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man-of-war, equipped with condemned guns whose explosion early decimated his crew, attacking the Serapis, a much superior British ship, just off her own shores, his vessel soon a wreck and sinking, most of his guns disabled, half of his motley crew of Americans and French lying about him dead or dying, and when asked by his antagonist, who saw his desperate condition, whether he had struck his flag, replying, "I've just begun to fight." Then, by the inspiration of his example forging weaklings into giants, capturing his opponents, snatching victory from defeat and transferring his crew to his prize before his own ship went down with her flag still floating defiantly from the mast.

At another time we see him arrayed in the height of fashion, displaying an easy manner and marked elegance in the brilliant salons of the most polite court of Europe, replying gracefully to the compliments of kings and princes in fluent English, French and Spanish. Hero, he showed that he could tread the polished floor of a royal palace as becomingly as the blood-stained deck of a man-of-war.

He was a many-sided man. On the water he was the wizard of the sea. On the land he showed himself an adept in the realms of diplomacy. While his exploits as a sailor eclipsed by their brilliancy his triumphs as a diplomat, he often showed himself a master both of the science of statecraft and the subleties of diplomacy.

At the outbreak of our Revolution, after he had presented to Congress, by request, his celebrated suggestions for the organization of an efficient navy-a plan as applicable fundamentally to the service to-day as then-he wrote: "As this is to be the foundation-or, I may say, the first keel timber of a new navy-which all patriots must hope shall become the foremost of the world. *

He was the very personification of valor. He ranked courage as the manliest of human attributes. He loved brave men; he loathed cowards. He believed that there was scarcely a sin for which courage could not atone. He showed this trait in all the aphorisms he uttered, such as: "Boldness, not caution, wins." "Men mean more than guns in the rating of ships." "I am not calculating risks, but estimating the chances of success." As long as manly courage is talked of or heroic deeds are honored there will remain green in the hearts of brave men the talismanic name of Paul Jones.

The admiral had that tenderness of heart which is usually coupled with true courage. While he could resort to stern measures in enforcing discipline and suppressing mutiny he governed his crew more by attaching them to him by kind acts and just treatment than by corporal punishment. Referring to his command of the Providence, he wrote: "There was no cat-o'-nine tails aboard, because I threw the only one we had in the sea the first day out." Again he said: "I wish all my men to be contented and happy."

His heart was not often attuned to mirth; its chords were frequently set to strains of sadness. For years he was engaged in a struggle against insubordination, treachery, jealousy, neglect at home and abuse abroad. His enemies opened their flood-gates of calumny. No misrepresentation of his acts was too gross, no distortion of history too monstrous. These well-concerted attacks of the pen succeeded in large measure in

setting him before the old world in an aspect that was a vicious caricature of his true nature and even gave so erroneous an impression of him in this country.

He had to learn that in public life all hours wound, the last one pills. He lived to realize that success is like sunshine - it brings out the vipers, and that the laurel is a narcotic that prevents others from sleeping.

Worn out with the fatigues of arduous service at the untimely age of forty-five, alone in a foreign land, he surrendered to death, the only foe to whom he ever lowered his colors. By some strange and unaccountable fatality he was covered immediately with the mantle of forgetfulness. In all the annals of history there is not another case in which death has caused so conspicuous a man to drop at once from the height of prominence to the depth of oblivion.

He enjoyed the unique distinction of being the first to hoist the present form of our flags upon an American man-of-war, the first to receive a

salute to it from a foreign power, the first to raise it upon a hostile warship of superior strength captured in battle, and under his command that banner was never once lowered from its proud supremacy. He is the only commander in history who ever landed an American force upon an European Coast.

Congress complimented him by resolution, voted him a medal to commemorate his greatest victory and accorded him the privilege of the floor of both houses. He received a similar favor from the constitutional convention. The people of this and other lands organized public demonstrations in his honor; France knighted him; Louis XVI presented him with a goldmounted sword; Denmark pensioned him; Catharine of Russia created him an admiral, conferred upon him royal decorations and loaded him with marks of distinction. If he had lived a little longer he would in all probability have been named admiral of France.

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No inscription was engraved upon his coffin, no statue was erected in his honor, no ship was given his name, no public building was called after him. It required six years of research to find the apartment in which he lived in Paris and held his brilliant salons, which were attended by the foremost celebrities of the period, and as long a time to discover his unmarked and forgotten grave. When finally his exact place of burial had been definitely located by authentic documents and other positive evidence, the ground presented so repulsive an appearance that the aspect was painful beyond expression.

There was presented the spectacle of a hero who had once been the idol of the American

people. lying for more than a century like an obscure outcast in an abandoned cemetery which had been covered later by a dump pile to a height of fifteen feet, where dogs and horses had been buried and the soil was soaked with polluted waters from undrained laundries. As busy feet tramped over the ground the spirit of the hero who lay beneath might well have been moved to cry, in the words of the motto of his first flag, not in defiance, but in supplication then, "Don't tread on me." No American citizen upon contemplating on the spot these painful circumstances could have shrunk from an attempt to secure for his remains a more deserving sepulture.

T

WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT.

OWERING above its surroundings and conspicuous for miles from all directions stands the mighty obelisk erected to honor the memory of the first President.

In 1783 the Continental Congress, in a burst of enthusiasm, resolved That an equestrian statue of General Washington be erected at the place where the residence of Congress shall be established." This was to be of bronze showing the General in Roman dress with head encircled by a laurel wreath, and to be mounted upon a marble pedestal upon which should be depicted scenes from the principal events of the Revolutionary War, and suitably inscribed. It was also provided that this statue should be executed by the best artist in Europe, and that the money to defray the expense should be taken from the treasury of the United States. Having passed this resolution unanimously, Congress seems to have considered its duty done. No further action was taken until 1799, when upon the death of Washington a joint committee of the two branches met to consider a suitable manner of paying honor to his memory and it was resolved to erect a monument in the capital city, and to request Mrs. Washington to permit his body to be deposited under such monument. She consented,

whereupon the House of Representatives voted to carry into effect at once the resolution of 1783, amended to erect a monument instead of the statue provided by the original proposition.

For some reason the Senate did not concur and the entire matter slept until 1816, when it was revived, with the change that the body should be removed to a tomb in the capitol building, under the rotunda, and the monument built on the plaza east of the capitol, and a vault was prepared to receive the remains. But by this time Mrs. Washington had died and been buried beside her husband and the family refused to allow the remains to be removed. The question was again raised three years later, but nothing was done. In 1824 Mr. Buchanan, afterwards president, introduced a resolution of inquiry, but it was tabled. In 1833 a number of patriotic citizens of this city formed an association for the purpose of erecting a suitable monument, the great Chief Justice Marshall being chosen chairman. An appeal was issued to the country, asking the citizens to redeem the oft broken promises of Congress, and calling for voluntary contributions, and to give the matter a popular character, the amount to be received from any one person was limited to $1.00; two years later, Justice Marshall having died, ex-President Madison succeeded him as chairman. The collections came in very slowly, and although placed at interest as received, in fourteen years the amount had reached but $87,000. However, it was decided to begin operations and trust to public sentiment to secure funds to proceed.

When the capital city was located at Washington, among other features planned was an imposing shaft to commemorate the gaining of our independence. The site for this was chosen by Washington himself, on a prominent point near, and about 30 feet above, the Potomac, a short distance from the center of the District of Columbia as it then existed. While a monument on this spot would be visible from all directions for several miles, it was especially desired to have it in plain sight of vessels ascending the river. Alexandria was then one of

the principal seaports of the country, and was expected to be visited by vessels from every nation, and the fact that it could be seen from Mt. Vernon was no doubt a point in its favor, in Washington's eyes.

Congress gladly donated this reservation by the river and on July 4, 1848, the corner stone, a block of marble weighing 24,500 pounds, from a quarry near Baltimore, was laid with great ceremony, a parade of military and secret societies being a feature of the occasion. The oration was delivered by Hon. R. C. Winthrop, Speaker of the House, and the day closed with an elaborate display of fireworks and a reception to the public by the President.

Having fairly begun the work, every effort was made to continue-the $1.00 limit was soon abandoned and contributions large or small were urged. Each State was invited to send a block of marble or granite, suitably inscribed, to be inserted in the inner walls, later, foreign nations were invited to make similar contributions and in order to stimulate interest, cities, towns and organizations were included, provided a cash contribution of suitable size was made. Among those from abroad, were blocks from Turkey, Wales, China and Japan, and one from the Pope. This latter, of dark marble from one of the old Roman temples, was the cause of great trouble to the struggling Monument Society. At that time a political party calling itself "True Americans," but popularly termed "know nothings," founded chiefly on opposition to the Roman Catholic Church, had obtained a foothold in the country, and the acceptance of this stone was vigorously opposed by them. Many numerously signed protests were sent to the committee and many papers and excited orators voiced the ruin which would fall on the nation if Rome was recognized, in fact, the commotion, in the light of to-day, seems much like a tempest in a tea-pot.

The stone was stored with others in a shed on the monument grounds. On the night of March 6, 1854, a party of men suddenly surrounded the sentry box in which the armed watchman had taken refuge from the falling rain, and winding around it a rope, overturned the box, door downward, thereby rendering the watchman helpless. The Pope's stone was then conveyed to the river, placed on a flat boat and sunk somewhere in the Potomac. The

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result of this proceeding was disastrous to the monument fund, as it angered a number of citizens who were members of the Catholic church. The business interests of the country were in a depressed condition, contributions had virtually ceased, and the committee, thoroughly discouraged, reported to Congress in December, 1854, that it had spent $230,000, and that the height of 153 feet had been reached, and being unable to devise any means to continue the work, they appealed to the nation for a donation of $200,000. before any action was taken the Know Nothing party came to the front again.

But

As has been stated, the Monument Committee was composed of citizens who had assumed the task voluntarily, and had been virtually self appointed. On February 22, 1855, a crowd of men assembled at a hall in the city and held what purported to be an election for a new committee. No authority existed for this action, but the Know Nothing party, whose members had arranged this meeting and seventeen of whom were declared elected, said they had as much right to elect a board as the others had, and they at once demanded possession of the books, papers, etc. The superintendent of the monument, refusing to give possession, was forcibly ejected. Each party at once issued an address to the people warning them against the other. To show their earnestness, the new board laid two courses of stone, but the result of the situation was to almost entirely shut off contributions to either party. This state of affairs continued until 1858, when the party in possession having only been able to collect about $700, abandoned the work. Steps were at once taken to prevent any such trouble in the future by applying to Congress for a charter and incorporating the Society. The President of the United States was chosen chairman, and among the eighteen who composed the board were Winfield Scott and W. W. Corcoran.

The new board was met with the old condition-an empty treasury, and no way of filling it except by inducing contributions. Again was the situation explained through circulars and advertisements. State legislatures, political, business and military organizations, churches and schools -all were urged to take part in the patriotic work, and to be sure that no one was overlooked, boxes were placed in every post office in the country.

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Much was hoped for from this latter plan, but it was a disappointment, for in 1861 the total receipts were but $88.52.

The opening of the Civil War absorbed attention and no further work was attempted, a covering of boards being placed over the top. In 1876, the centennial year, an attempt was made to revive interest, but with little success, so far as contributions were concerned, but July 5 Senator Sherman introduced into the Senate a resolution providing that Congress should assume charge of and complete the monument. Considerable opposition developed and it was seriously proposed to tear down the 150 or more feet already erected and build an arch of the material, the New Tork Tribune, the leading paper in the country, championing this, and alluding to the unfinished shaft as a big chimney of wretched design, in a wretched location, on a poor foundation, and with an empty treasury.

Finally the resolution passed both branches and was approved by President Grant. From this time progress was steady. The estimated weight of the finished shaft was over 81,000 tons, and the engineer officer detailed to supervise the work decided that the foundation composed of blocks laid in mortar was not sufficient to support the immense weight, and found that with about one-third of the structure completed there had been a settling of nearly 1 inches at one corner. A difficult

feat of engineering was decided upon this was to remove the old foundation 80 feet square and 7 feet 6 inches deep, a section at a time, and replace it by a solid mass of concrete 127 feet square by 36 feet 6 inches deep, and so skillfully was this done that the total settling was about 2 inches, and the inequality at the corner was corrected. The work proceeded as rapidly as the material could be delivered, and the final chapter in this great undertaking was written December 6, 1884, when the capstone, a triangular block of marble tipped with aluminum, and weighing 3,300 pounds, was placed, and the work pronounced complete.

On February 21, 1885, the 22d falling on Sunday, the formal dedication occurred, the orator selected for the occasion being Hon. R. C. Winthrop, who had officiated at the laying of the corner stone thirty-seven years before, but he being unable to attend on account of illness, the address prepared

by him was read by ex-Governor J. D. Long, afterwards Secretary of the Navy in McKinley's cabinet. As on that occasion a parade was a prominent feature of the ceremonies, but the weather being intensely cold this was confined principally to the military, Lieutenant-General Sheridan being the marshal. The completed structure, 555 feet 5 inches high, is 55 feet square outside at the base, where the walls are 15 feet thick. Built of marble, backed by granite, the thickness gradually decreases until the landing, 500 feet up, is reached. The weight is 81,120 tons; the cost was $1,187,713.30, of which $98,000 was used replacing the foundation. About $300,000 of this had been collected from the people. The outer wall above the 150-foot line contains 9,613 blocks; on the inner wall is displayed the 176 blocks or tablets donated, some of them being very fine, others out of place in such a structure. The first one appears 30 feet from the lower landing, the highest is 250 feet up and bears a Welsh inscription. Michigan is represented at a height of 210 feet by a copper block weighing nearly a ton, ten feet higher is a stone which the raised silver letters show to be from Nevada. When the monument was planned, elevators were unknown, and it was expected that visitors would climb the stairs and examine these rare stones at their leisure. Nine hundred iron steps, with a landing every ten feet, lead to the top, about twenty-five minutes steady climbing being necessary to surmount them, and most of the visitors prefer to use the elevator. From 9.00 to 5.00 trips are made each half hour, thirtyfive being carried at once. Grated doors appear at 50-foot intervals, but no stops are made. This is a much visited place; in the year ending December 29 last, 145,613 were recorded of whom 110,968 were carried by the elevator on its 5,472 trips, and almost every nation was represented. In March, when a host of strangers were drawn to the city by the inauguration and beginning of a new administration, the record was 24,573-high water mark for the year. On some of the handsomely engraved stones the fool with a pencil has made his mark and the names of John Jones or Peter Smith appear. The watchman on the upper landing is expected to enjoy the joke about his office being a high one, which he hears several times daily, and the elevator conductor is frequently reminded that there are ups and downs in his life. One