Molly Elliot Seawell

“ In another moment the drums beat a double roll, the bugler sounded a cheerful call; as if by magic the yards were squared, the sails were clewed up, the ropes hauled taut, the flag hoisted; for among men who put their lives daily and hourly in peril at the service of their country it is considered that those who die gloriously are not to be mourned, but envied. So felt Somers, as, taking Decatur’s arm, he said to him with strange prescience:
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“Let no one mourn for me if it should be my fate to die bravely, like your brother. ”

“ Having got the Intrepid in a good position without being discovered, Decatur was eager for night to fall, that the desperate adventure might be made. Right out before them lay the large though dangerous harbor of Tripoli, the frowning castle, and the numerous forts that protected the town. Among all the shipping collected at the mole, the dark and towering hull of the Philadelphia was most conspicuous, and from her peak flew the crescent of Tripoli. ”

“ My dear Decatur: Here we are, going aloft, with a fair wind, while I am perfectly sure that the sail reported off the starboard quarter is one of the squadron—perhaps the Essex! As you know, Captain McNeill is apparently the most anxious man imaginable to report to his commanding officer; but if Commodore Dale wins in this chase, he will be a seaman equal to Paul Jones himself. For Captain McNeill is one of the very ablest seamen in the world, and, much as his eccentricities annoy us, his management of the ship is so superb that we can’t but admire the old fellow. ”

“ While it was still a hundred yards off Decatur recognized the figure of Somers running down the ladder, and in a few minutes Decatur literally jumped into Somers’s arms. Their affectionate way of meeting amused their shipmates very much, and even Danny Dixon, who was Decatur’s coxswain, grinned slyly at the men in the boat, and whispered, as the two young captains went up the ladder together, their arms entwined like schoolboys:
“They’re lovyers, them two be. They keeps locks o’ each other’s hair, and picters in their bosoms!” ”

“ It was a desperate one, and as Somers lucidly explained it, Decatur felt a strange sinking of the heart. Somers, on the contrary, seemed to feel a restrained enthusiasm, as if he had just attained a great opportunity, for which he had long hoped and wished.
“You see,” said Somers, leaning over the table and fixing a pair of smiling dark eyes upon Decatur, “it is an enterprise that means liberty to four hundred of our countrymen and messmates. ”

“ He now sat up straight in the boat, and his eyes were shining so that Somers could see them even in the gloom. “I know that we have only a few chances for our lives; but—but—we have a great many chances for immortality; and, Captain Somers, although I am only a midshipman, and you are a captain, I am as willing, even as eager, to risk my life for our country and for our shipmates in prison as you are.” ”

“ It was a beautiful August day, and the white-walled city, with its circle of grim forts, its three smart cruisers lying under the guns of the castle, crowned with heavy mortars, and its fleet of gunboats, manned by sailors in quaint costumes, made a beautiful and imposing picture. The American fleet looked small to grapple with such a force, but, although it was estimated as about one to five of the Tripolitans’ force, every man went into action with a coolness and determination not to be excelled. ”

“ The force of the Americans was but little. With one heavy frigate—the glorious old Constitution—three brigs, three schooners, two bomb vessels, and three gunboats, manned by one thousand and sixty officers and men, Commodore Preble stood boldly in to attack the town defended by the Bashaw’s castle, not less than a dozen powerful forts, a fleet of three cruising vessels, two galleys, and nineteen gunboats, manned by twenty-five thousand Turks and Arabs. ”

“ The great hull of the Philadelphia, larger than any in the harbor, stood out in bold relief, her masts and spars clearly defined against the dazzling blue of the African sky. Two frigates, anchored about two cables’ lengths apart, lay between her and the castle, while nineteen gunboats and a few galleys lay near her. From the castle and the batteries one hundred and fifteen guns could be trained upon an attacking force; but the bold tars on the Intrepid took all chances cheerfully, and even gayly. ”

“ The Essex was one of a squadron of three noble frigates ordered to the Mediterranean, under the command of Commodore Richard Dale; and this Richard Dale had been the first lieutenant of Paul Jones, the glory of the American navy, in the immortal fight between the Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis. The association with such a man as Commodore Dale was an inspiration to an enthusiast like Decatur; and as he found that Danny Dixon was one of the quartermasters on the Essex, it was not likely that there would be any lack of reminiscences of Paul Jones. ”

“ I am glad that you are becoming fond of young Macdonough. Several of the midshipmen on this ship know him, and speak of him as a young officer of wonderful nerve and coolness. Well did you come off in your dispute with the Thunderer! I only hope that Macdonough, as young as he is, may exercise some of that restraint over you which you have always charged me with, Decatur. You are much too rash, and I wish I could convince you that there are occasions in every officer’s life when prudence is the very first and greatest virtue. ”

“ Somers descended into his boat, the towline was made fast, and, with the ketch’s sails set to catch the faint breeze, soon the “infernal” was making fast through the dark water. The Siren and Argus, having got up their anchors, followed the ketch at a distance, under short canvas.
The boats and the “infernal” were fast leaving the brigs astern in the murky night, when Somers, who was sitting in the stern sheets, felt something moving close by him, and, glancing down, he recognized in the uncertain light Pickle Israel’s laughing eyes peering up mischievously at him. ”

“ Presently the commodore cried out jovially:
“Now’s the time for carrying all hard sail!” and in five minutes “Old Wagoner” seemed literally to burst into one great white cloud of canvas from truck to rail. Everything that would draw was set; and the breeze, which was every moment growing stronger, carried her along at a perfectly terrific pace. She shot past the Thetis, her gigantic spread of canvas eating the wind out of the Englishman’s sails and throwing them aback, and as she flew by another roaring cheer went up from the Americans. ”

“ Scarcely were the words out of Somers’s mouth before a wild yell was heard from below. The next moment the unlucky Sicilian dashed out of the cabin, hotly pursued by Commodore Preble himself. The commodore was six feet high, and usually of a grave and saturnine countenance. But there was nothing grave or saturnine about him then. He had been in the act of shaving when the surgeon’s mate with the two epaulets appeared, and he had not taken time to wipe the lather off his face or to take off his dressing-gown, nor was he conscious that he was flourishing a razor in his hand. ”

“ At the moment that the Constitution wore with her head pointing out of the harbor, the Bashaw of Tripoli was watching the fleet with a glass from one of the windows of the castle, and haughtily remarked:
“They will mark their distance for tacking. These Americanos are a sort of Jews, who have no notion of fighting!” But Captain Bainbridge and his officers and men, who watched the scene with the eager eyes of prisoners hoping for release, knew perfectly well that every manœuvre made by the Americans that day would be only to get closer to the enemy. ”

“ Every officer and man was to be provided with a jacket and trousers such as the Maltese sailors wear—for the Intrepid was to steal in as a fruit-laden vessel from Malta. At last, every preparation being well forward, on the afternoon of the 3d of February, Decatur, with Somers, was pulled to the Constitution, where they found Stewart. Every officer and man in the ship, by some strange mental process, knew that the choice of officers was to be made that day, and all were on hand, so as not to miss the chance of going upon an expedition of so much glory. ”

“ On sighting the strange and menacing ship, the Delaware was seen to bear up and draw nearer her consort—for it was well known that a contest with a French ship would by no means be declined by any American ship. Commodore Barry, who was a veteran of the glorious days of Paul Jones and the gallant though infant navy of the Revolution, was more than willing to engage. Every moment showed more and more clearly the character and force of the stranger. ”

“ Every man, from your captain down, has volunteered. But if you choose to take the honorable risk, all I can say is, ‘Go, and God protect you!’”
As Commodore Preble spoke, tears rolled down his face, and the men cheered wildly. As on the Nautilus, the whole ship’s company volunteered, and six had to be chosen. To Danny Dixon’s intense chagrin, he was not among them. When the men were piped down, Pickle Israel caught sight of the handsome old quartermaster going forward with a look of bitter disappointment on his face. ”

“ As if moved by a common impulse, every man and boy on the ship, including two or three just out of the sick-bay, who had not yet reported for duty, advanced two steps.
Decatur stood looking at them, his fine face lighted up with pleasure.
“My men,” he said, “it is impossible that all should go. Let those who are not physically strong, and those under twenty and over forty, step back.” ”

“ The commodore, too, has enough and to spare of prudence—that beggarly virtue. When I offered to go into the harbor of Tripoli with the Argus and bring the Philadelphia out, he said No, she must be destroyed, as it would be too risky to attempt to cut her out. Think of the misery of old Bainbridge and his men when they look out and see this beauty of a ship lying at the mole, with a gang of Tripolitan pirates at work on her! ”

“ The Commodore’s tone and countenance were altogether too much for Pickle’s self-possession. He stammered and blushed, and finally, in a quavering voice, managed to get out—
“If—if—you please, sir—m-may I go——” and then came to a dead halt, while Decatur could not help smiling at him slyly behind the commodore’s back.
“May you go aloft and stay there for a watch?” snapped “Old Pepper,” who suspected very shrewdly what Pickle was trying to ask. “Am I to understand that is what you are after?” ”

“ As the hours passed on, with the silence of the star-lit August night, broken only by the regular step of the deck officer and the occasional striking of the ship’s bells, Somers began to say some things that had long dwelt in his heart.
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“Why should we pity him, Decatur?” he asked, pointing to the body of James Decatur, wrapped in the flag, “Can you imagine a better death than to die for one’s country and for the good of humanity?—for the conquest of these pirates will save many innocent lives, and release many thousands of prisoners who are suffering like our own countrymen. ”

“ This Somers found out the instant he stepped upon the Boston’s deck at New York. The Essex was at New York also, and the two friends had traveled from Philadelphia together. Out in the stream lay the President, flying a commodore’s broad pennant.
“And although, ‘being grand first luffs,’ we can’t be shipmates, yet we’ll both be in the same squadron, Dick!” cried Decatur.
“True,” answered Somers, “and a Mediterranean cruise! Think of the oldsters that would like to go to Europe, instead of us youngsters!” ”

“ In the midst of a perfect silence on the United States, which was soon followed on the Thetis, Danny Dixon, who had a stentorian voice, swung himself in the forechains and began to sing as loud as he could bawl:
“Boney is a great man,
A soldier brave and true,
But the British they can lick him,
On land and water, too!”
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This produced a roaring cheer from the British. The Americans, who knew what was coming next, waited, grinning broadly until the laugh should be on their side. The men gathered on the Thetis’s port side, and the officers hung over the rail to catch the next verse. ”