He had, therefore, but a hasty view of his surroundings before he was chained to his bench, facing the great oar.

He saw only a long chamber, crossed by row upon row of white, desperate faces.

Down the middle, by the ends of the benches, ran a gangway, along which three overseers paced leisurably, each with a tall, flexible wand in his hand.

The stench in the place was overpowering, and Tristram was on the point of swooning when the fellow who was chained beside him growled a word of advice: "Look sharp and slip your jacket off." Tristram obeyed without understanding.

He saw that all the figures around him were naked to the waist, and therefore pulled off shirt as well as jacket, but not quickly enough to prevent a stroke, which hissed down on his shoulders and made him set his teeth with anguish.
The man beside him uttered a sharp cry.