and comprehend his responsibility to his Creator. The philosopher feels as if the whole scheme of creation were progressive

-that what we call death, is but the door of life. He knows that he can take none of his minerals, or fossils, or birds, or mastodons, out of this world with him; but he believes that knowledge is a real possession of his intellectual principle, and that it may give him a standing in the next scale of existence, to which the indolent and the avaricious may not pretend. He finds, in this reflection, a high motive for the constant and solicitous improvement of his mind.

ART. VI.-Memoirs of Rear Admiral Paul Jones, Chevalier of the Military Order of Merit, and of the Russian Order of St. Anne, &c. &c. Now first compiled from his Original Journals and Correspondence; including an account of his services under Prince Potemkin: prepared for publication by himself. 2 vols. pp. 672. Published by Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh; and Simpkin & Marshall, London: 1830.

If it were not, that one of the decided and emphatic symptoms of "the progress of the age, and the development of mind,' is a rage for book making and biographies, we should be inclined to believe, from the multiplication, as well as the increasing bulk of his Lives, that Paul Jones was becoming of increasing consequence in the estimation of the world. The first account of him we remember to have seen, was in the window of a small bookstore in New-York, where was displayed the title page of a sixpenny pamphlet, purporting to be "The Life and Adventures of Paul Jones, the famous Pirate, &c." The frontispiece represented him with a most ferocious countenance, in the very act of shooting one Lieutenant Grubb through the head, with a horse pistol of alarming dimensions. This biography was of English manufacture.

The second attempt, we believe, was in the Analectic Magazine for July, 1816. The materials employed by the writer appear to have been very scanty; and as the account varies in many points from the one now before us, it is, no doubt, so far

erroneous.

The third biographical notice of Jones that has fallen under our eye, is that of Mr. Sherborne, published a few years since. Mr. Sherborne professes to have been in possession of the original journal and letters of Jones; but this is denied in the work now before us, which treats his pretensions with very little cere

mony.

The fourth is the work of which we shall give some account in the present article. The writer is anonymous, but from certain unequivocal indications, such as treating the characters of the Americans and French with marvellous disrespect, we pronounce him, without hesitation, to be a true born Englishman; a personage described by honest Daniel De Foe, certainly no bad judge, as one "who never wants his own good word," but then :

"The better to establish his good name,
He never fails his neighbour to defame;
And yet he really designs no wrong.
His malice goes no further than his tongue,
But pleased to tattle, he delights to rail,
To satisfy the lechery of a tale."

Our true born Englishman claims to have had, and certainly has had, access to a great variety of documents relating to the multifarious adventures of Jones, such as journals, log-books, and letters from correspondents, among whom are to be found some of the most distinguished men of the age. These original extracts constitute the value of the work, which is otherwise quite ordinary, both as to style and matter. A notice in one of our literary journals, however, protests against this biography, in the name of Miss Taylor, now the representative of Paul Jones, and promises the world a genuine biography of this very remarkable man. The work now before us, is, however, sufficiently copious and minute, we might suppose, to satisfy public curiosity, and enable us to comprehend his real character and actions. We are strongly inclined to the belief, that one of the most effectual modes of bringing down a distinguished character to the dead level of humanity, is to detail, with inflexible minuteness, all the insignificant actions and events of his mortal career. A vast portion of human life, whether among the great or the little, must of necessity be consumed in the most ordinary animal enjoyments, sufferings, and occupations. Great actions are not done every day, or the frequency of their appearance would bring them down to the level of ordinary occurrences. Neither does it fall to the lot of man to be always doing things worthy of remembrance. The biographer who dwells on every insignificant trifle connected with his hero and all the family, is like the traveller who detains his readers, by noticing every bush and pebble, and worthless weed, on either side of the road he is travelling, instead of selecting objects of interest and magnitude.

The busy, prying, and we will add, interested curiosity, of this class of writers, has, by reviving exploded calumnies, or raking from the rubbish of oblivion every thing that is not worth remembering, or which ought to have been forgotten, contributed much to bring down the standard of human character; to strip greatness of its divinity, and rob the world of many glorious ex

amples for its imitation. It would seem, indeed, that the discovery of a new foible, or unworthy action, or contemptible production, which the good taste or discretion of former editors or publishers omitted, is now considered quite sufficient reason for taxing the spirit of the age for another and more expensive biography, or edition of the works of a great author. The sleeping calumny is awakened, the buried foible dug up from the tomb, solely for the purpose of gratifying the prurient taste of a class of readers, who would rather hear a piece of antiquated scandal about Milton, Dryden, or Pope, than banquet on their noblest productions. Thinking as we do, that it is good for the world to have some fine and exalted models for its imitation, we cannot but express our belief that the writer who attempts to filch from the illustrious dead a single wreath of virtue or of glory, is little entitled to our approbation or gratitude. His appropriate task is to vindicate, not to impeach that reputation which has been consecrated by death and by time. There is one exception, however, and that is, where the influence of rank and fashion has led the world into the worship of some Golden Calf, who has wilfully prostituted the powers bestowed upon him by his Maker, to the ridicule of his ordinances, and the corruption of his fellow creatures. Such a man ought to be stripped of the vain and wicked glitter with which a false taste has surrounded him, and placed before the world in his naked barrenness and deformity. We read of certain barbarous nations, who pay adoration to the Evil Spirit through fear; but it was reserved for this enlightened age to do it from admiration.

We apply the preceding observations to the subject before us, no further than simply to indicate our impressions that the future biographer of Jones will be in some danger of a work of supererogation. The curiosity of mankind will probably be satisfied with what has already been published concerning him.

John Paul, who-for reasons not explained by his biographer, and probably not known at this time-adopted the name of Jones, on entering into the service of the United States, was born at Arbigland, in the parish of Kirkbean, and stewartry of Kirkudbright in Scotland, the 6th of July 1747. His family was originally from Fife, but his father became gardener to Mr. Craik of Arbigland, where John was born. The name of his mother was Macduff, the daughter of a farmer in the parish of New-Abbey. They had seven children, of whom our hero was the youngest that survived. Of these, the elder brother, William, went abroad young, settled in Virginia, and died without issue in 1773, leaving a considerable property. Of the rest of the family it is not necessary to say more, except that Miss Taylor, the lady, who, as we observed before, states that she is in pos

session of the only genuine materials for a complete life of the admiral, is, we believe, his niece.

The residence of the father being near the shores of the Solway Frith, it was very natural that the son, like most of the children of this world, should delight in all the little amusements connected with the water. This habit at length ripened into a decided passion for the profession of a sailor, which, at the age of twelve years, he was permitted by his father to gratify, by being bound apprentice to Mr. Tonseger of Whitehaven, then a respectable merchant in the American trade. His first voyage was to America, where his elder brother had gone before him, and was now established as a planter. It is probably to this early connexion and intercourse with the then colonies, that we may ascribe his strong bias towards liberty, and his subsequent exertions in its cause.

The biographer states that Jones received his education at the parish school at Kirkbean, and that it terminated when he went to sea at twelve years of age. It is therefore not one of the least remarkable proofs of the powers of his intellect, that he supplied, by his own after exertions, the disadvantages of his early education, so far, at least, as to write with great fluency, strength, and clearness, if not elegance, and to sustain his part respectably at least, in the distinguished society with which he afterwards mingled.

The merchant to whom he was apprenticed having failed, and released him from his indentures, Jones attained the appointment of third mate of the King George, a slave vessel. From thence, in 1776, he entered on board the brigantine Two Friends, as chief mate, which vessel was engaged in the same traffic. It is stated by his friends, that he soon quitted this trade in disgust, and returned to Scotland, in 1768, a passenger in a vessel, both the captain and mate of which died on the passage. In consequence of this, Jones assumed the command, at the request of those on board, and brought the vessel safe into port. "For this piece of service," says his biographer, "he was appointed by the owners, Messrs. Currie, Beck & Co., master and supercargo. This was almost the last time young Paul had an opportunity of seeing his relations. He only met them once again, about the middle of the year 1771."

While in command of this vessel, he punished a sailor named Mungo Maxwell, who afterwards left her, and entered on board the Barcelona packet, then at the island of Tobago, where he was seized with a fever and died. Jones was accused of having caused his death, by the severity of the punishment inflicted upon him; and, many years afterwards, when serving in Russia with the rank of rear admiral, the story was revived against him, with the addition that the unfortunate victim was his own nephew.

It appears, however, both from the affidavit of the surrogate judge of the Court of Admiralty at Tobago, before whom a complaint was entered, and that of Captain Eastmant of the Barcelona packet, that there was no foundation for this charge. The former states, that he "dismissed the complaint as frivolous;" and the latter, that "Mungo Maxwell, after leaving Jones's ship, came in good health on board his, the deponent's, ship, in the capacity of carpenter; that he acted as such, in every respect, in perfect health, for some days after he came on board this deponent's said vessel; after which he was taken ill of a fever, and lowness of spirits, which continued four or five days, when he died on board the said vessel, during her passage from Tobago to Antigua. And this deponent further saith, that he never heard the said Mungo Maxwell complain of having received any ill usage from the said Captain John Paul, &c."

It appears, however, that notwithstanding these proofs of the falsity of the charge, it made a deep and lasting impression on the mind of Jones, who, during his whole life, was exceedingly sensitive to every thing regarding his own honour. The calumny was revived with additional vehemence and authority, when he afterwards took arms, and so greatly distinguished himself in the service of the United Colonies in their struggle for independence. He was not only branded in the British publications with the epithets traitor and renegade, but stigmatized as a murderer; a fugitive from justice, "who fought with a halter about his neck." The very ardour of his course, and the desperation with which he fought whenever he came into action with the British, were ascribed by his enemies to his fears of British justice, rather than to his passion for liberty and glory. He seems to have carried this arrow in his side throughout the whole of his subsequent career, as is indicated by his so frequently, and sometimes when there was no apparent necessity for it, vindicating himself from the calumnies of his enemies, and urging his love of liberty alone, as the motive for taking arms against the oppressor.

Jones was afterwards in command of the Betsey of London, and remained some time in the West Indies, engaged in commercial pursuits and speculations; by which, it appears, from his subsequent letters, he realized what he calls a handsome fortune. "In 1773," says his biographer, "we find him in Virginia, arranging the affairs of his brother William, who died intestate, and without leaving children. About this time he assumed the name of Jones."

Here, it would appear, from his letter to the Countess of Selkirk, he was living in retirement, possibly on the property of his deceased brother. "Before the war began," he says, "I had at the early time of life withdrawn from the sea service, in fa