oriously adventurous. One can
imagine with what a thrill he set sail for a new country, new friends,
new excitements! I wonder if he guessed that the lady of his heart
awaited him in that unknown land, as well as the dear home where, for
all his sea-roving taste, he was to return again and again through
twenty rich years? He was in command of the frigate _Solebay_ then,
and in the old papers we read many mentions of both ship and officer.
From almost the first Peter loved the Colonies and the Colonies loved
him. In between his cruises and battles he kept coming back like a
homing bird, and every time he came he seemed to have won a little
more glory with his various ships,--the sloop _Squirrel_, the frigate
_Launceston_, and the big ship _Superbe_ with sixty guns. It is said
that no man save only the Governor himself made so fine an appearance
as young Captain Warren, and fair ladies vied with each other for his
attentions! Nevertheless, his social successes at this time were
nothing to what was to come, when he had more money to spend!

Two years after his first introduction to New York, the Common Council
of the city voted to him "the freedom of the city," from which one
gathers some idea of his standing in public favour! And in another
year,--of course,--he got married, and to one of the prettiest girls
in the town, Susanna de Lancey!

Janvier says that the marriage did not take place until 1744, but
other authorities place it at thirteen years earlier. It is much more
probable that Peter got married at twenty-eight than at forty-one; I
scarcely think that he could have escaped so long!

Susanna's father was Monsieur Etienne de Lancey, a Huguenot refugee,
who had fled from Catholic France to the more liberal Colonies, and
settled here. He soon changed the Etienne to Stephen, married the
daughter of one of the old Dutch houses (Van Cortlandt) and went into
business. Just what his occupation was is not clear, but later he
acted as agent for Captain Warren in the disposal of his war prizes.
His sons, James and Oliver, were intimate friends of Peter's through
life, and, as will be seen, they worked together most zestfully when
in later years the captain's boundless energies took a turn at
politics.

So gallant Irish-English Peter and lovely French-Dutch Susanna were
married and, we believe, lived happily ever after. They lived in New
York town proper, but I conceive that, like other young lovers, they
made many a tr