20 THE FORESTS OF FRANCE. 



Berce, and to the Forest of Maliero ; it appears manifestly 

 necessary that an endeavour should be made to find out 

 some remedy which may prevent the occurrence of such 

 disasters in the future, which are attributed generally to 

 herds and people who have no excuse for what they do. 



* In fine, the bad treatment and bad use made of their 

 woods by all Ecclesiastics deserves special attention, and 

 some appropriate measure. 



' We shall say no more here of the doings of the Marquis of 

 Lourdes, Baron de Courcelles, the Bishop of Bayeux, and 

 Sieur de Lourches, though they be very considerable in 

 this department, having said enough of them in the special 

 reports. 



' In like manner we pass over in silence all the other 

 abuses which we have acknowledged to be of minor con- 

 sideration, or which are so common in all other provinces 

 as to be of ordinary occurrence ; and this we have done 

 the more readily that punishment can be made to follow 

 in the track of the reformations which we have begun to 

 institute. 



'We have not considered it required of us to report here 

 what may be done to regulate the ordinary fellings, and 

 the charges for firewood ; the wages and duties of officers ; 

 and the firewood claimed by usagers ; and this the more 

 that the reformations are presently being carried out with 

 all the zeal and diligence that can be desired. By this 

 means will be known shortly the condition and possible 

 yield of each forest, the officers who remain employed, and 

 what it would be just to award to them, and who may be 

 the true usagers, and what are their rights.' 



Such is the report. Such a state of things might well 

 rouse the spirit of an honest man who was a patriot. I 

 find it more satisfactory in my studies to read such papers 

 than to read the narrative of the poetic historian 5 though 



