It is all so mournful in some strange way. In spite of his glory and
his heroism, in spite of his strenuous life and his strugglings, the
note that lingers in my mind as I write these concluding words is one
of sadness. I read of hopes that brought no fruition; of plans made
and abandoned; of opportunities that could not be embraced; of great
attempts frustrated by inadequate means; of triumphs forgotten. I see
a great life that might have been greater, a man of noble qualities
marred by petty faults, and yet I love him. I can not tell why
exactly, but the words of Solomon come into my mind as the vision of
the little captain appears before me, dying alone of a broken heart,
fretted away--_Vanitas vanitatem_.
And yet he did not live in vain, and his exploits shall live forever
in the minds of his countrymen. So long as we possess that masculine
virility which is the heritage of a great nation whose rugged coasts
are washed by thousands of leagues of beating seas; so long as the
beautiful flag we love waves above the mighty Republic, which, true to
the principles of its founders, stands in every quarter of the globe
for freedom of person, for liberty of conscience, for respect to law,
so long shall the story be told of the little captain from the far
land who loved these things, and who fought so heroically to establish
and to maintain them.
APPENDIX I.
CONCERNING JOHN PAUL'S ASSUMPTION OF THE NAME OF JONES.
A.
_Letter of Mr. W. M. Cumming, of Wilmington, N. C., May 21, 1899_.
"John Paul adopted the name of Jones in token of affectionate regard
for the Honorable Willie (pronounced Wylie) Jones, of North Carolina,
and his beautiful and charming wife, who had both been very kind to
him in his days of obscurity. He was particularly devoted to Mrs.
Jones, and called himself her son. It was through the influence of
Honorable Willie Jones (member of Congress, I think, from North
Carolina), that John Paul obtained his commission in the navy of the
young Republic, and it was about this time that he adopted the name of
his friend and patron."
B.
_Letter of Mr. Junius Davis, of Wilmington, N. C., February 23, 1900_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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