Note 205 — ENGLAND.
Reading edition
This, of course, is “living on barley bread,” as everybody translates it. I think, however, it has reference to the phrase faire ses orges, to enrich one’s self unscrupulously at the expense of others. If that be so, it becomes excellently applicable in the present context. [Noël.] He had sown his wild oats, and now began à faire ses orges.