84 THE FRENCH BLOOD IN AMERICA 



of this kind is followed by blows giveu with merciless 

 Pitiless furv. The laboiu' of a eralley-slave hiis become a proverb : 



Discipline •' fe J ± J 



it is the greatest fatigue that a man cau bear. Six men 

 are chained to each bench on both sides of the com-sier 

 wholly naked, sitting with one foot on a block of timber, 

 the other resting on the bench before them, holding in 

 their hands an enormous oar. Imagine them lengthen- 

 ing their bodies, their arms stretched out to push the oar 

 over the backs of those before them ; they then plunge 

 the oar into the sea, and fall back into the hollow below, 

 to repeat again and again the same muscular action. The 

 fatigue and misery of their labour seems to be without 

 parallel. They often faint, and are brought to life by the 

 lash. Sometimes a bit of bread dipped in wine is put 

 into their mouths, when their labour cannot for a moment 

 be spared. Sometimes, when they faint, they are thrown 

 into the sea, and another takes the place." 



An incident which Amadee relates shows admirably the 



Huguenot character with its self-sacrifice and brotherly 



Self-sacrifice lovc. He had bccu recommendcd to the captain of the 



and LfOve 



galley for the position of steward of the provisions, and 

 the captain had ordered him to be brought into his pres- 

 ence. " 'They tell me,' he said, ' you are the only slave 

 that can be trusted, and you are a Huguenot.' I an- 

 swered submissively, that there were other Huguenots on 

 board the galley that could be trusted. ' I will try you, 

 said he, ' and give you the care of the stores ; but, re- 

 member, for the slightest infidelity you receive the basti- 

 nado.' " The office entitles the slave who holds it to an 

 exemption from the oar and a dinner every day upon the 

 captain's provisions. 



"Such a situation was comparative happiness to the 

 hard duty I was undergoing ; my heart beat rapidly. I 

 made no reply, for I was buried in thought. ' Dog of a 

 Christian,' he exclaimed, 'have you no thanks?' At 

 this moment a struggle, not inferior to that I had experi- 

 enced once before, took possession of my mind. ' There 



