asked. The French king was having a great laugh to see the fine British army handing its swords to a few patriotic farmers, and he thought that if he could just stand in the background and help a little, without being seen, it would be a very generous and noble act, and help the fun along immensely. Of course, Capt. Jones knew this, so as soon as he arrived in Brest, he appealed to the French king for a squadron to help in the good cause of Colonial liberty. But he had a year of anxious waiting before any response came to his efforts. Then the king and his ministers, after putting him off a dozen times, gave him a fleet in which to go after the English. It was a strange collection of boats — boats that had been cast off as useless, with crews and officers that ought to have been cast off as useless, too. One of these, a worn out old boat that should have been sawed up for kindling wood, was called called the “Bon Homme Richard,” but “Poor Richard” is
