336 FABLES. 



he did not enjoy them long, for the same Shepherd 

 shortly afterwards passing* by the place, and seeing 

 the Fox there, dispatched him also. 



APPLICATION. 



A villain, whose only aim is to get what he can, 

 will as soon betray the innocent as the guilty. 

 Let him but know where there is a suspected 

 person, and propose a reward, and he will seldom 

 fail to work the suspicion up to high treason, and 

 will be at no loss to produce sufficient proofs of it, 

 Men of this stamp will not be content with prac- 

 tising one single villainy; for having never laid 

 down any good principles for their guide, they will 

 go on triumphantly in their wickedness for a time, 

 and though, perhaps, they may be the instruments 

 of bringing other villains to punishment, yet they 

 will at last suffer in their turn; for, besides their 

 being detested by all good men, justice will, sooner 

 or later, overtake their crimes, and hurl down its 

 vengeance on their heads, with a measure equal at 

 least to the sufferings their perfidy has occasioned 

 to others. The fate of such wretches can never 

 excite the smallest commiseration ; for no character 

 is so truly detestable, as that of a spy and informer. 



