ar 'round his neck.
Even then you cannot hold him,
For he's certain to get through,
While his sailors sing a song, sir,
With a
Cock-
a-
doodle-
doo!"

In July, 1675, Jean Bart was married, but he did not remain long on
shore. Three weeks after this auspicious event he once more put to sea
and captured a number of Dutch fishing boats, which he allowed the
captains to ransom for large sums of money.

This was a very convenient arrangement, for it saved him the trouble
of putting part of his own crew on board and sending the boats to
port. But the owners of _La Royale_, upon which he sailed, did not
care for his methods of procedure.

"You cannot do this in future!" said they. "And you must forfeit half
of what you took to us!"

Jean Bart obeyed, but he was very angry. It is even said that he
uttered "a round seaman's oath."

So successful was he, in fact, that he was given a much larger vessel
in 1676. This was a frigate--the _Palme_--with twenty-four guns and a
crew of one hundred and fifty men. Sailing into the North Sea with two
small French gun-boats, he soon fell in with three Dutch privateers
and eight armed whaling vessels. He attacked, and the battle raged for
three long, bloody hours.

When the smoke and the fumes of sulphur burned away, Bart had boarded
the largest privateer, while his two consorts had taken the eight
whalers. The other Dutch privateers found it too hot for their liking
and scudded for the coast, firing their stern-guns derisively as they
disappeared. It was a great victory, and again the French coast rung
with salvos for Jean Bart, while the old sea-dogs shrugged their
shoulders, saying:

"Ah! Ha! Did we not tell you that Dunkirk bred men of bone and marrow.
Ah! Ha!"

But Jean Bart was not happy.

"Would that I could meet a foe of my own force," he used to say.
"Either a man-of-war or a privateer, I don't care which. I want to try
it on with one of my own size and strength."

His wish was soon to be gratified.

On September 7th, 1676, he was pointing the _Palme_ towards the
Belgian coast-line, when he sighted a number of sail on the starboard
quarter. He headed for them; scanned the white dots through a glass,
and saw that this was a fishing fleet of small, unarmed luggers. But
a big, hulking Dutch frigate hovered in their rear, and thirty-two
guns pointed their brown muzzles mena