SIMON L' ARCHER. 119 



rigible poacher. Simon, poaching is contrary to the law. It 

 is a misdemeanour now ; formerly it was much worse.' 



"'True, M. le Compte, and perhaps in a short time 

 there will be no law against it. I am aware that these 

 regulations exist, and have been made by men ; but nature 

 tells us that there is a higher law still that we should not 

 let our children die of hunger when the means of feeding 

 them comes in our way. I use my skill, therefore, for this 

 end, and let the world talk as it likes.' 



" ' You do not sell the game you kill, then V 



" ' Never, M. le Compte, never; I give you my solemn word 

 of honour.' 



" Our conversation continued for some time longer, and the 

 result of it was, to convince me that Simon possessed within 

 himself the materials of an honest man, and I felt for him 

 the deepest sentiments of compassion. Simon was not only 

 the victim of poverty, but a dupe to the false liberalism of 

 the age, and therefore a bad example to the village; and it 

 was for this reason that I particularly wished to turn him 

 from the path he was pursuing, by furnishing him with the 

 means of supporting his family without having recourse to 

 poaching. 'Here,' said I, 'is a mark of the bounty of his 

 Majesty the king. He has charged me to present you with 

 this ;' at the same time placing a rouleau of one hundred 

 francs upon the table. 



" At the sound of the silver the eyes of all the occupants 

 of the hut wife, children, and Simon himself were turned 

 towards me with a sort of wild curiosity. 



" ' Oh ! M. le Compte, may God bless his Majesty ! but how 

 could it come to his ears that we were in need of his 

 assistance V 



" ' Do not let that surprise you. The poor of France are 

 the patrimony of the king and royal family. He can dis- 

 cover misfortune wherever it is hidden, and hastens to its 



