These miserable creatures shivered under the icy blast of the tempest and under the rain, which deluged them notwithstanding the awning.
To warm themselves a little they would press close to each other on the narrow benches, to which they were chained, five and five.
All of them preserved a morose silence, and often threw an uneasy and furtive glance on the convict-keepers and the overseers.
These contemptible officers, clothed in black, and armed with a cowhide, would go through the waist of the galley, on each side of which were the benches of the crew.
There were thirteen benches on the right, and twelve on the left.
The galley-slaves, constituting the palamente, or the armament of rowers, belonging to Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, had been, as was the custom, recruited from Christians, Turks, and Moors.
Each one of these types of slaves had his peculiar physiognomy.
The Turks, sluggish, dejected, and indolent, seemed to be a prey to a morbid and contemplative apathy.
The Moors, always excited, uneasy, and of ungovernable temper, appeared to be continually on the alert to break their chains and massacre their keepers.
The Christians, whether condemned or enrolled of their own will, were, in their way, more indifferent, and some of them were occupied in weaving straw, by which they hoped to reap a profit.