Our next duty is to furl the sails, and then our engagement is ended: then we are free to do as we please; then we are released from all discipline, except that enjoined by self-respect; then we once more become members of society; then we will discard the blue shirt of the sailor, and in the midst of long anticipated comforts forget our manifold hardships and dangers; then we will take the preliminary steps toward meeting friends and relatives, and in the joy of the moment we are repaid for much that we have undergone of toil and exposure. Our job aloft was an arduous one, having carried such a press of sail up the bay and river, and then when a ship is at anchor she always swings head to wind--consequently her sails are pressed aft by the breeze, and it is only by considerable tugging and straining that they are drawn up to the yard. However, this, like many other unpleasant duties, could not last for ever. By dint of hauling and tugging, we accomplished it, and descended to the deck, with the gratifying consciousness that we should have no more of it to do for this voyage at least, whatever the future may have in store for us. Whilst aloft on the maintopsail yard, from which I had a good view of the bay and the ocean beyond, I asked myself whether I should be content ashore, or whether it was decreed that I should form one of that great body of uneasy spirits who gain their livelihood by toil upon the ocean. All my chequered life for the previous four years passed in array before me, with its ills and its pleasantries; and, although the former overbalanced the latter, I could not, without a sigh of regret, bid farewell to old ocean. On getting on deck, all hands were busily employed packing and securing chests, donning their best suits, and making all necessary preparations for leaving the ship. This leaving the ship was by no means a pleasant operation. Her sturdy sides had so long afforded us protection from the storm and wave, that she was endeared to us by a thousand ties. Every spar and rope in her were as familiar to us as household words, and each object begat some pleasant reminiscence; but we were too busy reflecting on dearer objects to allow the old barque’s memory to make us sad--so we continued our preparations in silence, scarce a word being spoken, each heart being too full for utterance.