A sailor's liberty
is but for a day; yet while it lasts it is perfect. He is under no
one's eye, and can do whatever, and go wherever, he pleases. This day,
for the first time, I may truly say, in my whole life, I felt the
meaning of a term which I had often heard- the sweets of liberty. My
friend S--- was with me, and turning our backs upon the vessels, we
walked slowly along, talking of the pleasure of being our own masters,
of the times past, and when we were free in the midst of friends, in
America, and of the prospect of our return; and planning where we
would go, and what we would do, when we reached home. It was wonderful
how the prospect brightened, and how short and tolerable the voyage
appeared, when viewed in this new light. Things looked differently
from what they did when we talked them over in the little dark
forecastle, the night after the flogging at San Pedro. It is not the
least of the advantages of allowing sailors occasionally a day of
liberty, that it gives them a spring, and makes them feel cheerful and
independent, and leads them insensibly to look on the bright side of
everything for some time after.
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