es, he was to
win distinction as the greatest of naval heroes.

Off the English coast at Flamborough Head, he sighted an English fleet.
The flagship was the _Serapis_, in command of Captain Pearson. As the
_Bon Homme Richard_ approached the _Serapis_, Captain Pearson raised his
glass and remarked: "That is probably Paul Jones. If so, there is work
ahead."

The salute affectionate between the vessels, after the formal hail, was
a broadside. Then they fought, fought like fiends incarnate, clinched in
each other's arms, in the death grapple, fought without flinching and,
be it said, to the glory of the American navy and the credit of the
English. The _Bon Homme_ was on fire and sinking. Captain Pearson,
noting the situation, called, "Have you struck your colors?"

Above the smoke and din of the conflict, Jones' voice answered, "I have
just begun to fight, Sir."

He then lashed his ship to the _Serapis_, and stood, himself, at the
guns.

"Shall we be quitting, Jamie?" he said in banter to a Scotchman at his
side.

"There is still a shot in the locker, Sir," replied the Scot.

"I thought," said Captain Pearson afterward, "Jones' answer to me meant
mere bravado. But I soon perceived that it was the defiance of a man
desperate enough, if he could not conquer, to sink with his ship."

The _Bon Homme Richard's_ sides were shot away; her prisoners loose; her
decks strewn with the dead and dying; the _Alliance_, her companion
ship, had turned traitor and fired into her. When the fight seemed
well-nigh lost, a well-directed blow brought disaster to the _Serapis_,
and she hauled down her colors. As Captain Pearson surrendered his
sword, Commodore Jones remarked, "You have fought heroically, Sir. I
trust your sovereign may suitably reward you." To this Captain Pearson
returned no answer.

The wonderful combat on the sea became the talk of all Europe. Paul
Jones' name was honored wherever spoken. Contrary to court etiquette, he
was invited to occupy apartments in the palace of the Duke and Duchess
de Chartres. While he was there, a banquet was tendered him. During the
progress of the dining, he called an attendant to bring from his
apartment a leather case. This when it was opened disclosed a sword.
Turning to the duchess, the commodore asked if she recalled his
promise to lay a frigate at her feet one day? "Your Royal Highness
perceives," he went on, "the impossibility of keeping my promise in
kind. The English frigate pr