five  minutes.  Placing  Lieutenant  Ballard  in
command  of  the  Levant,  and  Lieutenant  Hoft-
man  of  the  Cyane,  Stewart  iiroceeded  with  his
prizes  to  one  of  the  Cape  de  Verd  Islands,
where  he  arrived  on  March  10, 1815.  The  next
day  the  Constitution  and  her  prizes  were  in  im-
minent peril  by  the  appearance  of  English  ves-
sels of  war  coming  portward  in  a,  thick  fog.
He  knew  they  would  have  no  respect  for  the
neutrality  of  the  port  (Porfo  Praya),  and  so  he
cut  the  cables  of  the  Constitution,  and,  with  his
prizes,  put  to  sea.  They  were  chased  by  the
strangers,  which  were  the  British  frigate  Lean-
der,  50  guns,  Sir  George  Collier;  Newcastle,  50
guns, Lord  George  Stuart;  and  Acasta,  40  guns.
Captain  Kerr.  They  pressed  hard  upon  the  fu-
gitives. The  Cyane  was  falling  asteru,  and  nnist
60<ui  have  been  overtaken.  Stewart  ordered  her
eommauder  to  tack.  He  obeyed,  and  she  es-
caped in  the  fog,  reaching  New  York  in  April.
The  three  ships  continued  to  chase  the  Conaii-


of  the  Cyane  and  Levant,  to  be  presented  to  liim.
The  Constitution  was  always  fortunate.  Her
crews  were  principally  New  England  men  ;  and,
from  the  time  of  the  Tripolitau  War  (which
see)  until  she  left  off  cruising  and  became  a
school-ship,  she  was  always  regarded  as  a
"  Incky  vessel."  Stewart  was  known  in  his
later  days  as  "  Old  Ironsides."

Constitution,  Famous  Eetkkat  op  the.
