that four years of cruising against Americans had
enabled him to pick up.

"It is," responded Decatur.

"I am indeed sairprised. I had not thought that les Etats-Unis had the
war with La Republique Francaise."

"No, sir," responded Decatur, thoroughly provoked; "but you knew that
the French Republic was at war with the United States, that you were
taking our merchant-vessels every day, and crowding our countrymen
into prison at Basseterre to die like sheep."

This was more than the Frenchman could deny, and he was constrained to
accept his capture with the best grace possible.

An audacious, but clearly illegal, exploit of the blue-jackets in this
war, was the cutting out and capture of the French letter-of-marque
vessel "Sandwich," as she lay in Port Platte, a small harbor on the
Spanish side of St. Domingo. Commodore Talbot, who won a reputation
for daring and recklessness in the Revolution, was cruising about on
the San Domingo station, and had spent some weeks in monotonous
voyaging, without an opportunity to capture a single prize. Word was
brought to the squadron, that in the little harbor of Port Platte a
vessel was taking in a cargo of coffee. From the description of the
vessel, Commodore Talbot recognized her as a former British packet,
the "Sandwich," now sailing under French letters of marque. Her known
speed and seaworthy qualities made her too valuable a prize to be left
in the hands of the enemy; and Talbot, without more ado, determined to
capture her. The first difficulty that lay in the way was the fact
that the vessel was under the protection of Spain, a neutral power.
Talbot was no man to notice so purely formal an obstacle. He growled
out a decided negative to all hints about respecting a neutral flag.
Spain neutral, indeed! She might claim to be neutral, but her
Picaroons were too often to be found among the French pirates to leave
any respect for Spain's neutrality in the mind of a man of sense; and
the "Sandwich" he was going to take, and on his own responsibility.
This silenced all opposition.

Having arrived at the determination to take the "Sandwich," the next
problem to be solved was, how shall she be taken? Obviously the first
step was to make a careful reconnoissance of the ship and her
defences. To Lieut. Hull of the "Constitution," this duty was
assigned. One dark and stormy night Mr. Hull took one of the frigate's
cutters, and, pulling into the harbor, carefully examined the
situat