Would Lend Me A Hand To Get My
Chest Ashore; Bring A Bottle Of Grog On Board If We Did Not Haul
In Immediately, - And The Like.
In fact, we could hardly get clear
of them, to go aloft and furl the sails.
Sail after sail, for the
hundredth time, in fair weather and in foul, we furled now for
the last time together, and came down and took the warp ashore,
manned the capstan, and with a chorus which waked up half the
North End, and rang among the buildings in the dock, we hauled
her in to the wharf. Here, too, the landlords and runners were
active and ready, taking a bar to the capstan, lending a hand at
the ropes, laughing and talking and telling the news. The city
bells were just ringing one when the last turn was made fast,
and the crew dismissed; and in five minutes more, not a soul
was left on board the good ship Alert, but the old ship-keeper,
who had come down from the counting-house to take charge of her.
CONCLUDING CHAPTER
I trust that they who have followed me to the end of my narrative,
will not refuse to carry their attention a little farther, to the
concluding remarks which I here present to them.
This chapter is written after the lapse of a considerable time since
the end of my voyage, and after a return to my former pursuits;
and in it I design to offer those views of what may be done for
seamen, and of what is already doing, which I have deduced from
my experiences, and from the attention which I have since gladly
given to the subject.
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