1802. ] 
tirely owing to them, who not only tranf- 
mitted to pofterity their real actions, but 
repréfented them in colours more favour- 
able than the truth. ** A®neas (fays he) 
was not fo pious, Achilles fo ftrong, nor 
Heétor fo valiant, as fame reports, and 
thoufands might be juftly preferred to 
them, but the rich prefents beftowed by 
their defcendants on writers have given 
them their honours. Homer has defcribed 
“Agamemnon as victorious, and the Tro- 
Jans as cowardly, and has made Penelope 
a model of chaftity ; whereas the truth 
was, that the Greeks were routed, the 
Trojans victors, and Penelope a whore.— 
MEMOIRS OF 
Some account of the celebrated COM- 
MODORE PAUL JONES, tranflated from 
@ MANUSCRIPT written by himfelf. 
A T the commencement of the Ame-. 
‘rican war (during the year 1775), 
¥ was employed to fit out the little {qua- 
dron, which the Congrefs had placed un- 
der Commodore Hopkins, who was ap- 
pointed to the command of all the armed 
vellels appertaining to America; and I 
hoifted, with my own hands, the Ameri- 
can flag, on board the Alfred, which was 
then difplayed for the firft time. 
I, at the fame time, acquainted Mr. 
Hewes, a Member of Congrefs, and my 
particular friend, with a proje€t for feizing 
on the Ifland of St. Helena, by means of 
our little {quadron, which would have in- 
fallibly rendered us mafters of part of 
the homeward-bound Eaft India fleet ; 
and as the Congrefs, at that time, pro- 
pofed to appropriate two-thirds of the 
prizes to itfelf, they would have thus been 
furnifhed with the means of carrying on 
the war during feveral years: but an 
event of a move prefling nature prevented 
this {cheme from being carried into exe- 
cution. 
The cruelties and vexations at that 
time exercifed by Lord Dunmore, in Vir- 
ginia, determined the Congrefs to detach 
the fqguxdion againft him; but Mr. Hop- 
kins difplayed neither zeal nor talents 
upen this cceafion, and loft fo much time 
that his {quadron wes frozen in the Dela- 
ware. 
After a delay of two months, the {qua- 
dron was at leng’h difengaged, and fer fail 
fer New Providence, the principal of the 
Gahama lands. ‘Phere we found a large 
Account of Paul Sones. 
139 
Auguftus was not the virtuous and cle- 
ment prince that Virgil paints him, and 
perhaps Nero would have appeared as good 
as he, if he had got the writers on his fide.”” 
After thefe and other inftances, St. John 
goes on to fay, ** You need not wonder 
that I {peak in honour of writers, for J 
was a writer mylelf upon earth; and I 
have obtained a reward fuperior to all 
others ; and it well became Chrifi, vahom I 
praied, to repay me fq nobly.” 
E ben convenne al mio lodato Chrifto 
Rendermi guiderdon di fi gran forte. 
What could Ariofto mean ? 
EMINENT PERSONS. 
ea 
quantity of artillery, mortars, and other 
implements of warfare, of which we ftood. 
greatly in want in America; and I had 
the good fortune to render myfelf ex- 
tremely ufeful to the Commodore, who 
was but little acquainted with military 
operations. It was to me he was in- 
debted for the plan adopted by him when 
the fquadron came in fight of New Pro- 
vidence, and I alfo undertook to moor 
the fqnadron in a proper birth to execute 
our enterprife. 
On our return from New Providence, 
we took two armed veffels, one of which 
was loaded with bombs, and fell in, near 
Rhode Ifland, with an Englifh man of 
war, Called the Glafgow, carrying twen- 
ty-four guns; but, notwithftanding our 
fuperiority, both in point of force and 
failing, the commander in chief fuffered 
her to efcape, after having many men 
killed and wounded, both on board the 
Alfred and the Cabot. i@¢h 
The {quadron now entered the port of 
New London, in Connegticut ; and Hop- 
kins, on receiving intelligence that the 
Englifh frigates had been driven from 
Newport, took advantage of the darknefs 
of the nights to repair to Rhode Ifland. 
A council of war having difmiffed the - 
captain of the Providence, one of the 
fhips of the fquadron ; the Commodore gave 
me orders in writing to take the command 
of her, and to efcort {ome troops that were 
proceeding from Rhcede Ifland to New - 
York, with a view of ferving under Ge- 
neral Wathington. After this, I receiy- 
ed inftructions to efcort a convoy of ar- 
tillery from Rhode Ifland to New York, 
for the defence of which it was deftined. 
On this occafion, I had two different en- 
52 gagements, 
