day, he escaped the enemy fleet via a ruse. During the night, he placed a lit lantern at the top of the mast of a ship that he left to drift in the wind, while at the same time taking a different route with his ship which had its lights extinguished. The same year, a considerable fleet was sent against the corsaires of Algeria under the command of the Duke of Beaufort, Paul’s father, who had become admiral due to the resignation of the Duke of Vendome. Chevalier Paul was the vice-admiral of this fleet which sank more than twenty Algerian warships, and led the admiral to the ports of France. After having crossed the Barbary Pirates on the shores of Italy and Provence, Paul took part in the Duke of Beaufort’s expedition against Jijel and on 24 August 1664 he crushed an Algerian squadron at the Battle of Cherchell. Finally, he fought under the fort of La Goulette, near Tunisia, and took three ships from the enemy fleet, burning two of them. The last campaign of Chevalier Paul was when he sailed in 1666 accompanying Maria Francisca of Savoy to Lisbon, where she was to mary King Alphonso VI. He arrived at the mouth of the river Tagus in August 1666. The Portuguese monarch showered him with gifts and honors and visited him aboard his warship. Chevalier Paul, notified of the king’s visit several hours beforehand, served him as well as his court a splendid meal. Afterwards, Paul returned to Toulon with the ships he commanded. He commanded the fleet to Toulon until his death. Gout and several other illnesses stopped him from serving. He died 20 December 1667 or 16 October 1667. His death was described in these words: “Monsieur Paul de Saumeur, knight of Saint John of Jerusalem, lieutenant-general of the king’s ships, a man strongly renowned for the valiant exploits and faithful services he gave to his majesty, died on the 20th day of the month of December and was buried in the same month in 1667, in the cemetery under the porte of St Lazare of this city of Toulon, with the sacraments, by myself.” - Father Villecrosi, oratory priest, announced the news several days after his speech at the funeral in the Cathedral of Toulon. Paul’s soldiers, who loved and esteemed him, wrote this epitaph for him: Viewed by contemporaries The courtisan Louis XIV