The British put all the American prisoners on board an unarmed vessel, and made them promise that they would not take up arms against the English until they had been exchanged for an equal number of English prisoners. After this the Americans were allowed to sail for the United States. They arrived in the harbor of New York on July 7, 1814. IV.--THE TRIP ON THE MEDITERRANEAN. Although a prisoner of war, David Farragut was glad to get back to the United States. While waiting to be exchanged he attended a school in Chester, Pennsylvania. It was a strange school. The pupils had no books. The teacher, Mr. Neif, told them the things he wished them to learn, and the boys wrote them down in notebooks. They would sometimes be examined on these notes to see whether they had paid proper attention. In the afternoons, Mr. Neif would take the boys for long walks. They made collections of minerals and plants, and learned many curious and useful facts about them. Mr. Neif, who had been a soldier, gave the boys military drill. He also taught them to swim and climb. David Farragut was not a handsome boy. But people liked to look at him, for his face was honest and good. He was short for his years, but he stood very erect, and held his head as high as he could. "I cannot afford to lose any of my inches," he said. In November, 1814, the British and the Americans made an exchange of prisoners, and David Farragut was now free to return to the navy. As a treaty of peace was made a few weeks later, he did not have to serve against the British. During the next two years, David made but one short cruise. He was quartered, the rest of the time, on a receiving ship. This is a vessel stationed at the navy yards, where recruits are first received into the service. In the spring of 1816, David went on a cruise that proved to be most interesting. He was ordered to the _Washington_, a beautiful new ship of seventy-four guns. This was to carry the American minister to Naples, in Italy. While waiting at Annapolis for the minister they had a visit from the President, James Madison. Among his suite was Captain Porter, who was then a naval commissioner. He came to say good-bye to David. The voyage across the Atlantic was one to be remembered. The captain was very proud of his "crack" ship. He kept the crew so busy cleaning decks and scouring "bright work," that sometimes they had no food for eight hours at a time. Once all the crew were kept on deck for several nights in succession. During the summer months, the _Washington_ cruised about the Mediterranean, stopping at many places. This was a wonderful experience for David. He visited the bay of Naples. The great volcano, Vesuvius, was then in eruption, and the sight of this alone was worth the voyage. While in the bay, the king of Naples and the emperor of Austria made a visit to the _Washington_, and a grand display was made to entertain them.