r, and made him Chevalier of France. It was, as Jones himself
frequently wrote, a singular honor, he being the first alien to be made
a French chevalier; and Jones prized this favor from a king more than he
would the gift of a million dollars. The gold sword also pleased him
deeply, and he asked the countess to whom he had sent the lock of hair
to keep it for him, lest he lose it. He wrote of this gift:--

"His Majesty ordered a superb sword to be made for me, which I have
since received, and it is called much more elegant than that presented
to the Marquis de la Fayette."

VIII

PRIVATE AMBITION AND PUBLIC BUSINESS

Benjamin Franklin, knowing the value of the supplies to Washington's
army, had implored Jones to embark several months before the little
Ariel actually set sail, October 8, 1780. But Jones, hoping for an
important command in Europe, and delayed by business in connection with
fitting out his ship, and perhaps by the gayeties he was engaged in at
Paris, did not show much concern over General Washington's distress.
When he finally did sail, he encountered a terrible storm, and it was
only the best of seamanship which enabled him to avoid shipwreck. As it
was, he was compelled to put back for repairs to L'Orient, where, in a
series of letters, he manoeuvred in vain for the loan of the fine ship
Terpsichore.

It was not until December 18 that the Ariel got under way again for
America. The voyage was uneventful, with the exception of a night
battle with a British privateer sloop of inferior force. Jones cleverly
concealed his greater strength, and thus lured the Englishman to engage.
After a ten-minute fight, the Triumph struck its colors, but, when the
Ariel ceased firing, sailed away and escaped, to Jones's exceeding
mortification.

"The English captain," he wrote in his journal, "may properly be called
a knave, because after he surrendered his ship, begged for and obtained
quarter, he basely ran away, contrary to the laws of naval war and the
practice of civilized nations."

Paul Jones, when he arrived in Philadelphia, the 18th of February, 1781,
was thirty-three years old and had actively served in the United States
navy for five years and five months. He never fought another battle
under the United States flag; indeed, with the exception of his
distressing experiences in Russia, he never fought again under any flag.
But to his dying day he did not cease to plan great naval deeds and to
hope