Great Britain always claimed that she was entitled to take from American vessels on the high seas any of her own subjects voluntarily serving on American craft, but she constantly gave as a reason for not discharging from her service any American citizens, that they had voluntarily engaged in it. She used to take her own subjects from the American service, although they had been settled and married and naturalized in the United States; but at the same time she constantly refused to release from her ships American seamen who had been pressed into it, whenever she could give as a reason that they were settled and married in her dominions. In other words, when marriage or residence could be pleaded in her favor, she availed herself of the plea. When marriage, residence, and naturalization were against her, she paid no respect whatever to the plea. I made several coasting voyages, and also another voyage to China; the last time as first mate of a ship as large as the Aurora. When I came home from this voyage to China, in the latter part of 1811, the owners of the ship expressed themselves as entirely satisfied with my services, and said they should give me command of a ship as soon as possible. The reader can imagine my elation at this news. I wanted to go away somewhere alone and call myself captain, just to see how it would sound; and, as good luck would have it, on that very day when I was notified of my promotion, my friend David arrived in port and received the same information. We congratulated each other, and then proceeded to find Haines and Herne, and tell them of the good news. Not only did we tell them of our promotion, but we notified each of them that we wanted him to go with us whenever we went to sea, Haines on my ship and Herne on David's--no, stop a moment! Mr. Haines on Captain Crane's ship, and Mr. Herne on Captain Taylor's, as we intended to make officers of them. My promotion to the rank of captain was not of as much importance as it might have been, owing to circumstances which were quite out of my control. American commerce was paralyzed by the state of affairs then prevailing. British insults to our flag continued; British war-vessels were numerous on our coast; and the impressment of American sailors under the pretense that they were deserters from the British service were of almost daily occurrence. Things were rapidly growing from bad to worse, and war between the two countries seemed inevitable. I was a captain without a command, as the vessel to which I had been assigned was lying in port with no prospect of employment. This continued for some time, when one day I was summoned to report at once at the office of my employers. I realized the importance of the summons when I learned that four messengers had been sent out to look for me, with instructions to say that not a moment was to be lost in my responding to the call.