“My fine fellow, I’ll stop your making faces,” he said, and leaned over to put his match to the gun’s priming. The lieutenant in charge saw the move and knocked the youth to the deck. Had he fired the gun a fight would have followed and the _Phœbe_ would have been taken. As it was she passed free, although some of her yards overlapped those of the _Essex_, and a little later she came to anchor half a mile away. “We thus lost an opportunity of taking her, though we had observed the strict neutrality of the port under very aggravating circumstances.” So wrote Farragut, but no American at this day regrets the action of Captain Porter. It was, indeed, “over-forbearance, under great provocation,” but it showed the high sense of honor of a typical American officer, and every American reads the story of the _Essex_ with unalloyed pleasure. Such exhibitions as this of the American spirit have done more than cannon-shot to promote and to preserve peace between the nations. Captain Hillyar was so much impressed by it that he promised Porter that he, too, would respect the neutrality of the port, and he would have done so, very likely, only that he was handicapped by his orders from the Admiralty, which compelled him to “capture the _Essex_ with the least possible risk to his vessel and crew.” Hillyar was a cool and calculating man of fifty years. As he said to his first lieutenant, Mr. William Ingram, he had gained his reputation in single-ship encounters and he only expected to “retain it by an explicit obedience to orders.” That he was going to take “the least possible risk” appeared a few days later when Porter asked him to send the _Cherub_ to the lee side of the harbor and meet the _Essex_ with the _Phœbe_ alone. The _Phœbe_ and the _Cherub_ had by that time replenished their stores and taken a station outside. Hillyar at first agreed to do so, and made preparations for the fight. Among other things he had a huge flag painted with a motto in answer to Porter’s burgee containing “Free Trade and Sailor’s Rights.” The British motto read: “God and Country; British Sailors’ Best Rights; Traitors Offend Both.” It was a day when such displays were fashionable among sailors, and Porter at once painted another which he hoisted to the mizzen, where it read: “God, our Country and Liberty; Tyrants Offend them.” Such things seem rather silly now, but they were inspiring to Jack in those days. With his banners flaunting before the Yankee eyes Captain Hillyar hove his main-yard aback off the weather-side of the harbor, having previously sent the _Cherub_ a fair distance to leeward. Then he fired a gun to invite the _Essex_ out. Captain Porter accepted the invitation and stood out of the harbor. He found he could outsail the _Phœbe_, and he got near enough to fire several shots from his long twelves that almost reached her, but she squared away for the _Cherub_, and Porter had to let her go.