me a gold sword: an honor 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 obliged and devoted servant,
PAUL JONES.

Protector of fair freedom's rights,

Louis, thy virtues please thy God!
The good man in thy praise delights,
And tyrants tremble at thy nod.
Thy people's father, lov'd so well,

May time respect! When thou art gone

May each new year of history tell,

Thy sons, with lustre fill thy throne.

For the purpose of perpetuating the names and rank of the American naval heroes of the Revolutionary War, the following authentic list of the commission officers, is inserted in this work :

CAPTAINS AND COMMANDERS.

CHARACTER

OF

COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES.

THE incidents in the life of the Chevalier John Paul Jones, as far as the papers in the possession of the author, and information from respectable sources will explain and establish them, have been faithfully recited in the preceding pages. It only remains to draw from them the features of his character.

It appears to the writer of this volume, that there is a prevalent mistake in estimating the merits of singular or extraordinary men. They are measured by a standard somewhat like that of Procrustes, to correspond with which, those who were too long were cut shorter, and those who were too short were stretched to a greater length. If an individual who has distinguished himself in literature, in science, in the arts, in the affairs of state, or in arms, does not exhibit all the virtues of which human nature in its varieties is capable, he is pronounced defective, and condemned accordingly. On the contrary, where the partiality of friendship or admiration would make a character, and the materials are inadequate to the structure, the individual is raised beyond his level by praises for frivolous qualifications, which, as they relate to human actions, are utterly insignificant.

The memory of the Chevalier John Paul Jones does not require any thing more, to ensure its perpetuation, than a just representation of his achievements. There was nothing artificial about him: every thing was natural; and whether he was addressing himself to Congress, to kings, nobles, or citizens, he uniformly manifested the same frankness of disposition and resolution of purpose. We do not expect to find absolute perfection in him or in any other man.

The

temperament which belonged to him, the spirit of adventure by which he was impelled, his careless indifference to the accumulation of wealth, precisely in the proportion_that they existed in him, were indispensable to form JOHN PAUL JONES. Every being acts agreeably to the constitution of its nature; and it would be just as absurd to look for a contemplative philosopher in the bustle of business, or a daring naval commander in the ordinary pursuits of civil life, as to seek for a gently purling stream in the crater of a volcano.

Of the birth, parentage, education, first associations, and early avocations of Jones, but little is known. That his rise in the world, whatever of fortune he had acquired and knowledge he had obtained, were principally owing to his own personal application and exertions, is apparent. That he was no novice when he entered the American service, is equally manifest. That he understood the method of advancing his own interests, is also evident. But there is this distinguishing trait in his character, which at once places him in the class of great men-his schemes for preferment were always founded upon considerations of accruing national benefits. Thus, when he insisted on his seniority of rank in the United States from the date of his original commission, he claimed it as well from his efficiency as an officer as from that circumstance: When, in France, he requested an independent command, he urged it upon the ground of his capacity for rendering more essential services than others to the common cause, and appealed to facts which no one could deny: And in Russia, where his nautical skill was so conspicuous, and his gallant behaviour against the Turks so beneficial to the Empress, he merely sought for the reward to which his conduct entitled him.

Although not peculiarly trained to the usages of courts, he was obviously a courtier in no small degree; for at Paris and Versailles he commonly carried his points against the intrigues of disciplined intriguers. He baffled the petty artifices of his rivals more by his energy, and the utility of his plans, than by finesse and cunning. He had, nevertheless, a native shrewdness which was not easily foiled. The vivacity of his temper did not qualify him for prolonged negotiations; for, in his correspondence, as well as in combat, he was eager to grapple with his adversary, and to bring the question at issue to a termination as speedily as possible. He was impatient when out of employment; and notwith

standing that he was, in his moments of leisure, disposed to be convivial, and occasionally indulged in the pleasures of society, it was more to relieve himself from the uneasiness of lassitude than from any positive inclination to prodigality or dissipation. The same activity of mind that incessantly urged him to seek for new enterprises, made him restless in port, led him to the social board, or the society of the fair sex. Fruitful in expedients, he was never at a loss for a fresh project in which his talents might shine. Returning from the Bahamas, he wrote to his friends in Congress. pressing them to confide to him some new expedition; when in France, his various propositions to the Minister of the Marine shewed the fertility of his genius; at the close of the war of the American revolution, he soon found occupation in the fleet of Catharine; and when that scene closed upon him, he had his eye fixed on an adventure against the Algerines. He was, emphatically, a man of action; and, fond of writing, he was indefatigable in recording not only his deeds but his sentiments. He seemed to abhor indolence; and every hour that was not strictly devoted to the acquisition of glory appeared to make him unhappy.

There is reason to believe, from the frequent altercations in which Jones was engaged, that he was fond of supreme command, and that he did not bear with the best grace the dictates of a superior, or even the advice of an equal. His weakness was that of selfishness in all that relates to personal fame. But who, in this respect, is not selfish? Sincere in friendship and intense in animosity, his feelings were expressed in strong and unequivocal terms. These, gaining currency, were seized upon to his disadvantage; and his enemies, who could not dispute his bravery, continually thwarted his purposes, by representing him as a person better qualified for the command of single ships than of squadrons-better suited to execute than to direct an enterprise. The difficulties which he had to encounter with regard to prize-money, embroiled him with M. le Ray de Chaumont, who had been his friend and patron, and with whom he had been upon the most intimate terms. This unhappy difference arose chiefly from the different views which the parties took of the same transactions, and was probably precipitated and continued by the impetuosity of Jones. The Chevalier was hurt at the equality which the "Concordat" prescribed between himself and the other captains in the squad