aul Jones had won a notable victory, and thus he had proved that
the British were not invincible, and could be defeated, upon the sea,
by their own cousins, as readily as upon the land.

When the _Ranger_ lay in the harbor of Brest, a few days later, with
the _Drake_ alongside, boats crowded about in order to view the vessel
which had captured another,--larger than herself. And, as the _Ranger_
had taken three merchant ships on the way to the coast of France, the
black eyes of the natives shone with beady lustre as they gazed upon
the graceful hull of the victorious sloop-of-war from Portsmouth, New
Hampshire.

"See Monsieur Jones," said they, as they nudged each other. "Voila!
Here is a man who is better than our own sailors. Look at this
American sea-devil!"

And the chest of John Paul Jones swelled with pride.

Eager and active, the gallant Commodore was most unhappy during the
next few months, for the _Ranger_ was ordered back to America--under
his Lieutenant Simpson. Twenty-seven of his crew, however, elected to
remain and fight with him, when he should get another command,--among
them a little Narragansett Indian called Antony Jeremiah.

"Me like to see big gun shoot," said he. "Me like to walk on deck of
enemy's big boat when you take it! Byme-by we take bigger ship than
_Drake_ and kill heap more enemy! Ugh! Ugh!"

At this John Paul laughed.

"Antony Jeremiah," said he, "you shall witness one big fight if you
stay with John Paul. You wait and see!"

And what John Paul had said soon came to pass.

"The French," writes the doughty warrior, "have little conception of
an expedition such as I propose; to harry the coast and destroy the
commerce of the enemy. Their idea is to leave all of that to
privateers, of which I have already been offered a dozen commands.
Some of the ships they fit out as privateers are really respectable
frigates in size, and I have seen one, called the _Monsieur_, that
mounts thirty-eight or forty guns. But I do not wish to engage in
privateering. My object is not that of private gain, but to serve the
public in a way that may reflect credit on our infant navy and give
prestige to our country over the sea."

Noble sentiments--nobly expressed!

In spite of the gloomy outlook he at last secured a vessel from the
King himself, called the _Duras_, which he re-christened "_Le Bon
Homme Richard_"--"_The Good Richard_"--the name assumed by Dr.
Benjamin Franklin when writing his famous