“No, sir,” was the reply; “if you have an excess of pride in this case, you have the honor of receiving the sword of Captain Ballard, prize commander of His British Majesty’s ship the _Levant_.” It was evident from the crestfallen appearance of the Britisher that he had expected a different reply. To receive the sword of Blakeley would have been a feather in his cap. A strange state of things existed on board the _Constitution_ as she sailed off to the west. She had on board no fewer than 240 prisoners, and the number of English officers who were unwilling guests was double that of her own. As this was the last cruise of the grand old ship in the second war with Great Britain, a short _résumé_ of her career will be of interest: Exclusive of the merchant vessels that had been sent back to the United States, in her actions with armed vessels of the English navy she had taken 154 guns, made upwards of 900 prisoners, killed or wounded 298 of the enemy, and the value of the property captured could not be estimated at less than one and a half millions of dollars. The strange discrepancy which existed between the loss of life on board of her and her antagonists is to be noted. In her action with the _Cyane_ and the _Levant_ she lost 3 killed and 13 wounded, while the killed and wounded on board her opponents, so far as could be ascertained, were 77. Another interesting fact is that she has been in commission within the last twelve years, and only a few years ago she again breasted the waves, and was towed from the capes of the Delaware to her final resting-place in Massachusetts Bay. XVIII THE “HORNET” AND THE “PENGUIN” [March 23d, 1815] [Illustration: MEDAL PRESENTED BY CONGRESS TO CAPTAIN JAMES BIDDLE] Lieutenant James Biddle had distinguished himself in the Mediterranean in the war with the Barbary pirates, having been one of the officers captured with Captain Bainbridge on board the _Philadelphia_, and being, with Bainbridge, held prisoner during those historic months of captivity in Tripoli. Biddle was a young man of much determination, and his career as a junior officer was full of adventure and the successful overcoming of hardships. On the outbreak of the war of 1812 he sought every opportunity to be in the thick of it, neglecting no chance to distinguish himself or to add lustre to his name. In the action between the _Wasp_ and His British Majesty’s sloop of war the _Frolic_, Biddle proved himself to have the proper spirit of a leader, and both he and Captain Jones were honored by Congress and the country after their short sojourn in an English prison; for it must be remembered that the _Wasp_ and her prize were taken, within a few hours after their engagement, by a British seventy-four, the _Poictiers_.