{"id":"01KG8AJHQPBYC3YK31TCXQ7YB6","cid":"bafkreigffb62ltb3wb6h5nt3f4kmpia4ud66wevil547lkfl3usfkszil4","type":"chapter","properties":{"description":"# CHAPTER XXVIII. RECEPTION FROM THE FRENCHMAN\n\n## Overview\nThis chapter, titled \"CHAPTER XXVIII. RECEPTION FROM THE FRENCHMAN,\" is a segment of the novel [Omoo: Adventures in the South Seas](arke:01KG8AJ7VM7B8YZ2568YF8PQ5J). It was extracted from the file [omoo.txt](arke:01KG89J1H7Y803CZ7X80F0QFHZ) and is part of the larger collection [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW). The chapter details the harsh reception and confinement of the narrator and his companions after being taken aboard a frigate.\n\n## Context\nThis chapter follows [CHAPTER XXVII. A GLANCE AT PAPEETEE—WE ARE SENT ABOARD THE FRIGATE](arke:01KG8AJHQ7NGMBY907R6DK1CHJ) and precedes [CHAPTER XXIX. THE REINE BLANCHE](arke:01KG8AJHR3S6CZ17J8EX6P8AFY). The narrative describes the process of being processed and imprisoned on the ship, highlighting the rough treatment and meager provisions.\n\n## Contents\nThe chapter begins with the narrator and others being paraded on the frigate's gangway and inspected by an \"elderly yellow-faced officer.\" They are then counted, handed over to sailor-soldiers, and escorted to the berth-deck. There, they are handcuffed and their feet are shackled to a bar bolted to the deck. The narrator notes the meager and unappetizing food, described as \"oleaginous warm water,\" and the subsequent tossing of oranges by a sympathetic sailor. The chapter also recounts a scene of brutal punishment administered by a boatswain's mate to two boys, which is interrupted by a midshipman. The narrator's companion, Navy Bob, expresses disdain for the disciplinary methods, comparing them unfavorably to those of the English navy.","description_generated_at":"2026-01-30T20:49:12.993Z","description_model":"gemini-2.5-flash-lite","description_title":"CHAPTER XXVIII. RECEPTION FROM THE FRENCHMAN","end_line":3835,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:47:33.380Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"CHAPTER XXVIII. RECEPTION FROM THE FRENCHMAN","source_file":"01KG89J1H7Y803CZ7X80F0QFHZ","start_line":3750,"text":"CHAPTER XXVIII.\r\nRECEPTION FROM THE FRENCHMAN\r\n\r\n\r\nIn a few moments, we were paraded in the frigate’s gangway; the first\r\nlieutenant—an elderly yellow-faced officer, in an ill-cut coat and\r\ntarnished gold lace—coming up, and frowning upon us.\r\n\r\nThis gentleman’s head was a mere bald spot; his legs, sticks; in short,\r\nhis whole physical vigour seemed exhausted in the production of one\r\nenormous moustache. Old Gamboge, as he was forthwith christened, now\r\nreceived a paper from the consul; and, opening it, proceeded to compare\r\nthe goods delivered with the invoice.\r\n\r\nAfter being thoroughly counted, a meek little midshipman was called,\r\nand we were soon after given in custody to half-a-dozen\r\nsailor-soldiers—fellows with tarpaulins and muskets. Preceded by a\r\npompous functionary (whom we took for one of the ship’s corporals, from\r\nhis ratan and the gold lace on his sleeve), we were now escorted down\r\nthe ladders to the berth-deck.\r\n\r\nHere we were politely handcuffed, all round; the man with the bamboo\r\nevincing the utmost solicitude in giving us a good fit from a large\r\nbasket of the articles of assorted sizes.\r\n\r\nTaken by surprise at such an uncivil reception, a few of the party\r\ndemurred; but all coyness was, at last, overcome; and finally our feet\r\nwere inserted into heavy anklets of iron, running along a great bar\r\nbolted down to the deck. After this, we considered ourselves\r\npermanently established in our new quarters.\r\n\r\n“The deuce take their old iron!” exclaimed the doctor; “if I’d known\r\nthis, I’d stayed behind.”\r\n\r\n“Ha, ha!” cried Flash Jack, “you’re in for it, Doctor Long Ghost.”\r\n\r\n“My hands and feet are, any way,” was the reply.\r\n\r\nThey placed a sentry over us; a great lubber of a fellow, who marched\r\nup and down with a dilapidated old cutlass of most extraordinary\r\ndimensions. From its length, we had some idea that it was expressly\r\nintended to keep a crowd in order—reaching over the heads of\r\nhalf-a-dozen, say, so as to get a cut at somebody behind.\r\n\r\n“Mercy!” ejaculated the doctor with a shudder, “what a sensation it\r\nmust be to be killed by such a tool.”\r\n\r\nWe fasted till night, when one of the boys came along with a couple of\r\n“kids” containing a thin, saffron-coloured fluid, with oily particles\r\nfloating on top. The young wag told us this was soup: it turned out to\r\nbe nothing more than oleaginous warm water. Such as it was,\r\nnevertheless, we were fain to make a meal of it, our sentry being\r\nattentive enough to undo our bracelets. The “kids” passed from mouth to\r\nmouth, and were soon emptied.\r\n\r\nThe next morning, when the sentry’s back was turned, someone, whom we\r\ntook for an English sailor, tossed over a few oranges, the rinds of\r\nwhich we afterward used for cups.\r\n\r\nOn the second day nothing happened worthy of record. On the third, we\r\nwere amused by the following scene.\r\n\r\nA man, whom we supposed a boatswain’s mate, from the silver whistle\r\nhanging from his neck, came below, driving before him a couple of\r\nblubbering boys, and followed by a whole troop of youngsters in tears.\r\nThe pair, it seemed, were sent down to be punished by command of an\r\nofficer; the rest had accompanied them out of sympathy.\r\n\r\nThe boatswain’s mate went to work without delay, seizing the poor\r\nlittle culprits by their loose frocks, and using a ratan without mercy.\r\nThe other boys wept, clasped their hands, and fell on their knees; but\r\nin vain; the boatswain’s mate only hit out at them; once in a while\r\nmaking them yell ten times louder than ever.\r\n\r\nIn the midst of the tumult, down comes a midshipman, who, with a great\r\nair, orders the man on deck, and running in among the boys, sets them\r\nto scampering in all directions.\r\n\r\nThe whole of this proceeding was regarded with infinite scorn by Navy\r\nBob, who, years before, had been captain of the foretop on board a\r\nline-of-battle ship. In his estimation, it was a lubberly piece of\r\nbusiness throughout: they did things differently in the English navy.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r","title":"CHAPTER XXVIII. RECEPTION FROM THE FRENCHMAN"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJ7VM7B8YZ2568YF8PQ5J","peer_type":"novel","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J1H7Y803CZ7X80F0QFHZ","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AJHQ7NGMBY907R6DK1CHJ","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG8AJHR3S6CZ17J8EX6P8AFY","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"next"}],"ver":3,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:47:35.158Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:49:13.897Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF5C36SQEVDHC9CBNZZJH9K"}}