372 FABLES. 



think nothing could ever break up; but dashing- 

 interests at length come in the way, and dissolve 

 the charm. An unreasonable desire to engross 

 more than we can enjoy, is the bone of contention, 

 which in greater or less degrees sets mankind 

 together by the ears. A jealous thought, a mis- 

 taken word or look, is then sufficient to cancel all 

 former bonds : the league is broken, and the farce 

 concludes like the Dog and the Cat in the 

 Fable, w T ith biting and scratching out one an- 

 other's eyes. The same kind of over-grasping 

 selfishness, which operates so powerfully upon 

 and blinds individuals, may with equal truth 

 be charged against all public associations or 

 societies of men, from the greatest to the least, 

 when they are under the influence of that mistaken 

 patriotism, which, instead of applying its powers 

 to the improvement of what they already possess, 

 seeks aggrandizement by engrossing the colonies 

 or privileges of their less powerful neighbours. 



