he galley) which consists
of a rectangular space ten feet long by eight in width. The captain and
officers who live on the poop are scarcely better lodged, and one is
tempted to compare their grandeur with that of Diogenes in his tub.

"When the unpitying Libyan Sea surprises these galleys upon the Roman
coasts, when the Norther lashes to foam the Gulf of Lyons, when the
humid east wind of Syria is driving them off shore, everything combines
to make life on board a modern galley a hell of misery and discomfort.
The creaking of the blocks and cordage, the loud cries of the
sailors, the horrible maledictions of the galley slaves, the groaning of
the timbers, mingled with the clank of chains and the bellowings of the
tempest, produce sentiments of affright in the most intrepid breasts.
The rain, the hail, the lightning, habitual accompaniments of these
terrific storms, the waves which dash over the vessel, all add to the
horror of the situation, and although devotion is not as a rule very
strongly marked on board a galley, you will hear these folk praying to
God, and others making vows to the Saints; these would do much better
not to forget God and his Saints when the danger is past.

"Calm itself has also its inconveniences, as the evil smells which arise
from the galley are then so strong that one cannot get away from them in
spite of the tobacco with which one is obliged to plug one's nostrils
from morning till night."

The gallant officer here goes into further details concerning the vermin on
board which it will be as well to spare the reader.

Jean Marteille de Bergeraq, who died at Culenbourg in 1777, was condemned
to serve on board the galleys in 1707 "in his quality of Protestant"; he
must indeed have been a man of iron constitution as he lived to the age of
ninety-five. This is his description of the life of a _forcat_:

"They are chained six to a bench; the benches are four feet wide covered
with sacking stuffed with wool over which are thrown sheepskins which
reach to the floor. The officer who is master of the galley slaves
remains aft with the captain to receive his orders; there are two under
officers, one amidships and one at the prow; all of these are armed with
whips, with which they flog the absolutely naked bodies of the
slaves. When the captain gives the order to row, the officer gives the
signal with a silver whistle which hangs on a cord ro