themselves 'the people' in France. More than once have I
harbored the wish that I might be intrusted by Lafayette with the
command of the Palace, with _carte blanche_ to defend the constitution;
and that I might have once more with me, if only for one day, my old
crews of the Ranger, the Richard, and the Alliance! I surely would have
made the thirty cannon of the courtyard teach to that mad rabble the
lesson that grapeshot has its uses in struggles for the rights of man!"

Jones always had much to say on the organization of navies and the
principles of naval warfare. About this time he wrote a letter to
Admiral Kersaint, of the French navy, in which he criticised fearlessly
and trenchantly the naval tactics of the French. Their policy, he
explained, was to "neutralize the power of their adversaries, if
possible, by grand manoeuvres rather than to destroy it by grand
attack;" and objecting to this policy, the dashing Jones, who always
desired to "get alongside the enemy," wrote: "Their (the French)
combinations have been superb; but as I look at them, they have not been
harmful enough; they have not been calculated to do as much capturing or
sinking of ships, and as much crippling or killing of seamen, as true
and lasting success in naval warfare seems to me to demand.... Should
France thus honor me [with a command] it must be with the unqualified
understanding that I am not to be restricted by the traditions of her
naval tactics; but with full consent that I may, on suitable occasion,
to be decreed by my judgment on the spot, try conclusions with her foes
to the bitter end or to death, at shorter range and at closer quarters
than have hitherto been sanctioned by her tactical authorities."

Paul Jones, although in these last years he was forced, more than was
agreeable to him, to play the role of an intelligent commentator,
remained a man of action to the end. He sought, this time in vain, to
extract from the French government wages still due the crew of the old
Bonhomme Richard. His failure brought out an unusually bitter letter, in
which he again recounted his services and the wrongs done him by the
various ministers of marine. As he grew older and more disappointed the
deeds he had done seemed mountain high to him. "My fortitude and
self-denial alone dragged Holland into the war, a service of the
greatest importance to this nation; for without that great event, no
calculation can ascertain when the war would have ende