A villain, whose only aim is to get what he can, will as soon betray
the innocent as the guilty. Let him but know where there is a suspected
person, and propose a reward, and he will seldom fail to work the
suspicion up to high treason, and will be at no loss to produce
sufficient proofs of it. Men of this stamp will not be content with
practising one single villainy; for having never laid down any good
principles for their guide, they will go on triumphantly in their
wickedness for a time, and though, perhaps, they may be the instruments
of bringing other villains to punishment, yet they will at last suffer
in their turn; for, after being detested by all good men, justice will,
sooner or later, overtake their crimes, and hurl down its vengeance
on their heads, with a measure equal at least to the sufferings their
perfidy has occasioned to others. The fate of such wretches can never
excite the smallest commiseration; for no character is so truly
detestable, as that of a spy and informer.
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