Page:Dramatic Moments in American Diplomacy (1918).djvu/124

104 scenes famous since the dim ages of the Argonauts, from among the ruins of the most splendid kingdoms of antiquity, along those dreamy shores of the Mediterranean "where may be traced the track of the hero of more than one epic," the fleet corsairs of these mediaeval sultans made a romantic picture and added variety and interest to those fond of wild adventure and desperate escapes. To all others that passed through the Pillars of Hercules they were a curse and terror. The sight of their sails and the Turk's Head on the horizon was signal for utter despair. The barest record of their atrocities would not bear repetition.

In the year 1783 the jolly old Dey was astonished to observe a new flag serenely sailing down the coast. No armoured convoy was in sight. His treasurer recorded no goodly tribute giving license to Stars and Stripes to sail the seas. The impudence of the performance was astounding. Hardly conceiving that good fortune of such easy prey could continue, the