BIOGRAPHICAL 141 



fire and listen to stories of the sea, some of 

 them apocryphal no doubt, of sharks, mer- 

 maids, storms, wrecks, and, most exciting 

 of all, 'of pirates. One of the narrators, 

 perhaps, had been taken by the Algerines 

 and bore on his feet the scars of the basti- 

 nado. Another had been captured by pi- 

 rates on the Spanish Main, and marooned 

 on some barren key until rescued by a 

 passing vessel. Or better still, for the war 

 was recent, he might listen to the tale of 

 some old sea dog who had helped hoist 

 the rattlesnake 1 flag on the "Alfred" or 

 crossed pikes with the British over the rail 

 of the "Bon Homme Richard." 



The social life of the town too had its 

 influence. The minister was revered, the 

 family physician loved and respected, the 

 lawyer admired for his learning ; but the au- 

 tocrat of the place, the one to whom all 



1 This flag was raised by John Paul Jones some time 

 in December of 1775. Beyond the fact that it was a flag 

 of the rattlesnake pattern, its design is not certainly 

 known. HARRISON, Stars and Stripes, p. 144. 



