314 FABLES. 



scarcely be treated with too much severity. He 

 deserves at least to be scouted as an outcast to 

 society. All the favours that are bestowed upon 

 men of this worthless disposition, are thrown away ; 

 for the envy and malevolence of the ingrate, work 

 him up into a hatred of his benefactor. Generous 

 men should therefore use a just circumspection 

 in the choice of the objects of their benevolence, 

 before they give way to the feelings of the heart, or 

 waste its bountiful overflowings upon those w r ho, 

 instead of making a grateful return, will bite them 

 like a drowning but spiteful dog. The Fable is 

 also intended as an admonition to servants, who 

 owe an especial duty to their masters; whose kind- 

 ness should be met by their faithful exertions to 

 serve them ; and whose interest they ever ought 

 to make their own. 



