thousand tricks, and torn into as many pieces by the dogs which had surrounded him.

THE APPLICATION.-A man that sets up for more cunning than the rest of his neighbours, is generally a silly fellow at the bottom. Whoever is master of a little judgment and insight into things, let him keep them to himself, and make use of them as he sees occasion; but he should not be teazing others with an idle and impertinent ostentation of them. One good, discreet expedient, made use of upon an emergency, will do a man more real service, and make others think better of him, than to have passed all along for a shrewd, crafty knave, and be bubbled at last. When any one has been such a coxcomb as to insult his acquaintance by pretending to more policy and stratagem than the rest of mankind, they are apt to wish for some difficulty for him to show his skill in: where, if he should miscarry (as ten to one but he does), his misfortune, instead of pity, is sure to be attended with laughter. He that sets up for a biter, as the phrase is, being generally intent upon his prey, or vain of showing his art, frequently exposes himself to the traps of one sharper than himself, and incurs the ridicule of those whom he designed to make ridiculous.

LXI. THE PARTRIDGE AND THE COCKS.

A CERTAIN man having taken a partridge, plucked some of the feathers out of its wings, and turned it into a little yard where he kept game cocks. The cocks for a while made the poor bird lead a sad life, continually pecking and driving it away from the meat. This treatment was taken more unkindly, because offered to a stranger; and the partridge could not but conclude them the most inhospitable, uncivil people he had ever met with. But at last observing how frequently they quarrelled and fought with each other, he comforted himself with this reflection: that it was no wonder they were cruel to him, since there was so much bickering and animosity among themselves.

THE APPLICATION.-This Fable comes home to ourselves; we of this island have always been looked upon as cruel to strangers. Whether there is anything in the manner of our situation as an island, which consequently can be no thoroughfare to other countries, and so is not made use of by strangers upon that account, which makes us thus shy and uncivil; or whether it be a jealousy on account of our liberties, which puts us upon being suspicious of, and unwilling to harbour any that are not members of the same But that community, perhaps it would not be easy to determine.

it is so in fact is too notorious to be denied, and probably can be accounted for no better way than from the natural bent of our temper, as it proceeds from something peculiar to our air and elimate. It has been affirmed, that there is not in the whole world besides, a breed of cocks and dogs so fierce and incapable of yielding as that of ours; but that either of them, carried into foreign countries, would degenerate in a few years. Why may not the same be true of our men? But if strangers find any inconvenience in this, there is a comfortable consideration to balance it on the other side, which is, that there are no people under the sun so much given to division and contention among themselves as we are. Can a stranger think it hard to be looked upon with some shyness, when he beholds how little we spare one another? Was ever any foreigner, merely for being a foreigner, treated with half that malice and bitterness which differing parties express towards each other? One would willingly believe that this proceeds in the main, on both sides, from a passionate concern for our liberties and well-being; for there is nothing else that can so well excuse it. But it cannot be denied that our aversion, notwithstanding our being a trading nation, to have any intercourse with strangers is so great, that when we want other objects for our churlishness, we raise them up among ourselves; and there is sometimes as great a strangeness kept up between one county and another here, as there is between two distant kingdoms abroad. One cannot so much wonder at the constant hostilities which are observed between the inhabitants of South and North Britain, of Wales and Ireland, among one another; when a Yorkshireman shall be looked upon as a foreigner by a native of Norfolk; and both be taken for outlandish intruders by one that happens to be born within the bills of mortality.

LXII. THE HUNTED BEAVER.

It is said that a beaver (a creature which lives chiefly in the water) has a certain part about him which is good in physic, and that, upon this account, he is often hunted down and killed. Once upon a time, as one of these creatures was hard pursued by the dogs, and knew not how to escape, recollecting with himself the reason of his being thus persecuted, with great resolution and presence of mind he bit off the part which his hunters wanted, and throwing it towards them, by these means escaped with his life.

THE APPLICATION. However it is among beasts, there are few human creatures but what are hunted for something else besides

either their lives, or the pleasure of hunting them. The Inquisition would hardly be so keen against the Jews, if they had not something belonging to them which their persecutors esteem more valuable than their souls; which whenever that wise but obstinate people can prevail with themselves to part with, there is an end of the chase for that time. Indeed, when life is pursued and in danger, whoever values it should give up everything but his honour to preserve it. And when a discarded minister is persecuted for having damaged the commonwealth, let him but throw down some of the fruits of his iniquity to the hunters, and one may engage for his coming off, in other respects, in a whole skin.

LXIII. THE THUNNY AND THE DOLPHIN.

A FISH, called a thunny, being pursued by a dolphin, and driven with great violence, not minding which way he went, was thrown by the force of the waves upon a rock, and left there. His death was now inevitable; but casting his eyes on one side, and seeing the dolphin in the same condition, lie gasping by him, "Well," says he, "I must die, it is true; but I die with pleasure, when I behold him who is the cause of it involved in the same fate."

THE APPLICATION.-Revenge, though a blind, mischievous passion, is yet a very sweet thing; so sweet that it can even soothe the pangs, and reconcile us to the bitterness of death. And, indeed, it must be a temper highly philosophical that could be driven out of life by any tyrannical, unjust procedure, and not be touched with a sense of pleasure to see the author of it splitting upon the same rock. When this is allowed, and it is further considered how easily the revenge of the meanest person may be executed upon even the highest, it should, methinks, keep people upon their guard, and prevail with them not to persecute or be injurious to any one. The moral turpitude of doing wrong, is sufficient to influence every brave, honest man, and to secure him from harbouring even the least thought of it in his breast. But the knave and the coward should weigh the present argument, and before they attempt the least injury, be assured of this truth, thas nothing is more sweet, nor scarce anything so easy to compass, as revenge.

LXIV. THE HAWK AND THE NIGHTINGALE,

A NIGHTINGALE, sitting all alone among the shady branches of an oak, sung with so melodious and shrill a pipe, that she made the woods echo again, and alarmed an hungry hawk,

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who was at some distance off, watching for his prey; he had no sooner discovered the little musician, but making a stoop at the place, he seized her with his crooked talons, and bid her prepare for death. Ah!" says she, "for mercy's sake, don't do so barbarous a thing, and so unbecoming yourself: consider, I never did you any wrong, and am but a poor small morsel for such a stomach as yours: rather attack some larger fowl which may bring you more credit and a better meal, and let me go.' "Ay," says the hawk, "persuade me to it if you can; I have been upon the watch all the day long, and have not met with one bit of anything till I caught you; and now you would have me let you go, in hopes of something better, would you? Pray who would be

the fool then?"

THE APPLICATION.-They who neglect the opportunity of reaping a small advantage in hopes they shall obtain a better, are far from acting on a reasonable and well-advised foundation. The figure of Time is always drawn with a single lock of hair hanging over his forehead, and the back part of his head bald; to put us in mind, that we should be sure to lay hold of an occasion, when it presents itself to us, lest afterward we repent of our omission and folly, and would recover it when too late. It is a very weak reason to give for our refusal of an offer of kindness, that we do it because we desire or deserve a better; for it is time enough to relinquish the small affair when the great one comes, if ever it does come. But supposing it should not, how can we forgive ourselves for letting anything slip through our hands, by vainly gaping after something else which we never could obtain ? He who has not been guilty of any of these kind of errors, however poorly he may come off at last, has only the malice of fortune, or of somebody else, to charge with his ill success; he may applaud himself, with some comfort, in never having lost an opportunity, though ever so small, of bettering and improving his circumstances. Unthinking people have oftentimes the unhappiness to fret and teaze themselves with retrospects of this kind, which they, who attend to the business of life as they ought, never have occasion to make.

LXV. THE HORSE AND THE LOADED ASS.

AN idle horse, and an ass labouring under a heavy burden, were travelling the road together; they both belonged to a country fellow, who trudged it on foot by them. The ass, ready to faint under his heavy load, entreated the horse to assist him, and lighten his burden by taking some of it upon