L.38. See the remarks, in the Introduction, on Hugo's treatment of shadows.
étrave, the stern of a vessel.
étambot, the stern-post.
L.53. The vessel pitches as she meets the waves (le tangage qui brave); the rolling throws up most foam (le roulis qui fume).
éclat, splinter.
fauve, savage, barbarous. See note on ÉVIRADNUS.
Le dernier siècle. "Pleine Mer" and "Plein Ciel" form a section of the Légende, entitled Vingtiérne Siècle.
sur la Tamise. Hugo was hostile to England. He regarded the British Empire as one of the two great dominions the shadow of which was oppressing the world in the middle of the nineteenth century, the other being Russia. England embodied "l'esprit de commerce, de ruse et d'aventure". He developed this theme with a nervous and forcible eloquence, if not with great political insight, in Le Rhin: Conclusion (published in 1842).
portemanteaux, davits, on which the boats are slung.
grelin, a hawser or warp.