And pretty soon he grew to delight in the work, not for its
own sake alone, but because it separated him for a time from the
sight of his companions and their misery. The paint was blue, which
reminded him of the Pavilions at home, and he began to throw his soul
into the job, with the result that the Commodore expressed much
satisfaction with it, and gave him instructions to repaint the whole
of the stern, including the magnificent board with the inscription
_L'HEUREUSE_ in gilt letters, and the royal arms of France surrounded
with decorations in the flamboyant style.
Thus it happened that, one fine morning in the middle of June, he was
hanging out over the stern in his usual posture, and, having finished
the letters _L'HEU_, took a look around on the brightness of the day
before dipping his brush and starting again. The galley with her
five consorts lay in the Royal Basin under the citadel, and a mile in
from the open sea, towards which the long line of the pier extended,
its tall forts dominating the sand-dunes that stretched away to right
and left. The sands shone; the sea was a silvery blue, edged with a
dazzle where its breakers touched the shore; a clear northerly breeze
came sweeping inland and hummed in the galley's rigging as it flew
by.
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