SIMON L' ARCHER. 117 



"In whatever part of the woods he was amongst the 

 beaters, there the game was certain to be most abundant ; 

 whenever the battue was unsuccessful, it was remarked that 

 Simon was not there ; in fact, his name had acquired so 

 much celebrity that it arrived at the ears of the king. 



"Having heard so much of Simon," continued my inform ant, 

 " relative to whom so many absurd and contradictory stories 

 were in circulation, one day I determined to pay him a visit, 

 and must confess that the appearance of his dwelling was in 

 no way calculated to remove the unfavourable reports that 

 I had heard of him. 



"Having raised the latch of a small and badly-jointed door, 

 I found myself in the interior of a mud cabin, with a damp 

 and uneven clay flooring; nearly all the panes of the solitary 

 window were broken, and replaced by dirty rags. The rays 

 of the sun shot through the fissures and crevices in the walls. 

 On the right of the entrance was a wide hearth, upon which 

 some green faggots smoked. Simon was sitting hard by, occu- 

 pied in twisting some pieces of wire. At his feet lay a spaniel 

 and two beagles. His wife, who was said to have been once 

 handsome, but was now dried up and withered, crouched over 

 the fire ; and two children, one of five and the other of seven 

 years old, rolled on the muddy floor in a state of almost com- 

 plete nudity. The only furniture was a table, upon which 

 were scattered some newspapers ; four chairs, deprived of 

 their seats ; two or three stools, and a bench. Muddy boots 

 and leather gaiters were scattered here and there about the 

 floor; but no single utensil in connexion with fishing or 

 shooting was to be seen. No gun was suspended from the 

 ceiling ; no powder-horn, or shot-belt slung from the walls ; 

 and no game-bag, with 'its crimson stains, gave evidence of 

 the owner's occupation. 



"The dogs had no sooner perceived me, than, with one 

 accord, they displayed their double ranges of white teeth, 



