CHAPTER II.
With the characteristic restlessness of a sailor, I could not remain long at home, and in a few days I had shipped again in the navy, this time for the Mediterranean station.
"How I love the blue waters! Their deep maddening roar
Is food for the spirit unbounded by shore.
Thy whirlwinds may shriek, thy lightnings may flash,
Yet safe o’er thy bosom, old Ocean, I’ll dash."
I was first sent to New York with a draft of men to join the receiving-ship Fulton. In a few days, however, I was transferred to the brig Porpoise, Captain C. Ringold commander, and we sailed the next week for Norfolk, Va. Here we joined the exploring expedition just setting out on a voyage of discovery round the world. This was the first and only expedition sent out by the United States, and such a chance to visit the various quarters of this huge globe was never offered before or since. I liked our captain very much. He treated the crew like men; and as for the brig, she looked more rakish than ever, and I must acknowledge that I was more than ever in love with her. The squadron consisted of the sloop-of-war Vincennes, the flag-ship, Charles Wilkes commander; the sloop-of-war
