The Beginnings of a Religious Life.

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His faith,

right in thinking himself to be, a religious man. in some respects, took the stamp of his Puritan training. His religious phraseology was that which was in ordinary use in New England homes and literature; but it was a pure Christianity, that showed itself by its fruits. In the case of Admiral Foote, his free and genial temperament, his extensive acquaintance with men, and his constant voyaging up and down in all parts of the world, served to make him catholic in his opinions; but none of these influences ever succeeded in effacing the strong Puritanic stamp with which he began his religious life; and, as a reformer in the naval service, it is a matter of thankfulness that they never did, for here was nourished the invincible will in right-doing that never turned back in any good enterprise, but went, like an iron prow, often roughly enough, through the most time-honored customs, and always straight to the end.

The following letter, written about this time by the commanding officer of the Natchez, though but a simple letter of introduction, seems prophetic in its expression in regard to the future character and career of our hero:

"UNITED STATES SHIP 'NATCHEZ,' PENSACOLA Bay.

"SIR,-It is with great pleasure that I have it in my power to state that Midshipman A. H. Foote served on board this ship, and I found him to be a young gentleman of great merit, being always competent and attentive to his duty; and I am impressed with the belief that he will become a very valuable officer. Mr. Foote is a young gentleman of the first respectability, and of the finest principles and feelings; and his whole conduct while he was attached to this ship has met my cordial approbation-therefore beg leave to recommend him to your favorable consideration. With very much respect, I remain your obedient servant,

"GEORGE BUDD.

"Commodore Isaac Chauncey, Commanding Naval Officer, N. Y."

The Christian consciousness which had been awakened in the youth soon, of course, as in the case of many others in like

position both in the Navy and Army, led him to raise the question of the rightfulness of the military profession as a calling, and whether he could consistently remain in the Navy. When he came home (which he did in the Hornet on the 6th of December, 1827) he made known his scruples to his father, who asked him if he did not suppose a Navy to be necessary, and, considering it to be necessary, if there should not be good men and Christian men in it. This sensible and practical way of putting the matter seems to have entirely removed his doubts, as he never appeared to be afterward troubled upon. this point.

Foote was detached, January 1, 1828, from the West India. squadron, and during his brief stay on shore he was married, June 22, 1828, to his first wife, Caroline Flagg, the daughter of Bethuel Flagg, of Cheshire, Connecticut, who was permitted to cheer his arduous life but a comparatively short time. She died in the year 1838, having borne him two children, the first of whom, named Josephine, lived but four years; and the second, of the same name, was born in 1837.

We very soon find our hero afloat again in the sloop-of-war St. Louis, twenty-four guns, to which he was appointed October 5, 1828, as sailing-master, under the command of Captain John D. Sloat. They sailed from Norfolk to the Pacific on the 14th of February, 1829. Three years were passed in this cruise upon his old station in the Pacific, comprising the coasts of Chili, Peru, and Central America, during which period he was appointed acting-lieutenant; and on his return to the United States, on the 9th of December, 1831, he found awaiting him a commission as lieutenant, the commission bearing date May 27, 1830. Thus slowly, by hard work and good conduct, he was creeping up the ladder of official preferment; though in after-years promotion seemed all too slow to his ardent mind thirsting for honorable distinction.

In January, 1832, he was detached from the St. Louis; and

Voyage of the "Delaware."

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on May 1, 1833, he was assigned to the Delaware, seventy-four ship of the line, bearing the pennant of Commodore Patterson, then on the Mediterranean station, and was appointed to the honorable post of flag-lieutenant of the squadron. The Delaware sailed from Norfolk to the Mediterranean on the 30th of July, 1833. During this trip the ship touched at the principal European, Asiatic, and African Mediterranean ports; and a party of its crew, of which Lieutenant Foote was one, obtained leave to visit many of the historic points up the Nile, in Egypt, and also in the Holy Land. They landed at Joppa, and went to Jerusalem, explored the valley of the Jordan, sailed on the Dead Sea, and climbed Mount Lebanon; and we may be sure that none of that light-hearted company of young officers looked on these sacred scenes with fresher delight than he did, who had been a constant reader of the Bible, and who had devoted his life to the Master whose footsteps once glorified these rocks and vales. A lovely daughter of Admiral Patterson, who with her two sisters accompanied the party, was so deeply impressed by her visit to Jerusalem, and the places where were the head-springs of our Christian faith, that the commencement of her religious life was dated by herself from that period; it was brief, however, for before the ship reached the shores of America, although within sight of them, Miss Patterson died, and was buried at Norfolk, at which port the Delaware ended her voyage.

This pleasant cruise of the splendid ship Delaware was a ' kind of triumphal progress all the way, bearing as she did the flag of our young Republic, that was every where recognized and welcomed as the emblem of freedom; and we may, indeed, regard this voyage of pleasure and of glory through the classic waters of the Mediterranean, shared by our hero in the prime of his young manhood, with health, a sound, active mind, an honorable position, and, above all, a good conscience toward God and man, and made as it was before he had a great bur

den of official responsibility laid upon him, as the acme of his free youth's enjoyment and proud satisfaction.

In a private letter to a friend in Cheshire, dated Mahon, November 28, 1833, he, in an animated, sketchy manner, describes the first portion of the cruise:

"I presume you have caught an occasional glimpse of my letters to Caroline, and to them I refer you for a detailed account of what has occurred since we left the United States. Our passage across the Atlantic to Cherbourg and in the English Channel was unusually pleasant, as much so, in fact, as a large, comfortable ship, pleasant messmates, fine weather, and the agreeable company of our minister, Mr. Livingstone, and his family, could render it. On our arrival, several of the officers went to Paris, were presented at court, dined with the king, and were received with similar marks of respect by his ministry. Our chaplain, Mr. Stewart, who is a man of fine personal appearance, an accomplished scholar, and a polite gentleman, made one of the party. He told me, on his return, that it was the third court at which he had been presented. I believe Mr. S. to be a good and pious man, notwithstanding I have heard when at home he was extravagant in dress and courted polished society. Yet this opinion has doubtless arisen in consequence of his having a handsome person and pleasing manners. He proposed and carried out his resolution to have evening prayers on board, which, except with him in the frigate Guerriere, stands without a precedent in our service. Yet do not imagine from this a better state of things with regard to religion existing among us. Candor, indeed, compels me to state that but three or four out of nearly one thousand souls are professing Christians; and at present there appears to be no more interest on the subject than when we sailed from New York. Our evening prayers are rarely held, and sometimes there is no Sunday service; yet this is not attributable to unreadiness on the part of Mr. Stewart.

"On the return of the officers from Paris we left Cherbourg, and on the following morning were close to the English coast. The beautiful hedges and fine appearance of the country, and the associations with it as the land of our fathers, gave it a lively and exciting interest with me. I felt disappointed that I could not go to London; but the Paris party were absent so long that this was rendered impracticable. A few days after leaving the coast of England we encountered a severe gale in the Bay of Biscay; after which we ran down the coast of Portugal in

Voyage of the "Delaware."

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sight of Lisbon Rock. The wind being strong and fair, two days brought us off Cadiz, in Spain, and not far from the place where Lord Admiral Nelson captured the combined fleets of France and Spain, near Trafalgar. The Sunday following we anchored at Gibraltar, a place you know replete with interest. We remained there three days, and then proceeded up the Mediterranean, passing in sight of Malaga and several other places of note, and arrived here the early part of this month.

"In Mahon is the second largest organ in the world. I went with several other officers to hear it. That we might have an idea of the power of the instrument, a tempest was represented so well-thunder, wind, and rain-that it seemed to be real; and the church, whose walls are eight feet thick, had a tremulous motion. We shall probably begin to cruise in April. Report says that the commodore will devote the summer to pleasure, and we shall probably visit Naples, Carthage, Smyrna, perhaps Constantinople, and other points of interest."