[Illustration: THE FALCONER AND THE PARTRIDGE.]
A falconer having taken a Partridge in his net, the bird begged hard for
a reprieve, and promised the man, if he would let him go, to decoy other
Partridges into his net.--'No,' replies the Falconer, 'I was before
determined not to spare you, but now you have condemned yourself by your
own words: for he who is such a scoundrel as to offer to betray his
friends to save himself, deserves, if possible, worse than death.'