After a short time spent in a Washington hospital, he was able to return home. Soon afterward, he was married in Norfolk, Virginia, to Susan Marchant. But it was nearly two years before he was entirely well, and strong enough to resume his duties in the navy. In the meanwhile, he and his bride spent much time with the family of Captain Porter.
VI.—From Lieutenant to Captain.
In August, 1825, David Farragut at last received his commission as lieutenant. He was ordered on board the ship Brandywine, the vessel which was to have the honor of taking the Marquis de Lafayette to France.
This great Frenchman had always been a warm friend of the United States. Fifty years before, he had taken a leading part in the Revolutionary War, and had been one of General Washington's most trusted officers.
After the Revolution, he had returned to his home in sunny France. He had always loved America, and in his old age he felt that he would like to visit again the great nation which he had helped to establish. So in 1824, though old and gray, he had come back to America as the honored guest of the nation.
From one end of the land to the other, his tour had been one grand ovation. And now that he was to return home, the good ship Brandywine was detailed to carry him safely across the Atlantic.
LAFAYETTE.
The voyage was an uneventful one for Lieutenant Farragut. After landing Lafayette in France, the Brandywine cruised about the shores of England and in the waters of the Mediterranean for about a year.
On his return to America, Lieutenant Farragut found that his wife was in very poor health, and he obtained leave of absence from the navy, in order that he might take her to a famous doctor in New Haven, Connecticut.