FABLE XXX. The Setter and the Partridge.

The setting dog the stubble tried, And snuffed the breeze with nostrils wide; He set—the sportsmen from behind, Conscious of game, the net unwind. A partridge, which as warder stood, Warned, and the covey sought the wood. But, ere she followed from her cover, Thus she discharged her mind on Rover: "Thou fawning slave and sneaking cheat, Subservient unto man's deceit! Disgrace unto thy honest race, Unto the race of dogs disgrace; Who ere to men they bent the knee Were noted for fidelity." The dog retorted with a sneer: "Since you are safe, enjoy your jeer; Rustic alike in kind and mind, And ignorant of courts refined. Sagacious courtiers do like me,— They rise to high supremacy; I copy them, and I inherit The high rewards for worth and merit." "I might have known," the partridge said, "The school where you were trained and bred; With a smooth brow for every crisis, Inherent to your master's vices. You came from courts: return! adieu"— And to her covey off she flew.