It was said that, seeing the stars in the American flag, the Sultan decided that since there was represented on his flag one of the heavenly bodies, his country and ours must have the same religion. The foreign consuls at Constantinople welcomed Captain Bainbridge and he in turn entertained them. At one dinner he had on the table food and drink from all quarters of the globe, representing places at which he had stopped—Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, and men from each of these countries sat at his table.
We returned to Algiers with a disgruntled ambassador. The Sultan, while he treated our commander with great courtesy, found fault with the Dey of Algiers' gifts and threatened to punish both him and his envoy if more valuable presents were not forthcoming. All of which delighted us hugely.
When we drew near to Algiers on our return passage, we wondered what further indignities would be offered. Captain Bainbridge, having learned of the Sultan's message to the Dey, knew that a ship would be required to take a second Algerine mission to Constantinople. Fearing that the Dey might try to use the George Washington again for this purpose, and suspecting too that to obtain the money the Sultan demanded the Algerine prince might attempt to enslave the crew of the George Washington and hold them for ransom, Captain Bainbridge decided that he would anchor his ship out of range of the Dey's guns. Threats and persuasion were used by the Orientals to induce us to come into the harbor, but Captain Bainbridge squared his jaw and kept the ship where we had first anchored.
Consul O'Brien now rowed out and told our commander that the Dey wanted to have a talk with him. The captain, armed with his certificate of protection from the Sultan, went ashore. The Dey, maddened over the result of his intercourse with the Sultan, and further enraged at Captain Bainbridge's cleverness in avoiding his snares, threatened him with torture and slavery, and seemed about to call upon his armed janizaries to seize the officer. At this moment Captain Bainbridge produced the certificate. The tyrant, seeing his master's signature upon a document that expressed good will to the American, fawned and apologized.
CHAPTER IX LIFE ABOARD OLD IRONSIDES
"And now to thee, O Captain,
Most earnestly I pray,
That they may never bury me