Whilst in these bays fishing, the fresh green look of the vegetation, and sweet singing of the birds, made us long for a return to a life ashore. The sailor, if compelled to remain at sea, in all cases prefers to be far from land, with nothing to meet his gaze but sky and ocean--land in sight continually recalling home memories, long dwelling upon which is painful. Another reason, too, why Jack hates land, when he cannot enjoy a ramble upon it is, that he attributes to it, and not without reason, either, a miasmatic influence; and, whilst in its vicinity, every ache or pain is attributed to its vicinage, and he consoles himself by saying, “I will soon be all right, when we leave this infernal land and get outside.” I cannot refrain from remarking on the character of the shipping on this ground. At this time there were some fifteen vessels cruising within an area of a hundred miles--three of us Yankees, nine from Hobartown, two from Yew Zealand, and a brig from Sydney. At daylight all might be seen busily engaged in hoisting their topsails and spreading their canvass; during the day using their best endeavors to get over as much ground as possible. At sundown, sail was shortened aboard of each. The schooner Otago, at the sunset hour, in fair weather, presented a strange appearance; always at such times and in such cases, taking in every rag and laying under bare poles--the captain assigning as a reason that it saved his sails. This craft originally came out from New London, Connecticut, as a tender to a whaler; here she was sold, and during six months of the year was employed conveying cattle and wool to Sydney, and the balance in whaling. The Eliza was a craft of much more aristocratic pretensions; she was a neat and tidy little schooner, and had been originally constructed as a yacht for Sir John Franklin, when he was governor of Van Diemen’s Land. After the daring explorer of the frozen North had removed from the Australian colonies, the Government employed her as a revenue cutter; but now she had fallen from her high estate and was employed as a blubber-hunter. But with far greater claims to pretension, although possessing a much more homely exterior, the old Prince Regent pursued her course in the same humble pursuit; she had been built as a yacht for George IV., the profligate, who for years was prince regent of the British empire. Unlike her royal master, she still survives with sound timbers, and is a staunch sea-worthy ship, though of a rather _outre_ model. Two of the Hobartown whalers were clippers, built in Baltimore; on one of them, the Isabel, I saw the American coat of arms in full emblazon. These clippers, if they were only built stronger, would be excellent sperm whalers--being small, light, good sailers, and easy to work.