Browne loved reading and travel. He was artistic, becoming a humorous artist and flutist. He worked as a clerk and tried medical school before taking a job as a deckhand on a flatboat, where he worked for a year on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. He hoped to sail on the river in style.
After this, he started marketing his writing talents by learning shorthand. He also wrote a book called "The Confession of a Quack: The Autobiography of a Modern Aesculapian," a 32 page book. Only one of these books exists today and is located in the Library of Congress. Browne's book was not well liked, but he did start the theme that would last throughout all his later works--unearthing quacks and frauds. He received encouragement from Edgar Allen Poe, who published some of his articles in his publication called "Graham's Lady's and Gentlemen's Magazine." In 1841, he spent a year writing for the Globe, predecessor of the Congressional Record, where he was exposed to the political shenanigans of Washington, D.C. He was sickened by the political games. He and a friend embarked on an adventure of traveling around the globe. They signed on as hands on a whaling ship. A year later he returned to Connecticut where he got a job as a reporter in the Senate.
In 1844, he married Lucy Ann Mitchell. With her, he would have two children. In 1845, he began his long career in government service and was personal secretary for Robert J. Walker, Secretary of the Treasury. He held this position until 1848. During this time he published a book, this time a commercial success on his whaling experiences. Apparently, Melville was inspired by it when he wrote "Moby Dick". In January 1849 he left for San Francisco. His assignment was Third Lieutenant, United States Revenue Service. His assignment was to figure out a way to keep sailors from deserting to the gold fields, an impossible task. While waiting for his orders he surveyed the postal route from San Francisco to San Luis Obispo, and established post offices
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