Page:Autobiography of Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes.djvu/86

60 but they were left and were obliged to return in a Merchant vessel to the United States.

I mention this incident to exonerate Comdre McDonough from the blame that was cast upon him, and am satisfied he acted as the discipline of the service required. It was a mere matter of pride of these officers who took it into their heads that it was or would be unbecoming in them to procure a passage in a shore boat to the ship, and were determined, as they thought, to force the Ship's boat on shore for their accommodation. In this they were sadly disappointed. They returned home to the United States, laid this case before the Navy department, but it sustained the action of the Comdr under all circumstances. They were both Virginians by birth and deemed themselves too proud to incur the penalty of apparent disgrace of joining the ship in a shore boat, and this too, after they had overstayed their liberty. We all regretted their fate, but it was clearly a case of desertion, and the Comdrs only alternate course would have been to have had them brought off by a guard of Marines, which must have appeared in the sight of the many collected of Russian officers as highly derogatory to the Service. I have no doubt it all arose from the importance they gave themselves and the obstinacy of placing the parties in duly yielding to a sense of duty and the Rules and Regulations of the Service.

Among the officers who visited St Petersburg from the ship was Capn [Lyman] Kellogg of the Marines. Kellogg was rather an eccentric character, very vain and punctilious in all he did. He was among the first batch and dressed in his gay uniform with cocked hat and feather of inordinate length, he was no doubt regarded by the mob, which was always on hand, as the Commanding officer. The Mids were too frolicksome for his company at St Petersburg, and, as there were but few of the Wardroom officers, Lieutenants, Chaplain & Purser, with whom he was not on particular good terms, he did not associate with them. His great amusement, to our no small diversion, was to ride around the City in a barouche he hired, sitting up straight on the back seat, and as he passed along, the guard of each block were always turned out (as their custom for all officials). He appeared always in great haste and many a laugh did we Mids have, seeing him sitting bolt upright in his barouche, with his American cocked hat and feather, rattling along the streets. I very much question if he thought of or regarded anything else. His self importance and pride was duly gratified by the honors paid him, and, if it was so, who could object. Barouche hire was at that time very cheap at St Petersburg, but I am inclined to believe the barouche was sent to await on the officers by the authorities, and Kellogg appropriated it to himself, the other officers declining to share it.

While at St Petersburg we saw a review of some 10,000 of the guards in honour of our Comdr & officers. They were a fine body of troops, and made a handsome appearance in their uniforms of green and gold with lofty fur caps. The size of the rank and file struck us as very uniform in size & all alike. It was told us that they were selected from