218 



JONES., 



Jonti, to anchor in the Solway Firth, almost within sight of 

 John Paul. tj, e trets which sheltered the house in which he first 

 '""Y"'"'' drew the breath of life. Early next morning, he rowed 

 for the English coast, at the head of 31 volunteers, in 

 two boats, with the intention of destroying the ship- 

 ping (about 200 sail) which lay in the harbour of 

 Whitehaven. In this daring attempt he would proba- 

 bly have succeeded without difficulty, had not the 

 strength of the opposing tide retarded his progress so 

 much, that day began to dawn before he could gain the 

 shore. He dispatched the smaller of the two boats to 

 the north of the port to set fire to the vessels, whilst 

 he led the remainder of the party in person to the more 

 hazardous duty of securing the fort, which was situa- 

 ted on a hill to the south. It was a cold morning ; and 

 the sentinels, little aware that an enemy was so near, 

 had retired into the guard^rbom for warmth, affording 

 Jones an opportunity tp take them by surprise, of which 

 he did not fail to avail himself. Climbing over the 

 shoulders of the tallest of his men, he crept silently 

 through one of the embrasures, and was instantly fol- 

 lowed by the rest. Their first care was to make fast 

 the door of the guard-room, and their next to spike the 

 cannon, 36 in number. Having effected this without 

 bloodshed, they proceeded to join the detachment which 

 had been sent to the nortli ; and finding that a false 

 alarm had deterred them from executing their orders, 

 Jones instantly proceeded to set fire to the vessels with- 

 in his reach. By this time, however, the inhabitants 

 were roused, and the invaders were glad to retreat, 

 leaving three ships in flames, of which one alone was 

 destroyed. 



Of all our hero's exploits, there is not one which re- 

 flects so much discredit on his name as that which we 

 have just now mentioned ; for, although it is lawful for 

 a commissioned officer to annoy the enemy of his sove- 

 reign by all possible means, there is something ex- 

 tremely revolting in the idea of a man's deliberately 

 stifling all his early associations, and availing himself 

 of his familiar acquaintance with the place of his youth- 

 ful enjoyments to effect its destruction. 



On the same day with this adventure, another me- 

 morable occurrence took place, which contributed, for a 

 time, to add greatly to the odium which the first had 

 brought on his character, but which, in the end, en- 

 abled him to prove that he was possessed of the most 

 disinterested and heroic qualities. In cruising off the 

 coast of Galloway, it occurred to him that, if he could 

 get into his power a man of high rank and influence in 

 the state, he should be able, by retaining him as a hos- 

 tage, to ensure to the American prisoners of war more 

 lenient treatment than was threatened by the British 

 government. Knowing that the Earl of Selkirk pos- 

 sessed a seat in St. Mary's Isle, a beautiful peninsula 

 at the mouth of the Dee, and being ill informed with 

 regard to the political connections of that nobleman, he 

 destined him for the subject of his experiment. With 

 that view, he landed on the Isle, about noon, with two 

 officers and a few men ; but before they had proceeded 

 far, he learnt that his lordship was from home, and that 

 there were none but ladies at the house. Finding his 

 object frustrated, he now wished to return ; but his crew 

 were not so easily satisfied. Their object was plunder ; 

 and as they consisted of desperadoes in a very imper- 

 fect state of discipline, and with whom it would have 

 been dangerous to contend, he allowed them to pro- 

 ceed. He exacted from them, however, a promise that 

 hey should be guilty of no violence ; that the men 

 should not enter the house, and that the officers, after 



having made their demand, should accept .of what Jones, 

 might be put into their hands without scrutiny. These John Paul. 

 conditions were punctuallyobeyed. The greater part > ""'"Y""~' 

 of the Selkirk plate was carried off ii\ triumph by the 

 crew, and Paul Jones was, for a time, stigmatised as a 

 free-booter : but he nobly vindicated his character, by 

 taking the earliest opportunity of purchasing the whole 

 of it, out of his own private funds, and remitting it 

 safe to its original owner without accepting the smallest 

 remuneration. National prejudice has misrepresented 

 this transaction ; and in order to heighten the popular 

 indignation against our hero, it has been common to 

 state, that his attempt on the person, and as it was sup- 

 posed the property, of Lord Selkirk, was aggravated 

 by ingratitude, his father having eaten of that noble- 

 man's bread. Nothing can be more false. Neither Mr. 

 Paul, nor any of his kindred, ever was in the Earl's 

 employ, or had ever the most distant connection with 

 his lordship or his family ; and in a correspondence 

 which took place betwixt our hero and Lady Selkirk 

 relative to the restitution of the plate, a mos't honour- 

 able testimony was gratefully paid by the latter to the 

 Captain's character. 



The day succeeding the two events, just mention- 

 ed, Paul Jones encountered the Drake, a king's ship of 

 20 guns, in Carrick Fergus bay, and took her after a 

 very brave resistance, in the course of which the Eng- 

 glish captain and his first lieutenant were mortally 

 wounded. With this and another large prize, Captain 

 Jones returned to Brest, after an absence of 28 days of 

 very active service, in which, besides taking and des- 

 troying many valuable vessels, he had thrown the coasts 

 of Scotland and Ireland into consternation, occasioned 

 the Irish volunteers to be embodied, and obliged the 

 English government to expend considerable sums in 

 fortifying the harbours. 



A teazing period of hopes and disappointments fol- 

 lowed. The French ministry, to testify their good 

 will to the United States, had promised to furnish Paul 

 Jones with a ship, in which, however, he was to dis- 

 play the American flag ; but, after various written me- 

 morials, no progress seemed to have 'been made to- 

 wards the fulfilment of this engagement. At length 

 he determined to apply in person, and having gone to 

 Paris, he soon obtained the' command of the Due de 

 Duras of 40 guns. The name, however, he chang- 

 ed to Le Bon homing Richard, in compliment to the 

 wise saying of Poor Richard, "If you would have your 

 business done, come yourself; if not, send." In this 

 vessel, badly manned, and not much better furnished, 

 Paul Jones sailed as Commodore of a little squadron, 

 consisting, besides his own ship, of the Alliance of 36' 

 guns, the Pallas of 32, the Serf of 18, the Vengeance of 

 12, and two privateers, which requested leave to share 

 the Commodore's fortunes. After taking several prizes, 

 the Serf, the privateers, and at length the Allianqe, de- 

 serted the squadron. The Commodore's good fortune, 

 however, did not desert him. On the 1.5th September, 

 he was, with his own ship, the Pallas, the Vengeance, 

 and several prizes, at the entrance into the Firth of 

 Forth, where they made every necessary disposition to 

 seize the guard ship, and two cutters, that rode at an- 

 chor in the roads, and to lay Leith, and perhaps Edin- 

 burgh, under contribution. The wind, which was fair, 

 in the night, opposed them in the morning. However, 

 ori the 16th, the little squadron continued all day to 

 work up the Firth. At this time, a member of the 

 British Parliament observing them from the coast of 

 Fife, and mistaking them for king's ships, sent off a 



