This battle had lasted for three hours and a half. It has since been known in history as one of the greatest victories ever won upon the seas. The Serapis and the Countess were both new ships, one of forty guns and the other of twenty. The crews were well-drilled Englishmen.
Everything was against the Richard, and the victory was due alone to the great courage and will of its commander. When the fight was over, Paul Jones separated the ships and set the sails of the Richard. All night every sailor was busy fighting the fire which raged on both ships.
When daylight showed to Captain Pearson the wreck of the Richard, he was sorry he had surrendered. Her rudder was gone and her rotten timbers were split into pieces. Some of the shots had passed entirely through her.
Paul Jones wished to take her into port to show how desperately he had fought, but this was out of the question. By nine o'clock the sailors abandoned her, and at ten she suddenly went down.
Repairing the Serapis as best he could, Paul Jones took her and the Countess of Scarborough, with his unfaithful fleet, to Holland.
XI.—Honor to the Hero.
After this great victory, Paul Jones was everywhere received as a hero. The king of France presented him with a gold sword.
He also sent word, through his minister, that, with the consent of Congress, he would make Paul Jones a Knight of the Order of Military Merit. To avoid delay, the gold cross of the order had been sent to the French minister in America, who would present it to Paul Jones when permission to accept it had been received from Congress.
The hero traveled about in Holland and France, from city to city, enjoying his great triumph. Crowds of people were everywhere eager to see him, and a word with him was thought to be a great honor.
The most serious fault in the character of Paul Jones was his vanity. He had always been very fond of praise and glory, and now his longings were partly satisfied by all this homage.