The life of the "gallerian" was so hard that his sufferings in many cases
were mercifully ended in death in a very short time, as none save those of
iron constitution could stand the strain imposed by the desperate toil and
wretched food. Yet there are cases on record of men who had worked at the
oar for actual decades, so unconquerable in their strength that even such a
life as this had not the power to break them down.
To the peaceful mariner who wished merely to trade, to the individual whose
business called him overseas, this epoch must have been one of terror
unspeakable. The ordinary perils of the deep were quite enough to keep
timid folk at home in those days of clumsy, ill-found sailing ships, which
could by no means work to windward, and did not sail remarkably well even
with the most favouring breezes; when to this we add that every ship which
started on a voyage in the Mediterranean had before her the chance of being
captured by the corsairs, it was no wonder that he whose business led him
oversea should make his last will and testament and bid a fond farewell to
all his relatives.
There is a record in the Memoires of the Rev. Frere Pierre d'An, Bachelier
en Theologie de la Faculte de Paris, etc., who wrote in a most heartfelt
manner concerning the danger of the sea and the perils to be expected from
the Barbary corsairs. He says, date 1637:
"An ancient writer, considering how little assurance can ordinarily be
placed in the sea, and how hazardous it is to expose oneself and one's
goods to its mercy, has remarked, with much reason, that it is
infinitely preferable to be poor on shore than to be rich at sea.
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