Page:Great Men and Famous Women Volume 2.djvu/142

 804 SOLDIERS AND SAILORS nature of their visit, their request, backed by the armed crew at the door, was complied with. It is said that Jones apologized personally to Lady Selkirk, and we shall pres- ently find him, at the first interval of leisure, taking measures to repair the act. For the moment, however, he had more serious work on hand. In his upward voyage along the Irish coast, he had looked into Belfast Lough, after his Maj- esty's sloop-of-war Drake, of twenty guns, which he attempted to board in a night attack by a bold manoeuvre, which came within an ace of success. Imme- diately after the affair of St. Mary's, he ran across the channel and had the for- tune to meet the Drake coming out of Carrickfergus. She was getting to sea to check the exploits of the Ranger, which had now alarmed the whole region. Jones desired nothing more than an encounter. As the ship drew up she hailed the Ranger. Jones gave the reply through his sailing-master : " The American continental ship Ranger. We are waiting for you. Come on. The sun is lit- tle more than an hour high, and it is time to begin ! " A broadside engagement commenced, and continued at close quarters for an hour, when the Drake sur- rendered. Her captain and first lieutenant were mortally wounded, her sails and rigging terribly cut up, and hull much shattered. The loss of the Ranger was 2 killed and 6 wounded ; that of the Drake, 42. The Drake had two guns the advantage of her adversary. The action took place on April 24th ; on May 8th, Jones having traversed the channel, carried his prize safely into Brest. His first thought now was to make some amends to Lady Selkirk and his own reputation for the plundering visit of his lieutenant. He therefore ad- dressed to her, the very day of his landing, an extraordinary letter ^Jones was fond of letter-writing full of high-sounding phrases, and professions of gallantry and esteem, in the midst of which he failed not to recite the splendid victory of the Ranger. He drew a picture of the terrors inflicted by the British in Amer- ica ; and in respect to that unfortunate plate, expressed his intention to purchase it, in the sale of the prize, and restore it at his own expense to the family. This, after delays and obstacles, he finally accomplished some years later, when we are told it was all returned as it was taken, the very tea-leaves of the parting break- fast clinging to the tea-pot. The affair of the Ranger, so brilliantly conducted, the short, energetic cruise in narrow seas, so near the British naval stations, gave Jones a great reputation for gallantry in Paris. The delays and difficulties, however, incidental to the wretched state of the American finances abroad, and the imperfect relation of his country with the French court, were well calculated to cool any enthusiasm ex- cited by his conquest ; and a man of less vivacity and perseverance than Jones might have dropped the service. He persevered. His lieutenant, Simpson, after various refractory proceedings, had sailed home in the Ranger, when an arrange- ment was finally made with Le Ray de Chaumont, the negotiator of the French court, to furnish a jointly equipped and officered fleet, of which Jones was to take command. Five vessels were thus provided, including the American frig- ate Alliance. An old Indiaman, the Duke de Duras, fell to the lot of Jones.