A curious story of the transfer of the unhurt is also worth repeating, even though it borders on the realm of superstitions. It is a matter of record that a few nights before the battle Commodore Bainbridge “dreamed that he had a long encounter with a British vessel and finally captured her. On board were several officers, and among them a general. It made such an impression on him that he entered the facts in his journal, and spoke of them to his officers. After the engagement, as he was standing on deck, surrounded by his officers, waiting to receive the commander of the _Java_, he saw the boat carrying General Hislop approach. Turning to Lieutenant Parker, he said: “That is the man I saw in my dream!” Having transferred all the living from the _Java_ to the _Constitution_, a survey of the _Java’s_ hulk was made. The conclusion was that, considering the great distance from the United States (a sailing passage from Bahia to New York will commonly average sixty days), and the serious injuries the _Java_ had received, it was useless to think of carrying her home. So she was set on fire on the 31st day of December, 1812, and when, at about three o’clock in the afternoon, the fire reached her magazine, she was blown to pieces, leaving only her splintered spars and deck to drift with the scud of the waves to the evergreen shore. A Yankee ballad maker celebrated the victory with a song that was for a long time popular. The following is a stanza: Come, lads, draw near, and you shall hear In truth as chaste as Dian, O! How Bainbridge true, and his bold crew, Again have tamed the lion, O! ’Twas off Brazil, he got the pill, Which made him cry _peccavi_, O! But hours two, the _Java_ new, Maintained the battle bravely, O! [SPOKEN.] But our gallant tars, as soon as they were piped to quarters, gave three cheers, and boldly swore, by the blood of the heroes of Tripoli, that, sooner than strike, they’d go to the bottom, singing: [SUNG.] Tid re I, Tid re I, Tid re id re I do. The Congress of the United States had on June 18, 1812, enacted “That war be, and the same is hereby declared to exist between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the dependencies thereof, and the United States of America and their territories.” The incapable administration of President Madison had decided to make the war on land and keep the few ships of the navy in port. The indomitable officers of the navy, led by Bainbridge, had modified this determination, but only after long argument, so that the ships were permitted to go out to battle. Hull, magnificent in his courage, had even sailed without orders, even while orders to keep him in port were on the way. And the result of it all was this: