Molly Elliot Seawell

“ In an instant, as if by magic, every sailor sprang aloft, and in less time than it takes to tell it the yards were manned. Two fine French frigates that lay close by the Alliance also manned their yards, and thundered out a salute of thirteen guns to the commodore’s broad pennant, which was about to be hauled down. The Alliance responded with thirteen guns; and so, amid the applause and cheers of his men, the thunders of artillery, and all the honors that could be heaped upon him, Paul Jones left his ship. ”

“ The officer, smiling, went after his man, and stationed him on the quarter-deck. The next time the slow-sailing frigate thundered out a tremendous volley, the marine, with his musket at his shoulder, stood ready for the word. The officer called out, “Fire!” and the marine banged away at the frigate amid the uproarious laughter and cheering of the American sailors. This was kept up for an hour or two, when, a good breeze springing up, the Providence set all her canvas and ran off, leaving the Milford completely in the lurch. ”

“ Like all men of feeling heart and deep imagination, Paul Jones, after the inspiration of battle and the glory of victory, always felt a keen distress at the ruin and desolation it wrought. The sight of the gallant men cold in death, that lay in rows upon the reeking deck of the Bon Homme Richard, covered by the flag whose honor they had so gloriously maintained, wrung his heart and filled his eyes with tears. ”

“ The chances for success and promotion are all with the army; our few small vessels can hope for but little in contests with England, the Mistress of the Seas; but I think I was born a sailor, and my heart turns ever toward blue water. The day that I received my commission as a lieutenant in the Continental navy was surely the most blessed and fortunate of my life, and my adopted country shall never have cause to regret giving it me.” Deep in his heart Paul Jones had a strange feeling that glory awaited him; for those destined to immortality have mysterious foreknowledge of it. ”

“ The commodore’s boat was seen approaching on the wind tossed water. The horizon was overcast, and dun clouds scurried wildly across the troubled sky, with which the pale and wintry sun struggled vainly. The boatswain’s call, “All hands to muster!” sounded through the ship, and in a wonderfully short time, owing to the careful drilling of Paul Jones, the three hundred men and one hundred marines were drawn up on deck. The sailors, a fine-looking body of American seamen, were formed in ranks on the port side of the quarter-deck, while abaft of them stood the marine guard, under arms. ”

“ Within an hour he was on the road to Paris, traveling by the diligence.
It was his intention to get to Paris as quietly as possible, and for that reason he wore plain citizen’s clothes, and wrapped himself in a large cloak; but Danny Dixon, swelling with the importance of the charge of his commander’s portmanteau, had no notion of letting the great man pass unknown through the world. Danny sat in the rumble along with a very smart and dapper little valet, who was accompanying his master, a French officer, to Paris. ”

“ You will have the consolation of knowing that no man ever made a better defense of his ship.”
Captain Pearson bowed, and answered:
“Your conduct is most generous—” and hesitated, as if to express surprise at such good treatment.
“You will find, I hope, that all American officers are generous in victory; and should we have the misfortune to be forced to haul down our colors, I trust that we would show the fortitude of the brave who are unfortunate,” said Paul Jones, with dignity—and, with a low bow, he retired from the cabin, leaving Captain Pearson alone. ”

“ When the short but impressive ceremony was over, the body of Captain Burden was first dropped overboard, followed by that of poor Wallingford. The sailors’ bodies followed in order. As the last dull splash showed that the melancholy duty was over, the flags were run up as if by magic on the two ships, and the bugler piped a merry call. ”

“ The Drake, having approached within hail, spoke the Ranger, as a matter of form. The voices echoed clearly over the water in the still, sunny, spring afternoon, and it was plainly seen in the mellow light that Paul Jones, who stood by the sailing master’s side on the Ranger, dictated the reply, which was a cool defiance in these words:
“This is the Continental ship Ranger. We wait for you, and beg you will come on. The sun is but little more than an hour high, and it is time to begin.” ”

“ Whether Paul Jones walked in the gardens of Paris or upon the boulevards, he was followed by a respectful and admiring crowd. The first night he went to the theater, as soon as he entered the word went round, “There is Paul Jones!” As he advanced and took his seat the whisper increased to a buzz, and then into an uproar, the audience rising and applauding excitedly. Paul Jones, with a blush upon his manly features, rose and returned the salutations of the crowd. ”

“ It seemed as if every man on the deck shouted “I, sir,” and “I!” and “I!” and “I!” and loud among the voices sounded the piping treble of little Danny Dixon. Paul Jones raised his hand to command silence.
“I shall have to choose thirty men, because I can not take you all. I shall take the strongest and most active men.”
At that he told off thirty men, including Bill Green, the quartermaster. But when the number was selected, and the men had gone forward, Paul Jones noticed that Danny, the cabin boy, lingered. ”

“ He instantly ran below, and, just as Paul Jones had foreseen, the bold promptness of one determined officer, armed and resolute, cowed them all. They went to work at the pumps, when, if they had retained their senses, they might have stepped on board the Serapis.
In a minute or two more Dale was again on deck, and, going up to the commodore, said calmly but in a loud voice, so that the men around could hear him:
“She’s not sinking, sir. I have put that coward of a carpenter to work with an honest man to watch him, and everything will shortly be right.” ”

“ As the guns rolled about the deck, adding a new horror and a new danger to that of rocks and waves and storm, Dale, who had the deck, turned to Paul Jones and said coolly:
“Commodore, what shall we do about these guns?”
“We can not afford to throw them overboard,” answered Paul Jones; “we may have to fight the British by the time this storm is over. The Nonesuch may not weather it, nor may we; this may be our last night of life, but if we should survive, and should meet the Nonesuch, both of us would make a shift to fight.” ”

“ The other British officers and men were then passed rapidly aboard the Bon Homme Richard. The Americans, as if they had only then realized the magnitude of their victory, suddenly stopped work at the pumps, at fighting the fire, and at the usual preparations for taking possession of a ship, and, as one man, they gave three thundering cheers. Paul Jones, taking off his cap, listened to this heroic music with ineffable thoughts crowding upon his mind. ”

“ His Most Christian Majesty, whom I have the honor to serve, desiring to show his affection for the cause of America, and for the gallant and shining conduct of Captain Paul Jones, has directed me, as a knight of the Order of Military Merit, to confer upon Captain Paul Jones the cross of this noble order. This has never before been given to any man not a citizen of France. ”

“ Paul Jones’s first visit in Paris was to his best and firmest friend, Benjamin Franklin. In all of his anxieties, as well as his triumphs, Franklin had stood unflinchingly by him; and now, no man rejoiced more at his splendid fame than Franklin. As soon as it was known that the immortal Paul Jones was in Paris crowds flocked to see him, and his modest lodgings were overrun with people of the greatest distinction. The American cause was very popular, and the presence of two such men as Benjamin Franklin and Paul Jones was calculated to add luster to the cause they served. ”

“ Paul Jones, in the absence of a chaplain, read the burial service himself over the brave men who had so gallantly fallen that day in fair and patriotic fight. His voice sounded inexpressibly solemn as he raised it in the inspiring words: “I am the resurrection and the life. If a man shall believe on Me, though he be dead, yet shall he live.” ”

“ The quartermaster had then come down the ladder, and stood ready to salute as soon as he caught the young lieutenant’s eye. This man, Bill Green, was a remarkably handsome, bluff sailor of about forty-five, with a fine figure, and was dressed with as much care and neatness as if he were a quarter-deck officer. Paul Jones was instantly struck by his admirable appearance, and more so when he spoke. ”

“ Sir Joseph Yorke thought, however, that he had succeeded at last in ruining Paul Jones, for, forced to put out as soon as the wind permitted, there was a British squadron waiting for him at either entrance to the harbor. It seemed as if Paul Jones was at last destined to be caught. But Fortune favors the brave—and she had never yet deserted this daring sailor. Everything had been done with the insufficient means at hand to get the Alliance into good condition. Much of her sailing qualities had been destroyed by the crazy Landais’s method of ballasting. ”

“ Captain Saltonstall was to command the Alfred, but he had not yet arrived, and upon Paul Jones rested the duty of preparing the ship for sea. From the day his foot first touched the deck his active spirit pervaded everything, and the officers under him, as well as the men, felt the force of his commanding energy. Besides working all day, he and the other officers stood watch and watch on deck throughout the wintry nights, to prevent desertions; and although every other ship in the squadron had her crew lessened by desertion, not a single man was lost from the Alfred. ”

“ As the frigate gained more and more on the little Providence, every heart sank except that of the dauntless captain. Paul Jones, however, remained calm, and even confident.
“Look,” said he, “their guns in broadside are fast. They think they can take us by firing a bow chaser, but they are mistaken. What would be easier than to bear away before the wind under their broadside?” ”

“ The affairs of the American Government had then reached their most desperate state, and the French Government was a government by intrigue and corruption, which, not many years after, produced the bloodiest revolution the world ever saw. No money was forthcoming as the prize justly earned by the Ranger’s officers and crew, nor were they even paid their wages while waiting at Brest for a promised ship for Paul Jones. Worse still was the condition of the English prisoners, who would actually have starved but for Paul Jones himself paying out of his own pocket for food to keep them alive. ”

“ Lieutenant Dale was on deck, and as the carpenter rushed up, shouting to the commodore, “She’s a-sinkin’, sir, and we can’t do no more at the pumps!” Dale caught the man by the throat.
“You abandoned coward, come below with me instantly! The ship shall not sink!”
Paul Jones heard every word, and, coming up quickly to Dale, said in his ear:
“Put the prisoners to the pumps. They are doubtless so terror-stricken that they are at their wits’ end, and a determined man like you, Dale, can manage the whole hundred of them”—for there were not less than a hundred in the hold. ”

“ Never were two men more congenial in general tastes and opinions than the excellent Louis and the great Franklin. Louis admired Franklin’s genius, and Franklin respected the king, who, although his youth was spent in the most corrupt court in the world, yet grew up honest, temperate, and moral. The beauty and enthusiasm of the young queen deeply impressed Paul Jones. ”

“ So great was the number of ships, both men-of-war and merchantmen, in sight and passing at all times, that Captain Jones did not consider it prudent to attack, because no man excelled Paul Jones in the prudence of the valiant. Several times during those three days and nights vessels that would have been valuable prizes were close under the guns of the little Ranger, but the presence of a frigate or two or other ship of war in the distance made an attack impracticable. ”

“ Numerous white sails were seen, but the squadron, sailing well together, was not molested. Although not disposed to decline a fight, the value of the arms and ammunition on board to the Continental army made Commodore Hopkins quite willing to “let sleeping dogs lie.” But this was contrary to the temperament of Paul Jones. He realized instinctively his capacity for meeting extraordinary dangers with extraordinary resources of mind and courage, and he could not but despise the risks that other men shunned. ”