day she was tossed about
on the angry waters. Her crew thought that their last hour had surely
come. Over the shrieking of the gale, and the roaring of the waves,
rose that steady, all-pervading sound, which brings horror to the mind
of the sailor,--the dull, monotonous thunder of the breakers on the
reef of Penmarque. But the "Ariel" was not fated to be ground to
pieces on the jagged teeth of the cruel reef. Though she drifted
about, the plaything of the winds and the waves, she escaped the jaws
of Penmarque. Finally the gale subsided; and, with hastily devised
jury-masts, the shattered ship was taken back to L'Orient to refit.

Two months were consumed in the work of getting the shattered vessel
ready for sea. When she again set out, she met with no mishap, until,
when near the American coast, she fell in with a British vessel to
which she gave battle. A sharp action of a quarter of an hour forced
the Englishman to strike his colors; but, while the Americans were
preparing to board the prize, she sailed away, vastly to the chagrin
and indignation of her would-be captors.

The short cruise of the "Ariel" was the last service rendered by Paul
Jones to the American Colonies. On his arrival at Philadelphia, he was
dined and feted to his heart's desire; he received a vote of thanks
from Congress; he became the idol of the populace. But the necessities
of the struggling colonies were such that they were unable to build
for him a proper war-ship, and he remained inactive upon shore until
the close of the Revolution, when he went abroad, and took service
with Russia. He is the one great character in the naval history of the
Revolution. He is the first heroic figure in American naval annals.
Not until years after his death did men begin to know him at his true
worth. He was too often looked upon as a man of no patriotism, but
wholly mercenary; courageous, but only with the daring of a pirate.
Not until he had died a lonely death, estranged from the country he
had so nobly served, did men come to know Paul Jones as a model naval
officer, high-minded in his patriotism, pure in his life, elevated in
his sentiments, and as courageous as a lion.

CHAPTER X.

CAREER OF NICHOLAS BIDDLE. -- HIS EXPLOIT AT LEWISTON JAIL.
-- CRUISE IN THE "RANDOLPH." -- BATTLE WITH THE "YARMOUTH."
-- THE FATAL EXPLOSION. -- SAMUEL TUCKER. -- HIS BOYHOOD. --
ENCOUNTER WITH CORSAIRS. -- CRUISING IN THE "FRANKLIN." --
IN