to judge ; but should that really 
 prove the case, you know the disadvantages I 
 must of course labour under. 
 
 " These, however, would not have been so 
 great had I been acquainted with the matter 
 sooner, as in that case I beUeve I could have 
 made interest with some gentlemen here to have 
 been concerned with me in a large ship out of 
 London ; and as these gentlemen have estates in 
 this and the adjacent islands, I should have been 
 able to make two voyages every year, and always 
 liad a full ship out and home, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 *M£. 2ki ik^ .■^. 2f. A 
 
 7F rfC ^ft vjs 7|r ^p 
 
 " However, I by no means repine, as it is a 
 maxim with me to do my best, and leave the rest 
 to Providence. I shall take no step whatever 
 without your knowledge and approbation. 
 
 " I have had several very severe fevers lately, 
 which have reduced me a good deal, though I am 
 now perfectly recovered. 
 
 " I must beg you to supply my mother should 
 she want any thing, as I well know your readi- 
 ness. 
 
PAUL J ONES. 17 
 
 " I hope yourself and family enjoy health and 
 happiness. I am, most sincerely, 
 
 " Sir, yours always, 
 
 " JoHX Paul/' 
 
 It has been alleged, that about this time young 
 Paul was engaged in the contraband trade, then 
 very generally practised among the self-named 
 fair-dealers of the towns along both shores of the 
 Solway. Without entering into the question of 
 how far at that period the act of smugghng might 
 otherwise affect a man''s moral character or esti- 
 mation in society, it is certain that Jones long 
 afterwards decidedly and inchgnantly repelled this 
 degrading charge, and that the first entry of goods 
 from England to the Isle of ]Man, after that nest 
 of smugglers and centre of the contraband trade 
 had been annexed to the crown, stands in his 
 name in the Custom-house books of Douglas. 
 
 Soon after this period Paul obtained command 
 of the Betsy of London, a West India ship, and 
 remained for a time in the islands engaged in 
 commercial speculations, to which his subsequent 
 letters refer. He appears to have left consider- 
 
18 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 able funds in Tobago ; and in 177'^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^ 
 in Virginia arranging the affairs of his brother 
 WiUiam, who had died intestate, and without 
 leaving children. About this time he assumed 
 the name of Jones. 
 
 The American Revolution, of the progress of 
 which Paul Jones could not have been an indif- 
 ferent spectator, found him living in deep retire- 
 ment, unoccupied, and for the time in a state of 
 great privation, occasioned by the dilatoriness or 
 misconduct of his agents. At this time he had 
 subsisted for twenty months on the sum of fifty 
 pounds. It is to this period that Jones refers in 
 his celebrated letter to the Countess of Selkirk, 
 when he says, " Before this war began I had at 
 the early time of hfe withdrawn from the sea-ser- 
 vice, in favour of ' cahn contemplation and poetic 
 ease.' I have sacrificed not only my favourite 
 scheme of life, but the softer affections of the 
 heart, and my prospects of domestic happiness, 
 and am ready to sacrifice my life also with cheer- 
 fulness, if that forfeiture could restore peace and 
 good-will among mankind." 
 
PAUL JONES. 19 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 But Jones, whatever he might think, was not of 
 the temperament to which the cultivation of maize 
 and tobacco — which in America about that pe- 
 riod must have comprehended " the rural Hfe in 
 all its joy and elegance'' — could long remain the 
 favourite scheme. He was now twenty-eight^ 
 the very prime of active existence — full of talent 
 and enterprise, ardent and ambitious, and quite 
 of the mind in which he seems to have held 
 through life, that though it might be shame to be 
 on any side but one, it was greater shame to lie 
 idle when blows were going. Many causes com- 
 bined to make him beheve the cause of the co- 
 lonies the right one — the cause of Hberty, justice, 
 and humanity. A man who from the age of 
 twelve had been a wanderer on the deep, must 
 have been as much at home in America as in 
 Britain. Both countries must have appeared in- 
 
20 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 tegral portions of the same state ; and in its civil 
 dissensions, circumstances determined the part 
 he should take. Thus right or wrong as to the 
 side he took, Jones stood clear in his motives to 
 his own conscience. To him indeed the cause of 
 America — the country, as he afterwards terms it, 
 of his " fond election"" — was the elevating source 
 of his most brilliant actions. It is but fair to allow 
 him to be the interpreter of his own motives : — of 
 his deeds every man is at hberty to judge. Four 
 years after he had voluntereed in the cause of 
 America, it is thus he addresses the Baron Van- 
 der Capellan, having, it must be owned, a favour- 
 ite object to carry at Amsterdam : — 
 
 " I was indeed born in Britain ; but I do not 
 inherit the degenerate spirit of that fallen nation, 
 which I at once lament and despise. It is far 
 beneath me to reply to their hirehng invectives. 
 They are strangers to the inward approbation that 
 greatly animates and rewards the man who draws 
 his sword only in support of the dignity of free- 
 dom. America has been the country of my fond 
 election from the age of thirteen, when I first saw 
 it. I had the honour to hoist with my own hands 
 
PAUL JONES. 21 
 
 the flag of freedom, the first time it was displayed, 
 on the Delaware ; and I have attended it with 
 veneration ever since on the ocean." 
 
 Though in the heat of a straggle, which, from 
 its very nature, was, hke the feuds of the near- 
 est relatives, singularly rancorous and bitter, 
 Jones was branded as a traitor and a felon, and 
 after his most brilliant action, his capture of 
 the Serapis, formally denounced by the British 
 ambassador at the Hague as a rebel and a pirate 
 according to the laws of war,* it must be remem- 
 bered that he bore this stigma in common with 
 the best and greatest of his contemporaries — 
 with Frankhn and Washington; which last had 
 actually borne arms in the service of the King of 
 England. The memory of Paul Jones now needs 
 little \4ndication for this important step. After 
 the peace he enjoyed the esteem and private 
 friendship of Englishmen who might have for- 
 given the most imbittered pohtical hostility, but 
 never could have overlooked a taint on personal 
 
 * Memorial of Sir Joseph York to the States-General^ 
 dated the Hague, 8th October, 1779. 
 
22 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 honour. Of this number was the Earl of Wemyss, 
 who after the peace endeavoured to promote the 
 views of Jones on various occasions. He him- 
 self, however, discovers a lurking consciousness 
 of having incurred, if not of meriting, suspicion on 
 this delicate ground. This is chiefly displayed 
 by his eloquent though rather frequent assertions 
 of purity of motive, superiority to objects of sor- 
 did interest, and disinterested zeal for the cause, 
 now of America, now of human nature, as was 
 best adapted to the supposed incHnations of his 
 correspondents. In ordinary circumstances much 
 of this might have appeared uncalled for ; but 
 the situation of Jones was in many respects pe- 
 culiar both as a native-born Briton, and as a man 
 of obscure origin, jealous — and pardonably so — 
 of his independence and dignity of character. 
 Somewhat of the heroic vaunting which marks 
 other parts of his correspondence appears inci- 
 dent to the enthusiastic temperament of many 
 great naval commanders. How would Nelson's 
 tone of confident prediction, and boasts of prowess, 
 have sounded from the lips of an inferior man ? — 
 In any other than himself the customary language 
 
PAUL JONES. 23 
 
 of Drake would have been reckoned that of an 
 insolent braggart. 
 
 Besides the public spirit and love of liberty 
 which in Jones were both warm and sincere, other 
 motives of that mixed nature, by which every hu- 
 man bemg, how disinterested and devoted soever, 
 must at times be influenced, were not wanting to 
 enhst him on the side of the colonies. He was 
 hving at the most active period of life in penury 
 and neglect. His friendships, his interests, his 
 gratitude, all inchned him to the part of America. 
 In a letter addressed to INIr Stuart Mawey of 
 Tobago, written immediately before he went to 
 Europe in open hostility as an officer of the Unit- 
 ed States, a letter which does as much honour to 
 the clearness of his head as to the integrity and 
 fihal kindness of his heart, these circumstances 
 are distinctly explamed. 
 
 " Boston, 4th May, 1777- ' 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " After an unprofitable suspense of twenty 
 
 months, (having subsisted on Jifty pounds only 
 
 during that time,) when my hopes of rehef were 
 
24 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 entirely cut off, and there remained no possibility 
 of my receiving wherewithal to subsist upon from 
 my effects in your island, or in England, I at last 
 had recourse to strangers for that aid and comfort 
 which was denied me by those friends whom I 
 had intrusted with my all. The good offices 
 which are rendered to persons in their extreme 
 need, ought to make deep impressions on grate- 
 ful minds ; in my case I feel the truth of that 
 sentiment, and am bound by gratitude, as well as 
 honour, to follow the fortunes of my late bene- 
 factors. 
 
 " I have lately seen Mr Sicaton, (late manager 
 on the estates of Arch. Stuart, Esq.) who in- 
 formed me that Mr Ferguson had quitted Orange 
 A^alley, on being charged with the unjust appli- 
 cation of the property of his employers. I have 
 been, and am extremely concerned at this ac- 
 count ; I wish to disbelieve it, although it seems 
 too much of a piece with the unfair advantage 
 which, to all appearayice^ he took of me, when 
 he left me in exile for twenty months, a prey to 
 melancholy and want, and withheld my property, 
 without writing a word in excuse for his conduct. 
 
PAUL JONES. 25 
 
 Thus circumstanced, I have taken the Hberty of 
 sending you a letter of attorney by Captain 
 Cleaveland, who undertakes to dehver it himself, 
 as he goes for Tobago via Martinico. You have 
 enclosed a copy of a hst of debts acknowledged, 
 which I received from ]Mr Ferguson when I saw 
 you last at Orange Valley. You have also a hst 
 of debts contracted with me, together with Fer- 
 guson's receipt. And there remained a consider- 
 able property unsold, besides some best Madeira 
 wine which he had shipped for London. By the 
 state of accounts which I sent to England on my 
 arrival on this continent, there was a balance due 
 to me from the ship Betsy of i^909, 15s. 3d. 
 sterling; and in my account with Robert Young, 
 Esq., 29th January, 177^? there appeared a ba- 
 lance in my favour of £281, Is. 8d. sterhng. 
 These sums exceed my drafts and just debts to- 
 gether ; so that, if I am fairly dealt with, I ought 
 to receive a considerable remittance from that 
 quarter. You will please to observe, that there 
 were nine pieces of coarse camblets shipped at 
 Cork, over mid above the quantity expressed in 
 the hill of lading. It seems the shippers, find- 
 
 VOL. I. B 
 
26 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ing their mistake, applied for the goods ; and, as 
 I have been informed from Grenada, Mr Fergu- 
 son laid hold of this opportunity to propagate a 
 report that all the goods which I put into his 
 hands were the property of that house in Cork. 
 If this base suggestion hath gained beUef, it ac- 
 counts for all the neglect which I have experien- 
 ced. But however my connexions are changed, 
 my principles as an honest man of candour and 
 integrity are the same; therefore, should there 
 not be a sufficiency of my property in England 
 to answer my just debts, I declare that it is my 
 first wish to make up such deJBciency from my 
 property in Tobago ; and were even that also to 
 fall short, I am ready and willing to make full 
 and ample remittances from hence upon hearing 
 from you the true state of my affairs. As I hope 
 my dear mother is still ahve, I must inform you 
 that I wish my property in Tobago, or in Eng- 
 land, after paying my just debts, to be apphed 
 for her support. Your own feehngs, my dear 
 sir, make it unnecessary for me to use arguments 
 to prevail with you on this tender point. Any 
 remittances which you may be enabled to make. 
 
PAUL JONES. 27 
 
 through the hands of my good friend Captain 
 John Plainer of Cork, will be faithfully put into 
 her hands ; she hath several orphan grandchildren 
 to provide for. I have made no apolog)^ for giving 
 you this trouble : My situation will, I trust, ob- 
 tain your free pardon. 
 
 I am always, with perfect esteem, 
 Dear Sir, 
 Your veYj obHged, very obedient, 
 And most humble servant, 
 
 " J. Paul Jones. 
 
 " Stuart Mawey, Esquire, 
 Tobago." 
 
 Among the friends whose fortunes Jones con- 
 ceived himself bound to follow by gratitude as 
 well as honour, was probably Mr Joseph Hewes 
 of the ]Marine Committee of the infant Repubhc. 
 Under the united mfluence of so many powerful 
 motives he entered the American service. 
 
 Though Paul Jones had not received his ma- 
 ritime education in ships of war, he had frequent- 
 ly sailed in armed vessels, and had been early 
 trained into an excellent practical seaman, com- 
 
28 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 pletely realizing the merchant sailor''s adage, 
 " Aft the more honour — forward the better man/' 
 His nautical skill, as well as his boldness and ca- 
 pacity, were thus of incalculable value to the in- 
 fant navy of America ; and in 177^? when the 
 combustibles of revolution, so long smouldering, 
 burst into an open irrepressible flame, his services 
 were as readily accepted as they were heartily 
 tendered. From this date Paul Jones owned no 
 country save America. 
 
 In organizing the maritime service of the young 
 repubhc, three classes of lieutenants were ap- 
 pointed by Congress ; and of the first class Jones 
 was appointed senior lieutenant. The first com- 
 mission he received from Congress bears date 
 the 7th of December, 177^- ^^ ^^^ appointed 
 to the Alfred, a nam^ of good omen to an in- 
 fant state sprung from England ; and on board 
 of that vessel, then lying before Philadelphia, he, 
 in a few days afterwards, first hoisted that starry 
 flag which he so bravely followed in many seas. 
 
 The American navy at this time consisted of 
 only two ships, two brigantines, and one sloop. 
 Even these it was not easy to officer with per- 
 
PAUL JONES. 29 
 
 sons properly qualified. Thirteen frigates were, 
 however, about the same time ordered to be built. 
 Of this first period of his service three differ- 
 ent accounts, drawn up by himself, remain among 
 
 ♦ 
 the papers of Captain Jones, — one contained in a 
 
 refreshing memorial addressed to Congress while 
 he lay in the Texel, dated December, 17795 — 
 another addressed to Robert Morris, the minister 
 of the marine, in 17^3, when Jones had just rea- 
 son to think his former services neglected, if not 
 forgotten, — and a third in a journal of his cam- 
 paigns drawn up for the private information of 
 the King of France, and read by that unfortu- 
 nate prmce while a close prisoner. This last do- 
 cument contains the following clear and succinct 
 account of his early operations, written in the 
 third person : — 
 
 " When Congress thought fit to equip a naval 
 force towards the conclusion of the year 177^? 
 ' for the defence of American liberty, aiid for 
 repelling every hostile invasion thereof^ it was 
 a very difficult matter to find men fitly quahfied 
 for officers, and wilhng to embark in the ships 
 and vessels that were then put into commission. 
 
30 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 The American navy at first was no more than 
 the ships Alfred and Columbus, the brigantines 
 Andrew Doria, and Cabot, and the sloop Pro- 
 vidence. A commander-in-chief of the fleet was 
 appointed ; and the Captains Saltonstall, Whip- 
 ple, Biddle, and Hopkins, were named for the 
 ships and brigantines. A captain's commission 
 for the Providence, (bought, or to be bought, 
 about the time, from Captain Whipple,) which 
 Mr Joseph Hewes of the Marine Committee of- 
 fered to his friend Mr John Paul Jones, was not 
 accepted, because Mr Jones had never sailed in 
 a sloop, and had then no idea of the declaration 
 of independence that took place the next year. 
 It was his early wish to do his best for the cause 
 of America, which he considered as the cause of 
 human nature. He could have no object of self- 
 interest ; and having then no prospect that the 
 American navy would soon become an establish- 
 ed service, that rank was the most acceptable to 
 him by which he could be the most useful in that 
 moment of public calamity. There were three 
 classes of lieutenants appointed, and Mr Jones 
 was appointed the first of the first-heutenants, 
 
PAUL JONES. 31 
 
 which placed hun next in command to the four 
 captains already mentioned. This commission is 
 dated the 7tli day of December, 177^? ^^ first 
 Heutenant of the Alfred. On board of that ship, 
 before Philadelphia, Mr Jones hoisted the flag of 
 America with his own hands, the first time it was 
 ever displayed. All the commissions for the Al- 
 fred were dated before the commissions for the 
 Columbus, &c. All the time this httle squadron 
 was fitting and manning, Mr Jones superintended 
 the affairs of the Alfred ; and as Captain Salton- 
 staU did not appear at Philadelphia, the Com- 
 mander-in-chief told Mr Jones he should com- 
 mand that ship. A day or two before the squadron 
 sailed from Philadelphia, manned and fit for sea. 
 Captain Saltonstall appeared, and took command 
 of the Alfred. The object of the first expedition 
 was against Lord Duncan in Virginia. But in- 
 stead of proceeding immediately on that service, 
 the squadron was hauled to the wharfs at Reedy 
 Island, and lay there for six weeks frozen up. 
 Here Mr Jones and the other heutenants stood 
 the deck, watch and watch, night and day, to pre- 
 vent desertion ; and they lost no man from the 
 
32 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Alfred. On tlie 17th of February, I776, the 
 squadron sailed from the Bay of Delaware. On 
 the 1st of March the squadron anchored at Abaco, 
 one of the Bahama Islands, and carried in there 
 two sloops belonging to New Providence. Some 
 persons on board the sloops, informed that a 
 quantity of powder and warlike stores might be 
 taken in the forts of New Providence. An ex- 
 pedition was determined on against that island. 
 It was resolved to embark the marines on board 
 the two sloops. They were to remain below deck 
 until the sloops had anchored in the harbour close 
 to the forts, and they were then to land and take 
 possession. There was not a single soldier in the 
 island to oppose them ; therefore the plan would 
 have succeeded, and not only the pubUc stores 
 might have been secured, but a considerable con- 
 tribution might have been obtained as a ransom 
 for the town and island, had not the whole squa- 
 dron appeared off the harbour in the morning, 
 instead of remaining out of sight tUl after the 
 sloops had entered and the marines secured the 
 forts. On the appearance of the squadron the 
 signal of alarm was fired, so that it was impossi- 
 
PAUL JOXES. 33 
 
 ble to think of crossing the bar. The Comman- 
 der-in-chief proposed to go round the west end 
 of the island, and endeavour to march the marines 
 up and get behind the town ; but this could never 
 have been effected. The islanders would have 
 tad time to collect ; there was no fit anchorage 
 for the squadron, nor road from that part of the 
 island to the town. Mr Jones finding by the Pro- 
 vidence pilots that the squadron might anchor 
 under a key three leagues to windward of the 
 harbour, gave this account to the Commander- 
 in-chief, who objecting to the dependence on the 
 pilots, j\Ir Jones undertook to carry the Alfred 
 safe in. He took the pilot with him to the fore- 
 topmast-head, from whence they could clearly see 
 every danger, and the squadron anchored safe. 
 The marines, with two vessels to cover their 
 landing, were immediately sent in by . the east 
 passage. The Commander-in-chief promised to 
 touch no private property. The inhabitants 
 abandoned the forts, and the governor, finding 
 he must surrender the island, embarked all the 
 powder in two vessels, and sent them away in the 
 night. This was foreseen, and might have been 
 
 b2 
 
34 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 prevented, by sending the two brigantines to lie 
 off the bar. The squadron entered the harbour 
 of New Providence, and sailed from thence the 
 17th of March, having embarked the cannon, &c. 
 that was found in the fort. In the night of the 9th 
 of April, on the return of the squadron from the 
 Providence expedition, the American arms by 
 sea were first tried in the affair with the Glasgow 
 off Block Island. Both the Alfred and Colum- 
 bus mounted two batteries. The Alfred mount- 
 ed 30, the Columbus 28 guns. The first battery 
 was so near the water as to be fit for nothing- 
 except in a harbour or a very smooth sea. The 
 sea was at the time perfectly smooth. Mr Jones 
 was stationed below deck to command the Alfred's 
 first battery, which was weU served whenever the 
 guns could be brought to bear on the enemy, as 
 appears by the official letter of the Commander- 
 in-chief giving an account of that action. Mr 
 Jones therefore did his duty; and as he had no 
 direction whatever, either of the general disposi- 
 tion of the squadron, or the sails and helm of the 
 Alfred, he can stand charged with no part of the 
 disgrace of that night. The squadron steered 
 
PAUL JONES. 35 
 
 directly for New London, and entered that port 
 two days after the action. Here General Wash- 
 ington lent the squadron 200 men, as was thought, 
 for some enterprise. The squadron, however, 
 stole quietly round to Rhode Island, and up the 
 river to Providence. Here a court-martial was 
 held for the trial of Captain Whipple, for not 
 assisting in the action with the Glasgow. Another 
 court-martial was held for the trial of Captain 
 Hazard, who had been appointed captain of the 
 sloop Providence at Philadelphia, some time after 
 Mr Jones had refused that command. Captain 
 Hazard was broke, and rendered incapable of 
 serving in the navy. The next day, the 10th of 
 May, 1776? Mr Jones was ordered by the Com- 
 mander-in-chief to take command ' as captain 
 of the Providence.'^ This proves that Mr Jones 
 did his duty on the Providence expedition. As 
 the Commander-in-chief had in his hands no 
 blank-commission, he had this appointment writ- 
 ten on the back of the commission that Mr Jones 
 had received at Philadelphia the 7th of Decem- 
 ^ ber, 177^- Captain Jones had orders to receive 
 on board the Providence the soldiers that had 
 
36 MEMOIRS Ob' 
 
 been borrowed from General Washington, and 
 carry them to New York, — there enlist as many 
 seamen as he could, and then return to New 
 London, to take in from the hospital all the sea- 
 men that had been left there by the squadron, 
 and were recovered, and carry them to Pro- 
 vidence. Captain Jones soon performed these 
 services ; and having hove down the sloop and 
 partly fitted her for w-ar at Providence, he re- 
 ceived orders from the Commander-in-chief, dated 
 Rhode Island, June 10th, 177^? to come imme- 
 diately down to take a sloop then in sight, armed 
 for war, belongiiig to the enemy's navy. Captain 
 Jones obeyed orders with alacrity ; but the ene- 
 my had disappeared before he reached Newport. 
 On the 13th of June, 177^? Captain Jones re- 
 ceived orders, dated that day at Newport, Rhode 
 Island, from the Commander-in-chief, to proceed 
 to Newbury Port to take under convoy some 
 vessels bound for Philadelphia ; but first to con- 
 voy Lieutenant Hacker in the Fly, with a cargo 
 or cannon, into the sound for New York, and to 
 convoy some vessels back from Stonington to the 
 entrance of Newport. In performing these last 
 
PAUL JONES. 37 
 
 services, Captain Jones found great difficulty 
 from the enemy's frigates, then cruising round 
 Block Island, with which he had several rencon- 
 tres ; in one of which he saved a brigantine that 
 was a stranger, from Hispaniola, closely pursued 
 by the Cerberus, and laden with pubhc stores. 
 That brigantme was afterwards purchased by the 
 Continent, and called the Hampden. Captain 
 Jones received orders from tjie Commander-in- 
 chief to proceed for Boston instead of Newbury 
 Port. At Boston he was detained a considerable 
 time by the backwardness of the agent. He ar- 
 rived with his convoy from Boston, safe in the 
 Delaware, the 1st of August, 1776- This ser\dce 
 was performed while the enemy were arri\dng at 
 Sandy Hook from Halifax and England, and 
 Captain Jones saw several of their ships of war. 
 Captain Jones received a captain's commission 
 from the president of Congress the 8th of August. 
 It was proposed to Captain Jones by the jNIarine 
 Committee to go to Connecticutt, to command 
 the brigantine Hampden ; but he choosing rather 
 to remain in the sloop Providence, had orders to 
 go out on a cruise against the enemy ' for six 
 
38 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 weeks, [or] two or three months."* He was not h- 
 mited to any particular station or service. He 
 left the Delaware the 21st of August, and ar- 
 rived at Rhode Island on the 7th of October, 
 1776. Captain Jones had only seventy men when 
 he sailed from the Delaware, and the Providence 
 mounted only 12 four-pounders. Near the la- 
 titude of Bermudas he had a very narrow escape 
 from the enemy's frigate the Solebay, after a chase 
 of six hours within cannon-shot, and part of that 
 time within pistol-shot. Afterwards, near the 
 Isle of Sable, Captain Jones had an aifair with 
 the enemy's frigate the Milford ; and the firing 
 between them lasted from ten in the morninsf 
 till after sunset. The day after this rencontre, 
 Captain Jones entered the harbour of Canso, 
 where he recruited several men, took the Tories' 
 flags, destroyed the fishing, &c., and sailed again 
 the next morning on an expedition against the 
 Island of Madame. He made two descents at 
 the principal ports of that island at the same 
 time; surprised all their shipping, though the 
 place abounded with men, and they had arms. 
 All this, from the Delaware to Rhode Island, was 
 
PAUL JONES. 39 
 
 performed in six weeks and five days ; in which 
 time Captain Jones made sixteen prizes, besides 
 small ci:aft. He manned eight of them, and sunk, 
 burnt, or destroyed the rest. The Commander- 
 in-chief was at Rhode Island, who, in conse- 
 quence of the information given him by Captain 
 Jones, adopted an expedition against the coal- 
 fleet of Cape Breton and the fishery, as well as 
 to reheve a number of Americans from the coal- 
 mines, where they were compelled to labour by 
 the enemy. The Alfred had remained idle ever 
 since the Providence expedition, and was with- 
 out men. It was proposed to employ that ship, 
 the brigantine Hampden, and sloop Providence, 
 on this expedition, under the command of Cap- 
 tain Jones, who had orders given him for that 
 purpose on the 22d October, 177^? ^^d then re- 
 moved from the sloop Providence to the ship 
 Alfred. Finding he could not enhst a sufficient 
 number of men for the three sail before the sea- 
 son would be lost. Captain Jones determined to 
 leave the sloop Providence behind ; but Captain 
 Hacker ran the Hampden upon a ledge of rocks 
 on the 27th, and knocked off" her keel, which 
 
40 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 obliged Captain Jones to remove him into the 
 sloop Providence. The Alfred and Providence 
 sailed on this expedition the 2d of November, 
 Captain Jones having only 140 men on his mus- 
 ter-roll for the Alfi-ed, though that ship had 235 
 men when she left the Delaware. Captain Jones 
 anchored for the night at TarpawUng Cove, near 
 Nantucket, and, finding there a privateer schooner 
 belonging to Rhode Island inward-bound, he 
 sent his boat to search for deserters from the 
 navy, and finding four deserters carefully con- 
 cealed on board, they were taken on board the 
 Alfred, with a few other seamen, agreeably to or- 
 ders from the Commander-in-chief. The con- 
 cerned in the privateer brought an action against 
 Captain Jones for .£^10,000 damages, and the 
 Commander-in-chief had the politeness not to 
 support him. Captain Jones proceeded on his 
 expedition. Off Louisbourg he took a brig with 
 a rich cargo of dry goods, a snow with a cargo of 
 fish, and a ship called the INIeUish, bound for Ca- 
 nada, armed for war, and laden with soldiers' 
 clothing. The day after taking these prizes 
 (the 18th) the snow fell, and the wind blew fresh 
 
PAUL JONES. 41 
 
 off Cape Breton. To prevent separation, and not 
 from the violence of the weather, Captain Jones 
 made the signal to lay to, which was obeyed; but 
 as soon as the night began, Captain Hacker bore 
 away. He made shift to arrive at Rhode Island 
 a day or two before the place was taken by the 
 enemy. Captain Jones ordered the brigantine 
 and snow to steer for our ports ; but determined 
 not to lose sight of the MeUish, unless in case of 
 necessity. Captain Jones, after that Uttle gale 
 and contrary winds, fell in with Canso, and sent 
 his boats in to destroy a fine transport that lay 
 aground in tlie entrance, laden with Irish provi- 
 sion. The party burnt also the oil-warehouse, 
 and destroyed the materials for the fishery. Off 
 Louisbourg, on the 24th, he took three fine ships 
 out of five, the coal-fleet, then bound for New 
 York, under the command of the Flora, that would 
 have been in sight had the fog been dispersed. 
 Two days after this. Captain Jones took a letter- 
 of-marque ship from Liverpool. He had now an 
 hundred and fifty prisoners on board the Alfred, 
 and a great part of his water and provision was 
 consumed. He found the harbour at the coal- 
 
42 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 mines was frozen up, and necessity obliged him 
 to seek a hospitable port with the five prize-ships 
 under convoy. No separation took place till the 
 7th of December, on the edge of St George's 
 Bank, where Captain Jones again fell in with the 
 Milford frigate. Captain Jones had the address 
 to save all his prizes except one, (the letter-of- 
 marque from Liverpool,) and that one would not 
 have been taken, had not the prize-master fooHsh- 
 ly run down under the Milford's lee, from being 
 three leagues to windward. The Mellish arrived 
 safe with the clothing at Dartmouth, and Cap- 
 tain Jones arrived at Boston the 15th December, 
 1776, having only two days' water and provision 
 left. The news of the clothing reached General 
 Washington's army just before he re-crossed the 
 Delaware. By a letter from the Commander-in- 
 chief, on board the Warren, at Providence, 
 January the 14th, 1777? Captain Jones was su- 
 perseded in the command of the Alfred, in favour 
 of Captain Hinman, who said he brought a com- 
 mission from Congress to supersede that of Cap- 
 tain Jones. The 21st of January, 1777? ^^^^ 
 drew from Captain Jones a letter to the Marine 
 
PAUL JONES. 43 
 
 Committee, stating his hopes that Congress would 
 not so far overlook his early and faithful services 
 as to supersede him by any man who was at first 
 his junior officer, far less by any man who de- 
 chned to serve in the Alfred, &c., at the begin- 
 ning. Captain Jones paid off the crews of the 
 Alfi'ed and Providence, for which he has never 
 been reimbursed. On the 18th of February, 
 Captain Jones received an appointment by order 
 of Congress from the Vice-President of the Ma- 
 rine Committee, dated Philadelphia, February 
 the 5th, 1777? to command private expeditions 
 against Pensacola and other places, with the 
 Alfred, Columbus, Cabot, Hampden, and sloop 
 Providence. Many important schemes were point- 
 ed out ; but Captain Jones was left at free Hberty 
 to adopt whatever he thought best. This ap- 
 pointment fell to nothing ; for the Commander- 
 in-chief would not assist Captain Jones, but af- 
 fected to disbeheve his appointment. Captain 
 Jones undertook a journey from Boston to Phi- 
 ladelphia, in order to explain matters to Congress 
 in person.^** 
 
 This attempt to supersede him was the first 
 
44 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 occasion on which Jones decidedly showed the 
 firmness and tenacity of his character, and his 
 determination to assert his rights. Even then, 
 unknown and unfriended, he was quite equal to 
 their protection. 
 
 The remainder of this statement is more co- 
 piously and energetically given in the letter re- 
 ferred to in the prefixed extract, as addressed 
 by him to the INIarine Board, Philadelphia. It 
 will show the neglect and heart-burning to which 
 this brave man was exposed from the first hour 
 of his entering the American navy. Three- 
 fourths of his subsequent life was a struggle to 
 overcome the prejudices, defeat the cabals, or 
 quicken the tardy justice of his temporary official 
 superiors. 
 
 " I am now to inform you, that by a letter 
 from Commodore Hopkins, dated on board the 
 Warren, January 14th, 1777? which came to my 
 hands a day or two ago, I am superseded in the 
 command of the Alfred, in favour of Captain 
 Hinman, and ordered back to the sloop in Provi- 
 dence River. Whether this order doth or doth 
 not supersede also your orders to me of the 10th 
 
PAUL JOXES. 45 
 
 ult., you can best determine; however, as I under- 
 took the late expedition at his (Commodore Hop- 
 kins''s) request, from a principle of humanity, I 
 mean not now to make a difficulty about trifles, 
 especially when the good of the ser\dce is to be 
 consulted. As I am unconscious of any neglect 
 of duty, or misconduct, since my appointment at 
 the first as eldest heutenant of the navy, I can- 
 not suppose that you can have intended to set 
 me aside in favour of any man who cUd not at 
 that time bear a captain's commission, imless in- 
 deed that man, by exerting his superior abilities, 
 hath rendered or can render more important ser- 
 vices to America. Those who stepped forth at 
 the first, in ships altogether unfit for war, were 
 generally considered rather as frantic than as wise 
 men ; for it must be remembered, that almost every 
 thing then made against them. And although 
 the success in the affair wkh the Glasgow was 
 not equal to what it might have been, yet the 
 blame ought not to be general. The principal or 
 principals in command alone are culpable ; and the 
 other officers, while they stand unimpeached, have 
 their full merit. There were, it is true, divers 
 
46 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 persons, from misrepresentation, put into com- 
 mission at the beginning, without fit quaUfi ca- 
 tion, and perhaps the number may have been 
 increased by later appointments ; but it follows 
 not that the gentleman or man of merit should be 
 neglected or overlooked on their account. None 
 other than a gentleman, as well as a seaman both 
 in theory and practice, is qualified to support the 
 character of a commission officer in the navy ; 
 nor is any man fit to command a ship of war who 
 is not also capable of communicating his ideas on 
 paper, in language that becomes his rank. If 
 this be admitted, the foregoing operations will be 
 sufficiently clear ; but if further proof is required, 
 it can easily be produced. 
 
 " When I entered into the service, I was not 
 actuated by motives of self-interest. I stept forth 
 as a free citizen of the world, in defence of the 
 violated rights of mankind, and not in search of 
 riches, whereof, I thank God, I inherit a suffi- 
 ciency ; but I should prove my degeneracy were 
 I not in the highest degree tenacious of my rank 
 and seniority. As a gentleman, I can yield this 
 point up only to persons of superior abilities and 
 
PAUL JONES. • 47 
 
 superior merit; and under such persons it would 
 be my highest ambition to learn. As this is the 
 first time of my having expressed the least anxie- 
 ty on my own account, I must entreat your pa- 
 tience untn I account to you for the reason which 
 hath given me this freedom of sentiment. It 
 seems that Captain Hinman s commission is N^ 1, 
 and that, in consequence, he who was at first 
 my junior officer by eight, hath expressed him- 
 self as my senior officer in a manner which doth 
 himself no honour, and which doth me signal in- 
 jury. There are also in the navy, persons who 
 have not shown me fair play after the service 
 I have rendered them. I have even been blamed 
 for the civilities which I have shown to my prison- 
 ers ; at the request of one of whom I herein en- 
 close an appeal, which I must beg leave to lay 
 before Congress. Could you see the appellant's 
 accomphshed lady, and the innocents their chil- 
 dren, arguments in their behalf would be unne- 
 cessary. As the base-minded only are capable 
 of inconsistencies, you wiU not blame my free 
 soul, which can never stoop where I cannot also 
 esteem. Could I, which I never can, bear to be 
 
48 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 superseded, I should indeed deserve your con- 
 tempt and total neglect. I am therefore to en- 
 treat you to employ me in the most enterprising 
 and active service, — accountable to your Honour- 
 able Board only, for my conduct, and connected 
 as much as possible with gentlemen and men of 
 good sense."' 
 
 " My conduct hitherto,'''' he says, in the memo- 
 rial addressed to Congress from the Texel, " was 
 so much approved of by Congress, that on the 5th 
 February, 1777? I ^^^ appointed, with unlimited 
 orders, to command a little squadron of the Al- 
 fred, Columbus, Cabot, Hampden, and sloop 
 Providence. Various important services were 
 pointed out, but I was left at free liberty to make 
 my election. That service, however, did not take 
 place ; for the Commodore, who had three of the 
 squadron blocked in at Providence, affected to 
 disbelieve my appointment, and would not at last 
 give me the necessary assistance. Finding that 
 he trifled with my applications as well as the or- 
 ders of Congress, I undertook a journey from 
 Boston to Philadelphia, in order to explain mat- 
 ters to Congress in person. I took this step also 
 
PAUL JOXES. 49 
 
 because Captain Hinman had succeeded me in 
 the command of the Alfred, and, of course, the 
 service could not suffer through my absence. I 
 arrived at Philadelphia in the beginning of April. 
 But what was my surprise to find that, by a new 
 hne of navy-rank, which had taken place on the 
 10th day of October, 177^5 ^^ the officers that 
 had stepped forth at the beginning were super- 
 seded ! I was myself superseded by thirteen men, 
 not one of whom did (and perhaps some of them 
 durst not) take the sea against the British flag at 
 the first; for several of them who were then appHed 
 to refused to venture, — and none of them have 
 since been very happy in proving their superior 
 abihties. Among these thirteen there are indi- 
 viduals who can neither pretend to parts nor edu- 
 cation, and with whom, as a private gentleman, 
 I would disdain to associate. 
 
 " I leave your Excellency and the Congress to 
 judge how this must affect a man of honour and 
 sensibLhty.'" 
 
 In the organization of the navy Jones took a 
 paramount interest. He had himself been trained 
 in a good school. He knew the importance of 
 
 VOL. I. c 
 
50 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 proper subordination, and of the strict enforce- 
 ment of a rigid system of discipline, which, how- 
 ever unpleasant to the turbulent, fierce spirit of 
 republicans, is especially indispensable in the sea- 
 service. His views of maritime pohcy discover 
 much soundness, and, considering that he was 
 still a young man, and a very young officer, very 
 great ripeness of understanding. " As the re- 
 gulations of the navy,*" he says, " are of the ut- 
 most consequence, you will not think it presump- 
 tive if, with the utmost diffidence, I venture to 
 communicate to you such hints as, in my judg- 
 ment, will promote its honour and good govern- 
 ment. I could heartily wish that every commis- 
 sioned officer were to be previously examined ; 
 for, to my certain knowledge, there are persons 
 who have already crept into commission without 
 abilities or fit quahfications : — I am myself far 
 from desiring to be excused."''* In other letters 
 on this subject, he eloquently recommends a li- 
 beral pohcy towards the private seamen, and a 
 general system worthy of a great and enlightened 
 nation. 
 
 " It is," he says, " to the last degree distressing 
 
PAUL JONES. 51 
 
 to contemplate the state and establishment of our 
 navy. The common class of mankind are actuat- 
 ed by no nobler principle than that of self-inter- 
 est. This, and this only, determines all adven- 
 tures in privateers, — the owners, as well as those 
 they employ ; and while this is the case, unless 
 the private emolument of individuals in our 
 navy is made si:^)erior to that in privateers, it 
 never can become respectable, — it never will 
 become formidable ; and, without a respectable 
 navy, alas America ! — In the present critical si- 
 tuation of human affairs, wisdom can suggest no 
 more than one infallible expedient, — enlist the 
 seamen during pleasure, and give them all the 
 prizes. What is the paltry emolument of two- 
 thirds of prizes to the finances of this vast conti- 
 nent "^ If so poor a resource is essential to its 
 independency, in sober sadness we are involved 
 in a woful predicament, and our ruin is fast ap- 
 proaching. The situation of America is new in 
 the annals of mankind : her aHairs cry haste ! 
 and speed must answer them. Trifles, therefore, 
 ought to be wholly disregarded, as being, in the 
 old vulgar proverb, ' penny wise and pound fool- 
 
52 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ish.' If our enemies, with the best-established 
 and most formidable navy in the universe, have 
 found it expedient to assign all prizes to the cap- 
 tors, how much more is such policy essential to 
 our infant fleet ? But I need use no arguments 
 to convince you of the necessity of making the 
 emoluments of our navy equal, if not superior, to 
 theirs. We have had proof, that a navy may be 
 officered almost upon any terms, but we are not 
 so sure that these officers are equal to their com- 
 missions ; nor will the Congress ever obtain such 
 certainty until they, in their wisdom, see proper 
 to appoint a Board of Admiralty, competent to 
 determine impartially the respective merits and 
 abihties of their officers, and to superintend, re- 
 gulate, and point out all the motions and opera- 
 tions of the navy." 
 
 The appearance of Jones at Congress at this 
 time, his appeals to their justice, his animated 
 remonstrances, and the capacity displayed in the 
 hints and projects he threw out, had a good effect. 
 They inspired esteem for his character, and gave 
 confidence in his abihty. This became appa- 
 rent in the immediate proceedings of that body. 
 
PAUL JONES. 53 
 
 a 
 
 Congress," he says, " saw fit to drop the ex- 
 pedition that had been proposed ; and the Marine 
 Committee appeared very sorry that there was not 
 then vacant a good ship for my command. Three 
 ships were ordered to be purchased in the eastern 
 department, and by a resolve of Congress, which 
 did me great honour, I was authorized to take 
 my choice of these three ships, ' until Congress 
 could provide for me a better command."* I re- 
 tunied to Boston ; and before this last plan was 
 carried into execution, I received a new and 
 honourable proof of the good opinion of Congress, 
 by being ordered, on the 9th day of May, 1777? 
 to proceed to France from Portsmouth, in the 
 Amphitrite, with a positive order to the Commis- 
 sioners at Paris ' to invest me with the command 
 of a fine ship,"* — ' as a reward of my zeal and the 
 signal services I had performed in vessels of little 
 force."* This was generous indeed ! and I shall 
 feel the whole force of the obligation to the last 
 moment of my life."" 
 
 The letter he brought to Europe, addressed to 
 the Commissioners in Paris, confirms the since- 
 rity of the purpose of Congress. It also puts to 
 
54 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 rest — were such refutation necessary — the charge 
 of Jones being nothing more than the comman- 
 der of a privateer, winked at, or perhaps secretly 
 aided by Congress, but never recognised as a re- 
 gularly-appointed commander in the American 
 service during his cruises on the British coasts. 
 
 " Philadelphia, 9th May, 1777. 
 
 " Honourable Gentlemen, 
 
 " This letter is intended to be dehvered to you 
 by John Paul Jones, Esq., an active and brave 
 commander in our navy, who has already per- 
 formed signal services in vessels of httle force ; 
 and in reward for his zeal we have directed him 
 to go on board the Amphitrite, a French ship of 
 twenty guns, that brought in a valuable cargo of 
 .stores from Mons. Hostalez & Co., and with her 
 to repair to France. He takes with him his com- 
 mission, some officers and men, so that we hope 
 he will, under that sanction, make some good 
 prizes with the Amphitrite ; but our design of 
 sending him is, (with the approbation of Con- 
 gress) that you may purchase one of those fine 
 frigates that Mr Deane writes us you can get. 
 
PAUL JONES. 55 
 
 and invest him with the command thereof as 
 soon as possible. We hope you may not delay 
 this business one moment, but purchase, in such 
 port or place in Europe as it can be done with 
 most convenience and despatch, a fine fast-sail- 
 ing frigate or larger ship. Direct Captain Jones 
 where he must repair to, and he will take with 
 him his officers and men towards manning her. 
 You will assign him some good house or agent to 
 supply him with every thing necessary to get the 
 ship speedily and well equipped and manned, — 
 somebody that will bestir themselves vigorously in 
 the busmess, and never quit it until it is accom- 
 plished. 
 
 " If you have any plan or service to be per- 
 formed in Europe by such a ship, that you think 
 will be more for the interest and honour of the 
 States than sending her out directly. Captain 
 Jones is instructed to obey your orders ; and, to 
 save repetition, let him lay before you the in- 
 structions we have given him, and furnish you 
 with a copy thereof. You can then judge what 
 will be necessary for you to direct him in, — and 
 whatever you do will be approved, as it will un- 
 
56 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 doubtedly tend to promote the public service of 
 this country. 
 
 " You see by this step how much dependence 
 Congress place in your advices ; and you must 
 make it a point not to disappoint Captain Jones's 
 wishes and expectations on this occasion. 
 " We are, &c. 
 (Signed) " Robert Morris. 
 
 " Richard Henry Lee. 
 " Wm. Whipple. 
 " Phil. Livingston. 
 
 '' The Honourable 
 
 '^ Benjamin Franklin, 
 " Silas Deane, and 
 " Arthur Lee, Esquires, 
 Commissioners," &c. 
 
 In Marine Committee. 
 
 " Philadelphia, May 9th, 1777. 
 '■' John Paul Jones, Esq. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " Congress have thought proper to authorize 
 the Secret Committee to employ you on a voy- 
 
PAUL JONES. 57 
 
 age in the Amphitrite, from Portsmouth to Ca- 
 rohna and France, where it is expected you will 
 be provided with a fine frigate; and as your pre- 
 sent commission is for the command of a parti- 
 cular ship, we now send you a new one, whereby 
 you are appointed a captain in our navy, and of 
 course may command any ship in the service to 
 which you are particularly ordered. You are to 
 obey the orders of the Secret Committee, and 
 we are, Sir, &c. 
 
 (Signed) " John Hancock. 
 
 " Rob. Morris. 
 
 " Wm. Whipple." 
 
 In Maritie Committee. 
 
 " Philadelphia, September 6th, 1777. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " As soon as these instructions get to hand, 
 you are to make immediate appUcation to the 
 proper persons to get your vessel victualled and 
 fitted for sea with all expedition. \VTien this is 
 done, you are to proceed on a voyage to some 
 convenient port in France ; on your arrival there, 
 
 c2 
 
58 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 apply to the agent, if any, in or near said port, for 
 such supplies as you may stand in need of. You 
 are at the same time to give immediate notice, 
 by letter, to the Honourable Benjamin Frank- 
 lin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee, Esquires, or 
 any of them at Paris, of your arrival, requesting 
 their instructions as to your further destination ; 
 which instructions you are to obey as far as it 
 shall be in your power. 
 
 " You are to take particular notice, that whilst 
 on the coast of France, or in a French port, you 
 are, as much as you conveniently can, to keep 
 your guns covered and concealed, and to make 
 as little warhke appearance as possible. Wish- 
 ing you,"' &c. &c. 
 
 With these credentials and instructions, Jones 
 sailed for Europe in command of the Ranger, in 
 high spirits, expecting to be the first messenger 
 of what he calls " the joyful and important news 
 of Burgoyne's surrender." He reached Nantes 
 early in December, having captured two brigan- 
 tines on the voyage, laden with fruit and wine. 
 
PAUL JONES. 59 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 It must be o-w-ned that Captain Jones at no time 
 slipped any opportunity of bringing himself for- 
 ward, and placing his services in a fair light. 
 Though he indeed claimed no more than was 
 his due, he never, through false delicacy, with- 
 drew his merits into the shade. " It is civil 
 cowardice," says the Spectator's modest friend, 
 Captain Sentry, "to be backward in asserting 
 what you ought to expect, as it is military fear 
 to be slow in attacking when it is your duty."*"* 
 His first act, on reaching France, was to write to 
 the Commissioners, to whom he was now to look 
 for orders, and also for patronage. " I yester- 
 day,'" he says, " enclosed you copies of two let- 
 ters which I wrote you previous to my departure 
 from Portsmouth, together with a plan which I 
 drew up at Philadelphia, on the regulation and 
 equipment of our infant navy. It is my first 
 
60 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and favourite wish to be employed in active and 
 enterprising services, when there is a prospect of 
 rendering acceptable services to America. The 
 singular honour which Congress have done me 
 by their generous acknowledgment of my past 
 services, hath inspired me with sentiments of gra- 
 titude which I shall carry with me to my grave ; 
 and if a life of services devoted to America can 
 be made instrumental in securing its indepen- 
 dence, I shall regard the continuance of such ap- 
 probation as an honour far superior to what kings 
 even could bestow." 
 
 Captain Jones was immediately summoned to 
 Paris by the Commissioners of Congress, Frank- 
 lin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee. They had not 
 yet assumed the name of plenipotentiaries, nor was 
 war declared between Great Britain and France ; 
 for though these coimtries were in a state of un- 
 derstood, if not avowed, hostiUty, in his private 
 orders from the Marine Committee of Congress, 
 Jones was directed to keep his guns covered and 
 concealed as much as possible while on the coasts 
 or in the ports of France, and as much as possible 
 to avoid a warlike appearance. The object of sum- 
 
PAUL JONES. 61 
 
 moiling liim to Paris was to concert, in conjunction 
 with the Commissioners, a plan of operations for 
 the powerful maritime force under the command of 
 the Count d'Estaing, which — a treaty being now 
 concluded between France and the new States — 
 was destined to harass the British, and support 
 the cause of the Republic on the shores of Ame- 
 rica. 
 
 The bold and sagacious plan of that campaign, 
 which, if carried into effect as projected, must in 
 all probability at once have ended the war, Jones 
 repeatedly and openly claims the merit of having 
 formed ;* and there can be no doubt that his 
 knowledge of the actual state of the British land 
 and naval force then acting in America, and his 
 practical nautical acquaintance with the scene of 
 
 * In the memorial to the King of France^ Jones states 
 that the plan adopted for D'Estaing's expedition was 
 sent by him to the Commissioners from Nantes, on the 
 10th February, 1778, after he had returned from Paris, 
 and immediately on hearing some agreeable news from 
 America. 
 
62 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 operation, enabled him to give most important 
 advice. Those delays, and the baffling circum- 
 stances to which naval armaments are ever ex- 
 posed, together, as has been alleged, with the ti- 
 midity or irresolution of the French Commander, 
 the promptitude and courage displayed by Lord 
 Howe, and the excellent spirit of the whole Bri- 
 tish fleet on that memorable occasion, disconcerted 
 this well-imagined scheme. In claiming the plan 
 of that expedition, Jones says, in a letter addressed 
 to the French Minister of Marine, M. de Sar- 
 tine, — " Had Count d^Estaing arrived in the 
 Delaware a few days sooner, he might have made 
 a most glorious and easy conquest. Many suc- 
 cessful projects may be adopted from the hints 
 which I had the honour to draw up; and if I can 
 still furnish more, or execute any of these already 
 furnished, so as to distress and humble the com- 
 mon enemy, it will afford me the truest pleasure."" 
 Before d''Estaing appeared, however. Lord Howe, 
 as has been noticed, had been able to place the 
 fleet and the transports in safety ; and the plan 
 on which the American Commissioners justly 
 
PAUL JONES. 63 
 
 priced themselves of blocking up the British 
 ships, transports, and victuallers, in the Delaware, 
 thus fell to the ground. 
 
 When Jones went to Paris to attend the Com- 
 missioners, he left the Ranger, which had been 
 damaged in her voyage, refitting at Nantes. To 
 the Commissioners he imparted plans of various 
 enterprises to be undertaken in the bold preda- 
 toiy spirit of the private instructions of Morris, 
 and he induced them to hold out to his crew, in 
 the name of Congress, the hope or promise of 
 some particular gratuity in reward of the " good, 
 gallant behaviour and punctual obedience,^"* so 
 essential to the fvutherance of his daring projects. 
 In coming to Europe he expected to obtam com- 
 mand of the Indien, a large frigate, then build- 
 ing at Amsterdam, for the service of the United 
 States. This vessel the Commissioners thought 
 fit to present to the King of France. Jones felt 
 the disappointment, and even complained of it to 
 Congress, making it an argument for obtaining at 
 least an equivalent command. 
 
 On the 16th January, 1778, Jones received his 
 orders from the Commissioners. They were such 
 
64 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 as ever proved the most agreeable to him — unli- 
 mited — implying full confidence in his zeal and 
 abihty. The only caution he received, was, not to 
 return immediately to the ports of France after 
 making an attempt on the coasts of Britain, as 
 the French court wished to shuffle a httle longer. 
 The Ranger being now refitted, Jones sailed 
 to Quiberon, and at that place displayed consider- 
 able professional address and characteristic firm- 
 ness, in compelling the French Admiral to give 
 the American flag — which Jones had been the 
 first to hoist — the first salute it ever received. It 
 was thus he wrote on this occasion : — 
 
 " February 14th, 1778. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " I am extremely sorry to give you fresh trouble, 
 but I think the Admiral's answer of yesterday re- 
 quires an explanation. The haughty Enghsh 
 return gun for gun to foreign officers of equal 
 rank, and two less only to captains by flag-offi- 
 cers. It is true, my command at present is not 
 important, yet, as the senior American officer at 
 present in Europe, it is my duty to claim an equal 
 
PAUL JONES. 65 
 
 return of respect to the flag of the United States 
 that would be shown to any other flag what- 
 ever. 
 
 " I therefore take the Hberty of enclosing an 
 appointment, perhaps as respectable as any which 
 the French Admiral can produce — besides which 
 I have others in my possession. 
 
 " If, however, he persists in refusing to return 
 an equal salute, I will accept of two guns less, as 
 I have not the rank of Admiral. 
 
 "It is my opinion, that he would return four 
 less to a privateer or a merchant ship ; therefore, 
 as I have been honoured oftener than once with 
 a chief command of ships of war, I cannot in 
 honour accept of the same terms of respect. 
 
 " You will singularly obhge me by waiting 
 upon the Admiral ; and I ardently hope you will 
 succeed in the application, else I shall be under 
 a necessity of departing without coming into the 
 bay. I have the honour to be, &c. &c. 
 
 " To William Carmichael, Esq." 
 
 " N.B. — Though thirteen guns is your greatest 
 salute in America, yet if the French Admiral 
 
66 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 should prefer a greater number, he has his choice, 
 on conditions.'''' 
 
 Of the triumphant recognition of the Ameri- 
 can flag obtained in the first instance by him, 
 Jones was naturally very proud. " I am hap- 
 py," he says, addressing the Marine Committee 
 at home, " in having it in my power to congra- 
 tulate you on my having seen the American flag 
 recognised in the fullest and completest manner 
 by the flag of France." And he relates how he 
 accomphshed this object. 
 
 On the 10th of April Jones sailed from Brest 
 on that cruise which the assault on Whitehaven, 
 the landing at the Earl of Selkirk's, and the cap- 
 ture of the Drake, afterwards rendered so cele- 
 brated. The account of that expedition will be 
 best given in his own words. It is, however, 
 worthy of notice, that the original log-book of the 
 Ranger, and of his more famous ship, the Bon 
 Homme Richard, which are now accidentally in 
 the hands of gentlemen in Scotland wholly un- 
 connected with Captain Jones, generally corro- 
 borate all his statements to the most minute par- 
 ticulars. It is thus his account commences : — 
 
PAUL JONES. 67 
 
 " I have now to fulfil the promise made in my 
 last, by giving you an account of my late expe- 
 dition. 
 
 " I sailed from Brest the 10th of April ; my 
 plan was extensive, I therefore did not at the be- 
 ginning wish to encumber myself with prisoners. 
 On the 14th I took a brigantine between Scilly 
 and Cape Clear, bound for Ostend, with a cargo 
 of flax-seed for Ireland — sunk her, and proceeded 
 into St George's Channel. 
 
 " On the 17th I took the ship Lord Chatham, 
 bound from London to Dubhn, with a cargo con- 
 sisting of porter, and a variety of merchandise, 
 and almost within sight of her port ; this ship I 
 mamied and ordered for Brest. 
 
 " Towards the evening of the day following 
 the weather had a promising appearance, and, 
 the wind being favourable, I stood over from the 
 Isle of jNIan with an intention to make a descent 
 at Whitehaven ; at ten I was off the harboiu* with 
 a party of volunteers, and had every thing in 
 readiness to land ; but before eleven the wind 
 greatly increased and shifted, so as to blow directly 
 upon the shore ; the sea increased of course, and 
 
68 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 it became impossible to effect a landing. This 
 obliged me to carry all possible sail so as to clear 
 the land, and to await a more favourable oppor- 
 tunity. 
 
 " On the 18th, in Glentinebay, on the south 
 coast of Scotland, I met with a revenue wherry ; 
 it being the common practice of these vessels to 
 board merchant ships, the Ranger then having 
 no external appearance of war, it was expected 
 that this rover would have come alongside; I was, 
 however, mistaken, for though the men were at 
 their quarters, yet this vessel out-sailed the Ran- 
 ger, and got clear in spite of a severe cannonade. 
 
 " The next morning, off the Mull of Gallo- 
 way, I found myself so near a Scotch coasting 
 schooner, loaded with barley, that I could not 
 avoid sinking her. Understanding that there were 
 ten or twelve sail of merchant ships, besides a 
 Tender brigantine, with a number of impressed 
 men on board, at anchor in Lochryan, in Scot- 
 land, I thought this an enterprise worthy my at- 
 tention ; but the wind, which at the first would 
 have served equally well to have sailed in or out 
 of the Loch, shifted in a hard squall, so as to 
 
PAUL JONES. 69 
 
 blow almost directly in, with an appearance of 
 bad weather. I was therefore obhged to abandon 
 my project. 
 
 " Seemg a cutter oiF the lee-bow steering for 
 the Clyde, I gave chase, in hopes of cutting her 
 off; but finding my endeavours ineffectual, I pur- 
 sued no farther than the Rock of Ailsa. In the 
 evening I fell in with a sloop from Dubhn, which 
 I sunk, to prevent intelligence. 
 
 " The next day, the 21st, being near Carrick- 
 fergus, a fishing-boat came off, which I detained. 
 I saw a ship at anchor in the road, which I was 
 informed by the fishermen was the British ship- 
 of-war Drake, of twenty guns. I determined to 
 attack her in the night ; my plan was to overlay 
 her cable, and to fall upon her bow, so as to have 
 all her decks open and exposed to our musquet- 
 ry, &c. ; at the same time, it was my intention 
 to have secured the enemy by grappUngs, so that, 
 had they cut their cables, they would not there- 
 by have attained an advantage. The wmd was 
 high, and unfortunately the anchor was not let 
 go so soon as the order was given, so that the 
 Ranger was brought to upon the enemy^s quar- 
 
70 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ter at the distance of half a cable's length. We 
 had made no warhke appearance, of course had 
 given no alarm ; this determined me to cut im- 
 mediately, which might appear as if the cable 
 had parted, and at the same time enable me, after 
 making a tack out of the Loch, to return with 
 the same prospect of advantage which I had at 
 the first. I was, however, prevented from re- 
 turning, as I with difficulty weathered the fight- 
 house on the lee-side of the Loch, and as the 
 gale increased. The weather now became so 
 very stormy and severe, and the sea ran so high, 
 that I was obhged to take shelter under the south 
 shore of Scotland. 
 
 " The 22d introduced fair weather, though the 
 three kingdoms were, as far as the eye could reach, 
 covered with snow. I now resolved once more 
 to attempt Whitehaven ; but the wind became 
 very light, so that the ship would not in proper 
 time approach so near as I had intended. At 
 midnight I left the ship with two boats and 
 thirty-one volunteers ; when we reached the outer 
 pier the day began to dawn ; I would not, how- 
 ever, abandon my enterprise, but despatched one 
 
PAUL JONES. 71 
 
 boat under the direction of Mr Hill and Lieuten- 
 ant Wallingsford, with the necessary combustibles 
 to set fire to the shipping on the north side of 
 the harbour, while I went with the other party 
 to attempt the south side. I was successful in 
 scaling the walls and spiking up all the cannon on 
 the first fort ; finding the sentinels shut up in 
 the guard-house, they were secured without be- 
 ing hurt. Having fixed sentinels, I now took 
 with me one man only, (Mr Green,) and spiked 
 up all the cannon on the southern fort, distant 
 from the other a quarter of a mile. 
 
 " On my return from this business, I natural- 
 ly expected to see the fire of the ships on the 
 north side, as well as to find my own party with 
 everything in readiness to set fire to the shipping 
 on the south ; instead of this, I found the boat 
 under the direction of Mr Hill and Mr WaUings- 
 ford returned, and the party in some confusion, 
 their Ught having burnt out at the instant when 
 it became necessary.* 
 
 * Jones did not soon surmount the disappointment 
 occasioned by this misunderstanding on the part of his 
 
72 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " By the strangest fatality, my own party 
 were in the same situation, the candles being all 
 
 officers. In a memorial to Congress, he says, '^ My first 
 object was to secure an exchange of prisoners in Europe, 
 and my second to put an end, by one good fire in Eng- 
 land of shipping, to all the burnings in America. I suc- 
 ceeded in the first, even by means far more glorious 
 than my most flattering ideas had expected when I left 
 France. In the second I endeavoured to deserve success ; 
 but a wise officer of mine observed, that ' it was a rash 
 thing, and that nothing could be got by burning poor 
 people's property.' I must, however, do him the justice 
 to mention his acknowledgment, that he had no turn for 
 enterprise ; and I must also do equal justice to ray former 
 officers in the Providence and the Alfred, by declaring, that 
 had they been with me in the Ranger, two hundred and 
 fifty, or three hundred sail of large ships at Whitehaven 
 would have been laid in ashes." In answer to certain 
 queries on this subject, proposed by the Board of Admir- 
 alty in 1781, he says, '' I made a descent at Whitehaven 
 with thirty men only, surprised and took two strong forts 
 with thirty pieces of cannon, and set fire to the shipping 
 where they lay, 300 or upwards, in the dry pier. That 
 both the shipping and the town, containing from 40 to 
 50,000 inhabitants, was not burned, was owing to the 
 backwardness of some persons under my command.'" 
 
PAUL JONES. 73 
 
 burnt out. The day too came on apace, yet I 
 would by no means retreat while any hopes of 
 success remamed. Having again placed senti- 
 nels, a hght was obtained at a house disjoin- 
 ed from the town, and fire was kindled in the 
 steerage of a large ship, which was surrounded 
 by at least an hundred and fifty others, chiefly 
 from two to four hundred tons burthen, and ly- 
 ing side by side, aground, unsurrounded by the 
 water. 
 
 " There were, besides, from seventy to an hun- 
 dred large ships in the north arm of the harbour, 
 aground, clear of the water, and di\dded from the 
 rest only by a stone pier of a ship's height. I 
 should have kindled fires in other places if the 
 time had permitted; as it did not, our care was 
 to prevent the one kindled from being easily ex- 
 tinguished. After some search, a barrel of tar was 
 found, and poured into the flames, which now as- 
 cended from all the hatchways. The mhabitants 
 began to appear in thousands, and individuals ran 
 hastily towards us. I stood between them and 
 the ship on fire, with a pistol in my hand, and 
 ordered them to retire, which they did with pre- 
 
 VOL. I. D 
 
74 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 cipitation. The flames had already caught the 
 rigging, and began to ascend the main-mast; the 
 sun was a full hour's march above the horizon, 
 and as sleep no longer ruled the world, it was 
 time to retire. We re-embarked without opposi- 
 tion, having released a number of prisoners, as 
 our boats could not carry them. After all my 
 people had embarked, I stood upon the pier for 
 a considerable space, yet no person advanced : I 
 saw all the eminences round the town covered 
 with the amazed inhabitants. 
 
 " When we had rowed to a considerable dis- 
 tance from the shore, the Enghsh began to run 
 in vast numbers to their forts ; their disappoint- 
 ment may easily be imagined when they found, 
 I suppose, at least thirty heavy cannon (the in- 
 struments of their vengeance) rendered useless. 
 At length, however, they began to fire, having, 
 as I apprehend, either brought down ships' guns, 
 or used one or two cannon which lay on the beach 
 at the foot of the walls, dismounted, and which 
 had not been spiked. They fired with no direc- 
 tion, and the shot faUing short of the boats, in- 
 stead of doing us any damage, afforded some di- 
 
PAUL JONES. 75 
 
 version, which my people could not help showing, 
 by discharging their pistols, &c. in return of the 
 salute. 
 
 " Had it been possible to have landed a few 
 hours sooner, success would have been complete ; 
 not a single ship out of more than two hundred 
 could possibly have escaped, and all the world 
 would not have been able to save the town ; what 
 was done, however, is sufficient to show that not 
 all their boasted navy can protect their own coasts, 
 and that the scenes of distress which they have 
 occasioned in America may soon be brought 
 home to their own doors. One of my people was 
 missing, and must, I fear, have fallen into the 
 enemy ""s hands after our departure.* I was pleas- 
 ed that in this business we neither killed nor 
 
 * In the Ranger's log-book this man is named David 
 Smith. He is probably the same person who, under the 
 name of Freeman, gave information at several houses in 
 a street adjoining the piers, that fire had been set to a ship, 
 and afterwards other information that appears substantial- 
 ly correct. He must have remained on shore voluntarily. 
 
76 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 wounded. I brought off three prisoners as a 
 sample."" 
 
 Jones has been severely censured, even by 
 those who are wilhng to allow him merited praise 
 in other respects, for his descent on Whitehaven, 
 and St Mary's Isle, — as the seat of Lord Selkirk 
 is named. The wanton burnings and destruction 
 of private property on the coasts of America must 
 have been sufficiently irritating, and must have 
 naturally provoked a spirit of retaUation ; stUl the 
 bulk of mankind must join in opinion with his 
 cautious heutenant, that " nothing was to he got 
 by burning poor people''s property,''"' — and with 
 the biographer of Jones in the Edinburgh En- 
 cyclopaedia, who truly states, that " there is some- 
 thing revolting in the idea of a man's dehberately 
 stifling all his early associations, and availing 
 himself of his familiar acquaintance with the place 
 of his youthful enjoyments, to effect its destruc- 
 tion."" Our feehngs refuse to move in sympathy 
 with this new-born vehement zeal felt by a man 
 against that native land in which his mother, sis- 
 ters, and relatives, were then living in peace and se- 
 
PAUL JONES. 77 
 
 curity. That young Paul had in boyhood imbibed 
 an enthusiastic attachment to America, from the 
 conversation of discontented seamen trading to the 
 colonies, which has been urged in extenuation of 
 the part he chose, is a mere gratuitous assumption. 
 At the period of his boyhood there was no exist- 
 ing discontent which reached his class of society ; 
 and up to the time of his entering the Ameri- 
 can navy, he might in all probability, with equal 
 good-wiU, have accepted a commission under his 
 native sovereign. He was influenced by fortui- 
 tous circumstances ; but, once fairly engaged in 
 the service of the United States, he devoted him- 
 self to his new country with unshaken zeal and 
 incorruptible integrity. 
 
 Besides the questionable nature of the assault 
 on Whitehaven, in a private or abstract view, 
 from a man circumstanced as was Jones, there is 
 a startling discrepancy, a degree of exaggeration, 
 and an air of rhodomontade, about all his accounts 
 of that affair. 
 
 In all the contemporary accounts of the at- 
 tempt on Whitehaven, and capture of the Drake, 
 the Ranger is termed a privateer. This is a mis- 
 
78 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 take ; she was a ship of war belongmg to the 
 United States, and Jones was appointed her com- 
 mander by a resolution of Congress on the 14th 
 of June, 1777* The character of this vessel was, 
 however, certainly anomalous in any regular navy. 
 Her commander acted alone and single-handed ; 
 and such was his temper and the nature of the 
 service for which he seemed most fitted, that he 
 uniformly succeeded best when acting thus on his 
 own judgment and responsibihty, and never whol- 
 ly failed, save in those combined operations where 
 his opinions were opposed or fettered. With the 
 unhmited command of the Ranger, and small as 
 his force was, he determined to prove to France 
 and America what, with adequate means placed 
 at his disposal, he might achieve. But it is time 
 to return to the narrative of this cruise, which re- 
 sembled more the bold exploits of Morgan or Lo- 
 lonnois than the operations of modern nautical 
 warfare. 
 
 " We now stood over for the Scotch shore, and 
 landed at noon oh St Mary's Isle, with one boat 
 only, and a very small party, (twelve men.) The 
 motives which induced me to land there are ex- 
 
PAUL JONES. 'J9 
 
 plained in the within copy of a letter* which I 
 have written to the Countess of Selkirk. 
 
 " On the morning of the 24th I was again off 
 Carrickfergus, and would have gone in had I not 
 seen the Drake preparing to come out ; it was 
 very moderate, and the Drake's boat was sent out 
 to reconnoitre the Ranger. As the boat advanced 
 I kept the ship's stem directly towards her, and, 
 though they had a spy-glass in the boat, they 
 came on within hail, and alongside. When the 
 officer came on the quarter-deck, he was greatly 
 surprised to find himself a prisoner ! — although 
 an express had arrived from Whitehaven the 
 night before. I now understood what I had be- 
 fore imagined, that the Drake came out in con- 
 sequence of this information with volunteers 
 against the Ranger. The officer told me also, 
 that they had taken up the Ranger's anchor. 
 
 " The Drake was attended by five small ves- 
 sels full of people, who were led by motives of 
 curiosity to see an engagement ; but when they 
 discovered the Drake's boat at fhe Ranger's stem 
 
 • See page 87. 
 
80 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 they wisely put back. Alarm-smokes now ap- 
 peared in great abundance, extending along both 
 sides of the channel. The tide was unfavourable, 
 so that the Drake worked out but slowly. This 
 obliged me to run down several times, and to lay 
 with courses up, and main-topsail to the mast. 
 At length the Drake weathered the point, and 
 having led her out to about mid-channel, I suf- 
 fered her to come within hail. The Drake hoisted 
 Enghsh colours, and at the same instant the 
 American stars were displayed on board the Ran- 
 ger. I expected that preface had been now at 
 an end; but the enemy soon after hailed, de- 
 manding what ship it was. I directed the master 
 to answer, the American continental ship Ran- 
 ger ; that we waited for them, and desired they 
 would come on. The sun was now little more 
 than an hour from setting, it was therefore time 
 to begin. The Drake being rather astern of the 
 Ranger, I ordered the helm up, and gave her the 
 first broadside. The action was warm, close, and 
 obstinate ; it lasted an hour and five minutes, 
 when the enemy called for quarters, her fore and 
 main-top-sail yards being both cut away, and 
 
PAUL JOXES. 81 
 
 down on the cap ; the fore-top-gallant-yard and 
 mizen-gafF both hanging up and down along the 
 mast ; the second ensign which they had hoist- 
 ed shot away, and hanging over the quarter- 
 gallery, in the water ; the jib shot away, and 
 hanging into the water ; her sails and rigging 
 entirely cut to pieces, her masts and yards all 
 woimded, and her hull also very much galled. 
 
 " I lost only Lieutenant WaUingsford, and one 
 seaman (John Dongal) killed, and six wounded, 
 among whom are the gunner, (]\Ir Falls,) and 
 Mr Powers, a midshipman, who lost his arm. 
 One of the wounded (Nathaniel Wills) is since 
 dead ; the rest wiU recover. 
 
 " The loss of the enemy in killed and wound- 
 ed was far greater. All the prisoners allow that 
 they came out with a number not less than an 
 hundred and sixty men, and many of them af- 
 firm that they amounted to an hundred and nine- 
 ty ; the medium may perhaps be the most exact 
 account, and by that it will appear that they lost 
 in killed and wounded forty-two men.* 
 
 * This loss is stated by the other party at twenty-two. 
 
 2d 
 
82 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " The captain and lieutenant were among the 
 wounded ; the former, having received a musket- 
 ball in the head the minute before they called for 
 quarters, lived and was sensible for some time 
 after my people boarded the prize ; the lieuten- 
 ant survived two days. They were buried with 
 the honours due to their rank, and with the re- 
 spect due to their memory. 
 
 " The night, and almost the whole day after 
 the action, being moderate, greatly facilitated the 
 refitting of the ships. A large brigantine ran 
 so near the Drake in the afternoon, that I was 
 obliged to bring her to : she belonged to White- 
 haven, and was bound to Norway. 
 
 " I had thoughts of returning by the south 
 channel, but the wind shifting, I determined to 
 pass by the north, and round the west coast of 
 Ireland : this brought me once more off Belfast 
 Loch on the evening of the day after the en- 
 gagement. 
 
 '^ It was now time to release the honest Irish- 
 men whom I took here on the 21st ; and as the 
 poor fellows had lost their boat, she having sunk 
 in the late stormy weather, I was happy in hav- 
 
PAUL JONES. 83 
 
 ing it in my power to give them the necessary 
 sum to purchase every thing new which they had 
 lost ; I gave them also a good boat to transport 
 themselves ashore, and sent with them two infirm 
 men, on whom I had bestowed the last guinea in 
 my possession, to defray their travelling expenses 
 to their proper home at Dublin. They took with 
 them one of the Drake's sails, which would suffi- 
 ciently explain what had happened to the volun- 
 teers. The gratefril Irishmen were enraptured, 
 and expressed their joy in three huzzas as they 
 passed the Ranger's quarter.'"' 
 
 On the 26th April, Captain Jones placed Lieu- 
 tenant Simpson under suspension and arrest ; and 
 on the 8th May he re-entered Brest roads, hav- 
 ing been absent only twenty-eight days.* 
 
 * The worthy and cautious citizens of Aberdeen were 
 the only persons greatly alarmed on this occasion. In the 
 Scots Magazine for May, 1778, we find the following 
 paragraph : — 
 
 " On receiving at Aberdeen intelligence of the plun- 
 der of Lord Selkirk's house and the landing at White- 
 haven, a hand-bill was circulated by order of the INIa- 
 
84 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 If the American plenipotentiaries were grati- 
 fied by the success of this expedition, the Court 
 of Versailles was still more delighted. France 
 was now on the very eve of war. The plenipo- 
 tentiaries of the United States had been pubhcly 
 received at Versailles a month before — the treaty 
 had been signed — and D''Estaing''s squadron was 
 ready for sea. The French ambassador had been 
 ordered to leave London, and by the famous en- 
 gagement between the Arethusa and La Belle 
 Poule the first blow had been struck. In Eng- 
 land the nation, much divided on the pohcy of 
 the unsuccessful war with the colonies, were for 
 the first time united in feelings of hostility to the 
 " ancient foe," and of indignation at the insidious 
 
 gistrates, to set on foot an association of the inhabitants 
 for defence, and in a few days 120 were enrolled." 
 
 The affair never went farther. Another American 
 vessel, which landed a party, and plundered the house of 
 Mr Gordon, near Banff, must have quickened their ap- 
 prehensions ; but no alarm was seriously felt till the squa- 
 dron of Paul Jones appeared in the frith of Forth. 
 Even then the panic was short-lived. 
 
PAUL JONES. 85 
 
 policy of the court of Versailles. The most ac- 
 tive preparations were going on throughout the 
 whole of the three kingdoms. All the winter and 
 spring, in anticipation of a war with France, vo- 
 lunteer corps, defensive bands, and fencible regi- 
 ments, had been raising ; the navy was hastily 
 augmented ; addresses were sent from all quarters 
 of the country ; and the bulk of the nation was 
 animated by the most ardent spirit of loyalty. 
 
 The first leisure of Captain Jones on arriving 
 at Brest was employed in writing his celebrated 
 letter to the Countess of Selkirk. His conduct 
 throughout the whole of this deUcate affair, though 
 certainly on his part the spontaneous impulse of 
 elevated feehng, was also good policy, as the 
 descent on St INIary's Isle, which ultimately re- 
 dounded to his honour, was liable to much mis- 
 representation. The explanatory chivalrous epis- 
 tle to the Countess of Selkirk has been often 
 talked of. It represents the character of the 
 writer in a new and certainly not unpleasing 
 light. How seldom does the romance of real life 
 exist till the age of thirty ! 
 
 But however romantic one class of the feel- 
 
86 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ings of Jones might be, awakened and softened by 
 his visit to the scenes of his boyhood, under cir- 
 cumstances so extraordinary, he was still much 
 more at home in drawing up a clear memorial of 
 his proceedings for Congress, or in bringing to a 
 tardy and shuffling minister, than in addressing 
 high-born dames. Though he had been a few 
 weeks in Paris, the airs of a carpet-knight still 
 sat awkwardly upon him, and his letter evinces 
 more right feeling than good taste or knowledge 
 of lady-life. But Franklin, the republican sage, 
 to whom the epistle was enclosed, says, " It is 
 a gallant letter, which must give her Ladyship a 
 high and just opinion of your generosity and 
 nobleness of mind ;'' — and he was right. The 
 matter was admirable, whatever might be the 
 faults of style. Had the same generous spirit of 
 hostihty been displayed throughout, how much 
 of human misery, wantonly inflicted, might have 
 been spared, — ^how much of that bitterness of feel- 
 ing engendered between countries having in com- 
 mon so many powerful bonds of aUiance might 
 have been prevented ! 
 
PAUL JOXES. 87 
 
 " Ranger, Brest, 8th May, 1778. 
 " Madam, 
 
 " It cannot be too much lamented, that, in 
 the profession of arms, the officer of fine feelings 
 and real sensibility should be under the necessity 
 of winking at any action of persons under his 
 command which his heart cannot approve ; but 
 the reflection is doubly severe, when he finds him- 
 self obhged, in appearance, to countenance such 
 acts by his authority. 
 
 " This hard case was mine, when, on the 23d 
 of April last, I landed on St Mary's Isle. Know- 
 ing Lord Selkirk's interest with the King, and 
 esteeming, as I do, his private character, I wish- 
 ed to make him the happy instrument of alle- 
 \iating the horrors of hopeless captivity, when 
 the brave are overpowered and made prisoners 
 of war. 
 
 " It was, perhaps, fortunate for you. Madam, 
 that he was from home ; for it was my intention 
 to have taken him on board the Ranger, and to 
 have detained him, until, through his means, a 
 general and fair exchange of prisoners, as well in 
 Europe as in America, had been effected. When 
 
88 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 I was informed by some men whom I met at 
 landing, that his Lordship was absent, I walked 
 back to my boat, determined to leave the island. 
 By the way, however, some officers, who were 
 with me, could not forbear expressing their dis- 
 content, observing that, in America, no dehcacy 
 was shown by the EngUsh, who took away all 
 sorts of moveable property, setting fire, not only 
 to towns and to the houses of the rich, without 
 distinction, but not even sparing the wretched 
 hamlets and milch-cows of the poor and helpless, 
 at the approach of an inclement winter. That 
 party had been with me the same morning at 
 Whitehaven ; some complaisance, therefore, was 
 their due. I had but a moment to think how I 
 might gratify them, and at the same time do your 
 Ladyship the least injury. I charged the ofiicers 
 to permit none of the seamen to enter the house, 
 or to hurt anything about it ; to treat you, Ma- 
 dam, with the utmost respect ; to accept of the 
 plate which was offered, and to come away with- 
 out making a search, or demanding anything 
 else. 
 
 " I am induced to beheve that I was punc- 
 
PAUL JONES. 89 
 
 tually obeyed, since I am informed that the plate 
 which they brought away is &r short of the 
 quantity expressed in the inventory which ac- 
 companied it. I have gratified my men ; and, 
 when the plate is sold, I shall become the pur- 
 chaser, and will gratify my own feelings by re- 
 storing it to you by such conveyance as you shall 
 please to direct. 
 
 " Had the Earl been on board the Ranger the 
 following evening, he would have seen the awful 
 pomp and dreadful carnage of a sea-engagement ; 
 both affording ample subject for the pencil as well 
 as melancholy reflection for the contemplative 
 mind. Humanity starts back from such scenes 
 of horror, and cannot sufficiently execrate the 
 vile promoters of this detestable war — 
 
 ' For they^ 'twas tJiey^ unsheathed the ruthless blade, 
 ' And Heaven shall ask the havoc it has made.' 
 
 " The British ship of war Drake, mounting 
 twenty guns, with more than her full complement 
 of officers and men, was our opponent. The 
 ships met, and the advantage was disputed with 
 great fortitude on each side for an hour and four 
 minutes, when the gallant commander of the 
 
90 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Drake fell, and victory declared in favour of the 
 Ranger. The amiable lieutenant lay mortally 
 wounded, besides near forty of the inferior 
 officers and crew killed and wounded, — a melan- 
 choly demonstration of the uncertainty of human 
 prospects, and of the sad reverse of fortune 
 which an hour can produce. I buried them in a 
 spacious grave, with the honours due to the 
 memory of the brave. 
 
 " Though I have drawn my sword in the pre- 
 sent generous struggle for the rights of men, 
 yet I am not in arms as an American, nor am I 
 in pursuit of riches. My fortune is hberal 
 enough, having no wife nor family, and having 
 lived long enough to know that riches cannot 
 ensure happiness. I profess myself a citizen of 
 the world, totally unfettered by the Httle, mean 
 distinctions of cHmate or of country, which di- 
 minish the benevolence of the heart, and set 
 bounds to philanthropy. Before this war began 
 I had at the early time of life withdrawn from the 
 sea-service in favour of ' calm contemplation and 
 poetic ease.' I have sacrificed not only my fa- 
 vourite scheme of life, but the softer affections of 
 
PAUL JONES. 91 
 
 the heart and my prospects of domestic happi- 
 ness, and I am ready to sacrifice my life also 
 with cheerfulness, if that forfeiture could restore 
 peace and good-will among mankind. 
 
 " As the feehngs of your gentle bosom cannot 
 but be congenial with mine, let me entreat you, 
 Madam, to use your persuasive art with your hus- 
 band's to endeavour to stop this cruel and de- 
 structive war, in which Britain can never succeed. 
 Heaven can never countenance the barbarous and 
 unmanly practice of the Britons in America, which 
 savages would blush at, and which, if not dis- 
 continued, will soon be retahated on Britain by 
 a justly-enraged people. Should you fail in this, 
 (for I am persuaded that you will attempt it, 
 and who can resist the power of such an advo- 
 cate ?) your endeavours to effect a general ex- 
 change of prisoners will be an act of humanity 
 which will afford you golden feehngs on a death- 
 bed. 
 
 " I hope this cruel contest will soon be closed ; 
 but should it continue, I wage no war with the 
 fair. I acknowledge their force, and bend before 
 it with submission. Let not, therefore, the amia- 
 
92 MEMOIltS OF 
 
 ble Countess of Selkirk regard me as an enemy ; 
 I am ambitious of her esteem and friendship, and 
 would do any thing, consistent with my duty, to 
 merit it. 
 
 " The honour of a hne from your hand in 
 answer to this win lay me under a singular obh- 
 gation ; and if I can render you any acceptable 
 service in France or elsewhere, I hope you see 
 into my character so far as to command me with- 
 out the least grain of reserve. 
 
 " I wish to know exactly the behaviour of my 
 people, as I am determined to punish them if 
 they have exceeded their hberty. I have the 
 honour to be, with much esteem and with pro- 
 found respect. Madam, &c. &c. 
 
 " John Pall Jones. 
 
 " To the Countess of Selkirk." 
 
 It afterwards cost Jones much more trouble 
 than he could have calculated upon to redeem 
 the promise here given to the Countess of Sel- 
 kirk. Once in the harpy claws of commissaries 
 and prize-agents, it required aU his energy, acti- 
 vity, and disinterestedness, to wrest the plate 
 
PAUL JONES. 93 
 
 from them, even by paying, he says, " more than 
 the value/' It was valued and re-valued, and 
 occasioned more trouble and expense than it was 
 intrinsically worth, had not Jones conceived his 
 honour pledged for its safe restoration. 
 
 Jones found a useful auxiliary in this affair 
 in Father John, an Irish priest, the chaplain of 
 Count D'OnTlHers, who then commanded a fleet 
 lying off Brest, and whom he had already made 
 his friend. So justly provoked was he about this 
 affair, and the sordid spirit of the agents, that, in 
 the very temper of Hotspur, we find him exclaim- 
 ing, " I will not abate the thousandth part of a 
 sol of three-twentieths of prizes, which no man in 
 America ever presumed to dispute as being my 
 just and proper right, and which no rascal in 
 Europe shall presume to dispute with impunity ! 
 To whom, since I was myself Commander-in- 
 Chief, would that old fool decree the three-twen- 
 tieths ? Perhaps to his dear self, who is puffed 
 up with the idea of his right to secure ' the pro- 
 perty of captures ?' " 
 
 Though the plate came into the possession of 
 Jones in 1780, it was nearly five years before he 
 
94 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 was able to return it to the owner. It was lodged 
 with a friend during his absence in America ; and 
 in writing to Lord Selkirk in 1784, after the 
 peace, he takes occasion to make a new avowal 
 of the views and sentiments on which he had act- 
 ed during the war : — 
 
 " Paris, February 12th, 1T84. 
 '' My Lord, 
 
 " I have just received a letter from Mr Nes- 
 bitt, dated at L'Orient the 4th instant, mention- 
 ing a letter to him from your son. Lord Daer, 
 on the subject of the plate that was taken from 
 your house by some of my people when I com- 
 manded the Ranger, and has been for a long time 
 past in Mr Nesbitf s care. A short time before 
 I left France to return to America, Mr W. Alex- 
 ander wrote me from Paris to L' Orient, that he 
 had, at my request, seen and conversed with your 
 Lordship in England respecting the plate. He 
 said you had agreed that I should restore it, and 
 that it might be forwarded to the care of your 
 sister-in-law, the Countess of Morton, in London. 
 In consequence I now send orders to Mr Nesbitt 
 to forward the plate immediately to her care. 
 
PAUL JONES. 95 
 
 When I received jSIr Alexander's letter, there 
 was no cartel or other vessel at KOrient, that I 
 could trust with a charge of so delicate a nature 
 as your plate, and I had great reason to expect I 
 should return to France within six months after 
 I embarked for America ; but circumstances in 
 America prevented my returning to Europe dur- 
 ing the war, though I had constant expectation 
 of it. The long delay that has happened to the 
 restoration of your plate has given me much con- 
 cern, and I now feel a proportionate pleasure in 
 fulfilling what was my first intention. My motive 
 for landing at your estate in Scotland was to 
 take yoic as an hostage for the lives and Hberty 
 of a number of the citizens of America, who had 
 been taken in war on the ocean, and committed 
 to British prisons, under an act of parhament, 
 as traitors^ pirates^ and felons. You observ- 
 ed to Mr Alexander, that ' my idea was a mis- 
 taken one, because you were not (as I had sup- 
 posed) in favour with the British ministry, who 
 knew that you Javoured the cause of liberty.^ 
 On that account I am glad that you were absent 
 from your estate when I landed there, as I bore 
 
96 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 no personal enmity, but the contrary, towards you. 
 I afterwards had the happiness to redeem my 
 fellow-citizens from Britain, by means far more 
 glorious than through the medium of any single 
 hostage. 
 
 " As I have endeavoured to serve the cause 
 of liberty, through every stage of the American 
 revolution, and sacrificed to it my private ease, 
 a part of my fortune, and some of my blood, I 
 could have no selfish motive in permitting my 
 people to demand and carry off your plate. My 
 sole inducement was to turn their attention and 
 stop their rage from breaking out, and retaliat- 
 ing on your house and effects the too ivanton 
 burnings and desolation that had been committed 
 against their relations and fellow-citizens in Ame- 
 rica by the British ; of which, I assure you, you 
 would have felt the severe consequences had I not 
 fallen on an expedient to prevent it, and hurried 
 my people away before they had time for farther 
 reflection. As you were so obhging as to say to 
 Mr Alexander, that ' my people behaved with 
 great decency at your house^ I ask the favour of 
 you to announce that circumstance to the public. 
 
PAUL JONES. 97 
 
 a 
 
 I am, my Lord, wishing you always perfect 
 freedom and happiness,"' &c. &c. 
 
 '' Pall Jones." 
 
 The answer that Jones received next year from 
 the Earl was some mdemnification for his trouble 
 and anxiety : — 
 
 " London, 4th August, 1785. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " I received the letter you wrote me at the 
 time you sent off my plate, in order for restoring 
 it. Had I known where to direct a letter to you 
 at the time it arrived in Scotland, I would have 
 then wrote to you ; but not knowing it, nor find- 
 ing that any of my acquamtance at Edinburgh 
 knew it, I was obhged to delay writing till I came 
 here, when, by means of a gentleman connected 
 with America, I was told Mr Le Grand was your 
 banker at Paris, and would take proper care of a 
 letter for you ; therefore I enclose this to him. 
 
 " Notwithstanding all the precautions you took 
 for the easy and uninterrupted conveyance of the 
 plate, yet it met with considerable delays, first at 
 Calais, next at Dover, then at London. How- 
 
 VOL. I. E 
 
98 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ever, it at last arrived at Dumfries, and, I dare 
 say, quite safe, though as yet I have not seen it, 
 being then at Edinburgh. I intended to have 
 put an article in the newspapers about your hav- 
 ing returned it ; but before I was informed of its 
 being arrived, some of your friends, I suppose, 
 had put it in the Dumfries newspaper, whence 
 it was immediately copied into the Edinburgh 
 papers, and thence into the London ones. 
 
 " Since that time I have mentioned it to many 
 people of fashion ; and on all occasions. Sir, both 
 now and formerly, I have done you the justice to 
 tell, that you made an oifer of returning the plate 
 very soon after your return to Brest, and al- 
 though you yourself were not at my house, but 
 remained at the shore with your boat, that yet 
 you had your officers and men in such extraor- 
 dinary good discipline, that you having given 
 them the strictest orders to behave well, to do no 
 injury of any kind, to make no search, but only 
 to bring off what plate was given them ; that in 
 reahty they did exactly as ordered, and that not 
 one man offered to stir from his post, on the out- 
 side of the house, nor entered the doors, nor said 
 
PAUL JONES. 99 
 
 an uncivil word ; that the two officers stood not 
 a quarter of an hour in the parlour and butler^'s 
 pantry while the butler got the plate together ; 
 behaved politely, and asked for nothing but the 
 plate, and instantly marched their men off in re- 
 gular order ; and that both officers and men be- 
 haved in all respects so well, that it would have 
 done credit to the best-disciplined troops what- 
 ever. Some of the English newspapers at that 
 time having put in confused accounts of your ex- 
 pedition to Whitehaven and Scotland, I ordered 
 a proper one of what happened in Scotland to be 
 put in the London newspapers, by a gentleman 
 who was then at my house, by which the good 
 conduct and civil behaviour of your officers and 
 men were done justice to, and attributed to your 
 orders, and the good discipHne you maintained 
 over your people. 
 
 " I am. Sir, your most humble servant, 
 
 " Selkirk.'^ 
 
 The plate was returned exactly as it had been 
 taken away ; even the tea leaves, it is said, re- 
 mained in the tea-pot. 
 
100 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The success of Jones, and the temporary vogue 
 into which it raised him at the court of France 
 on his return to Brest, did not free him from 
 many embarrassments. To provide for his crew, 
 to secure the two hundred prisoners he had 
 brought in, and to obtain a new command for 
 himself, all occupied and distracted his attention 
 at the same time. The dilatoriness or cupidity 
 of the prize-agents, and the straitened funds at 
 the disposal of the Commissioners, excited open 
 discontents among the seamen, — who, after their 
 exertions, saw themselves neglected and forgotten, 
 and even in want of the common necessaries of 
 food and clothing. Captain Jones had now ob- 
 tained the right of speaking out, and also of be- 
 ing heard ; and he used his newly-acquired in- 
 fluence with equal anxiety for the comfort of his 
 own men, and of the sick, the wounded, and pri- 
 
PAUL JONES. 101 
 
 soners whom the fortune of war had placed at 
 his mercy. 
 
 Before quitting America, Jones had, under the 
 sanction of the Marine Committee, made himself 
 accountable to his crew for the regular payment 
 of their wages. With this circumstance Mr Lee, 
 one of the Commissioners, who afterwards gave 
 both of his own colleagues much trouble, was ac- 
 quainted ; yet he concurred with those who were 
 in ignorance of this arrangement in dishonouring 
 the draft which Jones made on the Commission- 
 ers on his return to Brest, under circumstances 
 which should have compelled them to attend to 
 his wants, in humanity and good pohcy as well 
 as justice. " I was left,'*' he says, " with two 
 hundred prisoners of war, a number of sick and 
 wounded, an almost naked crew, and a ship, after 
 a severe engagement, in want of stores and pro- 
 visions, from the 9th May till the 13th of June, 
 destitute of any pubhc support." " To make 
 me completely wretched,"" he says, on another oc- 
 casion, " M. deBersolle has told me that he now 
 stops his hand, not only of the necessary articles 
 
102 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 to refit the ship, but also of the daily provisions. 
 I know not where to find to-morrow\s dinner for 
 the great number of mouths that depend on me 
 for food. Are the continental ships of war to 
 depend on the sale of their prizes for a daily din- 
 ner to their men ? Publish it not in Gath !" 
 
 But from all these pressing difficulties Jones 
 contrived to extricate himself with httle aid, in 
 the first instance, from the harassed Commission- 
 ers, who, at this time, had their hands full of 
 business, and their purses empty of money. 
 
 Shortly afterwards we find Captain Jones in- 
 terfering to protect his prisoners from the rapa- 
 city of the persons who were intrusted with sup- 
 plying their wants. By his exertions and credit 
 with the French government and its functionaries, 
 he had already ensured their safe custody in order 
 to an exchange, — an object for which Franklin was 
 now negotiating, and which at all times was one 
 of prime importance to Jones, as appears on the 
 face of his whole correspondence. The letter en- 
 closing the memorial of his prisoners is very cre- 
 ditatble to his feelings. 
 
PAUL JONES. 103 
 
 " The fellow,"' he says, " who holds the rod 
 over their wretched heads, has menaced them ' if 
 they dare to complain,' and would have intercept- 
 ed their memorial, had I not prevented it. This 
 Riou is the scoundrel who, by his falsehood, 
 promoted discord in the Ranger, and got the 
 deluded people to appoint him their particular 
 agent. Before that time he never could call 
 twenty louis his own, — and he is now too rich for 
 his former profession of King's interpreter. He 
 does not deny that he is a scoundrel, for so I 
 have caUed him more than once before witnesses, 
 and so every person of sense thinks him at Brest. 
 If the exchange of prisoners does not take place 
 immediately, I conceive it would be the most eli- 
 gible method to have the people on board the 
 Patience landed. They are convinced that if you 
 should think fit to return them an answer, it will 
 never come to their hands through the means of 
 any person who calls himself an agent at Brest, 
 and they having full confidence in the honour and 
 humanity of Father John, professor of EngUsh, 
 and chaplain to Comte D'Orvilliers at Brest, have 
 desu:ed me to inform you, that through that gen- 
 
104 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 tleman they beg you to favour them with an an- 
 swer. In granting their request you will confer 
 a very singular obUgation on me." 
 
 Though Jones had just cause of anger in the 
 hardship and indignity to which he was exposed 
 by the Commissioners dishonouring his drafts, and 
 in the conduct of the prize-agents, and the discon- 
 tents which in consequence arose among his crew, 
 who naturally all looked to him for justice, if not 
 reward, he was cheered by many marks of private 
 friendship and esteem. The Comte D'OrvilUers, 
 Commander-in-Chief at Brest, showed him the 
 utmost kindness, untinctured by any of that 
 professional jealousy with which he was after- 
 wards regarded by the horde of inferior officers of 
 the French navy. The Due de Chartres seemed 
 friendly ; and, above all, the wise and venerable 
 Frankhn, who, from first to last, appears to have 
 appreciated his character, proved a friend as 
 steady as he was judicious. 
 
 Jones had not been three weeks in Brest when 
 Franklin wrote him, congratulating him on his 
 late success, and proposing another expedition. 
 " The Jersey privateers,'' he says, " do us a great 
 
PAUL JOXES. 105 
 
 deal of mischief by intercepting our supplies. It 
 has been mentioned to me, that your small vessel, 
 commanded by so brave an officer, might render 
 great service, by following them where greater 
 ships dare not venture their bottoms ; or, being 
 accompanied and supported by some frigates from 
 Brest, at a proper distance, might draw them out 
 and then take them. I wish you to consider of 
 this, as it comes from high authority^ 
 
 To be made the decoy-duck of French frigates 
 coidd not be pecuharly agreeable to a man whose 
 first and vehement object at all times was " a 
 separate command,'' " unhmited orders,'' and to 
 be his " own counsellor." Yet in reply he says, 
 " Nothing could give me more pleasure than to 
 render essential service to America in any way 
 which you may find expedient." He then hints 
 his desire of still obtaining the command of the 
 ship building at Amsterdam. " I demand no- 
 thing," he adds, " and though I know that it was 
 the intention of Congress to give me that ship, I 
 am now ready to go wherever the service calls 
 me." " If two or three fast-sailing ships could 
 be collected together, there is a great choice of 
 
 E 2 
 
106 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 private enterprises that I can name, some of 
 which might effectually succeed, and would be 
 far more for the interest and honour of America 
 than cruising with twice the force. It appears to 
 me to be the province of our infant navy to sur- 
 prise and spread alarms with fast-sailing ships. 
 When we grow stronger we can meet their [the 
 British] fleets, and dispute with them the sove- 
 reignty of the ocean.'*'' 
 
 These plans and speculations were forgotten 
 in the more dazzling prospects which the follow- 
 ing letter from Frankhn opened to Jones ; though 
 what at first promised so fair, afterwards be- 
 came to him the source of much trouble and vexa- 
 tion : — 
 
 (Private. ) 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " I have the pleasure of informing you, that it 
 is proposed to give you the command of the great 
 ship we have built at Amsterdam. By what you 
 wrote to us formerly, I have ventured to say in 
 your behalf, that this proposition would be agree- 
 able to you. You will immediately let me know 
 
PAUL JONES. 107 
 
 your resolution ; which, that you may be more 
 clear in taking, I must inform you of some cir- 
 cumstances. She is at present the property of 
 the King ; but as there is no war yet declared, 
 you will have the commission and flag of the 
 States, and act under their orders and laws. The 
 Prince de Nassau will make the cruise with you. 
 She is to be brought here under cover as a French 
 merchantman, to be equipped and manned in 
 France. We hope to exchange your prisoners 
 for as many American sailors ; but if that fails, 
 you have your present crew to be made up here 
 with other nations and French. The other Com- 
 missioners are not acquainted with this proposi- 
 tion as yet ; and you see by the nature of it, that 
 it is necessary to be kept a secret till we have 
 got the vessel here, for fear of difficulties in Hol- 
 land, and interception ; you will therefore direct 
 your answer to me alone. It being desired that 
 the affair should rest between you and me, per- 
 haps it may be best for you to take a trip up 
 here to concert matters, if in general you approve 
 the idea. 
 
108 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " I was much pleased with reading your jour- 
 nal, which we received yesterday ."*"' 
 
 A few days after this, Frankhn had this affair 
 so well matured as to write again in the follow- 
 ing terms : — 
 
 " Passy, June 10th, 1778. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " I received yours of 1st instant, with the pa- 
 pers enclosed, which I have shown to the other 
 Commissioners, but have not yet had their opinion 
 of them ; only I know that they had before (in 
 consideration of the disposition and uneasiness of 
 your people) expressed an inchnation to order 
 your ship directly back to America. You wiU 
 judge from what follows, whether it will not be 
 advisable for you to propose their sending her 
 back with her people, and under some other com- 
 mand. In consequence of the high opinion the 
 Minister of the Marine has of your conduct and 
 bravery, it is now settled (observe, that is to 
 be a secret between us, I being expressly enjoin- 
 ed not to communicate it to any other person,) 
 
PAUL JONES. 109 
 
 that you are to have the frigate from Holland, 
 which actually belongs to government, and will 
 be frimished with as many good French seamen 
 as you shall require. But you are to act under 
 Congress commission. As you may like to have 
 a number of Americans, and your own are home- 
 sick, it is proposed to give you as many as you 
 can engage out of two hundred prisoners, which 
 the ministry of Britain have at length agreed to 
 give us in exchange for those you have in your 
 hands. They propose to make the exchange at 
 Calais, where they are to bring the Americans. 
 Nothing is wanting to this but a hst of yours, 
 containing their names and rank ; immediately on 
 the receipt of which an equal number are to be 
 prepared, and sent in a ship to that port, where 
 yours are to meet them. 
 
 " If by this means you can get a good new crew, 
 I think it would be best that you are quite free 
 of the old ; for a mixture might introduce the in- 
 fection of that sickness you complain of. But 
 this may be left to your own discretion. Perhaps 
 we shall join you with the Providence, Captain 
 Whipple, a new continental ship of 30 guns, 
 
110 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 which, in coming out of the river of Providence, 
 gave the two frigates that were posted to inter- 
 cept her each of them so heavy a dose of her 18 
 and 12 pounders, that they had not the courage, 
 or were not able, to pursue her. It seems to be 
 desired that you will step up to Versailles, (where 
 one will meet you,) in order to such a settlement 
 of matters and plans with those who have the di- 
 rection as cannot well be done by letter. I wish 
 it may be convenient to you to do it immediately. 
 " The project of giving you the command of 
 this ship pleases me the more, as it is a probable 
 opening to the higher preferment you so justly 
 merit." 
 
 Jones must have been exceedingly gratified by 
 this information. It was placing him at once at 
 the summit of his wishes. The French Minister 
 of Marine notified the wishes of his Most Chris- 
 tian Majesty to employ the American captain ; 
 and the Commissioners as formally signified their 
 acquiescence. They say, " We readily consent 
 that he should be at your Excellency's disposi- 
 tion, and shall be happy if his services may be in 
 
PAUL JONES. Ill 
 
 any respect useful to the designs your Excellency 
 has in contemplation.'" 
 
 Though Jones had already some experience of 
 Marine Committees, and of the delays and inso- 
 lence of office, it was quite impossible that he 
 could have anticipated aU the torture and vexa- 
 tion laid up in store for him by a proposal which 
 at first sight appeared so fair and flattering. He 
 made his acknowledgments to the minister in 
 his best style ; but probably thought less of the 
 " dignity of human nature,*"* the slang of that 
 day, long before aU official connexion was fin- 
 ished between them. " I have no doubt," he 
 says, *' that many projects might be formed from 
 the hints which I had the honour of sending 
 lately for your inspection : had I been intrusted 
 with the chief command, I would have held my- 
 self responsible for consequences." 
 
 " I am bound in honour to communicate faith- 
 fully to Congress the generous offer which the 
 King now makes, of lending the Epervier in the 
 meantime to be employed under my command, 
 under the flag of America. I have now under my 
 command a ship bound to America. On my arrival 
 
112 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 there, from the former confidence of Congress, I 
 have reason to expect an immediate removal into 
 one of their best ships. I have reason to expect 
 the chief command of the first squadron destined 
 for an expedition, having in my possession several 
 similar appointments ; and when Congress see fit 
 to appoint admirals, I have assurance that my 
 name will not be forgot. These are flattering 
 prospects to a man who has drawn his sword only 
 upon principles of philanthropy, and in support 
 of the dignity of human nature. But as I prefer 
 a soUd to a shining reputation, a useful to a 
 splendid command, I hold myself ready, with the 
 approbation of the Commissioners, to be governed 
 by you in any measures that may tend to distress 
 and humble the common enemy." 
 
 This letter, in several of its hints, shows some 
 address on the part of Jones, who, it must be 
 acknowledged, seldom, unless stirred by indigna- 
 tion or a sense of injury, slipped the opportunity 
 of forwarding his own interests by an opportune 
 hint or leading suggestion : of hints and projects 
 of a public nature his brain was at all times sin- 
 
PAUL JONES. 113 
 
 gularly fertile. At this moment of excitement 
 it teemed with bold ideas or fancies. To effect 
 the destruction of Whitehaven was, as we have 
 seen, one project. To take the Bank of Ayr, 
 destroy that town, and probably Greenock and 
 Port-Glasgow, with the shipping in the Clyde, 
 was a yet bolder design. " Much,'" he says, 
 " might be done in Ireland, where ships worth 
 150,000 linres, or even 200,000, might be 
 seized, — London might be distressed, by cutting 
 off the supply of coals carried from Newcastle, — 
 the fishing at Campbelton might be destroyed, 
 and many towns on the north-east coasts of Eng- 
 land and Scotland might be burnt or laid under 
 contribution." A more feasible project was the 
 capture or destruction of the Baltic fleet. " The 
 success of any of these, or of hke enterprises," 
 says Jones, in a letter to the French Minister of 
 Marine, " will depend in surprising well, and on 
 despatch both in the attack and in the retreat ; 
 therefore it is necessary the ships should sail 
 fast, and that their forces should be sufficient to 
 repel any of the enemy's cruising frigates, two of 
 which may perhaps be met at a time. It is scarce- 
 
114 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ly conceivable how great a panic the success of 
 any one of these projects would occasion in Eng- 
 land. It would convince the world that their 
 coasts are vulnerable, and would, consequently, 
 hurt their pubHc credit. 
 
 " If alarming the coast of Britain should be 
 thought inexpedient, to intercept the enemy^s 
 West India or Baltic fleets, or their Hudson's 
 Bay ships, or to destroy their Greenland fishery, 
 are capital objects."" 
 
 - There is much in these plans that must either 
 have been conceived in ignorance, or suggested by 
 Jones for the purpose of merely amusing, or of 
 quickening the motions of the French marine de- 
 partment. Even when, long afterwards, a force 
 was obtained, not one of them was attempted save 
 the abortive attack on Leith. 
 
 It has been noticed, that, after the engagement 
 with the Drake, Captain Jones ordered Lieuten- 
 ant Simpson under arrest for what appeared very 
 satisfactory reasons. He had afterwards been 
 annoyed by the Commissioners' dishonouring his 
 draft, and he was now enraged by their con- 
 duct regarding Simpson, the offending officer. In- 
 
PAUL JONES. 115 
 
 deed no excuse can be offered for their proceed- 
 ings, save that these distracted Commissioners had 
 not power at all times to administer rigid justice, 
 whatever might have been their wishes. The 
 account of this proceeding is given in the words 
 of the memorial, long afterwards prepared by Cap- 
 tain Jones for the information of the King of 
 France. It was an insult the memory of which 
 did not soon leave him. 
 
 " The heutenant under arrest on board the 
 Drake had constant intercourse with the crew ; 
 who thereby became so insolent as to refuse duty, 
 and go all hands below repeatedly before the 
 Captain's face. It was impossible to trifle at that 
 time, as Count D'OrviUiers had assured Captain 
 Jones, unless he could get the Drake ready to 
 transport the prisoners to America before orders 
 arrived from Court, they would in all probability 
 be given up without an exchange, to avoid im- 
 mediate war with England. It therefore became 
 impossible to suffer the lieutenant to remain any 
 longer among them. Captain Jones had him re- 
 moved to the ship called the Admiral, where the 
 French confine even the first officers in the ser- 
 
116 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 vice. He had there a good chamber to himself, 
 and Hberty to walk the deck. The lieutenant 
 endeavoured to desert out of the Admiral, and 
 behaved in a manner so extravagant, that Count 
 D'Orvilhers (without the knowledge of Captain 
 Jones) ordered him to the prison of the port, 
 where he also had a good chamber, and Captain 
 Jones paid his expenses out of his own pocket. 
 
 " About this time Captain Jones, finding the 
 lieutenant appeared more reasonable than for- 
 merly, took his parole in writing, not to serve 
 again in the navy before he was acquitted by a 
 court-martial, and set him at liberty. A day or 
 two afterwards the Commissioners thought fit to 
 interfere respecting the heutenant of the Ran- 
 ger, which, it is presumed, they had no authority 
 to do, as it laid the axe to the root of subor- 
 dination." 
 
 On returning from Versailles, whither he had 
 gone, as has been noticed, on the invitation of 
 Franklin, Captain Jones feehng himself dread- 
 fully aggrieved, wrote as follows : — 
 
PAUL JOXES. 117 
 
 " Brest, August 13th, 1778. 
 " Gextlemex, 
 
 " I have been five days in this place since my 
 return from Passy, during which time I have 
 neither seen nor heard from Lieutenant Simp- 
 son ; but Mr Hill, who was last winter at Passy, 
 and who sailed with me from Nantes, informs 
 me truly, that it is generally reported in the 
 Ranger, and of course throughout the French 
 fleet, and on shore, that I am turned out of the 
 service ; that you, gentlemen, have given Mr 
 Simpson my place, with a captain\s commission, 
 and that my letter to you of the 16th July was 
 involuntary on my part, and in obedience only 
 to your orders. 
 
 " That these reports prevail is not an idle 
 conjecture, but a melancholy fact. Therefore I 
 beseech you, — I demand of you to afford me re- 
 dress, — redress by a court-martial ; to form which 
 we have now, with the assistance of Captain Hin- 
 man. Captain Read, as also them at Nantes, a 
 sufficient number of officers in France, exclusive 
 of myself. The Providence and Britain are ex- 
 pected here very soon from Nantes, and I am 
 
118 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 certain that they neither can nor will again de- 
 part, before my friend Captain Hinman can come 
 down here ; and it is his unquestioned right to 
 succeed me m the Ranger. 
 
 " I have faithfully and personally supported 
 and fought the dignified cause of human nature 
 ever since the American banners first waved on 
 the Delaware and on the ocean. This I did when 
 that man did not call himself a republican, but 
 left the continent, and served its enemies ; and 
 this I did when this man appeared backward, 
 and did not support me as he ought. 
 
 " I conclude by requesting you to caU before 
 you, and examine for your own satisfaction, Mr 
 Edward Meyers, who is now at the house of the 
 Swedish Ambassador, and who, having been with 
 me as a volunteer, can and will, I am persuaded, 
 represent to you the conduct of the officers and 
 men towards me, both before I left Brest, and af- 
 terwards in the Irish Channel, as well as my 
 conduct towards them. — I have the honour to 
 be, &c. &c. 
 
 " Their Excellencies the 
 American Plenipotentiaries." 
 
PAUL JONES. 119 
 
 He received no immediate satisfaction, and re- 
 solved to digest his chagrin as he best could, and 
 at least avoid the odium of a squabble among the 
 Americans in France. 
 
 In the spring of the following year, he, how- 
 ever, received a shght atonement to his wounded 
 feelings, in an official letter signed by Franklin 
 and Adams, stating, that as his removal from 
 the Ranger, and the appointment of Lieutenant 
 Simpson to the command of that ship, might be 
 liable to misrepresentations and misinterpreta- 
 tions, they certified it to be done by them, that, 
 on the request of M. de Sartine, he might be em- 
 ployed on some public service ; and that Simpson 
 had been appointed by his (Jones''s) consent after 
 he had released that officer from an arrest under 
 which he had placed him. 
 
 The prospect of immediate active service, of 
 getting afloat with unlimited orders, and a larger 
 force than he had ever yet commanded, so flat- 
 tering and near in July, became more doubtful 
 in the end of August ; and by September, as war 
 was now declared with England, the French of- 
 ficers were in the first place to be provided for ; 
 
120 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and the promised, or rather offered, frigates 
 dwindled down to a much smaller force. Even 
 that was delayed. After repeatedly applying to 
 the American Commissioners, and using aU the 
 personal influence which his enlarged acquaint- 
 ance in the court circles enabled him to obtain, 
 Jones found it needful to remonstrate with M. de 
 Sartine. He had, however, lost another power- 
 ful hold of the Minister. The Prince of Nassau, 
 who in the outset had eagerly desired to accom- 
 pany him in his expedition, either from caprice 
 or change of views, abandoned the scheme, with- 
 out scruple or apology, and to the letters of Jones 
 did not even deign the civihty of a reply. 
 
 That his time might not be wholly consumed 
 in idleness, and in the sickness of hope deferred, 
 Jones again addressed the Minister in what he calls 
 " an exphcit letter, ""' which explains his situation 
 better than could be done in many words. 
 
 " Brest, September 13th, 1778. 
 " Honoured Sir, 
 
 " When his Excellency Doctor Franklm in- 
 formed me that you had condescended to think 
 
PAUL JONES. 121 
 
 me worthy of your notice, I took such pleasure 
 in reflecting on the happy alliance between France 
 and America, that I was really flattered, and en- 
 tertained the most grateful sense of the honour 
 which you proposed for me, as well as the favour 
 which the king proposed for America, by putting 
 so fine a ship of war as the Indian under my com- 
 mand, and under its flag, with unhmited orders. 
 " In obedience to your desire, I came to Ver- 
 sailles, and was taught to believe that my intend- 
 ed ship was in deep water, and ready for the sea ; 
 but when the Prince (de Nassau) returned I re- 
 ceived from him a different account ; I was told 
 that the Indian could not be got afloat within a 
 shorter period than three months at the approach- 
 ing equinox. 
 
 " To employ this interval usefully, I first offer- 
 ed to go from Brest with Count D'Orvilliers, as a 
 volunteer, which you thought fit to reject. I had 
 then the satisfaction to find that you approved in 
 general of a variety of hints for private enterprises 
 which I had drawn up for your consideration, 
 and I was flattered with assurances from Messieurs 
 de Chaumont and Bandonin, that three of the 
 
 VOL. I. F 
 
122 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 finest frigates in France, with two tenders, and a 
 number of troops, would be immediately put under 
 my command; and that I should have unhmited 
 orders, and be at free hberty to pursue such of 
 my own projects as I thought proper. But this 
 plan fell to nothing in the moment when I was 
 taught to think that nothing was wanting but 
 the King's signature. 
 
 " Another much inferior armament from 
 L'Orient was proposed to be put under my com- 
 mand, which was by no means equal to the ser- 
 vices that were expected from it ; for speed and 
 force, though both requisite, were both wanting. 
 Happily for me this also failed, and I was there- 
 by saved from a dreadful prospect of ruin and 
 dishonoiu*. 
 
 " I had so entire a reliance that you would de- 
 sire nothing of me inconsistent with my honour 
 and rank, that the moment you required me to 
 come down here, in order to proceed round to St 
 Malo, though I had received no written orders, 
 and neither knew your intention respecting my 
 destination or command, I obeyed with such 
 haste, that although my curiosity led me to look 
 
PAUL JOXES. 123 
 
 at the armament at K Orient, yet I was but three 
 days from Passy till I reached Brest. Here too 
 I drew a blank ; but when I saw the Lively, it 
 was no disappointment, as that ship, both in sail- 
 ing and equipment, is far inferior to the Ran- 
 ger. 
 
 " My only disappointment here was my being 
 precluded from embarking in pursuit of marine 
 knowledge with Count D'Orvilhers, who did not 
 sail till seven days after my return. He is my 
 friend, and expressed his wishes for my com- 
 pany ; I accompanied him out of the road when 
 the fleet sailed ; and he always lamented that 
 neither himself nor any person in authority in 
 Brest had received from you any order that men- 
 tioned my name. I am astonished therefore to 
 be informed that you attribute my not being in 
 the fleet to my stay at L'Orient. 
 
 " I am not a mere adventurer of fortune. Sti- 
 mulated by principles of reason and philanth- 
 ropy, I laid aside my enjoyments in private Ufe, 
 and embarked under the flag of America when it 
 was first displayed. In that line my desire of 
 fame is infinite, and I must not now so far forget 
 
124 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 my own honour, and what I owe to my friends 
 and America, as to remain inactive. 
 
 " My rank knows no superior in the Ameri- 
 can marine : I have long since been appointed to 
 command an expedition with five of its ships, 
 and I can receive orders from no junior or infe- 
 rior officer whatever. 
 
 " I have been here in the most tormenting 
 suspense for more than a month since my re- 
 turn; and agreeable to your desire, as mentioned 
 to me by Monsieur Chaumont, a lieutenant has 
 been appointed, and is with me, who speaks 
 the French as well as the EngHsh. Circular 
 letters have been written, and sent the 8th of 
 last month from the English Admiralty, because 
 they expected me to pay another visit with four 
 ships. Therefore I trust that, if the Indian is 
 not to be got out, you will not, at the approaching 
 season, substitute a force that is not at least 
 equal both in strength and sailing to any of the 
 enemy's cruising ships. 
 
 " I do not wish to interfere with the harmony 
 of the French marine ; but if I am still thought 
 worthy of your attention, I shall hope for a se- 
 
PAUL JONES. 125 
 
 parate command, with liberal orders. If, on the 
 contrary, you should now have no further occa- 
 sion for my services, the only favour I can ask 
 is, that you will bestow on me the Alert, with a 
 few seamen, and permit me to return, and carry 
 with me your good opinion in that small vessel, 
 before the winter, to America/'' 
 
 This letter was submitted to the Due de Roche- 
 foucault, and enclosed to Frankhn, who, while 
 he omitted no opportunity of serving Jones, still 
 counselled patience. To Franklin he says, " It 
 is in vain for the minister to pretend that he has 
 not ships to bestow. I know the contrary. He 
 has bestowed the Renommee and others here 
 since my retirni ; and there are yet several new 
 ships unbestowed at St Malo and elsewhere. I 
 know too, that unless the States of Holland op- 
 pose it, the Indian can be got afloat with a tenth 
 part of the difficulty that has been represented. 
 If I was worth his notice at the beginning I am 
 not less so now. After all, you have desired me 
 to have patience, and I promise you that I will 
 wait your kind advice, and take no step without 
 your approbation. If it were consistent and con- 
 
126 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 venient for you to see M. de Sartine, I should 
 hope that such an explanation would be the con- 
 sequence as might remove every cause of un- 
 easiness."" 
 
 Day after day he continued to write Frankhn, 
 mentioning vessels that he might command if the 
 minister were sincere in his professions. Mean- 
 while Franklin procured the minister"'s order that 
 he should be received on board the French fleet; 
 but, either intentionally or by accident, it came too 
 late to admit of his embarking to gain that know- 
 ledge of naval tactics, and of governing a fleet, 
 which was his object. It was indeed surmised 
 that the jealousy of the French service was the 
 true obstacle, both to his promised command and 
 desire of increasing his knowledge of his profes- 
 sion on the great scale. " I think of going to 
 L"'Orient,"'"' he says, " being heartily sick of Brest, 
 and an eyesore to the marine."" In another let- 
 ter he says, " I have excited the jealousy of many 
 oflicers in our young navy, because I have pur- 
 sued honour while they sought after profit."'"' 
 
 Gradually as his hopes decreased, Jones lower- 
 ed his demands. He proposed many different 
 
PAUL JONES. 127 
 
 vessels, the chief object being fast-sailing ships. 
 " I wish to have no connexion with any ship that 
 does not sail fast," he says, " for I intend to 
 go in hartVLS way. You know, I believe, that 
 this is not every one's intention ; therefore buy a 
 frigate that sails fast, and that is sufficiently large 
 to carry twenty-six or twenty-eight guns on one 
 deck." " I have, to show my gratitude to France," 
 he adds, '• lost so much time, and with it such 
 opportunities as I cannot regain, — I have almost 
 half killed myself with grief. Give me but an as- 
 surance that the command of the Indian will be 
 reserved for me, and bestowed on no other person 
 on any pretence whatsoever, and I will say I am 
 satisfied. This I pledge myself will be no loss to 
 France — America is not ungrateful. The noble- 
 minded Congress know not the little mean dis- 
 tinctions of cUmate or place of nativity, nor have 
 they adopted any rule which can preclude them 
 from encouraging or rewarding the merit of a 
 stranger, by raising him even to the first posts of 
 honour. In the army there are many instances 
 of this. In the navy, young as it is, it gives me 
 particular pleasure to inform you that Congress 
 have given the command of the hest ship in 
 
128 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 their service to a French officer, and called the 
 ship the Alliance.'''' 
 
 Many vessels were proposed in succession, and 
 all were abandoned. The anger and impatience 
 of Jones got beyond control, and he never ap- 
 pears to have been of the temper which makes 
 a proud man disdain to reveal his chagrin and 
 disappointment. M. de Sartine accordingly, on 
 his part, felt equally annoyed by the incessant 
 importunity of the man who held him to his word. 
 
 To the Due de Rochefoucault, whom he al- 
 ways found friendly, Jones writes, — " The mi- 
 nister's behaviour towards me has been and is 
 really astonishing. At his request (for I sought 
 not the connexion) I gave up absolute certain- 
 ties, and far more flattering prospects than any 
 of those which he proposed. What inducement 
 could I have for this but gratitude to France 
 for having first recognized our independence ? 
 And having given my word to stay for some 
 time in Europe, I have been and am unwilling 
 to take it back, especially after having com- 
 municated the circumstances to Congress. The 
 minister, to my infinite mortification, after pos- 
 
PAUL JONES. 1^9 
 
 sessing himself of my schemes and ideas, has 
 treated me hke a child five times successively), 
 by leading me on from great to little, and from 
 little to less. Does such conduct do honour either 
 to his head or to his heart ? He has not to this 
 moment offered me the least apology for any of 
 these five deceptions ; nor has he, I beheve, as- 
 signed any good reason to that venerable and 
 great character, his Excellency Doctor Frank- 
 lin, whom he has made the instrument to entrap 
 me in this cruel state of inaction and suspense. 
 
 " The minister has lately written a letter to 
 Coimt D'OrviUiers, proposing to send me home 
 in ' une bonne voiture."* This is absolutely add- 
 ing insult to injury, and it is the proposition of a 
 man whose veracity I have not experienced in 
 former cases. 
 
 " I could in the summer, with the Ranger, 
 joined with the two other American frigates, have 
 given the enemy sufficient foundation for their 
 fears in Britain as well as Ireland, and covdd 
 since have been assisting Count D'Estaing, or 
 acting separately with an American squadron. 
 Instead of this I am chained down to shameful 
 
 F 2 
 
130 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 inactivity here, after having written to Congress 
 to reserve no command for me in America. 
 
 " Convinced as I am, that your noble and ge- 
 nerous breast will feel for my unmerited treat- 
 ment, I must beseech you to interest yourself 
 with the Duke de Chartres, that the King may 
 be made acquainted with my situation. I have 
 been taught to beheve that I have been detained 
 in France with his Majesty's knowledge and ap- 
 probation, and I am sure he is too good a prince 
 to detain me for my hurt or dishonour. 
 
 '' M. de Sartine may think as he pleases, but 
 Congress wUl not thank him for having thus treat- 
 ed an officer who has always been honoured with 
 their favour and friendship. I entertained some 
 hopes of his honourable intentions till he gave 
 the command of the Fox to a lieutenant, after 
 my friends had asked for me only that ship with 
 the Alert cutter. He was the asker at the he- 
 yinning^ and ought to be so now ; he has, to 
 my certain knowledge, ships unbestowed, and he 
 is bound in honour to give me the Indian, as he 
 proposed at the first, or an equivalent command, 
 immediately." 
 
PAUL JONES. 131 
 
 To M. Ray de Chaumont, Jones says about 
 the same period, — 
 
 " Although the minister has treated me Uke a 
 child five successive times, by leading me on from 
 great to little, and from little to less, yet I had 
 some dependence on his honourable intentions 
 until he refused the small command which you 
 asked for me the 23d ultimo, and afterwards be- 
 stowed the Fox on a lieutenant who, to my 
 certain knowledge, does not thank him for the 
 favour, and thinks that ship far short of his right. 
 I say I verily believed the minister at the be- 
 ginning, and afterwards ; but now having de- 
 ceived me so often, I wish him to know that I 
 doubt him, though he swears even ' hy the stix^^ 
 I have written to him several respectful letters of 
 some consequence, none of which he has conde- 
 scended to answer. This is a piece of incivihty 
 and disrespect to me as a stranger which he has 
 not shown even to subalterns in the French ma- 
 rine, in whose hands I have seen his answers to 
 
 * At an interview M. Chaumont had with the minis- 
 ter, he swore by Styx ! that Paul Jones should have a 
 frigate, were he even to buy it. 
 
132 * MEMOIRS OF 
 
 letters of little importance. The secrecy which I 
 was required to observe respecting what seemed 
 his first intention in my favour has been inviol- 
 able ; and I have been so deUcate with respect 
 to my situation, that I have been, and am consi- 
 dered everywhere as an officer disgraced and 
 cast off for private reasons. I have of course 
 been in actual disgrace here ever since my re- 
 turn, which is more than two months. I have 
 already lost near five months of my time, the 
 best season of the year, and such opportunities of 
 serving my country, and acquiring honour, as I 
 cannot again cvpect this war, while I have been 
 thus shamefully entrapped in inaction. My duty 
 and sensibility cannot brook this unworthy si- 
 tuation. If the minister's intentions have been 
 honourable from the beginning, he will make a 
 direct written apology to me, suitable to the in- 
 jury which I have sustained, otherwise, in vindi- 
 cation of my sacred honour, painful as it will be, 
 I must publish in the Gazettes of Europe the 
 conduct he has held towards me.*" 
 
 The compatriots of Jones in France sympathized 
 inhis disappointment and indignation; particularly 
 Dr Bancroft and Mr William Temple Franklin, 
 
PAUL JONES. 133 
 
 the grandson and secretary of Benjamin Franklin. 
 " I have felt for you most sincerely,'' says young 
 Franklin ; " Monsieur S/s conduct towards you 
 has been as remarkable as it has been unjust, and 
 lias altered in a great degree the good opinion 
 many have had of him. I have been asked in 
 several companies, oii est le brave Capitaine 
 Jones ? quefait-il ? and have felt myself (as your 
 compatriot) in a manner ill-treated, when I can 
 only answer that you are still at Brest. On the 
 receipt of your letter, I asked Mr Chaumont 
 ' whether he thought any thing would be done 
 for you "f" He answered, ' that to his certain 
 knowledg-e M. S. was ashamed of the conduct he 
 had held towards you, and that he was now occu- 
 pied to make up for it. Bancroft,' says he, ' is 
 assured that the minister had all along felt good 
 dispositions, but had been prevented from carrying 
 them into execution by the intrigues of 487>5575* 
 (the marine,) among whom multitudes were mak- 
 
 * These numbers refer to a cipher that Bancroft and 
 young Franklin had got from Paul Jones for their pri- 
 vate correspondence with him. 
 
134 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ing interest, and caballing to obtain 303, (ships,) 
 and opposing the disposal of any except among 
 their own body ; but 7IO (M. de Sartine) had 
 assured him that you should soon have one, if he 
 were even to purchase it." Mr Bandonin desired 
 me also to make you his best comphments, to as- 
 sure you that he would not suffer your business 
 to rest much longer, and in the mean time to beg 
 your patience a little longer. In this situation 
 I know not what we can do, but wait a week 
 or two, when, if nothing comes, I think 299 
 (Doctor Franklin) will declare his utmost resent- 
 ment, and nothing that any of us can say will be 
 too bad/' 
 
 Worn out with waiting, " half killed," as he 
 strongly expresses himself, with suspense and in- 
 action, Jones now formed the design of directly 
 addressing the king, and of soliciting the kind- 
 ness of the family of Chartres, (Orleans,) in 
 presenting his letter. He, as usual, took the 
 precaution of enclosing all these epistolary com- 
 positions to Franklin, — a course which preserved 
 him from ever going too far wrong, even while 
 under the greatest irritation.' 
 
PAUL JONES. 135 
 
 In his letter to Franklin, he says, " The 
 Duchesse de Chartres wiU, I am persuaded, un- 
 dertake to deliver my letter into the King's hands ; 
 and as you may not yet think fit to appear in the 
 business, either the Due de Rochefoucault, or 
 your grandson, will obhge me by waiting on her 
 at the Palais Royal. The Due de Rochefou- 
 cault, as he understands EngUsh well, and is ac- 
 quainted with the circumstances, would obhge me 
 much if he would be present when the letter is 
 presented to the King. I do not wish to trouble 
 the Due de Chartres about this affair, as that 
 brave prince has undeservedly met with vexations 
 of his own."* 
 
 The following is the letter which Captain Jones 
 wrote to the King of France, and which was 
 to be presented to his Majesty by the Duchess 
 of Chartres, afterwards the Duchess of Or- 
 leans : — 
 
 " Brest, October 19th, 1778. 
 " Sire, 
 
 " After my return to Brest in the American 
 
 ship of war the Ranger, from the Irish Channel, 
 
 his excellency Dr FrankUn informed me by let- 
 
136 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ter, dated June the 1st, that M. de Sartine, hav- 
 ing a high opinion of my conduct and bravery, 
 had determined, with your Majesty's consent and 
 approbation, to give me the command of the ship 
 of war the Indian, which was built at Amster- 
 dam for America, but afterwards, for political 
 reasons, made the property of France. 
 
 " I was to act with unlimited orders under the 
 commission and flag of America ; and the Prince 
 de Nassau proposed to accompany me on the 
 ocean. 
 
 " I was deeply penetrated with the sense of the 
 honour done me by this generous proposition, as 
 well as of the favour your Majesty intended there- 
 by to confer on America. And I accepted the off'er 
 with the greater pleasure, as the Congress had 
 sent me to Europe in the Ranger, to command 
 the Indian before the ownership of that vessel 
 was changed. 
 
 " The minister desired to see me at Versailles 
 to settle future plans of operation, and I attended 
 him for that purpose. I was told that the In- 
 dian was at the Texel completely armed and fitted 
 for sea ; but the Prince de Nassau was sent ex- 
 
PAUL JONES. 137 
 
 press to Holland, and returned with a very dif- 
 ferent account. The ship was at Amsterdam, and 
 could not be got afloat or armed before the Sep- 
 tember equinox. The American plenipotentiaries 
 proposed that I should return to America ; and 
 as I have repeatedly been appointed to the chief 
 command of an American squadron to execute 
 secret enterprises, it was not doubted but that 
 Congress would again show me a preference. M. 
 de Sartine, however, thought proper to prevent 
 my departure, by writing to the plenipotentiaries, 
 (without my knowledge,) requesting that I might 
 be permitted to remain in Europe, and that the 
 Ranger might be sent back to America under 
 another commander, he having special services 
 which he wished me to execute. This request 
 they readily granted, and I was flattered by the 
 prospect of being enabled to testify, by my ser- 
 vices, my gratitude to your Majesty, as the first 
 prince who has so generously acknowledged our 
 independence. 
 
 " There was an interval of more than three 
 months before the Indian could be gotten afloat. 
 To employ that period usefully, when your Ma- 
 
138 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 jesty's fleet was ordered to sail from Brest, I 
 proposed to the minister to embark in it as a vo- 
 lunteer, in pursuit of marine knowledge. He 
 objected to this, at the same time approved of a 
 variety of hints for private enterprises, which I 
 had drawn up for his consideration. Two gentle- 
 men were appointed to settle with me the plans 
 that were to be adopted, who gave me the assu- 
 rance that three of the best frigates in France, 
 with two tenders, and a number of troops, should 
 be immediately put under my command, to pur- 
 sue such of my own projects as I thought pro- 
 per ; but this fell to nothing, when I believed 
 that your Majesty's signature only was wanting. 
 " Another armament, composed of cutters and 
 small vessels, at L'Orient, was proposed to be put 
 under my command, to alarm the coasts of Eng- 
 land and check the Jersey privateers ; but, hap- 
 pily for me, this also failed, and I was saved from 
 ruin and dishonour, as I now find that all the 
 vessels sailed slow, and their united force is very 
 insignificant. The minister then thought fit that 
 I should return to Brest to command the Lively, 
 and join some frigates on an expedition from St 
 
PAUL JONES. 139 
 
 Malo to the North Sea. I returned in haste for 
 that purpose, and found that the Lively had been 
 bestowed at Brest before the minister had men- 
 tioned that ship to me at Versailles. This was, 
 however, another fortunate disappointment, as the 
 Lively proves, both in sailing and equipment, 
 much inferior to the Ranger ; but, more espe- 
 cially, if it be true, as I have since understood, 
 that the minister intended to give the chief com- 
 mand of the expedition to a lieutenant, which 
 would have occasioned a very disagreeable mis- 
 understanding : for, as an officer of the first rank 
 in the American marine, who has ever been 
 honoured with the favour and friendship of Con- 
 gress, I can receive orders from no inferior offi- 
 cer whatever. My plan was the destruction of 
 the English Baltic fleet, of great consequence to 
 the enemy's marine, and then only protected by 
 a single frigate ! I would have held myself re- 
 sponsible for its success had I commanded the 
 expedition. 
 
 " M. de Sartine afterwards sent orders to 
 Count D'Orvilliers to receive me on board the 
 
140 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 fleet, agreeably to my former proposal ; but the 
 order did not arrive until after the departure of 
 the fleet the last time from Brest, nor was I made 
 acquainted with the circumstance before the fleet 
 returned here. 
 
 " Thus have I been chained down to shame- 
 ful inactivity for nearly five months. I have lost 
 the best season of the year, and such opportuni- 
 ties of serving my country and acquiring honour 
 as I cannot again expect this war ; and, to my 
 infinite mortification, having no command, I am 
 considered everywhere an officer cast off" and in 
 disgrace for secret reasons. 
 
 " I have written respectful letters to the mi- 
 nister, none of which he has condescended to 
 answer ; I have written to the Prince de Nassau 
 with as little effect ; and I do not understand 
 that any apology has been made to the great and 
 venerable Dr Franklin, whom the minister has 
 made the instrument of bringing me into such 
 unmerited trouble. 
 
 " Having written to Congress to reserve no 
 command for me in America, my sensibility is 
 
PAUL JONES. 141 
 
 the more affected by this unworthy situation in 
 the sight of your Majesty's fleet. I, however, 
 make no remark on the treatment I have re- 
 ceived. 
 
 " Although I wish not to become my own 
 paneg}Tist, I must beg your Majesty's permis- 
 sion to observe, that I am not an adventurer in 
 search of fortune, of which, thank God, I have 
 a sufficiency. 
 
 " When the American banner was first dis- 
 played, I drew my sword in support of the vio- 
 lated dignity and rights of human nature ; and 
 both honour and duty prompt me steadfastly to 
 continue the righteous pursuit, and to sacrifice 
 to it, not only my private enjoyments, but even 
 life, if necessary. I must acknowledge that the 
 generous praise which I have received from Con- 
 gress and others exceeds the merit of my past 
 services ; therefore I the more ardently wish for 
 future opportunities of testifymg my gratitude 
 by my activity. 
 
 " As your Majesty, by espousing the cause of 
 America, hath become the protector of the rights 
 of human nature, I am persuaded that you will 
 
142 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 not disregard my situation, nor suffer me to re- 
 main any longer in this insupportable disgrace. 
 I am, with perfect gratitude 
 
 and profound respect, 
 Sire, 
 Your Majesty's very obliged, 
 very obedient, and 
 
 very humble servant, 
 
 J. Paul Jones."*' 
 
 There is no satisfactory evidence that the above 
 letter was ever presented, or indeed that it ever 
 came into the hands of the Duchess of Chartres ; 
 yet the fact appears to be assumed by the Ame- 
 rican biographer of Jones ; and the letter itself, 
 as expressive of his sentiments at this crisis, is 
 too important to be suppressed. The correspon- 
 dence and journals of Jones contain no allusion 
 to any effect produced by that letter, — not even 
 the extract of his journal made long afterwards, 
 expressly for the perusal of the King ; and the 
 postscript of a letter written by Mr Temple 
 Frankhn is at least complete proof that, if the 
 letter to the King was ever delivered, it was de- 
 
PAUL JONES. 143 
 
 cidedly against the judgment of Franklin. The 
 letter of the younger Franklin is dated the 22d 
 October, the postscript the 24th. It says, " Since 
 writing the above, I have received yours of the 
 19th instant (the letter to the King.) I would 
 willingly do every thing you there desire of me, 
 but it is my grandfather's opinion that there will 
 be no occasion to send those letters ; and I ima- 
 gine they were wrote before you heard of the 
 minister's final determination. If, however, you 
 still think they ought to be sent, you have only 
 to order it." 
 
 From this it would appear that the minister's 
 " final determination" to buy Jones " a suitable 
 ship" had preceded the letter to the King, and 
 was not a consequence of it. In a letter to M. 
 de Chaumont, of the 30th November, Jones 
 thus expresses himself with regard to M. de Sar- 
 tine : — " My best respects and most grateful 
 thanks await the minister for the very honourable 
 things he said of me to the Due de la Rochefou- 
 cault. It shall be my ambition, when he gives 
 me opportunities, to merit his favour and affec-^ 
 tion." . 
 
144 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The gratitude of Jones to the minister of ma- 
 rine was premature. But it would be tiresome 
 to follow the train of petty disappointments which 
 this brave man had yet to encounter before he 
 got once again fairly afloat. From the month 
 of June, 177^? *i^ ^^^ month of February of the 
 following year, he was condemned to feel to its 
 utmost extent the misery there is — 
 
 " In suing long to bide." 
 
 In this interval some proposals were made to 
 Captain Jones while at Brest to take the com- 
 mand of privateers. This he decidedly decHned ; 
 and he even resented the supposition that, bear- 
 ing, as he did, the commission of Congress, he 
 should act at any time as the commander of pri- 
 vateers. So nice was he on this point, that in 
 one instance we find Frankhn himself conde- 
 scending to sooth his hasty feehngs. " Depend 
 
PAUL JONES. 145 
 
 upon it,'"* says the sage, " I never wrote Mr 
 Gillon that the Bon Homme Richard was a pri- 
 vateer. I could not write so, because I never 
 had such a thought. I will next post send you 
 a copy of my letter to him, by which you wiU see 
 that he has only forced that construction from a 
 vague expression I used, merely to conceal from 
 him (in answering his idle demand that I would 
 order your squadron, then on the point of sailing, 
 to go with him to Carolina,) that the expedition 
 was at the expense and under the direction of 
 the King, which it was not proper or necessary 
 for him to know." And to the proposal that he 
 would take the command of an armament of pri- 
 vateers, Jones says, " Were I in pursuit of profit 
 I would accept it without hesitation ; but I am 
 under such obHgations to Congress, that I can- 
 not think myself my own master, — and as a ser- 
 vant of the Imperial Repubhc of America, ho- 
 noured with the pubhc approbation of my past 
 services, I cannot, from my own authority or in- 
 clination, serve either myself or even my best 
 friends, in any private Une whatsoever." With 
 these feelings, his indignation at being long af- 
 VOL. I. a 
 
146 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 terwards offered a letter-of-marque by the French 
 government, in requital of liis services, may be 
 easily imagined. But this belongs to a more ad- 
 vanced stage of his history. 
 
 Every thing appeared in a fair way in Novem- 
 ber ; yet Jones found it necessary to repair once 
 more to Versailles, and to Passy, the seat of the 
 American legation. " As nothing was done," 
 he says in his memorial to the King, " Captain 
 Jones determined to go himself to court." When 
 he got there, the minister offered him the Mar- 
 shal de Broglio, a large ship ; but as his Ame- 
 ricans had all left the service during the long pe- 
 riod of idleness, he was unable to man this vessel, 
 and the Due de Duras was bought for him, 
 which, among many other vessels, he had ac- 
 quainted his friends, was on sale at KOrient. 
 
 On the 6th of February Jones had at last the 
 satisfaction of making, from Passy, his acknow- 
 ledgments to the minister Sartine. His gratitude 
 was quite as Hvely as the treatment he had received 
 required. He obtained leave to change the name 
 of the ship to Bon Homme Richard^ " in com- 
 pliment," he says, " to a saying of Poor Rich- 
 
PAUL JONES. 147 
 
 ard,"' (of which, by the way, he had just expe- 
 rienced the truth,) " If you would have your 
 business done, come yourself — if not, send."" 
 
 Jones now went to Nantes to engage seamen, 
 and to obtain cannon to arm his ship. On his 
 late journey he had been introduced to M. Gar- 
 nier, in order to concert a plan of operations for 
 a combined naval and military force. Four or 
 five sail were to be added to the Bon Homme 
 Richard, of which two vessels were to be fire- 
 ships. Five hundred picked men, taken from the 
 Irish regiment, were to embark under the com- 
 mand of Mr Fitzmaurice. All were to be under 
 the entire command of Jones. " A plan,"* he 
 says, " was laid, which promised perfect success, 
 and had it succeeded, would have astonished the 
 world." 
 
 In an evil hour he solicited that the Alliance, 
 a new American frigate, of which the command 
 had been given by Congress to one Landais, a 
 Frenchman, should be added to his force. As 
 Dr Frankhn had just been formally appointed 
 
 * This plan was directed against Liverpool. 
 
148 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ambassador to the Court of France, Jones im- 
 agined that not only the disposal of the frigate, 
 but the power of displacing its commander at 
 pleasure, was vested in him, as the guardian of 
 American interests in Europe. 
 
 About this time the Marquis de la Fayette re- 
 turned from America, and he wished to go on the 
 projected expedition. Jones was summoned to 
 court ; and it was arranged that the Marquis de 
 la Fayette was to command a body of about 7OO 
 troops, assigned him by the King. The Alli- 
 ance was made part of the squadron by the Ame- 
 rican minister plenipotentiary, at the particular 
 desire of the French government. 
 
 The squadron was now to consist of the Bon 
 Homme Richard, the Alliance, the Pallas, the 
 Vengeance brig, and the Cerf, a fine cutter, 
 well fitted and manned. " A person,^' (M. Chau- 
 mont,) says Jones, " was appointed commissary, 
 and unwisely intrusted with the secret of the ex- 
 pedition. The commissary took upon himself 
 the whole direction at KOrient ; but the secret 
 was too big for him to keep. All Paris rang 
 with the expedition from L'Orient ; and govern- 
 
PAUL JONES. 149 
 
 ment was obliged to drop the plan when the squa- 
 dron lay ready for sea, and the troops ready to 
 embark." 
 
 In the expectation that Jones was to be joined 
 by the Marquis de la Fayette, his judicious 
 friend FrankHn wrote him thus, actuated, no 
 doubt, both by anxiety for the public cause and 
 regard to the individual he addressed : 
 
 " I have, at the request of M. de Sartine, post- 
 poned the sending of the Alliance to America, 
 and have ordered her to proceed immediately 
 from Nantes to L'Orient, where she is to be fur- 
 nished with her complement of men, join your 
 little squadron, and act under your command. 
 
 " The Marquis de la Fayette will be with you 
 soon. It has been observed that joint-expedi- 
 tions of land and sea forces often miscarry through 
 jealousies and misunderstandings between the of- 
 ficers of the different corps. This must happen 
 where there are little minds, actuated more by 
 personal views of profit or honour to themselves, 
 than by the warm and sincere desire of good to 
 their country. Knowing you both, as I do, and 
 your just manner of thinking on these occasions, 
 
150 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 I am confident nothing of the kind can happen 
 between you, and that it is unnecessary for me 
 to recommend to either of you that condescen- 
 sion, mutual good-will, and harmony, which con- 
 tribute so much to success in such undertakings. 
 I look upon this expedition as an introduction 
 only to greater trusts and more extensive com- 
 mands, and as a kind of trial of both your abilities 
 and of your fitness in temper and disposition for 
 acting in concert with others. I flatter myself, 
 therefore, that nothing will happen that may give 
 impressions to the disadvantage of either of you, 
 when greater affairs shall come under considera- 
 tion. 
 
 " As this is understood to be an American ex- 
 pedition, under the Congress commission and 
 colours, the Marquis, who is a Major-General in 
 that service, has of course the step in point of 
 rank, and he must have the command of the land- 
 forces, which are committed by the King to his 
 care ; but the command of the ships will be en- 
 tirely in you, in which I am persuaded that what- 
 ever authority his rank might in strictness give 
 him, he will not have the least desire to inter- 
 
PAUL JONES. 151 
 
 fere with you. There is honour enough to be 
 got for both of you if the expedition is conducted 
 with a prudent unanimity. The circumstance is 
 indeed a Uttle unusual ; for there is not only a 
 junction of land and sea forces, but there is also 
 a junction of Frenchmen and Americans, which 
 increases the difficulty of maintaining a good un- 
 derstanding; a cool, prudent conduct in the chiefs 
 is therefore the more necessary, and I trust neither 
 of you will in that respect be deficient. With 
 my best wishes for your success, health, and 
 honour, I remain, dear Sir, your affectionate and 
 most obedient servant." 
 
 This excellent counsel was not thrown away on 
 Jones. His letter to La Fayette, written a few 
 days afterwards, re-echoes the sentiments of the 
 repubUcan sage. " Where men of fine feelings 
 are concerned," he says, " there is very seldom 
 any misunderstanding, — and I am sure I should 
 do the greatest violence to my sensibility if I 
 were capable of giving you a moment's pain by 
 any part of my conduct ; therefore, without any 
 apology, I shall expect you to point out my errors, 
 when we are alone together, with perfect free- 
 
152 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 dom, — and I think I dare promise you that your 
 reproof shall not be lost. I have received from 
 the good Dr Franklin instructions at large, which 
 do honour to his hberal mind, and which it will 
 give me the greatest satisfaction to execute. I 
 cannot ensure success, — but we will endeavour 
 to deserve it." 
 
 Some of the instructions of Dr Franklin to 
 which Jones refers, and of which he says, " your 
 noble-minded instructions would make a coward 
 brave," deserve to be made known as widely as 
 possible.* 
 
 " You are to bring to France all the English 
 seamen you may happen to take prisoners, in 
 order to complete the good work you have al- 
 ready made such progress in, of dehvering, by an 
 exchange, the rest of our countrymen now lan- 
 guishing in the gaols of Great Britain. 
 
 * It is a pleasing trait in the history of that period, 
 that all the naval commanders of the countries at war with 
 England had particular orders '^ not to molest the ships 
 of the brave navigator Captain Cook," if they chanced to 
 fall in with them. 
 
PAUL JONES. 153 
 
 cc 
 
 As many of your officers and people have 
 lately escaped from English prisons, either in 
 Europe or America, you are to be particularly 
 attentive to their conduct towards the prisoners 
 which the fortune of war may throw in your hands, 
 lest resentment of the more than barbarous usage 
 by the EngHsh in many places towards the Ame- 
 ricans, should occasion a retaliation, and an imi- 
 tation of what ought rather to be detested and 
 avoided, for the sake of humanity and for the 
 honour of our country. 
 
 " In the same view, although the EngHsh 
 have wantonly burnt many defenceless towns in 
 America, you are not to follow this example, un- 
 less where a reasonable ransom is refused; in which 
 case your own generous feelings, as well as this 
 instruction, will induce you to give timely notice 
 of your intention, that sick and ancient persons, 
 women and children, may be first removed." 
 
 Jones attributes the failure of the expedition 
 so much talked of to the tattUng of the com- 
 missary ; but he probably over-rates that circum- 
 stance. The truth is, that the French govern- 
 ment never continued for one week of the same 
 
 g2 
 
154 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 mind; and they had, about this time, been seized 
 with that grand idea by which the court and 
 people of France seem to be periodically infa- 
 tuated—the design of invading England. The 
 expedition which was " to astonish the world" 
 was abandoned, according to La Fayette, " for 
 pohtical and military reasons. "" Instead of Com- 
 modore Jones burning towns and shipping, tak- 
 ing hostages and levying contributions, an inva- 
 sion was to be attempted on that grand scale so 
 congenial to the Gallic character. 
 
 Another service was in consequence allotted to 
 Jones. He was to act as convoy to troops, stores, 
 and private merchandize, for Bordeaux and other 
 ports in the Bay of Biscay. This trifling service 
 he performed, and cruised about with httle aim 
 or effect for some days. 
 
 On the night of the 20th June the Alliance 
 ran foul of the Bon Homme Richard, and in- 
 jured the vessel. The character of Landais, the 
 commander of the Alliance, and his after conduct, 
 which was marked by the grossest degree of in- 
 subordination, insolence, and even treachery, gave 
 rise to a suspicion that this accident was of a 
 
PAUL JONES. 155 
 
 doubtf\il character. The head and bowsprit of 
 the Bon Homme Richard were carried away, and 
 the AUiance lost her mizen-mast. The lieuten- 
 ant of the Bon Homme Richard, who had the 
 watch that night, was afterwards broke by a court- 
 martial. 
 
 Even at this busy period Jones had not for- 
 gotten his relations in Scotland, though his cor- 
 respondence with them necessarily required some 
 management. It does not appear by what chan- 
 nel the following letter, received at Dumfries, was 
 transmitted to Cork. The person on whom the 
 bill (for ^30) was drawn could not be heard of 
 in CarHsle. Other remittances made by Jones 
 to his friends were in like manner never received. 
 In reply to a letter from his sister, Mrs Taylor, 
 informing him of the death of his mother and 
 eldest sister, he says with true feeling, " The 
 loss of those dear friends is the more affecting to 
 me, as they never received the remittances I in- 
 tended for them, and as they had not perhaps a 
 true idea of my affection." The following let- 
 ter is addressed to Jones's eldest sister, Elizabeth 
 Paul :— 
 
156 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " Cork, June 1st, 1779. 
 " If ever my dear girl had any doubts of the 
 sincerity of my friendship, I hope the enclosed 
 bill will remove them. You find it drawn in fa- 
 vour of my dearest departed brother, Captain 
 Plaince. However, as it is made payable to his 
 order, my sister-m-law's signature will make it 
 quite the same. Had the bill been drawn on any 
 place of commerce, I would have negotiated it 
 myself, and then got a bill on Dumfries for you ; 
 however, as Carhsle is near you, you will sooner 
 get the money, as I must have sent it there for 
 acceptance. The half is for Mrs Paul, and the 
 other half for your use. You will immediately 
 get some gentleman to present it for acceptance : 
 you will find it payable ten days after. Adieu, 
 my dear girl ; number me with the sincerest of 
 your friends, write me of your health, and be 
 assured of the good wishes of 
 
 " Your humble servant, 
 
 " Judith Plaince." 
 
 On the 30th of June, Jones came into the road 
 of Groix. The Alhance and Bon Homme Rich- 
 
PAUL JONES. 157 
 
 ard both required to be refitted ; the other ves- 
 sels meanwhile looked after prizes. On that day 
 the log-book of the Bon Homme Richard has 
 the following entry : — 
 
 " At half-past 7? p- ^i-j saw two sail bearing 
 down upon us, one with a flag at each mast-head. 
 Hove about and stood from them to get in readi- 
 ness for action ; then hove mizen-topsail to the 
 mast, down all stay-sails and up mizen-sail. Then 
 they hove about and stood from us. Immediately 
 we tacked ship and stood after them. 
 
 " After which they wore ship and stood for 
 us. Captain Jones, gentleman-like, called all 
 his officers, and consulted them whether they 
 were willing to see them. They all said yes. 
 Made sail after them ; but they, being better 
 sailers than we, got from us. At 1, a. m., tacked 
 ship." 
 
 At the isle of Groix Jones lay for six weeks, — 
 a period not without its vexations. In anticipat- 
 ing his earher arrival, and unconscious of the 
 damage received by the shock of the Alliance, 
 Dr Frankhn, in the following letter of the 30th 
 June, directed him to set out on a long cruise. 
 
158 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " Passy, June 30, 1779. 
 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " Being arrived at Groix, you are to make the 
 best of your way, with the vessels under your 
 command, to the west of Ireland, and establish 
 your cruise on the Orcades, the cape of Demeus, 
 and the Dogger-Bank, in order to take the enemy's 
 property in those seas. 
 
 " The prizes you may make send to Dunkirk, 
 Ostend, or Bergen in Norway, according to your 
 proximity to either of thoseports. Address them to 
 the persons M. De Chaumont shall indicate to you. 
 
 " About the 15th August, when you will have 
 sufficiently cruised in these seas, you are to make 
 route for the Texel, where you will meet my fur- 
 ther orders. 
 
 " If, by any personal accident, you should be 
 rendered unable to execute these instructions, the 
 officer of your squadron next in rank is to endeav- 
 our to put them in execution. 
 
 " With best wishes for your prosperity, I am 
 ever, dear Sir, your affectionate friend and humble 
 servant, B. Franklin. 
 
 " The Honourable Captain Jones.'* 
 
PAUL JOXES. 159 
 
 The preceding letter was crossed by that in 
 which Jones gave an account of his cruise, and of 
 the AUiance running foul of the Bon Homme 
 Richard. In this letter he again hinted his desire 
 to obtain the Indian, to cruise towards the Texel, 
 and bring her out with the crew he now had. 
 But Franklin had no mind to change his original 
 orders. " I have no other orders to give," he 
 says ; " for as the court are at the chief ex- 
 pense, I think they have the best right to direct." 
 ' — " I observe what you say about a change of 
 destination ; but when a thing has been once 
 considered and determined on in council, they 
 don't care to resume the consideration of it, hav- 
 ing much business on hand." This epistle has 
 the following pithy postscript : — " N. B. If it 
 should fall in your way, remember that the Hud- 
 son"'s Bay ships are very valuable. B. F." 
 
 Again Jones complained bitterly of the tattling 
 commissary, (Chaumont,) who had formerly frus- 
 trated the expedition with La Fayette, and was 
 now busied at similar work. Perhaps Commo- 
 dore Jones might be over sensitive or suspi- 
 cious on this point. " I have another proof," he 
 
160 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 says, " this day, of the communicative disposition 
 of M. De Chaumont. He has written to an of- 
 ficer under my command a whole sheet on the 
 subject of your letter, and has even introduced 
 more than perhaps was necessary to a person 
 commanding in chief I have also strong reasons 
 to thmk that this officer is not the only improper 
 person here to whom he has written to the same 
 effect. This is surely a strange infatuation, and 
 it is much to be lamented that one of the best 
 hearts in the world should be connected with a 
 mistaken head, whose errors can afford him nei- 
 ther pleasure nor profit, but may effect the ruin 
 and dishonour of a man whom he esteems and 
 loves. Beheve me, my worthy sir, I dread the 
 thoughts of seeing this subject too soon in print, 
 as I have done several others of greater impor- 
 tance, with which he was acquainted, and which 
 I am certain he communicated too early to im- 
 proper persons, whereby very important services 
 have been impeded and set aside.*" 
 
 In a marginal note, in the handwriting of Jones, 
 he says, — " I found it in print before I reached 
 Holland !" And in another marginal note on a 
 
PAUL JONES. 161 
 
 letter of Dr Franklin's of the 19th July, he writes, 
 " It is clear I saw my danger, and sailed with 
 my eyes open, rather than return to America dis- 
 honoured." 
 
 Jones was farther annoyed by reports which 
 had reached head-quarters, and which were in- 
 deed too well-founded, that a mutinous disposi- 
 tion had shown itself among the crew of the Bon 
 Homme Richard. He had at this time gone 
 back to KOrient. It was not deemed expedient 
 to permit the ship to sail without inquiry and a 
 change of men ; and, what was worse, the Court 
 saw no reason to detain the AUiance because the 
 Bon Homme Richard was unfit for sea ; and 
 Franklin did not think proper to prevent what 
 appeared so reasonable. This, however, did not 
 take place ; and holding out the prospect of cap- 
 turing the Jamaica fleet,* then expected, escorted 
 by a fifty-gun ship and two strong frigates, Jones 
 sohcited and obtained leave for the IVIonsieur pri- 
 vateer to join him, and his leave was extended 
 
 * In his memorial to the King of France, Jones says, 
 " that it was his intention to cruise off the south-west of 
 Ireland for 12 or 15 days, to intercept the enemy." 
 
162 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 till the end of September. The captains of the 
 Monsieur and Grandville privateers had at this 
 time requested to be permitted to follow him and 
 share his fortunes, offering to bind themselves to 
 remain attached to his squadron ; but this the 
 disinterested Commissary would not permit. The 
 consequences were soon obvious ; the privateers 
 remained attached to the squadron exactly as long 
 as suited themselves. 
 
 Having given the necessary orders and signals, 
 and appointed various places of rendezvous for 
 every captain in case of separation. Commodore 
 Jones sailed from the road of Groix on the 14th 
 of August, exactly one day short of the time he 
 had been desired to come into the Texel, after 
 ending his cruise ; so uncertain and precarious 
 are all nautical movements. The squadron con- 
 sisted of seven sail : the Bon Homme Richard, 
 of 40 guns ; the Alhance, of 36 ; the Pallas, of 
 32 ; the Cerf, of 18 ; and the Vengeance, of 12 
 guns ; besides the privateers. Monsieur, of 40 
 guns, and the Grandville, of 14 guns ; — " a force 
 which might have effected great services," says 
 Jones himself, in his memorial to the King of 
 France, " and done infinite injury to the enemy, 
 
PAUL JONES. 163 
 
 had there been secrecy and due subordination. 
 Unfortunately there was neither. Captain Jones 
 saw his danger ; but his reputation being at stake, 
 he put all to the hazard." 
 
 The effects of this want of subordination were 
 soon felt. The captain of the privateer Mon- 
 sieur, as might have been expected, acted as he 
 thought proper, and in a few days left the squa- 
 dron. And Captain Landais, a man of the most 
 unhappy temper, not only behaved with disre- 
 spect to the Commander, but soon assumed to 
 act as he pleased, and as an independent com- 
 mander, refusing to obey the signals of the Com- 
 modore, giving chase where or how he thought fit, 
 and availing himself of any pretext to leave the 
 squadron, which he finally abandoned. Several 
 prizes were made on the first days of the cruise, 
 and more might have been captured, had a 
 good understanding subsisted among the com- 
 manders. 
 
 From the 3d of September till the 13th the 
 weather was stormy, and Jones continued to beat 
 about the coasts of Scotland. The Alhance had 
 again separated from the Bon Homme Richard ; 
 
164 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and there remained of the squadron only the 
 Commodore\s ship, with the Pallas and Ven- 
 geance. " Yet,"" says Jones, " I did not abandon 
 the hope of performing some essential service." 
 
 It was at this time he offered that attempt on 
 Leith, by which, in one quarter of Scotland, the 
 formidable name of " Paul Jones'' is still best 
 remembered. The following particulars are taken 
 from his letter to Dr Franklin, giving an account 
 of his cruise to be transmitted to Congress. The 
 letter is dated October 3, 1779? on board the ship 
 of war Serapis, at anchor without the Texel : — 
 
 " The winds continued to be contrary, so that 
 we did not see the land till the evening of the 
 13th, when the hills of Cheviot, in the south-east 
 of Scotland, appeared. The next day we chased 
 sundry vessels, and took a ship and a brigantine, 
 both from the frith of Edinburgh, laden with 
 coal. Knowing that there lay at anchor in Leith 
 Road an armed ship of 20 guns, with two or three 
 line cutters, I formed an expedition against Leith, 
 which I purposed to lay under contribution, or 
 otherwise to reduce it to ashes. Had I been 
 alone, the wind being favourable, I would have 
 
PAUL JOXES. 
 
 165 
 
 proceeded directly up the frith, and must have 
 succeeded, as they lay then in a state of perfect 
 indolence and security, which would have proved 
 their ruin. Unfortmiately for me, the PaUas and 
 Vengeance were both at a considerable distance in 
 the offing, they having chased to the southward. 
 This obhged me to steer out of the frith again 
 to meet them. The captains of the Pallas and 
 Vengeance bemg come on board the Bon Homme 
 Richard, I communicated to them my project, 
 to which many difficulties and objections were 
 made by them. At last, however, they appeared 
 to thmk better of the design, after I had assured 
 (them) that I hoped to raise a contribution of 
 i^200,000 sterhng on Leith, and that there was 
 no battery of cannon there to oppose our land- 
 ing. So much time, however, was unavoidably 
 spent in pointed remarks and sage deliberations 
 that night, that the wind became contrary in the 
 morning."" 
 
 That nothing might be wanting. Commodore 
 Jones meanwhile prepared his summons to the 
 Magistrates of Leith. In that locahty it must still 
 be an interesting document ; and as such we give 
 
166 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 it at full length, not doubting that the worship- 
 ful persons for whom it was intended, if any of 
 them should haply still survive, will see it for 
 the first time with more satisfaction in these 
 harmless pages than had it reached its destina- 
 tion fifty years back. Jones felt greatly cha- 
 grined and disappointed at the failure of this en- 
 terprise. 
 
 " The Honourable J, Paul Jones, Comman- 
 der-in-Chief of the American Squadron 
 norv in Europe, S^x., to the Worshipful 
 the Provost of Leith, or, in his absence, 
 to the Chief Magistrate who is now ac- 
 tually present and in authority there. 
 
 " Sir,. 
 
 " The British marine force that has been sta- 
 tioned here for the protection of your city and 
 commerce being now taken by the American arms 
 under my command, I have the honour to send 
 you this summons by my officer, Lieutenant-Co- 
 lonel De Chamillard, who commands the van- 
 guard of my troops. I do not wish to distress 
 the poor inhabitants ; my intention is only to 
 
PAUL JONES. 167 
 
 demand your contribution towards the reim- 
 bursement which Britain owes to the much-in- 
 jured citizens of the United States, — for savages 
 would blush at the unmanly violation and rapa- 
 city that has marked the tracks of British tyranny 
 in America, from which neither virgin-innocence 
 nor helpless age has been a plea of protection or 
 pity. 
 
 " Leith and its port now Hes at our mercy ; 
 and did not our humanity stay the hand of just 
 retaliation, I should, without advertisement, lay 
 it in ashes. Before I proceed to that stern duty 
 as an officer, my duty as a man induces me to 
 propose to you, by the means of a reasonable 
 ransom, to prevent such a scene of horror and 
 distress. For this reason, I have authorized Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel De Chamillard to conclude and 
 agree with you on the terms of ransom, allowing 
 you exactly half an hour's reflection before you 
 finally accept or reject the terms which he shall 
 propose (^200,000.) If you accept the terms of- 
 fered within the time limited, you may rest assured 
 that no further debarkation of troops will be made, 
 but that the re-embarkation of the vanguard will 
 
168 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 immediately follow, and that the property of the 
 citizens shall remain unmolested. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, with sentiments of 
 due respect, Sir, your very obedient and very 
 humble servant, 
 
 " Paul Jones. 
 
 '^ On board the American ship-of- 
 war the Bon Homme Richard, 
 at anchor in the Road of Leith, 
 September the 17th, 1779." 
 
 The copy of the letter now lying before us con- 
 tains the N.B. subjoined to it, in his own hand- 
 writing : — 
 
 " N.B. — The sudden and violent storm which 
 arose in the moment when the squadron was a- 
 breast of Keith Island,* which forms the entrance 
 of the Road of Leith, rendered impracticable 
 the execution of the foregoing project." 
 
 The three ships had lain so long off and on 
 the coast, that alarm was general ; and on the 
 15th an express reached Edinburgh, sent to the 
 Commander-in-Chief and to the Board of Cus- 
 
 Inchkeith Island. 
 
PAUL JONES. 169 
 
 toms, with accounts that three strange ships were 
 seen off Eyemouth on the afternoon of the 14th, 
 which had made two prizes ; and that a ship, sup- 
 posed to mount 40 or 50 guns, was seen off 
 Dunbar. At 5, p. m., on the 16th, they were 
 distinctly seen from Edinburgh sailing up the 
 Frith of Forth ; but whether they were French 
 vessels or the squadron of Paul Jones was not 
 yet ascertained. The alarm along the coast was 
 become general ; batteries were hastily erected 
 at Leith, and the incorporated trades bravely 
 petitioned for arms, which were supplied from 
 the castle of Edinburgh. Yet the audacity of 
 the American commander so far bUnded some 
 of the spectators on the northern shores, that on 
 the 17th a boat with five men came off from the 
 coast of Fife to the Bon Homme Richard, so- 
 liciting powder and shot in name of a certain 
 landed proprietor, who wished " to have the 
 means of defending himself from the expected 
 visit of the pirate Paul Jones.'" So far as pow- 
 der went, this request was pohtely comphed with ; 
 but the Commodore dechned sending any shot. 
 On the 15th a small coUier had been captured, 
 
 VOL. I. H 
 
170 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the master of which, from his knowledge of the 
 coast, and subserviency to his captor, was of the 
 greatest use to Jones in his intended project. — 
 When he afterwards abandoned the enterprise, 
 he gave this man up his vessel, " on account of 
 his attachment to America, and the faithful in- 
 formation and important services he rendered 
 me,"" says Jones, " by his general knowledge of • 
 the east coast of Britain. I had given orders to 
 sink the old vessel, when the tears of this honest* 
 man prevailed over my intention." 
 
 * This '' honest man," but very bad patriot, was An- 
 drew Robertson, master of the Friendship of Kirkcaldy. 
 After being for two days kept on board the Bon Homme 
 Richard, and having his ship given up to him for " faith- 
 ful information" and " important services," he pre.tended 
 that Commodore Jones had put it to ransom. This indeed 
 was the face necessary to put on the affair ; but the Com- 
 modore had previously declared that he had no authority 
 to ransom prizes. The ransom-passport is amusing, from 
 its date, and the circumstances under which it was granted. 
 It is written by a French marine officer, who probably 
 acted as the secretary of Commodore Jones, but is signed 
 by himself: — 
 
PAUL JONES. 171 
 
 The narrative of this bold though abortive at- 
 tempt will be best given in Jones's own words : — 
 
 " We continued working to windward of the 
 frith, without being able to reach the road of 
 Leith tni, on the morning of the 17th, when, 
 being almost within cannon-shot of the town, 
 having every thing in readiness for a descent, a 
 
 (( 
 
 ec 
 
 L'Honorable Capitaine John Paul Jones, Ecuyer, 
 commandant en chef I'escadre Americaine ac- 
 tuellement en Europe, 
 
 A tous ceux qui ces presentes verront, speciale- 
 ment les sujets de la France : — 
 
 " Je certifie par le present passeport, que le vaisseau 
 Friendship, commande par Andre Robertson, du port de 
 Kirkcaldy, et venant du dit lieu pour aller a Riga, a ete 
 pris par I'escadre Americaine que je commande, et qu'il 
 est ransonne : C'est pourquoi je prie et requiers tous les 
 sujets de la France et de I'Amerique, de laisser librement 
 passer le dit vaisseau Friendship, et continuer son voyage, 
 sans le troubler en fa9on quelconque. 
 
 ^' Donne a la mer a bord du Bon Homme 
 Richard, le dix-sept Septembre, mil sepd 
 cent soixante dix-neuf. 
 
 " J. Paul Jones." 
 
172 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 very severe gale of wind came on, and, being 
 directly contrary, obliged us to bear away, after 
 having in vain endeavoured for some time to 
 withstand its violence. The gale was so severe, 
 that one of the prizes that were taken on the 
 14th sunk to the bottom, the crew being with 
 difficulty saved. As the clamour had by this 
 time reached Leith by means of a cutter that had 
 watched our motions that morning, and as the 
 wind continued contrary, (though more moderate 
 in the evening,) I thought it impossible to pur- 
 sue the enterprise with a good prospect of suc- 
 cess, especially as Edinburgh, where there is 
 always a number of troops, is only a mile distant 
 from Leith : therefore I gave up the project."* 
 
 * The prodigious sensation caused by the appearance 
 of the squadron of Paul Jones in the Frith of Forth is 
 hardly yet forgotten on the coast of Fife. There are va- 
 rious accounts of the manner in which this daring attempt 
 was defeated. The 17th September, when Jones advanced 
 to Leith, happened to be a Sunday. His ship, the Bon 
 Homme Richard, stood at times so near the northern 
 shores as to be distinctly seen by the crowds assembled 
 on the beach, and on the commanding heights in the 
 
PAUL JONES. 173 
 
 It was the misfortune of Paul Jones, in almost 
 every important crisis of his life, to be either 
 
 neighbourhood. At one time the Bon Homme Richard 
 was not more than a mile from Kirkcaldy, a thriving and 
 wealthy seaport. The alarm was naturally very great in 
 that town ; and the Rev. Mr Shirra, a worthy and very 
 eccentric dissenting clergyman, remarkable for his quaint 
 humour, instead of holding forth in the church as at ordi- 
 nary times, where on this day he would have had but a thin 
 audience, repaired to the fine level sandy beach of Kirk- 
 caldy, and soon attracted a very numerous congregation. 
 Here he prayed most fervently and earnestly, with that 
 homely and familiar eloquence by which his sermons and 
 prayers were distinguished, that the enterprise of '' the 
 piratical invader Paul Jones might be defeated." For 
 once, it may be believed, the hearts of a congregation 
 went with their minister. That violent gale, so much 
 lamented by Paul Jones, suddenly arose, — the alleged 
 consequence of Mr Shirra's powerful intercession. Such 
 was long the popular belief. When, in after periods, this 
 good old man was questioned on the subject, and compli- 
 mented on the prevailing spirit of his prayer, which had 
 so opportunely raised the wind that blew off Paul Jones, 
 his usual reply, disclaiming the full extent of the compli- 
 ment, was, — " I prayed, — but the Lord sent the wind." 
 
174 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 clogged by the timid counsels of those about him, 
 whose genius and courage could not keep pace 
 with his, or to be thwarted by the baser feelings 
 of ignoble rivalship. In no other service than 
 that of America, still strugghng for a doubtful 
 existence as an independent state, and without 
 either power or means to enforce due obedience 
 throughout the gradations of the pubHc service, 
 could such insubordination as was displayed by 
 
 A gentleman, writing shortly afterwards from Amster- 
 dam to his friend in Leith, says, — " You may count it 
 a very fortunate circumstance that this gentleman (Com- 
 modore Jones) was prevented from hurting you when he 
 was in your frith by a strong westerly wind, and the 
 springing of a mast, as, in a conversation I had with him 
 in this city, he assured me that his intention was to seize 
 the shipping in the harbour, and to set fire to such as he 
 could not carry off. He seemed to be well acquainted 
 with the coast, and knew" (thanks to * honest' Andrew 
 Robertson !) '' that there was no force to oppose him." 
 Jones is described at this time, by those who saw him, 
 as being "dressed in the American uniform, with a 
 Scotch bonnet, edged with gold,— as of a middling sta- 
 ture, stern countenance, and swarthy complexion." 
 
PAUL JONES. 175 
 
 his force have been tolerated. The French offi- 
 cers under Jones at this time, besides the feehngs 
 of national and professional rivalship, had also too 
 little experience of the capacity of their comman- 
 der to give him that entire confidence so indis- 
 pensable to success. His ill-fortune, with these 
 uncongenial associates, was the more distressing, 
 as their opposition or fears, while they baffled 
 his enterprises, averted no real danger to which 
 the loitering squadron might be exposed. The 
 conduct of the agents of the court of France had 
 also promoted and even authorised this unhappy 
 insubordination of which the Commodore, after 
 his return to the Texel, bitterly complained. " I 
 must," he says, " speak plainly ; as I have been 
 always honoured with the full confidence of Con- 
 gress, and as I also flattered myself with en- 
 joying, in some measure, the confidence of the 
 court of France, I could not but be astonished 
 at the conduct of M. de Chaumont, when, in 
 the moment of my departure from Groix, he pro- 
 duced a paper or concordat for me to sign in 
 common with the officers whom I had commis- 
 sioned but a few days before. Had this paper. 
 
176 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 or even a less dishonourable one, been proposed 
 to me at the beginning, I would have rejected it 
 with just contempt." 
 
 The other enterprise, which, after having failed 
 at Leith, Jones so reluctantly abandoned, is not 
 exactly known. It might have been against Hull 
 or Newcastle. It had been a favourite project 
 with him in the former year to distress London by 
 destroying the coal-shipping. 
 
 Jones had now the mortifying prospect of going 
 into the Texel with merely a few prizes, the sole 
 fruit of a long cruise with a formidable mari- 
 time armament, when fortune threw in his way 
 the most brilliant achievement of his pubHc life. 
 
PAUL JONES. 177 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The engagement between the Serapis and the 
 Bon Homme Richard was, previous to the last 
 war, one of the most desperate in naval chro- 
 nicles. As a close and deadly fight, hand to 
 hand, and accompanied by all the dreadful cir- 
 cumstances that can attend a sea-engagement, it 
 has even yet few parallels. Its incidents have 
 been selected as the foundation of fictitious nar- 
 ratives of maritime combats, from exceeding in 
 intense interest the boldest imaginings of the 
 poet and the novelist.* 
 
 • Mr Cooper, the celebrated American novelist, and 
 Allan Cunningham, have both chosen Paul Jones as the 
 hero of romances, very diflPerent in character, but equally- 
 admirable each in its peculiar style. Mr Cunningham 
 has certainly in many instances made wild work with the 
 sober facts of history; and, considering the very recent 
 period in which his hero flourished, takes larger poetical 
 license than is quite admissible. The charms and accom- 
 
 h2 
 
178 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 This battle was fought on the 23d September, 
 under a fvdl harvest-moon, — thousands of spec- 
 tators, we are told, watching the engagement 
 from the English shore, with anxiety correspond- 
 ing to the deep interest of the game. No account 
 of this memorable engagement can equal the 
 simple and animated narrative of the main actor, 
 which we purpose to adopt. It is to be noticed, 
 that while Jones engaged the Serapis, the Pallas 
 fought the Countess of Scarborough. The com- 
 mencement of the engagements was simultaneous. 
 
 plishraents allotted to some of Paul's female relatives 
 would probably have been disclaimed by these ladies if 
 purchased at the expense of the fair and spotless fame of 
 their maternal ancestor. However, if Mr Cunningham 
 imagined this cast of character best suited to his pur- 
 poses, there is no great harm done. Few live to feel of- 
 fence, — none to believe in those romantic passages, which 
 owe their existence solely to the imagination of the poet. 
 In painting Scottish scenery, and embodying romantic 
 tradition, Mr Cunningham is in his work as much at 
 home as is the author of " The Pilot" in those fields 
 of ocean v^^hich, as a novelist, he at present " possesses 
 as his own domain." 
 
PAUL JONES. 179 
 
 but the Countess of Scarborough had struck while 
 the Serapis still held desperately out. 
 
 " On the Slst,""* says Jones, " we saw and 
 chased two sail oif Flamborough Head ; the 
 Pallas chased in the N. E. quarter, while the 
 Bon Homme Richard, followed by the Ven- 
 geance, chased in the S. W. ; the one I chased, 
 a brigantine coUier in ballast, belonging to Scar- 
 borough, was soon taken, and simk immedi- 
 ately afterwards, as a fleet then appeared to the 
 southward. This was so late in the day, that 
 I could not come up with the fleet before night ; 
 at length, however, I got so near one of them 
 as to force her to run ashore between Flam- 
 borough Head and the Spurn. Soon after I took 
 another, a brigantine from Holland, belonging 
 to Sunderland, and at dayhght the next mor- 
 ning, seeing a fleet steering towards me from 
 the Spurn, I imagined them to be a convoy 
 bound from London for Leith, which had been 
 for some time expected. One of them had a 
 pendant hoisted, and appeared to be a ship of 
 force. They had not, however, courage to come 
 on, but*kept back all except the one which seem- 
 ed to be armed, and that one also kept to wind- 
 
180 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ward, very near the land, and on the edge of dan- 
 gerous shoals, where I could not with safety ap- 
 proach. This induced me to make a signal for 
 a pilot, and soon afterwards two pilots'' boats came 
 off. They informed me that a ship that wore a 
 pendant was an armed merchantman, and that a 
 king^s frigate lay there in sight, at anchor, within 
 the Humber, waiting to take under convoy a 
 number of merchant ships bound to the north- 
 ward. The pilots imagined the Bon Homme 
 Richard to be an Enghsh ship of war, and con- 
 sequently communicated to me the private signal 
 which they had been required to make. I en- 
 deavoured by this means to decoy the ships out 
 of the port ; but the wind then changing, and, 
 with the tide, becoming unfavourable for them, 
 the deception had not the desired effect, and they 
 wisely put back. The entrance of the Humber 
 is exceedingly difficult and dangerous, and as the 
 Pallas was not in sight, I thought it imprudent 
 to remain off the entrance, therefore steered out 
 again to join the Pallas off Flamborough Head. 
 In the night we saw and chased two ships until 
 three o'clock in the morning, when, being at a 
 very small distance from them, I made the pri- 
 
PAUL JONES. 181 
 
 vate signal of reconnoissance, which I had given 
 to each captain before I sailed from Groix : one 
 half of the answer only was returned. In this 
 position both sides lay to till daylight, when 
 the ships proved to be the Alliance and the 
 Pallas. 
 
 " On the morning of that day, the 23d, the 
 brig from Holland not being in sight, we chased 
 a brigantine that appeared laying to, to windward. 
 About noon we saw and chased a large ship that 
 appeared coming round Flamborough Head from 
 the northward, and at the same time I manned 
 and armed one of the pilot-boats to send in pur- 
 suit of the brigantine, which now appeared to be 
 the vessel that I had forced ashore. Soon after 
 this a fleet of forty-one sail appeared off Flam- 
 borough Head, bearing N. N. E. This induced 
 me to abandon the single ship which had then 
 anchored in Burlington Bay ; I also called back 
 the pilot-boat, and hoisted a signal for a general 
 chase. When the fleet discovered us bearing 
 down, all the merchant ships crowded sail towards 
 the shore. The two ships of war that protected the 
 fleet at the same time steered from the land, 
 
182 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and made the disposition for battle. In ap- 
 proaching the enemy, I crowded every possible 
 sail, and made the signal for the line of battle, 
 to which the Alliance showed no attention. Ear- 
 nest as I was for the action, I could not reach 
 the Commodore^s ship until seven in the evening, 
 being then within pistol-shot, when he hailed the 
 Bon Homme Richard. We answered him by 
 firing a whole broadside. 
 
 " The battle being thus begun, was continued 
 with unremitting fury. Every method was prac- 
 tised on both sides to gain an advantage, and 
 rake each other ; and I must confess that the 
 enemy's ship, being much more manageable than 
 the Bon Homme Richard, gained thereby several 
 times an advantageous situation, in spite of my 
 best endeavoiKS to prevent it. As I had to deal 
 with an enemy of greatly superior force, I was un- 
 der the necessity of closing with him, to prevent 
 the advantage which he had over me in point 
 of manoeuvre. It was my intention to lay the 
 Bon Homme Richard athwart the enemy's bow ; 
 but as that operation required great dexterity in 
 the management of both sails and helm, and 
 
PAUL JONES. 183 
 
 some of our braces being shot away, it did not 
 exactly succeed to my wish. The enemy's bow- 
 sprit, however, came over the Bon Homme Rich- 
 ard's poop by the mizen-mast, and I made both 
 ships fast together in that situation, which, by 
 the action of the wind on the enemy's sails, 
 forced her stem close to the Bon Homme Rich- 
 ard's ,bow, so that the ships lay square alongside 
 of each other, the yards being all entangled, and 
 the cannon of each ship touching the opponent's. 
 When this position took place, it was eight 
 o'clock, pre\aous to which the Bon Homme Rich- 
 ard had received sundry eighteen-pound shots 
 below the water, and leaked very much. My 
 battery of twelve-pounders, on which I had placed 
 my chief dependence, being commanded by 
 Lieutenant Dale and Colonel Weibert, and 
 manned principally with American seamen and 
 French volunteers, was entirely silenced and 
 abandoned. As to the six old eighteen-pounders 
 that formed the batter)^ of the lower gun-deck, 
 they did no service whatever, except firing eight 
 shot in all. Two out of three of them burst at 
 the first fire, and killed almost all the men who 
 
184 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 were stationed to manage them. Before this 
 time, too, Colonel de Chamillard, who command- 
 ed a party of twenty soldiers on the poop, had 
 abandoned that station after having lost some of 
 his men. I had now only two pieces of cannon, 
 (nine-pounders,) on the quarter-deck, that were 
 not silenced, and not one of the heavier cannon 
 was fired during the rest of the action. The pur- 
 ^ ser, M. Mease, who commanded the guns on the 
 quarter-deck, bemg dangerously wounded in the 
 head, I was obliged to fill his place, and with 
 great difficulty ralUed a few men, and shifted 
 over one of the lee quarter-deck guns, so that we 
 afterwards played three pieces of nine-pounders 
 upon the enemy. The tops alone seconded the 
 fire of this little battery, and held out bravely 
 during the whole of the action, especially the 
 main-top, where Lieutenant Stack commanded. 
 I directed the fire of one of the three cannon 
 against the main-mast, with double-headed shot, 
 while the other two were exceedingly well served 
 with grape and canister shot, to silence the 
 enemy"'s musketry and clear her decks, which 
 was at last effected. The enemy were, as I have 
 
PAUL JONES. 185 
 
 since understood, on the instant of calling for 
 quarters, when the cowardice or treachery of three 
 of my under-officers induced them to call to the 
 enemy. The EngUsh Commodore asked me if I 
 demanded quarters, and I having answered him 
 in the most determined negative, they renewed 
 the battle with double fury. They were unable 
 to stand the deck ; but the fire of their cannon, 
 especially the lower battery, which was entirely 
 formed of ten-pounders, was incessant ; both ships 
 were set on fire in various places, and the scene 
 was dreadful beyond the reach of language. To 
 account for the timidity of my three under-of- 
 ficers, I mean the gunner, the carpenter, and the 
 master-at-arms, I must observe, that the two first 
 were shghtly wounded, and, as the ship had re- 
 ceived various shot under water, and one of the 
 pumps being shot away, the carpenter expressed 
 his fears that she would sink, and the other two 
 concluded that she was sinking, which occasioned 
 the gunner to rim aft on the poop, without my 
 knowledge, to strike the colours. Fortunately 
 for me, a cannon-baU had done that before, by 
 carrying away the ensign-staff; he was there- 
 
186 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 fore reduced to the necessity of sinking, as he 
 supposed, or of calling for quarter, and he pre- 
 ferred the latter. 
 
 '' All this time the Bon Homme Richard had 
 sustained the action alone, and the enemy, though 
 much superior in force, would have been very 
 glad to have got clear, as appears by their own 
 acknowledgments, and by their having let go an 
 anchor the instant that I laid them on board, by 
 which means they would have escaped, had I not 
 made them well fast to the Bon Homme Rich- 
 ard. 
 
 " At last, at half-past nine o''clock, the Alliance 
 appeared, and I now thought the battle at an 
 end; but, to my utter astonishment, he discharged 
 a broadside full into the stem of the Bon Homme 
 Richard. We called to him for God's sake to 
 forbear firing into the Bon Homme Richard; 
 yet they passed along the off-side of the ship, and 
 continued firing. There was no possibihty of his 
 mistaking the enemy "'s ships for the Bon Homme 
 Richard, there being the most essential difference 
 in their appearance and construction. Besides, 
 
 it was then full moonhght, and the sides of the 
 
 J 
 
PAUL JONES. 187 
 
 Bon Homme Richard were all black, while the 
 sides of the prize were all yellow. Yet, for the 
 greater security, I showed the signal of our re- 
 connoissance, by putting out three lanterns, one 
 at the head, another at the stem, and the third 
 in the middle, in a horizontal line. Every tongue 
 cried that he was firing into the wrong ship, but 
 nothing availed; he passed round, firing into the 
 Bon Homme Richard's head, stern, and broad- 
 side, and by one of his volleys killed several of 
 my best men, and mortally wounded a good of- 
 ficer on the forecastle only. My situation was 
 really deplorable ; the Bon Homme Richard re- 
 ceived various shot under water from the Alli- 
 ance ; the leak gained on the pumps, and the fire 
 increased much on board both ships. Some of- 
 ficers persuaded me to strike, of whose courage 
 and good sense I entertain a high opinion. My 
 treacherous master-at-arms let loose all my prison- 
 ers without my knowledge, and my prospects be- 
 came gloomy indeed. I would not, however, give 
 up the point. The enemy's mainmast began to 
 shake, their firing decreased fast, ours rather in- 
 
188 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 creased, and the British colours were struck at 
 half an hour past ten o** clock. 
 
 '^ This prize proved to be the British ship of 
 war the Serapis, a new ship of forty-four guns, 
 built on the most approved construction, with two 
 complete batteries, one of them of eighteen-poun- 
 ders, and commanded by the brave Commodore 
 Richard Pearson. I had yet two enemies to en- 
 counter, far more formidable than the Britons, — 
 I mean fire and water. The Serapis was attacked 
 only by the first, but the Bon Homme Richard 
 was assailed by both ; there was five feet water 
 in the hold, and though it was moderate from 
 the explosion of so much gunpowder, yet the 
 three pumps that remained could with difficulty 
 only keep the water from gaining. The fire 
 broke out in various parts of the ship in spite of 
 all the water that could be thrown in to quench it, 
 and at length broke out as low as the powder- 
 magazine, and within a few inches of the powder. 
 In that dilemma I took out the powder upon deck, 
 ready to be thrown over-board at the last extre- 
 mity, and it was ten o'clock the next day (the 
 
PAUL JONES. 189 
 
 24th) before the fire was entirely extinguished. 
 With respect to the situation of the Bon Homme 
 Richard, the rudder was cut entirely off, the 
 stern-frame and transoms were almost entirely 
 cut away, and the timbers by the lower deck, es- 
 pecially from the main-mast towards the stern, 
 being greatly decayed with age, were mangled 
 beyond my power of description, and a person 
 must have been an eye-witness to form a just idea 
 of the tremendous scene of carnage, wreck, and 
 ruin, which everywhere appeared. Humanity 
 cannot but recoil from the prospect of such finish- 
 ed horror, and lament that war should be cap- 
 able of producing such fatal consequences. 
 
 " After the carpenters, as well as Captain Cot- 
 tineau and other men of sense, had well examin- 
 ed and surveyed the ship, (which was not finish- 
 ed before five in the evening,) I found every 
 person to be con\dnced that it was impossible to 
 keep the Bon Homme Richard afloat, so as to 
 reach a port, if the wind should increase, it be- 
 ing then only a very moderate breeze. I had but 
 little time to remove my wounded, which now be- 
 came unavoidable, and which was effected in the 
 
190 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 course of the night and next morning. I was 
 determined to keep the Bon Homme Richard 
 afloat, and, if possible, to bring her into port. 
 For that purpose, the first heutenant of the Pal- 
 las continued on board with a party of men, to 
 attend the pumps, with boats in waiting, ready 
 to take them on board in case the water should 
 gain on them too fast. The wind augmented in 
 the night, and the next day, the 25th, so that it 
 was impossible to prevent the good old ship from 
 sinking. They did not abandon her till after 
 nine o*'clock ; the water was then up to the lower 
 deck, and a little after ten I saw, with inexpressi- 
 ble grief, the last ghmpse of the Bon Homme 
 Richard. No lives were lost with the ship, but 
 it was impossible to save the stores of any sort 
 whatever. I lost even the best part of my clothes, 
 books, and papers; and several of my officers 
 lost all their clothes and effects. 
 
 " Having thus endeavoured to give a clear and 
 simple relation of the circumstances and events 
 that have attended the little armament under my 
 command, I shall freely submit my conduct there- 
 in to the censure of my superiors and the im- 
 
PAUL JONES. 191 
 
 partial public. I beg leave, however, to observe, 
 that the force that was put under my command 
 was far from being well composed, and as the 
 great majority of the actors in it have appeared 
 bent on the pursuit of interest only, I am ex- 
 ceedingly sorry that they and I have been at all 
 concerned."" 
 
 Such is the despatch which Commodore Jones 
 transmitted from the Texel to Dr Frankhn, and 
 afterwards to Congress. It is painful to observe 
 how often he is forced to complain of the sordid- 
 ness or cowardice of his associates. To a ge- 
 nerous and elevated mind nothing could have 
 been more humihating than this necessity. The 
 pursuit of " interest alone," with which he so 
 frequently charges his associates, is, however, a 
 positive virtue compared with the gratuitous vil- 
 lany imputed to Landais, the commander of the 
 AUiance. The alleged conduct of this person, par- 
 ticularly during the engagement between the Bon 
 Homme Richard and the Serapis, was so daring 
 in atrocity and treachery as to exceed all rea- 
 sonable behef, were it not solemnly asserted, as 
 beyond all doubt it was firmly beheved, by Jones. 
 
192 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 The general conduct of Landais was that of a 
 malignant madman, as much incited by the pre- 
 vaihng influence of frenzy as actuated by deli- 
 berate villany. His behaviour during the whole 
 cruise was made the subject of a set of charges* 
 drawn up by Jones in coming into the Texel, which 
 were attested, in whole or in part, by most of the 
 officers of the Bon Homme Richard and the Al- 
 hance. The fact of Landais firing into the Bon 
 Homme Richard is also confirmed by the log- 
 book,-j- which was preserved when the ship sunk, 
 and by a very interesting and seaman-hke nar- 
 rative of the engagement, drawn up by Mr Dale, j 
 
 * See Appendix A. 
 
 t This battered volume, after many adventures by 
 land and water, in Europe and America, is now in the 
 possession of Mr George Napier, advocate. 
 
 :|; This gentleman, long since a Commodore in the ser- 
 vice of the United States, is, or very lately was, still alive. 
 He has for many years lived in retirement at Philadelphia, 
 in the bosom of his family. It is but fair to state, in excul- 
 pation of Landais, that Captain Pearson, commander of 
 theSerapis, in his despatch to the Admiralty, (see Appen- 
 dix B,) repeatedly asserts, and assigns as the main cause of 
 
PAUL JONES. 193 
 
 then first lieutenant of the ship. The brilliant 
 success of Jones at this time, though far short of 
 his own hopes and projects, gave him a right to 
 
 his defeat, that while one frigate — the Bon Homme 
 Richard — engaged him " muzzle to muzzle," the other — 
 the Alliance — kept sailing round him during the whole 
 action, and raking him fore and aft, by which means she 
 killed or wounded almost every man on the quarter-deck 
 and main-deck. It is not easy to judge of these con- 
 tradictory statements. 
 
 From the variety of unusual circumstances which oc- 
 curred during the heat and confusion of this memorable 
 affair, there can be little doubt that both commanders 
 may have given what he honestly believed a fair relation 
 of facts. The gunner calling for quarter, as noticed by 
 Jones, might have induced Captain Pearson to beKeve 
 that the Bon Homme Richard had struck, especially as 
 her flag so fortuitously disappeared at the same instant. 
 The voice of Jones, 'who, according to Lieutenant Dale's 
 narrative, decidedly denied that he struck, calling out 
 that " he had not yet begun to fight," may have been 
 lost in the bustle and noise of the moment, or construed 
 into words of surrender ; and where could any British 
 officer have learned to imagine the atrocity of a comman- 
 der pointing his guns in the heat of a close action, not 
 
 VOL. I. I 
 
194 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 speak out on affairs which left a deeper sting in 
 his mind than even the perfidy of Landais. He 
 thus concludes his despatch : — 
 
 against the enemy, but against his own consort, as is al- 
 leged of Landais ? 
 
 If any reader take the trouble to turn up the Edin- 
 burgh^Review for June, 1818, referring to the loss of the 
 Alceste and the Medusa, he will obtain a view of the 
 character of French seamen, which will go far to verify 
 the assertions of Paul Jones and his officers regarding 
 Landais. Franklin either really remained, or from policy 
 was willing to appear, sceptical as to these revolting facts, 
 though he entertained a very bad opinion of this man. 
 He says, " It was not at all likely either that he should 
 have given orders to fire into the Bon Homme Richard, or 
 that his officers would have obeyed such orders had they 
 been given them." 
 
 If Landais was really guilty — which there is every 
 reason to believe — his is no solitary instance of such 
 disgraceful perfidy on the part of French seamen. After 
 the battle of Trafalgar, it is notorious that the flying 
 French ships, as they escaped, poured broadsides into the 
 Spanish vessels. " The ships," says Mr Southey, " which 
 were thus flying, were four of the enemy's van, all 
 French, under Rear Admiral Dumanoir. They had borne 
 
PAUL JONES. 195 
 
 a 
 
 I am in the highest degree sensible of the 
 singular attentions which I have experienced from 
 the Court of France, which I shall remember 
 with perfect gratitude until the end of my life, 
 and will always endeavour to merit, while I can 
 consistent with my honour continue in the pub- 
 lic service. I must speak plainly ; as I have 
 been always honoured with the full confidence of 
 Congress, and as I also flattered myself with en- 
 joying in some measure the confidence of the 
 court of France, I could not but be astonished 
 at the conduct of Monsieur de Chaumont, when, 
 in the moment of my departure from Groix, he 
 prodviced a paper, a concordat, for me to sign, in 
 common with the officers whom I had commis- 
 
 no part in the action ; and now, when they were seeking 
 safety in flight, they fired not only into the Victory and 
 Royal Sovereign, (English ships,) but poured their broad- 
 sides into the captured Spanish vessels ; and they were 
 seen to back their sails, for the purpose of firing with 
 more precision. The indignation of the Spaniards at this 
 detestable cruelty from their allies, for whom they had 
 fought so bravely and so profusely bled, may well be 
 conceived." 
 
196 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 sioned but a few days before. Had that paper, 
 or even a less dishonourable one, been proposed 
 to me at the beginning, I would have rejected it 
 with just contempt, and the word dej)lacement, 
 among others, should have been necessary. I 
 cannot, however, even now suppose that he was 
 authorized by the Court to make such a bargain 
 with me. Nor can I suppose that the Minister 
 of the Marine meant that M. de Chaumont 
 should consider me merely as a colleague with the 
 commanders of the other ships, and communicate 
 to them not only all he knew but all he thought 
 respecting our destination and operations. M. 
 de Chaumont has made me various reproaches 
 on account of the expense of the Bon Homme 
 Richard, wherewith I cannot think I have been 
 justly chargeable. M. de Chamillard can attest 
 that the Bon Homme Richard was at last far 
 from being well fitted or armed for war. If any 
 person or persons who have been charged with 
 the expense of that armament have acted wrong, 
 the fault must not be laid to my charge. I had no 
 authority to superintend that armament^ and the 
 persons who had authority were so far from giving 
 
PAUL JONES. 19T 
 
 me what I thought necessary, that M. de Chau- 
 mont even refused, among other things, to allow 
 me irons to secure the prisoners of war. 
 
 " In short, while my life remains, if I have 
 any capacity to render good and acceptable ser- 
 vices to the common cause, no man will step 
 forth with greater cheerfulness and alacrity than 
 myself; but I am not made to be dishonoured, 
 nor can I accept of the half-confidence of any 
 man living. Of course I cannot, consistent with 
 my honour, and a prospect of success, undertake 
 future expeditions, unless when the object and 
 destination is communicated to me alone, and to 
 no other person in the marine hne. In cases 
 where troops are embarked, a hke confidence is 
 due alone to their commander-in-chief. On no 
 other condition will I ever undertake the chief 
 command of a private expedition ; and when I do 
 not command in chief, I have no desire to be in 
 the secret." 
 
 In the memorial drawn up for the private 
 perusal of the King of France, Jones says that 
 it was his intention at this time to cruise off the 
 south-west of Ireland for twelve or fifteen days, 
 
198 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 in order to intercept the English homeward- 
 bound East India ships, which he had been in- 
 formed would return without convoy, and sail for 
 this point of land. This purpose, which he con- 
 fined to his own breast, and which would have 
 been rendered abortive by the misconduct of 
 Landais, was quite compatible with the other ob- 
 jects of the cruise, whether these were the West 
 India, or Hudson's Bay ships, or the Baltic fleet. 
 The earliness and accuracy of the information 
 which Jones procured while he lay in the vari- 
 ous harbours of France is not a little remarkable. 
 Instead of receiving intelligence from the Ameri- 
 can ministers, he was enabled, through his own 
 private channels in England and other quarters, 
 to transmit to them information of the sailing of 
 fleets and of the strength of convoys. His former 
 connexions and mode of life may have given him 
 some facilities ; and money, the universal agent, 
 never appears to have been with him an object 
 of any consideration beyond its value as a means 
 of obtaining professional advancement. He was 
 able to supply the French Admiral, Count d'Or- 
 vilHers, with important information from London, 
 
PAUL JONES. 199 
 
 of the sailing of a large West India fleet, and 
 even to acquaint him with private transactions 
 on board the squadrons of Keppel and Byron. 
 
 Meanwhile the squadron of Jones, which the 
 narrative has left behind, continued to be tossed 
 about till the 3d of October, when it came to 
 anchor in the Texel, contrary to the judgment 
 of the Commodore, who wished to gain the French 
 harbour of Dunkirk, but was, he says, overruled 
 by his officers. The rendezvous he found, was 
 the cause of much personal vexation to himself, 
 though it proved of ultimate advantage to Ame- 
 rica, by hurrying on the period when the Dutch 
 were forced from their politic neutrality. The 
 poUtical importance of this measure might have 
 been foreseen by Franklin, when in the previous 
 summer he directed Jones, on finishing his nor- 
 thern cruise, to take shelter in the Texel. By 
 doing so, the American minister greatly increas- 
 ed the perplexity of their High Mightinesses, on 
 whom the cabinet of London already — and with 
 good reason — ^looked with suspicious eyes. By 
 this step the Dutch were in effect precipitated 
 into the war rather sooner than suited their crafty 
 
t 
 
 200 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and selfish policy, which, in shuffling with all 
 parties, sought to profit by all. By compelling 
 England to declare war, and the Dutch to de- 
 clare openly fi^r the United States, an end was 
 virtually put to a contest, in which Britain was 
 left to contend single-handed with her refrac- 
 tory colonies, then backed by France, Spain, and 
 Holland. 
 
 Though the squadron of Jones had failed in 
 its main purpose, and had neither captured 
 fleets, nor put wealthy cities to ransom, the 
 blow struck at the maritime pride of England 
 could not fail to be highly gratifying to the Ame- 
 ricans. Dr Franklin immediately wrote, warmly 
 congratulating the victor. — " For some days," 
 says Franklin, " after the arrival of your ex- 
 press, scarce any thing was talked of at Paris 
 and Versailles, but your cool conduct and perse- 
 vering bravery during that terrible conflict. You 
 may beheve that the impression on my mind was 
 not less strong than that on others, — ^but I do not 
 choose to say in a letter to yourself all I think 
 on such an occasion. 
 
 " The ministry are much dissatisfied with 
 
PAUL JONES. 201 
 
 Captain Landais, and Monsieur de Sartine has 
 signified to me in writing, that it is expected that 
 I should send for him to Paris, and call him to 
 account for his conduct, particularly for deferring 
 so long his coming to your assistance ; by which 
 means, it is supposed, the States lost some of 
 their valuable citizens, and the king lost many of 
 his subjects, volunteers in your ship, together 
 with the ship itself. 
 
 " I have, accordingly, written to him this day, 
 acquainting him, that he is charged with disobe- 
 dience of orders in the cruise, and neglect of his 
 duty in the engagement ; that a court-martial 
 being at this time inconvenient, if not impractic- 
 able, I would give him an earher opportunity 
 of offering what he has to say in his justification, 
 and for that purpose direct him to render him- 
 self immediately here, bringing with him such 
 papers or testimonies as he may think useful in 
 his defence. I know not whether he will obey 
 my orders, nor what the ministry would do with 
 him if he comes ; but I suspect that they may, 
 by some of their concise operations, save the 
 trouble of a court-martial. It wUl, however, be 
 
 i2 
 
202 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 well for you to furnish me with what you may 
 judge proper to support the charges against him, 
 that I may be able to give a just and clear ac- 
 count to Congress. In the mean time it will be 
 necessary, if he should refuse to come, that you 
 should put him under an arrest, and in that case, 
 as well as if he comes, that you should either 
 appoint some person to the command, or take it 
 upon yourself ; for I know of no person to recom- 
 mend to you as fit for that station. 
 
 " I am uneasy about your prisoners, (504 in 
 number,) — I wish they were safe in France. You 
 will then have completed the glorious work of 
 giving liberty to all the Americans that have so 
 long languished for it in the British prisons." 
 
 Jones also received the thanks of the Due de 
 la Vauguyon, the French ambassador at the 
 Hague, and the congratulations of numerous 
 friends and admirers. 
 
 And now commenced those scenes of diploma- 
 tic altercation between the States of Holland and 
 the British ambassador, Sir Joseph Yorke, which 
 in the following year ended in the declaration of 
 war. The Dutch had already committed many 
 
PAUL JONES. 203 
 
 virtual infractions of the treaty of alliance with 
 Britain. It was from Holland that France openly- 
 obtained her maritime stores. But a greater eye- 
 sore was the American squadron and its daring 
 commander, with the captured frigates, riding in 
 triumph in the Texel. Jones also appeared openly 
 at Amsterdam. He was allowed to establish an 
 hospital in the forts of the Texel for his wound- 
 ed men and his wounded prisoners ; though in 
 this object of common humanity Sir Joseph 
 Yorke readily concurred. 
 
 The squadron came into the Texel on the 3d 
 October, and on the 13th Sir Joseph Yorke 
 presented a brief and energetic memorial, pe- 
 remptorily demanding that the captiured fidgates 
 should be stopped in the Texel — the frigates 
 " taken by one Paul Jones, a subject of the 
 King of Great Britain, who, according to treaties 
 and the laws of war, falls under the class of re- 
 bels and pirates." 
 
 Jones, though he must have been prepared for 
 the demand, was, it may be presumed, not a lit- 
 tle indignant at the unceremonious style in which 
 he was designated by the Enghsh ambassador, — 
 
204< MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " that little thing Sir Joseph," as he pettishly 
 terms him. In this emergency he endeavoured 
 to secure the friendship of certain powerful indi- 
 viduals. With a young, brave, and, above all, 
 a successfid commander, there is ever a ready 
 sympathy ; and even at this time, though the 
 show of peace was still sedulously kept up, the 
 cause of America had many warm friends among 
 the Dutch, especially in the maritime towns. 
 
 It would have required greater magnanimity 
 than most men are endowed with, had Jones 
 forgiven the appellations bestowed on him, es- 
 pecially if any lurking consciousness rankled in 
 his mind that his character and position were 
 equivocal, and apt, at least in England, to be 
 misconstrued. The distrust evinced by Le Ray 
 Chaumont, and the consequent restraints im- 
 posed on his freedom as a commander, had al- 
 ready been sufficiently galling ; and this was a 
 fresh corrosion of the same sore. In a statement 
 made long afterwards, Jones mentions that Sir 
 Joseph Yorke having failed to obtain his person 
 from the Dutch government, endeavoured to 
 have him privately kidnapped, — a thing in itself 
 
PAUL JONES. 205 
 
 extremely improbable, and for which there was, 
 in all likelihood, no other foundation than the 
 gossip of Amsterdam. Sir Joseph never even 
 directly asked that Jones should be given up, 
 while he loudly reiterated his demand for the 
 restitution of the captured frigates. 
 
 The firmness and address displayed by Sir 
 Joseph Yorke on this occasion did credit to his 
 diplomatic abihties. He had resided long at the 
 Hague, and had obtained great influence with the 
 Prince of Orange and what may be called the court- 
 party. His services on this occasion were after- 
 wards rewarded by a peerage. Captain Pearson 
 was also subsequently distinguished by many 
 marks of the confidence and approbation of his 
 sovereign. The defeated party were indeed more 
 highly rewarded than the victor ; for the subse- 
 quent honours heaped on Jones were more the 
 consequence of dexterous management at Ver- 
 sailles, six months after the affair took place, than 
 the natural and spontaneous fruits of his brilliant 
 achievement. Immediately on his exchange, Cap- 
 tain Pearson received the honour of knighthood, 
 which, following this period of echpse, must have 
 
206 ' MEMOIRS OF 
 
 been peculiarly gratifying to his feelings; and the 
 Royal-Exchange Assurance Company presented 
 him and Captain Piercy of the Coimtess of Scar- 
 borough with services of plate " for their gallant 
 defence of the Baltic fleet." 
 
 The peremptory demand of Sir Joseph Yorke 
 threw their High Mightinesses into no little per- 
 plexity. They were not yet prepared for war with 
 England, nor did they wish to risk offending 
 France, and ahenating the affections of the young 
 Transatlantic repubHc, which might long remem- 
 ber unkindness, but would feel doubly grateful for 
 succour shown in the season of adversity, and the 
 struggle for existence. The States of HoUand in 
 those awkward circumstances temporized with 
 much dexterity, sheltering themselves under those 
 cautious maxims of policy which had hitherto 
 governed the United Provinces in questions of 
 the like nature. These maxims dictated that they 
 should decline deciding on the vahdity of cap- 
 tures in the open seas of vessels not belonging 
 to their own subjects. They afforded at aU times 
 shelter in their harbours to all ships whatsoever, 
 if driven in by stress of weather ; but compelled 
 
PAUL JONES. 207 
 
 armed ships with their prizes to put to sea again 
 as soon as possible, without permitting them to 
 dispose of their cargoes ; and this conduct they 
 were to follow in the case of Jones. 
 
 This did not, however, extricate the Dutch 
 government from the dilemma. As an American 
 officer they durst not protect Jones, which would 
 have been in effect a recognition of the rebeUious 
 colonies ; and the French commission under which 
 it was alleged he acted could never be forthcom- 
 ing. They therefore were compelled to order 
 him to put to sea with his squadron forthwith, 
 though they " decHned to pass judgment on the 
 person and prizes of Paul Jones." They also 
 pubhcly forbade the ships to be furnished with 
 naval or warlike stores, save such as were abso- 
 lutely necessary to carry them to the first foreign 
 port, " that all suspicion of their being furnished 
 here may drop."* 
 
 It was even agreed, though the measure met 
 with strong opposition, that the American squa- 
 dron should be expelled by force from the Texel. 
 
 • See manifesto, Appendix. 
 
208 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 This much was obtained by the firmness of Sir 
 Joseph Yorke. 
 
 The situation of Jones, all along unpleasant, 
 was now become highly critical. The Dutch go- 
 vernment, whom Sir Joseph neither suffered to 
 slumber nor sleep, incessantly annoyed the French 
 ambassador, who in his turn assailed Jones. He 
 was thus placed between two fires, threatened by 
 the Dutch to be driven from the Texel, while 
 English ships were placed at its entrance to in- 
 terrupt his exit, and while, to " make assurance 
 double sure," light squadrons were cruising about 
 in all directions to prevent his gaining any French 
 or Spanish port, should he be fortunate enough 
 to escape the vessels on the more immediate 
 watch. So deep and galling was the wound this 
 individual had inflicted on the national pride, that 
 the capture of " one Paul Jones" would at this 
 time have been more welcome to England than if 
 she had conquered a rich argosy. 
 
 One main object of Jones being ordered to the 
 Texel on the termination of his northern cruise, 
 was, as has been noticed, to convoy a French 
 fleet with naval stores to Brest, and to get out 
 
PAUL JONES. 209 
 
 the Indian. The same officious commissary, whose 
 talkative propensities and suspicious disposition 
 had so frequently baffled the projects of Jones, 
 had again been at work ; and although the Dutch 
 government might have winked at the sailing of 
 the fleet under his convoy, the measure would 
 have been rendered abortive by premature dis- 
 closure. Jones complained to Frankhn, and to 
 Sartine, the minister of the French marine, to 
 whom during the time he lay in the Texel he 
 had, as usual, been transmitting some of the many 
 projects for maritime expeditions of which his 
 scheming brain was ever so fertile. He also 
 in this interval drew up a refreshing memorial 
 for Congress, containing a narrative of his pro- 
 fessional life and services. 
 
 Before receiving any answer to his communi- 
 cation to Sartine, Jones was ordered to attend the 
 French ambassador at the Hague, the Due de 
 la Vauguyon. He went privately to the Hague 
 to avoid unnecessary offence, and at a long con- 
 ference it was agreed that he should forthwith 
 sail for Dunkirk with his numerous prisoners. 
 As they were now situated they could scarcely 
 
210 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 be considered in security, and both Franklin and 
 Jones, as a personal kindness, had soUcited and 
 obtained the consent of the French government 
 that these prisoners should be exchanged for the 
 Americans, then prisoners in England. 
 
 The Serapis had been dismasted in the late 
 engagement, and as it was probable that, even on 
 the short voyage to Dunkirk, Jones might encoun- 
 ter his watchful foe in some force, it was neces- 
 sary to refit his ship. For this purpose he went to 
 Amsterdam. Thus time wore on. The Enghsh 
 ambassador from remonstrances came to threats. 
 The Dutch, driven to their wif s end, remonstrat- 
 ed and menaced by turns ; and Jones, unable to 
 be longer silent, wrote as follows to the French 
 ambassador : — 
 
 " On board the Bon Homme Richard's Prize 
 the Ship of War Serapis, at the Texel, 
 November 4th, 1779. 
 
 " My Lord, 
 
 " This morning the commandant of the Road 
 sent me word to come and speak to him on board 
 his ship. He had before him on the table a let- 
 ter which he said was from the Prince of Orange. 
 
PAUL JONES. 211 
 
 He questioned me very closely whether I had a 
 French commission, and, if I had, he almost in- 
 sisted upon seeing it. In conformity to your 
 advice "Cetavis donne au commencement nVtoit 
 plus de saison depuis Fadmission de Tescadre 
 sous Pavilion Americain," I told him that my 
 French commission not having been found among 
 my papers since the loss of the Bon Homme Rich- 
 ard, I feared it had gone to the bottom in that 
 ship ; but that, if it was really lost, it would be 
 an easy matter to procure a duplicate of it from 
 France. The commandant appeared to be very 
 uneasy and anxious for my departure. I have told 
 him that as there are eight of the enemy''s ships 
 laying wait for me at the south entrance, and 
 four more at the north entrance of the port, I 
 was unable to fight more than three times my 
 force, but that he might rest assiured of my in- 
 tention to depart with the utmost expedition, 
 whenever I found a possibility to go clear. 
 
 " I should be very happy, my Lord, if I could 
 tell you of my being ready. I should have de- 
 parted long ago, if I had met with common as- 
 sistance ; but for a fortnight past I have every day 
 
212 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 expected the necessary supply of water from Am- 
 sterdam in cisterns, and I am last night informed 
 that it cannot be had without I send up water-casks. 
 The provision, too, that was ordered the day I 
 returned to Amsterdam from the Hague, is not 
 yet sent down ; and the spars that have been sent 
 from Amsterdam are spoiled in the making. 
 None of the iron-work that was ordered for 
 the Serapis is yet completed, so that I am, even 
 to this hour, in want of hinges to hang the lower 
 gun-ports. My officers and men lost their clothes 
 and beds in the Bon Homme Richard, and they 
 have yet got no supply. The bread that has 
 been twice a week sent down from Amsterdam 
 to feed my people, has been, Hterally speaking, 
 rotten^ and the consequence is that they are fall- 
 ing sick. 
 
 " It is natural also that they should be discon- 
 tented, while I am not able to tell them that they 
 will be paid the value of their property in the 
 Serapis and Countess of Scarborough, if either or 
 both of them should be lost or taken after saihng 
 from hence. 
 
 " Thus you see, my Lord, that my prospects are 
 
PAUL JONES. 213 
 
 far from pleasing. I have but few men, and they 
 are discontented. If you can authorize me to 
 promise them, at all hazards, that their property 
 in the prizes shall be made good, and that they 
 shall receive the necessary clothing and bedding, 
 &c. or money to buy them, I beheve I shall soon 
 be able to bring them again into a good humour. 
 In the meantime I will send a vessel or two out 
 to reconnoitre the offing and to bring me word- 
 Whatever may be the consequence of my having 
 put into this harbour, I must observe that it was 
 done contrary to my opinion, and I consented to 
 it only because the majority of my colleagues 
 were earnest for it,'' &c. &c. 
 
 The French government, to rid themselves of 
 farther importunity, now fell on a new expedient. 
 The cruise was suddenly declared at an end, and 
 the ships were dismissed; Franklin agreed to place 
 the captured frigates under the flag of France, and 
 that Jones should be removed to the only ship 
 now ostensibly American, the AUiance, which, on 
 Landais having been ordered to Paris to answer 
 to the plenipotentiaries for his misconduct on the 
 cruise, had been left without a commander. 
 Jones received this intimation with disgust and 
 
214 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 chagrin ; but such were the orders of Sartine and 
 Franklin, such the course sound pohcy dictated ; 
 and after an altercation lasting, he states, for thir- 
 teen hours, with the French ambassador at the 
 Hague, he most reluctantly left the Serapis, whose 
 deck seemed the theatre of his glory, and went 
 on board the AUiance. The squadron soon after- 
 wards sailed under a Dutch convoy, and Jones 
 was left alone in his new ship. His French 
 commission had never yet been produced ; the 
 EngUsh ambassador had repeatedly alleged that 
 he held no legal commission from any sovereign ;* 
 and to reUeve the Dutch government from their 
 
 * About this time, a seaman's wife of Burlington ad- 
 dressed a letter to Sir Joseph Yorke at the Hague, implor- 
 ing tidings of her husband, of whom, since the engag- 
 ment of Jones with the Serapis, she had never heard, and 
 who, she feared, had fallen in that fight. Sir Joseph gallant- 
 ly and humanely complied with the poor Englishwoman's 
 request, and as he was aware that his epistle to Mrs Bur- 
 not would appear in all the English and French news- 
 papers, he, with considerable covert-humour, contrived to 
 have a hit at the shuffling policy of the Dutch, and the 
 charaelion character of the squadron they sheltered, while 
 he replied to the seaman's wife : — " Mrs Burnot, As soon 
 
PAUL JONES. 215 
 
 dilemma, and, probably to ensure the personal 
 safety of Jones in case of the worst, a regular 
 commission was now tendered him by the minis- 
 ters of his Most Christian Majesty, but of a kind 
 so degrading that there is no doubt he would, 
 
 as I received your letter of the 7th instant, I lost no time 
 in making inquiries after your gallant husband, Mr Rich- 
 ard Burnot ; and have now great pleasure in congratulat- 
 ing you upon his being alive and well, on board the 
 Countess of Scarborough, at the Texel. I find he had 
 been burnt with an explosion of gunpowder, but is now 
 quite recovered. He sends me word, that he, as you 
 know, could not write, and therefore hoped I would let 
 you know he was well, which I do with infinite satisfac- 
 tion. It will still be greater, if I can get him exchanged, 
 which I am doing my best endeavours for ; but as the 
 people who took him are sometimes French and some- 
 times rebels, as it suits their convenience, that renders 
 this affair more difficult than it would be if they allowed 
 themselves to be French, because I could then settle the 
 exchange at once. I am happy to be able to give such 
 agreeable news to the wife of my brave countryman, and 
 I am very sincerely your most faithful humble servant, 
 
 " Joseph Yorke. 
 '' Hague, Nov. 26, 1779." 
 
216 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 far rather than have accepted it, have chosen 
 the alternative of falling into the power of the 
 English. Whatever were his personal difficul- 
 ties, he was at this time in " the blaze of his 
 fame," " talked of,*" says Franklin, " at Paris and 
 Versailles," celebrated throughout Europe and 
 America. His temper and blood were at no time 
 very cool on sudden excitement, and the excess 
 of his indignation may be imagined when he re- 
 ceived the insulting offer of a Letter of Marque. 
 We know not what to make of the frequent boasts 
 of Jones in after-periods of Hfe, of never accepting 
 any commission save from Congress. The con- 
 cordat of Le Ray Chaumont, and the Letter of 
 Marque of Sartine and the Due de la Vauguyon, 
 it must be confessed, offered but sHght tempta- 
 tion. Jones, though far from being naturally 
 inchned either to conceal or depreciate his pro- 
 fessional talents and personal services, never over- 
 estimated himself half so much as he was at this 
 time undervalued by the vacillating and capri- 
 cious government with which he had to do. If 
 the true ability of a statesman is best seen in 
 his capacity for selecting and managing the in- 
 
PAUL JONES. 217 
 
 struments of his power, Sartine in this instance, 
 as in many others, sadly betrayed his own inca- 
 pacity. Under the first galling feelings of this 
 insult, Jones wrote the following spirited letter 
 to the French ambassador. It is one of the best 
 productions of his pen, precisely because it is the 
 spontaneous dictate of the most honourable im- 
 pulses of his spirit : — 
 
 " To His Excellency the Due de la Vauguyon, Am- 
 bassador from France at the Hague. 
 
 " Alliance^ Texel;, December 
 13th, 1779. 
 
 " My Lord, 
 
 " Perhaps there are many men in the world 
 
 who would esteem as an honour the commission 
 
 that I have this day refused. My rank from the 
 
 beginning knew no superior in the marine of 
 
 America, how then must I be humbled were I 
 
 to accept a letter-of-marque ! — I should, my Lord, 
 
 esteem myself inexcusable, were I to accept even 
 
 a commission of equal or superior denomination 
 
 to that I bear, unless I were previously authorized 
 
 VOL. I. K 
 
218 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 by Congress, or some other competent authority 
 in Europe. And I must tell you, that, on my 
 arrival at Brest from the Irish Channel, Count 
 D"'OrviUiers offered to procure for me from Court 
 a commission of " Captain de Vaisseaux," which 
 I did not then accept for the same reason, al- 
 though the war between France and England was 
 not then begun, and of course the commission of 
 France would have protected me from an enemy 
 of superior force. 
 
 " It is a matter of the highest astonishment to 
 me, that, after so many comphments and fair 
 professions, the Court should offer the present in- 
 sult to my understanding, and suppose me cap- 
 able of disgracing my present commission. I 
 confess that I never merited all the praise bestow- 
 ed on my past conduct, but I also feel that I have 
 far less merited such a reward. Where profes- 
 sion and practice are so opposite, I am no longer 
 weak enough to form a wrong conclusion. They 
 may think as they please of me ; for where I can- 
 not continue my esteem, praise or censure from 
 any man is to me a matter of indifference. 
 
 " I am much obhged to them, however, for hav- 
 
PAUL JONES. 219 
 
 ing at last fairly opened my eyes, and enabled 
 me to discover truth from falsehood. 
 
 " The prisoners shall be delivered agreeable to 
 the orders which you have done me the honour 
 to send me from his Excellency the American 
 ambassador in France. 
 
 " I will also with great pleasure, not only permit 
 a part of my seamen to go on board the ships 
 under your Excellency's orders, but I will also 
 do my utmost to prevail with them to embark 
 freely ; and if I can now or hereafter, by any other 
 honourable means, facilitate the success or the 
 honour of his Majesty's arms, I pledge myself to 
 you as his ambassador, that none of his own sub- 
 jects would bleed in his cause with greater free- 
 dom than myself, an American. 
 
 " It gives me the more pain, my Lord, to write 
 this letter, because the Court has enjoined you to 
 prepare what would destroy my peace of mind, 
 and my future veracity in the opinion of the world. 
 
 " When, luith the consent of Court and by or- 
 der of the American ambassador, I gave American 
 commissions to French officers, I did not fill up 
 those commissions to command privateers, nor 
 
220 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 even for a rank equal to that of their commissions 
 in the marine of France. They were promoted 
 to rank far superior^ — and why ? — not from per- 
 sonal friendship, nor from my knowledge of their 
 services and abilities, (the men and their charac- 
 ters being entire strangers to me,) but from the 
 respect which I beheved America would wish to 
 show for the service of France. 
 
 " While I remained eight months seemingly 
 forgot by the Court at Brest, many commissions 
 such as that in question were offered to me ; and 
 I believe, (when I am in pursuit of plunder,) I 
 can still obtain such an one without application 
 to Court. 
 
 " I hope, my Lord, that my behaviour through 
 life will ever entitle me to the continuance of 
 your good wishes and opinion, and that you will 
 take occasion to make mention of the warm and 
 personal affection with which my heart is im- 
 pressed towards his Majesty. 
 
 " I am,"" &c. &c. 
 
 This letter Jones enclosed to Frankhn, to 
 whom he gave his passionate feelings fuller breath 
 
PAUL JONES. 221 
 
 in an epistle very characteristic both of the man 
 and the seaman. " I hope,'' he says, " that the 
 within copy of my letter to the Due de la Vau- 
 guyon will meet your approbation ; for I am per- 
 suaded that it never could be your intention or 
 wish that I should be made the tool of any great 
 r whatever ; or that the commission of Ame- 
 rica should be overlaid by the dirty piece of parch- 
 ment which I have this day rejected ! They have 
 played upon my good humour too long already, 
 but the speU is at last dissolved. They would 
 play me off with assurance of the personal and 
 particular esteem of the King, to induce me to do 
 what would render me contemptible even in the 
 eyes of my own servants ! Accustomed to speak 
 untruths themselves, they would also have me to 
 give under my hand that I am a har and a scoun- 
 drel. They are mistaken, and I would tell them 
 what you did to your naughty servant. ' We have 
 too contemptible an opinion of one another's un- 
 derstanding to Uve together.' I could teU them 
 too, that if M de C * had not taken such 
 
 * De la Ray Chaumont. 
 
222 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 safe precautions to keep me honest by means of 
 his famous concordat, and to support me by so 
 many able colleagues, these great men would not 
 have been reduced to such mean shifts ; for the 
 prisoners could have been landed at Dunkirk the 
 day that I entered the Texel, and I could have 
 brought in double the numbers." 
 
 The whole of these eflfusions were submitted 
 to M. Dumas, a new friend Jones had acquired, 
 who had lately been appointed agent for American 
 affairs at Amsterdam.* 
 
 * This gentleman is a most amusing specimen of the 
 diplomatist in the small way, busy and bustling about 
 nothing, shrouding every trifle in mystery ; — one who 
 writes about " the great man," and hints obscurely at 
 *Uhe certain friend in high station," and intimates dark 
 meanings through which every body could see, in any way 
 save simply and directly. America was at this early stage of 
 her history singularly prolific of these mysterious person- 
 ages. Bancroft, Mr W. Temple Franklin, who was, how- 
 ever, still a lad, and even Commodore Jones, disported 
 themselves in this sort of innocent diplomacy, employing 
 a cipher, or numbers, in their correspondence about their 
 own personal affairs, as if the eyes of all the world had 
 
PAUL JONES. 223 
 
 The letter of Jones to the ambassador of France 
 produced the desired effect. A soothing epistle 
 was despatched to the sturdy and indignant An- 
 glo-American. " I perceive with pain, my dear 
 Commodore," says the Duke, " that you do not 
 view your situation in the right light ; and I can 
 assure you that the ministers of the King have no 
 intention to cause you the least disagreeable feel- 
 ing, as the honourable testimonials of the esteem 
 of his Majesty which I send you ought to con- 
 vince you. I hope you will not doubt the sincere 
 desire with which you have inspired me to pro- 
 cure you every satisfaction you may merit. It 
 cannot fail to incite you to give new proofs of 
 your zeal for the common cause of France and 
 America. I flatter myself to renew, before long, 
 the occasion, and to procure you the means to 
 increase still more the glory you have already 
 acquired. I am already occupied with all the 
 interest I promised you ; and if my views are 
 
 been watchful of their motions. Franklin alone kept 
 clear of this folly. His letters contain no blanks, no 
 ominous stars, no mystification of important nothings. 
 
224 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 realized, as I have every reason to believe, you 
 will be at all events perfectly content ; but I must 
 pray you not to hinder my project by delivering 
 yourself to the expression of those strong sensa- 
 tions to which you appear to give way, and for 
 which there is really no foundation. You appear 
 to possess full confidence in the justice and kind- 
 ness of the King ; rely also upon the same sen- 
 timents on the part of his ministers.'"' 
 
 The " dear Commodore'' of the Duke was 
 somewhat mollified by this apology, but far from 
 being satisfied ; nor did he slip so inviting an op- 
 portunity of proclaiming his grievances. " Were 
 I to form," he says, " my opinion of the ministry 
 from the treatment that I experienced while at 
 Brest, or from their want of confidence in me 
 afterwards, exclusive of what has taken place since 
 I had the misfortune to enter this port, I will 
 appeal to your Excellency, as a man of candour 
 and ingenuity, whether I ought to desire to pro- 
 long a connexion that has made me so unhappy, 
 and wherein I have given so very httle satisfaction. 
 M. le ChevaHer de; Lironcourt has lately made 
 me reproaches on account of the expense that. 
 
PAUL JONES. 9,9.6 
 
 he says, France has been at to give me reputa- 
 tion, in preference to twenty captains of the royal 
 navy, better quahfied than myself, and who, each 
 of them, sohcited for the command that was lately 
 given to me ! 
 
 " This, I confess, is quite new, and indeed 
 surprising to me ; and, had I known it before I 
 left France, I certainly should have resigned in 
 favour of the twenty men of superior merit. I 
 do not, however, think that his first assertion is 
 true ; for the ministers must be unworthy of their 
 places were they capable of squandering the 
 pubhc money only to give an individual reputa- 
 tion ; and as to the second, I fancy the Court will 
 not thank him for having given me that informa- 
 tion, whether true or false. I may add here, that 
 with a force so ill composed, and with powers so 
 limited, I ran ten chances of ruin and dishonour 
 for one of gaining reputation ; and had not the 
 plea of humanity in favour of the unfortunate 
 Americans in Enghsh dungeons superseded all 
 consideration of self, I faithfully assure you, my 
 Lord, that I would not have proceeded under 
 such circumstances from Groix. I do not imbibe 
 
 k2 
 
226 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 hasty prejudices against any individuals ; but 
 when many and repeated circumstances, conspir- 
 ing in one point, have inspired me with disesteem 
 towards any person, I must see convincing proof 
 of reformation in such person before my heart 
 can beat again with affection in his favour ; for 
 the mind is free, and can be bound only by kind 
 treatment."" 
 
 The insult, as he justly conceived it, which 
 Jones had received from France, did not increase 
 his inchnation to hoist the flag of that nation on 
 board of the Alliance; nor had he longer any secret 
 motive to refuse, or at least to delay obedience to 
 the reiterated and peremptory mandate of the 
 Dutch government, ordering him to leave the 
 Texel. America was now his sole hope — to reach 
 its coasts his only aim. " I am not sorry," he 
 writes his friend Morris, " that my connexion 
 with them (the French government) is at an end. 
 In the course of that connexion I ran ten chances 
 of ruin and dishonour for one of reputation ; and 
 all the honour or profit that France could bestow 
 should not tempt me again to undertake the same 
 service, with an armament equally ill composed 
 
PAUL JOXES. 227 
 
 and with powers equally limited. It affords me 
 the most exalted pleasure to reflect, that when I 
 return to America I can say I have served in 
 Europe at my own expense, and without the fee 
 or reward of a court. When the prisoners we 
 have taken are safely lodged in France, I shall 
 have no further business in Europe, as the liberty 
 of all our fellow-citizens who now suffer in Eng- 
 hsh prisons will then be secured." 
 
 He was now detained only by contrary winds, 
 and eagerly waited for a fair opportunity of elud- 
 ing the vigilance of those on the watch to inter- 
 cept him. After three months spent in continual 
 altercation, imbittered by the animosity of Lan- 
 dais, the babbling and suspicions of Le Ray 
 Chaumont, the conduct of the French ministersj 
 and the discontents of his officers and men re- 
 specting the prize-money, Jones sailed from the 
 Texel on the 27th December, 1779- 
 
 The only consolation Jones received at this 
 period was effecting the exchange of the Ameri- 
 can prisoners in England. This was, he said, 
 " all the reward he wished."' He had also wrung 
 some promises from the ambassador in behalf of 
 
2^8 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 his discontented officers and crew, who, as the 
 prizes had not been valued in Holland, and were 
 liable to be retaken in getting into a French 
 port, had no assurance that they would ever ob- 
 tain any reward for their courage and their toil. 
 The prizes sent into Bergen in Norway by Lan- 
 dais had been claimed by the English consul, 
 and given up by the Danish government, who 
 were very unhkely to grant the Americans any 
 indemnity. Even more severely than these inci- 
 dental hardships, Jones felt the grumbling of the 
 French agents at the expense he necessarily in- 
 curred in refitting his ships. " It had cost France 
 too much to give him fame," was the taunting 
 observation bitterly felt and not easily forgotten. 
 It must, under all the circumstances, have been 
 with considerable anxiety that Jones sailed from 
 the Texel, with the alternative of rashly braving 
 or fortunately eluding the English : he was not in 
 condition to meet them even in equal force. The 
 Alliance, by the gross misconduct of Landais, who 
 was as bad a seaman as he was an officer, was in 
 the worst condition. The officers were, as Jones 
 states, " idle and drunken ; the men filthy and 
 
PAUL JOXES. 229 
 
 in bad subordination, and many of them sick of 
 an epidemic illness;" the vessel was, besides, badly 
 armed, and the powder of bad quahty. The last 
 evil Jones remedied ; and, putting a bold face on 
 the matter, whatever might be his secret feelings, 
 he thus exultingly wrote Dumas on leaving the 
 Texel : — " Alliance at sea, 27th December : — I 
 am here, my dear Sir, with a good wind at east, 
 under my best American colours. So far you 
 have your wish. What may be the event of this 
 critical moment I know not ; I am, not however, 
 without good hopes." 
 
 The memorial, drawn up by Jones himself for 
 the King of France, contains the best account 
 that is extant of his escape and of the progress 
 of this ticklish voyage. " He passed,"" he states, 
 '• along the Flemish banks, and, getting the wind- 
 ward of the enemy's fleet of observation in the 
 North Sea, he the next day passed through the 
 Straits of Dover, in full view of the enemy's fleet 
 in the Downs. The day following Captain Jones 
 ran the AQiance past the Isle of Wight, in view 
 of the enemy's fleet at Spithead, and in two days 
 more got safe through the Channel, ha\TLngpass- 
 
230 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ed by windward in sight of several of the enemy's 
 large two-decked cruismg ships. Captain Jones 
 wished to carry with him some prizes and prison- 
 ers to France ; but the AlUance, by the arrange- 
 ment Captain Landais had made of the ballast 
 at L'Orient, was out of trim, and could not sail 
 fast, her sails being too thin and old for cold 
 latitudes. He steered to the southward, and 
 cruised for some days without success off Cape 
 Finisterre. On the 16th of January, I78O, Captain 
 Jones, to shun a gale of wind, and procure a 
 sound anchor, (for he had left the Texel with 
 only one,) ran into Corogne. He was very kind- 
 ly received in Spain, but sailed again, and arrived 
 at Groix on the 10th February, having taken no 
 prizes.'"* 
 
 On gaining L'Orient, Jones lost no time in be- 
 ginning to refit his ship and obtain mihtary stores. 
 A board of Admiralty had by this time been es- 
 tablished by Congress, and one of its first acts was 
 to order home the Alliance. In making the ships 
 under his command fit for sea, whether " in bat- 
 tle or in breeze," Jones never grudged or even 
 thought of expense, and on the present occasion 
 
PAUL JONES. 231 
 
 his professional liberality of spirit far outran 
 the frugal genius of Franklin. The anxious and 
 almost pathetic remonstrances addressed to him 
 by the repubHcan sage are as amusing as they are 
 characteristic. The court of France had demurred 
 to incurring farther expense for this refractory 
 hero and his American ship. " The whole ex- 
 pense will fall upon me," cries FrankMn, " and 
 I am HI provided to bear it, having so many un- 
 expected calls upon me from all quarters. I 
 therefore beg you would have mercy on me, put 
 me to as httle charge as possible, and take no- 
 thing you can possibly do without. As to sheath- 
 ing with copper it is totally out of the question." 
 
 By the middle of April, the AUiance (notwith- 
 standing the prayers of Franklin) was, by the 
 care of her commander, pronounced by himself 
 one of the most complete frigates in France. 
 
 Nearly a month before the Alhance having 
 been, as was said, ordered home to America with 
 certain supphes of arms and warlike stores fur- 
 nished by France, Franklin urged the imme- 
 chate saHing of the ship as strongly as he could 
 with propriety, and wished its commander a pros- 
 perous voyage. He even stretched a point to 
 
232 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 furnish those of the former crew of the Bon 
 Homme Richard, now on board the Alliance, with 
 a small sum of money, as they had not yet rea- 
 lized a sou of their prize-money. This was done 
 to allay discontent and send the men home in 
 good humour. But neither the Commodore nor 
 his crew were yet in trim for sea. 
 
 Jones had made repeated attempts to obtain an 
 adjustment of the prize-money, and now meditat- 
 ed a journey to Court ostensibly to sohcit a final 
 settlement. A person in office had about this time 
 excited his indignation by meanly claiming the me- 
 rit of some or all of his manifold projects ; and it 
 is probable that various other motives and per- 
 sonal interests disposed him to undertake this me- 
 morable journey. Having on a former occasion 
 verified the truth of the maxim, which led him to 
 give the celebrated name of Bon Homme Rich- 
 ard to his ship, he determined once more to speed 
 his errand by doing it himself. He was aware 
 that, though disliked or envied by the marine 
 service of France, he was popular with the Court 
 and the nation, who were about this time in the 
 very height and fervour of the American mania. 
 On this knowledge he proceeded to Versailles. 
 
PAUL JONES. 233 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Jones at no time neglected to keep himself alive 
 in the memory of his Court friends and official 
 patrons, — a species of attention necessary to a 
 professional man everywhere, at least in the 
 commencement of his career, and particularly 
 so at that period in France. While superintend- 
 ing the refitting of the Alliance, he had been cor- 
 responding with La Fayette, the Duke de la 
 Rochefoucault, and others of his former great 
 friends, and by them he might have been advised 
 to repair to Versailles to claim justice for his 
 people in the affair of the prize-money. If such 
 was his only business, it does not appear to have 
 been much advanced by his appearance at this 
 crisis ; but the reception he personally met from, 
 many individuals among the higher classes of so- 
 ciety and the leaders of fashion, when Americans 
 and republicanism were the infatuating novel- 
 
234 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ties of the day, must have been highly gratify- 
 ing to his feelings and to his insatiable love of 
 distinction. The American Commodore, the con- 
 queror of the haughty Enghsh, insulted by the 
 degrading offer of a letter-of-marque at Amster- 
 dam, became the hero, and, what was nearly the 
 same thing, the lion of the day in Paris. He 
 was everywhere feasted and caressed ; and, as if 
 to make ample amends for the gratuitous insult 
 ' offered him by the ministers, he was presented by 
 the King with a gold sword, bearing the follow- 
 ing honourable inscription: — " vindicati maris 
 LUDOVICUS XVI. remunerator strenuo vin- 
 uici.'' Leave was requested from Congress to 
 invest him with the mihtary Order of Merit, — an 
 honour which had never been conferred on any 
 one before who had not actually borne arms 
 under the commission of France. An official 
 letter was also addressed to him by his ancient 
 tormentor, M. Sartine, expressive of the highest 
 approbation of his conduct, and esteem for his 
 personal character. This much was to be gained 
 by a man of talent and address appearing in his 
 own cause at the Court of France ; nor is there 
 
PAUL JONES. 235 
 
 any lack of charity in supposing that, had Jones 
 remained quiet at KOrient, the victor of the 
 Serapis, and the generous and patriotic liberator 
 of the American prisoners, would not have sunk 
 beneath the load of Court honours. The secret 
 history of the manner in which services of plate, 
 knighthoods, and letters of thanks, are some- 
 times obtained, would form a curious and not un- 
 edifying chapter in the story of many a profes- 
 sional man's life. In the present instance they 
 were amply merited. They were as proudly re- 
 ceived ; and did equal honour to the royal donor 
 and the individual distinguished by his favour. 
 Jones was exactly of the sanguine, ambitious, and 
 loyal cast of character, which leads men to prize at 
 their full value those coveted marks of princely 
 approbation. The gold sword and the accom- 
 panying Order were the pride and the boast of 
 his future life. 
 
 Testimonies of kindness and esteem, of a kind 
 even more gratifying to his private feehngs, were 
 not wanting. Of this brilliant period he long 
 afterwards says, in speakmg of himself, " he re- 
 ceived at Paris, and other parts of the kingdom. 
 
236 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the most flattering applause and public approba- 
 tion wherever he appeared. Both the great and 
 the learned sought his acquaintance in private 
 life, and honoured him with particular marks of 
 friendship. At Court he was always received with 
 a kindness which could only have arisen from a 
 fixed esteem.'' 
 
 While the French Court were thus in the vein 
 of caressing and bestowing, Jones sohcited and 
 obtained the Ariel frigate to accompany the Al- 
 liance to America, with stores for Washington's 
 army. Nor in all probability was he averse to 
 an increase of force, should fortune throw any 
 English ships in his way on the homeward voy- 
 age. The Ariel he intended to man from the 
 supernumeraries of the Alliance and the lately 
 exchanged American prisoners. The affair of 
 the prize-money was put in train, as far as fair 
 promises and prehminary orders may go, and in 
 high spirits Jones took leave of the French Court 
 and capital, and returned to L'Orient, ready, as 
 he conceived, to quit France, and furnished, by 
 dint of his indefatigable genius, with an official 
 letter from the Minister of Marine to Congress, 
 
PAUL JONES. 237 
 
 enumerating his sendees in Europe, and recom- 
 mending him to favour, and consequently to ad- 
 vancement. 
 
 While Jones was absent in Paris, his ship had 
 been the scene of a mutinous intrigue, of which 
 the wretched Landais, though apparently the pro- 
 moter, was in reality at first only the tool. 
 
 This intrigue originated with Mr Arthur Lee, 
 who had held a subordinate diplomatic appoint- 
 ment in France, and was now about to return to 
 America. The real cause of this person's con- 
 duct at this time appears to have been dishke of 
 Frankhn, and a mean jealousy of the considera- 
 tion in which this truly great man was held, both 
 by friend and foe, in Europe as well as in Ame- 
 rica, while the vast merits of the patriotic Mr Lee 
 were overlooked. When the affair of Landais had 
 been originally discussed, Lee, in the spirit of 
 factious opposition, had gone openly against the 
 opinion of Frankhn and the other plenipotentia- 
 ries, and taken part with the mutinous, and, as it 
 afterwards turned out, mad Frenchman, on what 
 he was pleased to call constitutional grounds. 
 
238 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Landais had originally received the command of 
 the Alliance from Congress. When ordered to 
 head-quarters to account for his conduct, he 
 voluntarily left his ship, and soon afterwards 
 Jones was officially ordered to quit the Serapis, 
 and assume command of the Alliance, which, as 
 has been seen, he did much against his inclina- 
 tion. Meanwhile Landais was ordered to return 
 to America, that cognizance might be taken of 
 his conduct before the proper tribunal. In this 
 order he appeared to acquiesce ; and he was fur- 
 nished with money by Franklin to bear his char- 
 ges. On his arrival at KOrient, it seems to have 
 been adroitly insinuated into his naturally ric- 
 ketty brains, that Franklin and the other plenipo- 
 tentiaries had exceeded their powers in superseding 
 him and ordering him to America ; and that 
 Congress having bestowed his commission, to 
 Congress alone was he bound to surrender it. 
 The same doctrine was dihgently promulgated 
 among the seamen of the AUiance, and readily 
 received by many of the officers. The delay of 
 the prize-money, and the non-payment of the 
 
PAUL JONES. 239 
 
 seamen's arrears, gave a strong handle to the dis- 
 contented and designing. It was artfully repre- 
 sented to the disaffected crew, that while Jones, 
 their new commander, basked in the sunshine of 
 Court favour at Versailles, he either neglected 
 or compromised their rights and interests, and he- 
 sitated to demand justice for his men from those 
 who heaped favours on himself, and loaded him 
 alone with benefits and honours, while those who 
 had shared his toils and achieved the glory he 
 claimed were neglected and forgotten. There 
 was some colour for complaint. Jones felt his 
 error, and, in writing to a friend about the dis- 
 content of his crew, says, " I have been to blame 
 for having returned from Paris without having 
 absolutely insisted on the previous payment of 
 my men."" These men he had found on his return 
 sullen, ahenated, and almost in open mutiny. 
 
 Landais had now determined, to assume by 
 force the command of the Alliance, unjustly, as he 
 said, wrested from him; and the officers and men 
 prepared a memorial, addressed to the plenipo- 
 tentiaries, setting forth their grievances and their 
 wishes. Landais, to do the business with becom- 
 
240 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ing modesty, and propriety, expressed a desire 
 to be formally reinstated* in his command. 
 
 * Franklin's letter in reply to the modest demand of 
 this Frenchman is as indicative of his strong good sense 
 and clear-sighted integrity as any thing that ever issued 
 from his pen. Of this sagacious person one might almost 
 think it was because " honesty was the best policy" that 
 he loved it. He admired truth for its utiHty more than its 
 native beauty; and employed it accordingly with singu- 
 lar success in his dealings with men, where others more 
 short-sighted, if not less sincere, would have used sub- 
 terfuge and trick only to counteract their own purposes. 
 It is thus he wrote Landais : — " No one ever learned the 
 opinion I formed of you from inquiry made into your con- 
 duct. I kept it entirely to myself. I have not even hinted 
 it in my letters to America, because I would not hazard 
 giving to any one a bias to your prejudice. By commu- 
 nicating a part of that opinion privately to you I can do no 
 harm, for you may burn it. I should not give you the 
 pain of reading it, if your demand did not make it ne- 
 cessary. I think you then so imprudent, so litigious, and 
 quarrelsome a man, even with your best friends, that 
 peace and good order, and consequently the quiet and re- 
 gular subordination so necessary to success, are, where 
 you preside, impossible. These are within ray observation 
 and apprehension. Your military operations I leave to 
 
PAUL JONES. 241 
 
 Franklin, whose feelings, whether as a pubHc 
 or private man, must have been grossly outra- 
 ged by this proceeding, stifled his indignation, 
 and, by every argument hkely to convince their 
 reason, or influence their passions, endeavoured 
 to recall these misled men to a sense of their 
 duty. 
 
 No minister ever took half the pains to concili- 
 ate a set of wrongheaded malcontents, whom the 
 power of France could have enabled him to crush 
 at once. Some of the arguments he addressed 
 to their professional feelings and pride are ex- 
 ceedingly subtle. The officers and crew of the 
 AlUance were naturally indignant at the charge 
 of having fired into the Bon Homme Richard 
 during the engagement with the Serapis. In re- 
 lation to this affair, Frankhn states, " though I 
 declined any judgment of his (Landais's) manoeu- 
 
 more capable judges. If, therefore, I had twenty ships 
 of war in my disposition, I should not give one of them 
 to Captain Landais. The same temper which excluded 
 him from the French marine would weigh equally with 
 me ; of course I shall not replace him in the Alliance." 
 VOL. I. L 
 
242 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 vres in the fight, I have given it as my opinion, 
 (to Congress,) after examining the affair, that it 
 was not at all hkely, either that he should have 
 given orders to fire into the Bon Homme Rich- 
 ard, or that his officers would have obeyed such 
 an order had it been given them. Thus I have 
 taken what care I could of your honour in that 
 particular. You will therefore excuse me if I 
 am a little concerned for it in another. If it 
 should come to be pubhcly known that you had 
 the strongest aversion to Captain Landais, who 
 had used you basely, and that it is only since the 
 last year's cruise, and the appointment of Com- 
 modore Jones to the command, that you request 
 to be again under your old captain, I fear sus- 
 picions and reflections may be thrown upon you 
 by the world, as if this change of sentiment may 
 have arisen from your observation during the 
 cruise, that Captain Jones loved close fighting, 
 that Captain Landais was skilful in keeping out 
 of harm's way, and that you therefore thought 
 yourself safer with the latter. For myself, I be- 
 lieve you to be brave men, and lovers of your 
 country and its glorious cause ; and I am per- 
 
PAUL JONES. 243 
 
 suaded you have only been ill-advised, and mis- 
 led by the artful and mahcious misrepresentations 
 of some persons I guess at. Take in good part 
 this friendly counsel from an old man who is 
 your friend. Go home peaceably with your ship. 
 Do your duty faithfully and cheerfully. Behave 
 respectfully to your commander, and I am per- 
 suaded he will do the same to you. Thus you 
 will not only be happier in your voyage, but re- 
 commend yourselves to the future favours of 
 Congress and of your country." 
 
 Such was the conciliatory tone in which Frank- 
 lin addressed these turbulent and discontented 
 men. It were to be wished that his good temper 
 and calmness of reason had produced the effect 
 that might have been expected. The failure 
 proves that something besides reason is at times 
 necessary in governing seamen. 
 
 In a letter to Jones he explains the affair, and 
 relates the measures he had taken in consequence. 
 " Saturday morning," he says, " I received a 
 letter signed by about 115 of the sailors of the 
 Alhance, declaring that they would not raise the 
 anchor, nor depart from KOrient, till they had 
 six months'* wages paid them, and the utmost 
 
244 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 farthing of their prize-money, including the ships 
 sent into Norway, and until their legal captain^ 
 P. Landais, was restored to them. This mutiny 
 has undoubtedly been excited by that captain ; 
 probably by making them believe that satisfac- 
 tion has been received for those Norway prizes 
 delivered up to the English," &c. &c. " That 
 he is concerned in this mutiny he has been fool- 
 ish enough to furnish us with proofs, the sail- 
 ors'* letter being not only enclosed under a cover 
 cUrected to me in his hand-writing, but he 
 also, in the same writing, interUned the words, 
 their legal captain, P. Landais, which hap- 
 pens to contain his signature. I immediately 
 went to Versailles to demand the assistance of 
 government, and on showing the letter, by which 
 his guilt plainly appeared, an order was imme- 
 diately granted, sent away the same evening, for 
 apprehending and imprisoning him, and orders 
 were (promised to be) given at the same time to 
 the commissary of the port to afford you all kind 
 of assistance to facilitate your departure.''' The 
 promises thus given were very ill kept. The 
 mutiny had now reached the crisis. On the 
 morning of the 13th June, before going on shore 
 
PAUL JONES. 245 
 
 to superintend the equipment of the Ariel, Jones 
 caused his appointment to the AUiance to be 
 read on the deck of that ship, and, addressing the 
 assembled crew, demanded that whoever had any 
 complaint to prefer against him should now 
 speak out. " There was," he says, " every ap- 
 pearance of contentment and subordination ;"" 
 and again, " I am certain the people love me 
 and would readily obey me." The proofs of this 
 affection were of a very unusual kind. No sooner 
 had Jones quitted the ship, than Landais came 
 on board and usurped the command. 
 
 As soon as inteUigence of this wild measure 
 reached Franklin, Landais was ordered to quit 
 the ship, and the officers were commanded to 
 obey Jones alone. To Jones, who was in the 
 greatest perplexity, he wrote, " You are likely 
 to have great trouble. I wish you well through 
 it. You have shown your abihties in fighting, 
 — you have now an opportunity of showing the 
 other necessary part, in the character of a great 
 chief, — your abihties in poUcy." 
 
 Landais, backed and instigated by Lee, and 
 supported by the officers and seamen, refused to 
 
246 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 yield one jot ; and, holding the mandate of Frank- 
 lin and the arrest of the King alike in defiance, 
 he resolved to sail for America, captain of the 
 Alliance. In this singular juncture, Jones posted 
 back to Versailles, to solicit the assistance of 
 government. Orders, he was told, had been pre- 
 viously sent to L'Orient to compel Landais and 
 his crew to obedience, or, if he attempted to quit 
 the port, to fire on him, and, if necessary, sink 
 the ship. Confiding in this statement, Jones im- 
 mediately returned to L'Orient, and found that 
 the orders which were said to have preceded him, 
 if they had ever been despatched, had at least 
 never arrived, — a circumstance somewhat singu- 
 lar, though, in French diplomacy, by no means 
 unaccountable. The local authorities, however, 
 with whom Jones, in the course of his long stay 
 in that port, had acquired considerable influence, 
 were strongly disposed to support his authority 
 and to enforce the orders of Franklin. Acting 
 under the sanction of the American ministers, 
 and supported by the local authorities at L'Orient, 
 as well as by the promises and countenance of 
 the government, had Jones at this time listened to 
 
PAUL JONES. 247 
 
 the dictates of passion or revenge, irreparable 
 mischief might have been done, which his mag- 
 nanimity and prudence averted. 
 
 Basely as he had been used, and irritated as 
 he must have been, he would not be even the in- 
 direct cause of shedding American blood. It is 
 thus he notices the part he had taken, and re- 
 lates the consequences of the mutiny to Franklin : 
 
 " L'Orient, June 21, 1780. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " I was detained at Versailles forty hours from 
 the time of my arrival, and was then informed by 
 M. de Genet, that an express had been sent from 
 Court with the necessary orders to the King's 
 officers at L'Orient, respecting Captain Landais 
 and the AUiance. I found myself here early yes- 
 terday morning, fifty-four hom-s after lea%'ing 
 Versailles. The AUiance had, the evening and 
 night before, been warped and towed from the 
 road of KOrient to Port Louis ; and no express 
 from Court had arrived here. M. de Thevenard, 
 the commandant, however, made every necessary 
 preparation to stop the Alliance, as appears by 
 
248 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the enclosed document on the subject. He 
 had even sent orders in the evening, before I 
 was aware, to fire on the Alliance, and sink her 
 to the bottom, if they attempted to approach 
 and pass the barrier that had been made across 
 the entrance of the port. Had I even remained 
 silent an hour longer, the dreadful work would 
 have been done. Your humanity wUl, I know, 
 justify the part I acted in preventing a scene 
 that would have rendered me miserable for the 
 rest of my hfe. The AUiance has this morn- 
 ing been towed and warped through the rocks, 
 and is now at anchor without, between Port 
 Louis and Groix. In this situation I at noon 
 sent out Lieutenant Dale with a letter to Captain 
 Landais, whereof the within is a copy. 
 
 " Yesterday morning the within letter was 
 brought me from Mr Lee, though I had never 
 even hinted that his opinion or advice would be 
 acceptable. He has, however, pulled off the mask, 
 and, I am convinced, is not a little disappointed 
 that his operations have produced no bloodshed 
 between the subjects of France and America. 
 Poor man ! 
 
PAUL JONES. 249 
 
 " Yesterday every thing that persuasion or 
 
 threatening could effect was attempted * * 
 
 * ^ * * ^ ^ ^ ^ * 
 
 " M. de Thevenard, on his part, sent the de- 
 puty of M. Sweighauser on board with your letters, 
 under his own rover, to Captain Landais, and 
 to the officers and men of the AUiance. The one 
 was deUvered to Captain Landais, the other to 
 Lieutenant Digges. M. de Thevenard also sent 
 on board an officer with the King's order to ar- 
 rest Captain Landais, who refused to surrender 
 himself. Mr Lee and his party pretend to jus- 
 tify their measures, because they say you did not 
 put Captain Landais under arrest. According to 
 them, you cannot displace him, however great 
 his crimes ! If the government does not interfere 
 to crush this despicable party, France and Ame- 
 rica have much to fear from it. I verily beheve 
 them to be English at the bottom of their 
 hearts."* 
 
 * In a marginal note, affixed to this letter many years 
 afterwards, Jones says, *^ In this opinion I was not sin- 
 gular, though perhaps I was mistaken." 
 
 l2 
 
250 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 To a lady in Paris, one of the friends he had 
 lately made, he sent a much friller account of 
 this unpleasant affair, wishing, no doubt, to stand 
 clear in the opinion of his powerful and fashion- 
 able patrons in the capital, and reasonably con- 
 ^cluding that his exculpatory epistle might make 
 the round of the circles. " I confess to you," 
 he writes to Madame TeUison, " that I feel 
 rather ashamed that such an event should have 
 happened, although, God knows, it was not ow- 
 ing to any fault of mine. The true reason was, 
 that M. Ray de Chaumont unjustly detamed from 
 the brave Americans, who had so bravely served 
 in the squadron under my command, not only 
 their wages, but also their prize-money ; and he 
 has not, even to this hour, given me the means of 
 paying them their just claims. One or two en- 
 vious persons here, taking advantage of these 
 circumstances, persuaded these poor people that 
 I had joined M. Ray de Chaumont to detain 
 from them their just dues, and that it was, be- 
 sides, my intention to carry them on new expe- 
 ditions in Europe, and not to suffer them to re- 
 turn to their families in America during the war. 
 
PAUL JONES. 251 
 
 These insinuations were false and groundless ; I 
 had disapproved the conduct of M. Ray de Chau- 
 mont so much as neither to speak or write to 
 him after my return to France. My sole busi- 
 ness at Court was to obtain the free sale of the 
 prizes, which I effected; and, far from being 
 then bound on new expeditions in Europe, I was 
 ordered by the board of admiralty in America to 
 return forthwith to Congress, and had in conse- 
 quence received the pubhc despatches both from 
 Dr Franldin and the Court. The Alliance, how- 
 ever, was hurried out of this port before the crew 
 had time for reflection ; yet, before they sailed 
 from the road of Groix, many of them, seeing their 
 error, refused to weigh anchor, and were carried 
 to sea, confined hands and feet in irons. The 
 government of France had taken measures to 
 stop the ship; but I interposed, to prevent blood- 
 shed between the subjects of the two aUied na- 
 tions. I am now again almost ready to sail in 
 the Ariel, and I know, soon after my arrival in 
 America, that Congress will do me impartial jus- 
 tice. I will then have the happiness to furnish 
 you with the account I promised, and the cir- 
 
252 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 cumstances will be supported by the fuUest evi- 
 dence. I dare promise that it will then appear 
 that I have only been to blame for having re- 
 turned here from Paris without having insisted 
 absolutely on the previous payment of my men,"" 
 
 Franklin could at this time do no more to sup- 
 port the authority of the officer he had appoint- 
 ed. His anxious thoughts were in America, oc- 
 cupied with the distressed condition of Wash- 
 ington''s troops. His first object, therefore, was 
 to remedy as far as possible the mischief done 
 to the public cause by Landais's mutiny, and 
 the consequent delay in forwarding the military 
 stores. Jones, however, appears to have felt his 
 own crippled command at least as pressingly 
 as the exigencies of the distant troops, and at- 
 tempted to obtain a larger vessel than the Ariel. 
 
 The Serapis was now refitted. From the hour 
 of her capture his pride and his affections had 
 been fixed on this command, and he very plausi- 
 bly enumerated to Frankhn the advantages that 
 might result to the public cause, were he enabled, 
 with this vessel armed for war, the Ariel, and 
 certain American frigates, to undertake some of 
 
PAUL JONES. 253 
 
 those daring expeditions he had so often proposed 
 to government. This project failed, and he beg- 
 ged for the Terpsichore, another French ship, and 
 engaged his personal friends to lend their influ- 
 ence to obtain it for him. Their sohcitations did 
 not succeed. France was now in the heat of the 
 war, — the ministry were occupied with other sub- 
 jects, and also evidently a little tired of the impor- 
 tunity of the Chevaher Jones, — and Frankhn was 
 cUsappointed and vexed at the delays which had 
 taken place in forwarding those stores it had cost 
 him so much to obtain, and of which the army 
 stood in such pressing want. No sooner, however, 
 had the Alhance left port, than, without wasting 
 another thought on the affau', which no thought 
 could amend, Franklin writes with the most busi- 
 ness-hke promptitude, " That affair is over, and 
 the business is now to get the goods out as 
 well as we can. I am perfectly bewildered with 
 the different schemes that have been proposed 
 to me for this purpose by Mr WiUiams, Mr 
 Ross, yourself, and M. de Chaumont. Mr Wil- 
 liams was for purchasing ships. I told him I 
 had not the money, but he still urges it. You 
 
254 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and Mr Ross proposed borrowing the Ariel. I 
 joined in the application for that ship. We ob- 
 tained her. She was to convey all that the Al- 
 hance could not take. Now you find her insuf- 
 ficient. An additional ship has already been 
 asked, and could not be obtained. I think there- 
 fore it will be best that you take as much into 
 the Ariel as you can, and depart with it. For 
 the rest I must apply to the government to con- 
 trive some means of transporting it in their own 
 ships. This is my present opinion ; and when I 
 have once got rid of this business, no considera- 
 tion shall tempt me to meddle again with such 
 matters, as I never understood them." 
 
 Before Jones could get off on this errand, ^o 
 necessary to America, but not much calculat- 
 ed, as he felt, to increase his glory, and there- 
 fore, on his part, not very zealously managed, 
 a change took place in the French ministry 
 which revived his hopes. The Marquis de Cas- 
 tries succeeded Sartine at the head of the marine 
 department, and the virtuous Maurepas became 
 prime minister. To both of these distinguished 
 persons Jones lost no time in recommending 
 
PAUL JOXES. 255 
 
 I 
 
 himself by congratulatory letters ; along with 
 which were transmitted fresh copies of the ma- 
 ritime projects formerly sent to their predecessors 
 in office. He also wished, before leaving Europe, 
 to obtain from them, as the persons in actual 
 power, testimonies in his favour, addressed to 
 Congress, equivalent to those he had obtained 
 from Sartine. His philanthropy, patriotism, 
 and disinterested services, were once more duly 
 set forth to the new muiisters. He endeavoured 
 to bring Mr Silas Dean and Dr Bancroft into 
 his views, and again employed the influence of 
 his friend the Duke of Rochefoucault. The ship 
 so earnestly solicited was not obtained, nor does 
 it appear that the American ministers concurred 
 in the request. 
 
 Though on an after investigation Jones came 
 clear out of this affair, it is obvious that, had he 
 been half as anxious to forward the mihtary stores 
 as to serve the republic in a way more consonant to 
 his own taste, the Ariel might long before this 
 period have reached the shores of America. 
 
 Towards the end of June the Alhance had put 
 to sea, and Jones still remained in port, when in 
 
^56 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 November accounts were received of the arrival of 
 that ship at Boston. From his friend Dr Cooper of 
 that town Dr Franklin received an account of the 
 issue of Lee"'s factious proceedings, and of Lan- 
 dais''s mutiny, which he instantly transmitted to 
 the person most Ukely to sympathize with his feel- 
 ings regarding that mortifying affair. The extract 
 of Dr Cooper's letter was enclosed to the Com- 
 modore in a letter from Mr Temple Frankhn, 
 the grandson and secretary of Franklin, the mi- 
 nister himself being at this time confined to bed : 
 
 " Boston, September 8, 1780. 
 " The AUiance arrived here some weeks ago, 
 with Dr Lee, who is still in town. This vessel 
 appears to me to have left France in an unjus- 
 tifiable manner, though I cannot yet obtain the 
 particular circumstances. Landais did not hold 
 his command through the voyage, which was 
 either relinquished by him or wrested from him. 
 AU the passengers, as well as officers and sailors, 
 are highly incensed against him, and Dr Lee as 
 much as any one. A court of inquiry is now 
 sitting upon this matter, in which the Doctor has 
 
PAUL JONES. 257 
 
 given a full evidence against the captain, which 
 represents him as insane.'''' 
 
 It was unfortunate that Dr Lee was so late in 
 making this discovery. 
 
 The tardy and inauspicious voyage of the 
 Ariel, so long delayed and so often obstruct- 
 ed, was at length commenced on the 8th of 
 October. On the following night the ship en- 
 countered a tremendous gale, which was felt over 
 almost all Europe. She rode out the storm for 
 two days dismasted, and the waters around her 
 covered with the wrecks of other vessels ; and on 
 the 13th put back, in a very disabled condition, 
 to KOrient. The arms, the most important 
 part of the stores, were so much damaged, that 
 it was necessary they should be unshipped and 
 left ; and before the vessel could be repaired and 
 freshly provisioned, it was the middle of Decem- 
 ber. Frankhn, though too reasonable to complain 
 of a delay occasioned by the violence of the ele- 
 ments, grudged, nevertheless, the expense to which 
 he had been repeatedly put for new outfits, — 
 grudged, but passed the bills drawn on him ; giv- 
 
258 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ing, however, his less considerate friend sundry 
 precautionary hints. 
 
 " I suppose," he writes, " you thought it for 
 the good of the service, as you say you did, to 
 order that great quantity of medicine for the 7^- 
 gun ship, yet, after what I had written to you 
 of my difficulties, it still seems to me that you 
 ought not to have done it without informing me 
 and obtaining my consent ; and I have only to 
 be thankful that you did not order all her stores, 
 sails, and rigging, anchors, powder, &c. I think 
 you must be sensible, on reflection, that with 
 regard to me it was wrong, and that it ought not 
 to be expected from me to be always ready and 
 able to pay the demands that every officer in the 
 service may saddle me with. This affair, how- 
 ever^ is done with, and I shall say and think no 
 more about it." 
 
 Jones gave such an explanation as was at least 
 meant to satisfy the frugal statesman; to whom, 
 on the 18th December, he once again addressed 
 a farewell letter. He also took leave once more 
 of his friends and patrons in the capital. One of 
 
PAUL JONES. 259 
 
 his valedictory epistles, addressed to Madame 
 D'Ormoy, may be received as the best exposition 
 that can be given of his feeUngs at the close of 
 his short but brilliant career in Europe : — " I 
 cannot leave France without expressing how 
 much I feel myself honoured and obhged by the 
 generous attention that you have shown to my re- 
 putation in your journal. I will ever have the most 
 ardent desire to merit the spontaneous praise of 
 beauty and her pen ; and it is impossible to be 
 more gratefal than I am for the very polite at- 
 tentions I lately received at Paris and Versailles. 
 My particular thanks are due to you, madam, 
 for the personal proofs I had received of your es- 
 teem and friendship, and for the happiness you 
 procured me in the society of the charming coun- 
 tess, and other ladies and gentlemen of your 
 circle. But I have a favour to ask of you, ma- 
 dam, which I hope you will grant me. You tell 
 me in your letter, that the inkstand I had the 
 honour to present you, as a small token of my 
 esteem, shall be reserved for the purpose of writ- 
 ing what concerns me ; now I wish you to see 
 my idea in a more expanded hght, and would 
 
260 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 have you make use of that inkstand to instruct 
 mankind, and support the dignity and rights of 
 human nature." 
 
 " By the enclosed declaration of my officers," 
 he writes to the same lady, " you will see, my dear 
 madam, that I was in a ticklish situation in the 
 moment while you were employed in writing to 
 me on the 9th ultimo. It is impossible to be more 
 sensible than I am of the obligation conferred on 
 me by your attentions and kind remembrance, 
 joined to that of the belle comtesse, your fair 
 daughters, and the amiable ladies and gentlemen 
 of your society. I have returned without laurels, 
 and, what is worse, without having been able to 
 render service to the glorious cause of liberty. I 
 know not why Neptune was in such anger, unless 
 he thought it an affront in me to appear on 
 his ocean with so insignificant a force. It is cer- 
 tain, that till the night of the 8th I did not fully 
 conceive the awful majesty of tempest and of 
 shipwreck. I can give you no just idea of the 
 tremendous scene that nature then presented, 
 which surpassed the reach even of poetic fancy 
 and the pencil. I believe no ship was ever 
 
PAUL JONES. 261 
 
 before saved from an equal danger off the point 
 of the Penmark rocks. I am extremely sorry 
 that the young English lady you mention should 
 have imbibed the national hatred against me. I 
 have had proofs that many of the first and finest 
 ladies of that natioji are my friends. Indeed I 
 cannot imagine why any fair lady should be my 
 enemy, since, upon the large scale of universal 
 philanthropy, I feel, acknowledge, and bend be- 
 fore the sovereign power of beauty. The Eng- 
 lish nation may hate me, but / will force them 
 to esteem me too.'''' 
 
 Jones had other, or at least one other fair cor- 
 respondent about this period, who, under the as- 
 sumed name of Delia, makes some figure in his 
 private history. The day of the Amintas and 
 DeHas was not then quite gone by ; and, under 
 this pastoral and poetic appellation, a lady chose 
 to conceal herself, of whose real name and situa- 
 tion the multitudinous papers left by the com- 
 modore, though they include many of her letters, 
 afford no satisfactory trace. In America, Delia 
 has been discovered to be a young lady of the 
 Court. In Scotland we are not so quick-sighted. 
 
262 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 But as the claims of love and gallantry were 
 ever postponed by the Commodore to those of 
 professional duty and ambition, we shall in so 
 far follow his example as to defer the introduc- 
 tion of Deha and her fair contemporaries, till a 
 a more convenient season. 
 
 Besides the enthusiastic epistles of Delia, Jones 
 carried out the following letter, already noticed as 
 written by De Sartine on the order of the King of 
 France, and approved by his Most Christian Ma- 
 jesty in council. This of itself would have en- 
 sured him that honourable reception in the coun- 
 try of his adoption, to which his zeal and services 
 gave him yet stronger claims. 
 
 Translation of the Letter addressed to Mr Hante- 
 nydon, President of the Congress of the United 
 States, by M. de Sartine, Minister of the French 
 Marine. 
 
 " Versailles, 20th May, 1780. 
 
 '' Commodore Paul Jones, after having given 
 
 to all Europe, and, above all, to the enemies of 
 
 France and of the United States, high proofs of 
 
 his valour and of his talents, is about to return to 
 
PAUL JONES. 263 
 
 America, to give an account to Congress of the 
 success of his military operations. I am aware, 
 Sir, that the reputation he has so justly acquired 
 will go before him, and that the history of his 
 campaigns will be sufficient to prove to his coun- 
 trymen, that his abihties are equal to his courage ; 
 but the King has thought it right to join to the 
 public voice his approbation and his bounty. 
 He has charged me expressly to make known to 
 you how much he is satisfied with the services of 
 the Commodore, persuaded that Congress will do 
 him like justice. His Majesty gives him a pledge 
 of his esteem in bestowing on him the gift of a 
 sword, which could not be placed in better hands, 
 and now offers to Congress to decorate this brave 
 officer with the cross of the order of Military 
 Merit. His Majesty thinks that these peculiar dis- 
 tinctions, associating together in the same ho- 
 nours the subject of two countries united by si- 
 milar interests, may be regarded as another tie 
 between them, and excite them to emulation in 
 the common cause. If, after having approved 
 the conduct of the Commodore, it is judged fit 
 to intrust him with any new expedition to Europe, 
 
264' MEMOIRS OF 
 
 his Majesty will see him return with pleasure ; 
 and he presumes Congress will refuse nothing 
 that may be deemed necessary to promote the 
 success of his enterprises. My personal esteem 
 for the Commodore induces me to recommend 
 him in a particular manner to you, Sir ; and I 
 venture to hope that, in the reception which he 
 may receive from Congress, he will perceive the 
 fruits of the sentiments with which he has in- 
 spired me. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, &c. 
 
 " De Sartine." 
 
 
PAUL JOXES. 265 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 On the 18th February, 1781, Commodore Jones 
 reached Philadelphia. The principal adventure 
 of this voyage is thus related by himself m the 
 memorial to the King of France, and in the 
 third person: — " After a variety of rencounters, 
 he, in the latitude 26 '^ north, and longitude of 
 Barbadoes, met with a remarkably fast-sailing 
 frigate belonging to the enemy's navy. Captain 
 Jones endeavoured to avoid speaking with that 
 ship, and as the night approached, he hoped to 
 succeed, notwithstanding her superior sailing. 
 He was, however, mistaken, for next morning the 
 ships were at less distance asunder than they 
 had been the evening before, although during 
 the night the officers of the watch had always 
 informed Captain Jones the sail continued out 
 of sight. An action now became unavoidable, 
 and the Ariel was prepared for it. Every thing 
 
 VOL. I. M 
 
266 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 was thrown overboard that interfered with the 
 defence and safety of the ship. Captain Jones 
 took particular care, by the management of sails 
 and helm, to prevent the enemy from discovering 
 the force of the Ariel, and worked her so well 
 as not to discover any warlike appearance or pre- 
 paration. In the afternoon the Ariel fired now 
 and then a hght stern-chaser at the enemy from 
 the quarter-deck, and continued to crowd sail as 
 if very much alarmed. This had the desired ef- 
 fect, and the enemy pursued with the greater 
 eagerness. Captain Jones did not suffer the 
 enemy to come close up till the approach of 
 night, when, having well examined his force, he 
 shortened sail, to meet his approach. When the 
 two ships came within hail of each other they 
 both hoisted Enghsh colours. The person whose 
 duty it was to hoist the pendant on board the 
 Ariel had not taken care to make the other end of 
 the halliards fast, to haul it down again to change 
 the colours. This prevented Captain Jones from 
 an advantageous manoeuvre he had intended, and 
 obliged him to let the enemy range up along the 
 lee-side of the Ariel, where he saw a battery 
 
PAUL JONES. 267 
 
 lighted for action. A conversation now took 
 place between the two ships, which lasted near 
 an hoiir; by which Captain Jones learned the 
 situation of the enemy's affairs in America. The 
 captam of the enemy's ship said his name was 
 John Pindar. His ship had been constructed by 
 the famous Mr Peck of Boston, built at New- 
 bmy Port, owned by oNIr Tracey of that place, 
 commanded by Captain Hopkins, the son of the 
 late Commodore Hopkins, and had been taken 
 and fitted out at New York, and named the 
 Triumph, by Admiral Rodney. Captain Jones 
 told him he must put out his boat, and come on 
 board and show his commission, to prove whether 
 or not he really did belong to the British navy. 
 To this he made some excuses, because Captain 
 Jones had not told him who he was ; and his 
 boat, he said, was very leaky. Captain Jones 
 told him to consider the danger of refusing. Cap- 
 tain Pindar said he would answer for twenty 
 guns, and that himself and every one of his peo- 
 ple had shown themselves Englishmen. Captain 
 Jones said he would allow him five minutes only 
 to make his reflection. That time being elapsed. 
 
268 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Captain Jones backed a little on the weather- 
 quarter of the enemy, ran close under her stern, 
 hoisted American colours, and being within short 
 pistol-shot on the lee-beam of the enemy, began 
 to engage. It was past seven o"'clock, and as 
 no equal force ever exceeded the vigorous and 
 regular fire of the AriePs battery and tops, the 
 action while it lasted made a glorious appear- 
 ance. The enemy made a feeble resistance for 
 about ten minutes. He then struck his colours. 
 The enemy then begged for quarter, and said 
 half his men were killed. The ArieFs fire ceased; 
 and the crew, as usual after a victory, gave cries 
 of joy, to " show themselves Enghshmen." The 
 enemy filled their sails, and got on the ArieFs 
 weather-bow before the cries of joy had ended on 
 board the Ariel. Captain Jones, suspecting the 
 base design of the enemy, immediately set every 
 sail he could to prevent her escape ; but the 
 enemy had so much advantage in saihng, that 
 the Ariel could not keep up, and they soon got 
 out of gun-shot. The English Captain may pro- 
 perly be called a knave, because, after he sur- 
 rendered his ship, begged for, and obtained quar- 
 
PAUL JONES. 269 
 
 ter, he basely ran away, contrary to the laws of 
 naval war and the practice of civihzed nations. 
 A conspiracy was discovered among the Enghsh 
 part of the Ariel's crew immediately after saihng 
 from France. During the voyage every officer, 
 and even the passengers, had been constantly 
 armed, and kept a regular watch, besides a con- 
 stant guard with fixed bayonets. After the ac- 
 tion with the Triumph the plot was so far dis- 
 covered, that Captain Jones confined twenty of 
 the ringleaders in irons till his arrival. Captain 
 Jones arrived at Philadelphia on the 18th Feb- 
 ruary, I78I, having been absent from America 
 three years, three months, and eighteen days."" 
 
 The clamour excited in America by the deten- 
 tion of the army stores, and the real evils which 
 had by this means been occasioned to the public 
 service, compelled Congress to institute an imme- 
 diate inquiry into the cause of the delay. This 
 in common fairness was the more necessary, as 
 Landais, who was arrested in coming to America 
 with the Alliance, had now been tried, and for 
 ever dismissed the service. 
 
 A Board of Admiralty had been for some time 
 
270 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 organized, and on this Board devolved the duty 
 of inquiry, while Congress almost simultaneously 
 took up the affair. A string of questions, forty- 
 seven in number, were proposed by the Board to 
 Jones, to which he was required to give answers 
 in writing. Efe lost no time in complying with 
 this order ; nor, it is to be presumed, in securing 
 such powerful and useful friends as his brilliant 
 reputation and the testimonials he brought from 
 Europe had already predisposed in his favour. 
 Admired and caressed at the Court of Versailles, 
 and more dreaded by the vulgar of the EngUsh 
 nation than was very creditable either to their 
 judgment or courage, Paul Jones could not, at this 
 period of agitation and imbittered hostihty, fail 
 to find friends in America, had his pubUc services 
 been even less valuable and important than they 
 really were. 
 
 His answers to the official interrogatories were 
 on all points ample, and, it appears, satisfactory ; 
 and the subsequent report of the Board, so far 
 from being condemnatory, was highly flattering. 
 Another report of the same Board will show the 
 exact footing on which he now stood. 
 
PAUL JONES. 271 
 
 " Admiralty Office, June 16th, 1781. 
 
 " The Board, to whom was referred the letters 
 and other papers relative to the conduct of John 
 Paul Jones, Esq., beg leave to report, that they 
 have carefully perused said letters and papers, 
 wherein they find favourable mention is made of 
 his abilities as an officer by the Duke de Vau- 
 guyon, M. de Sartine, and Dr Franklin ; and this 
 is also corroborated by that valour and intrepidity 
 with which he engaged his Britannic Majesty's 
 ship, the Serapis, of forty-four cannon, twelve 
 and eighteen pounders, who, after a severe con- 
 test for several hours, surrendered to his superior 
 valour, thereby acquiring honour to himself and 
 dignity to the American flag. 
 
 " The Board therefore humbly conceive that 
 an honourable testimony should be given to Cap- 
 tain Paul Jones, commander of the Bon Homme 
 Richard, his officers and crew, for their many 
 singular services in annoying the enemy on the 
 British coasts, and particularly for their spirited 
 behaviour in an engagement with his Britannic 
 Majesty"'s ship of war, the Serapis, on the 23d of 
 
272 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 September, 1779, and obliging her to surrender 
 to the American flag/^ 
 
 The following is a farther extract from another 
 of these reports : — 
 
 " With regard to Captain Jones, the Board 
 beg leave to report, that the views of the Marine 
 Committee in sending Captain Jones, and his 
 views in going in the Ranger to France, were, 
 that he might take the command of the Indian, 
 a ship that was building at Amsterdam on a new 
 construction, under a contract made by the Com- 
 missioners of these States at Paris, and with her, 
 in concert with the Ranger, annoy the coasts 
 and trade of Great Britain. When he arrived 
 at Nantes, the Commissioners sent for him to 
 Paris. After remaining there some time, he was 
 informed that they had assigned their property 
 in the ship Indian to the King of France. Cap- 
 tain Jones returned to Nantes, plans and under- 
 takes a secret expedition in the Ranger," &c. &c. 
 The report goes on to enumerate the various ser- 
 vices of Captain Jones, and then proceeds, " ever 
 since Captain Jones first became an officer in the 
 
P.AUL JOXES. 
 
 273 
 
 navy of those States, he hath shown an unremit- 
 ted attention in planning and executing enter- 
 prises calculated to promote the essential interests 
 of our glorious cause. That in Europe, although 
 in his expedition through the Irish Channel in the 
 Ranger he did not fully accomplish his purpose, 
 yet he made the enemy feel that it is in the 
 power of a small squadron, under a brave and en- 
 terprising commander, to retaliate the conflagra- 
 tions of our defenceless towns. That returning 
 from Europe, he brought with him the esteem of 
 the greatest and best friends of America ; and 
 hath received from the illustrious monarch of 
 France that reward of warlike virtue which his 
 subjects receive by a long series of faithful ser- 
 vices or uncommon merit. 
 
 " The Board are of opinion that the conduct 
 of Paul Jones merits particular attention, and 
 some distinguished mark of approbation from the 
 United States in Congress assembled."" 
 
 Had the reports been drawn up by himself, or 
 his most zealous friends, they could not have been 
 more gratifying. He also received the solemn 
 
 M 2 
 
274 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 thanks of Congress, recorded in the following do- 
 cument : — 
 
 " BY THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS ASSEM- 
 BLED. 
 " Saturday, April 14, 1781. 
 
 " On the report of a committee consisting of 
 Mr Varnun, Mr Houston, and Mr Mathews, to 
 which was referred a motion of Mr Varnun : 
 
 " The United States, in Congress assembled, 
 having taken into consideration the report of the 
 Board of Admiralty of the 28th March last, re- 
 specting the conduct of John Paul Jones, Esq., 
 captain in the navy, do, > 
 
 " Resolve^ That the thanks of the United 
 States in Congress assembled be given to Cap- 
 tain John Paul Jones, for the zeal, prudence, and 
 intrepidity with which he hath supported the 
 honour of the American flag, for his bold and 
 successful enterprises to redeem from captivity 
 the citizens of these States who had fallen under 
 the power of the enemy, and in general for the 
 good conduct and eminent services by which he 
 
PAUL JONES. 275 
 
 has added a lustre to his character and to the 
 American arms. 
 
 " That the thanks of the United States in 
 Congress assembled be also given to the officers 
 and men who have faithfully served under him 
 from time to time, for their steady affection to 
 the cause of their country, and the bravery and 
 perseverance they have manifested therein." 
 
 The following letter from Washington, of 
 which the original is preserved among his papers, 
 must have completed the satisfaction Paul Jones 
 experienced in his honourable public acquittal : — 
 
 " Head Quarters, New Windsor, 
 15th May, 1781. 
 
 " Sir, 
 
 " My partial acquaintance with either our 
 naval or commercial affairs makes it altogether 
 impossible for me to account for the unfortunate 
 delay of those articles of mihtary stores and 
 clothing which have been so long provided in 
 France. 
 
 " Had I had any particular reasons to have 
 suspected you of being accessary to that de- 
 
276 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 lay, which I assure you has not been the case, 
 my suspicions would have been removed by the 
 very full and satisfactory answers which you have, 
 to the best of my knowledge, made to the ques- 
 tions proposed to you by the Board of Admiral- 
 ty, and upon which that Board have, in their re- 
 port to Congress, testified the high sense which 
 they entertain of your merits and services. 
 
 " Whether our naval affairs have in general 
 been well or ill conducted would be presumptuous 
 in me to determine. Instances of bravery and 
 good conduct in several of our officers have not, 
 however, been wanting. DeHcacy forbids me to 
 mention that particular 07ie which has attracted 
 the admiration of all the world, and which has 
 influenced the most illustrious Monarch to confer 
 a mark of his favour which can only be obtained 
 by a long and honourable service, or by the per- 
 formance of some brilhant action. 
 
 " That you may long enjoy the reputation you 
 have so justly acquired is the sincere wish of, 
 
 Sir, 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 Geo. Washington." 
 
PAUL JOXES. 277 
 
 In the investigation respecting the delay of 
 the stores, Frankhn had been imphcated as well 
 as Jones. He now stood equally clear ; and, how- 
 ever reluctant Jones might have been, after Lan- 
 dais had usurped his command, and run away with 
 his ship, to put to sea with a single vessel, and 
 that of inferior force, the paramount and unceasing 
 anxiety of Frankhn to forward the stores, does 
 not by any means admit a doubt. In the awkward 
 affair of Landais it was accordingly decided that 
 Franklin had done nothing for which he had not 
 ample discretionary powers ; and as an appropriate 
 mark of the entire confidence of Congress, he 
 was appointed by the Marine Committee to the 
 sole management of maritime affairs in Europe. 
 The patron of Landais, the strenuous supporter 
 of constitutional rights, Mr Arthur Lee, now 
 thought proper to abandon his former opinions, 
 together with his unlucky protege, and even to 
 appear among the active friends of Commodore 
 Jones. 
 
 On coming thus clearly and honourably out of 
 this investigation, Jones, besides the vote of 
 thanks so gratifying to his feelings, obtained the 
 
278 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 reward which of all others he valued the highest, 
 a farther opportunity of extending his fame by 
 active service in the cause of America. By an 
 unanimous ballot, (for in this manner it seems of- 
 ficers were chosen,) he was appointed to the com- 
 mand of the America, a fine vessel, still on the 
 stocks. Almost immediately he went to Ports- 
 mouth, in New Hampshire, to superintend the 
 building and equipment of this ship. 
 
 This seems to have been one of the few inter- 
 vals of leisure and tranquillity which his chequer- 
 ed life afforded. It was sweetened by the hope 
 of future services to be performed, and future 
 glories to be acquired. He continued for some 
 months in the Httle town of Portsmouth, and, be- 
 sides maintaining an extensive correspondence in 
 France and America, found time to mature and 
 arrange his ideas on the subject of the American 
 navy. 
 
 We have not sufficient nautical skill to decide 
 how far the beUef of Jones in the relative supe- 
 riority of the French to the EngUsh system of 
 naval tactics was even theoretically correct ; it 
 is enough, that almost every succeeding naval 
 
PAUL JONES. 279 
 
 engagement has practically demonstrated the fu- 
 tility of his speculations. The ships of England 
 scarcely ever afterwards met those of her rival save 
 to beat them, till the flag of France was hterally 
 swept from the seas. But though the opinions 
 of Jones are thus, in all probability, abstractly of 
 no great value as those of a great naval tactician, 
 they are of some consequence, as they discover 
 the state of his own mind, his strong preposses- 
 sion for whatever was French, and his jealousy 
 of Enghsh naval supremacy. It is but fair to 
 let him state his reasons for his singular belief. 
 
 " The beginning of our navy," he says, " as 
 navies now rank, was so singularly small, that I am 
 of opinion it has no precedent in history. Was it 
 a proof of madness in the first corps of sea-officers 
 to have, at so critical a period, launched out on 
 the ocean with only two armed merchant ships, 
 two armed brigantines, and one armed sloop, to 
 make war against such a power as Great Britain ? 
 To be diffident is not always a proof of igno- 
 rance. I had sailed before this revolution in 
 armed ships and frigates, yet, when I came to 
 try my skill, I am not ashamed to own I did not 
 find myself perfect in the duties of a first lieuten- 
 
280 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ant. If midnight study, and the instruction of 
 the greatest and most learned sea-officers, can 
 have given me advantages, I am not without 
 them. I confess, however, I have yet to learn ; 
 it is the work of many years'* study and experience 
 to acquire the high degree of science necessary 
 for a great sea-officer. Cruising after merchant 
 ships, the service in which our frigates have ge- 
 nerally been employed, affords, I may say, no 
 part of the knowledge necessary for conducting 
 fleets and their operations. There is now, per- 
 haps, as much difference between a battle be- 
 tween two ships, and an engagement between two 
 fleets, as there is between a duel and a ranged 
 battle between two armies. The English, who 
 boast so much of their navy, never fought a 
 ranged battle on the ocean before the war that is 
 now ended. The battle off Ushant was, on their 
 part, Hke their former ones, irregular ; and Ad- 
 miral Keppell could only justify himself by the 
 example of Hawke in our remembrance, and of 
 Russel in the last century. From that moment 
 the English were forced to study and to imitate 
 the French in their evolutions. They never 
 gained any advantage when they had to do with 
 
PAUL JONES. 281 
 
 equal force, and the unfortunate defeat of Count 
 de Grasse was owing more to the unfavourable 
 cu'cumstances of the wind coming ahead four 
 points at the beginning of the battle, which put 
 his fleet into the order of echiquier when it was 
 too late to tack, and of calm and currents after- 
 wards, which brought on an entire disorder, than 
 to the admiralship, or even the vast superiority of 
 Rodney, who had forty sail of the line against 
 thirty, and five three-deckers against one. By 
 the account of some of the French officers, Rod- 
 ney might as well have been asleep, not having 
 made a second signal during the battle, so that 
 every captain did as he pleased. 
 
 " The English are very deficient in signals as 
 well as in naval tactic. This I know, havuig in 
 my possession their present fighting and saihng 
 instructions, which comprehend all their signals 
 and evolutions. Lord Howe has, indeed, made 
 some improvements by borrowing from the French. 
 But Kempenfelt, who seems to have been a 
 more promising officer, had made a still greater 
 
 improvement by the same means. It was said of 
 Kempenfelt, when he was drowned in the Royal 
 George, England has lost her Du PaviUion. That 
 
282 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 great man, the Chevalier du PaviUion, command- 
 ed the Triumphant, and was killed in the last 
 battle of Count de Grasse. France lost in him 
 one of her greatest naval tacticians, and a man 
 who had, besides, the honour (in 177^) ^o invent 
 the new system of naval signals, by which six- 
 teen hundred orders, questions, answers, and in- 
 formations, can, without confusion or misconstruc- 
 tion, and with the greatest celerity, be commu- 
 nicated through a great fleet. It was his fixed 
 opinion that a smaller number of signals would 
 be insufficient. A captain of the hne at this day 
 must be a tactician. A captain of a cruising fri- 
 gate may make shift without ever having heard 
 of naval tactics. Until I arrived in France, and 
 became acquainted with that great tactician Count 
 D'OrviUiers, and his judicious assistant the Che- 
 valier du PaviUion, who, each of them, honoured 
 me with instructions respecting the science of 
 governing the operations, &c. of a fleet, I confess 
 I was not sensible how ignorant I had been be- 
 fore that time of naval tactics.''* 
 
 * Jones forgets once writing Franklin that this illus- 
 trious commander chose rather to permit several English 
 
PAUL JONES. 283 
 
 However defective the general views of the 
 Commodore might be as a great tactician, his 
 ideas of the proper formation and internal policy 
 and regulation of a navy for the young repubHc 
 of America discover a comprehensive mind, and 
 a hberal and generous spirit. On these points 
 he had to contend with no lurking prepossessions. 
 His very prejudices were here all on the right 
 side. 
 
 " From the observations I have made,'' he 
 says, " and what I have read, it is my opinion, 
 that in a navy there ought to be at least as many 
 grades below a captain of the line as there are 
 below a colonel of a regiment. Even the navy 
 of France is deficient in subaltern grades, and has 
 paid dearly for that error in its constitution, 
 joined to another of equal magnitude, which au- 
 thorises ensigns of the navy to take charge of 
 watch on board ships of the hne. One instance 
 may be sufficient to show this. The Zele, in the 
 night between the 11th and 12th of April, 1782, 
 
 frigates to escape him, than violate professional etiquette 
 by breaking his line ! This was tactics with a vengeance ! 
 
284 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ran on board the Ville de Paris, which accident 
 was the principal cause of the unfortunate battle 
 that ensued next day between Count de Grasse 
 and Admiral Rodney. That accident in all pro- 
 bability would not have happened had the deck 
 of the Zele been at the time commanded by a 
 steady experienced lieutenant of the line instead 
 of a young ensign. The charge of the deck of a 
 ship of the line should, in my judgment, never 
 be intrusted to an officer under twenty-five years 
 of age. At that time of hfe he may be supposed 
 to have served nine or ten years, — a term not 
 more than sufficient to have furnished him with 
 the necessary knowledge for so great a charge. 
 It is easy to conceive that the minds of officers 
 must become uneasy, when they are continued 
 too long in any one grade, which must happen 
 (if regard be paid to the good of the service) 
 where there are no more subaltern grades than 
 midshipman and Heutenant. Would it not be 
 wiser to raise young men by smaller steps, and 
 to ii^rease the number ? 
 
 " I have many things to offer respecting the 
 formation of our navy. We are a young people, 
 
PAUL JONES. ^85 
 
 and need not be ashamed to ask ad\'ice from na- 
 tions older and more experienced in marine af- 
 fairs than ourselves. This, I conceive, might be 
 done in a manner that would be received as a 
 compliment by several, or perhaps all the marine 
 powers of Europe, and at the same time would 
 enable us to collect such helps as would be of 
 vast use when we come to form a constitution for 
 the creation and government of our marine, the. 
 establishment and pohce of our dock-yards, aca- 
 demies, hospitals, &c. &c., and the general police 
 of our seamen throughout the continent. These 
 considerations induced me, on my return from 
 the fleet of his excellency the Marquis de Vau- 
 dreuil, to propose to you to lay my ideas on the 
 subject before Congress, and to propose sending 
 a proper person to Europe in a handsome frigate, 
 to display our flag in the ports of the different 
 marine powers, to offer them the free use of our 
 ports, and propose to them commercial advanta- 
 ges, &c., and then to ask permission to visit their 
 marine arsenals, to be informed how they are fur- 
 nished both with men, provision, materials, and 
 warlike stores, — ^by what pohce and officers they 
 
^86 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 are governed, how and from what resources the 
 officers and men are paid, &c. — the hne of con- 
 duct drawn between the officers of the fleet and 
 the officers of the ports, &c. — also the armament 
 and equipment of the different ships of war, with 
 their dimensions, the number and quahties of their 
 officers and men, by what poHce they are go- 
 verned in port and at sea, how and from what 
 resources they are fed, clothed, and paid, &c., 
 and the general pohce of their seamen, and aca- 
 demies, hospitals, &c. &c. If you still object 
 to my project on account of the expense of send- 
 ing a frigate to Europe, and keeping her there 
 till the business can be effected, I think it may 
 be done, though perhaps not with the same 
 dignity, without a frigate. My plan for form- 
 ing a proper corps of sea-officers is, by teach- 
 ing them the naval tactics in a fleet of evolu- 
 tion. To lessen the expense as much as possi- 
 ble, I would compose that fleet of frigates instead 
 of ships of the hne ; on board of each I would 
 have a httle academy, where the officers should 
 be taught the principles of mathematics and me- 
 chanics, when off duty. When in port, the young 
 
PAUL JOXES. 287 
 
 officers should be obliged to attend the acade- 
 mies established at each dock-yard, where they 
 should be taught the principles of every art and 
 science that is necessary to form the character of 
 a great sea-officer. And every commission of- 
 ficer of the navy should have free access, and be 
 entitled to receive instruction gratis at those aca- 
 demies. All this would be attended with no very 
 great expense, and the pubhc advantage result- 
 ing from it would be immense. I am sensible 
 it cannot be immediately adopted, and that we 
 must first look about for ways and means ; but 
 the sooner it is adopted the better. We cannot, 
 like the ancients, build a fleet in a month, and 
 we ought to take example from what has lately 
 befallen Holland. In time of peace it is neces- 
 sary to prepare, and be always prepared, for war 
 by sea. I have had the honour to be presented 
 with copies of the signals, tactics, and pohce, 
 that have been adopted imder the different ad- 
 mirals of France and Spain during the war, and 
 have in my last campaign seen them put in prac- 
 tice. While I was at Brest, as well as while I 
 was inspecting the building of the America, as I 
 
2S8 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 had furnished myself with good authors, I ap- 
 pHed much of my leisure time to the study of 
 naval architecture, and other matters that relate 
 to the establishment and pohce of dock-yards, 
 &c. I, however, feel myself bound to say again, 
 I have yet much need to be instructed/' 
 
 The ship America, by his exertions, was now 
 nearly completed, and Jones had once more the 
 immediate prospect of active service ; but fortune 
 had yet another reverse in store for him ; or 
 more properly, at this time commenced that se- 
 ries of disappointments and chagrins which, 
 whether in Europe or America, continued, with 
 brief intermissions, to pursue him through his 
 subsequent life, till they consigned him to a 
 premature grave. It appears to have been the 
 fate of Jones at different epochs of his hfe, by 
 the energies and activity of his character, and 
 the impetuosity of his temper, to have momen- 
 tarily strained the instruments of his advance- 
 ment so far beyond the proper pitch, that they 
 violently recoiled, as if by the counteracting force 
 caused by their over-tension, on the instant that 
 his vigorous hand was removed. 
 
PAUL JONES. 289 
 
 The Magnjfique, a seventy- four gun ship, be- 
 longing to France, had, by accident or misman- 
 agement, been lost in the harbour of Boston. To 
 make up this loss, and keep their powerful ally 
 in good humour. Congress did not scruple to 
 strip Jones of the command so flatteringly be- 
 stowed, and this without giving him any equiva- 
 lent appointment, or any future pledge. This 
 was the second time he had been disappointed in 
 a similar way : the America shared the fate of 
 the Indien ; it was presented by Congress to 
 the Chevalier de la Luzerne, for the service of 
 his Most Christian Majesty. Fifteen months 
 after his appointment Jones received the follow- 
 ing letter from the Minister of Marine : — 
 
 " Marine Office, 4th Sept. 17S2. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " The enclosed resolution will show you the 
 destination of the ship America. Nothing could 
 be more pleasing to me than this disposition, ex- 
 cepting so far as you are affected by it. I know 
 you so well as to be convinced that it must give 
 you great pam, and I sincerely sympathize with 
 
 VOL. I. N 
 
290 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 you. But although you will undergo much con- 
 cern at being deprived of this opportunity to 
 reap laurels on your favourite field, yet your re- 
 gard for France will in some measure alleviate 
 it ; and to this your good sense will naturally 
 add the delays which must have happened in 
 fitting the ship for sea. I must entreat you to 
 continue your inspection until she is launched, 
 and to urge forward the business. When that 
 is done, if you will come hither I will explain to 
 you the reasons which led to this measure, and 
 my views of employing you in the service of 
 your country. You will on your route have an 
 opportunity of conferring with the General on 
 the blow you mentioned to me in one of your 
 letters.'' ***** 
 
 Whatever might have been the feehngs of 
 Jones on this abrupt and painful communica- 
 tion, they were stifled by prudence and patriot- 
 ism ; and the cheerfulness and magnanimity with 
 which he submitted to this stroke ehcited the 
 subjoined letter from Morris : — 
 
PAUL JONES. 291 
 
 *' Marine Office, 4th October, 1782. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " I have received your letter of the 22d of 
 last month. The sentiments contained in it 
 will always reflect the highest honour upon your 
 character. They have made so strong an im- 
 pression upon mv mind, that I immediately trans- 
 mitted an extract of your letter to Congress. I 
 doubt not but they will view it in the same man- 
 ner that I have done." 
 
 Jones, on the request of the Minister, con- 
 tinued to superintend the equipment of the ship ; 
 but as honourable employment, whether in the 
 sea or land service, was ever his favourite ob- 
 ject, he now solicited the leave of Congress to 
 go on board the French fleet, then cruising in 
 the American seas, for improvement in his pro- 
 fession. This was given in the most gracious 
 manner, in the subjoined resolution : — 
 
 BY THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS ASSEM- 
 BLED. 
 
 " Wednesday, Dec. 4, 1782. 
 " Resolved^ That the agent of marine be in- 
 
292 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 formed that Congress, having a high sense of the 
 merit and services of Captain John Paul Jones, 
 and being disposed to favour the zeal manifested 
 by him to acquire improvement in the line of 
 his profession, do grant the permission which he 
 requests, and that the said agent be instructed 
 to recommend him accordingly to the counte- 
 nance of his Excellency the Marquis de Vau- 
 dreuil." 
 
 The languor of inactivity, and the disappoint- 
 ment which followed, were also somewhat soothed 
 by the receipt, from time to time, of letters, of 
 which the following from La Fayette and Adams 
 may furnish a sample : — 
 
 '' Alliance, oflp Boston, 22d Dec 1781. 
 " I have been honoured with your polite fa- 
 vour, my dear Paul Jones ; but before it reached 
 me I already was on board the Alliance, and 
 every minute expecting to put to sea. It would 
 have afforded me great satisfaction to pay my 
 respects to the inhabitants of Portsmouth, and 
 the State in which you are for the present. As 
 to the pleasure to take you by the hand, my 
 
PAUL JONES. 293 
 
 dear Paul Jones, you know my affectionate sen- 
 timents, and my very great regard for you, so 
 that I need not add any thing on that subject. 
 
 " Accept my best thanks for the kind expres- 
 sions in your letter. His Lordship's downfall* 
 is a great event, and the greater, as it was equal- 
 ly and amicably shared by the two allied nations. 
 Your coming to the army I had the honour to 
 command would have been considered as a very 
 flattermg compHment to me who love you and 
 know your worth. I am impatient to hear you 
 are ready to sail, and I am of opinion we ought 
 to unite under you every continental ship we 
 can muster, with such a body of well-appointed 
 marines as might cut a good figure ashore ; and 
 then give you plenty of provision, and carte 
 blanche. 
 
 " I am sorry I cannot see you. I also had 
 many things to tell you ; write me by good op- 
 portunities, but not often in ciphers, unless the 
 matter is very important," &c. &c. 
 
 " La Fayette." 
 
 * Lord Cornwallis. 
 
294' MEMOIRS OF 
 
 *' Hague, 12th August, 178?. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " I had yesterday the pleasure of receiving 
 your favour of the 10th December last, * * 
 * * * The command of the America 
 could not have been more judiciously bestowed ; 
 and it is with impatience I wish her at sea, 
 where she will do honour to her name. No- 
 thing gives me so much surprise, or so much re- 
 gret, as the inattention of my countrymen to 
 their navy. It is to us a bulwark as essential as 
 it is to Great Britain. It is less costly than 
 armies, and more easily removed from one of the 
 United States to the other. * * * 
 
 " Every day shows that the Batavians have not 
 wholly lost their ancient character. They are 
 always timid and slow in adopting their poUtical 
 systems ; but always firm and able in support of 
 them ; and always brave and active in war. They 
 have hitherto been restrained by their chiefs ; 
 but if the war continue, they will show that they 
 are possessed of the spirit of hberty, and that 
 they have lost none of their great qualities. 
 
 " Rodney's victory has intoxicated Britain 
 
PAUL JONES. 295 
 
 again to such a degree, that I think there will 
 be no peace for some time. Indeed, if I could 
 see a prospect of having a half-dozen hne-of-bat- 
 tle ships under the American flag, commanded 
 by Commodore Paul Jones, engaged with an 
 equal British force, I apprehend the event would 
 be so glorious for the United States, and lay so 
 sure a foundation for their prosperity, that it 
 would be a rich compensation for a continuance 
 of the war. However, it does not depend upon 
 us to finish it. There is but one way, and that 
 
 is Bicrgoyni%ing Carlton in New York * * 
 
 * * * * * * * 
 
 " John Adams.'"' 
 
 Jones went on board the French fleet accord- 
 ing to the permission granted by Congress ; but 
 peace put a sudden end to his nautical studies 
 in this school; and a few complimentary let- 
 ters are the sole trophies that remain of his 
 bloodless campaign. These testimonies of his 
 talents and conduct were addressed by the Mar- 
 quis de Vaudreuil to Mr Morris, the Minister of 
 the American Marine, and to the ChevaUer de 
 
296 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 la Luzerne, the French Ambassador to the Unit- 
 ed States. 
 
 That impatience of inactivity, which appears to 
 have been an inherent quahty in the mind of 
 Jones, and considerations of private interest and 
 friendship, now induced him to soHcit an appoint- 
 ment in Europe, as agent for prize-money, of 
 which large sums were still due to himself, and to 
 his officers and men, both in France and Den- 
 mark. Their claims had indeed" never been set- 
 tled, and the arrangement was no easy matter. 
 Pursuant to a resolution of Congress, he was, on 
 the 1st Nov. 1733, formally appointed " agent 
 for all prizes taken in Europe under his own 
 command." On his arrival in Paris, his mission 
 was sanctioned by Franklin, still minister ple- 
 nipotentiary at Versailles, and he proceeded in 
 the affair, which had baffled other negotiators, 
 with his characteristic vigour and perseverance. 
 We are well warranted in presuming that Jones 
 would infinitely rather have re-visited Eiu-ope at 
 this time, commander of that gaUant experimen- 
 tal frigate which he had so earnestly recommend- 
 ed Congress to equip, than in the comparatively 
 
PAUL JONES. 297 
 
 tame character he now held. His embassy, for 
 such he loved to consider it, proved tedious, and 
 even vexatious. His old antagonist, M. de Chau- 
 mont, had become insolvent ; the French finances 
 were already in great disorder, and disinclination 
 existed in every department to an adjustment 
 or liquidation of the claims of the captors. The 
 opposition of Chaumont was pecuharly irritating 
 to Jones, who lost no opportunity of reviling and 
 exposing him in his frequent correspondence with 
 the Marshal de Castries. 
 
 While this affair was in progress, Jones re- 
 newed and extended his former social connexions 
 in Paris ; and for three years, at this time, sup- 
 ported a considerable figure in the fashionable 
 society of that capital, both for the gratification of 
 his personal feehngs and the advancement of his 
 mission. In this interval he also formed several 
 projects of commercial speculations, on the scale 
 suited to the enterprising character of his mind, 
 and in concert with different individuals of ca- 
 pital and influence. One of these projects, of 
 which a sketch still remains among his papers, 
 
 n2 
 
298 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 was to establish a fur-trade between the north- 
 west coast of America and China, or Japan. 
 The person fixed on to act as supercargo in this 
 adventurous expedition was the celebrated John 
 Ledyard, with whom it probably originated. It 
 went so far, that Jones was on the point of pur- 
 chasing a ship ; but failed, partly from the jea- 
 lousy of the Spanish government, and partly 
 from private causes. The Algerines, and the 
 sufferings of their American captives, was another 
 object of his anxious attention, and one of which 
 he never lost sight for the short remainder of his 
 life, though he was not able to effect much in 
 the behalf of this unfortunate portion of his 
 countrymen. 
 
 Another of Jones' amusements at this time was 
 having his bust taken, which was afterwards some- 
 what ostentatiously presented to a favoured few 
 in America. He also handed round the journal 
 of his short and brilliant campaign, and received 
 in return the usual requital of letters of comph- 
 ment, which, when proceeding from such cha- 
 racters as Malsherbes and D'Estaing, any man 
 
PAUL JONES. 299 
 
 may be pardoned for overvaluing. A compli- 
 ment was never thrown away on the Commodore, 
 and seldom forgotten. 
 
 Tedious as the affair of the prize-money proved, 
 an equitable and even hberal adjustment was 
 obtained in France long before any prospect of 
 a settlement of the claims on Denmark, which 
 power had shuffled for eight years with consider- 
 able dexterity, and continued to do so still. 
 
 With his mission thus far accomphshed, Jones, 
 in the summer of 1787? returned to America, 
 giving the following reasons for not at this time 
 proceeding to Copenhagen : — 
 
 To His Excellence/ John Jay, Esq. Minister of Fo- 
 reign Affairs. 
 
 " New York, July 8th, 1787. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " The appUcation I made for a compensation 
 for our prizes through the Danish minister in 
 London not having succeeded, it was determined 
 between Mr Jefferson and myself, that the pro- 
 per method to obtain satisfaction was for me to 
 
300 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 go in person to the court of Copenhagen. It 
 was necessary for me to see the Baron de Blome 
 before I could leave France on that business, 
 and he being absent on a tour in Switzerland, 
 did not return to Paris till the beginning of last 
 winter. I left Paris in the spring, and went as 
 far as Brussels on my way to Copenhagen, when 
 an unforeseen circumstance in my private affairs 
 rendered it indispensable for me to turn about 
 and cross the ocean. My private business here 
 being already finished, I shall in a few days re- 
 embark for Europe, in order to proceed to the 
 court of Denmark. It is my intention to go by 
 the way of Paris, in order to obtain a letter to 
 the French minister at Copenhagen, from the 
 Count de Montmorin, as the one I obtained is 
 from the Count de Vergennes. It would be 
 highly flattering to me if I could carry a letter 
 with me from Congress to his Most Christian 
 Majesty, thanking him for the squadron he did 
 us the honour to support under our flag. And 
 on this occasion, Sir, permit me, with becoming 
 diffidence, to recall the attention of my Sovereign 
 to the letter of recommendation I brought with 
 
PAUL JONES. 301 
 
 me from the court of France, dated 30th May, 
 I78O. It would be pleasing to me if that letter 
 should be found to merit a place on the journals 
 of Congress. Permit me also to entreat that 
 Congress will be pleased to read the letter I re- 
 ceived from the minister of marine, when his Ma- 
 jesty deigned to bestow on me a golden-hilted 
 sword, emblematical of the happy alliance, — an 
 honour which his Majesty never conferred on any 
 other foreign officer. I owed the high favour I 
 enjoyed at the court of France in a great de- 
 gree to the favourable testimony of my conduct 
 which had been communicated by his Majesty's 
 ambassador, under whose eye I acted in the most 
 critical situation in the Texel, as well as to the 
 public opinion of Europe. And the letter with 
 which I was honoured by the prime minister of 
 France, when I was about to return to America, 
 is a clear proof that we might have drawn still 
 greater advantages from the generous disposition 
 of our ally, if our marine had not been lost whilst 
 I was, under perplexing circumstances, detained 
 in Europe, after I had given the Count de Mau- 
 repas my plan for forming a combined squadron 
 
302 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of ten or twelve sail of frigates, supported by the 
 America, with a detachment of French troops on 
 board ; the whole at the expense of his Majesty. 
 
 " It is certain that I am much flattered by re- 
 ceiving a gold sword from the most illustrious 
 monarch now hvuig ; but I had refused to accept 
 his commission on two occasions before that time, 
 when some firmness was necessary to resist the 
 temptation. He was not my sovereign ; I served 
 the cause of freedom ; and honours from my so- 
 vereign would be more pleasing. Since the year 
 1775, when I displayed the American flag for the 
 first time with my own hands, I have been con- 
 stantly devoted to the interests of America. Fo- 
 reigners have, perhaps, given me too much cre- 
 dit, and this may have raised my ideas of my 
 services above their real value ; but my zeal can 
 never be over-rated. 
 
 " I should act inconsistently if I omitted to 
 mention the dreadful situation of our unhappy 
 fellow-citizens in slavery at Algiers. Their al- 
 most hopeless fate is a deep reflection on our na- 
 tional character in Europe. I beg leave to in- 
 fluence the humanity of Congress in their behalf, 
 
PAUL JONES. 303 
 
 and to propose that some expedient may be 
 adopted for their redemption. A fund might be 
 raised for that purpose by a duty of a shilling 
 per month from seamen's wages throughout the 
 continent, and I am persuaded that no difficulty 
 would be made to that requisition. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Sir, &c. &c. 
 
 " Paul Jones." 
 
 The mamier in which Jones had divided the 
 quotas, and the magnitude of his private claims 
 for personal expenses while engaged in this ser- 
 vice, did not satisfy the Board of Treasury of 
 the United States, and their report highly of- 
 fended him. He, however, made out what, al- 
 lowing for a considerable alloy of self-eulogium, 
 inseparable from all his vindicatory writings, may 
 be called a triumphant case. " The settlement,"'' 
 he says, " that I made with the court of France 
 had first Dr Frankhn's and afterwards Mr Jef- 
 ferson's approbation, in every stage and article 
 of the business ; and I presume it will be found, 
 at least so far as depended on me, to merit that 
 
304 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of the United States. The Board of Treasury 
 have been pleased in their report to treat me as 
 a mere agent, though employed in that deHcate 
 national concern. In France I was received and 
 treated by the King and his mmisters as a gene- 
 ral officer and a special minister from Congress. 
 The credit with which I am honoured as an of- 
 ficer, in the opinion of Evu-ope, and the personal 
 intimacy I have with many great characters at 
 Paris, with my exclusive knowledge of all cir- 
 cumstances relative to the business, ensured me 
 a success which no other man could have obtain- 
 ed. My situation subjected me to considerable 
 expense. I went to Court much oftener, and 
 mixed with the great much more frequently, than 
 our minister plenipotentiary, yet the gentlemen 
 in that situation consider their salary of two 
 thousand a-year as scarcely adequate to their ex- 
 penses." But the reader is already so familiar 
 with the services of the Commodore to the pub- 
 lic cause of America, that we spare them the re- 
 petition which follows, and pass to the issue of 
 this altercation, which was a resolution of Congress, 
 passed a few days afterwards, declaring his distri- 
 
PAUL JONES. 305 
 
 bution of the quotas valid, and allowing him the 
 sum claimed as expended by him on this ser- 
 vice. This was 47,97^ livres, instead of the usual 
 commission on sums recovered, which would not 
 nearly have defrayed his expenses. 
 
 To complete his triumph over the Board of 
 Treasury, Congress, in a few days afterwards, 
 unanimously resolved " that a gold medal should 
 be struck, and presented to Chevaher J. Paul 
 Jones, in commemoration of the valour and bril- 
 liant services of that officer while in command of 
 a squadron of French and American ships, under 
 the flag and commission of the States of America.^"* 
 It was farther resolved that a letter should be 
 written to his Most Christian Majesty ; and ac- 
 cordingly, furnished with the following letter, 
 Jones left the shores of America, which he was 
 destined never again to revisit : — 
 
 " To His Most Christian Majesty, Louis, King of 
 
 France and Navarre. 
 " Great and beloved Friend ! 
 
 " We, the United States in Congress assem- 
 bled, in -consideration of the distinguished marks 
 
306 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of approbation with which your Majesty has been 
 pleased to honour the ChevaUer John Paul Jones, 
 as well as from a sense of his merit, have unani- 
 mously directed a medal of gold to be struck and 
 presented to him, in commemoration of his va- 
 lour and briUiant services while commanding a 
 squadron of French and American ships, under 
 our flag and commission, off the coast of Great 
 Britain, in the late wai*. 
 
 " As it is his earnest desire to acquire know- 
 ledge in his profession, we cannot forbear re- 
 questing of your Majesty to permit him to em- 
 bark in your fleets of evolution, where only it 
 will be probably in his power to acquire that de- 
 gree of knowledge which may hereafter render 
 him most extensively useful. 
 
 " Permit us to repeat to your Majesty, our 
 sincere assurances, that the various and impor- 
 tant benefits for which we are indebted to your 
 friendship will never cease to interest us in what- 
 ever may concern the happiness of your Majesty, 
 your family, and people. We pray God to keep 
 you, our great and beloved friend, under his holy 
 protection. 
 
PAUL JONES. 307 
 
 '' Done at the city of New York, the 16th 
 day of October, in the year of our Lord 
 17875 and of our Sovereignty and Inde- 
 pendence the 12th." 
 
 It is not probable, though just possible, that, 
 before this last departure for Europe, Jones was 
 aware, that, in conversation with M. de Simo- 
 lin, the Russian ambassador at Paris, Mr Jeffer- 
 son had proposed him to serve Russia in the 
 Black Sea. This conversation arose in conse- 
 quence of the disasters which had befallen her 
 Imperial jNIajesty'^s fleet in a tempest in the 
 month of September of that year. During the 
 late negotiations about the prize-money, Jones 
 had come in close contact with jNIr Jefferson, 
 who immediately succeeded to Franklin as am- 
 bassador, and had gained his friendship and es- 
 teem. Though he might not be aware thus 
 early of this private treaty concerning him, there 
 is no room to doubt that, with all the indifference 
 and coquettish reluctance he afterwards thought 
 fit to affect, he was from the first moment daz- 
 zled and infatuated by the prospects which thus 
 
308 MEMOmS OF 
 
 opened so unexpectedly upon him in a new ca- 
 reer of glory and distinction. He landed at 
 Dover from stress of weather, and, after spend- 
 ing a few days in London, and making certain 
 arrangements with the American ambassador 
 there, respecting the Danish claims, went to 
 Paris, and was there at least informed by Mr 
 Jefferson of the high destinies which probably 
 awaited him in Russia. He accordingly defer- 
 red dehvering the letter which he bore from Con- 
 gress to his Most Christian Majesty, till a more 
 convenient season, and set out for Copenhagen 
 in mid-winter, ostensibly only to solicit indem- 
 nification for the prizes so long before deUvered 
 up to the English minister, but in reaUty to 
 draw a step nearer to St Petersburgh. There 
 is no evidence that the court of Russia had ever 
 thought of John Paul Jones as a naval com- 
 mander till M. de Simohn had written home, 
 " that with the chief command of the fleet, and 
 carte blanche, he would undertake that in a year 
 Paul Jones would make Constantinople tremble.'*'' 
 Jones was furnished with letters to the French 
 ambassador at Copenhagen, and other influen- 
 
PAUL JONES. 309 
 
 tial persons, and gives this account of his recep- 
 tion in that capital : — 
 
 " I have been so much indisposed since my 
 arrival here the 4th, from the fatigue and exces- 
 sive cold I suffered on the road, that I have been 
 obliged to confine myself almost constantly to 
 my chamber. I have kept my bed for several 
 days ; but I now feel myself better, and hope 
 the danger is over. On my arrival I paid my 
 respects to the minister of France. He received 
 me with great kindness ; we went, five days ago, 
 to the minister of foreign affairs. I was much 
 flattered with my reception, and our conversation 
 was long and very particular respecting America 
 and the new constitution, of which I presented a 
 copy. He observed, that it had struck him as 
 a very dangerous power to make the president 
 commander-in-chief: in other respects it appear- 
 ed to please him much, as leading to a near and 
 sure treaty of commerce between America and 
 Denmark. It was a day of pubHc business, and 
 I could not do more than present your letter. 
 I shall follow the business closely. In a few 
 days, when I am re-established in health, I am 
 
310 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 to be presented to the whole court, and to sup 
 with the King. I shall after that be presented to 
 all the corps diplomatique and other persons of 
 distinction here. I am infinitely indebted to the 
 attentions I receive from the minister of France. 
 I made the inquiry you desired in Holland, and 
 should then have written to you in consequence, 
 had I not been assured, by authority, (M. Van 
 Stojjhorst,) that I could not doubt that letters 
 had been sent you on the subject, that could not 
 fail of giving you satisfaction. M. Van Stop- 
 horst was very obliging. At Hamburgh I order- 
 ed the smoked beef you desired to be sent to 
 you, to the care of the American agent at Havre 
 de Grace ; you have nothing to do but receive 
 it, paying what little charges may be on it. My 
 ill health and fatigue on the road hindered me 
 from preparing the extract of the engagement. 
 When you see M. Littlepage, I pray you to pre- 
 sent my kind compUments. It is said here, that 
 the Empress confides the commerce of her fleet, 
 that will pass the Sound, to Admiral Greig ; and 
 that he means to call at an Enghsh port to take 
 provisions, &c. The Hamburgh papers, I am 
 
PAUL JONES. 311 
 
 told, have annomiced the death of Dr Franklin. 
 I shall be extremely concerned if the account 
 prove true — God forbid !" 
 
 A subsequent letter states, — 
 
 '' Yesterday his excellency the Baron de La 
 Houge, minister plenipotentiary of France at 
 this court, did me the honour to present me pub- 
 Ucly to his ^Majesty, the Royal Family, and chief 
 personages at the royal palace here. 
 
 " I had a very poKte and distinguished recep- 
 tion. The Queen Dowager conversed with me 
 for some time, and said the most civil things. 
 Her Majesty has a dignity of person and deport- 
 ment which becomes her well, and which she 
 has the secret to reconcile with great affability and 
 ease. The Princess Royal is a charming per- 
 son, and the graces are so much her own, that it 
 is impossible to see and converse with her with- 
 out paying her that homage which artless beauty 
 and good nature will ever command. All the 
 Royal Family spoke to me except the King, who 
 speaks to no person when presented. His Ma- 
 jesty saluted me with great complaisance at first, 
 
 and as often afterwards as we met in the course 
 
 2 
 
312 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of the evening. The Prince Royal is greatly be- 
 loved and extremely affable ; he asked me a 
 number of pertinent questions respecting Ame- 
 rica. I had the honour to be invited to sup with 
 his Majesty and the Royal Family. The com- 
 pany at table (consisting of seventy ladies and 
 gentlemen, including the Royal Family, the mi- 
 nisters of state, and foreign ambassadors) was 
 very brilliant.*" 
 
 But this flattering reception, and abundance of 
 diplomatic courtesy, did not long satisfy the ne- 
 gotiator, who was moreover engaged in another 
 game with Baron Krudner, the Russian Envoy 
 at this court, which interested him far more 
 deeply. He was, in short, impatient to reach the 
 goal of his new-sprung hopes, St Petersburgh, 
 and accordingly addressed Count Bernstorf in 
 his best style of diplomacy : — 
 
 Captaifi Paul Jones to Count Bernstorf. 
 
 " Copenhagen, 24th March, 1788. 
 " From the act of Congress, (the act by which 
 I am honoured with a gold medal,) I had the 
 
PAUL JONES. 313 
 
 honour to show your Excellency the 21st of this 
 month, as well as from the conversation that fol- 
 lowed, you must be convinced that circumstan- 
 ces do not permit me to remain here ; but that 
 I am imder the necessity, either to return to 
 France or to proceed to Russia. — As the minis- 
 ter of the United States of America at Paris 
 gave me the perusal of the packet he wrote by 
 me, and which I had the honour to present to 
 you on my arrival here, it is needless to go into 
 any detail on the object of my mission to this 
 court ; which Mr Jefferson has particularly ex- 
 plained. The promise you have given me, of a 
 prompt and explicit decision, from this Court, 
 on the act of Congress of the 25th of October 
 last, inspires me with full confidence. I have 
 been very particular in communicating to the 
 United States all the polite attentions with which 
 I have been honoured at this Court ; and they 
 will learn with great pleasure the kind reception 
 I had from you. I feUcitated myself on being 
 the instrument to settle the delicate national busi- 
 ness in question, with a minister who concihates 
 the views of the wise statesman with the noble 
 
 VOL. 1. o 
 
314 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 sentiments and cultivated mind of the true phi- 
 losopher and man of letters." 
 
 * 
 
 Paul Jones to Count Ber7istorf. 
 
 " Copenhagen, March 30, 1788. 
 " Your silence on the subject of my mission 
 from the United States to this Court leaves me 
 in the most painful suspense ; the more so, as I 
 have made your Excellency acquainted with the 
 promise I am under to proceed as soon as possi- 
 ble to St Petersburgh. This being the ninth year 
 since the three prizes reclaimed by the United 
 States were seized upon in the port of Bergen, 
 in Norway, it is to be presumed that this Court 
 has long since taken an ultimate resolution re- 
 specting the compensation demand made by Con- 
 gress. Though I am extremely sensible of the 
 favourable reception with which I have been dis- 
 tinguished at this Court, and am particularly 
 flattered by the polite attentions with which you 
 have honoured me at every conference ; yet I 
 have remarked, with great concern, that you have 
 never led the conversation to the object of my 
 
PAUL JONES. 315 
 
 mission here. A man of your liberal sentiments 
 will not, therefore, be surprised, or offended at 
 my plain dealing, when I repeat that I impa- 
 tiently expect a prompt and categorical answer, 
 in writing, from this Court, to the act of Con- 
 gress of the 25th of October last. Both my duty 
 and the circumstances of my situation constrain 
 me to make this demand in the name of my So- 
 vereign the United States of America ; but I 
 beseech you to believe, that though I am extreme- 
 ly tenacious of the honour of the American Jlag^ 
 yet my personal interest in the decision I now 
 ask would never have induced me to present 
 myself at this Court. You are too just. Sir, to 
 delay my business here ; which would put me 
 under the necessity to break the promise I have 
 made to her Imperial Majesty, conformable to 
 your advice."" 
 
 Count Bernsiorf to Paul Jones, 
 
 (C 
 
 Copenhagen, April 4, 1788. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " You have requested of me an answer to the 
 
316 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 letter you did me the honour to remit me from 
 Mr Jefferson, mmister plenipotentiary of the 
 United States of America, near his most Chris- 
 tian Majesty. I do it with so much more plea- 
 sure, as you have inspired me with as much 
 interest as confidence, and this occasion appears 
 to me favourable to make known the sentiments 
 of the King my master, on the objects to which 
 we attach so much importance. Nothing can be 
 farther from the plans and the wishes of his ma- 
 jesty than to let fall a negotiation which has 
 only been suspended in consequence of circum- 
 stances arising from the necessity of maturing a 
 new situation, so as to enUghten himself on their 
 reciprocal interests, and to avoid the inconve- 
 nience of a precipitate and imperfect arrange- 
 ment. I am authorized. Sir, to give you, and 
 through you to Mr Jefferson, the word of the 
 King, that his majesty will renew the negotia- 
 tion for a treaty of amity and commerce in the 
 forms already agreed upon, at the instant that 
 the new Constitution (that admirable plan, so 
 worthy of the wisdom of the most enlightened 
 men) will have been adopted by the states, to 
 
PAUL JONES. 
 
 317 
 
 which nothing more was wanted to assure to it- 
 self a perfect consideration. If it has not been 
 possible, Sir, to discuss, definitively with you, 
 neither the principal object nor its accessories, 
 the idea of eluding the question, or of retarding 
 the decision, had not the least part in it. I have 
 already had the honour to express to you, in our 
 conversations, that your want of plenipotentiary 
 powers from Congress was a natural and invin- 
 cible obstacle. It would be, likewise, contrary 
 to the established custom to change the seat of 
 negotiation, which has not been broken off, but 
 only suspended, thereby to transfer it from Paris 
 to Copenhagen. 
 
 " I have only one more favom* to ask of you, 
 Sir, that you would be the interpreter of our sen- 
 timents in regard to the United States. It would 
 be a source of gratification to me to think that 
 what I have said to you on this subject carries 
 with it that conviction of the truth which it me- 
 rits. We desire to form with them connexions, 
 solid, useful, and essential ; we wish to establish 
 them on bases natural and immoveable. The 
 momentary clouds, the incertitudes, which the 
 
 o2 
 
318 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 misfortunes of the times brought with them, exist 
 no longer. We should no longer recollect it, 
 but to feel in a more lively manner the happi- 
 ness of a more fortunate period; and to show 
 ourselves more eager to prove the dispositions 
 most proper to effect an union, and to procure 
 reciprocally the advantages which a sincere al- 
 hance can afford, and of which the two coun- 
 tries are susceptible. These are the sentiments 
 which I can promise you, Sir, on our part, and 
 we flatter ourselves to find them likewise in Ame- 
 rica ; nothing, then, can retard the conclusion of 
 an arrangement, which I am happy to see so far 
 advanced." 
 
 Paul Jones to Count Bernstorf. 
 
 " Copenhagen, April 5, 1788. 
 " I pray your Excellency to inform me when 
 I can have the honour to wait on you, to receive 
 the letter you have been kind enough to pro- 
 mise to write me, in answer to the act of Con- 
 gress of the 25th October last. As you have 
 told me that my want of plenipotentiary powers 
 to terminate ultimately the business now on the 
 
PAUL JONES. 319 
 
 carpet, between the Court and the United States, 
 has determined you to authorize the Baron de 
 Blome to negotiate and settle the same with Mr 
 Jefferson at Paris, and to conclude, at the same 
 time, an advantageous treaty of commerce be- 
 tween Denmark and the United States, — my 
 business here will of course be at an end when 
 I shall have received your letter and paid you 
 my thanks in person for the very pohte atten- 
 tions with which you have honoured me/'' 
 
 From Baron Krudner, shortly after his arrival, 
 Jones received the following letter, which of itself 
 denotes a foregone conclusion, and his acceptance 
 of the invitation of Russia : — 
 
 (Translation.) 
 " Sir, 
 
 " I am much disappointed at not meeting you 
 at Court, as I had promised myself, but a slight 
 indisposition prevented me from going abroad ; 
 besides, I have been agreeably occupied in writ- 
 ing letters. My Sovereign will learn with plea- 
 sure the acquisition which she has made in your 
 great talents. I have her commands for your 
 
320 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 acceptance of the grade of Captain Commandant, 
 with the rank of Major General, in her service, 
 and that you should proceed as soon as your af- 
 fairs permit ; the intention of her Imperial Ma- 
 jesty being to give you a command in the Black 
 Sea, and under the orders of Prince Potemkin, 
 from the opening of the campaign. The immor- 
 tal glory by which you have illustrated your 
 name cannot make you indifferent to the fresh 
 laurels you must gather in the new career which 
 opens to you. I have the honour of being on 
 this occasion the interpreter of those sentiments 
 of esteem with which for a long period your bril- 
 liant exploits have inspired her Imperial Majes- 
 ty. Under a Sovereign so magnanimous, in pur- 
 suing glory you need not doubt of the most 
 distinguished rewards, and that every advantage 
 of fortune will await you," &c. &c. 
 
 This was so far well, but did not entirely come 
 up to the high-raised expectations of Jones. In 
 a letter to Jefferson about this same time, he 
 says, " Before you can receive this, M. de Si- 
 molin will have informed you that your proposal 
 to him, and his apphcation on that idea, have 
 
PAUL JONES. 321 
 
 been well received. The matter is communi- 
 cated to me here, in the most flattering terms, 
 by a letter I have received from his Excellency 
 the Baron de Krudner."' This is indeed per- 
 fectly contradictory of the statement Jones gives 
 in the introduction to his Journal of the Cam- 
 paign of the Liman, where the proposal of M. 
 de Simohn is represented as quite spontaneous, 
 and treated by himself at first as chimerical ; but 
 this is evidently the correct one. " There seems,"" 
 he continues, " to remain some difliculty re- 
 specting the letter of M. de Simohn's proposal, 
 though it is accepted in substance ;" he then ex- 
 presses his gratitude to the Russian Ambassa- 
 dor, and to Mr Littlepage, who had contributed 
 so materially to his success in this affair. In a 
 subsequent letter to Jefferson, written immediate- 
 ly before leaving Copenhagen, after enumerating 
 his services, and mentioning what might have been 
 his services had he possessed more ample diplo- 
 matic powers, he introduces the subject near- 
 est his heart. Russia had demurred to his de- 
 mand of the rank of Rear- Admiral. " If Con- 
 gress," he says, " should think I deserve the 
 
S22 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 promotion that was proposed when I was in Ame- 
 rica, and should condescend to confer on me the 
 grade of Rear-Admiral, from the day I took 
 the Serapis, (23d September, 1779? exactly 
 nine years before,) I am persuaded it would 
 be very agreeable to the Empress, who now 
 deigns to offer me an equal rank in her service, 
 although I never had the honour to draw my 
 sword in her cause, nor to do any other act that 
 could merit her imperial benevolence." He after- 
 wards continues : " The mark I mentioned of the 
 approbation of that honourable body, (Congress) 
 would be extremely flattering to me in the career 
 I am now to pursue, and would stimulate all my 
 ambition to acquire the necessary talents to merit 
 that, and even greater favours at a future day. 
 I pray you. Sir, to explain the circumstances of 
 my situation ; and be the interpreter of my sen- 
 timents to the United States in Congress. I ask 
 for nothing, and beg leave to be understood only 
 as having hinted what is natural to conceive, that 
 the mark of approbation I mentioned could not 
 fail to be infinitely serviceable to my views and 
 success in the country where I am going." Ser- 
 
PAUL JOXES. 323 
 
 viceable this piece of idle distinction might have 
 been in smoothing the difficulties thrown in the 
 way of his obtaining the rank of Rear-Admiral, 
 for which he stipulated on entering the Russian 
 service, and which, as appears from his former 
 letter to Jefferson, and from the letter of Baron 
 Krudner, given above, was refused at the outset. 
 Though not disposed to break off his engage- 
 ment, neither was he wiUing to give up his claims 
 to the desired grade without a strenuous effort. 
 He immediately repUed to the Baron, going over 
 the whole ground : — " I am extremely flattered," 
 he says, "• by the obhging things expressed in 
 the letter your Excellency has done me the ho- 
 nour to write me yesterday. The very favour- 
 able sentiments with which my zeal for the cause 
 of America, rather than my professional skill, 
 has inspired her Imperial ^lajesty, fills me with 
 an irresistible desire to merit the precious opi- 
 nion with which her Majesty deigns to honour 
 me. Though I cannot conceive the reason why 
 any difficulty should be made to my being ad- 
 mitted into the marine of her Imperial ^lajesty 
 as Rear-Admiral, a rank to which I have some 
 
324 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 claim, and that it should at the same time be 
 proposed to give me the grade of Major-General, 
 to which I have no title, it is not my intention 
 to withdraw from the engagement which you 
 have formed in my name, in the letter you ad- 
 dressed your court on the 23d current. You 
 will be convinced by the papers I have the ho- 
 nour to submit to your inspection, that I am not 
 an adventurer in search of fortune. You will 
 discover, I presume, that my talents have been 
 considerable ; but that, loving glory, I am per- 
 haps too much attached to honours, though per- 
 sonal interest is an idol to which I have never 
 bowed the knee. The unbounded admiration 
 and profound respect which I have long felt for 
 the glorious character of her Imperial Majesty, 
 forbids the idea that a sovereign so magnani- 
 mous should sanction any arrangement that may 
 give pain at the outset to the man she deigns to 
 honour with her notice, and who wishes to devote 
 himself entirely to her service. A conjoined com- 
 mand is hurtful, and often fatal in military opera- 
 tions. There is no military man who is so en- 
 tirely master of his passions as to keep free of 
 
PAUL JONES. 325 
 
 jealousy and its consequences in such circum- 
 stances. Being quite a stranger, I have more to 
 fear from a conjoined command than any other 
 officer in the service of her Imperial Majesty. 
 I cannot imagine why her Majesty should think 
 it best to divide the command on the Black Sea ; 
 and if the direction of that department be already 
 confided to an officer of sufficient ability and ex- 
 perience, I do not seek to interfere with his com- 
 mand." 
 
 Jones was already aware of the appointment 
 of the Prince of Nassau, and even thus early 
 foresaw many of the probable difficulties of his 
 situation ; but he had that confidence in himself 
 which gave him assurance of triumphing over 
 them, and proceeded, if not blindfold, yet de- 
 termined not to see. We leave to his own nar- 
 rative the account of his almost romantic journey 
 from Copenhagen to St Petersburgh. In that ca- 
 pital he was received with a distinction which might 
 have turned the soundest head. His very manner 
 of approach had disposed people to gaze on the 
 American hero as a wonder ; his door was be- 
 sieged with carriages, and his table loaded with 
 
 VOL. I. P 
 
326 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 invitations. In short, he was now in Russia, 
 and the man whom, for the time, the Empress 
 dehghted to honour ; the expected conqueror of 
 the Turks; and it might be, a future Potemkin.* 
 At this curiously- timed juncture he received a 
 patent from the King of Denmark, granting him 
 for Hfe an annual pension of 1500 Danish crowns, 
 " for the respect he had shown to the Danish flag 
 while he commanded in the North Seas.*" To 
 pension the agent whose claims for his consti- 
 tuents are deferred or evaded, is at all times a 
 somewhat suspicious circumstance ; though this 
 grant being unexpected and unsolicited, Jones 
 stands clear in what he himself justly calls " an 
 embarrassing situation." It was three years be- 
 fore he even mentioned this grant to his Ame- 
 rican friends ; and had his affairs prospered, it is 
 
 * The cards of many of the Russian nobility received 
 at this time, and of the whole host of Members of Lega- 
 tion, Envoys, Residents_, &c., in short, all the component 
 parts of a great court, still remain among the papers of 
 Paul Jones, who through life seems to have been peculiar- 
 ly diligent in the accumulation of such "frail memorials." 
 
 2 
 
PAUL JONES. 327 
 
 probable he never would have looked after it. As 
 it was, when his large expenditure in Russia made 
 it necessary to draw on this fund, which he did 
 with the sanction of certain American gentlemen, 
 whose advice he requested, he never received a 
 single crown of the spontaneous royal grant thus 
 pressed upon him. 
 
 For a fortnight Jones remained at St Peters- 
 burgh, " feasted at court, and in the first socie- 
 ty." " The Empress,'" he writes to La Fayette, 
 " received me with a distinction the most flatter- 
 ing that perhaps any stranger can boast of on 
 entering the Russian service. Her Majesty con- 
 ferred on me immediately the grade of Rear- Ad- 
 miral. I was detained, against my will, a fort- 
 night, and continually feasted at court, and in 
 the first society. This was a cruel grief to the 
 Enghsh ; and I own their vexation, which I be- 
 Ueve was general in and about St Petersburgh, 
 gave me no pain.'' Before the year elapsed, the 
 Rear-Admiral found some cause to change his 
 opinions in many things ; and even respecting 
 the Enghsh at St Petersburgh. He was about 
 
 V 
 
328 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 this time at least three-fourths Russian. We 
 hear no longer of America as his sole country, 
 though he assumes a certain patronizing air to- 
 wards that young State. " I certainly wish to 
 be useful to a country which I have so long serv- 
 ed. I love the people and their cause, and shall 
 always rejoice when I can be useful to promote 
 their happiness." " What are you about, my 
 dear General ? are you so absorbed in pohtics as 
 to be insensible to glory ? that is impossible, — 
 quit then your divine Calypso, come here and 
 pay your court to Bellona, who you are sure 
 will receive you as her favourite. You would 
 be charmed with Prince Potemkin. He is a 
 most amiable man, and none can be more noble- 
 minded. For the Empress, fame has never yet 
 done her justice. I am sure that no stranger 
 who has not known that illustrious character, ever 
 conceived how much her Majesty is made to 
 reign over a great empire, to make people happy, 
 and to attach grateful and susceptible minds. 
 Is not the present a happy moment for France 
 to declare for Russia ?" Such were the extra- 
 
 / 
 
PAUL JONES. 329 
 
 ordinary lights that had suddenly dawned upon 
 the former champion of liberty and assertor of 
 the " dignity of human nature." 
 
 A few weeks before the above letter was des- 
 patched to La Fayette, the Empress, with her 
 own hand, had written to the Rear-Admiral, en- 
 closLQg a letter from M. de Simolin, regarding 
 his affairs. Though disappointed of sole com- 
 mand, as will appear in the subjoined narrative, 
 he still continued to be dazzled with his pro- 
 spects. The letter of her Imperial Majesty, who 
 spared no pains in carrying a favourite point, 
 as well as its enclosure, deserves to be preserv- 
 ed : — 
 
 From the Empress Catherine to Rear-Admiral 
 
 Paul Jones. 
 
 " Sir, — A courier from Paris has just brought 
 from my Envoy m France, M. de SimoHn, the 
 enclosed letter to Count Besborodko. As I 
 believe that this letter may help to confirm to 
 you what I have already told you verbally, I 
 have sent it, and beg you to return it, as I have 
 
330 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 not* even made a copy be taken, so anxious am I 
 that you should see it. I hope that it will efface 
 all doubts from your mind, and prove to you that 
 you are to be connected only with those who are 
 most favourably disposed towards you. I have no 
 doubt but that on your side you will fully justify 
 the opinion which we have formed of you, and 
 apply yourself with zeal to support the reputation 
 and the name you have acquired for valour and 
 skill on the element in which you are to serve. 
 Adieu, 
 
 I wish you happiness and health, 
 
 Catherine.^^ 
 
 Extract of the Letter from M. de Simolin to Count 
 de Beshorodko, enclosed in the above. 
 
 " The letter with which your Excellency fa- 
 voured me on the 16th February, was deUvered 
 by Mr Pohranoff. By it I was informed of the 
 resolution of her Imperial Majesty, on the sub- 
 ject of the engagement with the ChevaUer Paul 
 Jones ; and the same day Lieutenant-Colonel de 
 Baner, who was despatched from St Elizabeth by 
 
PAUL JONES. 331 
 
 Prince Potemkin on the 9th March, brought me 
 two letters, the subject of one of which was the said 
 ChevaHer Jones, whom he requested me to induce 
 to repair to his head-quarters as quickly as pos- 
 sible, that he might employ his talents at the 
 opening of the campaign ; and to assure him that 
 in entering the service, he, (Potemkin,) would 
 do all that depended on him to make his situation 
 pleasant and advantageous, and certainly procure 
 for him occasions in which he might display his 
 skill and valour." " Has he kept his word ?'^ says 
 Jones in a note long afterwards affixed to this 
 letter, which at the moment must have given him 
 so much pleasure. 
 
 Such were the flattering auspices under which 
 Paul Jones entered the service of Russia. From 
 this point his history will be continued for some 
 time by the most interesting portion of his re- 
 maining papers — his Journal of the Campaign of 
 the Liman. 
 
 END OF VOLUME I. 
 
 OLIVER & BOYD, PRINTERS. 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 PAUL JONES, 
 
 LATE REAR-ADMIRAL IN THE RUSSIAN SERVICE, 
 
 CHEVALIER OF THE MILITAUT ORDER OF MERIT, AND OF THE 
 RUSSIAN ORDER OF ST. ANNE, &C. &C. 
 
 NOW FIRST COMPILED FROM HIS ORIGINAL JOURNALS AND CORRESPONDENCE: 
 
 INCLUDING AN ACCOUNT OF HIS SERVICES UNDER PRINCE POTEMKIN, 
 
 PREPARED FOR PUBLICATION BY HIMSELF. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 RE-PTJBLISHED BY 
 
 HENRY WASHBOURNE, SALISBURY SQUARE, 
 
 FLEET STREET. 
 
 31DCCCXLIII. 
 
MEMOIRS OF PAUL JONES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 This narrative is now arrived at a period in 
 which it can be for some time continued in the 
 most desirable way, namely, by the Journal of the 
 Rear-Admiral, kept by himself on the scene 
 of action during his memorable campaign against 
 the Turks, afterwards extended at St Peters- 
 burgh and Warsaw, and prepared for pubhca- 
 tion at Paris. Had he acted the part which 
 manliness and sound wisdom dictated, in openly 
 withdrawing from the service which had been to 
 him one of misery and bondage, in which all 
 the better quahties and higher energies of his 
 mind were converted into the means of self-tor- 
 ture, he would unquestionably have pubhshed 
 
 VOL. II. A 
 
2 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 this Journal himself, if not in France, either in 
 England or America. He long contemplated 
 the necessity of both of these steps, and all along 
 felt that his leave of absence for two years was in 
 fact a virtual dismission ; but, by the strange fa- 
 tahty, which often appears to enchain a man's 
 will in spite of the suggestions of his reason, he 
 lingered on till death closed the scene. 
 
 In a letter written to Mr Jefferson, twenty 
 months after he had been exiled from Russia, 
 and when his last remaining hopes in hfe began 
 to turn to America, his first country, he says, 
 "As it has been and still is my first wish, and 
 my highest ambition, to show myself worthy of 
 the flattering marks of esteem with which I have 
 been honoured by my country, I think it my 
 duty to lay before you, both as my particular 
 friend and as a pubhc minister, the papers I now 
 enclose relative to my connexion with Russia, 
 viz. three pieces dated St Petersburgh, and 
 signed by the Court de Segur ; a letter from me 
 dated at Paris last summer, and sent to the 
 Prince de Potemkin ; and a letter from me to the 
 Empress, dated a few days afterwards, enclosing 
 
PAUL JONES. 25 
 
 eleven pieces as numbered in the margin. I have 
 selected those testimonies from a great variety of 
 perhaps still stronger proofs in my hands ; but, 
 though the Baron de Grimm* has undertaken to 
 transmit to her Imperial Majesty's own hands 
 my last packet, I shaU not be surprised if I 
 should find myself obliged to withdraw from the 
 service of Russia, and to publish my Journal of 
 the Campaign (in which) I commanded. In that 
 case I hope to prove to the world that my oper- 
 ations not only saved Cherson and the Crimea, 
 but decided the fate of the war."' 
 
 The Journal is written in disjointed portions, 
 and in a spirit of alternate bitterness and boast- 
 ing, which the indulgent reader must attribute 
 to the personal feelings from which the work 
 
 * Baron Grimm was a sort of man-of-all-work for the 
 Empress Catherine II., whose business was to despatch, 
 as frequently as possible, all the scandal, literary gossip, 
 and political intelligence, his peculiar industry could pick 
 up in Paris, for the information or amusement of the 
 Empress and her Court. The German had too much 
 tact to be the means of transmitting any thing dis- 
 agreeable. 
 
MEMOIRS OF 
 
 arose. The injustice, mortification, and perse- 
 cution endured by the man and the officer must 
 plead the apology of the author. 
 
 To the historian this Journal is of considerable 
 value. It places in an entirely new aspect one 
 of the most memorable of the campaigns between 
 Russia and the Porte ; and affords a clue, were 
 that any longer needed, to the crooked and de- 
 basing spirit of intrigue by which the domestic 
 policy of Russia was conducted, even under the 
 auspices of the great Catherine. 
 
 '' Introduction to the Journal of Rear- Admiral Paul 
 Jones's Campaign in the Liman in 1788. 
 
 " The United States of America having charged 
 me with a mission of a political nature to the 
 Court of Denmark, and having at the same time 
 given me a letter to deliver personally to his Most 
 Christian Majesty, Louis XVI., I embarked at 
 New York on the 11th November, 1787> ^^ an 
 American vessel bound for Holland, the captain 
 of which agreed to land me in France. 
 
 " After a voyage of a month, I landed at Do- 
 
PAUL JONES. 5 
 
 ver, in England, not being able to get ashore in 
 France. From Dover I went to London, where 
 I saw the mmister of the United States. 1 pass- 
 ed some days with my friends there, and went to 
 Covent Garden Theatre. I afterwards set out 
 for Paris, where I arrived on the 20th December. 
 
 " Mr Jefferson, the Ambassador of the United 
 States, visited me on the night of my arrival, and 
 informed me that M. de Simolin, minister pleni- 
 potentiary of her Imperial iNIajesty of all the Rus- 
 sias, had often spoken of me while I was in 
 America, and appeared anxious that I should 
 agree to go to Russia, to command the fleet 
 against the Turks in the Black Sea. I regard- 
 ed this proposal as a castle in the air ; and as I 
 did not wish to be employed in foreign service, 
 I avoided meeting M. de SimoHn, for whose cha- 
 racter I had, at the same time, the highest re- 
 spect. 
 
 " As the letter, of which I was the bearer to 
 the King of France, concerned myself alone, my 
 friends advised me not to seek an interview with 
 his Majesty till after my return from Denmark, 
 In that letter the United States requested his 
 Majesty to permit me to embark in his fleet of 
 
6 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 evolution, to complete my knowledge of naval 
 tactics, and of military and maritime operations 
 upon the great scale. 
 
 " Speaking to a man of very high rank at Paris, 
 I informed him of the proposal communicated 
 to me by Mr Jefferson. He replied, that 'he 
 would advise me to go to Constantinople at once 
 rather than enter the service of Russia."'* 
 
 " On the 1st of February, 1788, at the moment 
 of my departure from Paris, I received a note 
 from Mr Littlepage, chamberlain to the King of 
 Poland, earnestly requesting me to breakfast with 
 him next morning, as he had matters of the ut- 
 
 * Whether from a magnanimous sense of justice, or 
 disHke to his associates and rivals, or, as is probable, a 
 mixture of these motives, Paul Jones, in the course of 
 the campaign, became somewhat Turkish, and a warm 
 admirer of the Capitan Pacha. In the Journal he does 
 the Turks ample justice ; and in a letter to Baron de la 
 Houze, the minister of France at Copenhagen, we find 
 him saying, — " I have much to tell you respecting the 
 ' moustaches of the Capitan Pacha,' " of which the Baron 
 had probably jocularly desired Paul Jones to send him a 
 good account ; " he is a very brave man, and the public 
 have been much deceived as to our affairs with him." 
 
PAUL JONES. 
 
 most importance to communicate to me. I went 
 to him that same night, and he told me that M. 
 de Simolin had the greatest desire to converse 
 with me before my departure, and that he ex- 
 pected him to breakfast with us next day. 
 
 " M. de Simohn said the most polite and obhg- 
 ing things to me, — that, having known me well by 
 reputation whilst he was ambassador in Eng- 
 land, and since he had come to France, he had 
 already proposed me to his Sovereign as com- 
 mander of the fleet in the Black Sea, and that 
 he expected her Imperial Majesty would make me 
 proposals in consequence. I could not yet look 
 upon the affair very seriously ; but I was much 
 flattered with the opinion of M. de Simolin, to 
 whom I expressed my gratitude. When he had 
 left the house, Mr Littlepage assured me that 
 he had written to his Court, that ' if her Im- 
 perial Majesty confided to me the chief command 
 of her fleet on the Black Sea, with carte hlanche, 
 he would answer for it that in less than a year 
 I should make Constantinople tremble.' 
 
 " In Denmark I put in train a treaty between 
 that power and the United States ; but this ar- 
 
8 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 rangement was interrupted by the arrival of a 
 courier from St Petersburgh, despatched express 
 by the Empress, to invite me to repair to her 
 Court. 
 
 " Though I foresaw many obstacles in the way 
 of my entering the service of Russia, I beheved 
 that I could not avoid going to St Petersburgh, 
 to thank the Empress for the favourable opinion 
 she had conceived of me. I transferred the treaty 
 going forward at Copenhagen to Paris, to be 
 concluded there, and set out for St Petersburgh 
 by Sweden. At Stockholm I staid but one night, 
 to see Count Rasaumorsky. Want of time pre- 
 vented me from appearing at Court. 
 
 " At Gresholm I was stopped by the ice, which 
 prevented me from crossing the Gulf of Both- 
 nia, and even from approaching the first of the 
 isles in the passage. After having made several 
 unsuccessful efforts to get to Finland by the isles, 
 I imagined that it might be practicable to effect 
 my object by doubling the ice to the south- 
 ward, and entering the Baltic Sea. 
 
 " This enterprise was very daring, and had 
 never before been attempted. But by the north 
 
PAUL JONES. 
 
 9 
 
 the roads were impracticable, and, knowing that 
 the Empress expected me from day to day, I 
 could not think of going back by Elsineur. 
 
 " I left Gresholm early one morning, in an 
 undecked passage-boat, about thirty feet in length. 
 I made another boat follow, of half that size. 
 This last was for dragging over the ice, and for 
 passing from one piece of ice to another, to gain 
 the coast of Finland. I durst not make my pro- 
 ject known to the boatmen, which would have 
 been the sure means of defeating it. After en- 
 deavouring, as before, to gam the first isle, I 
 made them steer for the south, and we kept along 
 the coast of Sweden all the day, finding difficulty 
 enough to pass between the ice and the shore. 
 Towards night, being almost opposite Stockholm, 
 pistol in hand I forced the boatmen to enter the 
 Baltic Sea, and steer for the coast. We ran near 
 the coast of Finland. All night the wind was 
 fair, and we hoped to land next day. This we 
 found impossible. The ice did not permit us to 
 approach the shore, which we only saw from a 
 distance. It was impossible to regain the Swed- 
 ish side, the wind being high and directly con- 
 
 a2 
 
10 MEMOIllS OF 
 
 trary. I had nothing left for it but to stand for 
 the Gulf of Finland. There was a small com- 
 pass in the boat, and 1 fixed the lamp of my tra- 
 velling carriage so as to throw a hght on it. 
 
 " On the same night we lost the small boat ; 
 but the men saved themselves in the large one, 
 which with difficulty escaped the same fate. At 
 the end of four days we landed at Revel, where 
 our enterprise was regarded as a kind of miracle. 
 Having satisfied the boatmen for their services 
 and their loss, I gave them a good pilot, with the 
 provisions necessary for making their homeward 
 voyage, when the weather should become more 
 favourable. 
 
 " I arrived at St Petersburgh in the evening 
 on the 23d of April, old style, and on the 25th 
 had my first audience of the Empress. Her 
 Majesty gave me so flattering a reception, and 
 up to the period of my departure treated me 
 with so much distinction, that I was overcome by 
 her courtesies {je me laissai seduire,) and put 
 myself into her hands without making any sti- 
 pulation for my personal advantage. I demand- 
 ed but one favour, ' that I should never be con- 
 demned unheard."* 
 
PAUL JONES. 
 
 11 
 
 " On the 7th May I set out from the Imperial 
 Palace, carrying with me a letter from her Ma- 
 jesty to his Highness the Prince-Marshal Po- 
 temkin at St Elizabeth, where I arrived on the 
 19th. The Prince-Marshal received me with 
 much kindness, and destined me the command of 
 the fleet of Serastapole against the Capitan Pa- 
 cha, who, he supposed, intended to make a de- 
 scent in the Crimea. His Highness was mistaken 
 in this, and the next day he received information 
 that the Capitan Pacha was at anchor within 
 Kinbourn, having come to succour Oczakow with 
 a hundred and twenty armed vessels and other 
 armed craft. 
 
 " The Prince-Marshal then requested me to 
 assume command of the naval force stationed in 
 the Liman, (which is at the embouchure of the 
 Dnieper,) to act against the Capitan Pacha till 
 Oczakow should fall. J considered this change 
 of destination as a flattering mark of confidence ; 
 and having received my orders, I set out on the 
 same day for Cherson, in company with the Che- 
 valier de Ribas, Brigadier du Jour of the Prince- 
 Marshal. He was ordered to make all the ar- 
 rangements necessary to place me in command. 
 
12 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 At parting, the Prince-Marshal promised me 
 to bring forward his troops without loss of time, 
 to co-operate with the maritime force he had 
 intrusted to my command ; and on the journey 
 M. de Ribas told me, ' that all the force of the 
 Liman, comprehending that of the Prince of 
 Nassau, would be under my orders.' 
 
 " I spent but one evening and night at Cherson. 
 But even this short period was enough to show 
 that I had entered on a delicate and disagree- 
 able service. Rear- Admiral MordwinofF, chief of 
 the Admiralty, did not affect to disguise his dis- 
 pleasure at my arrival ; and though he had orders 
 from the Prince-Marshal to communicate to me 
 aU the details concerning the force in the Liman, 
 and to put me in possession of the flag belong- 
 ing to my rank as Rear- Admiral, he spared him- 
 self the trouble of compHance. 
 
 " We set out early next morning for Glou- 
 boca, the armament of the Liman being at anchor 
 very near that place, in the roads of Schiroque, be- 
 tween the bar of the Dnieper and the embouchure 
 of the river Bog. We went on board the Wolo- 
 dimer before mid-day, where we found that Bri- 
 gadier Alexiano had assembled all the comman- 
 
PAUL JONES. 13 
 
 ders, to draw them into a cabal against my autho- 
 rity. I may mention here, that this man was a 
 Greek, as ignorant of seamanship as of military af- 
 fairs, who, under an exterior and manners the most 
 gross, concealed infinite cunnmg, and, by affected 
 plainness and hardihood of discourse, had the ad- 
 dress to pass for a blunt honest man. Though a 
 subject of Turkey, it was alleged that he made war 
 with the Mussulmans by attacking their commerce 
 in the Archipelago on his own authority, and that 
 he had followed this means of enriching himself 
 up to the period that Count D'Orloff arrived with 
 the Russian fleet. Though I do not affirm the fact, 
 several persons of credit have assured me that 
 there are often pirates who infest the coast, and 
 the isles between Constantinople and Egypt, who 
 attack the commerce of all nations, and run down 
 the vessels after having seized the cargoes and 
 cut the throats of the crews. Alexiano had been 
 employed by Count D'OrlofF. He had reached 
 the rank of Brigadier. Alexiano was a good deal 
 offended in the first instance, and afterwards made 
 great merit with the Prince-Marshal, of the sacri- 
 fice which he affected to make in serving under 
 
14 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 me. He said, that if he withdrew, all the other 
 officers would follow his example. The Prince- 
 Marshal sent presents to his wife, and wrote him 
 kindly, persuading him to remain in the service. 
 All the difficulty he made was nothing more than 
 a piece of manoeuvring to increase his importance; 
 for from what followed I know that, had he left 
 the service, it would have been alone, and that 
 no one would have regretted his absence. 
 
 " To give time to those angry spirits to become 
 calm, and to be able to decide on the part I 
 should take, I proposed to Brigadier de Ri- 
 bas, that we should together make a journey to 
 Kinbourn, to see the entrance of the Dnieper 
 and reconnoitre the position and strength of the 
 Turkish fleet and flotilla. At my return all the 
 officers appeared contented, and I hoisted my flag 
 on board the Wolodimer on the 26th of May, 
 1788. 
 
 " The Prince of Nassau Siegen, whom I had 
 known slightly at Paris, told me, ' that if we 
 gained any advantage over the Turks, it was ne- 
 cessary to exaggerate it to the utmost ; and that 
 this was the counsel the ChevaUer de Ribas had 
 
PAUL JONES. 15 
 
 given him."' I replied, ' that I never had adopt- 
 ed this method of heightening my personal im- 
 portance. 
 
 t r) 
 
 The Journal of the Rear-Admiral, after this 
 introduction, is continued in the third person for 
 some time ; and afterwards goes on to the end as 
 a narrative in the first person, which would have 
 been desirable throughout ; it is, however, thought 
 best to adhere faithfully to the original. 
 
 Journal of the Campaign of the Liman in 1788^ 
 drawn up by Rear-Admiral Paul Jones, for the 
 perusal of her Imperial Majesty of all the RuS' 
 siaSj and now first published from his original MS. 
 
 " At the opening of this campaign the squa- 
 dron of Cherson was obhged to remain for two 
 days in the road of Schiroque, till the troops 
 should embark which were to form part of the 
 "Crew. The Prince of Nassau, who had been ap- 
 pointed commander of the flotilla, and who had 
 by this time received on board all the troops in- 
 
16 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 tended for him, durst not venture to advance even 
 four or five verstes without being escorted by three 
 frigates. The Prince of Nassau was so appre- 
 hensive of danger, that on the 28th of May 
 Rear-Admiral Paul Jones, commander of the 
 squadron, reinforced him with a fourth frigate. 
 
 " On the 29th, the troops being all on board, 
 the squadron advanced, and led on the flotilla, 
 which lay scattered about at anchor without 
 any observance of order. The squadron drew up 
 opposite the first village, to the left of the Bog, 
 in an obtuse angle, and thus commanded, by a 
 cross-fire, the only passage of the Liman. This 
 lies between two sand-banks, through which the 
 Turks must advance with their heavy vessels. 
 By this position the Rear-Admiral covered Cher- 
 son, and the country on both banks of the Li- 
 man, made good the free passage of the Bog to 
 the army of the Prince-Marshal, and held the 
 Turks in check in any attempt they might make 
 against Kinbourn. 
 
 " The Prince of Nassau at this time talked a 
 great deal of projects of descents, surprises, and 
 attacks, but without any rational plan. 
 
PAUL JONES. 17 
 
 " A batter)^ having been raised upon the point 
 of Stanislaus, the Prince of Nassau expressed 
 himself deUghted with it, as in case of necessity- 
 he might there find shelter. The Rear-Admiral 
 could not have retreated, as several of his ves- 
 sels were already within a few inches of getting 
 agn-ound. The Rear-Admiral was aware that the 
 Turks, having a very superior force, would not 
 give any opportunity of attacking them ; and that 
 it was therefore necessary to maintain the strong 
 position he had taken, till the advance of Prince 
 Potemkin, in order to concert plans, and combme 
 his operations with those of the land forces. 
 
 " In the meanwhile General Swaroff, command- 
 ant of Kinbourn, made the Rear-Admiral re- 
 sponsible for the safety of that place ; while Briga- 
 dier Alexiano and the Prince of Nassau did all 
 that was possible to make him distrustful of the 
 means which he possessed for attack or defence. 
 They alleged, that the vessels forming the flo- 
 tilla, having been constructed merely to convey 
 the carriages of the Empress m her late progress, 
 might be expected, at the first attack, to sink 
 under the enormous weight of the guns. 
 
18 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " The squadron made a formidable appear- 
 ance, but had little real strength. The Wolo- 
 dimer and the Alexander were but half-armed ; 
 and both vessels were already within a few inches 
 of touching the bottom, so shallow is the Liman 
 for vessels of war. In this most critical situa- 
 tion, having no orders from his Highness the 
 Prince-Marshal for his guidance, and knowing 
 nothing either of his intentions, or of the actual 
 position of the army, the Rear- Admiral resolved 
 on assembling a council of war, in conformity to 
 the ordonnance of Peter the Great. The council 
 he opened by a speech suited to the occasion, 
 the main object of which was to show the neces- 
 sity of a perfect understanding between the 
 squadron and the flotilla ; and that, uniting heart 
 and hand, and forgetting all personal consider- 
 ations, they should determine to conquer, as the 
 true glory of a patriot was to be useiul to his 
 country."" 
 
 [The Journal of the Rear-Admiral details at 
 some length the points on which the council, 
 composed of such discordant elements, were 
 agreed, and states that it was to meet again next 
 
PAUL JONES. 19 
 
 day, to arrange the best plans of attack and de- 
 fence, and the signals for the fleet. But the ca- 
 bals of the Prince of Nassau and of the Greek 
 Brigadier Alexiano prevailed, and this hetero- 
 geneous body did not again meet. Something, 
 however, was done; and we again resume the 
 narrative of the Rear- Admiral.] 
 
 " On the 6th* of June, at two in the morning, 
 the Prince of Nassau advanced, as had been 
 previously agreed on, with the greater part of the 
 flotilla ; but, in place of cutting off" the retreat 
 of the vessels forming the enemy's advanced 
 guard, he retired at daybreak before a very in- 
 ferior force, and without offering the smallest re- 
 sistance ! — The Turks chased him, keeping up a 
 cannonade, into the midst of the squadron, which, 
 as had been arranged, advanced to take a posi- 
 tion to support him. 
 
 " The precipitate retreat of the Prince of 
 
 * The Russians compute time by the old style, which 
 sometimes produces an apparent confusion of dates in the 
 Journal, — Paul Jones sometimes reckoning by the one 
 mode and sometimes by the other. 
 
20 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Nassau inspirited the Turks so much, that, du- 
 ring the night between the 6th and 7th, they 
 drew up their flotilla in two divisions, in a shal- 
 low, close by their own shore. The first of these 
 divisions had by day-dawn advanced within can- 
 non-shot of our reserve, which had been posted 
 the previous night on the right wing. 
 
 " At sunrise the Turks made sail ; and Bri- 
 gadier Alexiano ran upon the deck of the Wolo- 
 dimer half-naked, exclaiming, like a frantic man, 
 in French and Russian, that the Turks were 
 going to attack and board us, and that we would 
 be blown to pieces for having been so foolish as 
 to leave our former position. He had, notwith- 
 standing, in the council of war, given his voice 
 in favour of the position we now actually held. 
 Brigadier Ribas, the captain, and all the crew, 
 were witnesses of his extravagant and unjusti- 
 fiable behaviour. 
 
 " This proved a false alarm ; the Turkish 
 fleet did not stir. 
 
 " The Prince of Nassau came on board the 
 Wolodimer, and the Rear-Admiral proposed to 
 him to reconnoitre the enemy's fleet and flotilla. 
 
PAUL JONES. 21 
 
 As they advanced together, the first division of 
 the Turkish flotilla began to fire from their ca- 
 noes, and raised their anchors and rowed forward 
 towards our reserve, which they attacked briskly. 
 At the same time several corps of Turkish troops 
 advanced along the opposite bank, as if they in- 
 tended to estabUsh a post or battery to act on 
 our flank. As our reserve had been posted to 
 cover our right wing, the Prince of Nassau, who 
 knew not what to do, proposed to make it draw 
 up in the form of an arch {crochet de hoiilette,) 
 the better to sustain the assault. The Rear- 
 Admiral told him, that, on the contrary, it was 
 necessary to lift the anchors with the utmost de- 
 spatch, and to form in hne of battle to meet the 
 attack of the Turks. The combat having com- 
 menced according to this plan, the Rear-Admiral 
 hastened along the lines, to issue orders to the 
 squadron, and, above all, to make the remainder 
 of the flotilla, posted between the ships and up- 
 on the left wing, advance. The wind being ad- 
 verse, he made these vessels be towed by the 
 ships'* boats and other boats attached to the 
 squadron ; and by an obHque movement formed 
 
22 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 in line of battle, with the intention of cutting off 
 the retreat of the enemy, and gaUing him by a 
 cross-fire. As soon as the Capitan Pacha per- 
 ceived the manoeuvre of the Rear-Admiral, he 
 came forward himself in his kirlangitch, having 
 a very favourable wind, and made the second di- 
 vision of his flotilla advance. 
 
 '' At this time our reserve was very critically 
 situated. A double chaloupe quitted the action, 
 and four of our galleys were in danger of being 
 captured. The Prince of Nassau, who did not 
 relish going himself, sent Brigadier Corsacoff, 
 who made these retreat. Instead of remaining 
 with the reserve, which, being without a com- 
 mander, was in very great disorder, the Prince 
 of Nassau quitted his own post, and stationed 
 himself before the Rear-Admiral, where he could 
 be of no use whatever. The Rear-Admiral went 
 into the same boat with the Prince of Nassau, 
 and again issued his orders along the line. Being 
 now within cannon-shot of the enemy, he opened 
 fire, advancing always in an oblique hne to cut 
 off the enemy's retreat. At the same time he 
 despatched Brigadier Alexiano to endeavour to 
 
PAUL JONES. 23 
 
 rally the vessels of the reserve, which the Prince 
 of Nassau had deserted ; but Alexiano contented 
 himself with waving his hat in the air, and 
 shouting from behind the lines, — ' Fire, my 
 lads, on the kirlangitch of the Capitan Pacha !"* 
 
 " When the line led on by the Rear- Admiral 
 came to close fire with the enemy, their flotilla 
 was thrown into the utmost confusion. Our re- 
 serve gave no farther way, and the enemy was 
 placed under a cross-fire. The Capitan Pacha 
 availed himself of the only resource in his power ; 
 he set every sail to withdraw his force. Had 
 he remained a half-hour longer, he would have 
 been surrounded. Two of his vessels were burnt 
 in this affair. The flotilla of the enemy was 
 composed of fifty-seven vessels, and we chased 
 into the middle of their fleet. The Rear- Admi- 
 ral, who had directed the whole affair, gave all 
 the credit of it to the Prince of Nassau. 
 
 '' An idea may be formed of the capacity of 
 the Prince of Nassau from the following circum- 
 stance : — At the beginning of the action he re- 
 quested the Rear-Admiral to bring forward to 
 the support of the reserve only the vessels posted 
 
24 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 on the left wing, which consisted of one galley 
 and a double chaloupe. Besides the insufficiency 
 of force, these vessels had a very long way to 
 make, and that against the wind, 
 
 " The T\u*ks remained quiet for some time 
 after this. The Prince of Nassau, who had 
 scarce spoken one word during the affair, save to 
 make extravagant professions of regard for the 
 Rear-Admiral, now began to give himself airs. 
 On the 13th June he addressed a writing of an 
 extraordinary character to the Rear-Admiral, 
 the object of which appeared to be, that an ad- 
 vance should be made of three verstes nearer the 
 enemy, who had taken post under the batteries 
 of Oczakow. The Rear-Admiral, who could 
 perceive no advantage to the service in such a 
 movement, refused his concurrence. Had he 
 agreed, the movement would have been fatal to 
 Russia, as will be seen by what follows. 
 
 " By the 16th June the patience of the Capi- 
 tan Pacha was exhausted. He brought from his 
 grand fleet, without Kinbourn, two thousand 
 picked men, to reinforce the body under the 
 walls of Oczakow ; and being strengthened still 
 
PAUL JONES. 25 
 
 farther by the troops of the garrison, he advanced 
 with his whole fleet and flotilla, and with a fair 
 wind, into the Liman, to attack and board us. 
 The ship, which bore one of the Admiral's flags, 
 steered right towards the Wolodimer from the 
 commencement of the movem.ent. When within 
 three verstes of us, or httle more, this ship got a- 
 ground, and all the vessels which accompanied it 
 immediately dropt anchor. It was then about 
 two in the afternoon, 
 
 " The Rear-Admiral summoned a council of 
 war to consult on what should be done. He ad- 
 dressed the council, at which were present all 
 the commanders of the squadron and the flotilla, 
 and concluded by telling them, ' that they must 
 make up their minds to conquer or die for the 
 country.' 
 
 " The wind, which was rather fresh, being 
 against us, the only thing proposed by the Rear- 
 Admiral that was found practicable, was to draw 
 up our force in an obtuse angle, by bringing for- 
 ward the right of the line upon the centre.* 
 
 m {< 
 
 The plan of the Capitan Pacha was to bear down 
 
 VOL. II. B 
 
26 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 This movement was completed before midnight. 
 The wind had shifted to N.N.E. ; and at break 
 of day the Rear-Admiral made signal, and the 
 whole squadron immediately set sail to commence 
 the attack on the Turks. 
 
 " The Turks got into confusion the instant 
 this manoeuvre was perceived. They raised their 
 anchors or cut their cables in the greatest preci- 
 pitation, and not the shadow of discipline re- 
 mained in their fleet. Our squadron advanced 
 in line of battle with a striking and formidable 
 appearance, so that the Turks knew not how 
 weak it really was. As our flotilla had been very 
 slow in weighing anchor, the Rear-Admiral was 
 obliged to make the squadron halt twice to await 
 
 full sail on the vessels of our flotilla, and run them to the 
 bottom by the shock of the encounter of his large ships. 
 He also proposed to burn our squadron by throwing in 
 fire-balls {grappins), and setting fire to certain trading 
 vessels which he had prepared as fire-ships- He had rea- 
 son to calculate on success^ had he not been thwarted by 
 a circumstance which no man could have foreseen." — 
 JVote by Paul Jones. 
 
PAUL JONES. 27 
 
 it. At length, the flotilla being always last, the 
 squadron opened fire on the enemy, of whom the 
 person second in command, who had flown about 
 like a fool, quickly ran his ship on a sand-bank 
 on the south of the Liman. There was no 
 longer hope for him ; from the moment he ground- 
 ed he was ours. The enemy still kept flying 
 about, and always in the greatest disorder. The 
 Rear- Admiral made his ship (the Wolodimer) 
 be steered to within pistol-shot of the vessel of 
 the Capitan Pacha, but the latter again ran a- 
 ground upon a sand-bank ; and a few minutes 
 afterwards the Brigadier Alexiano gave orders in 
 the Russian language, and unknown to the Rear- 
 Admiral, to drop the Wolodimer's anchor. It 
 was pretended that there were but fifteen feet of 
 water a httle way in advance of the ship, which 
 was not true. A considerable time before this 
 the squadron had been taken on the right flank 
 by the Turkish flotilla, drawn up on the shal- 
 lows, approaching the bank to the east of Ocza- 
 kow, and commanded by the Capitan Pacha him- 
 self. The flotilla annoyed the squadron consi- 
 derably, by incessantly throwing in along our 
 
28 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 line both bombs and balls of great size. Want- 
 ing depth of water, our frigates could not advance 
 far enough to dislodge them, and, besides, they 
 found that their guns were too small. The Ca- 
 pitan Pacha had struck down one of our frigates, 
 named the Little Alexander, by a bomb, at the 
 side of the Wolodimer, and at the very instant 
 Brigadier Alexiano made the anchor be cast. Our 
 flotilla still lagged behind, but it did at last ad- 
 vance. Having passed through the squadron in 
 the greatest disorder, and without the least ap- 
 pearance of plan, instead of pursuing the flying 
 Turks, the flotilla swarmed round the Turkish 
 ships which were aground like a hive of bees. 
 
 " The Rear- Admiral commanded Brigadier 
 Alexiano to get together some vessels of our flo- 
 tilla to dislodge the Turkish flotilla. At the 
 same moment the Rear-Admiral advanced in his 
 boat towards the left wing, where the Prince of 
 Nassau was with his body of reserve, employed to 
 very Httle purpose, in firing on the Tiu-kish ves- 
 sels already aground. The Rear-Admiral en- 
 treated him to lead or send the reserve to act 
 against the Turkish flotilla upon our right flank, 
 
PAUL JONES. 29 
 
 and informed him of the misfortune which had 
 befallen the Little Alexander ; but M. de Nas- 
 sau remained quietly behmd his batteries, and 
 made no movement to dislodge the flotilla of the 
 enemy. 
 
 " The Rear- Admiral then met Brigadier Cor- 
 cascofF, to whom he gave orders similar to those 
 he had given to M. Alexiano ; and these two of- 
 ficers having got together as many vessels as they 
 could collect, assisted our frigates in dislodging 
 and chasing the Turkish flotilla even till under 
 the walls of Oczakow. M. de Corsacofl" was a 
 brave and an intelligent man ; he did not affect 
 to have done any thing wonderful. Alexiano 
 was a man of limited talent and of questionable 
 courage, but his vanity was excessive. He pre- 
 tended to have hauled a battery to within pistol- 
 shot of the enemy"'s flotilla ; but M. Akmatoff", 
 who commanded that battery, declared that nei- 
 ther he nor any one of our people ever were 
 nearer the Turkish flotilla than half cannon-shot. 
 " The Turkish fleet was now distant. The 
 Prince of Nassau was told that the Admiral's 
 flag, which had been displayed on the vessel of the 
 
30 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Capitan Pacha, was struck down, and he hastily 
 advanced to claim it. The ship of the Capitan 
 Pacha, like all the others of the band, leaned 
 much to one side, and consequently could not 
 fully avail itself of its guns. As the flag of the 
 Capitan Pacha fell into the water from the top of 
 the main-mast, having been struck down by a 
 baU, it is not difficult to discover that the vessel 
 which had fired this ball was in no danger of 
 being touched by case-shot. The saporoses 
 drew the flag from the water, and the Prince of 
 Nassau, a long while afterwards, had the glory 
 (which he turned to good account,) of snatching 
 it from their hands. The Rear-Admiral might 
 have claimed at least the half of this flag, as he 
 had his hands on it at the same moment with the 
 Prince of Nassau ; but he regarded it as a thing 
 of very little consequence. 
 
 " Brandcougles* had been thrown into the two 
 
 * A note by Paul Jones describes these incendiary mis- 
 siles as a kind of bomb-shells^ perforated with holes, and 
 filled inside with combustible materials. They were fired 
 from a sort of pieces called Licornes. 
 
PAUL JONES. 31 
 
 Turkish vessels, and they were burnt. Was 
 this a good or a bad piece of service "? These two 
 vessels were only ours from the accident of hav- 
 ing run aground, and because their crews had 
 been left by their countrymen under the guns of 
 our squadron. Wlierefore did the flotilla inter- 
 fere with them ? — ought it not rather to have 
 pursued the flying Turks, who were not yet un- 
 der the protection of the guns of Oczakow ? Our 
 flotilla had received no injury, and had nothing 
 to fear from the shallowness of the water. 
 
 " Having first sounded, the Rear- Admiral made 
 the squadron advance another verste, and took 
 post in a right line, barely out of shot of Oczakow, 
 and in hne with the farthest back of the Turkish 
 ships that had been run aground and taken. Fire 
 soon after broke out in this prize, which had been 
 imprudently fired upon with brandcougles. 
 
 " The fleet and flotilla of the Turks now drew 
 up in a line parallel to ours, and under the walls 
 of Oczakow. 
 
 " How imbecile does the human mind become 
 under the influence of sudden panic ! The Rear- 
 Admiral, an hour after the affair, advanced in 
 
32 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 his boat, and took soundings all along the Turk- 
 ish line, opposite the walls of Oczakow, and 
 within reach of case-shot, and not a single gun 
 was fired upon him. 
 
 " Previously to taking command of the squa- 
 dron, the Rear-Admiral, as has been noticed, 
 had gone to Kinbourn with the Chevaher Ribas, 
 brigadier dujour, to the Prince-Marshal, to re- 
 connoitre the position and force of the fleet and 
 flotilla under the Capitan Pacha, and to exa- 
 mine the entrance of the Liman. They arrived 
 at Kinbourn at the very time that the Capitan 
 Pacha had detached twenty-one vessels of war 
 from liis fleet, and with that force entered the 
 road of Oczakow, the wind not permitting him 
 to enter the Liman, where his flotilla and some 
 transport ships were already stationed. The Rear- 
 Admiral was so struck at finding the tongue of 
 land at Kinbourn without any battery or block- 
 fort, that he instantly spoke of it to the Com- 
 mandant, General Swaroff". This tongue of land, 
 from its position, commands the only passage by 
 which large vessels can either enter or come out 
 of the Liman. The fortress of Kinbourn being far 
 
PAUL JONES. 
 
 33 
 
 too distant to be able to command this passage, 
 the Rear-Admiral proposed to establish one or 
 more strong batteries upon this stripe of land, and 
 M. de Ribas seconded the proposition. After 
 considerable delay, General SwarofF was persuad- 
 ed to establish a block-fort with heavy cannon 
 upon this tongue or point of land, and a battery 
 farther within. But the Capitan Pacha had al- 
 ready got the twenty-one ships in question into 
 the Liman. 
 
 " To resume — On the night between the lyth 
 and 18th of June, the Capitan Pacha attempted 
 to bring the remains of his squadron, which had 
 been defeated on the previous day, out of the 
 Liman ; but the newly-erected block-fort and 
 battery fired on his ships, of which nine of the 
 largest were forced aground upon the sand-bank 
 which runs out from Oczakow, till within a little 
 way of cannon-shot from the block-fort. 
 
 " The block-fort and battery fired on the ene- 
 my's ships the whole night, and at daybreak 
 General SwarofF sent to us, requesting that we 
 would send vessels to take possession of those 
 ships of the enemy which had got aground. 
 
 B 2 
 
34 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 The Rear- Admiral wished to send frigates ; but 
 Brigadier Alexiano assured him that he would 
 run the risk of losing them. The current there, 
 he said, ' was Hke that of a mill-dam, and the 
 bottom was so bad that anchors would not hold.** 
 
 " It was, accordingly, resolved to proceed with 
 the flotilla ; and Alexiano, who had his private 
 reasons, set out with the Prmce of Nassau. The 
 flotilla went pell-mell, and without any sort of 
 order or plan, upon the nine ships aground, and 
 fired brandcougles into them without mercy. It 
 was in vain the wretched Turks made the sign 
 of the cross, and begged for quarter on their 
 knees ! Above three thousand of them were 
 burnt with their ships. By some chance two 
 of these vessels, the least and the largest, did 
 not take fire ; the one was a corvette, very in- 
 differently armed, carrying one battery and four 
 pieces between decks. The other was a small 
 brigantine, of French construction, armed with 
 forty small guns. 
 
 " Neither the Prince of Nassau nor Alexiano 
 was to be seen at this time. They were toge- 
 ther, and at some distance, during this frightful 
 
PAUL JONES. 
 
 35 
 
 carnage ; and it was afterwards asked of them if 
 they had not, during this time, been at Kin- 
 boum ? As the greatest confusion reigned among 
 the vessels of the flotilla, though our loss was not 
 great, there is no doubt that part of it was owing 
 to Russian bullets.* 
 
 " The army of Prince Potemkin having come 
 up on the 27th June, the Prince of Nassau had 
 orders to attack and destroy, or capture, the 
 Turkish flotilla which lay under the walls of Oc- 
 zakow ; and the Rear- Admiral was commanded 
 to give him every assistance that might be use- 
 ful. In pursuance of these orders, on the first 
 of July, at one in the morning, the flotilla ad- 
 vanced. The Rear- Admiral had sent all the 
 chaloupes and barcasses belonging to the squa- 
 dron to haul out the vessels of the flotilla. The 
 
 * The species of warfare in which he was now daily 
 engaged was new to the Anglo-American. The mon- 
 strous and wanton crueUies to which the Turks were 
 subjected by the more barbarous and brutal Russians 
 were accordingly viewed by him with horror and dis- 
 gust. 
 
36 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Prince-Marshal had taken the trouble to arrange 
 the plan of attack himself, but his plan was not 
 followed. 
 
 " At day-dawn, our flotilla having advanced 
 within cannon-shot, opened fire upon the Turkish 
 flotilla, and on the place. The current having 
 carried several of our batteries and double cha- 
 loupes rather too far to leeward, the Rear-Ad- 
 miral made them be hauled up by the boats and 
 barcasses of the squadron, and set the example 
 himself with the chaloupe in which he was. The 
 Turks set fire to a little frigate which they had 
 prepared as a fire-ship, and placed at anchor to 
 the N. E. of Fort Hassan Pacha. 
 
 "At six in the morning, the Rear-Admiral went 
 himself considerably in advance of the flotilla to 
 seize five of the enemy's galleys which lay within 
 case-shot of Fort Hassan. The position of these 
 galleys, between the cross-fire of our flotilla on the 
 one side, and that of Fort Hassan, the Turkish 
 flotilla, and Oczakow on the other, rendered this 
 a very dangerous enterprise. The Rear-Admiral 
 boarded the galley which lay farthest out, and 
 made it be hauled in a little way by Lieutenant 
 
 2 
 
PAUL JOXES. 37 
 
 LefF Fabrician. He afterwards boarded the gal- 
 ley of the Capital! Pacha, which lay considerably 
 nearer the Fort. From unskilfulness, and ex- 
 cess of zeal, a young officer cut the cable of this 
 galley without waiting the orders of the Rear- 
 Admiral, and before the boats could be got in 
 order to liaul it out, the wind drifted the galley 
 towards the shore, and still nearer to the Fort. 
 The Rear-Admiral made the galley be hghtened 
 by throwing many things overboard. After 
 much search for ropes that might stretch to the 
 wreck of the burnt ftigate, and by fastening the 
 galley there, keep it afloat, the plan failed from 
 the ropes not being long enough. The Rear- 
 Admiral was very unwiUing to yield to the ob- 
 stinate opposition of the Turks, who fired upon 
 him from all their bastions and from their flotilla, 
 and he despatched Lieutenant Fox to the Wolo- 
 dimer, to fetch an anchor and cable. This was 
 a certain means of securing his object ; and in 
 waiting the return of the Lieutenant, he left the 
 galley with his people, and assisted in the flotil- 
 la's advance. Before the return of Lieutenant 
 Fox, he had, however, the mortification to see 
 
38 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 fire break out in the galley of the Capitan Pacha. 
 He at first beheved that the slaves chained on 
 board had found means to escape, and had set 
 fire to the vessel ; but he had afterwards positive 
 proof that Brigadier Alexiano being in a boat at 
 the time with the Prince of Nassau, on the out- 
 side of the flotilla, and being aware of the inten- 
 tion of the Rear-Admiral, swore that it should 
 not succeed, and sent a Greek canoe to set fire 
 to the gaUey !* The three other Turkish galleys 
 were at once run down and burnt by brandcou- 
 gles. There were also a two-masted ship and 
 a large bomb-vessel burnt near Fort Hassan 
 Pacha. This includes aU that was taken or de- 
 stroyed by water, save fifty-two prisoners taken 
 by the Rear-Admiral in the two galleys. The 
 wretched beings, who were chained in the galley 
 
 * The attestation of a Russian officer to this singular 
 fact is among the Pieces Justificaiives appended to the 
 Journal ; and the original of that attestation, written in 
 French, and subscribed Bilicroff, officer of the guard, 
 and dated at Kinbourn the 26th October, 1788, remains 
 among Jones's papers. 
 
PAUL JONES. 39 
 
 of the Capitan Pacha, perished there in the 
 flames ! 
 
 " The Prince-Marshal havmg made an im- 
 portant diversion on the land-side, it is to be 
 regretted that advantage was not taken of this 
 movement to seize the remainder of the enemy's 
 flotilla. But our flotilla never came up within 
 reach of grape-shot." 
 
 The above extracts from the Rear-AdmiraFs 
 Journal are verified in the following manner : — 
 " These extracts have been translated by me in- 
 to the Russian language, and read before the 
 commanders of the ship Wolodimer, Captain 
 of the Second Rank, ZefaHano ; of the frigate 
 Scoroi, Captain of the Second Rank, Aboljanin ; 
 of the frigate Nicolai, Captain Lieutenant Dani- 
 loff ; of the frigate Taheuroc, Lieutenant Ma- 
 kinin ; of the frigate the Little Alexander, Lieu- 
 tenant Savitzsky ; and they have found nothing 
 in them contrary to truth. 
 
 " On board the Wolodimer, before Ockzakow, 
 the 28th October, I788. 
 
40 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " Paul DenetrefFsky, Honorary Counsel- 
 lor of the College for Foreign affairs, 
 and by special orders of her Imperial 
 Majesty of all the Russias, Secretary 
 to Rear-Admiral and Chevalier Paul 
 Jones."*"* 
 
 Addition of Rear-Admiral Jones to the preceding 
 Journal. Translated from the French of the MS. 
 volume, prepared for Publication hy himself. 
 
 " The moment the ships began to withdraw from 
 Oczakow, the Prince of Nassau and Brigadier 
 Alexiano hurried straight to the head-quarters of 
 the Prince-Marshal, to relate the deeds which they 
 pretended they had performed. In a few mi- 
 nutes after the flotilla began to retire, the rain 
 fell in torrents, of which Nassau and Alexiano 
 received their own share before reaching head- 
 quarters. 
 
 " Two days afterwards. Brigadier Alexiano re- 
 turned on board the Wolodimer, having caught 
 a malignant fever, of which he died on the 8th 
 
PAUL JONES. 41 
 
 July. The Prince of Nassau, who had made use of 
 him in caballing against me, God knows for what, 
 neither visited him in his sickness, nor assisted 
 at his funeral. At first it was given out, that 
 the service must sustain the loss of every Greek 
 in it on account of his death ; but I soon ex- 
 perienced the reverse. Not one asked to be dis- 
 missed ; they remained under my command the 
 same as the Russians, and were better pleased 
 than before. On the day preceding the death 
 of Alexiano, he had received intelligence of having 
 been promoted two grades; and that her Majesty 
 had bestowed on him a fine estate, and peasants, 
 in White Russia. At the same time the Prince 
 of Nassau had received a very valuable estate, 
 with three or four thousand peasants, also in 
 White Russia, and the ^Military Order of St 
 George, of the Second Class. Her Majesty hke- 
 wise gave him liberty to hoist the flag of Vice- 
 Admiral on the taking of Oczakow, to which 
 event it was apparently beheved he had greatly 
 contributed. I received the Order of St Anne, 
 an honour with which I am highly flattered, and 
 with which I could have been perfectly satisfied. 
 
42 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 had others been recompensed only in the same pro- 
 portion, and according to the merit of their servi- 
 ces. All the officers of the flotilla received a step 
 of promotion and the gratuity of a year's pay. The 
 greater part of them also obtained the Order of 
 St George, of the Last Class. Only two of these 
 officers had been bred to the sea ; all the others 
 were ignorant of naval affairs. The officers of the 
 squadron under my command were almost whol- 
 ly marine officers. They had done their duty 
 well when opposed to the enemy ; but they ob- 
 tained no promotion, no mark of distinction, no 
 pecuniary reward. My mortification was ex- 
 cessive. 
 
 " My officers at this time gave me a very grati- 
 fying proof of their attachment. On promising 
 that I would demand justice for them from the 
 Prince-Marshal at the close of the campaign, 
 they stifled their vexation, and made no com- 
 plaint. 
 
 " It ought to have to have been mentioned in 
 the proper place, that three days after our suc- 
 cess in the Liman, Prince Potemkin arrived at 
 Kinbourn, from whence he came on board the 
 
PAUL JONES. 43 
 
 Wolodimer to make me a visit. He was accom- 
 panied by General Count de Brandisky of Po- 
 land, the Prince de Repuin, the Prince de Ligne, 
 General de Samoilow, and several other officers. 
 His Highness did me the honour to remain to 
 dinner ; and as he knew that an altercation had 
 taken place between the Prince of Nassau and 
 myself on the morning of the 18th of June, he 
 had the goodness to employ the Prince de Ligne, 
 and M. Littlepage, Chamberlain to the King of 
 Poland, to persuade the Prince of Nassau to 
 make me an apology. I accepted it with sincere 
 pleasure. We embraced in presence of this ho- 
 nourable company, and I believed him as sincere 
 as myself.* 
 
 • Probably the first cause of Potemkin's dislike to 
 Jones was owing to the squabbles between him and the 
 Prince of Nassau. Besides the scene above related, Potem- 
 kin had previously endeavoured to establish a good under- 
 standing between them. On the 30th of May he him- 
 self wrote to the Rear- Admiral : — " It is with great plea- 
 sure that I hear that harmony is established between you 
 and the Prince of Nassau. I regard union as the foun- 
 dation of all the services that your talents and your known 
 
44j memoirs of 
 
 " The Prince-Marshal charged me at this time 
 to make arrangements for raising the cannon, 
 
 valour give you both the power of rendering to my coun- 
 try ; and I cannot strongly enough recommend to you to 
 live in perfect understanding with the Prince of Nassau." 
 On another occasion, he thanks Jones for having acted in 
 concert with Nassau, — " a concert as useful as necessary 
 to the service of the Empress, and, above all, at such a 
 time." 
 
 It is to be presumed, that, if it had been possible for 
 Jones to keep on terms with the Prince of Nassau, he 
 would have done so. His own interest, as well as the 
 public service, and the wishes of his best friends, coun- 
 selled this; but it seems to have been impossible. A 
 letter on this subject, written from the Russian head- 
 quarters by Mr Littlepage, is earnest, sensible, and 
 friendly. " I am not ignorant," he says, " of the bad 
 understanding that unfortunately subsisted between you 
 and the Prince of Nassau, before the 7th of June ; but 
 both Prince Potemkin and myself were persuaded that 
 was all ended. He has learned that it has again broke 
 out, and I know that trifling circumstances can give him 
 much trouble. I can easily conceive the delicacy of your 
 situation, and I know that your honour can sacrifice no- 
 thing ; but, for Heaven's sake, my dear friend, be prudent, 
 as much for yourself as your friends. Prince Potemkin 
 
PAUL JONES. 45 
 
 anchors, and other stores belonging to the ene- 
 my's ships which had been burnt, without loss 
 
 has conceived a high esteem for you, but he loves Nas- 
 sau. If ever mutual interest dictated union between 
 two persons_, it is between you and the Prince of Nassau 
 at the present moment. The reverse will be to the pre- 
 judice of both. In the name of friendship, reflect upon 
 this. Remember that the eyes of all Europe are fixed 
 upon you. Fear no competition, and be indulgent to 
 those who have not the same reason to feel above rivalry. 
 Nassau has been unfortunate. If you see weakness in 
 his character, excuse it ; and remember that he was, 
 and I hope still is, your friend." Jones took this letter 
 in good part, and assured the sensible writer, that for the 
 good of the service, and the esteem and attachment he 
 had for Prince Potemkin, he had borne more from Nas- 
 sau than he could have done " from any other than a 
 madman." Littlepage was appointed to a command in 
 the squadron, and soon found that it is much easier to 
 give good advice at a distance, than to act under such 
 temperate counsels. He did at once what every man of 
 spirit and common sense would have done, — threw up 
 his command and returned to Warsaw. The words in 
 which he bade Jones farewell show that he thoroughly 
 understood the nature of the generally worthless, and 
 
46 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of time, and I sent off a transport ship with offi- 
 cers and men on this duty. 
 
 " His Highness the Prince-Marshal now made 
 his troops advance. They passed the Bog, and 
 appeared in sight of us, on the banks of the Li- 
 man, on the 27th of June ; and next morning 
 the Capitan Pacha made his grand fleet, which 
 had always remained at anchor twenty or thirty 
 
 always discordant persons, whether Greeks, Russians, 
 Cossacks, or other tribes of which this heterogeneous mass 
 was composed. " Farewell, my dear Admiral ; take care 
 of yourself, and look to whom you trust. Remember 
 that you have rather to play the part of a politician than 
 a warrior, — more of a courtier than a soldier." " I was 
 not skilled" says Jones, " in playing such a part." " I 
 never neglected my duty," he says again, " when stung 
 with the insolent reproaches, or rather the threats, of Po- 
 temkin. On the contrary, I had but too often exposed 
 myself to personal danger to satisfy his caprice." In an- 
 other place, when Potemkin had addressed an order to 
 him, concluding thus, — " Moreover, if the enemy at- 
 tempt to pass to Oczakow, prevent him at all hazards, 
 and defend yourself boldly," Jones says, " It is not e^isy 
 to believe that such words were addressed to Paul Jones." 
 
PAUL JONES. 47 
 
 verstes without Kinbourn, weigh anchor, and 
 directed his course towards the entrance of the 
 Danube, carrying three Admirars flags, and fol- 
 lowed by all the vessels that had escaped us in 
 the Liman. During the whole time that we were 
 exposed to having a serious aifair with the Turks, 
 Brigadier Alexiano had carefully kept a Greek 
 felucca of eighteen oars alongside the Wolodi- 
 mer. This felucca was better built for sailing 
 than any of the other chaloupes or rowing vessels 
 belonging to the whole squadron, so that he had 
 at all times the means of saving himself in case 
 of any disastrous event. Even the Prince of 
 Nassau, since his retreat on the 6th of June, was 
 never seen in any vessel of the flotilla, but always 
 in a chaloupe, which had been built for the espe- 
 cial use of her Imperial Majesty on her late voy- 
 age. For myself, I took no such precautions. 
 I saw that I must conquer or die. For me there 
 was no retreat. The instant that Alexiano saw 
 the troops appear, he despatched his felucca to 
 inform the Prince-Marshal that it was he, in his 
 zeal for the service, who had employed people to 
 save the effects of the burnt prizes. Nothing 
 
48 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 could be less true. He had not taken the small- 
 est concern in the matter. But this shows the 
 character of the man. Next day I was informed 
 that the transport ship I had employed on this 
 service was already too heavily laden, and made 
 a great deal of water. As the wind was fair for 
 Glauboca, I gave orders that she should immedi- 
 ately go thither to unload. Some hours after the 
 departure of the transport. Brigadier Alexiano 
 returned from Kinbourn, where he had dined, 
 and said several impertinent things to me on the 
 subject of the transport. He went afterwards to 
 head-quarters to complain of me to the Prince- 
 Marshal. In consequence of this complaint I 
 received a letter from his brigadier du jour, the 
 Chevaher Ribas, which, among other things, men- 
 tioned that the Prince-Marshal was " smgularly 
 severe and strict in all that related to the orders he 
 gave.''"' I replied, that I was not afraid of the seve- 
 rity of the Prince-Marshal, as I had done nothing 
 save my duty, in pursuance of his own orders.* 
 
 * After this affair, Jones seems to have complete]}- lost 
 all self-command. He had no longer any hope of con- 
 
PAUL JONES. 49 
 
 Next day I paid a visit to the Prince of Nassau. 
 I imagined I should be welcomed with open arms; 
 
 dilating the Prince of Nassau, and accordingly hence- 
 forth waged against him a determined and not very ge- 
 nerous hostility. The following letter, addressed to 
 Ribas, was certainly intended for the perusal of Potem- 
 kin. It is one of almost open defiance : — 
 
 " On board the Wolodiraer, before Oczakow, 1st August, 1788. 
 
 " Sir, — Having been at Kinbourn this afternoon, to 
 concert operations with the Commandant-General, I re- 
 ceived at my return here a kind of note without date, 
 which purports to be from you, but which I do not re- 
 cognise as your hand- writing. This note adverts to the 
 question of saluting the flag of the Vice- Admiral ; but I 
 am not aware if there be an officer of this rank nearer 
 us than St Petersburgh. I highly respect the authority 
 and the power of his Highness the Prince-Marshal. I 
 love good order, and I am devoted with enthusiasm to 
 the welfare of the empire, but the first duty of a man 
 is to guard his own honour. 
 
 " I have no wish to speak of myself, but circumstances 
 demand it. I was living in America in the bosom of 
 peace and friendship when his Excellency, M. de Si- 
 molin, did me the honour, unknown to myself, to pro- 
 pose me to her Imperial Majesty and the Prince-Mar- 
 
 VOL. II. C 
 
50 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 but he attacked me about the transport-ship, 
 which belonged, he said, to his flotilla. I re- 
 
 shal as Commander-in-Chief on the Black Sea. I was 
 too much flattered by the reception of her Majesty to 
 stipulate the slightest condition on entering her service. 
 She deigned to receive me. I was to serve only under 
 the command of the Prince-Marshal. 
 
 " I imagined myself intended for another command 
 than that which was given me ; but I looked on the 
 change as a flattering proof of the confidence of the 
 Prince-Marshal. Never, probably, did any command- 
 ing officer commence service under circumstances more 
 painful ; but, in spite of the restraints imposed on me by 
 treacherous colleagues, in spite of their unceasing effbrts 
 to draw me into error, and their opposition to all my 
 plans, I have extricated myself from the affair with no 
 sacrifice save of my own feelings and interests. I was a 
 true philosopher, and the service has not suffered. My 
 firmness and integrity have supported me against those 
 detestable snares laid by my enemies for my ruin ; yet I 
 have served as the cat's paw to draw the chestnuts from 
 the fire for them. 
 
 " I am much flattered by the Order of St Anne granted 
 me for my zealous services; but I should have been asham- 
 ed to receive brilliant rewards for false, empty boasts. 
 
 " As I can never think of having any connexion with 
 
PAUL JONES. 51 
 
 plied, that I had been charged with this duty by 
 the Prince-Marshal ; that all the ships of war 
 
 a man so detestable as M. de Nassau, I can never ac- 
 knowledge him for my superior. If he has received the 
 rank of Vice- Admiral, I will say in the face of the uni- 
 verse that he is unworthy of it It is now ten years 
 since he wished to serve under my command. I have 
 known him without fully understanding his character. 
 I knew that he was foolish, (bete,) but I was not aware, 
 tiU it was proved to me, that the only military merit 
 he possesses is a mean effrontery. The only thing he 
 has done, was (after the affair of the 1 7th June) to snatch 
 the flag of the Capitan Pacha from the hands of the Sa- 
 poroses, who had got it a long time before he came up. 
 He has never shown either order or intelligence in ma- 
 naging the flotilla. Every Commander of a boat, or other 
 vessel, was his own master, and conducted matters ac- 
 cording to his own notions." 
 
 The letter goes on to describe the action of the 17th 
 June, and then continues : — 
 
 " A single galley, in the hands of a good officer, 
 would, in like circumstances, have been sufficient to 
 conquer a ship of the largest size. But we should be 
 just to the Commander of the flotilla. He always had 
 the prudence to keep behind his men ; and in critical 
 moments he always had in his mind, and sometimes on 
 
52 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and transports belonged to her Imperial Majesty ; 
 and that the vessel in question, being unem- 
 
 his lips, ways and means of retiring beyond the batteries 
 of Stanislaus. He well knew that for me there was no 
 retreat. In the affair between the flotillas, on the 7th 
 of June, there was something like military combination ; 
 but it is not to him this should be attributed. If he 
 had been left to himself, he would have been beaten at 
 least as disgracefully as he had been chased by the Turks 
 on the preceding evening. As to the affair of the 17th 
 June, of the merits of which he so greatly boasts_, the 
 Turks got into confusion the moment they saw our squad- 
 ron under sail and advancing to attack them. They had 
 set sail, and the rout was general even before the whole of 
 our flotilla had raised their anchors. The Turkish squa- 
 dron had made no arrangement for fight, but fled in the 
 greatest disorder and trepidation at the very commence- 
 ment. I had given orders to advance near the vessel of 
 the Capitan Pacha, but M. Alexiano thwarted me, and 
 cast anchor without my orders, at the moment when the 
 second Turkish ship (the Admiral) was striking. 
 
 '■' The Turkish flotilla was manoeuvred with more 
 skill upon the shallows on the right flank of our squa- 
 dron, from whence they threw bombs, and sunk the 
 small frigate, the Petit Alexander. The commander of 
 our flotilla had paid no attention to my request to send a 
 
PAUL JONES. 53 
 
 ployed at the time when I took it, I could not 
 perceive the smallest cause of complaint. He 
 
 detachment of the flotilla to dislodge them. The Briga- 
 diers Alexiano and Corsacoff had assembled and brought 
 forward batteries for this purpose, according to my or- 
 ders, in concert with our frigates on the right wing. The 
 affair of the 18th was the result of panic, and of the bat- 
 teries which, in concert with you, (Ribas,) I had the 
 credit of establishing at the point of Kinbourn. A very 
 small detachment would have been sufficient to have se- 
 cured the nine vessels under the cannon of our batteries, 
 and out of the reach of those of the enemy. A good of- 
 ficer, who had commanded such an expedition, would 
 have known how to bring in these nine vessels, without 
 having exposed his people to destruction, and without 
 having the folly to destroy ships of which we stood so 
 much in need, by brandcougles. 
 
 " I could not leave my own duties to be present at this 
 affair; but I am told that some who were there inquired 
 if M. de Nassau had not been at Kinbourn during the 
 attack. 
 
 " After all, we owe our success to favourable circum- 
 stances, to the good disposition, and the imposing ap- 
 pearance of our squadron in advancing to the attack on 
 the 17th June; for the enemy had taken flight before the 
 approach of our flotilla, which was tardy in weighing an- 
 
54 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 was beside himself with anger ; but, as the good 
 of the service no longer required our combined 
 
 chor, and got into confusion from the beginning of the 
 movement. It has been seen meanwhile that M. de 
 Nassau, who did nothing, and who had not a single man 
 wounded near him, has been rewarded as if he had per- 
 formed the most heroic actions. Marshal Saxe said to 
 
 his troops, — ^ I am not one of those generals 
 
 who cry to their soldiers, fall on ! I say to mine, — My 
 soldiers, behold the enemy, — let us fall on.* M. de 
 Nassau has not shown that he is of the opinion of the 
 Marshal. Never was bravado more impudent than that 
 of M. de Nassau. To depart from truth costs him no- 
 thing. He had the effrontery to deceive the Prince- 
 Marshal (to whom he owes the bread that he eats) in 
 saying he had burnt six ships of the line and had taken 
 two. These pretended ships of the line were nothing 
 other than the merchant vessels called caravellas. In time 
 of peace they trade between Constantinople and Egypt ; 
 in time of war such ships are armed, but always badly. 
 In place of eight but four entered the Liman. I have 
 made Lieutenant Fox measure the length of two of the 
 largest ; the one was 135 feet, the other 130 feet English 
 measure," &c. &c. &c. The Rear- Admiral proceeds,— 
 " In place of two there was but one three-masted ship 
 that escaped burning. It is true, that there was likewise 
 
PAUL JONES. 55 
 
 operations, I thought this quarrel too childish 
 to give myself uneasiness about it. I took leave 
 of him, begging him to reflect, that I had given 
 him no cause of displeasure. I did not wish to 
 come to a rupture with him ; but, on the 1st of 
 July, seeing the day dawn, and that the flotilla 
 was still far too distant to make the necessary 
 attack, meeting him in his chaloupe, I asked 
 ' If he did not think it time to begin the at> 
 tack ?'' — ' Is it of me you thus inquire ?"" he re- 
 pUed; ' I have nothing to say to you on the 
 
 spared, in the barbarous conflagration of the 18th June, 
 a small brigantine. "We must then consider this small 
 brigantine as a ship of the line taken by M. de Nassau. 
 This prize remained, and has been totally wrecked. 
 Hunoanity recoils with indignation and horror from see- 
 ing so many wretched creatures perish in the flames 
 without any necessity. But these are trifling marks of 
 goodness of heart and of gratitude which M. de Nassau 
 has been pleased to show, to prove that he is worthy of 
 the benefits he has lately received from Constantinople. 
 Now he is with Russia, and in that he finds his advan- 
 tage. The same motives, however, which have induced 
 him to come here may lead him back to Constantinople." 
 
56 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 subject.'' After a reply so uncivil, and so pub- 
 licly made, it was impossible I could have any 
 farther intercourse with the Prince of Nassau. 
 
 " On the 18th June, in giving an account to 
 the Prince-Marshal of the fate of the nine ves- 
 sels run aground in coming out of the Liman, 
 upon the shallows opposite the battery and block- 
 fort on the tongue of land of Kinbourn, I took 
 the Hberty to propose to him to get the Wolo- 
 dimer, which had port-holes for seventy pieces of 
 cannon, and the large frigate Alexander, which 
 might have carried fifty pieces, completely armed, 
 that at the first opportunity the squadron of 
 Cherson might join that of Sevastopole ; but his 
 Highness gave no orders for this purpose till the 
 month of September ; and the Admiralty was so 
 slow in acting, that the vessels were not equipped 
 by the 18th October, when I was recalled to St Pe- 
 tersburgh by an order from her Imperial Majesty. 
 " The fleet of the Capitan Pacha having sailed 
 on the 28th of June, had a rencounter with that 
 of Sevastopole, which had come out some days 
 before ; but the Turkish fleet being much 
 stronger than that of Russia, the latter fled, and 
 
PAUL JONES. 57 
 
 had the good fortune to get back to Sevastopole 
 without loss, having no more than six or seven 
 men killed and wounded, which shows that the 
 affair was neither close nor warm. 
 
 " After the affair of the 18th of June, the 
 greater part of our flotilla remained several days 
 at anchor between Kinbourn and the block-fort 
 upon the tongue of land. It is surprismg that 
 the Russian seamen and pilots could be so pro- 
 foundly ignorant respecting the anchorage, cur- 
 rents, and depth of the Liman, and, above all, of 
 the channel and the road between Oczakow and 
 Beresane. At first not a single commander in the 
 flotilla durst venture to cast an anchor. 
 
 " Being at Kinbourn on the 28th June, Gene- 
 ral Suwaroff spoke to me of the impleasant cir- 
 cumstance of not being able to cut off the com- 
 munication between Oczakow and Beresane. Hav- 
 ing sounded myself, I informed him that this was 
 quite as practicable as it was useful to the service, 
 and I would place the frigates there instantly if 
 he would only require me to do so. He did not 
 hesitate, and the same day I placed three frigates 
 there. IVI. Alexiano did all he could to prevent 
 
 c 2 
 
58 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 me ; and when he saw the frigates set off, pro- 
 phesied that I would never see them return. 
 He carried his intrigues so far, that the Prince- 
 Marshal wrote me a warning letter on the 29th, 
 and on the 1st July a peremptory order to with- 
 draw them. During the short time they were 
 there they took two Turkish armed chaloupes 
 and a batteau laden with powder and shot ; and 
 cut off the enemy's communication between Oc- 
 zakow and Beresane. 
 
 " The Prince-Marshal had not been satisfied 
 with the conduct of the flotilla in the affair of at- 
 tacking Oczakow on the 1st July, which was 
 conducted in a very irregular manner, and at too 
 great a distance. The most advanced charge was 
 that of the battery commanded by M. Akmatoff, 
 who was never less than 900 toises distant from 
 the enemy. 
 
 " On the 10th of July the Prince-Marshal 
 sent the Prince of Nassau to Sevastopole, to learn 
 if the squadron had been much damaged in the 
 rencounter with the Tvirkish fleet. Immediately 
 after the departure of the Prince of Nassau, the 
 Prince-Marshal gave the Chevaher Ribas the 
 
PAUL JONES. 59 
 
 command of the flotilla, with orders to go to 
 Kinbourn, to receive on board the troops he des- 
 tined to make a descent on the island of Bere- 
 sane. At the same time he ordered me to esta- 
 bhsh a line of blockade between that island and 
 Oczakow. I stationed five frigates, carrying 
 eighteen-pounders, in the roads for this purpose. 
 " On the 14th I was ordered to inspect the 
 entrance of the Liman. I immediately went to 
 Kinbourn to have an understanding with Gene- 
 ral Suwaroff and the Brigadier de Ribas. Though 
 the Brigadier had been incessantly occupied since 
 the departure of the Prince of Nassau in bring- 
 ing the crews of the flotilla to some sort of order, 
 he had not yet completed this task. So great 
 was the confusion that reigned, that he could not 
 find in any vessel five soldiers belonging to the 
 same company ; and the officers knew not where 
 to look for their men. This retarded the em- 
 barkation of the troops destined for the descent 
 on Beresane till the 16th. The Prince-Marshal 
 was so much displeased with this delay, that on 
 the 17th he gave orders to land the troops, that 
 they might join his army before Oczakow, and 
 
60 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 that the flotilla should again pass into the Liman, 
 as well as the frigates I had posted for the 
 blockade. 
 
 " From the commencement of the projected 
 expedition against Beresane, M. Ribas had re- 
 quested me to conduct the flotilla and the descent 
 of the troops. Though a man of much talent, 
 he had not the misplaced conceit of some persons 
 who readily take upon them things far beyond 
 their capacity. I told him, ' He well knew I 
 ought to have commanded the flotilla as well as 
 the squadron, from the beginning of the cam- 
 paign, but that my gratitude for the gracious 
 reception accorded me by her Imperial Majesty, 
 together with the very dehcate state in which I 
 had found affairs, had induced me to sacrifice my 
 feelings, and even greatly to hazard my reputa- 
 tion, for the good of the empire ; that I could 
 never so far humble myself as to request the 
 command of the flotilla, but if it were given me 
 by the Prince-Marshal, I would do my best to 
 make the most of it possible.' 
 
 " On the afternoon of the 17th the Prince- 
 Marshal fairly proposed to give me the command 
 
PAUL JONES. 61 
 
 of the flotilla. His Highness informed me his 
 intention was to have Oczakow attacked a second 
 time. I repHed, that I was disposed to execute 
 with zeal whatever he might think proper for the 
 good of the service ; but that to attack with ad- 
 vantage it was necessary to come to close quar- 
 ters, and to advance in better order than on the 
 1st July. He was of the same opinion, and re- 
 quested me to come ashore next day, that we 
 might concert together the plan of attack. 
 
 " I did not fail to comply with the orders of 
 the Prince-Marshal, but his Highness spoke no 
 more of the flotilla. I remained to dinner and 
 supper, and afterwards returned on board of my 
 ship. 
 
 " The Prince of Nassau having returned some 
 days before, had intrigued with the Prince de 
 Ligne ; and the Prince-Marshal restored him to 
 the command of the flotilla. 
 
 " On the 18th June I had been ordered to 
 despatch the five frigates which had returned into 
 the Liman, to be refitted at Glouboca, en hat- 
 terie. I sent them off at daybreak on the IQth, 
 having drawn the greater part of their crews 
 from the gun-boats and bomb-vessels which the 
 
62 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Prince-Marshal had placed under my command. 
 On the 20th I received twenty-one gun-boats, 
 each carrying a single piece, from eighteen to 
 thirty-two pounders ; and five bomb-vessels, each 
 carrying a mortar, of which four were of three 
 poods, and one of five j9ood5.* The same day the 
 Prince- Marshal having established his head-quar- 
 ters to the right of his army upon the shores of 
 the Black Sea, (he had hitherto been on the 
 shores of the Liman, on the left wing,) pointed 
 out to me two of the enemy's gun-boats, station- 
 ed close by the fort of Hassan Pacha, and the 
 Turkish lines on the side of Beresane. He was 
 persuaded that they would attempt to come out 
 during the night with despatches, and inquired 
 of me if it were not possible to capture them. 
 As his Highness appeared to attach great import- 
 ance to this service, I undertook it. 
 
 " I returned on board the Wolodimer, from 
 whence, at /eight in the evening, I set off with 
 five armed chaloupes. I made five gun-boats 
 foUow, as a measure of precaution in case the 
 
 * A poody or poud, is a Russian weight, equal to 36 lbs. 
 English weight. 
 
PAUL JOXES. 
 
 6S 
 
 Turks had attempted to make a sortie, as their 
 chaloupes sailed much faster than ours. 
 
 " I found one of the Turkish gun-boats 
 aground, hauled up, and almost dry on the sands 
 adjoining the battery, and on an intrenchment 
 the enemy had cast up on the water's edge. It 
 was impossible to get it afloat under the terrible 
 fire which we sustained from all the hues and bat- 
 teries on the shore. The other gun-boat lay hard 
 by the fort of Hassan Pacha, to the south. Lieu- 
 tenant Edwards boarded this vessel, and cut her 
 cables ; but having had several of his men wound- 
 ed, and being deserted by one of the chaloupes, 
 he was obhged to give up the attempt, lest he 
 should be left by the other chaloupe also. Dur- 
 ing this time I had made some efforts to get the 
 other Turkish boat afloat. I now rowed quickly 
 to the assistance of Mr Edwards, but the night 
 being dark, he was already out of sight. I 
 boarded the vessel in which he had been. I had 
 several men wounded around me ; but, in defi- 
 ance of the enemy, I haiiled the vessel out, and 
 stationed it right opposite the head-quarters of 
 the Prince-Marshal. 
 
64 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 a 
 
 On the 21st, at daybreak, I sailed with the 
 Wolodimer, followed by all the vessels of the 
 squadron that yet remained with me, and twenty- 
 five armed boats and bomb-vessels that had been 
 placed under my command. The object of this 
 movement was again to blockade Oczakow by sea, 
 and to cut off the communication between that 
 place and Beresane. To accomplish this object, 
 I stationed the Wolodimer and the Alexander to 
 blockade the channel at the entrance of the Li- 
 man, and I continued the same line of blockade 
 into the road, by placing the smaller vessels there. 
 As the bomb-vessels and gun-boats had not water- 
 casks, the Prince-Marshal, who wished to see 
 these craft opposite his head-quarters, made 
 wells be dug on shore for the accommodation of 
 the crews ; and on the 24th ordered my officer 
 du jour to have three vessels stationed near the 
 shore. I knew notliing of this change, for I had 
 placed them the previous night, in line, and far 
 enough off to be in safety. On the 25th the 
 wind was from the south, but was not violent. 
 After dinner I went to head-quarters to make a 
 visit to the Prince-Marshal, and found, to my 
 
PAUL JONES. 65 
 
 great astonishment, that half the boats were cast 
 ashore, and the other half in the greatest dan- 
 ger. I set to work instantly, with my chaloupe, 
 to haul off, and bring to anchor all the vessels 
 possible ; and by means of anchors and cables, 
 for which I sent to the squadron, we saved them 
 all, except six gun-boats, which went to pieces, 
 and filled with sand. On the 26th the Prince- 
 Marshal wrote me by his Brigadier du jour, 
 requiring to know, since I was master of the 
 vessels saved, what I meant to do with them ? I 
 placed them near the tongue of land of Kinbourn, 
 where they had a sheltered haven, and also wells 
 for the accommodation of the men. They sus- 
 tained no farther injury during the time they re- 
 mained under my command. After this, two 
 chaloupes or small cutters were placed under 
 my orders, of which each carried two hcornes, 
 forty-eight pounders, in the fore-part, and six 
 falconets on the sides. Shortly afterwards I got 
 two larger cutters, carrying each two mortars, 
 of five poods. 
 
 " On the 31st July, the Capitan Pacha again 
 made his appearance with his fleet, followed by 
 
66 • MEMOIRS OF 
 
 several vessels which he had not when he went 
 off. His advanced guard, composed of his fri- 
 gates, bomb-vessels, and small craft, cast anchor 
 near Beresane, whilst his large squadron of ships 
 of the hne resumed their old position. The 
 Prince-Marshal ordered me to bring back my 
 small vessels to assist in blocking up the pass- 
 age of the Liman; and the Prince of Nas- 
 sau was ordered to block up the road with his 
 flotilla, and thus cut off the communication of 
 the Turkish small vessels by the shallows to the 
 south of Fort Hassan Pacha. 
 
 " The Prince of Nassau hoisted a Vice-Ad- 
 miraPs flag on one of the galleys in coming out 
 of the Liman, and that galley having passed un- 
 der the stern of the Wolodimer on the 1st of 
 August, he assumed that I ought to have salut- 
 ed him as Vice- Admiral !'' 
 
 [The Rear-Admiral here enumerates six dif- 
 ferent special reasons for not saluting the said 
 flag ; and we fear somewhat tediously, for which 
 reason we spare the reader this concatenation; 
 the only important fact being, that the Prince of 
 Nassau endeavoured to make the Court of Russia 
 
PAUL JONES. 6^ 
 
 believe that the denial of this piece of courtesy 
 was the only subject of dispute between himself 
 and Paul Jones. We again resume the narra- 
 tive.] 
 
 " The Capitan Pacha came out from day to 
 day, to sound and reconnoitre, in his kirlangitz, 
 which sailed like the wind, and always displayed 
 an Admiral's flag. As the block-fort and bat- 
 tery on the tongue of land at Kinbourn were 
 only constructed of bags of sand, and were neither 
 protected by ditch nor pahsade, I was afraid that 
 the Capitan Pacha might try to carry them by a 
 sudden descent, which he could have done by 
 landing five hundred men. 
 
 " General Suwaroff had been dangerously 
 wounded in a sortie made by the garrison of 
 Oczakow, and had come to Kinbourn. I convinced 
 him that the block-fort and battery were menaced, 
 and as he had a greater quantity of chevaux de 
 frize than he required, I suggested that he should 
 employ what was superfluous in surrounding the 
 block-fort and battery. The General gave orders 
 accordingly, and I ranged all my gun-boats and 
 bomb-vessels right by the strip of ground be- 
 
68 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 tween the block-fort and the battery. The sand 
 served them as a parapet, so that there was a line 
 of fire continued from the point on to the bat- 
 tery. The small craft were, besides, always ready 
 to change their position at the first movement of 
 the enemy, and I placed the squadron so advan- 
 tageously as to communicate with the block-fort 
 and the battery, without confining their fire, and 
 to keep back the enemy by a cross-fire, on enter- 
 ing the channel of the Liman; so that, though we 
 were very weak compared with the Turkish fleet, 
 the Capital! Pacha never either attempted to 
 make a descent, or to force the passage of the 
 entrance of the Liman. 
 
 " The Prince-^Iarshal having ordered Rear- 
 Admiral Wognowitch to sail from Sevastopole 
 with the fleet under his command, and that of- 
 ficer having raised obstacles because his force was 
 not, he conceived, powerful enough to attack 
 that under the command of the Capitan Pacha, 
 his Highness sent me a letter, written by his 
 chief secretary. Brigadier Popoff, on the 19th 
 August, (old style,) proposing that I should go 
 to Sevastopole to take command of the fleet. It 
 
PAUL JOXES. 69 
 
 may be remembered that I was brought to 
 Russia to command all the naval force in the 
 Black Sea, consequently this proposition did not 
 surprise me. Had the Prince-Marshal ordered 
 me to go, I would have proceeded immediately, 
 but I could not seem as if I sought to be sent. 
 In the^r^^ place, the naval signals used in that 
 fleet were imperfect and xery Hmited. ^dly^ 
 My naval signals had not yet been translated into 
 the Russian language, as no attention had been 
 given to my request for a person capable of trans- 
 lating them. Sdly, I was acquainted with no one 
 in the fleet, and I was aware that the Prince- 
 INIarshal wished that it should come out the very 
 day after my arrival at Sevastopole. A^thly, The 
 fleet had been compelled to fly before that of the 
 Capitan Pacha, at a time when he had two thou- 
 sand fewer good seamen. 5thly, The fleet at Se- 
 vastopole was much as before, but that of the Ca- 
 pitan Pacha was stronger in craft, and had all the 
 men replaced that had been lost in the affair of 
 the Liman. 6thly, I had just received prepara- 
 tory orders from the Prince-Marshal to attack 
 Fort Hassan Pacha ; and I hoped to show him 
 
70 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the diiFerence between my fashion of attack and 
 that of the 1st of July. I rephed, in answer to 
 his letter, that being entirely devoted to the good 
 of the state, his Highness would find me eager 
 to fulfil his orders. It was said, that some days 
 afterwards the Prince-Marshal sent positive or- 
 ders to Admiral Wognowitch to come out, but 
 that he always found means for not coming to 
 close quarters with the Capitan Pacha. 
 
 " On the 30th August the Turks took a small 
 lodka, freighted with water-melons, belonging to 
 the merchants of Kinbourn. In coming down 
 the Liman the people on board had been foolish 
 enough to pass too close to Oczakow. 
 
 " To ' punish the Turks' for this, the Prince 
 of Nassau, at evening, made his flotilla advance 
 to assault Oczakow ! 
 
 " I sent my secretary to head-quarters, and in 
 the meanwhile assembled the commanders of di- 
 visions of my gun-boats and bomb-vessels, and 
 ordered them to bring forward their divisions, and 
 form in hne of battle between the squadron and 
 Oczakow, ready to attack the Fort of Hassan 
 Pacha the moment orders should arrive. 
 
i( 
 
 PAUL JONES. 71 
 
 Upon the return of the Capitan Pacha, M. 
 Littlepage, Chamberlain to the King of Poland, 
 being then with the Prince-Marshal, had soUcited 
 and obtained leave to command a division of my 
 gun-boats. 
 
 " Night being come on, the chiefs of division 
 wishing to bring forward their boats, found that 
 thirteen of them had quitted their posts, against 
 the most positive orders to make no movement 
 without their commanders of division. This 
 movement had been occasioned by the rashness of 
 a Greek Lieutenant belonging to the division of 
 M. Littlepage. The boat of this officer had fired 
 eight shots against the place, and another boat 
 six shots, but no one else had fired. As this Lieu- 
 tenant was the most to blame, I deprived him of 
 his command, and sent him to head-quarters, 
 which was required by the Prince-Marshal. 
 
 " The Prince of Nassau, who had very idly 
 wasted a great deal of ammunition, pretended 
 that my boats had prevented him from taking 
 the whole Turki§h flotilla ! 
 
 " The Greek Lieutenant whom I had disgraced, 
 instead of being punished, was promoted to the 
 
72 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 command of a double chaloupe, heavily armed. 
 M. Littlepage gave a particular account of the 
 whole affair in a letter to the Grand General of 
 Poland. 
 
 " A few days after this, the Prince-Marshal sent 
 Rear- Admiral INIordwinoff on board the Wolodi- 
 mer, to assemble all the captains and master pilots 
 of the squadron to hold a council on the means 
 of effecting a junction between the squadron of 
 Cherson and the fleet of Sevastopole. It has been 
 said that the Prince-Mai'shal had earnestly en- 
 treated this officer to take the affair upon him- 
 self, and that he had positively dechned it. I 
 can say nothing on this head ; I only know that 
 it was a delicate step in relation to me, to send 
 another officer on board my ship to hold a coun- 
 cil ; and, above all, without having apprized me 
 either by speech or writing. If I had been stick- 
 ling, I would have put this officer under arrest, 
 as he could show no authority nor precedent 
 for holding a council where I commanded. But 
 as I was influenced by the good of the service 
 above every personal consideration, I received 
 Admiral Mordwuioff most amicably, and after 
 
PAUL JONES. 73 
 
 dinner assembled the officers for tlie necessary 
 consultation. Many difficulties presented them- 
 selves to their minds against the proposed junc- 
 tion ; but as it was known that the Prince-Mar- 
 shal was determined on the measure, it was agreed 
 that it could not be effected but at Hagdge-bay, 
 upon the coast, between Beresane and the Da- 
 nube, at the distance of fifty verstes* from the 
 point of Kinbourn. I raised no obstacle. I only 
 observed, that since it was pressingly necessary 
 to beat the advanced guard of the enemy before 
 we could effect the proposed junction, it was in- 
 dispensable to station the squadron previously 
 in the road of Oczakow, and to sail from thence 
 with the wind from N. to N.N.W., to avoid be- 
 ing attacked on the way by the grand fleet of the 
 Turks, and also to keep to the leeward till the 
 junction was effected. 
 
 "It was only a few days previously that pre- 
 parations had been begun to complete the arm- 
 ing of the Wolodimer and Alexander. 
 
 " During this time her Imperial Majesty had 
 
 * A verste is equal to 3500 English feet. 
 VOL. II. U 
 
74 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 sent twenty-four gold swords to head-quarters, to 
 be distributed among the officers on account of 
 the battle of the Liman. The Prince- Marshal 
 himself received a gold sword, enriched with 
 diamonds and emeralds ; and the Prince of Nas- 
 sau got one ornamented with a row of diamonds. 
 There were a number of silver medals sent at the 
 same time to be distributed among the soldiers 
 and seamen. The swords had not yet been dis- 
 tributed, but the medals were all given to the 
 men of the flotilla, and not one to any man in 
 the squadron. It is usual to give subalterns the 
 more merit the more they are exposed to per- 
 sonal danger. The crews of the squadron had 
 often hauled the flotilla totally uncovered, and ex- 
 posed to the fire of the enemy, whilst the people of 
 the flotilla were screened by parapets made of bags 
 of wool, by which the vessels were surrounded. 
 
 " On the 18th September I received a secret 
 order from the Prince- Marshal to attack the ad- 
 vanced-guard of the enemy, anchored under Be- 
 resane. His Highness proposed to make the at- 
 tack with the five frigates which had been sent to 
 Glouboca to be mounted as batteries ; and the 
 
PAUL JOXES. 75 
 
 frigates were to be supported by all the other 
 vessels of the squadron, save the Wolodimer and 
 the Alexander, the arming of which went on very 
 slowly on account of difficulties on the part of 
 the Admiralty. Two of the frigates, the Sco- 
 roi and the Boristhenes, had already rejoined the 
 squadron. Before the equipments of those fri- 
 gates were altered, they carried more guns than 
 are ever put, either by the French or Enghsh, 
 into ships of the same kind. The Scoroi, for ex- 
 ample, carried forty guns, and in England they 
 would not have put more than thirty-two into 
 her. She now carried sixteen 36-pounders, and 
 four licornes, IS-pounders."" 
 
 [Here follows a detailed account of the arma- 
 ment of this frigate, and the Rear-Admirars 
 opinion of the best way of arming ships, which 
 he appears himself to think not much to the 
 point, for he returns to the narrative of the cam- 
 paign by saying as much.] 
 
 '^ The five frigates, of which I have perhaps 
 spoken too much, appeared to me very fit to place 
 behind a stoccado, or bar. But I never would 
 make choice of ships of this kind for the sea-ser- 
 
76 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 vice. The first broadside is all that is to be 
 feared from them. 
 
 " I repHed in writing to the proposition of the 
 Prince-Marshal for attacking the advanced guard 
 of the Turks near Beresane, and afterwards 
 made a plan of attack be drawn out for his in- 
 spection. He was much pleased with it. As it 
 was necessary to take advantage of a northerly 
 wind to effect the enterprise, I proposed to the 
 Prince-Marshal to place the frigates in the road 
 as soon as they arrived from Glouboca, to serve, 
 while waiting the attack on the line, as a perma- 
 nent outer blockade between Oczakow and the 
 enemy. His Highness said it was not yet time 
 for this, and ordered me to place them in a Hne 
 with the other vessels of my squadron, so as to 
 make an imposing figure in the channel of the 
 Liman. 
 
 " In the end of the month, the Turkish fleet 
 set sail in the night, followed by all the vessels 
 that had lain under Beresane ; nor did we per- 
 ceive it till late in the next morning. The 
 Capitan Pacha returned in about thirty-six hours, 
 and resumed the position he had left. The only 
 
PAUL JONES. 77 
 
 difference was, that he brought in some additional 
 small vessels, and that he considerably reinforced 
 his advanced guard under Beresane. As our 
 flotilla, which ought to have blockaded the road, 
 and cut off the communication with the small 
 vessels on that side, were only there occasionally, 
 as if by caprice, it was quite natural for the 
 Turks to profit by its absence, and go out and in 
 when they found the way clear, 
 
 " The flotilla being to leeward, between my 
 squadron and Kinbourn, on the 8th October, the 
 Capitan Pacha sent off in the evening three ves- 
 sels of his advanced guard, which entered Ocza- 
 kow unmolested, by an open passage. Our flo- 
 tilla made no movement. I made an attempt to 
 intercept the enemy's progress with my gun- 
 boats, which I caused to be hauled to wind- 
 ward by the sliip's boats of the squadron. But 
 the wind being high, they could not bring them 
 to attack. Our batteries nearest to Oczakow 
 fired on the three Turkish vessels, but without 
 being able to arrest their progress. It was now 
 dark ; and, moreover, the distance between these 
 batteries and the block-fort, on the side of Kin- 
 
'P^ MEMOIRS OF 
 
 bourn, being seven verstes, the land-batteries 
 never could have prevented either the entrance 
 or exit of small vessels. 
 
 " One of the Turkish ships had the folly to cast 
 anchor in the shallows of Fort Hassan Pacha ; 
 and at daybreak on the ninth, being within shot 
 of our most advanced land-battery, was struck 
 between wind and water, and run down ; the other 
 two vessels got in without difficulty. I have al- 
 ready mentioned, that on the 18th of August I 
 received an order to be in readiness to attack the 
 fortress of Hassan Pacha with my bomb-vessels, 
 and the chaloupes armed with hcomes and mor- 
 tars. I expected from day to day an order for 
 action, and had in consequence bestowed much 
 pains in training my men to the necessary evo- 
 lutions ; but the final orders never arrived. 
 
 " The Prince of Nassau having run down my 
 plan of attack, it was set aside ; and by a new 
 arrangement, which I was commanded to form 
 with General Muller, Commander-in-chief of Ar- 
 tillery, I was destined to assault the intrench- 
 ment, and the Turkish battery on the shore of 
 the road. 
 
PAUL JONES. 79 
 
 '^ On the 9th of October the flotilla advanced 
 from the shores of Kinbourn, and attacked Ocza- 
 kow ; but this attack was conducted and ended 
 in the very same manner as that of the 30th 
 August, save that a small vessel of the Turkish 
 flotiUa, which lay farther out than any of the 
 others, ran aground on the shallows of Fort Has- 
 san Pacha. 
 
 " On the 10th of October I received another 
 preparatory order; and soon afterwards was or- 
 dered to give up all my gun-boats to the flotiUa. 
 Towards evening I went to head-quarters to as- 
 certain what was to be done regarding these boats. 
 The Prince-Marshal at this time told me he 
 had the strongest desire to see pitched overboard 
 a large piece of artillery placed on the fore-part 
 of the vessel of the Turkish flotilla that stood 
 farthest out, and which had run aground. I im- 
 agined at the time that there was no other vessel 
 run aground save the one in the road, at the 
 distance of a verste from the fortress of Hassan 
 Pacha ; so I said the thing was quite easy; for 
 although the Turks should come up in force to 
 
'80 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 defend the vessel, there would always be time to 
 spike the piece of cannon. 
 
 " It was night when I undertook this little 
 enterprise. As I did not imagine the Prince- 
 Marshal attached so much importance to it as 
 to wish that I should conduct it in person, I 
 confided it to Lieutenant Edwards, a brave and 
 an intelHgent man, whom I wished to requite for 
 past services. On the 1st of July he had follow- 
 ed me throughout, and was a long time with me 
 in the galley of the Capitan Pacha. He had 
 followed me on the night of the 20th of July, and 
 had boarded, and cut the cable of the vessel 
 which I took opposite the fortress of Hassan 
 Pacha. He had assisted me some days after- 
 wards, when, by orders of the Prince-Marshal, we 
 made trial of bombarding the fort from one of the 
 bomb-vessels ; from which service we had some 
 difficulty in withdrawing, as the wind, which rose 
 in a moment, kept us for a long while under the 
 fire of the enemy's musketry, which wounded 
 some of our men. 
 
 " Mr Edwards returned before daybreak, with- 
 
PAUL JONES. 81 
 
 out having succeeded. He said there were a great 
 many men in the ship, who fired on him, and that 
 he durst not board her, he was so ill supported. I 
 was vexed that he had failed ; and in my report to 
 the Prince-Marshal I said that I would conduct 
 the enterprise myself next night, if that would 
 satisfy him. 
 
 " The Prince-]Marshal held me at my word ; 
 but it was eleven at night when Mr Edwards re- 
 turned with the order. The wind, which was 
 high, was quite against me, as well as a strong 
 tide ; and I would have deferred the attempt, if 
 I had not conceived my honour pledged. I was 
 led to hope, that after midnight the wind might 
 fall, and the strength of the tide lessen, if it did 
 not change. The night was very dark, and the 
 rain fell in torrents. I waited till two o'clock, 
 when the moon rose. I had with me five armed 
 boats, and I calculated on being followed by four 
 hatteauv saporoses, and by one of the armed 
 vessels I had taken from the Turks ; but it was 
 impossible to haul them against the wind, and I 
 was compelled to go on as I best could, with only 
 my five boats. I have noticed that our flotilla 
 
 d2 
 
82 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 had run down a small Turkish vessel in the shal- 
 lows of the fortress of Hassan Pacha, but I did 
 not perceive this till the moment after I had de- 
 spatched Mr Edwards to head-quarters, because 
 the vessel lay so near the fortress, where the water 
 is of httle depth, that it had only sunk a foot or 
 fifteen inches, and consequently appeared as if 
 still afloat. As the Prince-Marshal had only 
 spoken to me of the farthest out of the Turk- 
 ish flotilla, I now beheved he meant the one 
 nearest the fortress, in which idea I was confirm- 
 ed by Mr Edwards, at his return from head- 
 quarters, telling me he had heard ashore that the 
 vessel run down in the road had been visited, 
 but that nothing had been found there. I rowed 
 for the vessel nearest the fortress, which carried 
 a large cannon in her bow ; but, after having fa- 
 tigued my rowers, I was vexed to see dayhght 
 appear, whilst I had still more than a verste to go 
 before I could reach the vessel. I returned on 
 board my own ship, to prevent a useless alarm, 
 intending to renew the attempt next night. 
 
 " Without waiting to receive my report, the 
 Prince-Marshal sent me orders ' to abandon the 
 
PAUL JONES. 83 
 
 enterprise, for he had mtrusted it to other ships/ 
 There was fine weather on the night between the 
 12th and 13th, but the ' other ships' did no- 
 thing ; and the Turks availed themselves of an 
 open way to bring out all their flotilla, which re- 
 joined the ships of the advanced guard under 
 Beresane. 
 
 " Some days afterwards, a Colonel of Cossacks 
 boarded the vessel run down in the road, and set 
 fire to it, for which he received public thanks. 
 
 " On the 13th the Prince-Marshal wished to 
 estabhsh a permanent line of blockade in the 
 road, by placing my frigates there, and some 
 other small vessels. He wrote me a letter on 
 this subject, which strongly affected me, and to 
 which I replied next day, with perhaps rather 
 too much freedom and warmth.* This occasion- 
 
 * This letter, taken in connexion with the circum- 
 stances which preceded it, was the ultimate cause of 
 the dismissal of Paul Jones before the campaign ended. 
 His recall to St Petersburgh, under pretence of being 
 employed in the North Sea, in name of the Empress, 
 but really ordered by Potemkin, was a mere piece of 
 
84 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ed an interchange of letters, which was only ter- 
 minated on the 18th by the arrival of Admiral 
 
 jugglery to get rid of him, of which he was not even the 
 dupe. The following is an extract of his letter, and 
 a copy of Potemkin's order, which provoked it : — 
 
 " Order to Rear-Admiral Chevalier Paul Jones. 
 
 <e 
 
 As it is seen that the Capitan Pacha comes in his 
 kirlangich from the grand fleet to the smaller vessels, 
 and as before quitting this he may attempt something, 
 
 I request your Excellence, the Capitan Pacha having ac- 
 
 » 
 tually a greater number of vessels, to hold yourself in rea- 
 diness to receive him courageously, and drive him back. 
 I require that this be done without loss of time ; if not, 
 you will be made answerable for every neglect. 
 
 '^ Prince Potemkin Tauricien. 
 *' 13th October, 1788." 
 
 To this truly Russian order Jones has affixed the fol- 
 lowing characteristic note : — " A warrior is always ready, 
 and I had not come there an apprentice." His reply to 
 this order led to his instant dismissal. Potemkin was a 
 person in no shape to be trifled with ; and though Jones, 
 at first attributed his want of favour in this powerful 
 quarter to the ill offices of those around Potemkin, he 
 
PAUL JONES. 
 
 85 
 
 MordwinofF, to take command of the squadron 
 and the flotilla ; for the Prince of Nassau had set 
 
 came to see that much of what he suffered emanated 
 directly from the impatience^ jealousy, and caprice of 
 this spoiled tyrant. When the Rear- Admiral went to 
 head-quarters to take leave, Potemkin disdained and dis- 
 claimed the insinuation of being influenced by those 
 around him. " Do not imagine any one leads me, — 
 leads me !" — he swore, and stamping with his foot, added, 
 " Not even the Empress \" Fatal as the reply to the above 
 order proved to Jones, and deeply as he regretted it, 
 the reader must be pleased to see that he retained so 
 much of his original spirit as appears in this singular 
 document. '■' I have always," he says, " conformed my- 
 self immediately, without murmuring, and most exactly, 
 to the commands of your Highness ; and on occasions 
 when you have deigned to leave any thing to my own 
 discretion, I have been exceedingly flattered, and believe 
 you have had no occasion to repent. At present, in case 
 the Capitan Pacha does resolve on attempting any thing 
 before his departure, I can give assurance beforehand, 
 that the brave officers and crews I have the honour to 
 command will do their duty ^ courageously,' though they 
 have not yet been rewarded for the important services 
 they have performed for the empire under ray eyes. I 
 
86 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 off for Warsaw some days after his affair of the 
 9th, with which the Prince-Marshal had been 
 much dissatisfied. I at the same time received 
 orders from her Imperial Majesty to go to St 
 Petersburgh to be employed in the North Sea. 
 Sweden had declared war against Russia at the 
 commencement of the campaign, and Admiral 
 Greig, who had commanded the Russian fleet, 
 having died, I was assured her Majesty had very 
 important views in recalling me. Yet I could 
 not but feel grieved to be deprived of my com- 
 mand when the campaign, so far as regarded 
 maritime operations, was so nearly concluded. 
 
 " As soon as the Prince of Nassau went off, all 
 the gold swords were distributed among the of- 
 ficers of the flotilla. It may easily be imagined 
 that this transaction, as well as several things 
 
 answer for this with my honour, and will explain myself 
 fairly on this delicate point at the end of the campaign. 
 In the meanwhile, I may merely say, that it is upon the 
 sacred promise I have given them of demanding justice 
 from your Highness in their behalf, that they have con- 
 sented to stifle their grievances and keep silent." 
 
PAUL JONES. 87 
 
 which preceded it, were not calculated to give 
 me much pleasure. The capture of the Turkish 
 galley, and the boarding the galley of the Capi- 
 tan Pacha on the 1st of July, were without dis- 
 pute the most brilliant actions of the campaign 
 of the Liman. The credit of them was most 
 imjustly given to the flotilla, and my officers 
 remained without any reward for the important 
 services which they had rendered in these affairs, 
 laying aside those of the 18th June, the 30th of 
 August, and the 9th of October, from which they 
 reaped no advantage. After the gold swords 
 had been distributed, I myself heard several of 
 the officers who got them express their astonish- 
 ment, not being able to guess for what they had 
 been so highly rewarded. 
 
 " It is worthy of notice, that all the large ves- 
 sels which the flotilla attacked were previously 
 aground. In this case, they might be compared 
 to men with their feet nailed to planks, and 
 then hands tied behind their backs. This is the 
 only instance in history of ships aground, and 
 out of the possibihty of being re-captured, being 
 
88 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 attacked and destroyed, with their crews, by com- 
 bustibles. It may be recollected, that during 
 the whole campaign the flotilla had not taken 
 even one small vessel afloat. Since a very mis- 
 taken notion has been formed of the vessels taken 
 in the Liman on the 17th and 18th of June, 
 which have been called " ships of the line,'" it 
 is but right to say that I made Lieutenant Fox 
 measure the hulls of the two largest, and we 
 found that the size of the one was 130, and of 
 the other 135 feet English in total length, in the 
 line of their first battery. Apply this to naval 
 architecture. Yet the Prince of Nassau had 
 been rewarded in a brilliant manner for " having 
 destroyed six, and captured two ships of the 
 line.'''' The only three-masted vessel which es- 
 caped burning upon the 18th June was a cor- 
 vette of one battery, and four pieces between 
 decks. I had almost forgot that there was one 
 small brigantine of fourteen three-pounders. 
 Such were the two vessels of the litie that were 
 captm-ed, and the latter was wrecked next day 
 by the carelessness of those who had the charge 
 
PAUL JONES. 89 
 
 of her. In place of eight vessels of the line, the 
 Capitan Pacha had come into the Liman with 
 only a detachment of corvettes, or large mer- 
 chantmen, frigates, bomb-ships, and other craft. 
 Only four of the corvettes carried guns between 
 decks. Of this number was the vessel saved. On 
 one of these four vessels was displayed a square 
 flag ; but there was the same on the galley and 
 the kirlangich of the Capitan Pacha. It has 
 been already said that the grand fleet without 
 Kinbourn displayed three Admirals' flags. From 
 the account of the campaign given by the Prince 
 of Nassau, it appears that the Capitan Pacha had 
 lost his best ship, manned with the picked men 
 of his fleet, and his only flag as Grand Admiral, 
 while it is well known that at the end of the cam- 
 paign he went back to Constantinople with all the 
 ships of the hue he had at the commencement 
 of it. 
 
 As it had been told me that some ill-intention- 
 ed persons in the army had said that I had been 
 deprived of my command because the officers 
 were unwilling to serve under me, I endeavoured 
 to procure testimonials to the contrary, and have 
 
90 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 seen with regret that the mind is not always free ; 
 and that it sometimes dare not render homage 
 to truth.* 
 
 " The last of the five frigates, called ' Sea 
 Batteries,' did not job the squadron till the 19th 
 of October, and the same day Admiral Mord- 
 winoff placed the line of blockade in the road 
 much farther out than it ever had been, so that 
 the vessels masked the fire of all the guns on 
 shore on both sides." [Here the Rear-Admu-al 
 enters into certain professional criticisms on his 
 successor's arrangements, which are neither pe- 
 
 * In the service in which Paul Jones was engaged 
 that was impossible, which in any service requires con- 
 siderable moral courage. His Russian Secretary drew up 
 for the signature of the officers a testimony in favour of 
 " Rear- Admiral PaulJones, Chevalier of the Military Or- 
 der of Merit, the Order of St Anne, and of Cincinnatus ;" 
 which, says the Secretary, they, for powerful reasons, de- 
 clined to subscribe, though they at the same time owned 
 there was nothing in it contrary to pure truth. It was 
 drawn up on the very eve of Paul Jones's departure for 
 St Petersburgh. The Captain of his late ship, the Wo- 
 lodimer, subscribed it, and also one of the other officers. 
 
PAUL JONES. 91 
 
 culiarly interesting, nor yet very good-natured, 
 but which may, nevertheless, be very just. We 
 pass them, and again take up the personal nar- 
 rative.] 
 
 " Ha-vdng reflected that the season was too 
 far advanced to render my services necessary in 
 the North Sea before the following year, I wrote 
 to the Prince-Marshal, offering to continue my 
 services till the end of the campaign. I was in- 
 debted to him for the Order of St Anne, and I 
 have a heart naturally grateful.* He made his 
 Secretary, M. Popoff, write me, that since I was 
 recalled by the order of the Empress, it was ne- 
 cessary I should obey. 
 
 " I was, however, invited to head-quarters to 
 take leave, and to receive a letter from the Prince- 
 Marshal for her Imperial Majesty. As I was 
 much interested personally, and still more so in 
 
 * Paul Jones never appears to have had a true idea of 
 the whole character of Potemkin till long afterwards. 
 Potemkin was, indeed, one of the most extraordinary 
 monsters that ever lived, — a jumble of every moral con- 
 tradiction. 
 
92 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 relation to my officers, I after dinner spoke free- 
 ly, and told M. Popoff all that was on my mind. 
 This gentleman repeated all I said to the Prince- 
 Marshal. He was offended at first, but after- 
 wards he sent for me to talk with him. Without 
 failing in the respect due to him, I spoke very 
 freely. I told him he had played an unfair game 
 at the opening of the campaign in dividing the 
 command in the Liman in the existing cncum- 
 stances of the country ; and that, if I had not 
 resolved to sacrifice my own feelings in order to 
 manage the persons he had given me for col- 
 leagues, the campaign would have taken a very 
 different turn. He confessed it, but said it was 
 too late to think of this now. He then said he 
 would be glad to see me fixed in Russia, and 
 that he was disposed to give me solid proofs of 
 his esteem, both now and in future. I showed 
 him the testimonial of the Captain of the Wolo- 
 dimer, and some other papers, to convince him 
 that he had neither done justice to me nor to 
 the squadron. He said the Prince of Nassau 
 pretended all was done by himself; ' but I have 
 never," said he, ' been deceived in him. I have 
 
PAUL JOXES. 93 
 
 always known him for what he is.' He proposed 
 that I should go to Tagenroc to equip and com- 
 mand a squadron he was building there ; but, as 
 I had been brought to Russia to take the chief 
 command in the Black Sea, and had received 
 orders from the Empress to repair to St Peters- 
 burgh, I decUned the offer. I only entreated 
 that he would consider the services of my officers, 
 and give them the seniority they had lost by the 
 promotion of those officers of the flotilla who did 
 not belong to the naval service. Admiral Mord- 
 winoff made the same request, and the Prince 
 promised to do them justice. 
 
 " Two days afterwards I received a letter from 
 the Prince-^Iarshal for the Empress, in which 
 he noticed the zeal and anxiety I had ever shown 
 for her ser\dce, and to render myself worthy of 
 her favour.* 
 
 * We give this letter. It is a good specimen of the 
 sort of thing ; nor is it possible to believe that a man so 
 acute as Paul Jones was duped or hoodwinked by this 
 fashion of speaking and writing, though for political rea- 
 sons he suffered himself to appear so : — 
 
94 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " On the 4th November, the Capitan Pacha 
 having withdrawn his advanced guard in the night, 
 set sail in the morning with his whole force, enter- 
 ing first Varna, and afterwards Constantinople, 
 with every ship of the line he had at the opening 
 of the campaign. It is singular that this enter- 
 prising commander did not attempt to force the 
 entrance of the Liman ; for Admiral Mordwinoff 
 had placed the squadron in so exposed and dis- 
 advantageous a situation, that the fire of the 
 land-batteries, which should have flanked him 
 without, was entirely covered. But it may be 
 presumed that the Turkish Admiral believed he 
 
 *' Madam, — In sending to the high throne of your 
 Imperial Majesty Rear- Admiral M. Paul Jones, I take, 
 with submission, the liberty of certifying the eagerness 
 and zeal which he has ever shown for the service of your 
 Imperial Majesty, and to render himself worthy of the 
 high favour of your Imperial Majesty. 
 
 ct 
 
 From the most faithful subject of your 
 Imperial Majesty, 
 
 " Prince Potemkin Tauricien. 
 
 31st October, 1788." 
 
PAUL JONES. 95 
 
 had done enough for the safety of Oczakow by 
 the succours he had thrown in. 
 
 " On the morning of the 7^^, agreeably to 
 a secret order from the Prince-jNIarshal, the 
 Saporoses landed, to the number of 2000, on 
 the Island of Beresane. The Turkish garrison 
 being only 300 strong, fired a few random shots, 
 and then surrendered at discretion. 
 
 " Ha\dng given the officers imder me such 
 testimonials as they merited, I embarked on the 
 morning of the 9th November in a small open 
 galley for Cherson. I was three days and three 
 nights on the way, and suffered a great deal from 
 the excessive cold. The day after my arrival 
 the river was frozen in, and I was taken danger- 
 ously ill. My health was not sufficiently re- 
 estabhshed to enable me to proceed before the 
 6th of December. Having arrived at St Eliza- 
 beth, I received intelligence that Oczakow had 
 been taken by storm on the 6th. The garrison 
 was eleven thousand strong, including the three 
 thousand that the Capitan Pacha had thrown 
 into the place before he sailed. But the cold 
 had become extreme, and the Russian army 
 
96 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 being formed in six columns to attack the place 
 at day-dawn, the Turks were completely taken 
 by surprise, and, becoming panic-struck, suffered 
 themselves to be throttled like as many sheep. 
 In the fury of the assault the Russian soldiers 
 spared nothing. I have been assured, that from 
 eighteen to nineteen thousand Turks perished on 
 that day ! 
 
 " As I wished to delay my return to court 
 till the arrival of the Prince-Marshal, I stopt 
 some days at Skloff, where General Soritsch 
 loaded me with civihties. I arrived at St Peters- 
 burgh on the 28th December, and was ordered 
 to appear at court on the 31st, when her Impe- 
 rial Majesty did me the honour of granting me 
 a private audience. I presented the letter the 
 Prince-Marshal had given me. A few days 
 afterwards the Empress sent me word, through 
 Count de Dmitrijew-Mamonow, that she must 
 wait the arrival of Prince Potemkin before de- 
 ciding on what was to be done regarding me. In 
 the meanwhile Count Besborodko told me, that 
 a command of greater importance was intended 
 for me than that of the Black Sea. 
 
PAUL JONES. 97 
 
 '^ On the 1st February, the Prince- Marshal 
 not having yet arrived, I gave in to the Vice- 
 Chancellor, Count d'Osterman, a project for form- 
 ing an alliance, pohtical and commercial, between 
 Russia and the United States. As the object of 
 this project was reciprocal advantages, and, above 
 all, to encourage the commerce of the Black Sea, 
 and of the new settlements in the Crimea, I had 
 long intended to transmit it to the Prince-Mar- 
 shal; and on his arrival at court, about the 
 middle of February, I sent him a copy. Some 
 time afterwards he took me into his cabinet, and 
 said that my plan contained some good ideas ; 
 but that he did not think it expedient to adopt it 
 at this time, as this might still further irritate the 
 EngUsh against Russia, and that it was necessary 
 first to make peace with the Turks. 
 
 " I might say a great deal more about the 
 fleet and flotilla of Cherson, but for the present 
 I have said enough." [The Rear-Admiral does, 
 however, say a good deal about the construction 
 and equipment of the Russian ships, and the in- 
 ternal regulations of the Russian navy, which 
 shows much professional acuteness, but must 
 
 VOL. II. E 
 
98 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 have small interest now that aU is changed. The 
 speculations of a clever and a practical man forty 
 years ago, on the opening prospects of the Rus- 
 sian empire, compared with its actual state, are, 
 however, both curious and important.] " The 
 commerce of the Black Sea,*" he says, " is an 
 object of very great importance ; but this com- 
 merce will always be annoyed and often inter- 
 rupted by the Turks, till Russia has a stronger 
 fleet in the Black Sea to hold them at bay, and to 
 place the keys of Constantinople in the hands of 
 the Empress. Russia having all the requisite 
 materials, in making the necessary arrangements 
 with order and economy (without speaking of 
 war, to avoid exciting suspicion in powers jealous 
 of her glory,) this deficiency might be supphed 
 in a few years. The means of obtaining good 
 seamen is to create a merchant-trade, — to form 
 an alliance with the United States, — and to have 
 a squadron of evolution on the Black Sea, di- 
 rected by an admiral and a properly-instructed 
 staff. 
 
 " I have always beheved that Russia requires 
 a port on the Asiatic side, opposite the Crimea, 
 
PAUL JONES. 99 
 
 to protect the fleet in winds and currents, and to 
 be as it were a sentinel-post on the Turks. I 
 have thought of Sinople for this purpose, and I 
 spoke of it to the Empress and Prince Potem- 
 kin; but, being afterwards better informed, I 
 found a more suitable situation, where I am cer- 
 tain such a post could 'be securely established at 
 small cost, and beard the whole Ottoman empire. 
 " I must be permitted to conclude my journal 
 with some reflections naturally suggested by mat- 
 ters affecting my personal honour. I have never 
 been able to conjecture the reason which made 
 Prince Potemkin order Admiral Mordwinofl" to 
 give up to him the official account of our opera- 
 tions, which I had drawn up in conformity to the 
 orders of the Admiralty of the Black Sea, as I was 
 assured he had done, both by Admiral Mordwinoff* 
 and his brother-in-law. No more could I guess 
 why Prince Potemkin had given orders that no 
 notice should be taken of the Httle frigate Alex- 
 ander, which had been run down in the battle of 
 the 17th June. This information also I had 
 from Admiral Mordwinoff" after I had given up 
 to him the command of the squadron. I have 
 
100 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 been assured that this frigate was always retained 
 in the list ef the marine. When I found that I 
 received no testimony of the favour of the Em- 
 press in this affair, and on other occasions very 
 interesting to the state, I was compelled to think 
 that she had been ill-informed, for her ambition 
 is to be esteemed the most magnanimous and the 
 most generous of all sovereigns.* 
 
 * It is no new incident in any service for one man to 
 gain the victory for v^rhich another is rewarded. This 
 must sometimes occur from due regard to rank and sub- 
 ordination, even where there is the strongest desire to do 
 strict justice to all the commanders. To the counsels of 
 Varage, Captain Winter, and a Milanese officer, De Litta, 
 the subsequent victory of the Cronstadt fleet over the 
 Swedes, for which Nassau was so highly rewarded, were 
 universally ascribed. The most brilliant and decisive 
 sea-battle ever gained by the Russians, that of Tschesme, 
 where the whole Turkish fleet, a town and castle, were 
 taken or destroyed in one morning, was fought by the 
 English officers, Elphinstone, Greig, and especially Dug- 
 dale, who performed prodigies of reckless valour at the 
 greatest personal hazard. Yet the Empress thought fit 
 to attribute the victory to Alexy Orloff, either from po- 
 
PAUL JONES. 101 
 
 '' I received a letter from the Minister of the 
 United States (to the Court of Versailles,) dated 
 Paris the 23d March, 1789, which began by tell- 
 ing me, that a letter he had received from me, 
 dated at St Petersburgh, the 31st January, was 
 the only proof my friends had of my existence 
 since I had left Copenhagen.^ If I had played 
 
 licy or want of information. Potemkin himself was 
 never more munificently rewarded for what he had ac- 
 tually accomplished^ than was Orloff for a victory of 
 which he obtained the credit. There were great public 
 rejoicings ; pillars and palaces were erected, and titles, 
 estates, orders, or whatever the imagination of the Em- 
 press could devise to do him honour, were heaped on 
 the murderer of her husband, to whom she had formerly 
 owed a considerable share of her usurped crown. 
 
 * In Russia, letters were systematically intercepted. 
 This was part of the policy of the government ; and such 
 things have been heard of in that country, even of later 
 date than the reign of Catherine II. When the Arch- 
 duke Paul was permitted to travel through Europe 
 with the Archdutchess, he was so well aware of the jea- 
 lousy of his mother and her government, that he arrang- 
 ed a private correspondence to be forwarded to the Swe- 
 dish post-offices by couriers. His correspondent was a 
 
102 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the part of a cipher in the campaign of the Liman 
 it was for the first time. I either deserved to lose 
 my head, or the history of the operations on the 
 Liman, which had been got up in St Petersburgh 
 during the winter, and which I saw with astonish- 
 ment in the office of M. PopofF, merited to be 
 burnt. I assert, that it was falsified even to the 
 most trifling circumstances. 
 
 " I have acted a public and distinguished part 
 for fifteen years among an enhghtened people, 
 where the press is free, and where the conduct 
 of every man is open to discussion, and subjected 
 to the judgment of his fellow-citizens. No man 
 can play the hypocrite during so long a period 
 in a career so trying as was mine. It was natu- 
 ral for the Prince of Nassau and Brigadier Alex- 
 iano to be my enemies, for they only sought their 
 
 young aid-de-camp, Bibikoff, who sometimes permitted 
 himself to describe persons about the court without suf- 
 ficient regard to decorum. Among those honoured with 
 his notice was One Eye, as he termed Potemkin. The 
 courier was intercepted at Riga, and Paul's witty corre- 
 spondent was exiled to Astracan, where he shortly died. 
 
PAUL JONES. 103 
 
 own advantage ; and Prince Potemkin, who knew 
 better, did wrong to place me in competition with 
 them ; but I cannot conceive how it happened 
 that I had around Prince Potemkin other enemies 
 as powerful as they were mahcious. I ought to 
 have found only friends in Russia, for I have 
 served that empire faithfully and well. The 
 manner in which Prince Potemkin has changed 
 in regard to me, since the commencement of the 
 war, exceeds all imagination. While he sup- 
 posed that my services would be an acquisition 
 in directing the maritime operations against the 
 Turks, the Admirals ^lordwinoff and Woino- 
 witch entirely lost his confidence as officers ; and 
 it is evident that Woinowitch had not regained 
 it on the 19th of August, when it was proposed 
 that I should go to Sevastopole to take command 
 of the fleet. When I had the misfortune to of- 
 fend Prince Potemkin by the freedom of my 
 letter of the 14th October, he sent several cou- 
 riers, one after another, entreating that Admiral 
 Mordwinoff would take command of the squadron, 
 which the latter only at last accepted on condi- 
 tion of receiving carte hlanche, and insisted that 
 
104 MEMOmS OF 
 
 the Prince should not interfere in any arrange- 
 ments he thought fit to make. 
 
 " I have mentioned that the Dnieper was 
 frozen over the day after my arrival at Cherson, 
 in consequence of which the squadron and flotilla 
 were placed in danger, from not having been pro- 
 perly secured (for the season) after the departure 
 of the Capitan Pacha. I understood that some 
 of the vessels were lost in the Liman, and that 
 the Wolodimer, to save herself, was obliged to 
 risk the passage to Sevastopole without a good 
 part of her ballast. 
 
 " Briefly — ^in a few days after my departure 
 from Cherson, Admiral Mordwinoff* was disgraced 
 and sent from the service, whilst Admiral Woi- 
 nowitch, who had married the daughter of Alexi- 
 ano, was placed at the head of the Admiralty, 
 with the chief command of the fleet, and the en- 
 tire confidence of Prince Potemkin. 
 
 " It is said that Russia has no longer need of 
 foreign naval oflicers. No one is more desirous 
 than myself that this may be so, for I cannot be 
 jealous of any one, and I must ever desire the 
 prosperity of a country I have served. I may, 
 
PAUL JOXES. 105 
 
 however, be allowed to notice, that this opinion is 
 not of very ancient date. If this had been be- 
 lieved before the last campaign, why were my 
 services so anxiously sought after ? — It assuredly 
 could not have been in comphment to me, nor in 
 order afterwards to make use of me in promoting 
 certain poUtical designs. I have frequently heard, 
 that, since the war broke out with Sweden, mea- 
 sures have been taken to induce Rear-Admiral 
 Kinsbergen to quit Holland, and re-enter the 
 service of Russia. His countrymen allege that 
 he had been oflPered the rank of vice-admiral, the 
 Order of Alexander Nevsky, and a fixed revenue 
 of 20,000 roubles a-year ; and that he had re- 
 fused all these advantages, as he had lately mar- 
 ried a wife with a fortune which enabled him to 
 hve in independence in his own country. 
 
 " It is known that the King of Sweden made 
 advantageous offers to Admiral Curtis of the 
 EngUsh navy, to induce him to take command 
 of the fleet against Russia ; and that this officer 
 decHned them, not wishing to hazard his pro- 
 fessional reputation in command of a fleet which 
 
 E 2 
 
106 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 was not in so good a condition as that of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 " The Empress will do me the justice to re- 
 member, that when I entered her service I did 
 not say one word regarding my personal interests. 
 I have a soul too noble for that ; and if my heart 
 had not been devoted to her Majesty, I would 
 never have drawn my sword in her cause. I 
 have now nothing for it but, like Admiral Kins- 
 bergen, to marry a rich wife; but I have sufficient 
 to support me wherever I choose, and I have seen 
 enough of the world to be a philosopher. WTien 
 I arrived at the Black Sea, if reasons much 
 stronger than those which withheld Admiral Cur- 
 tis had not influenced my mind and heart, which 
 were devoted to the Empress, I would never have 
 hoisted my flag on board the Wolodimer. I 
 would have refused the poor command offered 
 me, and which was not worthy of me. I have 
 never puffed off my own actions, nor given any 
 piece to the press containing my own panegyric* 
 
 * The pettish tone of some of these remarks affords an 
 
PAUL JONES. 107 
 
 " I respect the names of Kinsbergen and 
 Curtis ; but the first duty of a gentleman is to 
 respect his own character ; and I beheve, with- 
 out vanity, that the name of Paul Jones is of as 
 much value as theirs. It is thirty years since I 
 entered the navy, and I have had for friends and 
 instructors a d'Orvilliers and a Pavilon. Unfor- 
 tunately Prince Potemkin never gave himself the 
 trouble to know me. 
 
 " I had the happiness to be loved by my offi- 
 cers and men, because I treated them justly, and 
 set them a good example in fight. After I ceased 
 to command, though the campaign only lasted a 
 few days, the seamen soon found the difference. 
 They said they had lost their father : they were 
 immediately served with bad provisions. 
 
 amusing contrast to the affected coolness and indifference 
 of the sentiments they express ; but it should be remem- 
 bered, that, just before this Journal was extended, the man 
 who suffered all the neglect, injustice, and insult which 
 it records, had been irritated to the verge of despair and 
 madness by persecution and injury of a viler and yet more 
 despicable nature. Under the feeling of these wrongs he 
 writes. 
 
108 MEMOIKS OF 
 
 " I have already noticed, that Prince Potem- 
 kin had promised, in presence of Admiral Mord- 
 winoff, to advance the officers under my com- 
 mand, and to restore to them the seniority they 
 had lost by the promotion of the officers of the 
 flotilla ; but I have learnt with much pain that 
 he has not kept his word, and that in consequence 
 my officers, to the number of fifty, have de- 
 manded their dismission. Not one of them of- 
 fered to resign while I held command. Admiral 
 Woinowitch having represented to Prince Po- 
 temkin that without these officers the fleet was 
 useless, he was compelled to advance them all. 
 I have been told that they were not yet satisfied, 
 as they were not restored to their seniority, and 
 that they proposed to quit the service at the end 
 of the year. I hope justice will be done them, 
 for they are brave men. For myself I have 
 been marked out from every other officer that 
 served in the Liman ; I alone have obtained no 
 promotion, though I commanded and was alone 
 responsible ! I may be told that I ought to be 
 satisfied with having received the rank of Rear- 
 admiral on entering the service. I reply, that I 
 
PAUL JONES. 109 
 
 could not have been offered an inferior grade. 
 One officer may deserve as much in a day as an- 
 other in a Hfetime, and every officer ought to be 
 advanced according to his merits. I was not fa- 
 voured in rank on entering the Russian service. 
 I had a full right to obtain that which I accepted. 
 A man, only twenty-four years of age, has since 
 been received into the service with the rank of 
 major-general. I wish to say nothing against 
 this officer ; it is not always years that give skill, 
 much less genivis, but he must do a great deal 
 before he has my experience. 
 
 " It is painful, for the honour of human na- 
 ture, to reflect on how many malevolent and de- 
 ceitful persons surround the great, and particu- 
 larly crowned heads. I speak from my own un- 
 happy experience. Some persons had the mahce 
 to make Prince Potemkin beUeve that I made 
 unhandsome strictures on his military conduct, 
 and ridiculed his manner of conducting the siege 
 of Oczakow. I have heard a great deal said on 
 this subject, and I am aware that it excited con- 
 siderable discontent in the army. I was told, 
 durmg my illness at Cherson, that a thousand of 
 
110 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 his officers had demanded their dismission ; but 
 I defy any one to say to my face that I ever al- 
 lowed myself to criticise his operations. I have 
 been strongly attached to him, of which I have 
 given proofs during my command, and even 
 after he unjustly superseded me. There is evi- 
 dence of this in my letter of the 7th November, 
 at a time when I certainly had reason to complain 
 of his conduct. 
 
 " I have been deeply injured by those secret 
 machinations in the opinion of the Empress. 
 My enemies have had the wickedness to make her 
 beHeve that I was a cruel and hrutal man ; and 
 that I had, during the American war, even killed 
 my own nephew ! 
 
 " It is weU known, that, from motives of re- 
 venge, the English have invented and propagated 
 a thousand fictions and atrocities to stain, wound, 
 and injure the celebrated men who effected the 
 American revolution : — a Washington and a 
 FrankHn, two of the most illustrious and vir- 
 tuous men that have ever adorned humanity, 
 have not been spared by these calumniators. 
 Are they now the less respected on this account 
 
PAUL JONES. Ill 
 
 by their fellow-citizens ? — On the contrary, they 
 are universally revered, even in Europe, as the 
 fathers of their country, and as examples of all 
 that is great and noble in the human character. 
 
 *' In civil wars it is not wonderful that oppo- 
 site factions should mutually endeavour to make 
 it be believed that each is in the right ; and it is 
 obvious that the party most in the wrong will 
 always be the most calumnious. If there had 
 really been any thing against my character, the 
 EngUsh would not have failed to furnish con- 
 vincing proofs of it. I was known, with very 
 slender means, to have given more alarm to their 
 three kingdoms during the war than any other 
 individual had done. 
 
 " I have heard, that, at the period of my en- 
 tering the Russian service, the EngUsh in St 
 Petersburgh cried out against me, and asserted 
 that I had been a contraband trader. All the 
 world knows that men of this description are ac- 
 tuated entirely by avarice ; and every one to 
 whom I have the honour to be known is aware 
 that I am one of the least selfish of mankind. 
 This is known to the whole American people. I 
 
112 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 have given proofs of it not easily shown, of which 
 I possess very flattering testimonies. In a letter 
 written on the 29th November, 1782, to Con- 
 gress, by Mr Morris, minister of the marine and 
 finance departments, after having made my eu- 
 logium with the warmth of a true patriot, who 
 thoroughly knew me, he says, that ' I had cer- 
 tainly merited the favour of Congress by services 
 and sacrifices the most signal.' Men do not 
 change their characters in these respects. 
 
 '' If my heart has bled for the Americans, — 
 above all, for those shut up as victuns in Eng- 
 Hsh prisons by an act of Parhament as sanguin- 
 ary as unjust, — if I have exposed my health and 
 my life to the greatest dangers, if I have sacri- 
 ficed my personal tranquillity and my domestic 
 happiness, with a portion of my fortune and my 
 blood, to set at hberty these virtuous and inno- 
 cent men, — have I not given proofs sufficiently 
 striking that I have a heart the most tender, a 
 soul the most elevated ? — I have done more than 
 all this. So far from being harsh and cruel, 
 nature has given me the mildest disposition. I 
 was formed for love and friendship, and not to be 
 
PAUL JOXES. 113 
 
 a seaman or a soldier, to which I have sacrificed 
 my natural inclination. 
 
 " As an officer I love good discipline, which I 
 consider indispensable to the success of opera- 
 tions, particularly at sea, where men are brought 
 into such close contact. In the EngUsh navy it 
 is known that captains of ships are often tyrants, 
 who order the lash for the poor seamen very fre- 
 quently for nothing. In the American navy we 
 have almost the same regulations ; but I look on 
 my crew as my children, and I have always found 
 means to manage them without flogging. 
 
 " I never had a nephew, nor any other rela- 
 tion, under my command. Happily these facts 
 are known in America, and they prove how cruel 
 and harsh I am. I have one dear nephew,* who 
 is still too young for service, but who now pur- 
 sues his studies. Since I came to Russia I have 
 intended him for the Imperial marine. Instead 
 of imbruing my hands in his blood he will be 
 cherished as my son. 
 
 • The only son of the Rear- Admiral's eldest sister^ the 
 late Mrs Taylor of Dumfries. 
 
114 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " In short, my conduct has obtained for me 
 the returns most grateful to my heart. I have 
 had the happiness to give universal satisfaction 
 to two great and enlightened nations which I 
 have served. Of this I have received singular 
 proofs. I am the only man in the world that 
 possesses a sword given by the King of France. 
 It is to me a glorious distinction to wear it ; and, 
 above all, to have received it as a proof of the 
 particular esteem of a monarch so august, — a 
 monarch who has declared himself the Protector 
 of the rights of the human race, and who adds 
 to this glorious title that of citizen ! I have in- 
 dehble proofs of the high consideration of the 
 United States; but what completes my happi- 
 ness is the esteem and friendship of the most 
 virtuous of 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 being placed side by side with their own. It 
 
 is then certain that this is not the bust of one * 
 * * * * * * 
 
 * In the mysterious and now perhaps inexplicable in- 
 
PAUL JONES. 115 
 
 " Since I am found, too frank and too sincere 
 to make my way at the Court of Russia without 
 creating powerful enemies, I have philosophy 
 enough to withdraw into the peaceful bosom of 
 friendship ; but, as I love virtue better than re- 
 ward, and as my greatest ambition is to preserve, 
 
 trigue set on foot at the return of Paul Jones from the 
 Liman, to ruin hira personally in the good opinion of the 
 Empress, for he had been professionally sacrificed before, 
 it appears, by a passage following the above extravagant 
 self-eulogium, (which we can only pardon in an indignant 
 and persecuted man,) that accusations had been insinuated 
 against him of a yet darker and more revolting character 
 than the alleged murder of his nephew and the violation 
 of a girl. Had not the latter calumny already been made 
 public, as Paul Jones takes no notice of it in his Journal, 
 we would scarce have polluted our pages by reference 
 to it. The circumstance, however, has been noticed 
 by Count Segur, and adverted to by the American bio- 
 grapher ; and as we possess ample means from his papers, 
 and the testimony of Segur and Littlepage, of establish- 
 ing his innocence in this affair, it is noticed. Indeed this 
 absurd charge died away before he left Russia, though 
 stated by the historian of Catherine II. as the cause of 
 his being driven from that country ! 
 
116 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 even in the shades of retreat, the precious favour 
 of the Empress, I may tell her Majesty, that, 
 even in the midst of my persecutions, my mind 
 was occupied by plans for the essential advance- 
 ment of her service, of which I gave some idea to 
 her minister in June last (1789.) I have not 
 entered into details, for there are pohticians who 
 before now have robbed me of my military plans. 
 I have other projects in view from which the flag 
 of Russia might derive new lustre, and which 
 would cause but little expense to her Majesty at 
 the outset, and perhaps nothing in the end, if I 
 had the direction ; for I would be able to make 
 war support war. Whatever be the issue, I 
 have the satisfaction of having done my duty in 
 Russia, and that without any views of self-in- 
 terest. It is affirmed, that, in general, strangers 
 who come to Russia are adventurers in search of 
 fortune, not having the means of living in their 
 own country. I cannot say as to this ; but I at 
 least hope that the Empress will not class me 
 with those. 
 
 " Briefly, I am satisfied with myself; and I 
 have the happiness to know, that, though my 
 
PAUL JONES. 117 
 
 enemies may not be converted into friends, my 
 name will nevertheless be always respected by 
 worthy men who know me ; and it is to me a sa- 
 tisfaction and a signal triumph at the moment of 
 my leaving Russia, that the pubUc, and even the 
 Enghsh in St Petersburgh, with whom I had no 
 connexion, have now changed their sentiments 
 in regard to me, give me their esteem, and regret 
 my departure. 
 
 '' St Petersburgh, 29th July, 1789." 
 
 END OF THE JOURNAL OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 
 THE LIMAN. 
 
118 [MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A BRIEF notice of Russian affairs is perhaps ne- 
 cessary to enable the reader to form a correct 
 opinion of the conduct of Paul Jones during this 
 period. 
 
 The whole history of the campaign, so far as 
 it regards Paul Jones, is comprehended in the 
 character of Potemkin. He had provoked the 
 war with Turkey from motives that his extra- 
 ordinary character render credible, though in re- 
 lation to any other individual they would remain 
 unworthy of behef. Already loaded with titles, 
 honours, dignities, and crosses of almost all the 
 European orders, he still secretly longed for the 
 grand ribbon of the Order of St George, an order 
 instituted by the Empress. To dismember the Ot- 
 toman empire still farther, and procure this dis- 
 tinction, a war was to be provoked by intrigues, 
 bribery, and the promotion of intestine divisions 
 
PAUL JONES. 119 
 
 in the Turkish dominions ; and when all was pre- 
 pared, by the insolence of the Russian envoys and 
 consuls, and the barefaced violation of existing 
 treaties, the discredit of actual aggression was art- 
 fully thrown on the Porte. Russia had already 
 virtually made war, but the Turks first declared 
 hostihties. The person to whom the conduct of the 
 war on the part of Russia was confided, — Field- 
 Marshal Prince Potemkin, — was one of the most 
 extraordinary men of his own or of any age. If 
 ever great genius be allied to madness it was so 
 in the wildly-organized mind of Potemkin. The 
 Prince de Ligne, who had closely examined his 
 character, and Count de Segur, who long knew 
 him intimately, and watched him strictly, have 
 both left portraits of this singular personage, 
 which, though French in their tone and colour- 
 ing, give a tolerable idea of the eocterior of the 
 man on whose interests and caprices the fate of 
 the Russian empire as well as of Paul Jones 
 depended. Neither the acute Austrian, de Ligne, 
 nor the manners-seizing Frenchman, de Segvir, 
 held, however, a plummet-line of sufiicient length 
 to sound all the depths of Potemkin's character. 
 
120 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 The Prince de Ligne saw a great deal of " the 
 Prince," as he was called, during the stately pro- 
 gress of the Empress in 1787? and afterwards at 
 head-quarters during the campaign of I788. His 
 sketch of an unparalleled original, which was 
 written exactly at the time when Potemkin was 
 in daily contact with Paul Jones, commences 
 thus : — " I here behold a commander-in-chief 
 who looks idle and is always busy ; who has no 
 other desk than his knees, no other comb than 
 his fingers ; constantly reclining on his couch, 
 yet sleeping neither in the night nor in day- 
 time. His zeal for the Empress he adores keeps 
 him incessantly awake and uneasy ; and a can- 
 non-shot, to which he himself is not exposed, 
 disturbs him with the idea, that it costs the life 
 of some of his soldiers ; trembhng for others, 
 brave for himself; stopping under the hottest 
 fire of a battery to give orders, yet more an 
 Ulysses than an Achilles ; alarmed at the ap- 
 proach of danger, frolicksome when it surrounds 
 him ; dull in the midst of pleasure ; unhappy in 
 being too fortunate ; surfeited with every thing ; 
 easily disgusted, morose, inconstant ; a profound 
 
PAUL JONES. 121 
 
 philosopher, an able minister, a sublime politi- 
 cian, or like a child of ten years of age ; not re- 
 vengeful ; asking pardon for a pain he has in- 
 flicted ; quickly repairing an injustice ; thinking 
 he loves God when he fears the devil, whom he 
 fancies still greater and bigger than himself; 
 waving one hand to the females that please him, 
 and with the other making the sign of the cross ; 
 embracing the feet of a statue of the Virgin, or 
 the alabaster neck of his mistress ; receiving 
 numberless presents from his sovereign, and dis- 
 tributing them immediately to others ; accepting 
 estates of the Empress and returning them, or 
 paying her debts without her knowledge."* The 
 
 * This is pure fiction. Potemkin would never, if pos- 
 sible, pay his own debts. When any one came to de- 
 mand payment, PopoflPhis secretary was asked why that 
 man was not paid ? but, by a preconcerted signal, (the 
 Prince closing his hand,) the secretary was given to un- 
 derstand that no payment was intended to be made : 
 when, on the contrary, he opened his hand, which was 
 more rarely, the debt was to be discharged. The Em- 
 press had often paid his debts. His rapacity exceeded 
 his profusion. 
 
 VOL. II. F 
 
122 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Prince de Ligne proceeds in the same strain of 
 antithesis : — " Gambhng from morn to night, 
 or not at all ; preferring prodigahty in giving to 
 regularity in paying ; prodigiously rich, and not 
 worth a farthing ; abandoning himself to distrust 
 or to confidence, to jealousy or to gratitude, to 
 ill-humour or to pleasantry ; talking divinity to 
 his generals and tactics to his bishops ; never 
 reading, but sifting every one with whom he 
 converses, and contradicting to be better in- 
 formed; uncommonly affable or extremely sa- 
 vage ; affecting the most attractive or the most 
 repulsive manners ; appearing by turns the 
 proudest satrap of the East, or the most poKsh- 
 ed courtier of Louis XIV. ; concealing imder 
 the appearance of harshness the greatest bene- 
 volence of heart ; whimsical with regard to time, 
 repasts, rest, and inclinations ; like a child, 
 wanting to have every thing, or like a great man, 
 knowing how to do without many things ; sober, 
 though seemingly a glutton ; gnawing his fingers, 
 or apples and turnips ; scolding or laughing ; 
 mimicking or swearing ; engaged in wantonness 
 or prayers ; singing or meditating ; calling or 
 
PAUL JONES. 123 
 
 dismissing ; sending for twenty aides-de-camp, 
 and saying nothing to any of them ; bearing 
 heat better than any man, while he seems to 
 think of nothing but the most voluptuous baths ; 
 not caring for cold, though he appears unable to 
 exist without furs ; always in his shirt without 
 drawers, or in rich regimentals embroidered on 
 all the seams; barefoot, or in sUppers embroi- 
 dered with spangles ; wearing neither hat nor 
 cap ; it is thus I saw him once in the midst of a 
 musket-fire. Sometimes in a night-gown ; some- 
 times in a splendid tunic, with his three stars, 
 his orders, and diamonds as large as a thumb 
 round the portrait of the Empress, — they seemed 
 placed there to attract the balls ; — crooked and al- 
 most bent double when he is at home ; and tall, 
 erect, proud, handsome, noble, majestic, or fas- 
 cinating, when he shows himself to the army, 
 like Agamemnon in the midst of the monarchs 
 of Greece. What, then, is his magic ? — Ge- 
 nius, natural abilities, an excellent memory, 
 and much elevation of soul ; maUce without the 
 design of injuring ; artifice without craft ; a 
 happy mixture of caprices ; the art of conquer- 
 
124 MEMOIRS OF' 
 
 ing every heart in his good moments ; much 
 generosity, graciousness, and justice in his re- 
 wards ; a refined or correct taste ; the talent of 
 guessing what he is ignorant of; and a consum- 
 mate knowledge of mankind.' 
 
 This sketch is rather the eulogium than the 
 true character of Potemkin. He had originally 
 been the favourite of the Empress, from which 
 thraldom he alone, of her numerous lovers, pass- 
 ed into the possession of greater poUtical power 
 than was enjoyed by any other man in Russia. 
 Till his death he remained master of the desti- 
 nies of the empire, and retained a paramount in- 
 fluence over the mind of Catharine. He held 
 every oflice of importance in the state. It was even 
 whispered, that, after the death of her favourite, 
 Lanskoi, Catharine gave her hand in secret to 
 Potemkin. This was doubted at the time, and, 
 at all events, made no change in the mode of 
 life of the Empress or the Prince. It was he, in 
 general, who either chose or recommended the 
 favourites that appeared in rapid succession. A 
 part of his revenue was a hundred thousand 
 roubles from the Empress, and the same sum 
 
PAUL JONES. 125 
 
 from the new favourite, as often as this office was 
 changed. 
 
 The portrait left of this extraordinary person 
 by Count Segur, if not exact, approaches more 
 nearly to a true likeness than the epigrammatic 
 sketch of De Ligne : — " Prince Gregory Alex- 
 androvitch Potemkin was," says Segur, '* one 
 of the most extraordinary men of his times ; 
 but, in order to have played so conspicuous a 
 part, he must have been in Russia, and have 
 lived in the reign of Catharine II. In any other 
 country, in any other times, with any other so- 
 vereign, he would have been misplaced ; and it 
 was a singular stroke of chance that created this 
 man for the period that talhed with him, and 
 brought together and combined all the circum- 
 stances with which he could tally. 
 
 " In his person were collected the most oppo- 
 site defects and advantages of every kind. He 
 was avaricious and ostentatious, despotic and po- 
 pular, inflexible and beneficent, haughty and 
 obliging, politic and confiding, licentious and 
 superstitious, bold and timid, ambitious and in- 
 discreet. Lavish of his bounties to his relations. 
 
126 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 his mistresses, and his favourites, yet frequently 
 paying neither his household nor his creditors. 
 His consequence always depended on a woman ; 
 and he was always unfaithful to her. Nothing 
 could equal the activity of his mind, nor the in- 
 dolence of his body. No dangers could appal 
 his courage ; no difficulties force him to abandon 
 his projects. But the success of an enterprise 
 always brought on disgust. 
 
 " He wearied the empire by the number of 
 his posts and the extent of his power. He was 
 himself fatigued with the burthen of his exist- 
 ence; envious of all that he did not do, and 
 sick of all that he did. Rest was not grateful to 
 him, nor occupation pleasing. Every thing with 
 him was desultory ; business, pleasure, temper, 
 carriage. In every company he had an embar- 
 rassed air, and his presence was a restraint on 
 every company. He was morose to all that 
 stood in awe of him, and caressed all such as ac- 
 costed him with familiarity. 
 
 " Ever promising, seldom keeping his word, 
 and never forgetting any thing. None had read 
 less than he ; few people were better informed. 
 
PAUL JONES. 127 
 
 He had talked with the skilful in all professions, 
 in all the sciences, in every art. None better 
 knew how to draw forth and appropriate to him- 
 self the knowledge of others. In conversation 
 he would have astonished a scholar, an artist, an 
 artisan, and a divine. His information was not 
 deep, but it was very extensive. He never 
 dived into a subject, but he spoke well on all 
 subjects. 
 
 " The inequality of his temper was productive 
 of an inconceivable oddity in his desires, in his 
 conduct, and in his manner of life. One while 
 he formed the project of becoming Duke of 
 Courland ; at another he thought of bestowing 
 on himself the crown of Poland. He frequently 
 gave intimations of an intention to make himself 
 a bishop or even a simple monk. He built a su- 
 perb palace, and wanted to sell it before it was 
 finished. One day he would dream of nothing 
 but war ; and only officers, Tartars, and Cossacks, 
 were admitted to him ; the next day he was bu- 
 sied only with politics ; he would partition the 
 Ottoman empire, and put in agitation all the ca- 
 binets of Europe. At other times, with nothing 
 
128 MEMOIRS OJb' 
 
 in his head but the court, dressed in a magnifi- 
 cent suit, covered with ribbons presented him by 
 every potentate, displaying diamonds of extraor- 
 dinary magnitude and brilliance, he was giving 
 superb entertainments without any occasion. 
 
 " He was sometimes known for a month, and 
 in the face of all the town, to pass whole even- 
 ings at the apartments of a young female, seem- 
 ing to have alike forgot all business and all deco- 
 rum. Sometimes also, for several weeks succes- 
 sively, shut up in his room with his nieces and 
 several men of his intimates, he would loimge on 
 a sofa, without speaking, playing at chess, or at 
 cards, with his legs bare, his shirt-collar unbut- 
 toned, in a morning-gown, with a thoughful front, 
 his eyebrows knit, and presenting to the view of 
 strangers who came to see him the figure of a 
 rough and squahd Cossack. 
 
 " All these singularities often put the Empress 
 out of humour, but rendered him more interest- 
 ing to her. In his youth he had pleased her by 
 the ardour of his passion, by his valour, and by 
 his masculine beauty. Being arrived at maturi- 
 ty, he charmed her still by flattering her pride. 
 
PAUL JONES. 129 
 
 by calming her apprehensions, by confirming her 
 power, by cherishing her fancies of oriental em- 
 pire, the expulsion of the barbarians, and the re- 
 storation of the Grecian republics. 
 
 " At eighteen, an under officer in the horse- 
 guards, on the day of the revolution, he per- 
 suaded his corps to take arms, and presented to 
 Catharine his cockade as an ornament for her 
 sword. Soon after, become the rival of Orloff, he 
 performed for his sovereign whatever the most 
 romantic passion could inspire. He put out his 
 eye to free it from a blemish which diminished 
 his beauty. Banished by his rival, he ran to 
 meet death in battle, and returned with glory. A 
 successful lover, he quickly shook off the hypocri- 
 tical farce, whose catastrophe held out to him the 
 prospect of an obscure destiny. He himself gave 
 favourites to his mistress, and became her con- 
 fidant, her friend, her general, and her minister.. 
 
 " Panin was president of the council, and was 
 a stickler for the alliance of Prussia. Potemkin 
 persuaded his mistress that the friendship of the 
 Emperor would be of more use to her in realizing 
 her plans against the Turks. He comiected her 
 
 • ' f2 
 
130 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 with Joseph II., and thereby furnished himself 
 with the means of conquering the Crimea and 
 the country of the Nogay Tartars, which de- 
 pended upon it. Restoring to these regions their 
 sonorous and ancient names, creating a maritime 
 force at Cherson and Sevastopole, he persuaded 
 Catharine to come and admire herself this new 
 scene of his glory. Nothing was spared for ren- 
 dering this journey renowned to the latest poste- 
 rity. Thither were conveyed, from all parts of 
 the empire, money, provisions, and horses. The 
 highways were illuminated. The Borysthenes 
 was covered with magnificent galleys. A hun- 
 dred and fifty thousand soldiers were newly 
 equipped. The Cossacks were brought together ; 
 the Tartars were disciphned. Deserts were peo- 
 pled for the occasion ; and palaces were raised in 
 the trackless wild. The nakedness of the plains 
 of the Crimea was disguised by villages built on 
 purpose, and enlivened by fireworks. Chains of 
 mountains were illuminated. Fine roads were 
 opened by the army. Howling wildernesses were 
 transformed into English gardens. The King 
 of Poland came to pay homage to her who had 
 
PAUL JONES. 131 
 
 crowned him, and who afterwards struck him 
 from the throne. The Emperor Joseph II. 
 came himself to attend the triumphal progress of 
 the Empress Catharine ; and the result of this 
 brilliant journey was another war, which the 
 Enghsh and the Prussians impolitically instiga- 
 ted the Turks to undertake, and which was only 
 a fresh instrument to the ambition of Potemkin, 
 by affording him an occasion to conquer Ocza- 
 kow, which remained to Russia, and to obtain the 
 grand ribbon of St George, the only decoration 
 that was wanting to his vanity. But these latter 
 triumphs were the term of his Ufe. He died in 
 Moldavia, almost by a sudden stroke ; and his 
 death, lamented by his nieces and by a small 
 number of friends, concerned only his rivals, who 
 were eager to divide his spoils, and was very soon 
 followed by a total obh\^on. 
 
 " Like the rapid passage of those shining me- 
 teors which astonish us by their lustre, but are 
 empty as air, Potemkin began every thing, com- 
 pleted nothing, disordered the finances, disorgan- 
 ized the army, depopulated his country, and en- 
 riched it with other deserts. The fame of the 
 
132 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Empress was increased by his conquests. The 
 admiration they excited was for her ; and the 
 hatred they raised for her minister. Posterity, 
 more equitable, will perhaps divide between them 
 both the glory of the successes and the severity 
 of the reproaches. It will not bestow on Potem- 
 kin the title of a great man ; but it will mention 
 him as an extraordinary person : and, to draw 
 his picture with accuracy, he might be represent- 
 ed as a real emblem, as the hving image of the 
 Russian empire. 
 
 " For, in fact, he was colossal like Russia. 
 In his mind, as in that country, were cultivated 
 districts and desert plains. It also partook of 
 the Asiatic, of the European, of the Tartarian, 
 and the Cossack ; the rudeness of the eleventh 
 century, and the corruption of the eighteenth ; 
 the poHsh of the arts, and the ignorance of the 
 cloisters; an outside of civilization, and many 
 traces of barbarism. In a word, if we might ha- 
 zard so bold a metaphor, even his two eyes, the 
 one open, and the other closed, reminded us of 
 the Euxine always open, and the Northern ocean, 
 so long shut up with ice. 
 
PAUL JONES. 133 
 
 " This portrait may appear gigantic; but 
 those who knew Potemkin will bear witness to 
 its truth. That man had great defects ; but 
 without them, perhaps, he would neither have 
 got the mastery of his sovereign, nor that of his 
 country. He was made by chance precisely such 
 as he ought to be for preserving so long his 
 power over so extraordinary a woman."* 
 
 Segur might have added, that this Russian 
 hero was as artful as his impetuous passions per- 
 mitted ; vindictive, rapacious, and self-willed, to 
 a degree which denoted actual frenzy. When 
 young, and though a favourite not yet quite 
 estabhshed in the good graces of the Em- 
 press, he was, after a quarrel with her favour- 
 ites, the Orloffs, in which he lost an eye, sent 
 to serve under Field- Marshal Romantzoff. This 
 distinguished commander treated him with ci- 
 vility, praised his military conduct to the Em- 
 press, but gave him neither his confidence 
 nor esteem. The haughty Potemkin felt the 
 
 * Life of Catharine 11.^ Empress of Piussia, vol. iii. p. 
 326—^33. 
 
134 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 humiliation, and never forgave the man, of whom 
 he really had nothing to complain. He engaged 
 in a despicable intrigue to ruin the Countess 
 Bruce, for no other reason than that she had 
 the misfortune to be the sister of the man he 
 hated, and who disdained to cringe before him. 
 PaulJones complains thathisofRcerswere not pro- 
 moted during one campaign. The officers of Ro- 
 mantzoff were kept from advancement for fourteen 
 successive years, and the Field-Marshal himself 
 retired at last in chagrin and disgust. It was no 
 unfrequent thing for Potemkin to strike the Rus- 
 sian officers that were about him, though he did 
 not venture to display the same vivacity of temper 
 to foreigners. He sometimes, in the headlong 
 impulse of rage, struck even the native nobility. 
 Field-officers were frequently sent by him from the 
 Crimea, and from places as distant, for a dish of a 
 particular kind of fish-soup, which cost him three 
 hundred roubles ; or to St Petersburgh or Riga 
 for a few oysters or oranges. He at one period 
 compelled the Empress to dismiss one of her fa- 
 vourites, (recommended by himself some time be- 
 fore,) at the same instant that she ventured to 
 
PAUL JONES. 135 
 
 expostulate with him for having struck the uncle 
 of this young man. He ordered her to " dismiss 
 that white negro, (the favourite Yermoloff,) or 
 he would never again set his foot within the pa- 
 lace," — and the Empress obeyed ! Yermoloff 
 was at the same moment sent on his travels. To 
 Paul Jones he had emphatically said, " None 
 led him — not even the Empress !" He was ex- 
 ceedingly indignant at the Swedish war, which 
 interfered with his views on the Ottoman empire. 
 He termed it an old woman's war. When Ca- 
 tharine wrote him an account of the hasty pre- 
 parations she had made to repel the Swedes 
 who were approaching her frontier, she inquires, 
 with the good humour which never deserted her, 
 " Have I done right, my master ?'" This was less 
 a jesting expression than her Majesty probably 
 imagined. The end of this semi-barbarian is not 
 a httle edifying. Satiated and disgusted with 
 wealth, honours, conquest, and luxury, in the 
 latter years of his hfe he would sit, throughout 
 a long winter evening, alone, spreading out his 
 diamonds on a black velvet cloth kept for this 
 purpose, and arranging them in different figures, 
 
136 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 as crosses, stars, &c., weighing them, or passing 
 them from hand to hand, Hke a child playing with 
 cherry-stones, though certainly with not half the 
 enjoyment. He would often pass a couple of hours 
 gnawing his nails in gloomy silence, while he paced 
 a saloon filled with mute company, his presence 
 carrying dismay and bhghting wherever he ap- 
 peared. When attacked by the hngering fever 
 which terminated his days in his fifty-second 
 year, he disdained the advice of the court physi- 
 cians despatched to him by the Empress, and 
 continued to eat and drink with his ordinary in- 
 temperance. His usual breakfast at this time 
 was a smoked goose, with a large quantity of wine 
 and spirits. He dined in the same manner. His 
 appetites were all extravagant and irregular, and 
 indulged to excess. With fever raging in his 
 blood, he determined to leave Yassy, whither he 
 had gone to attend a congress with the agents of 
 the Porte. He fancied the air of this place dis- 
 agreed with him, and determined to go to Nico- 
 layef, one of the towns he had built. He had 
 not proceeded many miles, when he became so 
 ill that his attendants Ufted him from his carriage. 
 
PAUL JONES. 137 
 
 He threw himself on the grass, and died under a 
 tree ! This was in October 1791. The wonders 
 told of his riches, his estates, his gold, his dia- 
 monds, the splendour of his Tauridan Palace, 
 and the magnificence of his fetes, resemble the 
 enchantments of an oriental tale. Like his co- 
 adjutor, Suwarrow, Prince Potemkin was what 
 they were pleased to think, or call, religious. Su- 
 warrow never massacred ten or twenty thousand 
 of his fellow-creatures m cold blood without re- 
 turning thanks to Heaven, and giving glory for 
 the achievement. Potemkin, for a Russian, 
 could not be called cruel, but he was as supersti- 
 tious as the meanest of his soldiers. At one time 
 he affected extreme sanctity and mortification of 
 life, and even threatened to turn monk. This 
 was for a pohtical purpose, and the grossest hy- 
 pocrisy. But his superstition was unaffected. 
 He regarded himself as the peculiar favourite of 
 Heaven, and had great faith in his own good 
 fortune. The first success over the Turkish fleet 
 in the campaign of I788 was gained, as he 
 boasted to the Prince de Ligne, on the festival 
 day of his patron, St Gregory, — " Heaven had 
 
138 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 not forgotten him." Oczakow was stormed and 
 carried on some other saint"'s day. The Prince 
 of Nassau, the person with whom Paul Jones 
 was in immediate competition, was a man of 
 much feebler character. A sketch of his career 
 in Russia is the strongest corroboration that the 
 Journal of Rear- Admiral Jones can receive. 
 
 The Prince of Nassau Siegen was fickle, ar- 
 rogant, and of mean capacity. Paul Jones fre- 
 quently throws doubts on his personal courage ; 
 but a man whose whole life was spent in search 
 of wild mihtary adventures, and who continually 
 exposed himself to personal danger, could scarce- 
 ly have been a coward. Nassau proposed to 
 accompany Jones in the secret expedition against 
 England in 1779? and had abruptly abandoned 
 the scheme without explanation or apology, and 
 without even deigning to reply to the frequent 
 letters which the disappointed Commodore ad- 
 dressed to him. He had served in the unfortu- 
 nate attempt of the French on the island of Jer- 
 sey, and in the futile attack of the combined 
 powers of France and Spain at Gibraltar. On 
 the breaking out of the war with Turkey he en- 
 
PAUL JONES. 139 
 
 tered the Russian service. He had previously 
 joined the Empress, along with Potemkin, on 
 her celebrated progress to the Crimea, and was 
 rather a favourite with both of those personages. 
 He obtained the command in the Black Sea, and 
 on the arrival of Jones, there is little doubt that 
 the rival commanders \'iewed each other with 
 mutual jealousy. In an affair which took place 
 on the 29th July, which Paul Jones has not 
 mentioned, the Prince of Nassau, waiting in vain 
 for orders, and at last acting without them, had 
 the good fortune to support Prince Anhalt in a 
 very pressing emergency, and to save a Russian 
 battery. In his report to Potemkin, he boast- 
 ingly apologizes " for having advanced with three 
 gun-boats, and forced the Turks to retire, with- 
 out orders." 
 
 The reason of his withdrawing from the Liman 
 before the end of the campaign is thus related : 
 — The supineness of Potemkin in conducting the 
 siege of Oczakow was the subject of much ani- 
 madversion, and at last of great discontent in the 
 army. For months he lay as if spell-bound in 
 his camp, surrounded by the females and others, 
 
140 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ministers of his luxury and pleasure, that accom- 
 panied him everywhere, displaying all the eccen- 
 tricity and caprice of his character more extrava- 
 gantly than he had ever done before. It is alleged 
 that he was employed all this while in private in- 
 trigues to corrupt the Turkish garrison, which 
 he expected to capitulate without bloodshed. In 
 the meanwhile many lives had been lost in sor- 
 ties and abortive assaults, as well as in the am- 
 phibious warfare of the Liman. In a council of 
 war held to concert a decisive plan of attack, 
 Nassau offered, " if he might be intrusted with 
 the operation, to effect a breach in a weak part 
 of the fortress which he had discovered, and 
 which should be large enough to admit a whole 
 regiment.^"* Potemkin, offended by this vain 
 boast, and never, as he afterwards said to Paul 
 Jones, " deceived by Nassau," sarcastically ask- 
 ed him " how many breaches he had made at 
 Gibraltar ?"" Nassau, offended in his turn, soHci- 
 ted the Empress for his recall. He was accord- 
 ingly employed in the North Seas, with little 
 honour to himself and great loss to the arms of 
 Russia. In the following year he presented the 
 
PAUL JONES. 141 
 
 Empress with a plan of driving the British 
 from India drawn up by a Frenchman, M. St 
 Genie, whom he patronized. The Empress was at 
 first quite captivated with a scheme, doubly wel- 
 come from being brought forward at the very 
 time England was fitting out an armament which 
 was to act in the Baltic, and thus force her to 
 make peace with the Porte. Potemkin, who 
 had been enraged with the Swedish, or, as he 
 called it, " the old woman's war," which inter- 
 fered with his operations on the Euxine, treated 
 this wild plan of marching a Russian army to 
 Bengal with the derision and contempt it merit- 
 ed. Nassau, however, still maintained a certain 
 degree of favour with the Empress. This was 
 shown in a remarkable instance. By an injudi- 
 cious and very ill-managed attack of the galley- 
 fleet, which he commanded, on that which was 
 commanded by Gustavus III., his fleet, though 
 twice as large, was completely defeated, with the 
 loss of the one-half of his vessels. His excessive 
 arrogance was not quelled even by witnessing 
 the disastrous consequences of his own ignorance 
 and temerity. His vanity led him to imagine 
 
142 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 that the Russians had yielded to this very inferior 
 Swedish force merely to " tarnish his glory."'"' 
 He accordingly thus insolently announced his 
 disgraceful reverse to the Empress : — " Madam, 
 I have had the misfortune to fight against the 
 Swedes, the elements, and the Russians. I hope 
 your Majesty will do me justice."" To this ex- 
 traordinary note the Empress repUed, " You are 
 in the right, because I am resolved you shall be 
 so. This is highly aristocratic, but it is there- 
 fore suitable to the country in which we Hve. 
 Depend always on your affectionate Catharine.'^ 
 
 Assisted by the counsels of several able naval 
 officers of different countries, Nassau, before this 
 time, had gained a victory over the Swedish fleet. 
 This signal defeat, which soon produced peace, 
 was deeply felt by the Empress, however bravely 
 she carried it ; and the Prince of Nassau, though 
 loaded with honours, presented with a town-pa- 
 lace in St Petersburgh, an estate, numerous pea- 
 sants, and a pension of twelve thousand roubles, 
 saw his favour decline, and afterwards entered 
 the service of Prussia. His conduct in the Swe- 
 dish campaigns affords, as was said, a strong 
 
PAUL JONES. 143 
 
 corroboration of the statements of Paul Jones : — 
 guided by abler men, he succeeded, — left to him- 
 self, he rushed on destruction. 
 
 It is now time to resume the regular course of 
 the memoir, which left Paul Jones re-entering 
 St Petersburgh. 
 
144 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 It was under very different circumstances from 
 those which attended his first triumphal entry 
 about eight months before, that Jones return- 
 ed to the Russian capital. He, however, had 
 still sufficient credit at court to obtain an au- 
 dience of the Empress, at which he dehvered 
 the letter of Potemkin. A few flattering pro- 
 mises were made to him by Count de Besborodko, 
 and he immediately began his ordinary practice 
 of transmitting plans and projects, both diplo- 
 matic and military. 
 
 While he hung on thus, vainly soliciting em- 
 ployment, the infamous conspiracy aUuded to at 
 page 114 was formed against his character and 
 fortune, and threatening even his hfe, the object 
 of which is easily traced, though the precise mo- 
 tives in which it originated, and the persons who 
 imagined an interest in devising it, were never 
 
PAUL JONES. 145 
 
 clearly ascertained, even by the persecuted in- 
 dividual himself. The information on this sub- 
 ject which he procured long afterwards, and which 
 will be laid before the reader in the proper place, 
 though plausible, is neither satisfactory nor sup- 
 ported by much evidence. In his future corre- 
 spondence, Jones hints that he has reason to im- 
 pute this most infamous proceeding, if not directly 
 to EngUsh influence, at least to the desire of pro- 
 pitiating the Enghsh by the sacrifice of an indivi- 
 dual so obnoxious as he, somewhat gratuitously, 
 supposed himself to be to that nation. His self- 
 complacence had, on former occasions, seduced 
 him into the behef that the whole British nation 
 were his active enemies, and that his prowess 
 was never to be forgotten nor forcnven. More 
 recently he imagined that his reception at the 
 northern courts had been the subject of deep mor- 
 tification to such of the EngUsh as happened to 
 be at Copenhagen or StPetersburgh. At the court 
 of Denmark he had driven ]Mr EUiot into despair 
 and solitude ; and with the Enghsh at St Peters- 
 burgh it fared httle better.* A few English 
 
 * Had the truth of the statement regarding Mr Elliot 
 
 VOL. II. G 
 
146 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 naval officers in Russia did indeed raise some 
 obstacle to serving with the celebrated Paul Jones, 
 from a sense of honour and a spirit of professional 
 
 not been tacitly admitted by the biographer of Jones, 
 it would scarcely be worth notice here. It is but one in- 
 stance of thousands, of men otherwise very acute, becom- 
 ing the dupes of their own self-esteem. Jones was well 
 received at the Danish Court, and was even soothed by 
 a promised pension ; but the ministers of England had 
 carried their point regarding the prizes during eight 
 years ; while the government of Denmark, to flatter Eng- 
 land, had contrived to elude every American negotiator, 
 Jones and Franklin included. The chagrin of Mr Elliot 
 at the distinguished reception of the American agent could 
 not probably be very deep, while he saw that the American 
 business was not one jot advanced. The conduct of the 
 Court of Denmark in relation to Paul Jones, the pension 
 included, was exactly what is understood by the vulgar 
 phrase, " too civil by half." It is thus he writes of Mr 
 Elliot's distress : — " I must tell you (La Fayette) that Mr 
 EUiot was furious when he found my business at Copen- 
 hagen, and that I was received with great distinction at 
 court, and in all the best societies in Denmark. Every 
 time I was invited to sup with the King, Elliot made an 
 apology ; he shut himself up for more than a month, and 
 then left town. This occasioned much laughter : and, 
 as he had shunned society from the time of my arrival. 
 
PAUL JONES. 147 
 
 etiquette ; but as their destination was the Cron- 
 stadt fleet, where Admiral Greig commanded, 
 and as Jones was sent to the Black Sea, this soon 
 passed away.* 
 
 people said he had gone oflPin a fright!" He adds, "El- 
 liot had influenced the English to put difficulties in the 
 way of my passage by the Baltic/' meaning on his voyage 
 to Russia. 
 
 * The Life of the Empress Catharine II., (a book that 
 has long been popular, and which is esteemed authentic,) 
 is fuU of inaccuracies as far as regards Paul Jones, and in- 
 deed in many other particulars. It is stated that he was 
 appointed to a command in the Cronstadt fleet, but that 
 this was withdrawn, as the British officers, to the num- 
 ber of thirty, and without a single exception, remon- 
 strated, " considering this appointment as the highest 
 afiront that could be offered them, and a submission to 
 it an act of degradation, that no time nor circumstan- 
 ces could wipe away." They accordingly agreed to " lay 
 down their commissions, declaring it was impossible for 
 them to serve under or to act in any manner or capacity 
 whatever, with a pirate or a renegade." It is to be re- 
 membered, that this was six years after the peace with 
 the colonies. The whole passage may as well be given 
 at once. It will then require but one refutation. " The 
 
148 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 To Russia, and Russians alone, belong the 
 entire infamy of a conspiracy to ruin a stranger 
 who, it is enough to say, had incurred the dis- 
 
 appointment of Paul Jones to a command in the Cron- 
 stadt fleet/' says this work, " was recalled, and that 
 adventurer, whose character for an impetuous courage 
 had made an impression on the court far beyond its 
 value, was ordered to the armament in the Euxine, as 
 second to the Prince of Nassau. In the meantime a re- 
 port was raised of a scandalous adventure with a girl, 
 which, making a noise in the town, (St Petersburgh,) 
 occasioned him to quit the country entirely." The same 
 work goes on to state that Paul Jones, though " brave 
 at sea, was a coward on shore, — that he more than once 
 refused to accept a challenge, and was handsomely caned 
 on the Exchange of Philadelphia." Moreover, that " he 
 was extremely ignorant, and that his desperate courage 
 only served to render his atrociousness more conspicu- 
 ous." Now all this is contained in a well-known work, 
 generally esteemed authentic, and of which the fourth 
 edition, printed only eight years after the death of Paul 
 Jones, lies before us. Where then shall we look for 
 truth? According to this writer, Paul Jones never ac- 
 tually served in Russia at all, but was driven from the 
 country by the shame of his vices, before he had joined 
 
PAUL JONES. 149 
 
 pleasure of Potemkin. In every despotic court, 
 but especially in that of St Petersburgh, political 
 intriguers will never want servile instruments to 
 forward their basest and darkest purposes. In 
 the present case these instruments were found of 
 all ranks, though but of one nation. 
 
 The nature of this disgraceful affair, of which, 
 but for the interference of Count Segur, and it 
 
 the fleet on the Black Sea. The reader is aware, that, 
 however apprehensive the British officers might be, Jones 
 never was intended to command in the Cronstadt fleet, 
 then so ably conducted by Admiral Greig, supported by 
 other English officers, and also by Danes and Italians. 
 The courier of Potemkin was despatched to forward him 
 at once to the Liman, as appears by M. Simolin's letter 
 at page 330, vol. I. In the Life of Potemkin, his ap- 
 pearance in the important campaign of 1788, and the 
 support he afforded to the Prince of Nassau, are distinct- 
 ly stated. It was well known to all Europe. How a 
 man possessed ^' of desperate courage at sea," finds his 
 courage ooze out at his finger-ends on shore, is a pheno- 
 menon beyond ordinary comprehension. As we have ex- 
 tenuated no act of Paul Jones which merited reprehension, 
 we must be excused for noticing what is here set down 
 either in wilful malice or unpardonable ignorance. 
 
150 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 might be from some latent dread of public opi- 
 nion in France and America, Jones must have 
 become the victim, will be sufficiently explained 
 by the following letter, addressed to Prince Po- 
 temkin, after the unhappy writer had been for- 
 bidden to appear at court, and also by an extract 
 wliich we shall give from the Memoirs of Count 
 Segur : — 
 
 Rear'Admiral Paul Jones to Prince Potemkin. 
 
 " St Petersburgh, 13th April, 1789. 
 " My Lord, — Having had the advantage to 
 serve under your orders, and in your sight, I re- 
 member, with particular satisfaction, the kind 
 promises and testimonies of your friendship with 
 which you have honoured me. As I have served 
 all my life for honour, I had no other motive for 
 accepting the flattering invitation of her Impe- 
 rial Majesty, than a laudable ambition to dis- 
 tinguish myself in the service of a sovereign so 
 magnanimous and illustrious ; for I never yet 
 have bent the knee to self-interest, nor drawn 
 my sword for hire. A few days ago I thought 
 myself one of the happiest men in the empire ! 
 
PAUL JONES. 151 
 
 Your Highness had renewed to me your promise 
 of friendship, and the Empress had assigned me 
 a command of a nature to occupy the most active 
 and enterprising genius. 
 
 " A bad woman has accused me of violating 
 her daughter ! If she had told the truth, I should 
 have candour enough to own it, and would trust 
 my honour, which is a thousand times dearer to 
 me than my life, to the mercy of the Empress. I 
 declare, with an assurance becoming a military 
 character, that I am innocent. Till that imhap- 
 py moment, I have enjoyed the public esteem, 
 and the affection of all who knew me. Shall it 
 be said that in Russia a wretched woman, who 
 eloped from her husband and family in the 
 country, stole away her daughter, Hves here in 
 a house of bad fame, and leads a debauched and 
 adulterous Hfe, has found credit enough on a 
 simple complaint, unsupported by any proof, to 
 affect the honour of a General Officer of reputa- 
 tion, who has merited and received the decora- 
 tions of America, of France, and of this empire ! 
 
 " If I had been favoured with the least inti- 
 mation of a complaint of that nature having 
 
152 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 found its way to the Sovereign, I know too well 
 what belongs to delicacy to have presented my- 
 self in the presence of the Empress before my 
 justification. 
 
 " My servant was kept prisoner by the officers 
 of police for several hours, two days successive- 
 ly, and threatened with the knout. 
 
 " After the examination of my people before 
 the . poHce, I sent for and employed Monsieur 
 Crimpin as my advocate. As the mother had 
 addressed herself to him before to plead her cause, 
 she naturally spoke to him without reserve, and 
 he learned from her a number of important facts, 
 among others, that she was counselled and sup- 
 ported by a distinguished man of the court. 
 
 " By the certificate of the father, attested by 
 the pastor of the colony, the daughter is several 
 years older than is expressed in the complaint. 
 And the complaint contains various other points 
 equally false and easy to be refuted. For in- 
 stance there is a conversation I am said to have 
 held with the daughter in the Russian language, 
 of which no person ever heard me pronounce two 
 words together, — it is unknown to me. 
 
PAUL JONES. 153 
 
 "I thought that in every country a man ac- 
 cused had a right to employ advocates, and to 
 avail himself of his friends for his justification. 
 Judge, my Prince, of my astonishment and distress 
 of mind, when I yesterday was informed that the 
 day before, the Governor of the city had sent for 
 my advocate, and forbidden him, at his peril, or 
 any other person, to meddle with my cause I 
 
 " I am innocent before God ! and my conscience 
 knows no reproach. The complaint brought 
 against me is an infamous he, and there is no 
 circumstance that gives it even an air of proba- 
 bility. 
 
 " I address myself to you with confidence, my 
 Prince, and am assured that the friendship you 
 have so kindly promised me will be immediately 
 exerted in my favour; and that you will not 
 suffer the illustrious Sovereign of this great em- 
 pire to be misled by the false insinuations and 
 secret cabals of my hidden enemies. Your mind 
 wiU find more true pleasure in pleading the cause 
 of an innocent man whom you honour with your 
 friendship, than can result from other victories 
 equally glorious with that of Oczakow, which 
 
 g2 
 
154 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 will always rank among the most brilliant of mi- 
 litary achievements. If your Highness will con- 
 descend to question Monsiexu: Crimpin, (for he 
 dare not now even speak to me,) he can tell you 
 many circumstances which will elucidate my in- 
 nocence. I am, with profound respect, my Lord, 
 your Highnesses devoted and most obedient ser- 
 vant," &c. &c. 
 
 The document referred to in this letter appears 
 quite satisfactory. It is a declaration by the 
 husband of the woman. 
 
 " I certify, that my wife, Fredrica Sophia 
 Koltzwarthen, has left me without any reason ; 
 that she has been living in the city with a young 
 man ; and that she has clandestinely, and against 
 my will, taken away my daughter Catherine Char- 
 lotte, who is now hving with her. 
 
 " Stephen Koltzwarthen. 
 *' Saratowka, 7th April, 1789." 
 
 " I certify, that this is the free and voluntary 
 declaration of Stephen Koltzwarthen, and that it 
 is he who has signed it. " G. Braun, Pastor. 
 " Saratowka, 7th April, 1789." 
 
PAUL JONES. 155 
 
 " I certify, that my daughter is twelve years 
 of age. Stephen Koltzwabthen. 
 
 " Saratowka, 7th April, 1789." 
 
 " I certify, that Stephen Koltzwarthen has sign- 
 ed what is above written. 
 
 ". G. Braun, Pastorr 
 
 " Declaration of the Pastor Lamp of St Petershurgh. 
 
 " I certify, that the name of Koltzwarthen does 
 not at present appear in the roU of those in the 
 communion of the church, and that, previous to 
 the day when she came to my house about the 
 affair of her daughter, I had never seen her. 
 
 " J. Lamp, Pastor.''^ 
 
 The result of this letter to Potemkin does not 
 appear ; and any further information concerning 
 this affair must be sought in the Memoirs of 
 Count Segur. It was peculiarly fortunate for 
 Jones that this nobleman, a high-minded and ge- 
 nerous individual, of an honourable and a gallant 
 nation, was at this time in Petersburgh. He at 
 
156 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 once came forward with warmth and intrepidity 
 in defence of the persecuted stranger. 
 
 " Paul Jones," he says, " a sharer in the vic- 
 tories of the Prince of Nassau, had returned to 
 Petersburgh; his enemies, unable to bear the 
 triumph of a man whom they treated as a vaga- 
 bond, a rebel, and a corsair, resolved to destroy 
 him. 
 
 " This atrocity, which ought to be imputed to 
 some envious cowards, was, I think, very unjust- 
 ly attributed to the EngHsh officers in the Rus- 
 sian navy, and to the merchants who were their 
 countrymen. These, in truth, did not disguise 
 their animosity against Paul Jones ; but it would 
 be unjust to affix upon aU a base intrigue, which 
 was, perhaps, but the work of two or three per- 
 sons, who have continued unknown. 
 
 " The American Rear- Admiral was favourably 
 welcomed at Court ; often invited to dinner by 
 the Empress, and received with distinction into 
 the best society in the city ; on a sudden, Catha- 
 rine commanded him to appear no more in her 
 presence. 
 
 " He was informed that he was accused of an 
 
PAUL JONES. 157 
 
 infamous crime ; of assaulting a young girl of 
 fourteen, of grossly violating her ; and that pro- 
 bably, after some prehminary information, he 
 would be tried by the Courts of Admiralty, in 
 which there were many EngHsh officers, who were 
 strongly prejudiced against him. 
 
 " As soon as this order was known, every one 
 abandoned the unhappy American ; no one spoke 
 to him, people avoided saluting him, and every 
 door was shut against him. All those by whom 
 but yesterday he had been eagerly welcomed, 
 now fled from him as if he had been infected 
 with a plague ; besides, no advocate would take 
 charge of his cause, and no pubHc man would 
 consent to hsten to him ; at last even his ser- 
 vants would not continue in his service ; and 
 Paul Jones, whose exploits every one had so re- 
 cently been ready to proclaim, and whose friend- 
 ship had been sought after, found himself alone 
 in the midst of an immense population : Peters- 
 burgh, a great capital, became to him a desert. 
 
 " I went to see him ; he was moved even to 
 tears by my visit. ' I was unwiUing,' he said to 
 me, shaking me by the hand, ' to knock at your 
 
158 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 door, and to expose myself to a fresh affront, 
 which would have been more cutting than all the 
 rest. I have braved death a thousand times, 
 now I wish for it." His appearance, his arms 
 being laid upon the table, made me suspect some 
 desperate intention. 
 
 " ' Resume,' I said to him, ' your composure 
 and your courage. Do you not know that hu- 
 man Kfe, like the sea, has its storms, and that 
 fortune is even more capricious than the winds ? 
 If, as I hope, you are innocent, brave this sudden 
 tempest ; if, unhappily, you are guilty, confess 
 it to me with unreserved frankness, and I will 
 do every thing I can to snatch you, by a sudden 
 flight, from the danger which threatens you.' 
 
 " ' I swear to you upon my honour,' said he, 
 ' that I am innocent, and a victim of the most 
 infamous calumny. This is the truth. — Some 
 days since a young girl came to me in the morn- 
 ing, to ask me if I could give her some hnen or 
 lace to mend. She then indulged in some rather 
 earnest and indecent allurements. Astonished 
 at so much boldness in one of such few years, I 
 felt compassion for her ; I advised her not to 
 
PAUL JONES. 159 
 
 enter upon so vile a career, gave her some money, 
 and dismissed her; but she was determined to 
 remain. 
 
 " ^ Impatient at this resistance, I took her by 
 the hand and led her to the door ; but, at the 
 instant when the door was opened, the Httle pro- 
 fligate tore her sleeves and her neck-kerchief, 
 raised great cries, complained that I had assaulted 
 her, and threw herself into the arms of an old 
 woman, whom she called her mother, and who, 
 certainly, was not brought there by chance. The 
 mother and the daughter raised the house with 
 their cries, went out and denounced me; and 
 now you know all.' 
 
 " ' Very well,' I said, ' but cannot you learn 
 the names of those adventurers ?' ' The porter 
 knows them,' he repUed. ' Here are their names 
 written down, but I do not know where they live. 
 I was desirous of immediately presenting a me- 
 morial about this ridiculous affair, first to the 
 minister, and then to the Empress ; but I have 
 been interdicted from access to both of them.' 
 ' Give me the paper,' I said ; ' resume your ac- 
 customed firmness ; — be comforted ; — let me 
 
160 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 undertake it; — in a short time we shall meet 
 again. "* 
 
 " As soon as I had returned home, I directed 
 some sharp and intelligent agents, who were de- 
 voted to me, to get information respecting these 
 suspected females, and to find out what was their 
 mode of Hfe. I was not long in learning that the 
 old woman was in the habit of carrying on a vile 
 traffic in young girls, whom she passed off as her 
 daughters. 
 
 " When I was furnished with all the docu- 
 ments and attestations for which I had occasion, 
 I hastened to show them to Paul Jones. ' You 
 have nothing more to fear,' said I ; ' the wretches 
 are unmasked. It is only necessary to open the 
 eyes of the Empress, and let her see how un- 
 worthily she has been deceived ; but this is not 
 so very easy : truth encounters a multitude of 
 people at the doors of a palace, who are very 
 clever in arresting its progress ; and sealed letters 
 are, of all others, those which are intercepted with 
 the greatest art and care. 
 
 " ' Nevertheless, I know that the Empress, 
 who is not ignorant of this, has directed, under 
 
PAUL JONES. 161 
 
 very heavy penalties, that no one shall detain on 
 the way any letters which are addressed to her 
 personally, and which may be sent to her by 
 post ; therefore, here is a very long letter which 
 I have written to her in your name ; nothing of 
 the detail is omitted, although it contains some 
 rough expressions. I am sorry for the Empress ; 
 but since she heard and gave credit to a calumny, 
 it is but right that she should read the justification 
 with patience. Copy this letter, sign it, and I 
 will take charge of it ; I will send some one to 
 put it in the post at the nearest town. Take 
 courage ; believe me, your triumph is not doubt- 
 ful.' 
 
 " In fact, the letter was sent and put in the 
 post ; the Empress received it ; and, after having 
 read this memorial, which was fully explanatory, 
 and accompanied by undeniable attestations, she 
 inveighed bitterly against the informers, revoked 
 her rigorous orders, recalled Paul Jones to court, 
 and received him with her usual kindness. 
 
 " That brave seaman enjoyed with a becoming 
 pride a reparation which was due to him ; but he 
 trusted very little to the compHments that were 
 
162 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 unblushingly heaped upon him by the many per- 
 sons who had fled from him in his disgrace ; and, 
 shortly afterwards, disgusted with a country where 
 the fortune of a man may be exposed to such hu- 
 miliations, under the pretence of ill health, he 
 asked leave of the Empress to retire, which she 
 granted him, as well as an honourable order and 
 a suitable pension. 
 
 " He took leave, after having expressed to me 
 his gratitude for the service which I had render- 
 ed him ; and his respect for the Sovereign, who, 
 although she might be led into an error, knew at 
 least how to make an honourable reparation for 
 a fault and an act of injustice."" 
 
 This account is substantially correct. There 
 are some petty errors of detail, but nothing what- 
 ever to detract from the noble spirit of generosity 
 in which Coimt Segur acted to an unfortunate 
 and ill-treated man. 
 
 A letter to the Empress, which is still among 
 those papers of Paul Jones which he so carefully 
 collected and preserved, cannot be that alluded 
 to by Count Segur ; it has every internal mark 
 
PAUL JONES. 163 
 
 of his own authorship ; and as it is one of his 
 pieces justificatives, we are inclined to believe it 
 the letter really sent to the Empress : — 
 
 (Translation.) 
 
 " Letter of Rear-Admiral Paul Jones to the Em- 
 press of all the Russias. 
 
 " St Petersburgh, 17th May, 1789. 
 • " Madam, — I have never served but for ho- 
 nour, I have never sought but glory, and I be- 
 heved I was in the way of obtaining both, when, 
 accepting the offers made me on the part of your 
 Majesty, I entered your service. I was in Ame- 
 rica when M. de Simohn, through Mr Jefferson, 
 Minister of the United States at Paris, proposed 
 to me, in name of your Majesty, to take the chief 
 command of the forces in the Black Sea, which 
 were intended to act against the Turks. I aban- 
 doned my dearest interests to accept an invita- 
 tion so flattering, and I would have reached you 
 instantly if the United States had not mtrusted 
 me with a special commission to Denmark. Of 
 this I acquitted myself faithfully and promptly." 
 Here follows a detail of that singular voyage per- 
 
164 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 formed by the Chevalier in his haste and zeal to 
 reach St Petersburgh, with the particulars of 
 which the reader is already acquainted. We pass 
 this, and resume : — " The distinguished recep- 
 tion which your Majesty deigned to grant me, 
 the kindness with which you loaded me, indem- 
 nified me for the dangers to which I had ex- 
 posed myself for your service, and inspired me 
 with the most ardent desire to encounter more. 
 But knowing mankind, and aware that those 
 persons whom their superiors distinguish and 
 protect are ever the objects of jealousy and envy 
 to the worthless, I entreated your Majesty never 
 to condemn me unheard. You condescended 
 to give me that promise, and I set out with a 
 mind as tranquil as my heart was satisfied. 
 
 " In the ports of the Black Sea I found affairs 
 in a very critical condition. The most imminent 
 danger threatened us, and our means were feeble. 
 Neverthless, supported by the love which all 
 your subjects bear to your Majesty, by their 
 courage, by the ability and foresight of the 
 chief who led us, and by the Providence which 
 has always favoured the arms of your Majesty, 
 
PAUL JONES. 165 
 
 we beat your enemies, and your flag was covered 
 with fresh laurels. 
 
 " I would not notice, Madam, what I then 
 achieved, if Prince Potemkm had not distinguish- 
 ed my services by reiterated thanks, both in speech 
 and writing ; and if your Majesty, informed by 
 the Prince-Marshal of my conduct in the first 
 affair which took place on the Liman, had not 
 invested me with the honourable badge of the 
 Order of St Anne. Since that period, though I 
 have been hampered by limited orders, I have 
 committed no professional error ; I have often ex- 
 posed myself to personal danger, and I have even 
 stooped to sacrifice my personal feelings and in- 
 terests to my devotion for the good of the service. 
 
 " At the close of the campaign I received 
 orders to return to court, as your IMajesty in- 
 tended to employ me in the North Seas, and I 
 brought with me a letter from Prince Potemkin 
 for your Majesty, in which he mentioned my 
 zeal and the importance of my services. I had 
 the honour to present it, and M. le Comte de 
 Besborodko acquainted me that a command of 
 greater importance than that of the Black Sea, 
 
166 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and affording full scope for the display of talent 
 and intelligence, was intended for me. Such 
 was my situation, when, upon the mere accusa- 
 tion of a crime, the very idea of which wounds 
 my delicacy, I was driven from court, deprived 
 of the good opinion of your Majesty, and forced 
 to employ the time which I wish to devote to 
 the defence of your empire in clearing myself 
 from the stains with which calumny had covered 
 me. 
 
 " Condescend to beheve. Madam, that if I had 
 got the sHghtest hint that a complaint of such a 
 nature had been made against me, and still more 
 that it had reached your Majesty, I know too 
 well what is owing to dehcacy to have ventured 
 to appear before you till I was completely ex- 
 culpated. 
 
 " Knowing neither the laws, the language, 
 nor the forms of justice of this country, I needed 
 an advocate, and obtained one ; but, whether from 
 terror or intimidation, he stopt short all at once, 
 and durst not undertake my defence, though con- 
 vinced of the justice of my cause. But truth 
 
PAUL JONES. 167 
 
 may always venture to show itself alone and un- 
 supported at the foot of the throne of your Ma- 
 jesty. I have not hesitated to labour unaided 
 for my own vindication ; I have attested proofs ; 
 and if such details may appear under the eyes of 
 your Majesty, I present them, and if your Majes- 
 ty will deign to order some person to examine 
 them, it will be seen by the report which will be 
 made, that my crime is a fiction, invented by the 
 avarice of a wretched woman, who has been coun- 
 tenanced,- perhaps incited, by the mahce of my 
 numerous enemies. Her husband has given evi- 
 dence of her infamous conduct. His signature 
 is in my hands, and the pastor of the district has 
 assured me, that if the college of justice will give 
 him an order to this effect, he will obtain an at- 
 testation from the country people that the mother 
 of the girl referred to is a wretch absolutely un- 
 worthy of beUef. 
 
 " Take a soldier's word, Madam ; beheve an offi- 
 cer whom two great nations esteem, and who has 
 been honoured with flattering marks of their ap- 
 probation, (of which your Majesty will soon re- 
 
168 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ceive a direct proof from the United States,*) I 
 am innocent ! and if I were guilty, I would not 
 hesitate to make a candid avowal of my fault, 
 and to commit my honour, which is a thousand 
 times dearer to me than my life, to the hands of 
 your Majesty. 
 
 " If you deign. Madam, to give heed to this 
 declaration, proceeding from a heart the most 
 frank and loyal, I venture from your justice to 
 expect that my zeal will not remain longer in 
 shameful and humiliating inaction. It has been 
 useful to your Majesty, and may again be so, 
 especially in the Mediterranean, where, with in- 
 significant means, I will undertake to execute 
 most important operations, the plans for which I 
 have meditated long and deeply. But if circum- 
 stances, of which I am ignorant, do not admit 
 the possibihty of my being employed during the 
 campaign, I hope your Majesty will give me per- 
 mission to return to France or America, granting, 
 as the sole reward of the services I have render- 
 
 * Referring to the medal ordered to be struck by Con- 
 gress. 
 
PAUL JONES. 169 
 
 ed, the hope of renewing them at some future 
 day. 
 
 " Nothing can ever change or efface in my 
 heart the deep feelings of devotedness with which 
 your Majesty has inspired me. 
 
 " To you, Madam, I am personally devoted. 
 I would rather have my head struck off than see 
 those ties broken asunder which bind me to your 
 service. At the feet of your Majesty I swear to 
 be ever faithful to you, as well as to the empire, 
 of which you form the happiness, the ornament, 
 and the glory. — I am, 
 
 With the most profound respect, 
 Madam," &:c. 
 
 There are, as was said, several important mis- 
 takes, though no wilful misrepresentation what- 
 ever, in the details given by Count Segur. 
 Though Jones was so far exculpated as to be 
 permitted to appear again at court, it was mere- 
 ly for the ceremony of taking leave of the Em- 
 press and royal family, when he had, as will ap- 
 pear, been virtually dismissed from Russia. The 
 Order of St Anne, to which Segur refers, he had 
 
 VOL. II. H 
 
170 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 obtained long before. So far was he from receiv- 
 ing any pension from Russia, that his small ap- 
 pointments were tardily paid, and not till after re- 
 peated solicitation. Instead of being loaded " with 
 compliments," he was treated while he continued 
 to hang on in the hope of employment, first with 
 the most chilling neglect, and afterwards with 
 repulsive rudeness. Besborodko, the favourite 
 minister of Catharine, who, on his coming to 
 Russia, had overwhelmed the Rear- Admiral with 
 kindness, shut his doors in the face of the super- 
 numerary officer, and did not affect to disguise his 
 weariness and disgust of the applausive recapi- 
 tulations of past services and projects for future 
 maritime achievements with which he continued 
 to be annoyed by the man whose day was gone 
 by. The alleged crime of the Rear-Admiral, 
 had his guilt even been estabhshed, would, we 
 are apt to think, have been no insurmountable 
 barrier to his success in Russia, had a continu- 
 ance of his services been wished for ; nor was his 
 innocence found any recommendation. The Em- 
 press may have expressed herself in the terms 
 stated by Count Segur, but this as certainly pro- 
 
PAUL JONES. 171 
 
 duced no favourable change in the position of the 
 party so grossly injured. His correspondence 
 with Besborodkoj after this affair had been closed 
 up, shows the real nature of his situation, and 
 affords a painful and humiliating picture of the 
 dying struggles of ambition. 
 
 To strengthen or bolster up his interests in 
 Russia, Paul Jones at this time endeavoured to 
 bring into play a httle diplomatic influence, know- 
 ing the avidity with which that grasping and am- 
 bitious power caught at every appearance of ad- 
 vantage. He had written thus to Mr Jefferson 
 soon after his return from the Liman : — " I can 
 only inform you that I returned here by the spe- 
 cial desire of the Empress, but I know not as yet 
 how or where I am to be employed for the next 
 campaign. I mentioned in my last, as my opi- 
 nion, that if the new government of America de- 
 termines to chastise the Algerines, I think it now 
 a favourable moment to conclude a treaty with 
 Russia. The Tiurks and Algerines were com- 
 bined against us on the Black Sea. The United 
 States could grant leave for Russia to enhst Ame- 
 rican seamen, and, making a common cause with 
 
172 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Russia in the Mediterranean, might at the peace 
 obtain a free navigation from and to the Black 
 Sea. Such a connexion might lead to various 
 advantages in the commerce between the two na- 
 tions." 
 
 Whether Mr Jefferson thought the Admiral 
 too desirous of cutting out work for himself, or 
 that he rather stepped out of his department in 
 interfering in such affairs, his hints appear to 
 have met with the return to which he was well 
 accustomed — neglect, — neglect which might have 
 repelled a haughtier spirit, and which, in many 
 instances, was keenly felt by him, without, how- 
 ever, deterring him from renewed attempts to 
 bring himself by every possible means into notice. 
 
 He waited for some weeks after his character 
 was cleared at court before he sent the minister 
 the following letters, which were formerly alluded 
 to: — 
 
 '' To his Excellency Count Beshorodhofrom Rear- 
 Admiral Paid Jones. 
 
 " St Petersburgh, 24th June, 1789. 
 " Sir, — When I had the honour to see your 
 
PAUL JONES. 173 
 
 Excellency last week, I ventured to promise my- 
 self that in two days I would be made acquainted 
 with the ulterior intention of her jNIajesty, whe- 
 ther this was to give me a command, or a tempo- 
 rary leave of absence. No doubt important af- 
 fairs have occasioned the delay. You will, I 
 hope, have the goodness to permit me to present 
 myself at your hotel to-morrow afternoon ; for if 
 it is thought fit to employ my services, there is 
 no time to lose, seeing the advance of the season. 
 
 " The detachment of vessels of which your Ex- 
 cellency spoke to me might probably be most 
 useful in the operations which I have projected ; 
 but, at the same time, I regard the plan men- 
 tioned in the private note which I have sent you 
 as very useful. I would then wish (if circum- 
 stances permitted) to combine these plans ; and 
 then I think there would be reason to be satis- 
 fied with the result. 
 
 " I have mentioned to your Excellency that I 
 am the only officer who made the campaign of 
 the Liman without being promoted ; but I be- 
 seech you to beheve that I have not accepted of 
 service in Russia to occasion embarrassment ; 
 
174 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and since the Empress had given me her esteem 
 and her confidence, I wish for nothing save new 
 opportunities to prove my devotion by fresh ser- 
 
 vices." 
 
 This letter elicited no reply, and produced no 
 improvement in the situation of the applicant, 
 save that the leave of absence at which he hinted, 
 though it was the last thing he wished for, was 
 at once accorded, there being evidently an anxious 
 wish to be rid of himself, his projects, and im- 
 portunities. The subjoined letter, written soon 
 afterwards, may teach a lesson of contentment, 
 and even of cheerful gratitude, to those persons, 
 if such there be, who, in their ignorance of pub- 
 lic hfe, may envy the brilliant fortunes of a lucky 
 adventurer, raised by circumstances far above 
 the level of those of his original rank in society. 
 
 " Rear'Admiral Paul Jones to Count de Besbo- 
 
 rodho. 
 
 " St Petersburgh, 14th July, 1789. 
 " Sir, — I presented myself at your hotel the 
 day before yesterday, to take leave, and, at the 
 
PAUL JONES. 175 
 
 same time, to entreat of you to expedite my 
 commission, my passport, and the leave of ab- 
 sence which her Majesty has thought fit to grant 
 me. Though I have perceived on several for- 
 mer occasions that you have shunned giving me 
 any opportunity to speak with you, I made my- 
 self certain that this could not occur at a last in- 
 terview; and I confess I was very much sur- 
 prised to see you go out by another door, and 
 depart without a single expression of ordinary 
 civihty addressed to me at the moment of my 
 leaving Russia, to console me for all the bitter 
 mortifications I have endured in this empire. 
 Before coming to Russia I had been connected 
 with several governments, and no minister ever 
 either refused me an audience, or failed to reply 
 to my letters. 
 
 " After the eagerness with which my services 
 were sought, and the fair promises that were 
 made me, I had reason to beheve that I would 
 find in Russia every thing pleasant and agree- 
 able. I was confirmed in this belief from the es- 
 sential services which I had the good fortune to 
 render the empire. I am aware that your Ex- 
 
1^6 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 cellency is sometimes teased by importunate per- 
 sons, but, as I am a man of delicacy in every 
 thing, I deserve to be distinguished from the 
 common herd. 
 
 " On the 6th of June, the last time you gave 
 me an opportunity of speaking with you, I gave 
 you a confidential note,* containing the details 
 
 * Secret Note addressed to the Minister Besborodko 
 by Rear- Admiral Paul Jones. 
 
 " June 6, 1789. 
 
 " The great object of a Russian fleet in the Mediter- 
 ranean is to endeavour to cut off the communication be- 
 tween Egypt and the coast of Syria with Constantinople, 
 from whence they procure their corn, rice, coffee, &c. 
 This operation will oblige them to withdraw a very con- 
 siderable part of their fleet from the Black Sea. To en- 
 compass this end, I ask a carte blanche, and only, exclu- 
 sive of small boats, five large vessels, like the East-India- 
 men which are purchased in London after they have 
 made three voyages, and which carry from forty to fifty 
 guns. They are strong vessels and good sailers. They 
 are sent from London to Naples under the English flag, 
 under pretext of being engaged in mercantile enterprises. 
 No person can have any thing to say against it. The 
 
PAUL JONES. 177 
 
 of a plan by which, without interfering with any 
 other project, and with the utmost economy, 
 great service might be done to Russia. You 
 promised to submit it to the Empress ; and you 
 yourself proposed to place a detachment of ves- 
 sels under my command, to serve during the ex- 
 isting campaign in the Black Sea, and afterwards 
 in the Mediterranean. I could not have ima- 
 gined that these plans were so carelessly to be 
 thrown aside ; and, in place of discussing and 
 arranging them with you, I was very much asto- 
 
 crew of those vessels being arrived in Italy, would en- 
 gage in the service of Russia. For the rest we would 
 easily find good sailors at Malta and at Naples. I would 
 employ two small French vessels between Malta and 
 Naples, trading to Smyrna, to procure continual news 
 from Constantinople,, and of the force and position of the 
 Turkish fleet. There are some very important blows to 
 be made ; but in order to succeed we must not speak of 
 this matter beforehand. We are informed that the want 
 of provisions at Constantinople has occasioned a rebel- 
 lion, discouraged the people, and caused a great desertion 
 of the troops. It is the policy of the vizier to render 
 himself popular by providing sufficiently for them." 
 
 h2 
 
178 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 nished when his Excellency the Count de Bruce 
 announced to me that the Empress had granted 
 me a leave of two years. 
 
 " On the 1st of February I gave in, by order 
 of his Excellency, Count Ostermann, the plan of 
 a treaty, poHtical and commercial, between Russia 
 and the United States. As the Vice-Chancellor 
 spoke to me of going to America about this 
 purpose, and as I shall soon again be connected 
 with my old friends who constitute the present 
 government of the United States, I would be ex- 
 tremely happy to learn, through your Excellency, 
 the intentions of her Imperial Majesty in this 
 respect, and to be appointed to forward an al- 
 liance by which Russia must gain. 
 
 " The United States having concluded a 
 treaty of friendship and commerce with the Em- 
 peror of Morocco, are about to propose to the 
 different powers of Europe a war with the other 
 Barbary states, and to form a confederation 
 against these pirates, till they shall be annihi- 
 lated as maritime powers. It is proposed, that 
 even the event of a war between the contracting 
 parties shall not disturb the confederation. It 
 
PAUL JONES. 179 
 
 would be worthy of the august Sovereign of this 
 empire to place herself at the head of an alliance 
 so honourable, and of which the consequences 
 must be so useful to Russia. It would give me 
 peculiar satisfaction if your Excellency thought 
 fit to appoint me to make known the intentions 
 of the Empress to the United States on these 
 two points, and I trust I should be able to 
 acquit myself of so honourable a duty to your 
 contentment. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, with sincere at- 
 tachment and high consideration," &c. &c. 
 
 His Excellency did not " think fit" to make 
 the solicited appointment. 
 
 The Rear-Admiral, as unfortunate in his at- 
 tempts to obtain a diplomatic mission as a naval 
 command, was now obliged to turn his back on 
 Russia, and devoiur his chagrin and disappoint- 
 ment as he best could. He had, however, the 
 honour of an audience of leave, though he found 
 considerable difficulty in obtaining his pay and 
 arrears. " When," he says in a letter to M. 
 Genet, " the Count de Bruce sent for me on 
 
180 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the 27th June," (two days only after his letter 
 to Besborodko,) " he told me, on the part of 
 the Empress, that her Imperial Majesty had 
 granted me a leave for two years, with the ap- 
 pointments belonging to my mihtary rank during 
 my absence. The Count de Besborodko wrote 
 me 30th July, informing me that M. Strekalow 
 had received her Majesty's orders with respect to 
 my appointments and arrearages. I have not 
 been able to see M. de Strekalow, though I have 
 called frequently at the cabinet. I have only 
 received my appointments from the time of my 
 entry into the service to the 1st of July, at the 
 rate of 1800 roubles* a-year ; and I was told yes- 
 terday at the cabinet, that her Majesty likewise 
 mentions nothing but the appointments then due. 
 If I could beheve that this was her Majesty's in- 
 tention I should remain silent ; for I certainly 
 did not accept the service her Majesty offered me 
 on account of my appointments or the usual 
 emoluments of my grade." 
 
 * A rouble was in 1789 worth about four shillings Eng- 
 lish money. 
 
PAUL JONES. 
 
 181 
 
 He was satisfied in this respect, and thus left 
 St Petersburgh. 
 
 In the Memoir of Paul Jones published in 
 London, no occasion is lost of implicating the 
 English and England as the cause, if not the di- 
 rect instruments, of his persecution in Russia. 
 *• Notwithstanding," it is said, " his regaining 
 the favour of the Empress, the Russian ministers 
 were unwilling to offend England by a refusal to 
 drive him from the service ; and their intrigues 
 to accomphsh this end were unceasing." Now 
 there is not a vestige of evidence that England 
 or the English in Russia ever interfered with his 
 affairs, save to give him their pity as an iU-used 
 man. To this he himself bears testimony, both 
 in his Journal, and, as will afterwards appear, in 
 his correspondence. Nor does it seem that the 
 Russian ministers found it necessary to give 
 themselves much trouble to accomphsh their ob- 
 ject. Nothing, it has been seen, could be more 
 cool and contemptuous than the whole tenor of 
 their conduct. 
 
 The reader, in possession of the real circum- 
 stances attending the departure of Paul Jones 
 
182 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 from Russia, will be able to estimate aright the 
 following letter and paragraph, put forth from 
 the kindest motives by Count de Segvir, imme- 
 diately before the Rear-Admiral left that coun- 
 try :— 
 
 C( 
 
 Count de Segur to Count Montmorin. 
 
 " St Petersburgh, 21st July, 1789. 
 
 " The enemies of the Vice- Admiral Paul 
 Jones having caused to be circulated reports en- 
 tirely destitute of foundation, concerning the 
 journey which this general officer is about to un- 
 dertake, I would wish the enclosed article, the 
 authenticity of which I guarantee, should be in- 
 serted in the Gazette of France, and in the other 
 pubUc papers which are submitted to the inspec- 
 tion of your department. This article will unde- 
 ceive those who have beheved the calumny, and 
 will prove to the friends and to the compatriots 
 of the Vice- Admiral, that he has sustained the 
 reputation acquired by his bravery and his ta- 
 lents during the last war ; that the Empress de- 
 sires to retain him in her service ; and that if he 
 
PAUL jo:s"ES. 183 
 
 absents himself at this moment, it is with his own 
 free-will, and for particular reasons, which cannot 
 leave any stain on his honour. 
 
 " The glorious marks of the satisfaction and 
 bounty of the King towards M. Paul Jones, his 
 attachment to France, which he has served so 
 usefully in the common cause, his rights as a 
 subject, and as an admiral of the United States, 
 the protection of the ministers of the King, and 
 my personal friendship for this distinguished offi- 
 cer, with whom I made a campaign in America, 
 are so many reasons which appear to me to jus- 
 tify the interest which I took in all that con- 
 cerned him during his stay in Russia. 
 
 " The Count de Segur." 
 
 "^ Article to be inserted in the Public PrintSj and 
 particular^ in the Gazette of France. 
 
 " St Petersburgh, 21st July, 1789.— The 
 Vice- Admiral Paul Jones, being on the point of 
 returning to France, where private affairs re- 
 quire his presence, had the honour to take leave 
 of the Empress the 7th of this month, and to be 
 
184 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 admitted to kiss the hand of her Imperial Ma- 
 jesty,* who confided to him the command of her 
 vessels of war stationed on the Liman during 
 the campaign of I788. As a mark of favour for 
 his conduct during this campaign, the Empress 
 has decorated him with the insignia of the order 
 of St Anne ; and her Imperial Majesty, satisfied 
 with his services, only grants him permission to 
 absent himself for a Hmited time, and still pre- 
 serves for him his emoluments and his rank." 
 
 This was putting the best face on the affair ; 
 and the paragraph appeared in the Gazette of 
 France, and in many other journals. 
 
 Early in September Jones left St Petersburgh 
 for Warsaw, furnished with letters of introduc- 
 tion, explanation, and vindication from the Count 
 de Segur to different individuals, all written in 
 the same generous spirit as the above. The 
 kindness of Count Segur to a man placed in a 
 situation generally so fatal to court-friendships 
 
 » e( 
 
 This general officer, so celebrated by his brilliant ac- 
 tions during the course of the American war, was called, 
 in 1787, to the service of her Imperial Majesty." — Note 
 to the Newspaper Paragraph. 
 
PAUL JONES. 185 
 
 does him great honour. His original letters still 
 remain among the papers of the Rear-Admiral, 
 who, however, transmitted copies of them to many 
 of his friends. Count Segur was not the only 
 Frenchman who sustained the calumniated 
 stranger under the base attempts of his enemies. 
 M. de Genet, the younger, was at this time the' 
 secretary of legation at St Petersburgh. Paul 
 Jones, at a former period, had been intimate with 
 the father and family of this gentleman at Ver- 
 sailles, and the young Frenchman did not now 
 forget his father's former friend. M. de Genet 
 undertook the arrangement of his pecuniary af- 
 fairs with the Russian government, and gave him 
 a letter to his sister, the celebrated Madame 
 Campan, explaining the atrocious slanders pro- 
 pagated in St Petersburgh, and placing the in- 
 nocence of the calumniated individual beyond 
 aU suspicion. This original letter also remains 
 among the papers of the Rear-Admiral. It was 
 some months before he returned to Paris, and he 
 might then have felt reluctant to revive the re- 
 collection of a charge so disgusting as to make 
 
186 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the task of vindication both humiliating and 
 painful to a mind of any delicacy . 
 
 Before quitting this subject, it may be proper 
 again to notice that Jones, though occasionally 
 betrayed by self-complacence into the behef that 
 the Enghsh were all his enemies, lived to re- 
 tract much of this absurd notion. He fairly 
 acquits them of having any share in that con- 
 spiracy, of which the capital of Russia formed 
 the appropriate scene, and in this shows far more 
 candour than his American or London historian. 
 
 In 1791, in writing from Paris to Mr Jeffer- 
 son, then in America, he gives the following 
 clue to the mystery of his treatment in Rus- 
 sia. '' Chevalier Littlepage, now here on his 
 way from Spain to the north, has promised 
 me a letter to you on my subject, which I pre- 
 sume will show you the meanness and absurdity 
 of the intrigues that were practised for my per- 
 secution at St Peter sburgh. I did not myself 
 comprehend all the blackness of that business till 
 he came here, and related to me the informa- 
 tion he received from a gentleman of high rank 
 
PAUL JONES. 187 
 
 in the diplomatic department, with whom he 
 had travelled in company from Madrid to Paris. 
 That gentleman had long resided in a public 
 character at St Petersburgh, and was there all 
 the time of the pitiful complot against me, which 
 was conducted by a little great man behind the 
 curtain. The imequalled reception with which 
 I had at first been honoured by the Empress 
 had been extremely mortifying and painful to the 
 English at St Petersburgh; and the courtier 
 just mentioned, (finding that politics had taken 
 a turn far more alarming than he had expected 
 at the beginning of the war,) wishing to sooth 
 the Court of London into a pacific humour, 
 found no first step so expedient as that of sacri- 
 ficing me. But, instead of producing the ef- 
 fect he wished, this base conduct, on which he 
 pretended to ground a conciliation, rather tend- 
 ed to widen the political breach, and made him 
 despised by the English minister, by the EngHsh 
 cabinet, and by the gentleman who related the 
 secret to Mr Littlepage." The letter of Mr 
 Littlepage, transmitted to Mr Jefferson along 
 with the above, in part confirms this solution of 
 
188 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 an intrigue, so essentially Russian. Yet there 
 remains some secret cause and movement which 
 it is impossible to fathom. " The campaign upon 
 the Liman,**"* says Chevalier Littlepage, " added 
 lustre to the arms of Russia, and ought to have 
 estabhshed for ever the reputation and fortime of 
 the gallant officer to whose conduct those suc- 
 cesses were owing.'' (Littlepage attributes to the 
 Rear- Admiral the entire success of the campaign 
 of 1788; not, like Count Segur, dividing his lau- 
 rels with Nassau ; and it is to be remembered, 
 that Littlepage was an eye-witness of an import- 
 ant part of it). " Unfortunately," he continues, 
 " in Russia, more perhaps than elsewhere, every 
 thing is governed by intrigue. Some pohtical 
 motives, I have reason to think, concurred in 
 depriving Rear- Admiral Paul Jones of the fruits 
 of his services ; he was thought to be particularly 
 obnoxious to the English nation, and the idea 
 of paying a servile compliment to a power whose 
 enmity occasions all the present embarrassments 
 of Russia induced some leading persons to ruin 
 him, in the opinion of the Empress, by an ac- 
 cusation too ridiculous to be mentioned." 
 
PAUL JONES. 189 
 
 On leaving Warsaw, it was the intention of 
 Paul Jones to return to France by Copenha- 
 gen and Berlin ; but, as it was known that he 
 had left Russia dissatisfied, he deemed it best 
 to avoid all farther occasion of giving his enemies 
 any handle against him, and accordingly kept 
 away from places where it might be presumed 
 that he was tempted to tell tales, or utter com- 
 plaints. 
 
 Disgrace at Petersburgh did not at this junc- 
 ture imply a cold reception at Warsaw ; and in 
 this capital — soon to be a capital no more — Jones 
 was well received, and remained for two months. 
 From Warsaw he despatched the Journal of his 
 American Campaigns for the perusal of the Em- 
 press, and also an abridgment of the Journal 
 of his Campaign on the Liman. Her Imperial 
 Majesty had, it seems, at some former period, ci- 
 villy expressed a desire to see his Journal of the 
 American war. The old spirit was not yet quite 
 subdued. " I have added,"" he says, " some tes- 
 timonies of the high and unanimous considera- 
 tion of the United States, and of the private 
 esteem with which I was honoured by several 
 
190 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 great men to whom I am 'perfectly known^ such 
 as M. Malsherbes and the Count d'Estaing* of 
 
 * This evidently refers to the complimentary letters 
 with which these gentlemen returned the Journal ; in 
 which letters the author of the Journal naturally sees 
 perhaps more than is visible to any eyes less interested. 
 We give them here. 
 
 <e 
 
 Letter from Count d'JEstaing to Paul Jones, on reading 
 
 his Journal. 
 
 '^ It is impossible. Sir, not to abuse your kindness : 
 never lend me your Journal again, for I give you my 
 honour that I shall every time read it throughout, and 
 always with new delight. It is among the number of 
 things that one wishes to have by heart. In it the lesson of 
 military and naval heroism becomes identified with that 
 of generosity, by your conduct towards Lord and Lady 
 Selkirk. 
 
 " I am far from regretting the tribute of admiration 
 I have paid to the fight between the Bon Homme Rich- 
 ard and the Serapis ; and though in writing it I did not 
 imagine it could lead to any thing beyond an admission 
 into the society of the Cincinnati,* I cannot but be 
 
 * The Count had recommended Captain Edward Stack for admission 
 into this society. 
 
PAUL JONES. 191 
 
 France, and Mr Morris, minister of the Ameri- 
 can marine. I owe to my own reputation and to 
 
 flattered to find that you have inserted it among the 
 pieces appended to your Journal. 
 
 *' I have the honour to be, with the 
 most perfect attachment, 
 
 " ESTAING. 
 
 "Paris, 18th December, 1785." 
 
 " Letter of M. Mabherbes to Captain Paul Jones, on 
 perusing his Journal. 
 
 " Paris, 27th February, 1786. 
 
 *' Sir, — I have received this mark of your confidence 
 with much gratitude, and have with great eagerness and 
 pleasure read this interesting relation. 
 
 " My first idea was, that you should give it to the 
 press ; but since I have perused it, I perceive that it is 
 not for the public you have drawn it up, as it contains 
 matters written only for the King, for whom the narra- 
 tive was intended. In the meanwhile it is highly ne- 
 cessary that deeds so memorable as yours should be made 
 known to the pubHc in an authentic Journal published 
 in your own name. 
 
 " I exhort you to set about this as soon as your aflPairs 
 permit you, and in the meanwhile I hope the King will 
 
192 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 truth, to accompany this Journal with an abridg- 
 ment of that of the campaign of the Liman. If 
 
 read this work with the attention he owes to the relation 
 of services performed by a man so celebrated as you. 
 
 " Malsherbes." 
 
 We may here give the dedication of this Journal to 
 the King of France, as a fair specimen of the elaborate 
 composition of the writer, whose abilities, merely in a 
 literary point of view, are, his narrow education and 
 modes of life considered, not a little remarkable. As is 
 not singular, however, his fine and careful writing is by 
 no means his best style : — 
 
 " Sire, — History gives the world no example of such 
 generosity as that of your Majesty towards the young 
 Republic of America; and I believe that never was a 
 compliment more flattering shown by a Sovereign to his 
 allies, than when your Majesty determined to arm and 
 support a squadron under the flag of the United States. 
 
 " Words cannot express my sense of the preference I 
 obtained when your Majesty deigned to make choice of 
 me to command that squadron. 
 
 " Your Majesty has as much reputation for know- 
 
PAUL JONES. 193 
 
 you, Madam, read it with attention, you will see 
 how httle I have deserved the mortifications I 
 have suffered, — mortifications which the justice 
 
 ledge, and the desire of information, as you have for wis- 
 dom and justice; but, besides that consideration, I con- 
 ceive it to be my duty to lay before your Majesty an 
 account of my conduct as an officer, particularly from the 
 date of the alliance between your Majesty and the United 
 States. As your Majesty understands English, I have 
 perhaps judged ill in presenting the extract of my Jour- 
 nals in French. My motive was to give your Ma- 
 jesty as little trouble as possible. Accept, Sire, with 
 indulgence, this confidential offering of my gratitude, 
 which is an original, written for your particular infor- 
 mation. 
 
 " It has been and will be the ambition of my life to 
 merit the singular honour conferred on me by your Ma- 
 jesty's brevet, dated at Versailles the 28th June, 1780, 
 which says, ' Sa Majeste voulant marquer au J. Paul 
 Jones, Commodore de la Marine des Etats-Unis de 
 I'Amerique, V estime pariiculiere quelle fait de sa personne, 
 pour les preuves de bravoure et d'intre'pidite qu'il a don- 
 nees, et qui sont connus de sa Majeste, elle a juge a propos 
 de I'associer a Tinstitution du Merite Militaire,' &c. 
 
 *' The Congress of the United States has, with great 
 VOL. II. /I 
 
194 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and goodness of your Majesty can alone make 
 me forget. 
 
 " As I never offended in word or thought 
 against the laws of the strictest delicacy, it would 
 assuredly be most desirable to me to have the 
 
 justice, styled your Majesty ' The Protector of the Rights 
 of Human Nature.' 
 
 " With the order of MiHtary Merit, your Majesty con- 
 ferred on me a gold sword, — an honour which, I presume, 
 no other officer has received ; and ' The Protector of the 
 Rights of Human Nature' will always find me ready to 
 draw that sword, and expose my life for his service. 
 
 " I am. Sire, 
 '' With the truest gratitude, 
 
 " Your Majesty's most obhged 
 " And devoted servant, 
 
 " J. Paul Jones. 
 " Paris, January 1st, 1786." 
 
 " Protector of fair Freedom's rights, 
 Louis, thy virtues suit a god ; 
 The good man in thy praise delights. 
 And tyrants tremble at thy nod. 
 
 " Thy people's father, loved so well. 
 May time respect ! — when thou art gone 
 May each new year of history tell 
 Thy sons with lustre fill thy throne." 
 
PAUL JONES. 195 
 
 happiness of regaining, in spite of the malice of my 
 enemies, the precious esteem of your Majesty. I 
 would have taken leave with a heart fully satis- 
 fied, had I been sent to fight the enemies of the 
 Empress, instead of occupying myself with my 
 own private affairs. 
 
 " Trusting entirely on the gracious promise 
 that your Majesty gave me, ' never to condemn 
 me without a hearing," and being devoted to 
 you, heart and soul, 
 
 '^ I am with profound respect,"' &c. &c. 
 
 To ensure the Journal reaching the hands of 
 the Empress, this postscript is added to the above 
 loyal effusion : — " I shall have the honour of 
 sending the Journal by the courier of Wednesday 
 next, with the proofs of every separate article. 
 It will be sealed with my arms, and addressed 
 to your Majesty, and sent under a second cover, 
 to the address of M. de Chrapowitzky." With 
 all these precautions he feared that his Journal 
 was intercepted, as it contained such " damning 
 proofs against his enemies."'"' 
 
196 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 DuEiNG his stay in Warsaw, Paul Jones be- 
 came known to the celebrated Kosciusko. On 
 leaving Poland he sent a farewell note to this 
 noble patriot and determined hater of Russia, 
 which was followed by a rather singular corre- 
 spondence. Sweden was at this time in the heat 
 of war, and it had been rumoured that the dis- 
 contented American, who had for a brief space 
 prided himself on being a Russian officer, was now 
 ready to take service with Gustavus III. This 
 report was one reason for Jones avoiding the route 
 of Copenhagen on his way to Holland, and choos- 
 ing rather to go by Vienna. 
 
 " Rear-Admiral Paul Jones to Major General 
 
 Kosciusko. 
 
 " Warsaw, November 2d, 1789. 
 " My deae Geneeal, — I intend to set out 
 
PAUL JONES. 197 
 
 this day for Vienna, where I shall only stop 
 a few days. I shall then go to Strasburgh, and 
 from thence to Holland, where I expect to arrive 
 before the 1st of December. My address in Hol- 
 land is under cover to Messieurs Nic. and Jacob 
 Stophorst, Amsterdam. 
 
 " As I shall be in relation with our friends in 
 America, I shall not fail to mention on all occa- 
 sions the honourable employment and the re- 
 spect you have attained in your own country, and 
 the great regard you retain for the natives of 
 America, where your character is esteemed, and 
 your name justly beloved for your services. — I 
 am," &c. 
 
 The letter of General Kosciusko* is writ- 
 ten in English, a language which he wrote but 
 
 * Thaddeus Kosciusko was a native of Poland, and 
 of good birth. He was educated at the Cadet-School 
 of Warsaw, and was one of four pupils annually chosen 
 by the king, and sent to complete their miUtary studies 
 in France or Germany. He was instructed at the Mili- 
 tary Academy of Versailles, and acquired a thorough 
 knowledge of every department of military science, par- 
 
198 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 imperfectly. The original orthography is re- 
 tained. 
 
 ticularly engineering. It is related, that on return- 
 ing home he fell desperately in love with a young lady, 
 who eloped with him. The lovers were pursued and 
 overtaken before they could pass the frontiers of Po- 
 land ; and as Kosciusko could only retain his mistress by 
 killing her father, he resigned her. In consequence, it 
 is said, of this adventure, but more probably from the love 
 of employment and distinction, the young Pole went to 
 America, and was appointed by General Washington 
 one of his aides-de-camp. He continued there till the end 
 of the war. The part he afterwards acted in his native 
 country is well known. In the battle in which he was 
 made prisoner, he had three horses killed under him, 
 and was captured as he fell wounded from the last. He 
 was kept in a Russian dungeon till the death of the Em- 
 press Catharine, and only liberated by Paul at his acces- 
 sion. He afterwards visited America and England, 
 and was received with the highest distinction. When 
 Bonaparte entered Poland, he tried to move the nation by 
 a proclamation issued in the name of the patriot chief; but 
 Kosciusko disowned it, and refused to have any alliance 
 either with the French conqueror or with the Russian 
 Emperor, Alexander. " He lived," says his biographer. 
 
PAUL JONES. 199 
 
 '' General Kosciusko to Rear-Admiral Paul Jones, 
 
 Amsterdam. 
 
 " Warsaw, 15th February, 1790. 
 " My dear Sir, — I had the honour to write 
 you the 1st or 3d of February. I do not recollect ; 
 but I gave you the information to apply to the 
 minister of Sweden at the Hague, for the propo- 
 sitions (according to what M. D'Engestrom told 
 me) they both had order to communicate you. I 
 wish with all my heart that could answer your 
 expectation. I am totaly ignorant what they 
 are; but I could see you to fight against the 
 opression and tyranny. Give me news of every 
 thing. — I am, dear Sir, 
 
 " Your most humble and most 
 
 " obedient servant, 
 
 " J. Kosciusko, G. M.'' 
 
 " in proud independence, superior to fortune and to 
 kings." His latter years were passed at Soleure, where 
 he distinguished himself by generosity to the poor. He 
 possessed a highly-cultivated mind, and was passionately 
 fond of poetry, particularly the works of the English 
 poets, with which he became well acquainted. He died 
 in October 1817, in the 65th year of his age. 
 
200 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " Write me, if you please, who is minister 
 from America at Paris: I want to know his 
 
 name." 
 
 In answer to this letter, Jones wrote from Am- 
 sterdam in the following month : — 
 
 " My dear Sir, — The letter you did me the 
 honour to write me the 2d February, was deli- 
 vered to my bankers here, by a man who demand- 
 ed from them a receipt. I was then at the Hague, 
 and your letter was transmitted to me. On my 
 return here, some days ago, I found another let- 
 ter from you of the 15th February. This letter 
 had, by the same man, been put into the hands 
 of my bankers. You propose, if I am not mis- 
 taken, that I should apply to a gentleman at the 
 Hague, who has something to communicate to 
 me. But a moment's reflection will convince you 
 that considerations of what I owe to myself, as 
 well as the dehcacy of my situation, do not per- 
 mit me to take such a step. If that gentleman 
 has any thing to communicate to me, he can 
 either do it by writing, by desiring a personal 
 conference, or by the mediation of a third person. 
 
PAUL JONES. 
 
 201 
 
 I have shown your letter to my bankers, and 
 they have said this much to the gentleman from 
 whom they received it ; but this message, they 
 say, he received with an air of indifference. "*' 
 
 Thus terminated the enigmatical correspon- 
 dence between Paul Jones and the illustrious 
 Pole. Reckoning a little on the disinterested love 
 of freedom, once so loudly boasted by aU Ameri- 
 cans, and somewhat more, probably, on the avowed 
 discontent of the Rear-Admiral, Kosciusko may 
 have wished to draw him into some of those daring 
 schemes with which his own mind, on the highest 
 and purest motives, was now anxiously occupied. 
 But the hngering hope and ardent desire of be- 
 ing again recalled to serve in Russia, cherished 
 in spite of all he had seen and suffered, had not 
 yet left the mind of Jones. To this delusive 
 hope he indeed clung, with an almost abject per- 
 tinacity, to the very close of his life. Prudence, 
 besides, forbade a negotiation of so mysterious 
 and suspicious a kind ; and there was both hon- 
 esty and discretion in avoiding it. 
 
 While in Holland, Jones wrote many letters 
 to different quarters, desirous to re-estabhsh 
 
 i2 
 
202 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 himself in the good opinion of some old friends, 
 and to revive himself in the memory of others 
 from whom he had been estranged during his 
 Russian bondage, or splendid exUe, — for it may 
 be called indifferently by either name. His letters 
 about this time exhibit a curious struggle be- 
 tween the desire of domestic peace and the am- 
 bition of again launching into the heady current 
 of public life. He appears at a loss what plan 
 to pursue, whether to purchase a small estate in 
 America, and seek the enjoyments of that tran- 
 quil life which in reality possessed no charms for 
 him; to marry a rich wife, or to drag on an exist- 
 ence in the longing, lingering hope of being re- 
 called to Russia. His leisters reflect the exact 
 complexion of his thoughts, disturbed, broken, 
 and changeful. 
 
 He, however, once more felt in security, and gave 
 his pen such scope, that innumerable letters bear 
 date at the Hague or Amsterdam, between De- 
 cember, 1789, and March, I79O. 
 
 A selection from the important part of his 
 copious correspondence at this period must be 
 more satisfactory to the reader than any detail 
 
PAUL JONES. 203 
 
 we can give : his letters of a private kind written 
 at this time are reserved for the limited portion 
 of this memoir devoted to the domestic history 
 of its subject. 
 
 "^ Rear-Admiral Pauljones to General Washington, 
 President of the United States. 
 
 " Amsterdam, December 20, 1789. 
 " Sir, — I avail myself of the departure of the 
 Philadelphia packet, Captain Earle, to transmit 
 to your Excellency a letter I received for you on 
 leaving Russia in August last, from my friend, 
 the Count de Segur, minister of France at St 
 Petersburgh. That gentleman and myself have 
 frequently conversed on subjects that regard 
 America ; and the most pleasing reflection of aU 
 has been, the happy establishment of the new 
 constitution, and that you are so deservedly 
 placed at the head of the government by the 
 unanimous voice of America. Your name alone, 
 Sir, has estabhshed in Europe a confidence that 
 was for some time before entirely wanting in 
 American concerns ; and I am assured, that the 
 
204 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 happy effects of your administration are still 
 more sensibly felt throughout the United States. 
 This is more glorious for you than all the laurels 
 that your sword so nobly won in support of the 
 rights of human nature. In war your fame is 
 immortal as the hero of Liberty ! In peace you 
 are her patron, and the firmest supporter of her 
 rights ! Your greatest admirers, and even your 
 best friends, have now but one wish left for you, — 
 that you may long enjoy health and your present 
 happiness. 
 
 " Mr Jefferson can inform you respecting my 
 mission to the court of Denmark. I was re- 
 ceived and treated there with marked politeness ; 
 and if the fine words I received are true, the 
 business will soon be settled. I own, however, 
 that I should have stronger hopes if America 
 had created a respectable marine ; for that argu- 
 ment would give weight to every transaction 
 with Europe. I acquitted myself of the com- 
 mission with which you honoured me when last 
 in America, by delivering your letters with my 
 own hands at Paris to the persons to whom they 
 were addressed." 
 
PAUL JONES. 205 
 
 He also wrote Franklin and Mr Ross. Both 
 of these letters have interest. 
 
 " Amsterdam, December 27, 1789. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — I beg leave to refer you to 
 Doctor Frankhn or to General St Clair for an 
 explanation of my reasons for having left Rus- 
 sia. I have by this opportunity sent to those 
 gentlemen testimonies in French that cannot fail 
 to justify me m the eyes of my friends in Ame- 
 rica. 
 
 " You have no doubt been informed, perhaps 
 by Mr Parish, of the unhandsome conduct of 
 Le Conteulex and Co. with regard to the letter 
 of credit you gave me on them when I was last 
 in America for six thousand h\Tes. As I was 
 landed in England instead of France, I went to 
 London to make an arrangement with Dr Ban- 
 croft for supplymg the expense of my mission to 
 Denmark. He promised to place funds for my 
 use at Amsterdam. I went to Paris, and took a 
 letter of credit from Le Conteulex on Amster- 
 dam by way of precaution. On my arrival at 
 Amsterdam I found that Bancroft had not kept 
 his word, nor ever wrote me a Hne. I then de- 
 
206 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 pended on the credit that Le Conteulex had, 
 without the least difficulty, given me in an open 
 letter ; but his correspondent informed me he 
 had received orders to pay me nothing till more 
 explicit and satisfactory accounts should be re- 
 ceived from you ! I had then no funds in my 
 hands ; and if I had not had the fortune to be 
 immediately relieved from a quarter on which I 
 had no claim, I should have found myself in 
 great distress. 
 
 " I should be glad to know the state of the 
 bank, &c., though I at present want no remit- 
 tance. My address is, under cover, to Messrs 
 N. and J. Van-Stophorst and Hubbard, Amster- 
 dam. Present my respectful comphments to 
 Mrs Ross and the young ladies. I may perhaps 
 return to America in the latter end of the sum- 
 mer ; and in that case I shall wish to purchase a 
 little farm, where I may hve in peace. I am al- 
 ways affectionately yours. 
 
 " John Ross J Esq., Philadelphia. 
 
 " N. B. — I presume you have received my 
 bust, as Mr Jefferson has forwarded it for you." 
 
PAUL JONES. 207 
 
 " Paul Jones to Dr Franklin. 
 
 " Amsterdam^ December 27, 1789. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — The enclosed documents from 
 my friend, the Count de Segur, Minister Pleni- 
 potentiary of France at St Petersburgh, wiU ex- 
 plain to you in some degree my reasons for leav- 
 ing Russia, and the danger to which I was ex- 
 posed by the dark intrigues and mean subter- 
 fuges of Asiatic jealousy and malice. Your for- 
 mer friendship for me, which I remember with 
 particular satisfaction, and have ever been am- 
 bitious to merit, will, I am sure, be exerted in 
 the kind use you will make of the three pieces I 
 now send you, for my justification in the eyes of 
 my friends in America, whose good opinion is 
 dearer to me than any thing else. I wrote to 
 the Empress from Warsaw in the beginning of 
 October, with a copy of my journal, which will 
 show her Majesty how much she has been de- 
 ceived by the account she had of our maritime 
 operations last campaign. I can easily prpve to 
 the world that I have been treated unjustly. 
 
208 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 but I intend to remain silent at least till I know 
 the fate of my journal. 
 
 " I shall remain in Europe till after the open- 
 ing of the next campaign, and perhaps longer, be- 
 fore I return to America. From the troubles in 
 Brabant, and the measures now pursuing by the 
 King of Prussia, &c., I presume that peace is 
 yet a distant object, and that the Baltic will wit- 
 ness warmer work than it has yet done. On the 
 death of Admiral Greig, I was last year called 
 from the Black Sea by the Empress to com- 
 mand a squadron in the Baltic, &c. This set 
 the invention of all my enemies and rivals at 
 work, and the event has proved that the Em- 
 press cannot always do as she pleases. If you 
 do me the favour to write to me, my address is, 
 under cover, to Messieurs N. and J. Van Stop- 
 horst and Hubbard at Amsterdam. 
 
 " I am, with sincere affjction, dear Sir, your 
 most obedient and most humble servant. 
 *' His Excellency B. Franklin^ Esq. Sfc. Sfc. 
 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 " N. B. — It is this day ten years since I left 
 the Texel in the AUiance." 
 
PAUL JONES. 209 
 
 To Mr Parish, the well-known Hamburgh 
 merchant, with whom Paul Jones had become 
 acquainted on his journey to Russia, he thus wrote 
 under a vague idea of going to Hamburgh till 
 his fate was determined : — " My departure from 
 Copenhagen was so sudden, that I omitted writ- 
 ing to you, intending to have done it from St 
 Petersburgh. There I found myself in such a 
 round of feasting and business till the moment of 
 my departure for the Black Sea, that I again 
 postponed. 
 
 " Had I wrote you after my arrival at Cher- 
 son, I have every reason to think my letters 
 would have been intercepted ; but, notwithstand- 
 ing my past silence, I can truly assure you, that 
 I have constantly entertained the most perfect 
 and grateful sense of your friendly and pohte be- 
 haviour to me at Hamburgh and Copenhagen. 
 I will now thankfully pay to your order the cost 
 of the smoked beef you were so obhging as to 
 send to my friend, Mr Jefferson, at my request. 
 The kind interest you have taken in my con- 
 cerns, and the great desire to cultivate your 
 esteem and friendship, are my present induce- 
 ments for troubhng you with the enclosed packet 
 
210 MEMOIKS OF 
 
 for the Chevalier Bourgoing, (the French resi- 
 dent at Hamburgh,) which I leave under a fly- 
 ing seal for your perusal, praying you to shut 
 the exterior cover before you deliver it. I shall 
 make no comments on the documents I send for 
 the Baron de la Houze, but let the simple truth 
 speak for herself. I shall show you, when we 
 meet, things that will surprise you, for you can 
 scarcely have an idea how much our operations 
 have been misrepresented. 
 
 "As I am for the present the master of my 
 time, I shall perhaps make you a visit in the 
 spring, and pay my court to some of your kind, 
 rich, old ladies. To be serious, I must stay in 
 Europe till it is seen what changes the present 
 poUtics will produce, and till I can hear from 
 America ; and if you think I can pass my time 
 quietly, agreeably, and at a small expense at 
 Hamburgh, I should prefer it to the fluctuating 
 prospects of other places." 
 
 The documents above referred to were copies 
 of the letters of Count Segur for Baron de la 
 Houze, the French minister at Copenhagen : 
 from him they drew a polite and soothing reply : — 
 
PAUL JONES. 211 
 
 "^ Baron de la Houze to Paul Jones. 
 
 " Copenhagen, 9th February, 1790. 
 
 "It is but a few days since I received, with 
 the letter with which you have honoured me of 
 the 29th December, the copies of that of the 
 Count de Segur, which you have been pleased to 
 communicate to me, and which were accompanied 
 by the article inserted on your account in the 
 Gazette of France, and which I had read. This 
 article, which has been repeated in many foreign 
 gazettes, has entirely destroyed all the venomous 
 effects which calumny had employed to tarnish 
 the distinguished reputation which you have ac- 
 quired by your talents and valour. In conse- 
 quence, public opinion still continues to render 
 you justice, and the most noble revenge you can 
 take on your enemies is to gather fresh laurels. 
 The celebrated Athenian general, Themistocles, 
 has said, — ' I do not envy the situation of the 
 man who is not envied.' "" 
 
 Baron Krudner had been actively useful to 
 Paul Jones while in Copenhagen, both in pro- 
 
212 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 meting his views in entering the Russian service, 
 and in the affair of the Danish pension. Though 
 we are aware that the Rear-Admiral had pro- 
 perty of different descriptions, the state of his 
 finances must, about this time, have been em- 
 barrassed by his large disbursements during the 
 Russian campaign, his long journeys, indisposi- 
 tion, and other causes of expenses. In writing 
 from America to a lady in whom he took a strong 
 interest, he represents himself, immediately pre- 
 vious to his last voyage in 1787> as " almost 
 without money, and puzzled to obtain a supply." 
 He wrote, as has been seen, in this emergency to 
 Dr Bancroft,* who afterwards, in London, promis- 
 ed him assistance, but failed to keep his word. He 
 intimates to Mr Parish, that he could wish " to 
 
 * Dr Bancroft had pecuniary transactions with Paul 
 Jones, and at this time may have owed him money. The 
 Doctor was addicted to gambling in the English funds, 
 and on this account lost the confidence of Congress, and 
 the diplomatic appointment which he held. It is pro- 
 bable that he employed the money of his friends in the 
 same speculations, partly for his own advantage, and 
 partly for theirs. 
 
PAUL JONES. 213 
 
 live at small expense ;" and there are other reasons 
 to conclude, that his finances, at least so far as 
 regarded ready money, were not flourishing. 
 This circumstance of actual exigency may, as was 
 formerly hinted, account for the anxiety respect- 
 ing the Danish pension manifested in this letter 
 to Baron Krudner ; it is in other respects curi- 
 ous : — 
 
 " Rear-Admiral Paul Jones to Baron Krudner, 
 Russian Envoy at Copenhagen. 
 
 " Amsterdam, 29th December, 1789. 
 " My dear Sir, — Though I have not writ- 
 ten to your Excellency since I set out on my 
 first journey to St Petersburgh, yet I have con- 
 stantly retained the most hvely sense of your 
 kind behaviour to me at Copenhagen. I must 
 beg to refer you to his Excellency the Baron de 
 la Houze, to whom I now transmit three docu- 
 ments for my justification in the eyes of my 
 friends in Denmark. Notwithstanding the un- 
 just treatment I received in Russia, the warm 
 attachment with which the Empress inspired me 
 
214 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 at the beginning still remains rooted in my heart. 
 You know, Sir, that her Imperial Majesty thought 
 my sword an object worthy of her attention, sought 
 it with the most flattering eagerness, and treated 
 me the first time I was at her court with unex- 
 ampled distinction. That sword has been suc- 
 cessfully and frequently drawn on critical occa- 
 sions, to render the most essential services to her 
 empire, and to cover her flag with fresh laurels. 
 For this I have greatly exposed my reputation, 
 and entirely sacrificed my military pride. Yet I 
 have seen the credit of my services bestowed on 
 others, and I am the only officer who made the 
 campaign of the Liman without being advanced. 
 In a letter I wrote the Empress the 17th of May 
 last, I mentioned that her Majesty would soon 
 receive a direct proof from America of the ima- 
 nimous approbation with which I am honoured 
 by the United States. I alluded to the gold 
 medal which I am to receive, and respecting 
 which you have in your hands a copy of the una- 
 nimous act of Congress. That medal is now 
 elegantly executed, and is ready for me at Paris. 
 The United States have ordered an example of 
 
PAUL JONES. 21 
 
 f 
 
 my medal to be presented to every sovereign in 
 Europe, Great Britain excepted. When we 
 meet, I shall produce clear proof of all I have 
 said respecting Russia. The only promise I 
 asked from the Empress at the beginning, and, 
 indeed, the only condition I made with her Ma- 
 jesty, was, that ' she should 7iot condemn me 
 without having heard me.'' I need make no 
 remark to a man of your clear understanding. 
 You advised me to write to the Empress hy the 
 post. I wrote several letters while in the depart- 
 ment of the Black Sea to my friend Mr Jeffer- 
 son, at Paris, containing no detail of our opera- 
 tions, yet they were all intercepted. I have, I 
 think, reason to apprehend that there will be no 
 peace this winter, and that the Baltic will witness 
 ivarmer work than it has yet done. 
 
 " You remember that Count B (Bern- 
 
 storf) showed you a paper which he sent, to be 
 delivered to me by the Danish Minister at St 
 Petersburgh. I received that paper without any 
 alteration whatever, either in the ' date'' or other- 
 wise. If I understood you right, it was intend- 
 
216 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ed that ' a year's payment would he made in 
 advance^ but I have not since heard a word in 
 that respect. I wish to be informed how the 
 payment is intended to be made. It cannot sure- 
 ly be in Danish bank-paper. You will do me a 
 great favour if you can obtain an explicit answer, 
 and it would be much more agreeable if the pay- 
 ment could be made here, instead of being made 
 at any other place. I have not yet mentioned 
 this affair to any person whatever, except your- 
 self. You are no stranger to my sentiments. 
 You know the present happy state of America. 
 That nation will soon create a respectable ma- 
 rine. It is now a year since I gave a plan to 
 the court of St Peter sburgh, for forming a poU- 
 tical and commercial connexion with the United 
 States. The Empress approved this much, and 
 there was question of sending me to America in 
 consequence. But a great man told me, ' que 
 cela enrageroit les Anglais d^avantage contre la 
 Russie, et qu''il falloit auparavant faire la paix 
 avec les Turcs.** Accept my warm congratula- 
 tions on the well-merited advancement you have 
 
PAUL JONES. 217 
 
 received in the Order of St Wolodimer. I hear 
 that your lady* is at Paris. I beg you to assure 
 her of my great respect," &c. &c. 
 
 Baron Krudner repHed, entirely bhnking the 
 memorial touching Russian aflPairs, but assuring 
 his correspondent of success in obtaining the Da- 
 nish pension, of which he had spoken to Count 
 Bernstorf, and obtained a promise of immediate 
 payment ; — which promise, it is to be inferred, 
 was never meant to be kept, — as it certainly 
 never was. 
 
 Paul Jones appears to have gone to England 
 in the spring of this year, (1790,) but did not 
 remain long. The object of his visit does not 
 transpire ; and that he had been there only comes 
 out incidentally in his correspondence, especially 
 
 * The afterwards well-known ]Madam Krudner, who 
 was still enchanting Parisian circles with her charms and 
 attitudes in the " shawl-dance/' not having as yet as- 
 sumed the part of devotee, or prophetess, in which she 
 afterwards made an equally remarkable figure. 
 
 VOL. II. K 
 
218 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 in a letter to M. de Genet,* written in June, 
 when he had reached Paris. In this letter he 
 informs that gentleman, that he had not yet paid 
 his respects to his sister, (Madam Campan,-|-) but 
 intended doing so, and presenting the lady with 
 
 * M. Genet remained in St Petersburgh after the re- 
 turn of Count de Segur to France. Both were revolu- 
 tionists to a moderate extent ; and for this they incurred 
 the dislike of the Empress. Genet was removed from 
 Russia, and soon afterwards appointed by the Gironde 
 party, to which he was attached, ambassador to the 
 United States. When the faction of Robespierre ob- 
 tained the ascendency, he was ordered home, to answer 
 at the bar of the Convention for his malversations in 
 obeying the instructions of the former government. 
 There was in those days but a very short way between 
 the bar of the Convention and the scaffold. He took the 
 wiser part of marrying the daughter of Governor Clinton, 
 and settling in America as a planter. 
 
 t M. Genet had several sisters ; but as Madam Cam- 
 pan was the best known and most injluential person of 
 the family, it is taken for granted that this is the sister 
 alluded to here- 
 
PAUL JONES. 219 
 
 his bust, as a mark of personal regard for her 
 father and brother. He contmues, " I have 
 shown M. de Simolin proof that, if I have not 
 sought to avenge myself of the unjust and cruel 
 treatment I met with in Russia, my forbearance 
 has been only the result of my delicate attach- 
 ment towards the Empress. You will obhge me 
 by inquiring at the cabinet, and demanding the 
 appointments due to me for the current year, 
 which ends the 1st of July, agreeably to the pro- 
 mise of the Empress, communicated to me by 
 the Counts de Bruce and Besborodko. I wish 
 to have that money immediately transmitted to 
 me. 
 
 While in Amsterdam the Rear-Admiral re- 
 ceived letters from Madame Le Mair d'Altigny, 
 a lady who appears to have taken a peculiar in- 
 terest in his welfare. This lady was probably a 
 widow ; but her actual condition as wife or widow 
 we have no means of verifying, and leave it en- 
 tirely to the penetration of our fair readers. 
 
220 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " Rear- Admiral Paul Jones to Madame Le Mair 
 d'Altignyf at Avignon. 
 
 " Amsterdam, 8th Feb. 17S0. 
 " I have received, my dear Madam, the two 
 obhging letters you did me the honour to address 
 to me from Avignon on the 18th and 22d of De- 
 cember. Accept also, I pray you, my sincere 
 acknowledgments for the two letters you had the 
 kindness to send me at Strasburgh. I am in- 
 finitely flattered by the interest with which I have 
 the happiness to have inspired you, and your 
 good wishes in my concerns give me true plea- 
 sure. I am not come here on account of any 
 thing connected with military operations ; and 
 though I think it right to retain my rank, I have 
 always regarded war as the scourge of the human 
 race. I am very happy that you are once more 
 above your difficulties. Past events will enable 
 you to value the blessings of Providence, among 
 which, to a sensible heart, there are none greater 
 than health and independence, enjoyed in the 
 agreeable society of persons of merit. As soon 
 
PAUL JONES. 221 
 
 as circumstances permit, I shall feel eager to join 
 the delightful society in which you are. As you 
 have not sent me your address at Avignon, I beg 
 of you to do so, and to be assured of my entire 
 esteem."" 
 
 The lady, to visit whom the Rear-Admiral was 
 wilHng to make so long a journey, when circum- 
 stances permitted, appears to have repHed in the 
 following month ; but it was not till December 
 in the same yeaj that she obtained an answer. 
 
 " Paris, December 27, 1790. 
 " My dear Madam, — I have received your 
 charming letter of the 2d March. Having an 
 affair of business to arrange in England, I went 
 from Amsterdam to London at the beginning of 
 May, to settle it. I escaped being murdered on 
 landing.* From London I came hither, and have 
 not had an hour of health since my arrival. I 
 now feel convalescent, otherwise I would not have 
 
 * This is undoubtedly meant in jest ; Paul Jones was 
 by no means so senseless as to fear assassination in Eng- 
 land. 
 
222 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 dared to write, for fear of giving pain to your 
 feeling heart. In leaving Holland my plan was 
 to repair to Avignon, in compliance with your 
 obhging invitation. My health formed an in- 
 vincible obstacle, but I still hope to indemnify 
 myself on the return of the fine weather. I was 
 for a long time very much alarmed by the dis- 
 turbances which interrupted the peace of your 
 city, and am very glad to see they are ended. I 
 have learned, with Uvely satisfaction, that they 
 have had no disagreeable consequences so far as 
 regards you. Give me news of yourself, I pray 
 you, and of those interesting persons of whom 
 you speak in your last letter. Accept the assu- 
 rance of the sincere sentiments which you are 
 formed to inspire. 
 
 " My address is, under cover, to M. Dorbery, 
 No 42, Rue Tournon, Paris. 
 
 " N. B. — Have you not sufficient confidence 
 in my discretion to explain ' the enigma** of the 
 happiness with which you say ' I will be loaded, 
 and which will astonish me so soon as I know 
 
 it ?' " 
 
PAUL JONES. 223 
 
 Of Madame Le Mair d'Altigny we hear no- 
 thing more, so that her enigma in all probabili- 
 ty remained unexpounded. 
 
 It might be presumed that the mind of Jones 
 was now effectually weaned from the service of 
 the country where he had been so "unjustly and 
 cruelly treated ;" but such was not the fact. At 
 intervals, during the last ten years of his life, he 
 had been subject to severe attacks of indisposi- 
 tion, and about this time he was labouring under 
 that illness which, with brief intermission, never 
 agaia left him ; yet was his mind as ardently oc- 
 cupied as ever with hopes of serving in Russia. 
 He addressed Prince Potemkin, he addressed the 
 Empress : — ^his mind on this subject appears to 
 have been possessed; his very eagerness must 
 have tended to defeat his anxious wishes. These 
 letters from Paris, together with one other docu- 
 ment, conclude the history of his imfortunate 
 connexion with Russia, — a connexion which one 
 cannot help regarding as the cause of his prema- 
 ture death. The generous reader must be pained 
 to see a man of unquestioned bravery, and of very 
 considerable talent and professional skill, who, in 
 
224 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 his own adopted country of America, might have 
 hved to old age in peace and honour, fighting her 
 battles in the senate, as he had already done on 
 the ocean, clinging thus in hopeless pertinacity to 
 the delusion which had undone him. 
 
 " To his Highness the Frince-Marshal Potemkin. 
 
 " Paris, 24th July, 1790. 
 " My Lord, — I do not think it becomes me 
 to let pass the occasion of the return of your aide- 
 de-camp, to congratulate you on the briUiant suc- 
 cess of your operations since I had the honour to 
 serve under your orders, and to express to you, 
 in all the sincerity of my heart, the regret I feel 
 in not being fortunate enough to contribute there- 
 to. After the campaign of Liman, when I had 
 leave, according to the special desire of her Im- 
 perial Majesty, to return to the department of 
 the Northern Seas, your Highness did me the 
 favour to grant me a letter of recommendation to 
 the Empress, and to speak to me these words, 
 * Rely upon my attachment. I am disposed to 
 grant you the most soHd proofs of my friendship 
 
PAUL JONES. 225 
 
 for the present and for the future." Do you re- 
 collect them ? This disclosure was too flattering 
 for me to forget it, and I hope you will permit 
 me to remind you of it. Circumstances and the 
 high rank of my enemies have deprived me of 
 the benefits which I had dared to hope from the 
 esteem which you had expressed for me, and 
 which I had endeavoured to merit by my ser- 
 vices. You know the disagreeable situation in 
 which I was placed ; but if, as I dared to beheve, 
 I have preserved your good opinion, I may still 
 hope to see it followed by advantages, which it 
 will be my glory to owe to you. M. de Simohn 
 can testify to you that my attachment to Russia, 
 and to the great Princess who is its sovereign, 
 has always been constant and durable ; I attend- 
 ed to my duties, and not to my fortune. I have 
 been wrong, and I avow it with a frankness which 
 carries with it its own excuse — 1st, That I did 
 not request of you a carte-blanche, and the ab- 
 solute command of all the forces of the Liman. 
 2d, To have written to your Highness under feel- 
 ings highly excited, on the V^^h October, I788. 
 These are my faults. If my enemies have wish- 
 
 K 2 
 
226 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ed to impute others to me, I swear before God 
 that they are a calumny. It only rests with me, 
 my Lord, to unmask the villany of my enemies, 
 by pubhshing my journal of the operations of 
 the campaign of Liman, with the proofs, clear as 
 the day, and which I have in my hands. It only 
 rests with me to prove that I directed, under your 
 orders, all the useful operations against the Ca- 
 pitan Pacha ; that it was I who beat him on the 
 7th June ; that it was I and the brave men I 
 commanded who conquered him on the 17th 
 June, and who chased into the sands two of his 
 largest galleys, before our flotilla was ready to 
 fire a single shot, and during the time a very 
 considerable part of the force of the enemy re- 
 mained at anchor immediately in rear of my squa- 
 dron ; that it was I who gave to General Suwar- 
 row, (he had the nobleness to declare it at court 
 before me, to the most respectable witnesses,) 
 he first project to establish the battery and 
 breast-works on the isthmus of Kinbourn, and 
 which were of such great utihty on the night of 
 the 17 — 18th June; that it was I, in person, 
 who towed, with my sloops and other vessels. 
 
PAUL JONES. 227 
 
 the batteries which were the nearest to the place, 
 the 1st July, and who took the Turkish galleys 
 by boarding, very much in advance of our line, 
 whilst some gentlemen, who have been too highly 
 rewarded in consequence of it, were content to 
 remain in the rear of the struggles of our Hne, if 
 I may be allowed to use the expression, sheltered 
 from danger. You have seen, yourself, my Lord, 
 that I never valued my person on any occasion 
 where I had the good fortune to act under your 
 eye. The whole of Europe acknowledges my ve- 
 racity, and grants me some mihtary talents, which 
 it would give me pleasure to employ in the ser- 
 vice of Russia, under your orders. The time will 
 arrive, my Lord, when you will know the exact 
 truth of what I have told you. Time is a sove- 
 reign master. It will teach you to appreciate the 
 man, who, loaded with your benefits, departed 
 from the court of Russia with a memorial pre- 
 pared by other hands and the enemies of your 
 glory, and of which memorial he made no use, 
 because your briUiant success at the taking of 
 Oczakow, which he learned on his arrival in 
 White Russia, gave the lie to all the horrors 
 
228 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 which had been brought forward to enrage the 
 Empress against you. You know it was the echo 
 of another intriguer at the court of Vienna. In 
 fine, time will teach you, my Lord, that I am 
 neither a mountebank nor a swindler, but a man 
 true and loyal. I rely upon the attachment and 
 friendship which you promised me. I rely on it, 
 because I feel myself worthy of it. I reclaim 
 your promise, because you are just, and I know 
 you are a lover of truth. I commanded, and was 
 the only responsible person in the campaign of the 
 Liman, the others being only of inferior rank, or 
 simple volunteers ; and I am, however, the only 
 one who has not been promoted or rewarded. I 
 am extremely thankful for the order of St Anne 
 which you procured for me, according to your 
 letter of thanks, for my conduct in the affair of 
 the ']th June, which was not decisive. The 17th 
 June I gained over the Capitan Pacha a com- 
 plete victory, which saved Cherson and Kinboum, 
 the terror of which caused the enemy to lose nine 
 vessels of war in their precipitate flight on the 
 following night, under the cannon of the battery 
 and breast-work which I had caused to be erect- 
 
PAUL JONES. 229 
 
 ed in the isthmus of Kinbourn. On this occa- 
 sion I had the honour again to receive a letter of 
 thanks ; but my enemies and rivals have found 
 means to abuse your confidence, since they have 
 been exclusively rewarded. They merited rather 
 to have been punished for having burnt nine 
 armed prizes, with their crews, which were ab- 
 solutely in our power, having previously ran 
 aground under our guns. 
 
 " I have been informed that, according to the 
 institution of the order of St George, I have the 
 right to claim its decorations in the second class 
 for the victory of the 17th June, but I rely upon 
 your justice and generosity. I regret that a 
 secret project, which I addressed to the Count 
 de Besborodko the 6th of June of the last year, 
 has not been adopted. I communicated this pro- 
 ject to the Baron de Beichler, who has promised 
 me to speak to you of it. I was detained in St 
 Petersburgh until the end of August, in order to 
 hinder me, as I have heard, from proceeding into 
 the service of Sweden. My poor enemies, how 
 I pity them ! But for this circumstance my in- 
 tention was to have presented myself at your 
 
230 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 head-quarters in the hope to be of some utility ; 
 and the Baron de Beichler, in departing from St 
 Petersburgh in order to join you, promised me to 
 assure you of my devotion for the service of your 
 department, and that I should hold myself ready 
 to return to you the instant I was called. My 
 conduct has not since changed, although I hold 
 in my hand a parole for two years, and I regard 
 eighteen months of this parole, in a time of war, 
 more as a punishment than as a favour. I hope 
 that your Highness will succeed in concluding 
 peace this year with the Turks ; but, in a con- 
 trary case, if it should please you to recall me to 
 take command of the fleet in the ensuing cam- 
 paign, I would ask permission to bring with me 
 the French officer concerning whom I spoke to 
 you, with one or two others, who are good tacti- 
 cians, and who have some knowledge of war. On 
 my return here I received a gold medal, granted 
 me by the unanimous voice of Congress, at the 
 moment I received a parole from this honourable 
 body. The United States have decreed me this 
 honour, in order to perpetuate the remembrance 
 of the services which I rendered to America eight 
 
PAUL JONES. 231 
 
 years previous, and have ordered a copy to be 
 presented to all the sovereigns and all the acade- 
 mies of Europe, with the exception of Great Bri- 
 tain. There is reason to believe that your High- 
 ness will be numbered among the sovereigns of 
 Europe, in consequence of the treaty of peace 
 which you are about to conclude with the Turks; 
 but in any case, if a copy of my medal will be 
 acceptable to you as a mark of my attachment 
 for your person, it will do me an honour to offer 
 it to you. " Paul Jones.'' 
 
 The Rear-Admiral suffered much bodily ill- 
 ness during the interval which elapsed between 
 the despatch of this letter and the period when 
 he sent off his forlorn hope, the subjoined epistle, 
 in the spring of the following year : — 
 
 " To her Imperial Majesty of all the Russias. 
 
 ,, „ . 25th Feb. _^, 
 
 " Mada:h, — If I could imagine that the 
 letter which I had the honour to write to your 
 Majesty from Warsaw, the 25th September, 
 
232 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 1789, had come to hand, it would be without 
 doubt indiscreet in me to beg you to cast your 
 eyes on the documents enclosed, which accuse 
 no person,'^ and the only intent of which is, to 
 let you see that in the important campaign of 
 Liman, the part which I played was not either 
 that of a xero or of a harlequin^ who required to 
 be made a colonel at the tail of his regiment. I 
 have in my hands the means to prove, incontes- 
 tably, that I directed all the useful operations 
 against the Capitan Pacha. The task which 
 was given to me at this critical conjuncture was 
 very difficult. I was obliged to sacrifice my own 
 opinion and risk my military reputation for the 
 benefit of your empire. But I hope you will be 
 satisfied with the manner in which I conducted 
 myself, and also of the subsequent arrangements, 
 of which I am persuaded you have not been ac- 
 
 * In a letter from Warsaw to Mr Littlepage, he says, 
 
 the Count de B , (we know not whether de Bruce or 
 
 de Besborodko, though it is probably the latterj had in- 
 tercepted his despatch to the Empress till orders could be 
 got from Potemkin. 
 
PAUL JONES. 233 
 
 quainted until this moment. The gracious 
 counsel which your Majesty has often done me 
 the honour to repeat to me before my departure 
 for the Black Sea, and in the letter which you 
 deigned to write to me afterwards, has since 
 been the rule of my conduct ; and the faithful at- 
 tachment with which you had inspired me for 
 your person, was the only reason which hindered 
 me from requesting my dismissal when I wrote 
 to you from Warsaw ; for I confess that I was 
 extremely afflicted, and even offended, at having 
 received a parole for two years in time of war, — 
 a parole which it has never entered into my mind 
 to wish for, and still less to ask, and of which I 
 have not profited to go to America, or even to 
 Denmark, where I had important business ; for 
 I had always hoped to be usefully employed in 
 your service, before the expiration of this parole, 
 which has done me so much injury ; and al- 
 though in pubUc I would not have failed to have 
 spoken to you at the last audience which you 
 granted me, yet I was unfortunately led to be- 
 heve the repeated promises made me, that I 
 should have a private audience in order to lay 
 
234 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 before you my military projects, and to speak of 
 them in detail. 
 
 " I hope that the brilliant success with which 
 Providence has blessed your arms wiU enable 
 you to grant peace to your enemies without shed- 
 ding more of human blood; but in a contrary 
 case your Majesty can be weU instructed from 
 my project. No 12, of the last year. 
 
 " As I have my enemies, and as the term of 
 my parole is about to expire, I await the orders 
 of your Majesty, and should be flattered, if it is 
 yoiu- pleasure for me to come and render you an 
 account in person. Mr , who has the good- 
 ness to charge himself with this packet, which I 
 have addressed to him, sealed with my arms, 
 will also undertake to forward me your orders ; 
 I therefore pray you to withdraw me as soon as 
 possible from the cruel uncertainty in which I 
 am placed. Should you deign. Madam, to in- 
 form me that you are pleased with the services 
 which I have had the happiness to render you, 
 I will console myself for the misfortunes which I 
 have suffered, as I drew my sword for you from 
 personal attachment and ambition, but not for 
 
PAUL JOXES. 235 
 
 interest. My fortune, as you know, is not very 
 considerable; but as I am philosopher enough 
 to confine myself to my means, I shall be always 
 rich. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, 
 Madam, 
 Of your Imperial Majesty 
 The most faithful and 
 Obedient servant, 
 Paul Jones." 
 
 So late as the month of July of the same year, 
 we find Paul Jones still in Paris, and now in 
 very bad health, but even yet occupied with Rus- 
 sia. His next and final letter is addressed to Ba- 
 ron Grimm, the hterary correspondent of the 
 Empress, who, a dozen years before, had cele- 
 brated his praises.* His former attempts having 
 
 * In the original correspondence of Grirara we find 
 the following passage, which does not appear in the 
 much-abridged edition of his voluminous works pub- 
 lished in this country. This passage, which we had 
 not seen till after the first volume of the Memoir 
 
236 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 been so utterly unsuccessful, he discovers consi- 
 derable address in trying his fortune in a new 
 
 was printed, shows that both IVIr Sherburne and the 
 present editor are mistaken in supposing that the bust 
 of Paul Jones was originally taken at his own sug- 
 gestion. The letter of Baron Grimm bears date Janu- 
 ary, 1780, at which time he says Paul Jones had been 
 some weeks in Paris. This cannot be correct, as it was 
 among the very last days of December when he escaped 
 from the Texel ; the only error, however, is of a few 
 weeks. " The intrepid Paul Jones," says the Baron, " has 
 been here for some weeks. He has had the honour to be 
 presented to the King. He has been applauded with trans- 
 port at all the public places where he has shown him- 
 self, and particularly at the opera. It is a singularity 
 worthy of remark, that this brave Corsair, who has given 
 multiplied proofs of possessing a soul the most firm, and 
 courage the most determined, is at the same time the 
 most feehng and mild man in the world, and that he 
 has made a great many verses full of elegance and soft- 
 ness, the sort of poetry which appears most congenial to 
 his taste being the elegy and the pastoral. The Lodge 
 of the Nine Sisters, of which he is a member, have em- 
 ployed M. Houdon to take his bust. This resemblance is 
 a new masterpiece worthy of the chisel which appears 
 
PAUL J6xES. 237 
 
 tack. The Empress, it may be premised, had 
 long shown herself ambitious of being considered 
 the munificent patroness of science and of scien- 
 tific men, in whatever regarded the improve- 
 ment of her country, and particularly of her 
 navy. 
 
 " Rear-Admiral Paid Jones to Baron Grimm. 
 
 " Paris, 9th July, 1791. 
 " Sir, — M. Houdon has sent to your house 
 the bust which you have done me the honour to 
 accept.* Mademoiselle Marchais has told me 
 
 destined to consecrate to immortality illustrious men of 
 all kinds." 
 
 * His own bust, *' now decorated," he says, ^' with 
 the order of St Anne, on the American uniform, one rea- 
 son why I wish to be authorised by the American States 
 to wear that order." This is said in a letter to Mr Jef- 
 ferson, written soon after his final epistle to the Empress, 
 and when, he had formed the design of again entering 
 the French fleet of evolution, if bodily indisposition, and 
 the worse sickness of hope deferred, left hira power to 
 form any considerate or consistent plan of future conduct. 
 
238 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 all the obliging things you have said regarding 
 me. 
 
 "As it is my duty to interest myself in ob- 
 jects that may be useful to Russia, I must in- 
 form you that I have met with a man here, whom 
 I have known for fifteen years, who has invent- 
 ed a new construction of ships of war, which has 
 small resemblance, either externally or internally, 
 to our present war-ships, and which will, he says, 
 possess the following advantages over them : — 
 
 "I. The crew will be better sheltered during 
 an engagement. 
 
 "II. The lodging-room of the crew wiU be 
 more spacious ; every individual may have a bed 
 
 There were five orders of knighthood in Russia, three of 
 which were instituted by Peter the Great, and two, that of 
 St George and St Vladimir, by the Empress Catharine 
 the Second. The order of St Anne was a Holstein, and 
 not a Russian order. The Empress never conferred this 
 order herself. She left it to the Grand Duke Paul, as 
 Duke of Holstein, and from him Paul Jones received it. 
 It was accordingly less valued than those of her own in- 
 stitution bestowed by herself. 
 
PAUL JONES. 239 
 
 or a hammock, and there may be as much air as 
 is wished for, night and day, in the sleeping apart- 
 ments. 
 
 " III. There will be less smoke during an 
 engagement." 
 
 The enumeration of all the rare qualities of this 
 beau ideal of a war-ship might prove tedious ; 
 suffice it, that a ship of the new construction, of 
 54 guns, if weU armed and commanded, might 
 have faced one of the old make carrying 100 
 guns ; that it would cost less both in artillery and 
 timber, be a better sailer, go nearer the wind, 
 and possess many other advantages. " For a long 
 time," the Rear- Admiral states, " he had, in 
 conjunction with his friend Dr Franklin, tried to 
 construct a ship combining the advantages of be- 
 ing a fast sailer, not driving to leeward, drawing 
 little water, &c. ; but they always encountered 
 great obstacles. From the death of that great phi- 
 losopher," he continues, " having rather too much 
 time on my hands, (a very gentle hint,) I think 
 I have surmounted the difficulties- which baffled 
 us, and stopped our progress. The ship-builder 
 of whom I have spoken has explained nothing to 
 
240 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 me in detail, and I can form no idea on the sub- 
 ject. He wishes to preserve his invention, and 
 to draw emolument from it ; and nothing can be 
 more just, if on experiment his discovery holds. 
 As this is a thing which appears to me to deserve 
 the attention of the Empress, I beg of you to 
 acquaint her Majesty as soon as possible. This 
 person wished to go to England to offer his dis- 
 covery, where I think it would have been re- 
 ceived ; but, as I have some influence with him, 
 I have persuaded him to remain here, and wait 
 your reply. If he receive any encouragement, 
 he will communicate his ideas more fully to me. 
 But in every case I dedicate to the Empress, 
 without any stipulation, all that my feeble genius 
 has accomplished in naval architecture."" The 
 Rear- Admiral then relates his own supposed disco- 
 very, and, hke a skilful orator, winds up, by 
 pressing hard the main point of his argument. 
 " Will not this, presuming it correct, be of great 
 advantage to the infant marine of the Black Sea, 
 and consequently to the prosperity of the Rus- 
 sian empire .'^" 
 
 It appears that Baron Grimm received an 
 
PAUL JONES. 241 
 
 answer from the Empress in relation to this first 
 application, though it can scarcely be called a 
 satisfactory one. She says there was a prospect 
 of a speedy peace ; but if peace did not take 
 place, she would let M. Paul Jones know her in- 
 tentions respecting himself: and she tacitly re- 
 proves Grimm"'s interference by saying, that she 
 would not choose him as the medium of her com- 
 munications with Paul Jones. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
242 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The voluminous papers left by Paul Jones af- 
 ford very scanty materials for his domestic his- 
 tory. From boyhood his place in society was 
 completely isolated. His extensive correspon- 
 dence, as it came into the hands of his relatives, 
 is chiefly that of business, or of the ceremonial 
 connected with business, and with the courtesies 
 of acquaintanceship. His intercourse with so- 
 ciety amounted to httle more than the exchange 
 of the customary offices of kindness and civihty. 
 He was early separated, by msurmountable cir- 
 cumstances, from his own relatives ; he never 
 afterwards found a fixed home, nor does his cor- 
 respondence aiford any trace of the kindly, ge- 
 nial, unbending, and cordial familiarity of confi- 
 dential friendship. His letters consequently 
 want the charm of a particular or individual in- 
 terest. Few of them contam a single observation 
 
PAUL JONES. 243 
 
 on men or manners, or even the expression of 
 an opinion not merely professional. His jour- 
 nals, in like manner, are strictly confined to pro- 
 fessional affairs, and contain little that can either 
 extend the range of knowledge or gratify a hberal 
 curiosity. With the fields of observation, whether 
 in America, France, and Russia, that were pre- 
 sented to a mind so active and acute, this is much 
 to be regretted. As it is, the interest of this me- 
 moir must rest wholly on the pubhc life of its 
 subject. The few of his private confidential let- 
 ters which exist, do, however, unfold his charac- 
 ter in a very amiable way. Those to his rela- 
 tions in Scotland, written in the latter years of 
 his life, display the most affectionate solicitude 
 for the happiness of those who could but Httle 
 add to his, and much good sense in his endea- 
 vours to promote it. 
 
 According to his London or American bio- 
 grapher, Paul Jones was " as chivalrous in 
 love as in war.'' This is assumed, it is pro- 
 bable, on the principle that every seaman is 
 bound to be so, as a point of professional 
 duty, — from Nelson of the Nile down to Jack or 
 
244 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Ben just paid off at Portsmoutli. " Paul Jones," 
 we are gravely told, '' was always seriously in 
 love," and, what is more singular, " often with 
 women he had never seen." This contradicts 
 all ordinary experience, and even goes beyond 
 romantic tradition. Though seamen are not re- 
 markable for tedious or roundabout modes of 
 courtship, they are seldom so far spirituaHzed as 
 not to require at least one passing glance of the 
 fair objects that kindle the sudden flame. That 
 among all existing unknown beauties, Paul Jones 
 should have singled out Lady Selkirk as the ob- 
 ject of his romantic and passionate admiration, 
 appears, at least on this, the frigid side of the 
 Atlantic, too absurd for serious refutation. His 
 gallantry of disposition, and the disagreeable and 
 derogatory imputations to which his descent on 
 St Mary's Isle was liable, sufficiently account 
 for the address to Lady Selkirk of a man who 
 had so quick a sense of dishonour, and so tena- 
 cious a regard for reputation, as Paul Jones 
 evinced in every transaction of his life. It is 
 therefore quite unnecessary to account for his 
 conduct in this memorable affair, by raising the 
 
PAUL JONES. 245 
 
 ridiculous hypothesis of his ha%dng fallen in love 
 with a married lady of high rank, whom he had 
 never seen, and whose eldest son was at that 
 time of an age to have acted as his heutenant. 
 It is indeed just possible, that, while Paul Jones 
 was still a lad, sailing to the port of Kirkcud- 
 bright, he might have seen the lady of St Mary's 
 Isle, though even then it would be preposterous 
 to imagine such long-lived and romantic conse- 
 quences from this transient vision, however fair 
 and captivating. 
 
 Paul Jones was by no means so great a fool 
 as his historian, no doubt to do him honour, 
 would insinuate. A man " in the singular si- 
 tuation of being in love with every woman in 
 Paris," and " often with women he had never 
 seen," was evidently in no imminent peril from 
 the attractions of any inchvidual charmer, how- 
 ever powerful these might be. In the present 
 case this seems to have been the fact. The 
 true, and, it may be said, the only mistress to 
 whom Paul Jones was ever devoted with all the 
 powers of his heart and mind was — Glory, in 
 
•)•) 
 
 •)•> 
 
 246 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 pursuit of whom he made no scruple at any time 
 to set his foot on the neck of " the gentle Cupid, 
 or, if need were, to use that " soft integument 
 as a stepping-stone in his mounting path. 
 
 It is said that John Paul Jones, soon after 
 entering the navy, formed an ardent attachment 
 to an American lady. Their affection was mu- 
 tual, but circumstances forbade their union ; and 
 from this period he formed the resolution of 
 never marrying. There is, however, much to 
 intervene between the cradle and the grave of 
 the passions ; and when a man expresses resolu- 
 tions of this kind, his friends generally know 
 with what proper degree of credit or allowance to 
 receive them. He sent a message to his sisters, 
 by Mr Kennedy, — the French teacher of Dum- 
 fries, who waited on him with letters from his re- 
 lations, about the year 1784, — purporting that he 
 would never marry ; yet shortly after this we 
 find him expressing a very tender and anxious in- 
 terest for a French lady (Madame T ,) with 
 
 whom he was in correspondence. 
 
 The most brilliant period of the bonnes for- 
 
PAUL JONES. 247 
 
 tunes of Paul Jones was during his residence at 
 Paris and Versailles in I78O, and immediately 
 after his escape from the Texel; the period 
 commemorated by Baron Grimm, the era of his 
 court favour, military order, and gold sword. 
 He at this time engaged in \2ino\x^ Jlirtations^ of 
 the kind and complexion which no man of his 
 age and profession, moving in gay society in 
 Paris, could have avoided, if he wished to Uve in 
 the odour of gallantry. His acquaintance with 
 the lady who assumes, or who received the poeti- 
 cal appellation of Deha, must have commenced 
 about this time, as the hottest fire of her love- 
 letters appears to have fallen upon the Chevaher 
 at L'Orient during the existence of Landais' 
 mutiny. 
 
 The conduct of the Chevaher at this time 
 was, it is to be feared, more creditable to his 
 general spirit of gallantry than to his fidelity 
 to the fair and devoted Deha. Among the la- 
 dies whom he met most frequently in the society 
 he frequented at Versailles was the Countess of 
 Lavendal, a married woman, (and marriage in 
 Paris at this time made an indispensable ingre- 
 
248 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 dient in the attractions of a mistress,) young, 
 beautiful, witty, and withal a little intriguing. 
 To the good graces of this lady the Chevalier 
 Paul Jones anxiously and assiduously recom- 
 mended himself There is, however, reason to 
 surmise, that the gentleman might have been 
 somewhat of a self-seeker even in his admiration 
 of the beautiful Countess. It is undeniable, that 
 he owed all the distinction he had just ob tamed 
 solely to court-favour, — to the French ministry he 
 owed nothing. " La belle Comtesse,'' indeed, ap- 
 peared to have looked to him as the medium of ad- 
 vancement or employment for her husband, with- 
 out affecting to possess court-patronage herself; 
 but there was no limiting the influence of a clever 
 and beautiful woman at the Court of Versailles, 
 where, although the reigning sovereign was unas- 
 sailable, there were always so many open channels, 
 through ministers and favourites, high and low, 
 male and female. When the lady, whose object 
 was to obtain employment for her husband, in 
 conjunction with the American hero, but who 
 had no objection to the by-play of a little harm- 
 less coquetry, thought it prudent to draw back, 
 
PAUL JONES. 249 
 
 after a course of very promising encouragement, 
 her admirer appears to have borne his disap- 
 pointment with great philosophy ; and to have 
 turned the tables upon the fickle charmer, and 
 extricated himself from the affair with a cool 
 dexterity that might command the applause of 
 Chesterfield himself. 
 
 This Parisian " course of true love*" is fully 
 elucidated by the following extracts of pubUshed 
 letters, attributed to a young Enghsh lady, a 
 Miss Edes, residing at the time in Versailles. 
 They were written early in June and July, IJSO. 
 Couphng the fact of their immediate publication 
 in England, with the staple of their composition, 
 if left to our own instincts, and not positively as- 
 sured that they were originally the private let- 
 ters of a young lady, we would be incUned to at- 
 tribute them to some of the gentlemen of the 
 press who flourished fifty years ago ; and who 
 then exported the scandal of Paris to London, 
 in a somewhat clumsier way than the same busi- 
 ness is still managed, but exactly in the same 
 spirit. 
 
 " The famous Paul Jones dines and sups here 
 
 l2 
 
250 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 often/' says Miss Edes ; " he is a smart man of 
 thirty-six, speaks but little French, appears to 
 be an extraordinary genius, a poet as well as a 
 hero ; a few days ago he wrote some verses ex- 
 tempore, of which I send you a copy. He is 
 greatly admired here, especially by the ladies, 
 who are all wild for love of him, as he for them ; 
 
 but he adores Lady , (the Countess La- 
 
 vendal,) who has honoured him with every 
 mark of politeness and distinction."" 
 
 ^' Verses addressed to the Ladies who have done me 
 the Honour of their polite Attention I" Presented 
 by Paul Jones to Mademoiselle G «.* 
 
 " Insulted Freedom bled,— I felt hei 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 ; 
 
 * This is supposed to be one of the daughters of M. 
 Genet, but could not have been his eldest daughter, who 
 was by this time married to M. Campan, and a woman 
 of the bedchamber to the Queen. 
 
251 
 
 PAUL JONES. 
 
 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 my latest duty." 
 
 In this, and other effiisions fully more credit- 
 able to his muse, Paul Jones, we presume, makes 
 no worse figure than other clever men have done, 
 when, departing from their true character, they 
 choose to engage in the solemn fooleries or trif- 
 Hng puerilities of a part for which neither nature, 
 education, nor habit, has fitted them.* 
 
 * In vindication of the critical opinions of Grimm, 
 who praises the " grace and softness" of the verses of 
 Paul Jones, we subjoin what is considered a tolerably fair 
 specimen of his poetical vein. It is no disparagement of 
 our own great naval hero to say, that the verses of Paul 
 Jones are far superior to those of Nelson. Indeed, of all 
 such effusions the opinion of Byron ought to be adopted as 
 quite canonical — they are so good, that— "bad were better." 
 The only use of the verses of Paul Jones is the evidence 
 they afford, that their author could not have been the 
 
252 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 The same young lady, supposed to be the Miss 
 Edes, sometimes noticed in the correspondence of 
 
 brutal, ignorant, and ferocious pirate he is frequently 
 described. In this view they are invaluable to truth and 
 to his honest fame : — 
 
 " Verses written on Board the Alliance offUshant, the \st 
 Day of January f 1780, immediately after escaping out 
 oftheTexelfrom the Blockade of the British Fleet ; being 
 in Answer to a Piece written and sent to the Texel by a 
 young Lady at the Hague. 
 
 TO MISS DUMAS. 
 
 I. 
 
 " Were I, Paul Jones, dear maid, the ' King of Sea,* 
 
 I find such merit in thy virgin song, 
 
 A coral crown with bays I'd give to thee, 
 
 A car which on the waves should smoothly glide along ; 
 
 The Nereids all about thy side should wait. 
 
 And gladly sing in triumph of thy state, 
 
 * Vivat, vivat' the happy virgin muse ! 
 
 Of Liberty the friend, whom tyrant power pursues! 
 
 II. 
 
 " Or, happier lot ! were fair Columbia free 
 From British tyranny, and youth still mine. 
 
PAUL JONES. 253 
 
 the Chevalier with the Genet family, on another 
 occasion, and after further acquaintance, writes 
 thus : — 
 
 " Since my last, Paul Jones drank tea and 
 supped here. If I am in love with him, for love 
 I may die ; I have as many rivals as there are 
 
 I'd tell a tender tale to one like thee 
 
 With artless looks, and breast as pure as thine- 
 
 If she approved ray flame, distrust apart. 
 
 Like faithful turtles, we'd have but one heart; 
 
 Together then we'd tune the silver lyre. 
 
 As Love or sacred Freedom should our lays inspire. 
 
 IIL 
 
 '' But since, alas ! the rage of war prevails. 
 
 And cruel Britons desolate our land, 
 
 For Freedom still I spread ray willing sails, 
 
 My unsheath'd sword my injured country shall command. 
 
 Go on, bright maid, the Muses all attend 
 
 Genius like thine, and wish to be its friend. 
 
 Trust me, although convey'd through this poor shift. 
 
 My new-year's thoughts are grateful for thy virgin gift."* 
 
 * This gallant effusion was despatched from Corogne, where Jones put 
 in for a short time on his way to Groix. The lady was the daughter of 
 M. Dumas, the American agent at Amsterdam. 
 
254 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ladies, but the most formidable is still Lady , 
 
 (the Couiitess Lavendal,) who possesses all his 
 heart. This lady is of high rank and virtue, 
 very sensible, good-natured, and affable. Be- 
 sides this, she is possessed of youth, beauty, and 
 wit, and every other female accomphshment. He 
 is gone, I suppose, for America. They corre- 
 spond, and his letters are replete with elegance, 
 sentiment, and delicacy. She drew his picture, 
 (a striking likeness,) and wrote some lines vmder 
 it, which are much admired, and presented it 
 to him, who, since he received it, is, he says, 
 like a second Narcissus, in love with his own re- 
 semblance ; to be sure he is the most agreeable 
 sea-wolf one would wish to meet with. As to his 
 verses you may do with them what you please. 
 The King had given him a magnificent gold sword, 
 which, lest it should fall into the hands of the 
 enemy, he has begged leave to commit it to the 
 care of her ladyship, — a piece of gallantry which is 
 here highly applauded. If any further account 
 of this singular genius should reach my hands, 
 you shall have it." 
 
 We beheve that even the most finished French 
 
PAUL JONES. 255 
 
 coquet would feel rather startled at the eclat of 
 an appearance like the above in an English pe- 
 riodical published within the month. The Coun- 
 tess must have been alarmed, and she took her 
 measures accordingly. 
 
 When Jones was compelled to return to 
 L'Orient, and in the prospect of an immediate 
 departure for America, he took courage to speak 
 more plainly to this condescending Countess. 
 Though, as has been noticed, he found it after- 
 wards expedient to give the affair another turn, his 
 first letter, which follows, cannot be mistaken : — 
 
 " I am deeply concerned," he says, " in all 
 that respects your happiness ; I therefore have 
 been and am much aifected at some words that 
 fell in private conversation from Miss Edes the 
 evening I left Versailles. I am afraid that you 
 are less happy than I wish, and am sure you de- 
 serve to be. I am composing a cipher for a key 
 to our future correspondence, so that you will be 
 able to write me very freely, and without risk. 
 It is a small dictionary of particular words, with 
 a number annexed to each of them. In our let- 
 ters we will write sometimes the corresponding 
 
256 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 number instead of the word, so that the meaning 
 can never be understood until the corresponding 
 words are interhned over the numbers. 
 
 " I beseech you to accept the within lock. I 
 am sorry that it is now eighteen inches shorter 
 than it was three months ago. If I could send 
 you my heart itself, or any thing else that could 
 afford you pleasure, it would be my happiness to 
 do it. Before I had the honour of seeing you, I 
 wished to comply with the invitation of my lodge,* 
 and I need not add that I have since found 
 stronger reasons that have compelled me to seek 
 the means of returning to France agam as soon 
 as possible.'''' 
 
 There was a manifest want of retenue in this 
 epistle. The lady, it is said, kept the trophies, 
 namely, the cipher, the letter, and the lock of 
 hair, but wrote to Jones, expressing her astonish- 
 ment at his audacity, and her conjecture that his 
 packet had been misdirected when sent to her- 
 self. She begged, at the same time, to introduce 
 
 * Probably the lodge of the Neuf SceurSf of which he 
 was a member. 
 
PAUL JONES. 257 
 
 to him the Count her husband, who was to pass 
 through L'Orient. " She should be obhged to 
 the Chevaher to show him every civiUty." This 
 he did, and afterwards wrote the Countess : — 
 
 " L'Orient, July 14, 1780. 
 
 " Madam, — Since I had the honour to re- 
 ceive your packet from Versailles, I have care- 
 fully examined the copy of my letter from Nantes, 
 but am still at a loss, and cannot conceive, what 
 part of the letter itself could have occasioned 
 your imagining I had mistaken the address. As 
 for the Httle packet it contained, perhaps it might 
 better have been omitted : if so, it is easily de- 
 stroyed. If my letter has given you even a mo- 
 ment's uneasiness, I can assure you, that to think 
 so would be as severe a punishment as could be 
 inflicted upon me. However I may have been 
 mistaken, my intention could never have been to 
 give you the most distant offence. I was greatly 
 honoured by the visit of the Count, your husband, 
 and am so well convinced of liis superior under- 
 standing, that I am glad to beheve Miss Edes 
 was mistaken. I admire him so much, that I 
 
258 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 should esteem myself very happy indeed to have 
 a joint expedition with him by sea and land, 
 though I am certain that his laurels would far 
 exceed mine. I mention this, because M. de 
 Genet has both spoken and written to me on the 
 subject as from the Count himself. 
 
 " I had the honour to lay a project before the 
 Kmg's ministers in the month of May, for future 
 combined expeditions under the flag of America, 
 and had the satisfaction to find that my ideas 
 were approved by them. If the Count, your 
 husband, will do me the honour to concert with 
 M. de Genet, that the court may send with me 
 to America the application that was intended to 
 be made to Congress, conformable to the propo- 
 sal I made, it would afford me a pleasing oppor- 
 tunity of showing my gratitude to the King, to 
 his ministers, and to this generous-minded nation. 
 I should be greatly proud to owe my success to 
 your own good offices ; and would gladly share 
 with your husband the honour that might result 
 from our operations. I have within these few 
 days had the honour to receive from his Majesty 
 the cross of MiUtary Merit, with a sword that is 
 
PAUL JONES. 259 
 
 worthy the royal giver, and a letter which I ar- 
 dently wish to deserve. I hold the sword in too 
 high estimation to risk its being taken by the 
 enemy ; and therefore propose to deposit it in the 
 care of a friend. None can be more worthy of 
 that sacred deposite than you, Madam ; and if 
 you will do me the honour to be its guardian, I 
 shaU esteem myself under an additional obliga- 
 tion to deserve your ribbon, and to prove myself 
 worthy of the title of your knight. I promised 
 to send you a particular account of my late ex- 
 pedition ; but the late extraordinary events that 
 have taken place, with respect to the frigate Al- 
 liance, make me wish to postpone that relation 
 until after a court-martial in America shaU have 
 furnished evidence for many circumstances that 
 would, from a simple assertion, appear romance 
 and founded on vanity. The only reason for the 
 revolt on board the Alliance was, because the 
 men were not paid either wages or prize-money ; 
 and because one or two envious persons persuad- 
 ed them that I had concurred with M. de Chau- 
 mont to defraud them, and to keep them in Europe 
 during the war, which, God knows, was not true. 
 
260 MEMOIUS OF 
 
 For I was bound directly for America ; and far 
 from concurring with M. de Chaumont, I had 
 not even written or spoken to him, but had highly 
 resented his mean endeavours to keep the poor 
 men out of their just rights, which was the only 
 business that brought me to court in April. 
 
 " If I am to have the honour of writing you 
 from beyond sea, you will find that the cipher I 
 had the honour to send you may be necessary ; 
 because I would not wish all my informations to 
 be understood, in case my letters should fall into 
 the hands of the enemy. I shall communicate 
 no idea in cipher that will offend even such great 
 delicacy as yours ; but as you are a philosopher, 
 and as friendship has nothing to do with sex, 
 pray what harm is there in wishing to have the 
 picture of a friend ? Present, I pray, my best 
 respects to the Count. If we are hereafter to be 
 concerned together in war, I hope my conduct 
 will give him satisfaction ; at any rate I hope for 
 the honour of his friendship. Be assured that I 
 shall ever preserve for you the most profound es- 
 teem and the most grateful respect. 
 
 " Paul Jones." 
 
PAUL JONES. 261 
 
 The lady waived the honour of being constituted 
 guarchan of the gold sword ; and whatever her in- 
 fluence with the ChevaHer might have been, it now 
 declined rapidly. From the Road of Groix Jones 
 wrote to her in the following well-considered and 
 measured terms ; and, from his next letters, it 
 appears that the correspondence henceforth lan- 
 guished on his side : — 
 
 " Paul Jones to the Countess de Lavendal. 
 
 "Ariel, Road of Groix, September SI, 17S0. 
 " Madam, — I was honoured with the very po- 
 lite letter that your Ladyship condescended to 
 write me on the 5th of last month. I am sorry 
 that you have found it necessary to refuse me 
 the honour of accepting the deposite mentioned 
 in my last, but am determined to follow your 
 advice, and be myself its guardian. I have been 
 detained in this open road by contrary and stormy 
 winds since the 4th of this month. There is 
 this moment an appearance of a fan- opportunity, 
 and I will eagerly embrace it. I have received 
 a letter from the first minister, very favourable 
 
262 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 to the project I mentioned to you, and you may 
 depend on my utmost interest with Congress to 
 bring" the matter to issue. I am sure that assem- 
 bly will with pleasure say aU yourself or the 
 Count could wish respecting the Count, if my 
 scheme is adopted. 
 
 " I have the satisfaction to inform you, that, by 
 the testimony of all the persons just arrived in 
 four ships at L'Orient from Philadelphia, the 
 Congress and all America appeared to be warmly 
 my friends ; and my heart, conscious of its own 
 uprightness, tells me I shall be well received. 
 Deeply and gratefully impressed with a sense of 
 what I owe to you and your husband''s attentions 
 and good wishes, and ardently desiring to merit 
 your friendship and the love of this nation by my 
 whole conduct through life, 
 
 " I remain. Madam, &c. &c. 
 
 " P. S. — I wiU not fail to write whenever I have 
 any thing worth your reading ; at the same time, 
 may I hope to be honoured now and then with a 
 letter from you, directed to Philadelphia. I was 
 selfish in begging you to write me in French, 
 
PAUL JONES. 263 
 
 because your letters would serve me as an exer- 
 cise. Your English is correct, and even ele- 
 gant."* 
 
 Long afterwards his correspondence with the 
 Countess is thus ceremoniously resumed : — 
 
 Captain Paul Jones to M. de Genet, enclosing Let- 
 ters to the Countess de Lavendal and the Mar- 
 quis de Castries. 
 
 " Triomphant, Porto la Bello, 
 February 28, 1783. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — I had the honour to receive your 
 favour of the 16th May, 1781, only a few days 
 before I launched the America at Portsmouth. 
 Perhaps Colonel Lawrence, (who is no more,) in 
 the warmth of his pubHc zeal, had forgot my let- 
 ter, and carried it with him to the fate of Corn- 
 
 * The above letter is addressed, in the copy before us, 
 to the Countess de Bourbon. It is, however, obviously 
 intended for the Countess de Lavendal. Paul Jones 
 could not have been in correspondence with two differ- 
 ent ladies to whom he would have wished to intrust '' the 
 deposite." 
 
264 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 wallis. My mind was so much on the stretch 
 from receiving your letter till I reached Boston, 
 that you will, I hope, excuse my silence. I ex- 
 pected to have written by the Iris ; but the stormy 
 weather after leaving Boston rendered it impos- 
 sible to put letters on board, and I had not a 
 moment's time before we left the port. I leave 
 the seal of my letter to the Marquis de Castries 
 open, that you may read it yourself, and show it 
 to the Countess de Lavendal before you seal 
 and dehver it. She will there see that invincible 
 obstacles have defeated my projects, which I have 
 pursued with unremitting attention. I am hap- 
 py that my httle present was accepted by Miss 
 Sophy* with so much favour, and that it was 
 taken in good part by her family and intended 
 husband. I am not surprised that your son-in- 
 law is a worthy man. It could not be otherwise, 
 since he has your approbation, and is the choice 
 of the young lady. From the complexion of the 
 King of England's speech of the 5th December 
 the war ought now to be at an end. I hope and 
 
 A daughter of M. Genet. 
 
PAUL JONES. 265 
 
 sincerely wish it, for humanity has need of peace. 
 But if the war should continue, it is not impos- 
 sible that I may command again before it is 
 finished. Returmng my respectful compHments 
 to all your family, and to Miss Edes ; and still 
 hoping to revisit France, I am, 
 
 " Dear Sir, &c. &c. 
 '' M. de Genet, Versailles." 
 
 "^ Captain Paul Jones to the Countess de Lavendal, 
 enclosed in the above. 
 
 " Triomphant, Porto Cabello, 
 February, 28, 1783. 
 
 " I RECEIVED, Madam, a short time before I 
 left North America, from M. Genet, a letter, dat- 
 ed Versailles, 18th May, 1781, containing a mes- 
 sage from your Ladyship respecting the mihtary 
 projects I had in contemplation in connexion 
 with the Count when I left Versailles. As no- 
 thing could add more to my disappointment than 
 a supposition on your part that I had not pursu- 
 ed these objects with constant zeal, I have de- 
 sired M. Genet to put into your hands, before it 
 
 VOL. II. M 
 
266 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 is delivered to the person for whom it is directed, 
 a letter, by which you will see that invincible ob- 
 stacles alone have prevented the full operation 
 of my schemes, which, till very lately, have al- 
 ways been supported by hope. I now think the 
 war at an end ; but if it should continue, I shall 
 not voluntarily remain out of the busy scene, 
 and I am still of opinion my former projects 
 might be adopted with pubhc utihty. I can, 
 however, promise nothing, but that my prin- 
 ciples are invariably the same. I hope to return 
 to France, and am persuaded you will rather feel 
 compassion for my disappointment than withdraw 
 from me any part of your esteem. — I am. 
 
 Madam, with sentiments of the most 
 profound respect, &c. &c. 
 " To the Countess de Lavendal." 
 
 In reference to her husband, this lady had 
 evidently formed expectations from Paul Jones 
 which he never possessed the power to realize ; 
 and which, it is to be presumed, arose rather 
 from the strength of her own wishes, than from 
 false hopes held out by her admirer. How he 
 
PAUL JONES. 267 
 
 could have proposed to connect himself with a 
 man of no professional eminence, whom, when 
 the idea was formed, he had never seen, and, 
 from Miss Edes' report, supposed a fool, must 
 be left to the sagacity of the reader, and will, 
 perhaps, require his indulgence. 
 
 The letter sent for the perusal of the Coun- 
 tess does not appear much in point, nor could it 
 have proved very satisfactory to her. 
 
 '' Captain Paul Jones to the Marquis de Castries, 
 enclosed to M. Genet, for the perusal of the Coun- 
 tess de Lavendal. 
 
 " Triomphant, Porto Cabello, 
 28th February, 1783. 
 
 " My Lord Marquis, — You have no doubt 
 been officially informed of the act of Congress 
 presenting the America to his Majesty, to replace 
 the Magnifique, when that ship was lost at Bos- 
 ton. Perhaps you may have also heard, that 
 soon after my return from France to Philadel- 
 phia, in the Ariel, I was unanimously elected by 
 Congress to command the America. It was pro- 
 
268 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 posed by his Excellency, Mr Morris, Minister of 
 Marine, to arm the America en flute, and 
 send her to Brest in December, 1781, with a 
 cargo of large masts, fit for ships of the line, to 
 be armed for war, &c. But when I arrived at 
 Portsmouth, I found the ship not half built, and 
 all the materials were wanting to finish the con- 
 struction. Instead of commanding a fine ship, 
 and being attended by frigates belonging to the 
 continent, the inspection of the construction fell 
 entirely upon me, almost without money or ma- 
 terials to carry it on. I had been thus employ- 
 ed for sixteen months before the act of Congress 
 presenting the] America to the King deprived 
 me of that command. It was thought that act 
 of Congress must give me pain, but those who 
 were of that opinion did not well know my char- 
 acter. It was a sacrifice I made with pleasure, 
 to testify my grateful regard for his Majesty, and 
 my invariable attention and zeal to promote the 
 common cause. I continued my inspection till 
 the America was launched, and having then de- 
 livered her to M. de Martigne, appointed by his 
 Excellency the Marquis de Vaudreuil, I set out 
 
PAUL JONES. 269 
 
 for Philadelphia. A project was then in con- 
 templation between Mr Morris and the Chevalier 
 de la Luzerne, for employing me immediately 
 with a command of some frigates ; but not being 
 able to get the South Carolina frigate out of the 
 hands of Mi»Gillan, their project did not succeed. 
 Thus disappointed, I appHed to Congress to send 
 me back to Boston to make a campaign for my 
 instruction on board his Majesty^s fleet. Con- 
 gress having passed an act for that purpose, I 
 returned to Boston the day before the fleet sail- 
 ed, with letters from the Minister of Marine, 
 and the Chevaher de la Luzerne, to his Excel- 
 lency the Marquis de Vaudreuil, who kindly re- 
 ceived me as a volunteer on board of his ship. 
 I have been so handsomely treated, both by him 
 and the officers, both of the fleet and army, that 
 they leave me nothing more to wish for from 
 them. I am directed to return to Philadelphia 
 when the campaign is ended, unless, in the mean- 
 time, I should receive orders to the contrary. I 
 beseech you to assure his Majesty, that I will 
 eagerly embrace every opportunity to testify by 
 my conduct the high sense I have of the honour- 
 
270 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 able marks conferred on me of his favour and 
 esteem, and that I feel a superior obligation for 
 the many marks of his bounty. — I am, 
 
 " My Lord Marquis, 
 
 with profound respect, &c. 
 
 " To his Excellency the Marquis 
 de Castries," ^c. 
 
 Of the Countess de Lavendal we learn no 
 more ; nor would the affair have been worth no- 
 tice, were it not already before the pubUc. The 
 motives which led to the earHer part of this cor- 
 respondence cannot be mistaken ; nor is the ad- 
 dress displayed in the attempt to give the aftair a 
 turn much to be commended, unless, as seems 
 extremely probable, the coquetry of the lady, and 
 her retention of the gifts she disclaims in words, 
 justify the affected astonishment of an admirer 
 whose vanity was to all appearance more inte- 
 rested than his serious affections. If the apolo- 
 gy be offered for this correspondence, that Paul 
 Jones did not understand French manners, this 
 will more strongly justify the lady than her ad- 
 mirer ; and it is to be feared that another aggra- 
 
PAUL JONES. 271 
 
 vation is, its being simultaneous with that of the 
 devoted Delia, the anonymous lady mentioned 
 at page 261, vol. I. 
 
 Delia has so dexterously preserved her incognita, 
 that it is scarce possible, even if it were import- 
 ant, to ascertain her real condition. Her letters 
 which are preserved appear to have been written 
 to Jones while at KOrient, and when he was sup- 
 posed on the eve of saihng for America. These 
 epistles, which are warmly passionate, breathe the 
 eloquence of deep and genuine feeling, and display 
 the boundless generosity of a devoted if not very 
 discreet attachment ; but they, at the same time, 
 discover a larger experience in " affairs of the 
 heart*" than was likely to be possessed or ac- 
 knowledged by a very young woman, and ha- 
 bits of life which intimate more independence 
 and freedom than custom permitted to any un- 
 married French girl, if above the very lowest 
 rank. Delia appears to have received the visits 
 of gentlemen, — a privilege enjoyed only by mar- 
 ried women or widows ; and she alludes to her 
 income of eight thousand livres (no small fortune 
 in those days) as if it were under her sole and 
 
272 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 uncontrolled command. She alleges her liberal- 
 ity of disposition as the cause of her narrow for- 
 tune, and thus warrants the conclusion, that her 
 conduct was perfectly independent of control. 
 Her extreme apprehension lest her letters or her 
 portrait should be seen, which is repeatedly ex- 
 pressed, is but a natural and becoming female 
 feehng, from which nothing can be surmised of 
 her real character and condition. It was a duty 
 that her lover owed to her memory, or, if she sur- 
 vived him, to the memory of their attachment, 
 to have placed this warm and animated corre- 
 spondence beyond the power of either misrepre- 
 sentation or derision. 
 
 In the American Memoir of Paul Jones re- 
 published in London, it is said, " the Commodore 
 grew alarmed when the lady proposed to follow 
 him to America." Her original letters, which 
 Paul Jones has preserved with a care he was not 
 likely to have bestowed on those of a person to 
 whom he was indifferent, bear no trace of any 
 proposition so indecorous. In the most fervid 
 of her eloquent compositions, with an abund- 
 ant lack of discretion, there is no symptom 
 
PAUL JONES. 273 
 
 of indelicacy. Her distress, her agonies at 
 parting with her lover, are very frankly proclaim- 
 ed, but she contemplates no such termination 
 of her misery as an elopement. " Heaven," 
 she says, " will reunite us, and watch over the 
 fate of two beings who love faithfully, and whose 
 upright hearts deserve to be happy. I inces- 
 santly address myself to Heaven for your safe 
 arrival in America. If you are satisfied with 
 that government you will continue in its service ; 
 if not, resign, and rejoin your faithful friend. 
 The whole world besides may forsake you, but 
 her heart is eternally yours. You inquire how you 
 can render me happy.? — take care of yourself, 
 love me, study the means of enabling us to pass 
 our hves together, and never forget that my life 
 is bound up in yours.'' Deha makes her lover 
 repeated offers of such assistance as she had the 
 power of affording during the exigency of his af- 
 fairs at L'Orient : — " She had trinkets, she had 
 effects,"' and with the' most disinterested spirit 
 she is willing to sacrifice them all. These offers 
 are made with grace and dehcacy, but it does not 
 appear that they were accepted; and, from a 
 
 m2 
 
274 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 passage in one of her letters, it would seem that 
 Paul Jones had given her assistance of a pecuni- 
 ary nature. 
 
 It is said by the poet, — 
 
 " Those who greatly love must greatly fear;" — 
 
 the love of Deha was extreme, and her fears 
 corresponded to its excess. The letters of Jones 
 were tolerably frequent for a man engaged in 
 quelling a mutiny, and corresponding with a co- 
 quetish Countess. They appear to have soothed 
 the fears of Delia, and filled her with rapturous 
 deUght for the moment. She alludes to his re- 
 sponding tears, sighs, and verses ; envies her own 
 portrait in his possession, but as regularly re- 
 lapses into a state of distracting doubt if his si- 
 lence exceeded the period she had fixed for re- 
 ceiving a letter. 
 
 We can perceive no reason for believing " De- 
 lia a young and high lady of the court ;" but her 
 early letters possess those indelible marks of sin- 
 cerity, and of warmth and generosity of feeling, 
 which could not fail to interest, were it possible 
 to ascertain who the writer really was. Her me- 
 
PAUL JONES. 275 
 
 mory, nevertheless, possesses some claim with 
 that class of readers pre-eminently called " gen- 
 tle ;" nor is it possible to look on the tear-stains 
 that blot those crooked characters, traced by a 
 hand then trembling with youthful passion, and 
 over which the grave must long since have closed, 
 without a feeling of pity and kindness for the 
 fair writer, so devoted, so eloquent, and probably 
 so unfortunate. 
 
 Of the " irresistible love-letters'' of Paul 
 Jones, commemorated by Miss Edes and the 
 London editor, we subjoin one specimen, as they 
 have given none. It, we fear, does not lessen 
 the suspicion, that, in the case of DeHa, the at- 
 tachment at this time was strongest on the wrong 
 side. It is written on Christmas-day, — a season 
 for which lovers seldom wait, though parted 
 friends often choose on it to make quittance of 
 neglected correspondence. 
 
 Paul Jones to Delia. 
 
 " December 25th, 1781. 
 
 " I wrote, my lovely Delia, various letters 
 from Philadelphia, the last of which was dated 
 
276 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the 20th of June. On the 26th of that month 1 
 was unanimously elected by Congress to com- 
 mand the America of 7^ guns, on the stocks at 
 Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I superintended 
 the building, which I find so much more back- 
 ward than I expected, that a plan of operations 
 which I had in view is entirely defeated. I ex- 
 pected to have been at sea this winter, but the 
 building does not go on with the vigour I could 
 wish. Since I came here I have not had a single 
 good opportunity to write to Europe. This situa- 
 tion is doubly irksome to me, my lovely friend, as 
 it stops my pursuit of honour as well as love. It 
 is now more than twelve months since I left 
 France, yet I have not received a single letter 
 from thee in all that time, except the one written 
 in answer to my letter at taking leave. That 
 one is a tender letter indeed, and does honour to 
 thy matchless heart. I read often, and always 
 with transport, the many charming things that 
 are expressed in thy letters, but especially the 
 last. Thy adieu has in it all the finer feelings 
 blended with the noblest sentiments of the heart. 
 Providence, all just and good, has given thee a 
 
PAUL JONES. 277 
 
 soul worthy to animate nature's fairest work. I 
 rest, therefore, assured, that absence will not di- 
 minish but refine the pure and spotless friend- 
 ship that binds our souls together, and wiU ever 
 impress each to merit the affection of the other. 
 Remember and believe my letter at parting ; it 
 was but a faint picture of my heart. I will find 
 opportunities to write, and be every thing thou 
 canst wish. My address is under cover to the 
 Hon. Robert Morris, Esq., Minister of Finance, 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 " I have not since heard of your relation I 
 left behind, but suppose he is with the army." 
 
 We cannot tell whether Deha profited or not by 
 this address ; but three years afterwards, when 
 the Chevalier arrived in Paris as agent for prize- 
 money, we find her stiU alive and faithful. Paul 
 Jones has preserved her first note, and in his 
 own handwriting affixed the date to it : — " From 
 her apartments in the Boulevard," &c. &c. He 
 had some reason to be proud of her fideUty : — 
 this was Paris in 1783. Delia's note is exceed- 
 ingly characteristic of her country, though we 
 
 2 
 
278 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 like its tone much less than that of the earlier ef- 
 fusions of its author : — " Is it possible that you 
 are then so near me, and that I am deprived of 
 the sight of a mortal who has constituted the mi- 
 sery of my life for four years ? — O ! most amiable 
 and most ungrateful of men, come to your best 
 friend, who burns with the desire of seeing you. 
 You ought to know that it is but eight days 
 since your DeUa was at the brink of the grave. 
 Come, in the name of Heaven !" 
 
 It is probable that the Chevalier obeyed this 
 summons, since he thought it worth while to 
 preserve the billet in which it is conveyed. 
 
 Delia now disappears from the scene as abrupt- 
 ly as the " beautiful Countess," unless we are able 
 to identify her with Madame T— — , a lady for 
 whom, about this time, the Chevaher evinces a 
 warm interest. The supposition, that Madame 
 
 T , a widow, it may be presumed, from her 
 
 friendless and unprotected state, and Deha, are 
 the same individual, is feasible in itself, credit- 
 able to both parties, and readily accounts for all 
 the ambiguities in the letters, and still more in 
 the situation of Delia. With Madame T 
 
PAUL JOXES. 279 
 
 Jones corresponded after his return to America 
 in 1786. Her letters to him were sent to the 
 care of the American minister, as those of Delia 
 had formerly been. The reader has the advantage 
 of being introduced to this lady by Paul Jones 
 himself in the following letter to Mr Jefferson : — 
 
 " I am much obliged to you for the letter 
 
 from Madame T , which you forwarded by 
 
 the June packet. I now take the liberty to en- 
 close a letter for that worthy lady ; and, as I had 
 not the happiness to introduce you to her, (be- 
 cause I wished her fortune to have been pre- 
 viously established,) 1 shall now tell you in con- 
 Jidence, that she is the daughter of the late King 
 and of a lady of quahty, on whom his Majesty 
 bestowed a verj^- large fortune on his daughter"'s 
 account. Unfortunately the father died while 
 the daughter (his great favourite) was very 
 young, and the mother has never since shown 
 her either justice or natural affection. She was 
 long the silent \dctim of that injustice ; but I had 
 the pleasure to be instrumental in putting her 
 in a fair way to obtain redress. His present Ma- 
 
280 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 jesty received her last year with great kindness. 
 He gave her afterwards several particular au- 
 diences, and said ' he charged himself with her 
 fortune.' Some things were, as I have under- 
 stood, fixed on, that depended solely on the 
 King, and he said he would dictate the justice 
 to be rendered by the mother. But the letter 
 you sent me left the feehng author all in tears ! 
 Her friend, her protectress, her introductress to 
 the King, was suddenly dead ! She was in de- 
 spair ! She lost more than a mother ! A loss, in- 
 deed, that nothing can repair ; for fortune and 
 favour are never to be compared to tried friend- 
 ship. I hope, however, she has gone to visit 
 the King in July, agreeably to his appointment 
 given her in the month of March. I am per- 
 suaded that he would receive her with additional 
 kindness, and that her loss would, in his mind, 
 be a new claim to his protection, especially as 
 he well knows, and has acknowledged, her su- 
 perior merit and just pretensions. As I feel the 
 greatest concern for the situation of this worthy 
 lady, you will render me a great favour by writ- 
 ing her a note, requesting her to call on you, as 
 
PAUL JOXES. 281 
 
 you have something to communicate from me. 
 When she comes, be so good as to deliver the 
 within letter, and show her this, that she may 
 see both my confidence in you and my advice to 
 her." 
 
 Living so long in Paris or Versailles, it is 
 scarcely possible that Paul Jones could have 
 been deceived in the character or pretensions of 
 
 Madame T , though such is not the way in 
 
 which the daughters " of Louis XV., by ladies 
 of quality," were usually treated. It might also 
 be supposed, that some trace of this daughter 
 would be found in the numerous memoirs, let- 
 ters, and secret histories of the Court of France. 
 We are not aware that any such evidence does 
 exist. It would, however, be high presumption 
 to limit the number of the illegitimate children of 
 so patriarchal a monarch as Louis XV. Ma- 
 dame T was therefore, in all probabihty, 
 
 one of his numerous descendants, the only in- 
 explicable circumstance being, that a daughter, 
 " his great favourite," should not otherwise be 
 ever heard of; and that, " very young" when her 
 father died, (in 177^?) ^^ should find in her either 
 
282 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the Delia of I78O, or the Madame T , 
 
 a widow unknown or unfriended, of I786. The 
 lady, her protectress, to whom Paul Jones al- 
 ludes, was, we are incidentally informed, the Mar- 
 chioness de Marssan, to whom he introduced her. 
 This lady we should presume to be her of the 
 same name, governess to the grand-daughters of 
 Louis XV. and sisters of his unfortunate succes- 
 sor. There is, in short, something inexpHcable 
 
 to us in the history of Madame T : The 
 
 sentiments entertained for her by Paul Jones 
 are, however, abundantly clear ; they breathe a 
 far more anxious interest than that of friendship. 
 The subjoined letter is a copy of that enclosed 
 to Madame T in the letter to Mr Jeffer- 
 son ; the other letter was written to her shortly 
 afterwards. 
 
 " Paul Jones to Madame T- 
 
 " New York, September 4th, 1787. 
 
 " No language can convey to my fair mourner 
 
 the tender sorrow I feel on her account ! The 
 
 loss of our worthy friend is indeed a fatal stroke ! 
 
 It is an irreparable misfortune which can only be 
 
PAUL JOXES. 283 
 
 alleviated by this one reflection, that it is the 
 will of God, whose providence has, I hope, other 
 blessings in store for us. She was a tried friend, 
 and more than a mother to you ! She would have 
 been a mother to me also had she lived. We 
 have lost her ! Let us cherish her memory, and 
 send up grateftd thanks to the Almighty that we 
 once had such a friend. I cannot but flatter 
 
 myself that you have yourself gone to the K 
 
 in July as he had appointed. I am sure your 
 loss will be a new inducement for him to pro- 
 tect you, and render you justice. He will hear 
 you, I am sure ; and you may safely unbosom 
 yourself to him, and ask his advice, which can- 
 not but be flattering to him to give you. Tell 
 him you must look on him as your father and pro- 
 tector. If it were necessary, I think, too, that 
 
 the Count d'A ,* his brother, would, on your 
 
 personal appHcation, render you good offices 
 by speaking in your favour. I should Uke it 
 better, however, if you can do without him. Mr 
 Jefferson will show you my letter of this date to 
 
 * Count d'Artois, now Charles X. 
 
284 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 him. You will see by it how disgracefully I 
 have been detained here by the Board of Trea- 
 sury. It is impossible for me to stir from this 
 place till I obtain their settlement on the busi- 
 ness I have already performed ; and as the sea- 
 son is already far advanced, I expect to be or- 
 dered to embark directly for the place of my 
 destination in the North. Mr Jefferson will for- 
 ward me your letters. I am almost without 
 money, and much puzzled to obtain a supply. 
 I have written to Dr B.,* to endeavour to assist 
 me. I mention this with infinite regret, and for 
 no other reason than because it is impossible for 
 me to transmit you a supply under my present 
 circumstances. This is my fifth letter to you 
 since I left Paris. The two last were from 
 France, and I sent them by dupHcates. But 
 you say nothing of having received any letters 
 from me ! Summon, my dear friend, all your re- 
 solution ! Exert yourself, and plead your own 
 cause. You cannot fail of success — your cause 
 would move a heart of flint ! Present my best re- 
 
 ■ n ■ ■ I - 
 
 • Bancroft. 
 
PAUL JONES. 285 
 
 spects to your sister. You did not mention her 
 in your letter ; but I persuade myself she will 
 continue her tender care of her sweet god-son, 
 and that you will cover him all over with kisses 
 from me : they come warm to you both from the 
 heart !" 
 
 To the same. 
 
 " New York, October 24, 1787. 
 
 " The last French packet brought no letter to 
 me from the person whose happiness is dearer to 
 me than any thing else. I have been on the rack 
 of fear and apprehension, and am totally unable 
 to account for that silence ! My business is done 
 here, and the moment of my return to Europe 
 approaches. My sentiments are unchanged, and 
 my impatience can better be imagined than ex- 
 pressed. I have been honoured here beyond my 
 V own expectations.* But your silence makes 
 even honours insipid. I am, however, far fix)m 
 blaming you ; want of health, or some other mis- 
 
 * See page 305, vol. i. 
 
286 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 fortune, must have interposed. If this reaches 
 you, remember me affectionately to your sister 
 and her god-son. May Heaven avert all trouble 
 from you !" 
 
 Paul Jones almost immediately followed this 
 letter to Europe. During his short stay in Paris 
 in the winter of 1787? he must in all probability 
 have again seen the lady to whom it was address- 
 ed. Both the letters, as well as that sent to Mr 
 Jefferson, bear testimony how deeply his feel- 
 ings were involved in this attachment, by what- 
 ever name it is called, love or friendship. Yet 
 it must have terminated unsatisfactorily, if not 
 unhappily. From the period of his setting out 
 for Denmark and Russia, his correspondence 
 
 bears no trace of Madame T ; and by the 
 
 time he reached Amsterdam on his return, this 
 lady must either have been forgotten, or deemed 
 unworthy of remembrance. Whether this arose 
 from his own conduct or fickleness, or the in- 
 constancy of that friend of whose silence while 
 in America he had complained as " makmg even 
 honours insipid," it is now impossible to deter- 
 mine, though on this occasion we are inclined to 
 
PAUL JONES. 287 
 
 decide against the lady, should she even be, as 
 we have surmised, the " eternally devoted" De- 
 lia herself. 
 
 From a letter written by Paul Jones to two 
 ladies whom he numbered among his friends, 
 and who had pointedly alluded to the supposed 
 state of his affections, and his engagements 
 in Paris, there is reason to suppose that he 
 may, in addition to baffled professional hopes, 
 have suffered disappointment of a more tender 
 kind. 
 
 '^ Paul Jones to Mesdames he Grande and Rinshy, 
 a Trevoux, pres de Lion. 
 
 " Paris, Feb. 25, 1791. 
 " Dear and amiable Ladies, — Madame 
 Clement has read me part of a letter from you, 
 in which you conclude that I prefer love to 
 friendship, and Paris to Trevoux. As to the 
 first part you may be right, for love frequently 
 communicates divine quahties, and in that hght 
 may be considered as the cordial that Providence 
 has bestowed on mortals, to help them to digest 
 the nauseous draught of life. Friendship, they 
 
288 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 say, has more solid qualities than love. This is 
 a question I shall not attempt to resolve ; but 
 sad experience generally shows that where we ex- 
 pect to find a friend we have only been treacher- 
 ously deluded by false appearances, and that the 
 goddess herself very seldom confers her charms 
 on any of the human race. As to the second, I 
 am too much a philosopher to prefer noise to 
 tranquiUity : if this does not determine the pre- 
 ference between Paris and Trevoux, I will add, 
 that I have had very bad health almost ever 
 since your departure, and that other circumstan- 
 ces have conspired to detain me here, which have 
 nothing to do either with love or friendship. My 
 health is now recovering, and as what is retarded 
 is not always lost, I hope soon to have the hap- 
 piness of paying you my personal homage, and 
 of renewing the assurance of that undiminished 
 attachment which women of such distinguished 
 worth and talents naturally inspire. I am, in 
 the mean time, dear and amiable Ladies, 
 
 " Your most obedient and most humble 
 servant, 
 
 " Paul Jones.'' 
 
PAUL JONES. 289 
 
 The lady'^s answer merits to be preserved. It 
 displays the true kindness of female friendship, 
 and the frank politeness of a Frenchwoman. 
 
 " Trevoux, 6th March, 1791. 
 
 " Sir, — I had given up the hope of receiving 
 any intelligence of your Excellency, and I ac- 
 knowledge it cost me much before I could be- 
 lieve that the promise of a great man was no 
 more to be relied on than that of the herd of 
 mankind. The letter with which you have honour- 
 ed me convinces me that my heart knew you 
 better than my head ; for though my reason whis- 
 pered that you had quite forgotten us, I was 
 unwilling to believe it. 
 
 " Madame Wolfe, as well as myself, is much 
 concerned for the bad state of your health. I 
 am sorry that, hke myself, your Excellency is 
 taught the value of health by sickness. Come 
 to us. Sir ; if you do not find here the pleasures 
 you enjoy in Paris, you will find a good air, 
 frugal meals, freedom, and hearts that can ap- 
 preciate you. 
 
 VOL. II. N 
 
290 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 *' I am concerned to perceive that your Ex- 
 cellency is an unbeliever in friendship. Alas, 
 if you want friends, who shaU pretend to possess 
 them ! I hope you will recover from this error, 
 and be convinced that friendship is something 
 more than a chimera of Plato. 
 
 " Do me the favour to acquaint me with the 
 time we may expect the honour of seeing you. 
 I must be absent for some days, and I would not 
 for any thing in the world that I should not be 
 here on your arrival. If I knew the time, I 
 would send my little carriage to meet the stage- 
 coach, as I suppose you will take that convey- 
 ance. 
 
 " Madame Wolfe expects the moment of your 
 arrival with as much eagerness as myself, (she 
 says ;) but as I best know my own feelings, I am 
 certain I go beyond her. Of this I am certain, 
 that we shall both count the day tiU we have 
 the happiness of seeing you. Come quickly then, 
 I pray you. 
 
 " I beg you, Sir, to receive the assurance of the 
 respectful consideiation with which I have the 
 
PAUL JONES. 291 
 
 honour to be your Excellency''s most humble 
 and obedient servant/"' 
 
 The letters of Paul Jones to his sisters in Scot- 
 land are those in which his private character is 
 most truly and advantageously seen. With them 
 he had no part to act, no interests to pursue. 
 His fraternal feelings were warm and steady, and 
 the advice he conveyed to his discordant family, 
 who acquainted him with their dissensions, as a 
 person to whom both parties were disposed to ap- 
 peal, does equal credit to his head and heart. That 
 these letters should display any traits of the affec- 
 tionate, confidential cordiality which render the 
 familiar letters of near relatives so dehghtful, is 
 not to be expected. With his sisters he had 
 enjoyed no domestic intercourse from boyhood, 
 and he could little know of them by an unfre- 
 quent interchange of letters. Though not alienat- 
 ed from his affections, they were strangers to his 
 tastes, his habits, his friends, and modes of hfe, 
 and it is therefore of their own interests and 
 affairs only that he chooses to speak to them. 
 
292 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 '' Paul Jones to his Sister, Mrs Taylor. 
 
 " Amsterdam, March 26, 1790. 
 
 " I WROTE you, my dear friend, from Paris, by 
 Mr Kennedy, who delivered me the kind letter 
 you wrote me by him. Circumstances obhged 
 me to return soon afterwards to America, and on 
 my arrival at New York, Mr Thomson delivered 
 me a letter that had been intrusted to his care 
 by Mrs Loudon. It would be superfluous to 
 mention the great satisfaction I received in hear- 
 ing from two persons I so much love and esteem, 
 and whose worthy conduct as wives and mothers 
 is so respectable in my eyes. Since my return 
 to Europe, a train of circumstances and changes 
 of residence have combined to keep me silent. 
 This has given me more pain than I can ex- 
 press ; for I have a tender regard for you both, 
 and nothing can be indifferent to me that regards 
 your happiness and the welfare of your children. 
 I wish for a particular detail of their age, re- 
 spective talents, characters, and education. I do 
 not desire this information merely from curiosity. 
 
 2 
 
PAUL JONES. 293 
 
 It would afford me real satisfaction to be useftil 
 to their establishment in Hfe. We must study 
 the genius and inclination of the boys, and try 
 to fit them, by a suitable education, for the pur- 
 suits we may be able to adopt for their advan- 
 tage. When their education shall be advanced 
 to a proper stage, at the school of Dumfries for 
 instance, it must then be determined whether it 
 may be most economical and advantageous for 
 them to go to Edinburgh or France to finish 
 their studies. AU this is supposing them to have 
 great natural genius and goodness of disposi- 
 tion ; for without these they can never become 
 eminent. For the females, they require an edu- 
 cation suited to the dehcacy of character that 
 is becoming in their sex. I wish I had a fortune 
 to offer to each of them ; but though this is not 
 the case, I may yet be useful to them. And I 
 desire particularly to be useful to the two young 
 women, who have a double claim to my regard, 
 as they have lost their father. Present my kind 
 comphments to Mrs Loudon, to her husband, to 
 Mr Taylor, and your two famihes, and depend 
 on my affectionate attachment. 
 
294 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " Write me without delay, and having sealed 
 and directed your letter as you did the one you 
 sent me by Mr Kennedy, let it be enclosed in a 
 cover, and direct the cover thus, ' To Messieurs 
 Stophorst and Hubbard, Amsterdam."* You 
 will inquire if it be necessary to pay a part of 
 the postage, in order that the letter may be sent 
 to Holland in the packet. I should be glad if 
 the two Miss Youngs* would do me the favour 
 to write me each a paragraph in yoinr letter, or 
 to write me, if they prefer it, each a separate let- 
 ter, and I should be glad to find that they un- 
 derstand and can write the French.'' 
 
 This letter, hke all those to his own family, 
 has no signature. 
 
 In the end of this year (1790) we find another 
 of his letters, from which, with very great pleasure, 
 we give the following extract. The sisters of 
 the Rear- Admiral, who were probably both in the 
 wrong, had, it appears, appealed to him in their 
 disputes. It is to be hoped they profited by his 
 admonitions. 
 
 * His orphan nieces alluded to above. \ 
 
PAUL JONES. 295 
 
 " Paris, December 27, 1790. 
 
 " I duly received, my dear Mrs Taylor, your 
 letter of the 16th August, but ever since that 
 time I have been unable to answer it, not hav- 
 ing been capable to go out of my chamber, and 
 having been for the most part obliged to keep 
 my bed. I have now no doubt but that I am in 
 a fair way of a perfect recovery, though it will 
 require time and patience. 
 
 " I shall not conceal from you that your fa- 
 mily discord aggravates infinitely all my pains. 
 My grief is inexpressible, that two sisters, whose 
 happiness is so interesting to me, do not live to- 
 gether in that mutual tenderness and affection 
 which would do so much honour to themselves 
 and to the memory of their worthy relations. Per- 
 mit me to recommend to your serious study and 
 applicatio7i Pope's Universal Prayer. You will 
 find more morality in that little piece than in 
 many volumes that have been written by great 
 divines — 
 
296 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 * Teach me to feel another's wo. 
 
 To hide the fault I see ; 
 That mercy I to others show. 
 
 Such mercy show to me r 
 
 " This is not the language of a weak supersti- 
 tious mind, but the spontaneous offspring of 
 true religion, springing from a heart sincerely in- 
 spired by charity, and deeply impressed with a 
 sense of the calamities and frailties of human 
 nature. If the sphere in which Providence has 
 placed us as members of society requires the ex- 
 ercise of brotherly kindness and charity towards 
 our neighbour in general, how much more is 
 this our duty with respect to individuals with 
 whom we are connected by the near and tender 
 ties of nature as well as moral obhgation. Every 
 lesser virtue may pass away, but charity comes 
 from Heaven, and is immortal. Though I wish 
 to be the instrument of making family-peace, 
 which I flatter myself would tend to promote the 
 happiness of you all, yet I by no means desire 
 you to do violence to your own feelings, by tak- 
 ing any step that is contrary to your own judg- 
 
PAUL JONES. 297 
 
 ment and inclination. Your reconciliation must 
 come free from your heart, otherwise it will not 
 last, and therefore it will be better not to attempt 
 it. Should a reconcihation take place, I recom- 
 mend it of all things, that you never mention 
 past grievances, nor show, by word, look, or ac- 
 tion, that you have not forgot them." 
 
 From this time Paul Jones never quitted Pa- 
 ris. His continual bad health, and the state 
 of France, and of the capital, torn by faction, 
 — the threatening shadow of those evil days, 
 which were so soon to follow, already lowering 
 over it, — alike enjoined retirement from society. 
 It does not appear to what poHtical party he was 
 attached, though it is probable that of the Gi- 
 rondists, which was the legitimate offspring of 
 the American revolution, had his good wishes, 
 tempered by strong feelings of personal attach- 
 ment and gratitude towards the amiable Prince 
 who had shown him such distinguished marks 
 of favour. He had never appeared at (5ourt 
 from the time of his return from Russia ; and if 
 he appeared at all, it was only once, which must 
 have been a very few months before his death. 
 
 n2 
 
298 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 The scroll of a letter, dated December 7th ? 
 1791, to the Marquis of La Fayette, remains 
 among his papers, and explains his situation 
 and his loyal and grateful feehngs, and proves 
 that, as this crisis drew near, he took the gener- 
 ous part. The Marquis at this time, from his 
 official situation, was constantly in the Palace. 
 
 ^' Rear-Admiral Paul Jones to the Marquis de la 
 
 Fayette. 
 
 '' Paris, December 7th;, 1791. 
 
 '' Dear General, — My ill health for some 
 time past has prevented me from the pleasure of 
 paying you my personal respects, but I hope 
 shortly to indulge myself with that satisfaction. 
 
 " I hope you approve the quaUty of the frir- 
 linings I brought from Russia for the King and 
 yourself. I flatter myself that his Majesty will 
 accept from your hand that httle mark of the sin- 
 cere attachment I feel for his person ; and be 
 assured, that I shall be always ready to draw 
 the sword with which he honoured me for the 
 service of the virtuous and illustrious ' Pro- 
 
PAUL JONES. 299 
 
 TECTOR OF THE RiGHTS OF HuMAN NA- 
 TURE.' 
 
 " When my health shall be re-established, 
 M. Simolin will do me the honour to present 
 me to his Majesty as a Russian admiral. After- 
 wards it will be my duty, as an American officer, 
 to wait on his Majesty with the letter* which I 
 am directed to present to him from the United 
 States. 
 
 " I am, dear General, 
 
 " With sincere friendship, 
 " Your affectionate and 
 " Most humble servant."''' 
 
 From the mutilated fragment of an angry 
 but very energetic letter, addressed to the Mi- 
 nister of ^larine, we gather that the claims of 
 Paul Jones on the French government still re- 
 mained unsettled, which was indeed the case at his 
 death, and that he had been treated with in- 
 dignity as well as denied justice. The following 
 
 * That given at page 305; vol. L 
 
300 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 letter, which introduces this warm statement of 
 injuries, has peculiar interest, as it is presumed 
 to be the last effusion of his pen. It does not 
 appear to whom this letter was addressed, though 
 it might probably be to the Minister of Marine 
 for the time. It proves that, however sunk in 
 health and hope, the writer retained the same 
 keenness of temper and acuteness of mind which 
 distinguished him at all periods. 
 
 " Rear-Admiral Paul Jones to the Minister of the 
 
 French Marine. 
 
 '' Paris, March, 1792. 
 Sir, — In the beginning of the administration 
 of your predecessor, I informed him, that this 
 government, not having paid the salary due to 
 a part of the crew of the Bon Homme Richard 
 at the time when they were discharged from 
 the service, they had been paid on their arri- 
 val at Boston ; and having myself been sent 
 back here after the war, under a special com- 
 mission from the United States, to settle the 
 claims of my crews, I presented a memorial, 
 
PAUL JONES. 
 
 301 
 
 reclaiming that part of the salary that had never 
 been reimbursed. The Minister held me in sus- 
 pense for about five months, and then, to my 
 great surprise, instead of satisfying my just de- 
 mand, he addressed me in a very uncivil letter, 
 treating me, as I conceive, like a schoolboy, 
 and permitting himself to cast unjust and uncivil 
 reflections on my past conduct. My health did 
 not permit me to answer him immediately ; but 
 I had prepared a letter, and was just going to 
 send it, when I learned that he had resigned 
 his place as the Minister of the Marine, and 
 that you were named as his successor. 
 
 " I request the favour. Sir, that you may read 
 his letter and my answer ; after which I per- 
 suade myself you will do justice to my first 
 demand, which is merely official. As to my 
 personal pretensions, I never should have set up 
 a claim on that score under circumstances less 
 affecting to my sensibility. Of this I need offer 
 no other proof than my silence in that respect 
 for twelve years past. My losses and unavoid- 
 able expenses during my long connexion with 
 this nation amount to a large sum, and have 
 
302 MEMOIES OF 
 
 greatly lessened my fortune. I have given so- 
 lemn proofs of my great attachment towards 
 France, and that attachment still remains undi- 
 minished. I persuade myself that I may with 
 full assurance repose my interests through your 
 ministry on the national justice. 
 
 " I have the honour to be," &c. &c. 
 
 The beginning of the letter referred to above 
 is wanting, as well as the letter of the minister 
 which drew forth the following pithy reply. What 
 of it remains entire commences with the " risks'" 
 of the writer in the Texel " for three months to- 
 gether, blocked," he says, " within by the fleet of 
 Holland, and without by the fleets of England, 
 while my head was rendered a prize to excite 
 private treachery and avarice. My fortitude and 
 self-denial alone dragged Holland into the war, — 
 a service of the greatest importance to this na- 
 tion ; for without that great event no calculation 
 can ascertain when the war would have ended. 
 
 " Would you suppose, Sir, that my prisoners, 
 600 in number, were treacherously taken out of 
 my hands in the Texel, with two of my prizes, 
 
PAUL JONES. 303 
 
 w 
 
 a new ship of war, pierced for 56 guns, and a 
 frigate of 24 guns in one battery ? — Would you 
 suppose that I was driven out of the Texel in a 
 single frigate belonging to the United States, 
 in the face of 42 Enghsh ships, and vessels 
 posted to cut off my retreat ? — My prisoners 
 were disposed of without my consent, and con- 
 trary to my intention. My prizes were all 
 wrested out of my hands, and some of them, 
 particularly the ship of 56 guns, degraded and 
 cut to pieces before my eyes, and in contempt 
 of my authority, though that ship, by the laws 
 of the American flag, was the exclusive pro- 
 perty of the captors. 
 
 " You appear. Sir, to treat me Hke a school- 
 boy, when you say, — ' J^ai Vhonneur de vous 
 observer, monsieur, qiCil est toujours d'usage de 
 payer directement au.r marins le decompte des 
 salaires qui leur reviennent au desm'mement 
 de bdtimens.'' I could not have supposed. Sir, 
 that you had thought me so ignorant as to need 
 that information seventeen years after I was first 
 
 honoured with the rank of captain in the navy. 
 
 ******* 
 
304 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " Though my crews were almost naked, and I 
 had no money to administer to their wants, yet 
 my constant appHcation to Coxnrt for two months 
 produced no relief, no payment whatever, either 
 for salary or prize-money. I was on the point 
 of sailing back to America, without any appear- 
 ance of obtaining justice, — without the least ac- 
 knowledgment, direct or indirect, that the Court 
 was satisfied with my services ! — Under these 
 circumstances, in a moment of despair, I came 
 to Court to demand satisfaction. 
 
 " The Minister of the United States accom- 
 panied me to M. Sartine, who gave us a recep- 
 tion as cold as ice, did not say to me a single 
 word, nor ask me if my health had not suffered 
 from my wounds and the uncommon fatigue I 
 had undergone. The pubUc did me more justice 
 than the minister ; and I owe to the King alone 
 the flattering marks of distinction with which I 
 was honoured, — a gold sword, and the Order of 
 MiHtary Merit. 
 
 " But I solicited in vain for salary and prize- 
 money ; and the Minister of Marine detained me 
 so long at Court, that the crew of the American 
 
PAUL JONES. 305 
 
 frigate I had left at L'Orient, despairing to ob- 
 tain redress, revolted, and carried that frigate 
 back to America. * * * * 
 
 " It is true, the Marquis de Castries pre- 
 tended for a long time that I should give him 
 security for the prize-money ; but I at last made 
 him recede from the absurdity of that demand. 
 I was detained in Europe four years ; and hav- 
 ing in that time spent sixty thousand livres of 
 my own money, I received for my share of all 
 the prizes, as commander of the Bon Homme, 
 thirteen thousand Hvres j * * * * 
 Permit me, by way of comparison, just to men- 
 tion the treatment the French officers received 
 who served in the American army. The war 
 had been carried on for several years by the 
 Americans alone, and there is no instance where 
 the United States invited a French officer to en- 
 ter into their service. Such as presented them- 
 selves and were accepted, have all of them bet- 
 tered their situation by that connexion. At the 
 end of the war they received a gratification of 
 five years' pay, the Order of Cincinnatus, and a 
 lot of land ; and they now enjoy grades far su- 
 
306 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 perior to what they could have attained under 
 other circumstances. If we except the Marquis 
 de la Fayette, none of them were rich when they 
 went to America. They are all now in easy cir- 
 cumstances. In short, they have been treated 
 much better than the Americans themselves, who 
 served from the beginning to the end of the Re- 
 volution. 
 
 " I hope and desire, Sir, that you may lay 
 this letter before the King. It contains many 
 things out of the general rule of delicacy which 
 marks my proceedings, and which, on any occa- 
 sion less affecting to my sensibihty, would never 
 have escaped from my tongue or pen.'' 
 
 From about this time the health of Paul Jones 
 sunk rapidly. Symptoms of jaundice appeared, 
 — a disease which not unfrequently follows men- 
 tal chagrin and disappointment. It does not, 
 however, appear that he was long confined. 
 About the beginning of July dropsical symptoms 
 supervened on his other disorders, and he expired 
 on the evening of the 18th of that month. 
 Thouo-h far from those on whose affection he 
 had a natural claim, his dying hours were not 
 
PAUL JONES. 307 
 
 imsolaced by the constant and tender offices of 
 friendship. 
 
 Many idle rumours connected with his death 
 have been circulated, as if his latter days had been 
 spent in extreme poverty, chilling neglect, and 
 entire abandonment. These are of a piece with the 
 other calumnies and marks of obloquy with which 
 his memory and character have been loaded. 
 The subjoined letters and documents afford a 
 simple and an ample refutation of charges and as- 
 sumptions made, probably, as much in ignorance 
 as mahce. 
 
 " Letter of M. Beaiipoil to either Mrs Taylor or Mrs 
 Loudon, Sisters of Paul Jones, Esq. Admiral in 
 ike Russian Service. 
 
 " Madam, — I am sorry to acquaint you that 
 your brother, Admiral Paul Jones, my friend, 
 paid, yesterday, the debt we all owe to nature. 
 He has made a will, which is deposited in the 
 hands of Mr Badinier, notary-, St Servin Street, 
 Paris. The will was drawn in Enghsh, by Mr 
 Governor Morris, Minister of the United 
 
308 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 States, and translated faithfully by the French 
 notary aforesaid. The Admiral leaves his pro- 
 perty, real and personal, to his two sisters and 
 their children. They are named in the will as 
 being married, one to Wilham Taylor, and the 
 other to Loudon, of Dumfries. The ex- 
 ecutor is Mr Robert Morris of Philadelphia. If 
 I could be of any service to you in this business, 
 out of the friendship I bore your brother, I'll do 
 it with pleasure. I am a Frenchman and an of- 
 ficer. I am sincerely yours, 
 
 " Beaupoil. 
 
 " Paris, July 19, 1792, No 7, Hotel Anglais, 
 Passage des Petits Peres." 
 
 " The English will is signed by Colonels Swan, 
 Blackden, and myself. The schedule of his pro- 
 perty lying in Denmark, Russia, France, Ame- 
 rica, and elsewhere, is signed by Mr Morris, and 
 deposited by me in his bureau, with the ori- 
 ginal will. Every thing is sealed up at his 
 lodgings, Tournon Street, No 42, Paris. 
 
 " You may depend also on the good services 
 of Colonel Blackden, who was an intimate friend 
 
PAUL JONES. 309 
 
 of the Admirars. That gentleman is setting out 
 for London, where you may hear of him at No 
 18, Great Tichfield Street, London." 
 
 On receiving this letter, Mrs Taylor wrote to 
 Colonel Blackden in London, and obtained a re- 
 ply in course of post. 
 
 ^' Colonel Blackden to Mrs Taylor of Durnfries, 
 eldest Sister qf Admiral Paul Jones. 
 
 " Great Tichfield Street, 
 London, Aug. 9th. 
 
 " Madam, — I had the honour of receiving 
 your letter of the 3d instant, and shall answer 
 you most readily. Yoiir brother. Admiral Jones, 
 was not in good health for about a year, but had 
 not been so unwell as to keep house. For two 
 months past he began to lose his appetite, to grow 
 yellow, and show signs of the jaundice ; for this 
 he took medicine, and seemed to grow better ; but 
 about ten days before his death his legs began 
 to swell, which increased upwards, so that two 
 days before his exit he could not button his 
 waistcoat, and had great difficulty of breathing. 
 
310 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " I visited him every day, and, beginning to 
 be apprehensive of his danger, desired him to set- 
 tle his affairs ; but this he put off till the af- 
 ternoon of his death, when he was prevailed on 
 to send for a notaire, and made his will. Mr 
 Beaupoil and myself witnessed it at about eight 
 o^clock in the evening, and left him sitting in a 
 chair. A few minutes after we retired he walk- 
 ed into his chamber, and laid himself upon his 
 face, on the bed-side, with his feet on the floor ; 
 after the QueenVi physician arrived, they went 
 into the room, and found him in that position, 
 and upon taking him up, they found he had ex- 
 pired. 
 
 " His disorder had terminated in dropsy of 
 the breast. His body was put into a leaden cof- 
 fin on the twentieth, that in case the United 
 States, whom he had so essentially served, and 
 with so much honour to himself, should claim 
 his remains, they might be more easily removed. 
 This is all, Madam, that I can say concerning 
 his illness and death. 
 
 " I most sincerely condole with you. Madam, 
 upon the loss of my dear and respectable friend. 
 
PAUL JONES. 311 
 
 for whom I entertained the greatest affection, and 
 as a proof of it, you may command the utmost 
 exertion of my feeble abilities, which shall be 
 rendered with cheerfulness. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, 
 
 " Madam, 
 " Your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 " S. Blackden." 
 
 The American Ambassador, Governor Mor- 
 ris, did not think it necessary to claim the re- 
 mains of Admiral Jones, nor did the United 
 States. As a protestant and heretic, it was 
 stiU, we believe, necessary to obtain Hberty of 
 burial in consecrated ground, and this was pro- 
 bably done. The National Assembly paid his 
 memory the honour of sending a deputation of 
 twelve of their body to attend the funeral. He 
 was buried at Paris on the 20th July, and the 
 following funeral discourse was pronounced over 
 his grave by Mr Marron, a protestant clergy- 
 man of Paris ; busy faction at this period seizing 
 this and every other occasion to promote its own 
 interests : — 
 
312 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 (Translation.) 
 
 ec 
 
 Discourse pronounced by Mr Marron, officiating 
 Protestant Clergyman, at the Funeral of Admiral 
 Paul Jones, July 20, 1792, in Paris. 
 
 cc 
 
 Legislators ! citizens ! soldiers ! friends ! 
 brethren ! and Frenchmen ! we have just re- 
 turned to the earth the remains of an illustrious 
 stranger, one of the first champions of the liberty 
 of America, of that Uberty which so gloriously 
 ushered in our own. The S emir amis of the north 
 had drawn him under her standard, but Paul 
 Jones could not long breathe the pestilential air 
 of despotism ; he preferred the sweets of a pri- 
 vate life in France, now free, to the eclat of titles 
 and of honours, which, from an usurped throne^ 
 were lavished upon him by Catharine. The 
 fame of the brave outlives him, his portion is im- 
 mortahty. What more flattering homage could 
 we pay to the manes of Paul Jones, than to 
 swear on his tomb to live or to die free ? It 
 is the vow, it is the watch-word of every French- 
 man. 
 
PAUL JONES. 313 
 
 " Let never tyrants, nor their satellites, pol- 
 lute this sacred earth ! May the ashes of the 
 great man, too soon lost to humanity, and 
 eager to be free, enjoy here an undisturbed re- 
 pose ! Let his example teach posterity the efforts 
 which noble souls are capable of making, when 
 stimulated by hatred to oppression. Friends and 
 brethren, a noble emulation brightens in your looks ; 
 your time is precious, the country is in danger ! 
 Who amongst us would not shed the last drop 
 of their blood to save it ? Associate yourselves 
 to the glory of Paul Jones, in imitating him in 
 his contempt of dangers, in his devotedness to 
 his country, in his noble heroism, which, after 
 having astonished the present age, will continue 
 to be the imperishable object of the veneration 
 of future generations !" 
 
 (Translated from the French.) 
 
 " Testament qf Paul Jonesy \^th July, 1792. 
 
 •' Before the undersigned notaries, at Paris, 
 
 appeared Mr John Paul Jones, citizen of the 
 
 United States of America, resident at present in 
 
 Paris, lodged in the street of Tournon, No 42, 
 
 VOL. II. o 
 
314 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 at the house of Mr Dorberque, Indssier audi- 
 ancier of the tribunal of the third arrondisse- 
 ment^ foiuid in a parlour in the first storey above 
 the floor, lighted by two windows opening on the 
 said street of Tournon, sitting in an arm-chair, 
 sick of body, but sound of mind, memory, and 
 understanding, as it appeared to the undersigned 
 notaries by his discourse and conversation, — 
 
 " Who, in view of death, has made, dictated, 
 and worded, to the undersigned notaries, his tes- 
 tament as follows : — 
 
 " I give and bequeath all the goods, as well 
 moveable as heritable, and all, generally, what- 
 ever may appertain to me at my decease, in 
 whatever country they may be situated, to my 
 two sisters, Janet, spouse to Wilham Taylor, and 
 Mary, wife to Mr Loudon, and to the children 
 of my said sisters, to divide them into as many 
 portions as my said sisters and their children 
 shall make up individuals, and to be enjoyed by 
 them in the following manner : — 
 
 " My sisters, and those of their children, who on 
 the day of my death shall have reached the age of 
 twenty-one, will enjoy their share in full proper- 
 
PAUL JONES. 315 
 
 ty from the date of decease. As for those of my 
 nephews and nieces who at that period of time 
 may not reach the age of twenty-one years, their 
 mothers will enjoy their shares tiU such time as 
 they attain that said age, with charge to them to 
 provide for their food, maintenance, and educa- 
 tion ; and as soon as any of my nephews or 
 nieces wiU have reached the age of twenty-one 
 years, the same will enjoy his share in full pro- 
 perty. 
 
 " If one or more of my nephews and nieces 
 should happen to die without children before 
 having reached the age of twenty-one, the share 
 of those of them who may have deceased shall 
 be divided betwixt my said sisters and my other 
 nephews and nieces by equal portions. 
 
 " I name the honourable Robert Morris, Esq. 
 of Philadelphia, my only testamentary executor. 
 
 " I revoke all other testaments or codicils 
 which I may have made before the present, which 
 alone I stand by as containing my last wiU. 
 
 " So made, dictated, and worded, by said tes- 
 tator, to the said notaries undersigned, and after- 
 wards read, and read over again to him by one 
 
316 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of them, the other being present, which he well 
 understood, and persevered in, at Paris, the 
 year 1792, the 18th July, about five oVlock af- 
 ternoon, in the room heretofore described, and 
 the said testator signed the original of the pre- 
 sent, unregistrated, at Paris the 25th September, 
 1792, by Defrance, who received one hvre, pro- 
 visionally, save to determine definitively the 
 right after the declaration of the revenue of the 
 testator. The origmal remained with Mr Pottier, 
 one of the notaries at Paris, undersigned, who 
 dehvered these presents this day, 26th Septem- 
 ber, 1792, first of the French Repubhc. 
 
 a PoTTIEE. 
 
 " (Signed) KAvernier." 
 
 (Copy) 
 
 " Schedule of the Property of Admiral John Paul 
 Jones, as stated hy him to me this \Zth of July, 
 1792. 
 
 " 1st, Bank stock in the Bank of North 
 America, at Philadelphia, 6000 dollars, with 
 sundry dividends. 
 
 " 2d, Loan-Office certificate left with my friend. 
 
6i 
 
 PAUL JONES. 317 
 
 John Ross of Philadelphia, for 2000 dollars at 
 par, with great arrearages of interest, being for 
 ten or twelve years. 
 
 '* 3d, Such balance as may be in the hands of 
 my said friend, John Ross, belonging to me, 
 and sundry effects left in his care. 
 
 4th, My lands in the State of Vermont. 
 5th, Shares in the Ohio Company. 
 
 " 6th, Shares in the Indiana Company. 
 
 " 7^^? About L.1800 sterhng due to me from 
 Edward Bancroft, unless paid by him to Sir Ro- 
 bert Herries, and is then in his hands. 
 
 " 8th, Upwards of four years of my pension due 
 from Denmark, to be asked from the Count de 
 Bernstorf. 
 
 " 9th, Arrearages of my pay from the Em- 
 press of Russia, and all my prize-money. 
 
 " 10th, The balance due to me by the United 
 States of America, and sundry claims in Europe, 
 which will appear from my papers. 
 
 " This is taken from his mouth. 
 
 (Signed) " Govr. Morris, 
 
 " Ambassador from the United States to 
 the Court of France." 
 
318 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 The manners and moral character of Paul 
 Jones have been the frequent subject of discus- 
 sion and of very contradictory statements. His 
 professional talents and personal appearance are 
 less the topics of dispute. It is agreed that he was 
 about the middle size, slightly made, but active 
 and agile, and in youth capable of considerable 
 exertion and fatigue. In advancing life, though 
 he continued equally hardy and active in his 
 habits, it was the vehement, fiery spirit that o'er- 
 informed its shattered tenement ; and after al- 
 most every journey we find him suffering from 
 cold and fatigue, or having serious illnesses. He 
 was of the complexion usually united with dark 
 hair and eyes, which his were ; but his skin had 
 become embrowned by exposure from boyhood to 
 all varieties of weather and of climate. His phy- 
 siognomical expression indicated that promptitude 
 and decision in action which were striking cha- 
 racteristics of his mind. His bust is said to be a 
 good Ukeness ; his portrait, painted in America, 
 and probably a very indifferent resemblance, 
 exhibits a rather precise-looking httle man. The 
 style of the highly-powdered hair, or wig, would, 
 
PAUL JONES. 319 
 
 however, convert Achilles himself into a pedant 
 or a petit-maitre. 
 
 In manners Paul Jones has been described by 
 one party as stiff, finical, and conceited ; by an- 
 other as arrogant, brutal, and quarrelsome. The 
 first statement may have some colour of truth, 
 the last is impossible. He had reached manhood 
 before he could have had much intercourse with 
 polite society ; and manners, formed so late in 
 life on the fashionable models of Paris and Ver- 
 sailles, may have sat somewhat stifily on the 
 Anglo-American, who, in giving up his own re- 
 pubhcan simphcity, and professional openness and 
 freedom, might not have acquired all the ease and 
 grace, even if he did attain the elegance and poHsh 
 of French manners ; but his appearance and man- 
 ners must have been those of a gentleman. Mau- 
 vais ton, to a certain degree, might have been 
 tolerated in a seaman and a foreigner ; but " rude- 
 ness, arrogance, and brutality," must have proved 
 an effectual barrier of exclusion from those polite 
 and courtly circles where Paul Jones was not 
 only received but welcomed ; and into which he 
 made his own way, and maintained his place. 
 
320 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 long after he had lost the gloss and resistless 
 attraction of novelty. The letter of Madame 
 Rinsby, and other pubhshed documents, prove 
 the footing he held in respectable French female 
 society to his death, and are quite conclusive as 
 to the propriety of his manners. He has again 
 been described as " grossly ignorant." No one 
 who pursues his career, or peruses his letters, can 
 for a moment believe a charge so absurd. From 
 his first appearance as a ship-boy he must have 
 been set down as a very clever and promising 
 lad ; and if not a prodigy of learning, which was 
 an impossibility, he had far more literature than 
 was at all usual in his day, even in the very 
 highest ranks of his profession. His verses are 
 far from despicable. Baron Grimm, we think, 
 overrates them, yet he was an admirable critic. 
 They were found amusing and agreeable in po- 
 lished society, which is the very best test and 
 use of occasional verse, namely, of all such verse 
 as the public can well spare, and his muse was 
 humanizing to his own mind. We hke his prose 
 better than his verse. It is often admirable if 
 struck off at one hit, particularly when the wn- 
 
PAUL JONES. 321 
 
 ter gets warm, and gives way to his feelings of 
 indignation. It is said, that a minister, in read- 
 ing the despatches of Lord Collingwood, who 
 went to sea at twelve years of age, used to ask, 
 '* Where has Collingwood got his style ? — He 
 writes better than any of us." With fully more 
 propriety many of the members of Congress, so 
 far as regarded their own compositions and re- 
 solves, might have put a similar question in rela- 
 tion to Paul Jones. He is allowed to have been 
 kind and attentive to his crews, and generous and 
 hberal in all pecuniary transactions of a private 
 nature; though his correspondence shows that he 
 was commendably tenacious of his pecuniary 
 claims on states and public bodies. His memoirs 
 afford some pleasing instances of his kindness to 
 his prisoners, and of his desire to rescue them 
 from the fangs of agents and commissaries. So 
 far as discipline descends^ Paul Jones was a 
 rigid and strict discipHnarian. In his own per- 
 son he appears to have been so impatient of all 
 control and check as to be unfit for any regu- 
 larly-organized service, though admirably adapted 
 to the singular crisis at which he appeared. To 
 
 o2 
 
322 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 his dress he was, or at least latterly became, so 
 attentive as to have it remarked. It was a bet- 
 ter trait that his ship was at all times remarkable 
 for cleanHness and neatness, and for the same 
 good order and arrangement which pervaded all 
 his private affairs. He is said to have been fond 
 of music, and to have performed himself. 
 
 The acute understanding of Paul Jones per- 
 petually conflicting with his natural keenness 
 and warmth of temper, gave at times the 
 appearance of vacillation to his conduct, and 
 the unpleasant and unwise alternation of bold 
 defiance with undue submission. This is pain- 
 fully conspicuous in his unhappy and heart- 
 breaking connexion with Potemkin. On other 
 occasions, as on the sailing of Landais in the 
 mutiny, he showed a remarkable degree of self- 
 command and forbearance. On many occasions 
 he betrays the jealousy and disHke of England, 
 which mark the half-conscious renegade. Frank- 
 lin confines his vituperation to the Sovereign ; 
 Paul Jones extends it to the whole nation. The 
 extravagant self-eulogium which so frequently 
 obtrudes itself in his writing, and which must be 
 
PAUL JONES. 
 
 323 
 
 very offensive to English readers, was, it should 
 be recollected, generally called forth by peculiar 
 circumstances. A man has every right to bring 
 forward his services, when those who should re- 
 member appear disposed to forget them. Be- 
 sides, what is here concentrated into two small 
 volumes, was in reahty diffused over the corre- 
 spondence of twenty years of an active life. Boast- 
 ing, for some reason which we leave to philoso- 
 phy to investigate, appears an inherent quahty 
 in great naval commanders. Nelson, Rodney, 
 Drake, were all, in one sense, arrant braggarts. 
 
 It is a less amiable trait in the character 
 of Paul Jones, that we find him very frequent- 
 ly quarrelling with rival and associate comman- 
 ders, and never once bestowing hearty cordial 
 praise on any one of them. His avarice of fame, 
 like the same vice of a more sordid kind, not 
 only gave him the insatiable desire of accumu- 
 lation, but tempted him, if not to defraud, at 
 least to trench on the rights of others ; and his 
 hostihty, though open, was often far from gene- 
 rous : yet his squabbles were wholly professional. 
 In private life there appears to have been no rea- 
 
324 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 son to fasten on him the odious imputation of 
 being quarrelsome, which some have attempt- 
 ed. He was fonder, not of glory alone, but 
 of its trappings and badges, than quite became 
 the champion of a repubhc, and the pupil of 
 Franklin ; but this is a mere subject of opinion. 
 He may have considered these symbols as the 
 seals with which Fame ratifies her bonds. 
 
 The moral character of Paul Jones, at all stages 
 of his career, has been in this country the subject 
 of violent abuse and of gross misrepresentation . 
 If this has been done by EngUshmen from a 
 mistaken love of their country, they dishonour 
 their country and themselves. If it is, as we 
 hope, to be attributed to ignorance of facts, such 
 statements should henceforth cease. The writer of 
 this sketch by no means looks on the career of 
 Paul Jones with Transatlantic eyes, nor views his 
 character or attainments through the medium 
 of Transatlantic partiaUty, as will be obvious to 
 any one who pursues the course of this narrative. 
 His poUtical sins have been in no shape extenu- 
 ated ; and to the fuU extent of the evidence af- 
 forded by his papers — the best and only evidence 
 
PAUL JONES. 325 
 
 now to be obtained — his moral delinquencies 
 have been fairly unfolded. Judging by the or- 
 dinal}" averages of human conduct, they shrink 
 into very small compass. His failings were 
 precisely such as he must have been a moral 
 monster to have escaped ; they arose from his 
 natural character and from his profession : — it 
 is the utmost malice could say, and more than 
 is warranted by truth, that he was 
 
 " Jealous in honour ; sudden and quick in quarrel : 
 
 Seeking the bubble reputation 
 
 Even in the cannon's raouth."' 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 B. 
 
 '^ Particulars of the Engagement between the Bon 
 Homme Richard and the Serapis, by Richard 
 Dale, First Lieutenant of the Bon Homme Richard. 
 
 " On the 23d of September, I779, being be^ 
 low, was roused by an unusual noise upon deck. 
 This induced me to go upon deck, when I found 
 the men were swaying up the royal yards, pre- 
 paratory to making sail for a large fleet under 
 our lee. I asked the coasting pilot what fleet it 
 was ? He answered, ^ The Baltic Fleet, under 
 convoy of the Serapis of forty-four guns, and the 
 Countess of Scarborough of twenty guns."* A 
 general chase then commenced of the Bon 
 Homme Richard, the Vengeance, the Pallas, and 
 
 * The charges against Landais (A.) have been omitted 
 in the Appendix, as their substance is given in the text. 
 
328 APPENDIX. 
 
 the Alliance — the latter ship being then in sight, 
 after a separation from the squadron of nearly 
 three weeks ; but which ship, as usual, disre- 
 garded the signals of the Commodore. At this 
 time our fleet headed to the northward with a 
 light breeze, Flamborough-head being about two 
 leagues distant. At seven p. m. it was evident 
 the Baltic fleet perceived we were in chase, from 
 the signal of the Serapis to the merchantmen to 
 stand in shore. At the same time, the Serapis 
 and Countess of Scarborough tacked ship and 
 stood off* shore, with the intention of drawing oiF 
 our attention from the convoy. When these 
 ships had separated from the convoy about two 
 miles, they again tacked and stood in shore after 
 the merchantmen. At about eight, being within 
 hail, the Serapis demanded, ' What ship is that?' 
 He was answered, ' I can't hear what you say.' 
 Immediately after the Serapis hailed again, 
 ' What ship is that ? Answer immediately, or I 
 shall be under the necessity of firing into you.' 
 At this moment I received orders from Commo- 
 dore Jones to commence the action with a broad- 
 side, which indeed appeared to be simultaneous 
 on board both ships. Our position being to 
 windward of the Serapis, we passed ahead of her, 
 and the Serapis coming up on our larboard quar- 
 ter, the action commenced abreast of each other. 
 The Serapis soon passed ahead of the Bon Homme 
 
APPENDIX. 329 
 
 Richard, and when he thought he had gained a 
 distance sufficient to go down athwart the fore- 
 foot to rake us, found he had not enough distance, 
 and that the Bon Homme Richard would be 
 aboard him, put his hehn alee, which brought the 
 two ships on a line; and the Bon Homme Richard 
 having head- way, ran her bows into the stern of 
 the Serapis. We had remained in this situation 
 but a few minutes, when we were again hailed by 
 the Serapis, ' Has your sliip struck ?"* To which 
 Captain Jones answered, ' I have not yet begun 
 to fight.' As we were unable to bring a single 
 gun to bear upon the Serapis, our top-sails were 
 backed, while those of the Serapis being filled, 
 the ships separated. The Serapis wore short 
 round upon her heels, and her jib-boom ran into 
 the mizen-rigging of the Bon Homme Richard ; 
 in. this situation the ships were made fast toge- 
 ther with a hawser, the bowsprit of the Serapis 
 to the mizen-mast of the Bon Homme Richard, 
 and the action recommenced from the starboard 
 sides of the two ships. With a view of separat- 
 ing the ships, the Serapis let go her anchor, 
 which manoeuvre brought her head and the stern 
 of the Bon Homme Richard to the wind, while 
 the ships lay closely pressed against each other. 
 A novelty in naval combats was now presented to 
 many witnesses, but to few admirers. The ram- 
 mers were run into the respective ships to enable 
 
330 APPENDIX. 
 
 the men to load, after the lower part of the Se- 
 rapis had been blown away, to make room for 
 running out their guns, and in this situation the 
 ships remained until between ten and eleven 
 o'clock p. m., when the engagement terminated 
 by the surrender of the Serapis. 
 
 " From the commencement to the termination 
 of the action there was not a man on board of the 
 Bon Homme Richard ignorant of the superiority 
 of the Serapis, both in weight of metal and in 
 the qualities of the crews. The crew of that 
 ship were picked seamen, and the ship itself had 
 been only a few months off the stocks ; whereas 
 the crew of the Bon Hompie Richard consisted 
 of part American, English, and French, and a 
 part of Maltese, Portuguese, and Malays ; these 
 latter contributing, by their want of naval skill 
 and knowledge of the English language, to de- 
 press rather than elevate a just hope of success in 
 a combat under such circumstances. Neither the 
 consideration of the relative force of the ships, 
 the fact of the blowing up of the gun-deck above 
 them, by the bursting of two of the eighteen- 
 pounders, nor the alarm that the ship was sink- 
 ing, could depress the ardour or change the de- 
 termination of the brave Captain Jones, his of- 
 ficers and men. Neither the repeated broad- 
 sides of the Alliance, given with the view of sink- 
 ing or disabling the Bon Homme Richard, the 
 
APPENDIX. 331 
 
 frequent necessity of suspending the combat to 
 extinguish the flames, which several times were 
 within a few inches of the magazine, nor the li- 
 beration, by the master-at-arms, of nearly 500 
 prisoners, could change or weaken the purpose 
 of the American commander. At the moment of 
 the liberation of the prisoners, one of them, a 
 commander of a twenty-gun ship, taken a few days 
 before, passed through the ports on board the Se- 
 rapis, and informed Captain Pearson that if he 
 would hold out only a Httle while longer, the 
 ship along-side would either strike or sink, and 
 that all the prisoners had been released to save 
 their lives ; the combat was accordingly con- 
 tinued with renewed ardour by the Serapis, The 
 fire from the tops of the Bon Homme Richard 
 was conducted with so much skUl and effect as 
 to destroy ultimately every man who appeared 
 upon the quarter-deck of the Serapis, and in- 
 duced her commander to order the survivors to 
 go below. Nor even under shelter of the decks 
 were they more secure. The powder-monkeys of 
 the Serapis finding no ofiicer to receive the 
 eighteen-pound cartridges brought from the ma- 
 gazines, threw them on the main-deck, and went 
 for more. These cartridges being scattered along 
 the deck, and numbers of them broken, it so 
 happened that some of the hand-grenades thrown 
 from the main-yard of the Bon Homme Richard, 
 
332 APPENDIX. 
 
 which was direct over the main-hatch of the 
 Serapis, fell upon this powder, and produced a 
 most awful explosion. The effect was tremen- 
 dous ; more than twenty of the enemy were blown 
 to pieces, and many stood with only the collars 
 of their shirts upon their bodies. In less than 
 an hour afterwards the flag of England, which 
 had been nailed to the mast of the Serapis, was 
 struck by Captain Pearson^s own hand, as none 
 of his people would venture aloft on this duty ; 
 and this too when more than 1500 persons were 
 witnessing the conflict and the humiUating ter- 
 mination of it from Scarborough and Flambo- 
 rough-head. 
 
 " Upon finding that the flag of the Serapis 
 had been struck, I went to Captain Jones, and 
 asked whether I might board the Serapis? to 
 which he consented ; and, jumping upon the gun- 
 wale, I seized the main-brace pennant, and swung 
 myself upon her quarter-deck. Midshipman 
 Mayant followed with a party of men, and was 
 immediately run through the thigh with a board- 
 ing-pike by some of the enemy stationed in the 
 waist, who were not informed of the surrender of 
 the ship. I found Captain Pearson standing on 
 the leeward side of the quarter-deck, and ad- 
 dressing myself to him, said, — * Sir, I have or- 
 ders to send you on board the ship along-side.' 
 The first Ueutenant of the Serapis coming up 
 
APPENDIX. 333 
 
 at this moment, inquired of Captain Pearson 
 whether the ship along-side had struck to him ? 
 To which I replied, ' No, Sir, the contrary ; he 
 has struck to us.' The Ueutenant renewing his 
 inquiry, ' Have you struck, Sir ?' was answered, 
 ' Yes, I have.' The lieutenant replied, ' I have 
 nothing more to say ;' and was about to return 
 below, when I informed him he must accompany 
 Captain Pearson on board the ship along-side. 
 He said, *• If you will permit me to go below, I 
 will silence the firuig of the lower-deck guns.' 
 This request was refused, and with Captain Pear- 
 son he was passed over to the deck of the Bon 
 Homme Richard. Orders being sent below to 
 cease firing, the engagement terminated, after a 
 most obstinate contest of three hours and a half. 
 " Upon receiving Captain Pearson on board 
 the Bon Homme Richard, Captam Jones gave or- 
 ders to cut loose the lashings, and directed me to 
 follow him with the Serapis. Perceiving the 
 Bon Homme Richard leaving the Serapis, I sent 
 one of the quarter-masters to ascertain whether 
 the wheel-ropes were cut away, supposing some- 
 thing extraordinary must be the matter, as the 
 ship would not pay off, although the head-sails 
 were aback, and no after-sail ; the quarter-master 
 returning, reported that the wheel-ropes were 
 all well, and the helm hard a-port. Excited by 
 this extraordinary circumstance, I jumped off the 
 
334 APPENDIX. 
 
 binnacle, where I had been sittmg, and, faUing 
 upon the deck, found, to my astonishment, I had 
 the use of only one of my legs ; a splinter of one 
 of the guns had struck, and badly wounded my 
 leg, without my perceiving the injury until this 
 moment. I was replaced upon the binnacle, 
 when the saihng-master of the Serapis, coming up 
 to me, observed, that from my orders he judged 
 I must be ignorant of the ship being at anchor. 
 Noticing the second Heutenant of the Bon 
 Homme Richard, I directed him to go below 
 and cut away the cable, and follow the Bon 
 Hom.me Richard with the Serapis. I was then 
 carried on board the Bon Homme Richard to 
 have my wound dressed."'' 
 
 c 
 
 " FROM THE LONDON GAZETTE. 
 
 "^ Manifesto. 
 
 " George R. 
 
 " Through the whole course of our reign, 
 our conduct towards the States General of the 
 United Provinces has been that of a sincere 
 friend and faithful ally. Had they adhered to 
 those wise principles which used to govern the 
 republic, they must have shown themselves 
 
APPENDIX. 335 
 
 equally solicitous to maintain the friendship which 
 has so long subsisted between the two nations, 
 and which is essential to the interests of both. — 
 From the prevalence of a faction devoted to 
 France, and following the dictates of that court, 
 a very different pohcy has prevailed. The re- 
 turn made to our friendship, for some time past, 
 has been an open contempt of the most solemn 
 engagements, and a repeated violation of pubhc 
 faith. 
 
 " On the commencement of the defensive war, 
 in which we found ourselves engaged by the ag- 
 gression of France, we showed a tender regard 
 for the interest of the States General, and a de- 
 sire of securing to their subjects every advantage 
 of trade, consistent with the great and just prin- 
 ciple of our own defence. Our ambassador was. 
 instructed to offer a friendly negotiation, to ob- 
 viate every thing that might lead to a disagree- 
 able discussion ; and to this offer, solemnly made 
 by him to the States General, the 2d of Novem- 
 ber, 177^5 ^0 attention was paid. 
 
 " After the number of our enemies increased 
 by the aggression of Spain, equally unprovoked 
 with that of France, we found it necessary to call 
 upon the States General for the performance of 
 their engagements. The fifth article of the per- 
 petual defensive aUiance between our crown and 
 the States General, concluded at Westminster 
 
336 APPENDIX. 
 
 the 3d of March, 1678, besides the general en- 
 gagements for succours, expressly stipulates, 
 ' That that party of the two allies that is not 
 attacked shall be obliged tdjbreak w^th the ag- 
 gressor in two months after the party attacked 
 shall require it.' Yet two j'Ccrs have passed 
 without the least assistance given to us, — without 
 a single syllable in answer to our repeated de- 
 mands. 
 
 " So totally regardless have the States been of 
 their treaty with us, that they readily promised 
 our enemies to observe a neutrahty, in direct 
 contradiction to those engagements ; and whilst 
 they have withheld from us the succours they 
 were bound to furnish, every secret assistance 
 has been given the enemy ; and inland duties 
 have been taken off, for the sole purpose of faci- 
 litating the carriage of naval stores to France. 
 
 " In direct and open violation of treaty, they 
 suffered an American pirate to remain several 
 weeks in one of their ports, and even pennitted 
 a part of his crew to mount guard in a fort in 
 the Texel. 
 
 " In the East Indies the subjects of the 
 States General, in concert with France, have 
 endeavoured to raise up enemies against us. 
 
 "In the West Indies, particularly at St Eus- 
 tatius, every protection and assistance has been 
 given to our rebellious subjects. Three priva- 
 
APPENDIX. 337 
 
 teers* are openly received into the Dutch har- 
 bours, allowed *o refit there, supplied with arms 
 and ammunition, their crews recruited, their 
 prizes brov ht in an 1 sold ; and all this in direct 
 violation of as clear and solemn stipulations as 
 can be made. 
 
 " This conduct, so inconsistent with all good 
 faith, so repugnant to the sense of the wisest part 
 of the Dutch nation, is chiefly to be ascribed to 
 the prevalence of the leading magistrates of Am- 
 sterdam, whose secret correspondence with our 
 rebellious subjects was suspected long before it 
 was made known, by the fortunate discovery of 
 a treaty, the first article of which is, — 
 
 " ' There shall be a firm, in\'iolable, and uni- 
 versal peace, and sincere friendship, between 
 their High Mightinesses the estates of the Seven 
 United Pro\"inces of Holland and the United 
 States of North America, and the subjects and 
 people of the said parties, and between the 
 countries, islands, cities, and towns, situate under 
 the jurisdiction of the said United States of Hol- 
 land and the said United States of America, and 
 the people and inhabitants thereof, of every de- 
 gree, without exception of persons or places.' 
 " This treaty was signed in September, 177^? 
 
 * Paul Jones's squadron. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
338 APPENDIX. 
 
 by the express order of the Pensionary of Am- 
 sterdam, and other principal magistrates of that 
 city. They now not only avow the whole trans- 
 action, but glory in it, and expressly say, even 
 to the States General, that what they did ' was 
 what their indispensable duty required.' 
 
 " In the mean time the States General de- 
 clined to give any answer to the memorial pre- 
 sented by our ambassador, and this refusal was 
 aggravated by their proceeding upon other busi- 
 ness, nay, upon the consideration of this very 
 subject to internal purposes ; and while they found 
 it impossible to approve the conduct of their 
 subjects, they still industriously avoided to give 
 us the satisfaction so manifestly due, 
 
 " We had every right to expect that such a 
 discovery would have roused them to a just in- 
 dignation at the insult offered to us and to them- 
 selves, and that they would have been eager to 
 give us full and ample satisfaction for the of- 
 fence, and to inflict the severest punishment upon 
 the offenders. The urgency of the business made 
 an instant answer essential to the honour and 
 safety of this country. The demand was accord- 
 ingly pressed by our ambassador in repeated 
 conferences with the ministers, and in a second 
 memorial : it was pressed with all the sense of 
 recent injuries, and the answer now given to a 
 memorial on such a subject, dehvered about five 
 
APPENDIX. 339 
 
 weeks ago, is, That the States have taken it 
 ad referendum. Such an answer, upon such an 
 occasion, could only be dictated by the fixed 
 purpose of hostility meditated, and already re- 
 solved by the States, induced by the offensive 
 councils of Amsterdam, thus to countenance the 
 hostile aggression which the magistrates of that 
 city have made in the name of the repubhc. 
 
 " There is an end of the faith of all the treaties 
 with them, if Amsterdam may usurp the so- 
 vereign power, may violate those treaties with 
 impunity, by pledging the States to engagements 
 directly contrary, and leaguing the repubhc with 
 the rebels of a sovereign to whom she is bound 
 by the closest ties. An infraction of the law of 
 nations by the meanest member of any country 
 gives the injured State a right to demand satis- 
 faction and punishment : how much more so, 
 when the injury complained of is a flagrant vio- 
 lation of pubhc faith, committed by leading and 
 predominant members of the State ? Since, then, 
 the satisfaction we have demanded is not given, 
 we must, though most reluctantly, do ourselves 
 that justice which we cannot otherwise obtain ; 
 we must consider the States General as parties 
 in the injury which they will not repair, as 
 sharers in the aggression which they refuse to 
 punish, and must act accordingly. We have, 
 therefore, ordered our ambassador to withdraw 
 
340 APPENDIX. 
 
 from the Hague, and shall immediately pursue 
 such vigorous measures as the occasion fully jus- 
 tifies, and our dignity and the essential interests 
 of our people require. 
 
 " From a regard to the Dutch nation at large, 
 we wish it were possible to direct those measures 
 wholly against Amsterdam ; but this cannot be, 
 unless the States General will immediately de- 
 clare that Amsterdam shall, upon this occasion, 
 receive no assistance from them, but be left to 
 abide the consequences of its aggression. 
 
 " Whilst Amsterdam is suffered to prevail in 
 the general councils, and is backed by the 
 strength of the state,, it is impossible to resist the 
 aggression of so considerable a part, without con- 
 tending with the whole. But we are too sensi- 
 ble of the common interests of both countries, 
 not to remember, in the midst of such a contest, 
 that the only point to be aimed at by us, is to 
 raise a disposition in the councils of the repubhc 
 to return to our ancient union, by giving us that 
 satisfaction for the past, and security for the 
 future, which we shall be as ready to receive as 
 they can be to offer, and to the attainment of 
 which we shall direct all our operations. We 
 mean only to provide for our own security, by 
 defeating the dangerous designs that have been 
 formed agamst us. We shall ever be disposed 
 to return to friendship with the States General, 
 
APPENDIX. 341 
 
 when they sincerely revert to that system which 
 the wisdom of their ancestors formed, and which 
 has now been subverted by a powerful faction, 
 conspiring with France against the true interests 
 of the repubUc, no less than against those of 
 Great Britain. 
 
 (Signed) " G. R. 
 " St James's, December 20, 1780." 
 
 THE END. 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Vol. I. p. 31, line 7 from bottom, for Duncan read Durimore. 
 II. p. 30, line 10, and p. 95, line 5, for Saporoses, read 
 Zaporavians. 
 
 *" Oliver & Boyd, Printers. 
 
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