Page:Twenty years before the mast - Charles Erskine, 1896.djvu/30

 CHAPTER II.

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.



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