Oliver Wendell Holmes' "Old Ironsides" mentions the "hope for the end of the ship" which is referring to the ship's way of going out. The narrator of the story wants the ship to end by being destroyed in a battle or storm, instead of being completely dismantled and turned into scrap metal.
According to the narrator, the ship has seen its share of great adventures and it is just best for it to retire in all its glory.
