handcartmen and truckmen as they brought down the last of the trunks,
chests, stores, and provisions, my brain was in a whirl of excitement; I
hardly knew whether I stood on my head or my heels.

At last the captain came down the wharf, accompanied by Joshua Haven,
one of the owners, and some friends, who had made arrangements to
proceed in the brig so far as the mouth of the harbor. The single rope
which connected the Dolphin with the shore was cast loose; the pilot
gave some orders; that were Greek to me, in a loud and energetic tone;
the men on the wharf gave three cheers, which were heartily responded
to by the temporary passengers and crew; and with a pleasant breeze from
the westward, we sailed merrily down the river.

Some few persons lingered on the wharf, and continued for a time to
wave their handkerchiefs in token of an affectionate farewell to their
friends. I seemed to stand alone while these interesting scenes were
enacted. I took no part in the warm greetings or the tender adieus. I
had bidden farewell to my friends and relatives in another town some
days before; and no one took sufficient interest in my welfare to travel
a few miles, look after my comforts, and wish me a pleasant voyage as I
left my native land.

Although from the reception I had met with I had little reason to expect
present indulgences or future favors from my kinsman who commanded the
brig, I did not regret the step I had taken. On the contrary, my bosom
bounded with joy when the last rope was severed, and the vessel on whose
decks I proudly stood was actually leaving the harbor of Portsmouth,
under full sail, bound to a foreign port. This was no longer "the
baseless fabric of a vision." The dream of my early years had come to
pass; and I looked forward with all the confidence of youth to a bold
and manly career, checkered it might be with toil and suffering, but
replete with stirring adventure, whose wild and romantic charms would
be cheaply won by wading through a sea of troubles. I now realized the
feeling which has since been so well described by the poet:

"A life on the ocean wave,
A home on the rolling deep,
Where the scattered waters rave,
And the winds their revels keep.

"Like an eagle caged, I pine
On this dull, unchanging shore;
O, give me the flashing brine,
The spray, and the tempest's roar."

Chapter II. INCIDENTS AT SEA

The Dolphin was what is termed, in nautical