of the Washington, Mr. Charles Folsom. The chaplain in those days was
commonly the only schoolmaster the midshipmen had; and their
opportunities of learning from him depended very much upon the pressure
exercised by the captain to compel the attention of a set of boys. Mr.
Folsom, however, was drawn to Farragut by the eager willingness of the
latter to acquire, and by his sense of his deficiencies. The manly
character which had resisted the temptations to low dissipation, and
sought naturally the companionship of the better rather than the worse
among his associates, also attracted him. The friendship thus formed
became, through a series of incidents, the cause of an unusual
opportunity for improvement being offered to Farragut. In the autumn of
1817 Mr. Folsom received the appointment of consul to Tunis, which had
just been vacated. The summer cruising of the squadron was drawing to an
end, and the winter quarters at Port Mahon about to be resumed.
Therefore, while the Washington was lying in Gibraltar, Mr. Folsom
wrote to the commander-in-chief, Commodore Chauncey, asking permission
to take the young midshipman to spend the winter with him in Tunis, to
pursue his education under his care. In the letter he spoke very
earnestly of his pupil's zeal for improvement, of his close attention,
and ready response to any effort on the part of his instructor. The
letter is interesting also in its recognition of Farragut's still
existing relations to Captain Porter, "to whose wishes this request can
not be repugnant." The letter was dated October 14, 1817; and, the
required permission being given, the two friends in the following month
sailed from Gibraltar for Marseille as passengers in the sloop-of-war
Erie. At Marseille a slight incident occurred which, while not quite
creditable to our hero, may have interest as showing natural character.
Spending the evening at the house of a Mr. Fitch, he was, much against
his will, obliged to play whist, for which he had no fondness. "Not
getting along very well with my hand, the party showed great impatience,
and I thought were rather insulting in their remarks. One individual
went so far as to dash his cards on the table in derision of my play,
when I returned the compliment by throwing them at his head. I
apologized to Mr. Fitch and retired, much mortified, but my temper had
been sorely tried." The display of temper was scarcely more than the
provocation justified; and it is noteworthy