X INTRODUCTORY SKETCH OF [1812. 



In less than a year after my birth, my father removed his family to 

 Stonington, a borough in the county of New-London, Connecticut, 

 also lying on the margin of Long Island Sound, fifteen miles east of 

 New-London, and near the western line of Rhode Island. This place 

 is celebrated for having successfully resisted two furious bombard- 

 ments by the English ; one during the war of the revolution, and 

 another, of two days' duration, in the last war. It can also boast of 

 having produced a greater number of excellent seamen, eminent ship- 

 masters, and enterprising merchants than any other town of equal 

 population in the United States. The number of inhabitants according 

 to the census of 1830 did not exceed 800 souls. 



It was here that my father commenced his business of ship-building ; 

 which he pursued, with unremitting assiduity, until the year 1800, 

 when he made a voyage to the Pacific Ocean, as third officer and 

 carpenter of the schooner Oneco, of New-London, commanded by 

 Captain George Howe. He was absent nearly three years, suffering 

 many hardships and privations, the voyage proving unusually hazard- 

 ous and disagreeable. On his return to Stonington, he resumed his 

 business of ship-building ; in which he lost a considerable sum of 

 money, through the misfortunes of his employer, Captain Nathaniel 

 Smith. Although this loss was severely felt by my father, he never 

 attributed any blame to Captain Smith ; knowing him to be of a nature 

 too noble and humane to enjoy a lengthened period of worldly pros- 

 perity. The miser and the knave appear to be the most popular and 

 successful in this life, while the generous and the just too often become 

 the victims of treachery, and the prey of misfortune. 



My infancy and early childhood were periods of sickness and pain. 

 That laughing vivacity, bounding hilarity, and buoyancy of spirit which 

 every healthy child experiences — 



" That lightly draws its breath, 

 And feels its life in every limb," 



were to me " like angels' visits ;" for until I was ten years old I had 

 seldom, if ever, enjoyed health or ease for the short space of a single 

 week. At the age of ten, my health rapidly improved ; and it was 

 about this period that I first felt a strong propensity to become a sailor, 

 and visit distant parts of the world. This desire, by whatever cause 

 excited, was keenly whetted by the many marvellous stories I daily 

 heard, from those who followed the seas, concerning the " wonders of 

 the mighty deep," and the curiosities of foreign climes. It literally 

 " grew with my growth, and strengthened with my strength." Books, 

 also, were not wanting to fan the flame, which at length became inex- 

 tinguishable ; and after vainly soliciting my father's consent, I deter- 

 mined at once to play the hero, and seize the first opportunity for 

 running away ! 



Such an opportunity at length occurred ; but not until I had entered 

 my seventeenth year : when, without taking leave of any member of 

 the family, or intimating my purpose to a single soul, I left my paternal 

 home, one pleasant morning in March, 1812; and without encounter- 

 ing any adventures worth relating, soon found myself in the great city 



