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. [Illustration: 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. During his stay in that city, he regularly attended the lectures at Yale College, for David Farragut never wasted an opportunity for self-improvement. When his wife was better, they returned to Norfolk, where he was placed in charge of the receiving ship in the navy yard. Most of the boys on the ship were uneducated and did not know one letter from another. Lieutenant Farragut therefore established a school on board. This proved to be of great value to these poor boys. One boy had run away from home to avoid going to school, and he was determined that he would not study. It was only after many severe punishments that he was conquered. When once started in the right direction, he learned rapidly. One day, seven years afterward, a fine-looking, well-dressed man stopped David Farragut on the street. On being asked his name, the stranger replied, "I have grown probably a foot since we parted, but do you not remember the boy who once gave you so much trouble?" "Oh yes," said Farragut, "but I should never have recognized him in you." "Nevertheless," said the stranger, "I am the same, and am ready to acknowledge you the greatest benefactor and friend I ever had in this world of trouble." After leaving the receiving ship, Lieutenant Farragut spent the next ten years in short cruises along the South American coast and about the Gulf of Mexico. During all this time his wife was an invalid, and her health continued to fail until her death in 1840. For two years before her death, Lieutenant Farragut was at home on leave of absence. He could then be constantly with her and wait upon her.