ith him one day at dinner. But I have met
his niece, Miss Janet Taylor, who lives in London now, and
calculates nautical tables. I hope you will see her some day. Then
there is a gentleman named Napier in Edinburgh, who has the
Richard's log-book. Go and see it, if you are ever there,--Mr.
George Napier. And I have read every word I could find about the
battle. It was a remarkable fight indeed. 'All of which I was,
though so little I saw.'"

[_Mem._ by F.C. And dear Ingham's nice old grandfather is a little
slow in getting into action, _me judice_. It was a way they had in
the navy before steam.]

The letter continues:--

"I do not know that Captain Pearson was a remarkable man; but I do
know he was a brave man. He was made Sir Richard Pearson by the
King for his bravery in this fight. When Paul Jones heard of that,
he said Pearson deserved the knighthood, and that he would make
him an earl the next time he met him. Of course, I only knew the
captain as a midshipman (we were 'volunteers' then) knows a
post-captain, and that for a few months only. We joined in summer
(the Serapis was just commissioned for the first time). We were
taken prisoners in September, but it was mid-winter before we were
exchanged. He was very cross all the time we were in Holland. I do
not suppose he wrote as good a letter as Jones did. I have heard
that he could not spell well. But what I know is that he was a
brave man.

"Paul Jones is one of the curiosities of history. He certainly was
of immense value to your struggling cause. He kept England in
terror; he showed the first qualities as a naval commander; he
achieved great successes with very little force. Yet he has a
damaged reputation. I do not think he deserves this reputation;
but I know he has it. Now I can see but one difference between him
and any of your land-heroes or your water-heroes whom all the
world respects. This is, that he was born on our side, and they
were born on the American side. This ought not to make any
difference. But in actual fact I think it did. Jones was born in
the British Islands. The popular feeling of England made a
distinction between the allegiance which he owed to King George
and that of born Americans. It ought not to have done so, because
he had in good faith emigrated to America before the Rebellion,