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.