e came to be a prophet and could tell
what was going to take place. I doubt very much whether they believed
what he had said.

At any rate, about one o'clock the next day, February 20, 1815, when the
ship was gliding along before a light breeze, a sail was seen far away
in front. An hour later a second sail was made out, close by the first.
And when the _Constitution_ got nearer it was seen that they were both
ships-of-war. It began to look as if Captain Stewart was a good prophet,
after all.

It turned out that the first of these was the small British frigate
_Cyane_. The second was the sloop-of-war _Levant_. Neither was a match
by itself for the _Constitution_, but both together they thought
themselves a very good match.

It was five o'clock before the Yankee ship came up within gunshot. The
two British ships had closed together so as to help one another, and now
they all stripped off their extra sails, as a man takes off his coat and
vest for a fight.

Six o'clock passed before the battle began. Then for fifteen minutes the
three ships hurled their iron balls as fast as the men could load and
fire. By that time the smoke was so thick that they had to stop firing
to find out where the two fighting ships were. The _Constitution_ now
found herself opposite the _Levant_ and poured a broadside into her
hull. Then she sailed backward--a queer thing to do, but Captain Stewart
knew how to move his ship stern foremost--and poured her iron hail into
the _Cyane_. Next she pushed ahead again and pounded the _Levant_ till
that lively little craft turned and ran. It had enough of the
_Constitution's_ iron dumplings to last a while.

This was great sailing and great firing, but Captain Stewart was one of
those seamen who know how to handle a ship, and his men knew how to
handle their guns. There were never better seamen than those of the _Old
Ironsides_.

The _Levant_ was now out of the way, and there was only the _Cyane_ to
attend to. Captain Stewart attended to her so well that, just forty
minutes after the fight began, her flag came down.

Where, now, was the _Levant_? She had run out of the fight; but she had
a brave captain who did not like to desert his friend, so he turned back
and came gallantly up again.

It was a noble act, but a foolish one. This the British captain found
out when he came once more under the American guns. They were much too
hot for him, and once more he tried to run away. He did not succeed th