“The first lieutenant and myself were immediately escorted into the ship alongside, when we found her to be an American ship-of-war, called the _Bonne Homme Richard_, of forty guns and 375 men, commanded by Captain Paul Jones; the other frigate which engaged us to be the _Alliance_, of forty guns and 300 men; and the third frigate, which engaged and took the _Countess of Scarborough_ after two hours’ action, to be the _Pallas_, a French frigate, of thirty guns and 274 men; the _Vengeance_, an armed brig of twelve guns and seventy men: all in Congress service, under the command of Paul Jones. They fitted and sailed from Port l’Orient the latter end of July, and then came north. They have on board 300 English prisoners, which they have taken in different vessels in their way round since they left France, and have ransomed some others. On my going on board the _Bonne Homme Richard_ I found her in the greatest distress, her quarters and counter on the lower deck being entirely drove in, and the whole of her lower deck guns dismounted; she was also on fire in two places, and six or seven feet of water in her hold, which kept increasing upon them all night and next day, till they were obliged to quit her. She had 300 men killed and wounded in the action. Our loss in the _Serapis_ was also very great.” Captain Pearson concludes with a proper tribute to the bravery of Captain Piercy, who with his small frigate had engaged the _Pallas_, a much larger vessel, and to the men in general. The honour of knighthood was afterwards conferred on Captain Pearson, while Piercy and the officers were suitably promoted. The Royal Exchange Insurance Company presented both captains with services of plate. It need not be said that Paul Jones was for the nonce a much-appreciated man in America. His subsequent career does not possess much interest for the general reader. He was, in 1786, employed in diplomatic service, and he crossed the Atlantic with despatches for London in the then remarkable time of twenty-two days, and, having performed his duty, he remained a few hours only, and then immediately started on the return voyage. American go-a-headedness was fast developing at that early period. When peace was concluded he entered into the service of Russia for a short period, after which he was in Paris at the period of the Revolution. Here he sought, but failed in obtaining, employment in the French navy; and he soon became a man as dejected and downcast as he had once been buoyant and resolute. He died in abject poverty; and he would hardly have been decently interred but for the sympathy of a friend, who succeeded in raising a small subscription for the purpose.