I was, however, fortunate in one respect; for after having
been there about six weeks, two of my countrymen, (I am a Nantucket
man) happened to come to New York to endeavor to recover a whaling
sloop that had been captured, with a whaling license from Admiral
Digby; and they found means to procure my release, passing me for a
Quaker, to which I confess I had no pretensions further than my mother
being a member of that respectable society. Thus, Sir, I returned to
my friends, fit for the newest fashion, after an absence of three
years.
"For my whole wardrobe I carried on my back, which consisted of a
jacket, shirt, and trousers, a pair of old shoes and a handkerchief,
which served me for a hat, and had more than two months, for I lost my
hat the day we were taken, from the maintop-gallant yard, furling the
top-gallant sail.
"My clothing, I forgot to mention, was completed laced with locomotive
tinsel, and moved as by instinct, in all directions; but as my mother
was not fond of such company, she furnished me with a suit of my
father's, who was absent at sea, and condemned my laced suit for the
benefit of all concerned.
"Being then in the prime of youth, about eighteen years of age, and
naturally of a roving disposition; I could not bear the idea of being
idle at home. I therefore proceeded to Providence, R. I., and shipped
on board the brig Betsy and Polly, Captain Robert Folger, bound for
Virginia and Amsterdam.
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