After their visit to Versailles, the travelers return to find that a "great battle" has taken place on the ship, and they have missed the events. What was the battle about, and who were the participants?

The American crew and a group of English sailors got into a scuffle when the English group challenged the Americans. The captain of the ship forbade his American crew members to engage in a scuffle until the English returned and attempted to start trouble again. At this point, the captain gave the Americans permission to defend themselves. The Americans won. Twain said that the only reason he told this story was because the Americans won and, just like the paintings in Versailles, there should be a recording of only the victories.