88 



THE FRENCH BLOOD IN AMERICA 



Entertain- 

 ment of 

 Guests 



Heartless 

 Sport 



exposed by the officers for the entertainment of their 

 friends. The galley was cleaned anew, and the slaves 

 were ordered to shave, and put on their red habits and 

 red caps, which are their uniform, when they wear any 

 garments. This done, they are made to sit between the 

 benches, so that nothing but heads with red caps are 

 visible, from one end of the galley to the other. In this 

 attitude the gentlemen and ladies, who come as spectators, 

 are saluted by the slaves with a loud and mournful cry 

 of 'Heu.' This seems but one voice; it is repeated 

 three times, when a person of high distinction enters. 

 During this salute the drums beat, and the soldiers, in 

 their best clothes, are ranged along the sides of the boat 

 with their guns shouldered. The masts are decorated 

 with streamers ; the chamber at the stern is also adorned 

 with hangings of red velvet, fringed with gold. The 

 ornaments in sculpture, at the stern, thus beautified to 

 the water's edge ; the oars lying on the seats, and ap- 

 pearing without the galley like wings, painted of different 

 colours, — a galley thus adorned strikes the eye magnifi- 

 cently ; but let the spectator reflect on the misery of 

 three hundred slaves, scarred with stripes, emaciated 

 and dead-eyed, chained day and night, and subject to 

 the arbitrary will of creatures devoid of humanity, and 

 he will no longer be enchanted by the gaudy outside. 

 The spectators, a large proi^ortion of whom are often 

 ladies, pass from one end of the galley to the other, and 

 return to the stern, where they seat themselves. The 

 comite then blows his whistle. At the first blast every 

 slave takes off his cap ; at the second, his coat ; at the 

 third, his shirt, and they remain naked. Then comes 

 what is called the monkey-exhibition. They are all 

 ordered to lie along the seats, and the spectator loses sight 

 of them ; then they lift one finger, next their arms, then 

 their head, then one leg, and so on till they appear 

 standing upright. Then they open their mouths, cough 

 all together, embrace, and throw themselves into ridicu- 



