A memoir of Thomas Bewick

V

st

MEMOIR

THOMAS BEWICK,

WEITTEN BY HIMSELF.

EMBELLISHED BY

NUMEROUS WOOD ENGRAVINGS,

DESIGNED AND ENGRAVED BY THE AUTHOK FOR A WORK ON
ItRITISII FISHES, AND NEVER 11EFORE PUBLI.SIIIOD.

PRINTED BY ROBERT WARD, DEAN STREET,
FOR JANE BEWICK, OATESHEAD.

ILonUou :

LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, AND ROBERTS,

AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.

1862.

[The Riyht of Tramlatiun w JZeMTMtf.]

NE

" WHILE speaking of the English school, I must not omit to notice
a truly original genius, who, though not a painter, was an artist of
the highest order in1 his way — Thomas Bewick, the admirable designer
and engraver on wood. His works, indeed, are of the smallest dimen-
sions, but this makes it only the more surprising that so much interest
could be comprised within such little spaces. The wood cuts that
illustrate his books of natural history may be studied with advantage
by the most ambitious votary of the highest classes of art — filled as
they are by the truest feeling for nature, and though often represent-
ing the most ordinary objects, yet never, in a single instance, degene-
rating into common- place. The ckarming vignettes that ornament
these books abound in incidents from real life, diversified by genuine
humour, as well as by the truest pathos — of which the single figure
of a shipwrecked sailor saying his prayers on a rock, with the waves
rising round him, is an instance. There is often in these little
things a deep meaning that places his art on a level with styles which
the world is apt to consider as greatly above it, in proof of which I
would mention the party of boys playing at soldiers among graves,
and mounted on a row of upright tombstones for horses ; while for
quaint humour, extracted from a very simple source, may be noticed a
procession of geese which have just waddled through a stream, while
their line of march is continued by a row of stepping-stones. The
student of landscape can never consult the works of Bewick without
improvement. The backgrounds to the figures of his Quadrupeds and
his Birds, and his vignettes, have a charm of nature quite his own.
He gives us, in these, every season of the year ; and his trees, whether
in the clothing of summer, or in the nakedness of winter, are the trees
of an artist bred in the country. He is equally true in his little home
scenes, his farm-yards and cottages, as in the wild coast scenery, with
the flocks of sea birds wheeling round the rocks. In one of these
subjects there stands a ruined church, towards which the sea has en-
croached, the rising tide threatening to submerge a tombstone raised
" to perpetuate the memory," &c. Bewick resembles Hogarth in this,
that his illustrations of the stories of others are not to be compared
with his own inventions. His feeling for the beauties of nature as
they were impressed on him directly, and not at second-hand, is akin
to the feeling of Burns, and his own designs remind me, therefore,
much more of Burns than the few which he made from the poet." —
J^eslies Hand Book for Young Painters.

PEEFACE.

THE anxiety necessarily attendant upon the pub-
lication of this volume being now brought to a close,
it only remains to apologise for the delay, for which
many reasons might be adduced, and to express a
hope that it may be received with the same favour
which has for so long a period been kindly extended
to the works of Thomas Bewick. It may be matter
of interest to many of his admirers to learn that the
whole of the wood cuts now in the hands of the
family are in as good preservation as when they left
the graver.*

This volume was considerably advanced at press
before it was decided to append the cuts of the

* As tvidence of which, it is impossible to distinguish the cuts in-
troduced into the last edition of "Birds" from those previously published.
This is due to the well-known fact, as mentioned at page 243, that an
immense number of impressions may be taken from a wood block; and
to the system, peculiar to Thomas Bewick, of lowering all the more
delicate parts.

Vlll PREFACE.

Fishes ; an arrangement which it is hoped may meet
with general approbation — more particularly as, by
that means, the cuts and the vignettes* engraved for
the History of Fishes will thus go together. Much
additional matter respecting the Fishes, which had
occupied so much time and attention, would doubt-
less have found a place in the pages of the Memoir,
had not the hand of Death so suddenly arrested the
labours of the Author. From the ample materials
which exist, the Appendix might ha^e been greatly
extended, but it is now felt to be desirable to bring
the publication to a termination as speedily as pos-
sible.

J. B.

Gateshead-on-Tyne, May, 1862.

* The viguette placed at page 286 — a view of Cherryburn, with
Mickley Baukin the distance, and a funeral procesaion descending the
sloping pasture towards the boat, waiting to convey it across the Tyne
to the last resting-place of the family at Ovingham— appears, from the
date attached, to be the last vignette ever executed by Thomas Bewick.

IT is at this period when the full value of a well-
spent life will shine with full effulgence upon the
mind, and spread over it a self-approbation of more
worth than all the riches of the world. An ill-spent
life, on the contrary, will bring forward its recollec-
tions, and send the guilty and polluted body unre-
gretted to the grave, and the degraded soul to the
Giver of it, to be disposed of, in the justice and
mercy it will be found to deserve. — Loose Note.

T. B.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Introductory — Parentage — Birth, 1753 — Mickley School — Ovingham
School — First attempts at drawing — Hunting parties — Sheep
— Shelter for sheep in snow storms — Birds — Border songs and
laments — Earl of Derwentwater— Whins food for cattle 1 — 13

CHAPTER II.

Employments in spring— Angling — Mischievous pranks — Floggings
at school— Ghosts and Boggles — Change in the mind — Man-
fights, dog-fights, cock-fights — Fear of ghosts entertained by the
bulk of the people — Meet the Devil going a-guising — Miss
Gregson's reproof — Mr. Gregson's lecture — Birds and their
nests — Ants — Bees 14 — 31

CHAPTER III.

Description of Cherryburn— The surrounding common— The peasantry
— Will Bewick — Anthony Liddell— Thos. Forster — John Chap-
man— Their peculiarities and way of life — The very old men —

Xll CONTENTS.

Their avidity for news — Old Soldiers — John Cowie — Ben Gar-
lick — Their enthusiastic description of the battles they had
fought — The Borderers — Their propensity for war and rapine —
Their names — The farmers of Tyneside — The lairds— The
gentry— Plan of the late Duke of Northumberland for raising the
character of the peasantry — Parish relief degrading — Proposed
iron works at Eltringham- Failure of the scheme . 32 — 49

CHAPTER IV.

Sent on trial to Ralph Beilby, engraver — Day of the binding arrives —
Grief on leaving the country — Call at the parsonage, Ovingham
— Assembling of the villagers at the church-yard gates — Betty
Kelt's luck penny— Journey to Newcastle, accompanied by the
Rev. Mr. Gregson and his son — Lecture — Christopher Gregson
bound on the same day — Scrape at King Jamie's Well — New
master and his discipline — Sketch of the Family — Copy Cope-
land's Ornaments — Block out the diagrams for Charles Button's
work — Etch sword-blades for W. and N. Oley, of Shotley Bridge
— Coarse work of the shop — Silversmiths' work — Wood cut of
George and the Dragon — Cuts for Children's books — Story
Teller — Gay's Fables — Select Fables — Obtain a premium for the
cut of the old hound — Mr. Gregson's congratulations thereupon

50—61

CHAPTER V.

Lodge with Mrs. Blackett — Gilbert Gray — His excellent character —
Lodge at Hatfields — Scamps and tramps — Rise early and obtain
access to my master's bocks, and to those at the workshop of Wm.
Gray — Religious books — Become unwell — Dr. Bailes prescribes
— Recommends temperance and exercise — Walks to Elswick
Whey-house — Bread and milk diet — Walks to Cherryburn after
shop hours — Reflections on getting into debt — William Bulmer,
printer— Robert Pollard, engraver — Thomas Spence — His vaga-
ries— George Gray — His worthy character — Engrave cuts for
Dr. Button's Mathematical Works, 1773, and for Dr. Horsley's
edition of Sir Isaac Newton's works, 1778 — Bird catchers and
bird dealers — Profligate men — Serjeant Hymers — Wkittaker
Shadforth — Practise the manual exercise — Miss Beilby — Her
death 62—79

CONTEXTS. Xlll

CHAPTER VI.

Expiration of apprenticeship, 1774 — Eeturn to Cherryburn — Employed
on wood cuts for printers — Remain at Cherryburn till 1776 —
Beauty of Tyneside — Hunting — Angling — Northumberland
pipes — Pedestrian tour to Cumberland — Carlisle— Langholm —
Ha wick — Selkirk — Dalkeith — Edinburgh — Border scenery —
Auld Reekie — Walk to Glasgow — To Dumbarton — Smollett's
monument on the side of the Leven — Walk through the Highlands
of Scotland — Grandeur of the scenery — Admiration of the people
— Their dwellings — Their loyalty to Prince Charles — Their hos-
pitality— Fairs and trysts — Scotch music and dancing — Leave
the Highlands with regret --Walk to Stirling — Thence by
Linlithgow to Edinburgh — Return to Newcastle by sea 80 — 93

CHAPTER VII.

Visit London, 1776 — Meeting with friends and schoolfellows — Exe-
cute wood cuts for Isaac Taylor — Meet with Serjeant Hymers
— Wood cuts for Thomas Hodgson — Work for Mr. Carnan and
Mr. Newberry — Fallen women and their misery — Reverse of the
picture — Celebrated preachers — Religions of different sects —
Preference for the Church of England — Offer of procuring em-
ployment with Mr. Pingo of the Mint — Surplus cash, how
disposed of — Dislike to London — Determine to leave it — Mr.
Taylor remonstrates on the subject — Mr. Hodgson's kind offer
to furnish employment — His legacy — Leave London by sea —
Arrive at Newcastle, 1777 94 — 104

CHAPTER VIII.

Fit up a work bench at Hatfields — Offer of partnership with Mr.
Beilby — Reflections thereon — Brother John Bewick— His amiable
disposition — His talent — Visits to Cherryburn with him — His
early death, 1795 — Angling — River-side scenery— Change of the
seasons — Reflections — Hardy constitution . . 105 — 114

CHAPTER IX.
Presentiment of a change at Cherryburn — Death of father, mother,

CONTEXTS.

and sister, 1785 — Sketches of their characters — Visits to Cherry-
burn cease — George Parkin — Diabolical attempt on his life

115-123

CHAPTER X.

Isaac Hymen — Mr. Langlands — Matthew Prior — American war —
Alfred the Great— Become acquainted with a society of literary
young men — Their dinners —Their songs — Northumberland pipes
introduced at the Theatre — Peacock — Cant — John Bowman —
His skill on the fife 124 -134

CHAPTER XL

Thomas Lawson — Walk to York with Philip Gregson— Return by
Borough Bridge — Darlington — Westward by Bowes — Over
Stainmore — To Penrith and Ainstable — To Cherryburn and
Newcastle — Perambulation to Berwick — Stop at Elwick— Nearly
swept away by the tide in crossing to Holy Island — Speeches
delivered at Ainwick — Swarley's Club — Wood cuts for Hutchin-
son's History of Durham — For Walker, of Hereford — For
Nicholson, of Ludlow — For Bulmer's publications of Parnell's
Hermit and Goldsmith's Deserted Village — Copper plates for Sir
Harry Liddell's tour to Lapland— Canal plates, 1796 135—143

CHAPTER XII.

Commence the History of Quadrupeds with the wood cut of the
Dromedary, 1785 — Rev.R. Oliphant — Rev. T. Hornby — Marriage
with Miss Elliot— Her death, 1826— Visit to Chillingham, 1789—
Large wood cut of the Chilliugham Bull — Visit John Bell at
Eslington— Make a drawing there of a Newfoundland dog — Ill-
ness of Rev. C. Gregson — His death, 1790 — His estimable
character 144 — 152

CHAPTER XIII.

Commence first volume of the History of Birds — Charmed with the
subject — Ornithological works of that day — Correspondence with

(ONTKXTS. XV

friends and amateurs on the subject — Visit Mr. Tunstal's mu-
seum at Wycliffe, 1791 — Make drawings of birds there — Lodge
with John Goundry — Eev. Dr. Zouch — His hospitality — His
liberality of sentiment — Christians and Christianity — Thoughts
on the Deity — Man in Society — Genus homo — Canine race —
Their instincts — Return from Wycliffe — Visit an old school-
fellow— Preserved birds superseded by birds newly sh®t — Birds
sent by General Dalbiac, Lieutenant-Colonel Dalton, Major Shore,
Major H. F. Gibson, and from all parts of the kingdom — First
volume of History of Birds finished at press, 171)7 — Mr. Beilby
-retires — Gratitude a rare virtue — Carelessness in money matters —
Second volume of the Birds published, 1804 — Additions to the
first volume — Severe confinement and application — Motives for
labours — Encouraged by amateurs .... 153 — 165

CHAPTER XIV.

Natural History retarded by the work of the shop — Writing engrav-
ing—Plates for bank notes — Prevention of forgery — Carlisle
bank note — King George III. approves of this note — Correspond-
ence with S. Thornton, Esq., 1801 — Ends in nothing — Commis-
sion appointed to investigate the subject of forgery, 1818 —
Engrave plates for the Berwick Bank — The Northumberland
Bank — Gave in a plan to the commissioners — The leading objects
permanency, &c. — Correspondence with Sir Joseph Banks on the
subject — Fairman, Perkins, and Heath — Their specimens — Opi-
nions of the commissioners delivered in the House of Commons
by Mr. Pierce — Sir William Congreve a commissioner — His
successful operations . . ... . . 166 — 171

CHAPTER XV.

Illness, 1812 — JEsop's Fables commenced — An arduous undertaking —
Published, 1818 — Remarks on the French Revolution, 1789 —
Causes of it — War declared by England, 1793 — Waste of life
and treasure — Apathy of country gentlemen — Remarks on the
loyalty of that day — Valour of British seamen — Rise in the
value of land — Incites to agricultural improvements — Messrs.
Bailey and Culley — Their agricultural reports — Mr. Smith's
Cheviot sheep' — Make a drawing of a ram — Sagacity of the
shepherd's dog — Fat cattle for Durham report . . 172—184

XVI CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XVI.

Further remarks on the measures and supporters of Mr Pitt — Witches —
Their treatment — Consequences of ignorance — Mr. Pitt's motives
— General Bonaparte's victories — His ambition and consequent
ruin — Reflections on war and its horrors — What might have
been done with the men and the money — The moss-troopers —
Their ferocity 185—189

CHAPTER XVII.

Gifts of Omnipotence to the human race — Duty of man to cultivate
these gifts — Consequences of neglecting these duties — Education
to be given to every one — An imperative duty upon the com-
munity— To check the reasoning power a crime — Masters and
servants — Equality impossible — Patriotism a first duty — Alfred
the Great — Foundation of England's glory laid by him — Free
discussion should be encouraged — Review of past transactions
— Foreign despots and demi-oligarchs — Loans wrung from
the people— Jacobins, Levellers, and Radicals — Fears for the
safety of Great Britain — The King can settle this question, and
entitle himself to the gratitude of posterity . . 190 — 199

CHAPTER XVIII.

Major Cartwright — Disapprove of his scheme of universal suffrage —
Elections may be simplified— Wasteful expenditure to be avoided
— Holy Alliance — Spain and Italy — Superstition — Society for the
Suppression of Vice — Constitutional Association — Its object —
Betrayers of innocence, robbers of widows — Tattoo their backs
— Criminals — Plan to redeem their characters — Laws of Eng-
land— Need of revision — The learned professions — Preference
for medical men 200 — 207

CHAPTER XIX.

Remarks on" the education of children — Their health and pursuits —
Education of girls — Horticulture and Floriculture recommended
to ladies— Freeholders— Their duties— Oaths— Immorality — Pro-
fligacy—Thoughts on marriage— Education of boys 208-217

COVL'KNTS. XYil

CHAPTER XX.

The game laws — Riflemen — The fisheries — Grants in feudal times —
A change necessary — The way to effect this — Remuneration to
the present owners — Salmon formerly abundant in the Tyne —
Spawning places — Weirs and dams — Impure water — Appoint-
ment of vigilant guards — Destruction of Salmon by the porpoise —
Suggestions for catching the porpoise — Uses to which they may
be applied — Necessity of protecting the parent fishes — Incredible
number of the fry — The angler — Angling ought to be unchecked
— Preserved waters debar the angler — Formation of Waltonian.
Societies recommended — Their duties — Constant beating of the
streams to be discountenanced — Pought nets — Catching the fry
in mill-races, and liming the burns, to be prohibited — Angling
and its delights — Beautiful scenery — Permanent pools may be
stocked with eels — Further reflections on the subject 218 — 230

CHAPTER XXI.

Vrisit Edinburgh, 1823 — Kind attentions shown — Morning walks to
Elswick Lane — Contemplations in church-yards — Thoughts on
monuments — Inscriptions on rocks — Erection of pillars over co-
pious springs 231 — 236

CHAPTER XXII.

First eff jits in engraving on wood — Progress — Difficulties to contend
with — Albert Durer — His cross-hatching and drawings on the
wood — Printing from two or three blocks — Artists of the present
day — Improved methods of Printing wood blocks — Attempt at
colour on the wood — Lowering the back-ground — Stronger lines
left to protect the cat— A delicate fac known to have printed
above 900,000 impressions 237—244

CHAPTER XXIII.

Prints from large blocks formerly in use in cottages — Great varieiy
of the subjects — Blocks printed in colours — Gubitz of Berlin —
Impressions from duplicate aad triplicate blocks, by J. B. Jackson
— Stroke engraving — Its capabilities in landscape — William

XV1U CONTEXTS.

Woollett— His unequalled landscapes on copper — His probable
excellence as a wood engraver, so as to rival copper— Further no-
tice of John Bewick and R. E. Bewick . . . 245 — 250

CHAPTER XXIV.

Advice to artists— Difficulties of choosing a profession — Study of
nature to be preferred — Old masters — Their varied excellences —
Poetry and painting — Musical talent — Beauty of wild scenery-
Thompson— Allan Ramsay ..... 251 — 257

CHAPTER XXV.

The Bible— The sublime precepts it contains — The Israelites— Intiu-
tious of Omnipotence— Woudors of the universe- The deluge -
Early history of mankind— The Bible the tirst instrument of
knowledge— A future btate ..... 258 — 2(i 1

CHAPTER XXVI.

Interpretation of the Scriptures— The mind, the soul, and the reason-
ing powers of man — Religion natural and necessary to man— The
inspired Author cf Christianity — His pure and perfect doctrines

265-270

CHAPTER XXVII.

The miracle of creation— Adoration due to the great Author of the
whole — Paganism and succeeding errors — Evils of intolerance-
Good effected by monks of old— The Reformation American in-
stitutions- Eutablished clergy— Their learning and acquirements
— Fanaticism — Itaviugs of Rantirs . . . 271 — 277

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Ucligiou uud philosophy conjoined necessary to human happiness
Selection of clergymen— Wonders of the universe — Intended
for the contemplation of every human being— Revenues of the

CONTENTS.

clergy — More equal division recommended — Ireland and tLe
Irish— Catholic emancipation- -Absentees - Protestante and Ca-
tholics— Reflections on the value of religious education— Colleges
for the purpose— No limit to the improvement of the human
mind— Nor to the capabilities of the human frame . 278—285

FINAL .
APPENDIX

2S(J
, 289- 344

MEMOIB OF THOMAS BEWICK,

CHAPTER I.

Tynemoutb, November, 1822.

MY DEAR JANE,

It is in compliance with, your wish that I
have, after much hesitation and delay, made up my
mind to give you some account of my life, as it may
at a future day amuse you and your brother and
sisters in your passage through the crooked as well
as the pleasant paths of the world. I will commence
by giving you some account of your pedigree as far
back as I can.

My grandfather, Thomas Bewick, farmed the lands
of Painshaw Field and Birches Nook, near Bywell,
and also the Colliery on Mickley Bank, or Mickley
Common — how long since I know not, but it might
probably be about the year 1700. He had the cha-
racter of being one of the most intelligent, active, and
best farmers on Tyneside, and it was said that, by his
good management and great industry, he becamo
very rich ; but, except his being an expert angler,
I know little more about him. My grandmother's
maiden name was Agnes Arthur, the daughter of a
laird of that name at Kirkheaton, at which place my
father was born in the year 1715, while his mother
was there (I believe) on a visit to her friends.

B

2 MEMOIIt OF THOMAS BEWICK.

My maternal grandfather, Thomas Wilson, and
my grandmother, whose maiden name was Hannah
Thompson, lived at Ainstable, in Cumberland ; but
whether he was curate of the parish of that place, or
parish clerk, I do not know. It is certain, however,
that he was one or the other, and that he taught a
school there ; and, from the circumstance of his
teaching his sons, and some of his daughters, Latin,
I conclude he taught some of his scholars the same
language. When he died, his eldest son, Christo-
pher, became possessed of his freehold property, con-
sisting of a house, &c., and a few fields adjoining.
The rest of his family were left little beside a good
education, and were spread abroad in the world to do
the best they could for themselves. In this state
of their affairs, my mother, Jane, and her youngest
sister, Hannah, were taken by a distant relation, a
Mrs. Gregson, of Appleby, to remain with her until
she could get them places to live at. About this
time, the Rev. Christopher Gregson had been ap-
pointed to the curacy of Ovingham, and wanted a
housekeeper ; and my mother, though young, was
thought able to undertake that office, and accordingly
engaged to perform it.

Your maternal grandfather's name was Robert
Elliot, and your grandmother's Jane Forster. He
fanned the land of Woodgatc, near Bill Quay, where
your mother was born. He afterwards removed to a
farm at Ovingham, where he died in 1777, leaving the
character of a sensible, honest, and industrious man.
How long my mother lived with Mr. Gregson, be-
fore her marriage, I know not ; but from him I after-

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 3

wards learned that she was a valuable servant to
him, both with respect to his house-keeping con-
cerns, and for the occasional assistance she afforded
him in hearing his pupils their Latin tasks. From
Ovingham, in the year 1752, she married my father,
and went to live with him at Cherry-burn House,
near the small village or Hamlet of Eltringham, where
all their family, of which I was the eldest, were
born. The family consisted of myself and brothers,
John and William ; and my sisters Hannah, Agnes,
Ann, Sarah, and Jane. Sarah died at the age of
16 ; the rest were reared to maturity, and were sent
off, one way or another, into the world.

In August, 1753, I was born, and was mostly en-
trusted to the care of my aunt Hannah, (my mother's
sister), and my grandmother, Agnes Bewick ; and
the first thing I can remember was, that the latter
indulged me in" every thing I had a wish for ; or, in
other words, made me a great " pet." I was not to
be " snubbed" (as it was called), do what I would ;
and, in consequence of my being thus suffered to have
my own way, I was often scalded and burnt, or put
in danger of breaking my bones by falls from heights
I had clambered up to.

The next circumstance, which I well remember,
was that of my being sent to Mickley School when
very young ; and this was not done so much with a
view to my learning, as to keep me out of " harm's
way." I was some time at this school without
making much progress in learning my letters or
spelling small words ; the master, perhaps, was in-
structed not to keep me very close at my book ; but,

4 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

in process of time, he began to be more and more
severe upon me ; and I see clearly at this day, that
he frequently beat me when faultless, and also for
not learning what it was not in my power to com-
prehend. Others suffered in the same way. He was
looked upon as a severe, or " cross," man, and did
not spare his rod. lie was tall and thin ; and,
with a countenance severe and grim, he walked
about the school-room, with the tawsc or a switch
in his hand. He, no doubt, thought he was keeping
the boys to their lessons, while the gabbering and
noise they made, was enough to stun any one, and
impressed the people passing by with the idea that
Bedlam was let loose. How long he went on in this
way, I do not recollect; but, like many others of his
profession, who were at that time appointed to fill
the most important office of a teacher, no pains had
been taken to enquire whether he possessed the re-
quisite qualifications befitting him for it, He went
on with a senseless system of severity, where ignor-
ance and arrogance were equally conspicuous. Con-
duct like this, sours the minds of some boys,
renders others stupid, and serves to make all
more or less disgusted with learning. Upon some
occasion or other, he ordered me to be flogged ;
a ii! I this was to be done by what was called "hug-
ging," that is, by mounting me upon the back of a
stout boy, who kept hold of my hands over his
shoulders while the posteriors were laid bare, where
he supposed he could do the business freely. In
this instance, however, he was mistaken ; for, with a
most indignant rage, I sprawled, kicked, and flung,

MKMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. O

and, I was told, bit the innocent boy, on the neck,
when he instantly roared out, and threw me down ;
and, on my being seized again by the old man,
I rebelled, and broke his shins with my iron-
hooped clogs, and ran off. By this time, the boy's
mother, who was a spirited woman, and lived close
by, attracted by the ferment that was raised, flew
(I understood) into the school-room, when a fierce
scold ensued between the master and her. After
this I went no more to his school, but played the
truant every day, and amused myself by making
dams and swimming boats, in a small burn, which
ran through a place then called the " Colliers Close
"Wood," till the evening, when I returned home
with my more fortunate or more obedient school-
fellows.

How long it was before my absence from school
was discovered, I know not, but I got many severe
beatings from my father and mother, in the interval
between my leaving the school and the old master's
death. As soon as another schoolmaster (James
Burn) was appointed, I was sent to him ; and he hap-
pened to be of a directly o'pposite character to the
late one. With him I was quite happy, and learned
as fast as any other of the boys, and with as great
pleasure. After the death of this much respected
young man, who lived only a very few years after
his appointment, my learning any more at Mickley
school was at an end.

Some time after this, my father put me to school
under the care of the Rev. C. Gregson, of Ovingham ;
and well do I remember the conversation that passed

6 MEMOIR OF THOMAS J5EWKK.

between them 011 the occasion. It was little to my
credit ; for my father began by telling him that I was
so very imguidable that he could not manage me,
and he begged of my new master that he would
undertake that task, and they both agreed that
"to spare the rod was to spoil the child." This
precept was, I think, too severely acted upon, some-
times upon trivial occasions and sometimes otherwise.
I was for some time kept at reading, writing, and
figures, — how long, I know not, but I know that as
soon as my question was done upon my slate, I spent
as much time as I could find in filling with my pencil
all the unoccupied spaces, with representations of
such objects as struck my fancy ; and these were
rubbed out, for fear of a beating, before my question
was given in. As soon as I reached Fractions, Deci-
mals, &c., I was put to learn Latin, and in this I
was for some time complimented by my master for
the great progress I was making ; but, as I never
knew for what purpose I had to learn it, and was
wearied out with getting off long tasks, I rather flag-
ged in this department of my education, and the
margins of my books, and every space of spare and
blank paper, became filled with various kinds of
devices or scenes I had met with ; and these were ac-
companied with wretched rhymes explanatory of
them. As soon as I filled all the blank spaces in
my books, I had recourse, at all spare times, to the
gravestones and the floor of the church porch, with
a bit of chalk, to give vent to this propensity of
mind of figuring whatever I had seen. At that
time I had never heard of the word " drawing ;" nor

MEMOIH OF THOMAS BEWICK. 7

did I know of any other paintings besides the king's
arms in the ehurch, and the signs in Ovingham of
the Black Bull, the White Horse, the Salmon, and
the Hounds and Hare. I always thought I could
make a far better hunting scene than the latter : the
others were beyond my hand. I remember once of
my master overlooking me while I was very busy
with my chalk in the porch, and of his putting me
very greatly to the blush by ridiculing and calling
me a conjurer. My father, also, found a deal of
fault for " mispending my time in such idle pur-
suits ;" but my propensity for drawing was so rooted
that nothing could deter me from persevering in it ;
and many of my evenings at home were spent in
filling the flags of the floor and the hearth-stone
with my chalky designs.

After I had long scorched my face in this way, a
friend, in compassion, furnished me with some
paper upon which to execute my designs. Here I
had more scope. Pen and ink, and the juice of the
brambleberry, made a grand change. These were
succeeded by a camel-hair pencil and shells of colours ;
and, thus supplied, I became completely set up ; but
of patterns, or drawings, I had none. The beasts
and birds, which enlivened the beautiful scenery of
woods and wilds surrounding my native hamlet, fur-
nished me with an endless supply of subjects. I now,
in the estimation of my rustic neighbours, became
an eminent painter, and the walls of their houses
were ornamented with an abundance of my rude
productions, at a rcry cheap rate. These chiefly con-
sisted of particular hunting scenes, in which the

8 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

portraits of the hunters, the horses, and of every dog
in the pack, were, in their opinion, a* ircll ns )i>y own,
faithfully delineated. But while I was proceeding
in this way, I was at the same time deeply engaged
in matters nearly allied to this propensity for draw-
ing ; for I early became acquainted, not only with the
history and the character of the domestic animals,
but also with those which roamed at large.

The conversations of the Nimrods of that day,
in which the instincts and peculiar properties of the
various wild animals were described in glowing terms,
attracted my keenest attention ; and to their rude and
lengthened narratives I listened with extreme de-
light. With me they made a winter's evening fly
fast away. At holiday times, — and at other times
when prevented by the floods of the Tyne from get-
ting across to school, — I was sure, with the most
ardent glee, to make one of the number in the hunt-
ing parties which frequently took place at that time ;
whether it might be in the chase of the fox or the
hare, or in tracing the foumart in the snow, or
hunting the badger at midnight. The pursuing,
bating, or killing, these animals, never at that time
struck me as being cruel. The mind had not as
yet been impressed with the feelings of humanity.
This, however, came upon me at last ; and the first
time I felt the change happened by my having (in
hunting) caught the hare in my arms, while sur*
rounded by the dogs and the hunters, when the poor,
terrified creature screamed out so piteously, — like a
child, — that I would have given anything to have
saved its life. In this, however, I was prevented ; for

UKMOIK OF THOMAS BEWICK. 9

a farmer well known to me, who stood close by,
pressed upon me, and desired I would " give her to
him ;" and, from his being better able (as I thought)
to save its life, I complied with his wish. This
was no sooner done than he proposed to those about
him, "to have a bit more sport with her," and this
was to be done by first breaking one of its legs, and
then again setting the poor animal off a little before
the dogs. I wandered away to a little distance,
oppressed by my own feelings, and could not join
the crew again, but learned with pleasure that their
intended victim had made its escape.

The "musical din" of the hounds still continued
to have its charms, and I still continued to follow
them ; but from that day forward, I have ever
wished that this poor, persecuted, innocent creature
might escape with its life. The worrying of foxes,
the baiting of foumarts, otters, badgers, &c., did not
awaken in me similar feelings ; for in the fierce con-
flicts between them and the dogs, there was some-
thing like an exchange of retaliation, and not unfre-
quently the aggressors were beaten ; and I have with
pleasure seen that wonderfully courageous animal, the
badger (with fair play), beat the dogs of a whole
neighbourhood, one after another, completely off.

In the vermin-hunting excursions in the depth
of winter, while the whole face of nature was
bound in frost and covered with deep snow, in tra-
versing through bogs, amidst reeds and rushes, I
have often felt charmed with the sight of birds, —
flushed, and sometimes caught, by the terrier dogs, —
which I had never seen or heard of before ; and I an?

10 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

still in doubt whether some of them have not escaped
being noticed as British birds.

These were the diversions of the winter months,
which I enjoyed in an extreme degree, amidst the
storm and the tempest. In that season I was also
sometimes better employed in looking after a small
flock of sheep on the fell, a part of which was my
own.* The extremity of the weather had taught them
to seek a place of shelter under a steep but low
" brae," overhung with whins, under which, in such
weather, I was almost certain to find them and their
associates all huddled together. To this place,
through wreaths of snow, I early bent my way, with
a bundle of hay on my back, and my pockets some-
times filled with oats, which I distributed amongst
them. Upon these occasions, though at other times
extremely wild, they were quite tame, and seemed to
know me.

From my sheep thus drawing into shelter, gave
rise to an opinion I formed, and which has been con-
firmed by long reflection, that much may yet be
done to protect the larger flocks from being over-
blown and lost on the bleak moors, in great snow
storms. Were long avenues made by double rows of
whin hedges, planted parallel to each other at about
six feet asunder, and continued in the form of two
sides of a square, with the whins of each side drawn

* They were of the long-legged, black-faced kind, which were
almost the only sort at that time kept in this part of the country.
The improved breed, with their fatting qualities, were then not known.
The mutton of the former eats like dark, juicy venison, while that of
the latter puts one in mind of blubber.

MKMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 11

together, and to grow interplatted at the tops, so as
to form an arched kind of roof, the sheep would, on
instinctively seeing the coming storm, immediately
avail themselves of such asylums, and particularly
in the lambing season. In the corner of the angle
of this square, the shepherd might have his hovel,
thatched with heather and ling, and his beds for
himself and his dogs, made of the same materials ;
and the whole of this " bield" might be rendered so
snug as greatly to defy the severity of the winter's
drifting blasts and wreaths of snow.

At that time of life, every season had its charms ;
and I recollect well of listening with delight, from
the little window at my bed-head, to the murmuring
of the flooded burn which passed my father's house,
and sometimes roused me from my bed, to see what
it was like. After this, my first and common em-
ployment was to " muck" the byer ; and, when the
servant girl did not come soon enough, I frequently
tried my hand at milking the cows ; and I was always
particularly keen of being there in snow storms.
When this was the case, within the byer door, I
snugly watched the appearance of various birds,
which passed the little dean below, and which the
severity of the weather drove from place to place, in
search of shelter. With the sight of my intimate
acquaintances, the robins, wrens, blackbirds, spar-
rows, a solitary crow, and some others, I was not
much attracted, but always felt an extreme pleasure
and curiosity in seeing the more rare visitants, — such
as the woodcock, the snipe, and other waders, with the
red wings, fieldfares, &c., — make their appearance.

12 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

The winter evenings were often spent in listening
to the traditionary tales and songs, relating to men
who had been eminent for their prowess and bravery
in the border wars, and of others who had been
esteemed for better and milder qualities, such as
their having been good landlords, kind neighbours,
and otherwise in every respect bold, independent,
and honest men. I used to be particularly affected
with the warlike music, and with the songs relative
to the former description of characters ; but with the
songs regarding the latter, a different kind of feeling
was drawn forth, and I was greatly distressed, and
often gave vent to it in tears. These songs and "la-
ments" were commemorative of many worthies ; but
the most particular ones that I now remember were
those respecting the Earl of Derwentwater, who was
beheaded in the year 1715, and was looked upon as
having been a victim to the cruelty of the reigning
family, and who was venerated as a saint uponlBrth.
It was said that the light from Heaven atteiraed
his corpse to the vault at Dilston Hull, and that
prosperity would shine no more upon Tyneside.
Then followed the sorrowful remembrances of those
that were dead and gone. To sigh over them Jras
unavailing; they had filled the space allotted to
them on this side of Time, and the winds had
blown over their silent graves for ages past. The
predictions that the mansions of those that remained
would soon, for want of heirs, become desolate — these
and such like melancholy reflections made a deep
impression on my mind ; and I have often since, with
feelings of extreme regret, beheld these mansions,

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 13

once the seats of hospitality, dilapidated, and the
families which once occupied them extinct and
forgotten.

When the winter began somewhat to abate of its
rigours, or in the early spring, it was a common job
for me, before setting off" to school, to rise betimes
in the morning, — as indeed I was always accustomed
to do, — and equipt with an apron, an old dyking
mitten, and a sharpened broken sickle, to set off
amongst the whin bushes, which were near at hand,
to cut off their last year's sprouts. These were laid
into a corner till the evening, when I stript, and
fell to work to " cree" them with a wooden " mell,"
in a stone trough, till the tops of the whins were
beaten to the consistency of soft, wet grass ; and,
with this mess, I fed the horses before I went to
bed, or in the morning as occasion might require.
They were shy about eating this kind of provender
at first, and I was obliged to mix oats with it ; but
they soon became so fond of it, alone, that there
was no need of any mixture. I know not whether
a scarcity of fodder first gave rise to the suggestion
of using this expedient, or it was tried as an
experiment ; but certain it is that this kind of food
agreed so well with the horses that they became
soon very sleek, and cast their winter coats of hair
long before other horses that were fed in the com-
mon way. Cows would not eat the whin tops thus
prepared, but, in a winter of scarcity, I have known
all hands at work in cutting ivy from the trees,
and even small ash twigs, to be given to the cattle
as fodder.

CHAPTER II.

FROM the little window at my bed-head, I
noticed all the varying seasons of the year ; and,
when the spring put in, I felt charmed with the
music of birds, which strained their little throats
to proclaim it. The chief business imposed upon
me as a task, at this season, was my being set
to work to " scale" the pastures and meadows ;
that is, to spread the mole-hills over the surface
of the ground. This, with gardening, and such
like jobs, was very hungry work, and often made
me think dinner was long in coming ; and, when
at last it was sent to me, be it what it might, I
sat down on the " lown" side of a hedge and
eat it with a relish that needed no sauce.

As soon as the bushes and trees began to put
forth their buds, and make the face of nature look
gay — this was the signal for the angler to prepare
his fishing tackle. In doing this I was not
behind hand. Fishing rods, set gads, and night
lines were all soon made fit for use, and with
them, late and early, I had a busy time of it, dur-
ing the summer months, until the frosts of autumn
forbid me to proceed. The uneasiness which my
late evening wadings by the waterside gave to my
father and mother, I have often since reflected

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 15

upon with regret. They could not go to bed
with the hopes of getting to sleep, while haunted
with the apprehension of my being drowned ; and
well do I remember to this day my father's well-
known whistle, which called me home. He went
to a little distance from the house, where nothing
obstructed the sound, and whistled so loud, through
his finger and thumb, that in the still hours of
evening it might be heard echoing up the vale
of the Tyne, to a very great distance. This whistle
I learned to imitate, and answered it as well as
I could, and then posted home.

From early in the morning till night, I was
scarcely ever out of an action either good or bad ;
or, when not kept close at school, or in doing jobs
such as those I have described, I was almost con-
stantly engaged in some mischievous^ prank or
other ; but with a detail of these it would be
wearisome to load my narrative : they were oc-
casioned by the overflowings of an active, wild
disposition. At one time, in imitation of the
savages described in " Robinson Crusoe," — or some
other savages, — I often, in a morning, set off stark
naked across the fell, where I was joined by some
associates, who, in like manner, ran about like
mad things, or like Bedlamites who had escaped.
Climbing the tall trees at Eltringham for rook
nests, at the hazard of breaking our necks or our
bones, was another piece of business which em-
ployed our attention. I was also engaged in
another equally dangerous. Having formed the
resolution of curing a vicious, " runaway" horse be-

16 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

longing to my father, which 110 one durst mount,
I, however, took the opportunity, when out of
sight of any of the family, to do so. With my
hand entwined in his mane, and bare-backed, I
set him a-going, and let him run over "sykes"
and burns, up hill and down hill, until he was
quite spent. In a short time I discovered that,
to make him run at all, he must be whipt to it.
At other times I swam him in the river. This,
and such like treatment, made him look ill, and
quite tamed him.

I have often since shuddered at the thoughts
of doing these and such like desperate acts, and
wondered how I escaped ; but neither caution
nor fear had at that time taken a place in the
mind ; on the contrary, any uncommon or fright-
ful exploit^ had charms in it that I could not re-
sist. One of these pranks, however, attracted
the attention of the neighbourhood, brought me
into a great dilemma, and occasioned me a severe
beating. I engaged a constant associate, who was
ever ready at my command to help me, as soon
as I communicated any design to him. I had
discovered two oxen in a little savannah, or
bit of grazing ground, surrounded with hazel and
other bushes, near the brink of the river. Thither
we went in order to enjoy so tempting a sight
as to see them plunge overhead into the flood.
When all was ready, we suddenly, with long
branches in our hands, sprang upon them from
the bushes overhanging the precipice, the danger
of which they did not see ; and they were plunged,

MKMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 17

with such a delightful dax/i, overhead into the
river ! They, however, happened to be no worse
for it ; for they were driven down by the rapid
current of the flood, and landed safely at a dis-
tance below. This exploit, happening on a Sun-
day forenoon, was an aggravation of the crime.

After this my father mostly took me with him
to church, where I frequently employed myself
in drawing figures upon the soft, painted book-
board with a pin. In doing this, no one no-
ticed me, especially as I held down my head ;
and, having got the church service off, I re-
peated it the same as the congregation. This
apparently regular behaviour was not, however, of
long duration, and was broken in upon at last.
Sunday after Sunday a clownish fellow had ob-
truded himself into our pew. I did not think this
quite right, and wished to put an end to it ; and
this happened in a very rude way in the end.
A dumb man ("Dummy, of Wylain"), a constant
church-goer, had a seat in a pew before ours,
where, regularly during the service, he fell fast
asleep. "When in that state, and sitting right be-
fore our obtruder, I reached aside, and gave
" Dummy" a smart blow on the head, and in-
stantly, as if I knew nothing of the matter, I seemed
to be quite grave, and intent on looking on my
prayer book, while the obtruder was putting on a
broad grin. At this poor Dummy was enraged,
and with a distorted countenance, he kept thump-
ing the man on the face and head, at the same
time making a hideous noise, which was height -

18 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

ened by the fellow's shouting, and calling him
" fool," at the same time assuring him that it was
I who gave the blow, and not he. To the
deaf man this was a waste of words. It need not
be added that the congregation was greatly dis-
turbed, while perhaps none knew or suspected the
cause except my father and my preceptor in the
pulpit.

Sometimes the lads in the same class I belonged
to, when we had been doing amiss, were sent to
cut birch rods to whip us with. At other times
we were locked into the belfry, where we often
amused ourselves by drawing each other up by
the bell ropes to the first floor; but one of our
comrades having (by the rope slipping through the
hands of those who held it), been precipitated to the
ground, by which he was a good deal hurt, that
mode of punishment was altogether dropped. The
parson, poor man, had a troublesome time of it with
one or other of us ; and I remember, once in par-
ticular, of putting him into very great pain and
distress of mind. After a great flood, a large piece
of ice, about the size of the floor of a room, had
been left in a place called "Ned's Hole," by the
side of the river. This I got upon, and persuaded
several others to do the same, and we then set to
work with a " boat stower" to push it off shore ;
and, in this manner, .we got some distance up the
river, opposite to the parsonage garden, where
our master happened to be, and saw us. I could
sec by his agitated motions, and his uplifted hands,
that he was put into a state much easier to be

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 19

felt than described. After having been guilty of
misdemeanors of this kind, I did not go back to
school for the remainder of the day ; but waded, or
otherwise crossed, the river, and sat down or
amused myself among the bushes, on the water
banks, until the rest of the scholars left school,
when I joined them and went home. But as it
would . not have been safe for me to go to bed (if
conscious of guilt, or if otherwise betrayed) for
fear of a visit from my father, I always took up
my abode for the night in the byer loft, among
the hay or straw, knowing well that, when his
passion subsided, I should escape a beating from
his hands.

The first cause of my preceptor beginning a
severe system of flogging (beside the quantum I
received for mischievous acts), was for not getting
off my Latin tasks. When this was not done to
his mind, he, by way of punishment, gave me
another still worse to do, and still longer, till at
length I gave up even attempting to get through
them at all, and began to stand a flogging with-
out being much put about by it. I think (at this
day) my very worthy preceptor, in following this
rather indiscriminate system of severe punish-
ments, was wrong. He often beat his own son,*
a youth of an uncommonly mild, kind, and cheer-
ful disposition, whom I felt more distressed
at seeing punished than if it had been my-
self ; for I mostly considered that I richly

* Christopher Gregson, of Apothecaries Hall, Loudon. He died
181 — , and was buried at Ovingham.

20 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

deserved the stripes inflicted upon me, and that
he did not.

There was a misdemeanor for which, above all
the rest, I was more severely punished, both at
school and at home, than for any other fault; and
that was for fighting with other boys. To put a
stop to this practice, was the particular request
of my mother. To her it was odious in the ex-
treme. Her reasons I do not forget. She quoted
Scripture in support of them. Therein, she said,
we were directed " if we were struck on one cheek,
to turn the other also," (I forget the exact words) :
it is a portion of Scripture I did not obey.
She also maintained that the business of fight-
ing was degrading to human nature, and put
a man that practised it on a level with dogs. I
am conscious that I never sought a quarrel with
any one ; but I found an insult very bad to bear,
and generally in the most secret manner contrived
"'to fight it out."

When the floggings inflicted upon me had in a
great measure begun to lose their effect, another
mode of punishment was fallen upon ; and that
was, after the school hours were over, to lock
me into the church, where I was kept till the dusk
of the evening. This solitary confinement was very
irksome to me ; as I had not at that time got over
a belief in ghasts and boggles, for the sight of
which I was constantly upon the look out. Op-
pressed with fear, I peeped here and there into
every corner, in dread of seeing some terrible spi-
rit. In time, however, this abated, and I amused

MKM01R OF THOMAS BEWICK. 21

myself, as well as I could, in surveying the sur-
rounding objects, and in climbing up the pillars,
with the help of a rope or a handkerchief, as I
used to do in getting up large trees. It happened
one evening, when my master, as usual, came to
let me out, that I was sitting astride upon the
capital of one of the pillars, where he did not see
me. He called on me, but I made no answer, and
he then posted off to see if the door was fast, and
having ascertained that it was, he marched along
the aisles in great perturbation of mind, frequently
exclaiming " God bless me !" &c., When he was
gone, I slipped down, and found the choir door
only bolted on the inside, so I waded the river
and posted home, and slept in my old asylum the
hay loft. I have frequently bitterly repented of
having given a man I afterwards so highly re-
spected through life so much pain and trouble.

I have before noticed that the first time I felt
compassion for a dumb animal, was upon my
having caught a hare in my arms. The next
occurrence of the kind happened with a bird. I
had no doubt knocked many down with stones
before, but they had escaped being taken. This
time, however, the little victim dropped from the
tree, and I picked it up. It was alive, and looked
me piteously in the face ; and, as I thought, could
it have spoken, it would have asked me why I
had taken away its life. I felt greatly hurt at
what I had done, and did not quit it all the after-
noon. I turned it over and over, admiring its
plumage, its feet, its bill, and every part of it.

22 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

It was a bullfinch. I did not then know its name,
but I was told it was a " little Matthew Martin."
This was the last bird I killed ; but many, indeed,
have been killed since on my account.

I had been at man-fights, dog-fights, and cock-
fights, without feeling much compassion. Indeed,
with the last of these exhibitions, I was more
entertained at seeing the wry faces, contortions,
and agitations of the clowTns who surrounded the
cock-pit, or circle, than I was with the cocks
fighting. It was long before I felt disgusted at
seeing men fight. This, however, happened at
last. A travelling merchant, or respectable pedlar,
— a slim-made, genteel-looking man, — had perhaps
forgotten himself over a glass, and not minded
what company he was in. He could not, however,
be long in such society without being insulted ;
but, be that as it might, a fight ensued, in which
the stranger was over-matched. I saw only the
concluding part, and was extremely shocked ; for
the stranger was sitting propped up with his arms-—
behind him, quite spent and speechless, and looked
like a corpse. After sitting a short time in this
helpless state, his opponent walked coolly up to
him, and with a blow on the face or head laid him
flat on the ground. I thought he was killed, at
which I became so frantic with rage and indig-
nation, that I believe, at the moment, if I had
had a pistol at hand, I would have shot the sturdy
barbarian.

In going along with my narrative, I have noticed
some of the first impressions which produced a

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 'J3

change, and left a strong effect on my mind.
In some of these, the change was quick and decisive ;
in others of a more tardy nature ; and prejudices
which were early rooted were not easily removed.
Among the worst, was that of a belief in ghosts,
boggles, apparitions, &c. These wrought power-
fully upon the fears of the great bulk of the
people at that time, and, with many, these fears
are not rooted out even at this day. The stories
so circumstantially told respecting these phan-
toms and supernatural things, I listened to with
the dread they inspired, and it took many an
effort, and I suffered much, before it could be
removed. What helped me greatly to conquer
fears of that kind was my knowing that my
father constantly scouted such idle, or, indeed,
such pernicious tales. He would not allow me to
plead fear as any excuse, when he had to send
me an errand at night ; and, perhaps, my being
frequently alone in the dark might have the effect
of enabling me greatly to rise superior to such
weakness.

I have known men, both old and young, who
dared to encounter almost any danger, yet were
afraid of their own shadoics; and I remember well
of trying the experiment, one night, upon a servant
man of my father's, who was a kind of village
Ceesar, and feared not to stand the most desperate
battles with others of the same cast, upon any oc-
casion. I began by sneering at his courage, and
then bet him a penny that I durst do what he
dared not. All I intended to do I set about rather

24 MKMOIR OF THOMAS HKWICK.

deliberately, and then rose to perform my feat,
which was to walk along the dark passage to the
back door, and to repeat something (rather omin-
ous, indeed) about "Silky" and "Hedley Kow."
After performing my task, I returned with appar-
ent agitation and fear, and sat down in silence
close beside him for some time, and then asked him
if he durst do the like. I, however, saw, by his
hesitation, that the performance by him was given
up, and he only remarked that "one may soon
get what one'll never cast."

At another time, in broad day light, I took it
into rny head to make another trial of this kind
upon my father's pitmen. For this purpose I
detained our cur dog, until I buckled him up
in a pair of old " sods," which covered him
beyond both head and tail, and set him off to
the pit, knowing well that he would go straight
there ; for he was accustomed every day to leave
the pit lodge, and go home, where he waited until
he saw that dinner was ready, and then his re-
appearance at the pit was as good as telling my
father and his servants to come home. I durst
not have thus amused myself if I had not known
that my father Avas out of the way. I set off on
the inside of the hedge, keeping pace with the
dog all the way up to the pit heap, near which I
stopped, and peeped to see the effect that would
be produced ; and this was really curious. One
of the men, seeing the odd appearance of some-
thing alive, with a long body, without either legs,
head, or tail, moving straight forward towards

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 25

him, knew not what to make of it ; and, after rub-
bing his eyes, he ran off to his companions, who,
when they had taken a peep, all set off, with
speed, on their way home.

In a business of a similar kind, which happened
not long after, it was my lot to be the sufferer. A
few companions used to come at nights to our
house, to play at cards with me, and I, in turn,
visited them for the same purpose. We were,
however, taken to task by a bigotted old woman
in the neighbourhood, who called the cards the
" devil's books." She told me one night before
setting off to play with my companions, as usual,
that, if I looked under the table, I would see the
devil ; and I recollect that I several times peeped
to see if he were indeed there. "When we were
done playing, two of the gamesters, as was custo-
mary, set me across part of the fell towards home.
I was, however, much surprised at their suddenly
leaving me without saying good night, or making
any reply to my shouting after them, and they
were soon out of sight. This was at a place called
the " Sand Holes," which I then left, and was
turning towards home, when, behold! to my utter
amazement, I saw the devil ! It was a clear
moonlight night ; I could not be mistaken — his
horns — his great white, goggle eyes, and teeth,
and tail — his whole person stood fairly before
me ! As I gazed, I thought the hair lifted the
hat on my head. He stood, and I stood, for some
time ; and, I believe, if he had then come up to
me, I must have dropped down. Certain it is,

E

26 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

however, that desperation succeeded fear. I moved
aside, and he did the same. I involuntarily got
my "jackleg knife," and, if he had then approached
me, he to a certainty would have been stabbed.
I slipped off my clogs, made a start in a bending
direction, and at full speed ran home. He pur-
sued me nearly to the door, but I beat him in
the race. I had always understood that any per-
son who had seen a ghost, or evil spirit, would
faint on coming into a house with a fire in it. I
feared this, but I fainted none ! and when my
father asked me what was the matter, I told him
I had seen the devil. He, perhaps without think-
ing, gave me a slap on the head. It was not
long, however, till the following affair transpired.
The man who personated the devil, when he met
me, had been on his way to a " kirn supper," and
was going " a guising." When my father heard
the whole transaction, he wrought himself up into
a great rage ; and very shortly after, meeting the
man, in the street at Corbridge, who had fright-
ened me, he instantly paid him off by giving him
a sound beating. When the people, who always
considered my father as a remarkably peaceable
man, saw him thus engaged, they expressed their
surprise ; but, as soon as they heard the reason for
what had been done, they were also exasperated,
and, I was given to understand, the man was ob-
liged to leave the village.

The first time I took notice of any of my female
school -fellows arose from a reproof I met with, and
the manner it was given, from one of them. The

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 27

amiable person alluded to, was Miss Betty Gregson,
my preceptor's daughter, and somewhere about my
own age. She kept a messet dog, and the sleek,
fat, useless animal was much disliked by me as
well as by some of the other boys. When it made
its appearance in the churchyard, which it some-
times did, we set about frightening it ; and, for
this purpose, some of us met it at every gate and
outlet, and stopped its retreat till it became quite
distressed. The last time that this kind of sport
was practised on her little dog, I happened to be
the only actor. Having met with it at a little
distance from its home, I had stopped it from en-
tering the house, and had pursued it about and
about, or met it at the end of every avenue, till
it was put into great " bodily fear !" This be-
haviour towards her little favourite, was very
offensive to Miss Gregson. She could endure it
no longer, and she called me to account for it. I
can never forget her looks upon the occasion. She
no doubt intended to scold me, but the natural
sweetness of her disposition soon showed itself in
its true colours. She did not know how to
scold ; for, after some embarrassing attempts at it,
and some hesitation, she put me in mind of my
being related to her, and of her uniform kindness
to me, and with irresistible arguments and per-
suasions made me see the impropriety of my con-
duct. "With me this left its mark ; for from that
time forward I never plagued any of tfite girls at
school, nor did any thing that might give them
offence ; nor has this impression ever been effaced

28 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

from my mind, but has been there fostered through
life and settled into a fixed respect and tender re-
gard for the whole sex.

Hitherto my life at school and at home might
be considered as a life of warfare, and punish-
ments of various kinds had been inflicted upon
me apparently with little effect. As a cure for
my misdeeds, my worthy master, however, at
length found out a better and more effectual way.
He one day invited me to dine with him, and after
showing me the greatest kindness, he followed
this up in a friendly, plain, and open way, by re-
monstrating with me on the impropriety of my
past conduct, the evil tendency of it, and the pain
and trouble it had given him ; urging me, at the
same time, in such a persuasive tone, instantly to
desist from it, that I felt quite overpowered with
his discourse, and fell into a flood of tears. The
result was, I never dared to encounter another of
these friendly meetings ; and, while I remained
at his school, he never again had occasion to find
fault with me.

The transactions in which I afterwards became
engaged, afforded me more real enjoyment. As
silent time stole away, in the varied seasons of
the long-measured years, changes gradually took
place in many of the erroneous notions I had
formed of things. As the mind became more ex-
panded, curiosity led me to enquire into the na-
ture of the objects which attracted my attention.
Among the first was that of birds, their n<-ts.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 29

their eggs, and their young. These to me were
long a source of great delight, and many a spring
morning I watched and looked after them. I also
spent many a summer evening, on my way home
from school, lost in wonder in examining the
works going forward among a nation of ants. The
place they occupied was on the top of the " Boat
Hill," near Eltringham, and the colony was the
largest I had ever seen. From it their narrow roads,
through the grass, radiated in various directions
to a great distance. These were like as many
turnpike roads, and as busily crowded as any
among men, leading to or from a great fair. I
have sometimes with a stick overturned their ac-
cumulated gatherings, when it was curious to ob-
serve the effect produced. The greatest bustle and
confusion ensued ; and yet I have observed with
surprise, that next morning every thing was re-
stored to the same order as before. I noticed that
they had other enemies that broke in upon them,
and which perhaps injured them more than I
did ; and these were the turkeys from the village,
where great numbers were bred every year. As
soon as the young brood were able to walk abroad,
the mother led them every day to this great ant
hill, were they no doubt made terrible havoc among
the inhabitants and their works.*

Bees also attracted much of my attention. I

* The history and economy of these very interesting insects are,
I think, not well known. They appear to manage their affairs
with as much forethought and industry as mankind ; but to what

30 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

could not see into the interior of their works, but
I made every inquiry of those who had long kept
them, and gathered, in this way, as good a know-
ledge of their history and economy as I could.
One of my morning jobs was to sit before the
hives, with a stick like a spatula, to kill the
wasps as they alighted to enter and rob them. I
could see the bees enter, loaded with what they
had culled from every flower, but never could
see them attack or repel their enemies.

I frequently amused myself in observing the
murders of a large spider, which had placed its
web in a corner of the little window at my bed
head. Being wishful to see how it managed its
affairs, I prevented the servant girl from brushing
the web away. Its proceedings did not excite in
me any favourable opinion. Having seen it
seize every innocent fly that set foot upon its
snares, I had a mind to try how it would con-
duct itself towards a more powerful opponent. For
this purpose, I caught a wasp, which I held by
its wings upon the web until its feet got entan-
gled, when out came the hitherto unthwarted ty-
rant ; and, after some apparent hesitation, it at
length was tempted to pounce upon the obtruder.
The struggle was, however, very short. I soon

degree their reasoning and instinctive powers extend is yet a
mystery. After they have spent a certain time toiling ou earth,
they get wings, and soar aloft into the atmosphere. What change
they undergo before they assume this new character, or what
becomes of them afterwards, seems doubtful.

MKM01H OF THOMAS BEWICK.

31

perceived the wasp double itself up and dart its
sting into the body of its enemy, which instantly
retired, and never afterwards returned. This is
only one experiment, but further trials of the
kind might be made to come at truth.

CHAPTER III.

CHERRYBURN House, the place of my nativity,
and which for many years my eyes beheld with
cherished delight, is situated on the south side of
the Tyne, in the county of Northumberland, a
short distance from the river. The house, stables,
&c., stand on the west side of a little dean, at
the foot of which runs a burn.* The dean was
embellished with a number of cherry and plumb
trees, which were terminated by a garden on the
north. Near the house, were two large ash trees
growing from one root ; and, at a little distance,
stood another of the same kind. At the south end
of the premises, was a spring well, overhung by
a large hawthorn bush, behind which was a holly
hedge ; and further away was a little boggy
dean, with underwood and trees of different kinds.
Near the termination of this dean, towards the
river, were a good many remarkably tall ash trees,
and one of oak, supposed to be one of the tallest
and straightest in the kingdom. On the tops of

* This, formerly, was supplied by a copious spring of fine
water, which having found its way into some pit workings and
disappeared, the burn is now only fed by day water from the fields.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 33

these was a rookery, the sable inhabitants of
which, by their consultations and cawings, and
the bustle they made when building their nests,
were among the first of the feathered race to pro-
claim the approaching spring. The corn-fields
and pastures to the eastward were surrounded
with very large oak and ash trees. Indeed, at
that time, the country between Wylam and By-
well was beautified with a great deal of wood,
which presented the appearance of a continued
forest ; but these are long since stubbed up. Needy
gentry care little about the beauty of a country,
and part of it is now, comparatively, as bare as a
mole-hill.

To the westward, adjoining the house, lay the
common or fell, which extended some few miles
in length, and was of various breadths. It was
mostly fine, green sward or pasturage, broken or
divided, indeed, with clumps of " blossom' d whins,"
foxglove, fern, and some junipers, and with
heather in profusion, sufficient to scent the whole
air. Near the burns, which guttered its sides,
were to be seen the remains of old oaks, hollowed
out by Time, with alders, willows, and birch,
which were often to be met with in the same
state ; and these seemed to me to point out the
length of time that these domains had belonged to
no one. On this common, — the poor man's herit-
age for ages past, where he kept a few sheep, or
a Kyloe cow, perhaps a flock of geese, and mostly
a stock of bee-hives, — it was with infinite pleasure
that I long beheld the beautiful wild scenery which

34 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

was there exhibited, and it is with the opposite
feelings of regret that I now find all swept
away.* Here and there on this common were to be
seen the cottage, or rather hovel, of some labouring
man, built at his own expense, and mostly
with his own hands ; and to this he always added
a garth and a garden, upon which great pains
and labour were bestowed to make both produc-
tive ; and for this purpose not a bit of manure was
suffered to be wasted away on the "lonnings" or
public roads. These various concerns excited the
attention and industry of the hardy occupants,
which enabled them to prosper, and made them
despise being ever numbered with the parish poor.
These men, whose children were neither pampered
nor spoiled, might truly be called —

" A bold peasantry, their country's pride ;"*

and to this day I think I see their broad shoulders
and their hardy sun-burnt looks, which altogether
bespoke the vigour of their constitutions.

These cottagers (at least those of them I knew)
were of an honest and independent character, while
at the same time they held the neighbouring
gentry in the greatest estimation and respect ;

' This fell, or common, containing about 1852 acres, was di-
vided in 1812. By this division, the poor man was rooted out,
and the various mechanics of the villages deprived of all benefit
of it. The neighbouring farmers who reared their young cattle,
and kept as many sheep upon it as they pleased, must now pay
rent for the allotments laid to their farms. The wisdom which
dictated this change is questionable, but the selfish greediness of
it is quite apparent.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 35

and these, again, in return, did not over-look them,
but were interested in knowing that they were
happy and well. Most of these poor men, from
their having little intercourse with the world,
were in all their actions and behaviour truly ori-
ginal ; and, except reading the Bible, local his-
tories, and old ballads, their knowledge was gene-
rally limited. And yet one of these — " Will
Bewick" — from being much struck with my
performances, which he called pictures, became
exceedingly kind to me, and was the first person
from whom I gathered a sort of general knowledge
of astronomy and of the magnitude of the uni-
verse. He had, the year through, noticed the
appearances of the stars and the planets, and would
discourse "largely" on the subject. I think I see
him yet, sitting on a mound, or seat, by the hedge
of his garden, regardless of the cold, and intent
upon viewing the heavenly bodies ; pointing to
them with his large hands, and eagerly imparting
his knowledge to me with a strong voice such as
one now seldom hears. I well remember being
much struck with his appearance — his stern-looking
brows, high cheek bones, quick eye, and longish
visage ; and at his resolution (upon another occa-
sion) when he determined upon risking his own
life to save that of another man. The latter, in
the employ of my father, while at work as a pit-
man, had lost his way in the coal workings, and
was missing for perhaps a day or two, (my father
being from home), when our old neighbour, just
described, who was also a pitman and knew the

36 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

workings, equipped himself with everything he
thought necessary for so hazardous an under-
taking ; and, when he was about to go down
the pit shaft, I felt much distressed at seeing my
mother trembling in great agitation of mind for
his safety and that of his lost associate. After
traversing through the old workings of the col-
liery for a long time, — so long, indeed, that it was
feared he had also lost himself, — he found the
man alive, when, with his well-known thundering
voice, he called from the bottom of the shaft,
" all's well," to the inexpressible joy of all who
crowded the pit's mouth.

Another of our fell-side neighbours, Anthony
Liddell, was a man of a very singular character,
and was noticed as such by the whole neighbour-
hood ; but a full account of him would far exceed
the bounds I wish to set to my narrative. He
might, indeed, be called the " village Hampden."
The whole cast of his character was formed by
the Bible, which he had read with attention,
through and through. Acts of Parliament which
appeared to him to clash with the laws laid down
in it, as the Word of God, he treated with con-
tempt. He maintained that the fowls of the air
and the fish of the sea were free for all men ;
consequently, game laws, or laws to protect the
fisheries, had no weight with him. He would
not, indeed, take a salmon out of the locks on
any account, but what he could catch with his
"click-hook," in the river, he deemed his own. As
to what he could do in shooting game, he was so

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 37

inexpert, that he afforded to sportsmen many a
hearty laugh at his awkwardness ; for he could
shoot none till he fixed a hay-fork in the ground
to rest his piece upon. Indeed, the very birds
themselves might, by a stretch of imagination,
be supposed also to laugh at him ; but his de-
ficiencies did not deter him from traversing
over the country-side as eagerly as other sports-
men, notwithstanding his want of success. What-
ever he did was always done in open day ; for, as
he feared no man, he scorned to skulk or to do
anything by stealth. The gaol had no1 terrors
for him, for he lived better there than he did
at home ; and, on one occasion of his being con-
fined, when he returned home he expressed his
surprise to his neighbours, that all the time "he
had not had a single hand's turn to do," and ex-
ulted not a little that the opportunity had thus
been given him. of again reading the Bible through.
He was a great reader of history, especially those
parts where wars and battles were described ;
and, in any meetings with his neighbours, he
took the lead in discourses founded on know-
ledge of that kind. After the Bible, " Josephus"
was his favourite author, next the "Holy Wars"
— these and "Bishop Taylor's Sermons" composed
his whole library ; and his memory enabled him
nearly to repeat whatever he had read. His de-
portment and behaviour were generally the reverse
of anything like sauciness ; but, except in ability
and acquirements, — which, indeed, commanded his
respect, — he treated all men as equals. When full-

38 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

dressed, he wore a a rusty black coat. In other
respects he was like no other person. In what
king's reign his hat had been made was only to
be guessed at, but the flipes of it were very large.
His wig was of the large curled kind, such as was
worn about the period of the revolution. His waist-
coat, or doublet, was made of the skin of some ani-
mal. His buckskin breeches were black and glossy
with long wear, and of the same antiquated fashion
as the rest of his apparel. Thus equipt, and with
his fierce look, he made a curious figure when taken
before the justices of the peace ; and this, together
with his always — when summoned before them —
undauntedly pleading his own cause, often afforded
them so much amusement that it was difficult for
them to keep their gravity.

Thomas Forster was a man of a different cha-
racter from the last, but singular enough in his
way. He was distinguished for his frugality and
industry, and always showed a wish to be looked
upon in a respectable light. He used to call at our
house on a Sunday afternoon, for the purpose of
having a bit of chat with my father and mother. He
took a liking to me, and would observe that, though
I was mischievous enough, yet he never could find
that I was " parrentory," — that is, impudent or
saucy with any one. Besides this part of the good
opinion he had formed, he must have had confidence
as to my keeping any secrets he might impart to
me. He kept a few sheep on the fell ; but his
secret and main business there was looking after
his bees. He had a great number of hives placed

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 39

in very hidden and curious situations. Some of
them were concealed under the boundary hedge
of the common, and were surrounded by a great
extent of whin bushes. Other hives were shel-
tered under the branches of old thorns, and
almost covered or overhung by brambles, wood-
bine, and hip briars, which, when in blossom,
looked beautifully picturesque, while at the same
time they served to keep the eye from viewing
the treasures thus concealed beneath. Others,
again, were placed in the midst of a " whin
rush" — that is, a great extent of old whins, the
stems of which were about the thickness of a man's
arm. The entrance to these last was always by
a "smout hole," or small opening, through which
we crept on hands and knees to the hives, and
which, on leaving, was stopped up by a bushy-
topped whin. By way of taking oif the at-
tention of the " over-inquisitive" as to his stock
of honey, he kept hives in his garden at home,
and sold the produce of these to his neighbours ;
but the greater part of his stock was sold at
distant parts of the country. In this way, and
by his industry and good management, he be-
came what was accounted very rich ; and, as
prosperity excites envy, some people, in a kind
of derision (his mother being a midwife), called
him "Tom Howdy."

I might swell the list of such like characters
(among the unnoticed poor) as those I have de-
scribed, but it would perhaps be tedious, although,
I think it is to be regretted that they are not

40 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

better known to some of the unthinking great; as
it might serve to take off the hauteur, which is
too often shown towards them.

Another of these uncultivated, singular charac-
ters which exhibit human nature left to the gui-
dance of its uncontrolled will, but which, some-
times, may be found — from the force of innate
natural pride — to soar above every meanness, was
John Chapman. This man, though clothed in
rags, was noticed for his honour and integrity ;
and his word was considered to be as good as
one thousand pounds bond. He was one of my
father's workmen, — either as a pitman, a labourer,
or a sinker, — and was of so strong a constitution
that he thought it no hardship, on a cold, frosty
morning, to be let down to the bottom of a sink-
ing pit, where he was to be up to the middle,
or perhaps to the breast, in water, which he was to
lave into buckets, to be drawn up to the top. He
endured the labour of every job he undertook with-
out grumbling or thinking it hard. His living was
of the poorest kind. Bread, potatoes, and oatmeal,
was the only provender he kept by him ; and with
milk or water he finished his repasts. When, by
this mode of living, he had saved the overplus money
of his wages for a month or six weeks, he then
posted off to Newcastle to spend it in beer ; and
this he called "lowseniiig his skin." I was at
this time located in Newcastle, and when the mis-
guided man had spent all his money, he commonly
borrowed two shillings of me to set him home again.
In this irrational way of life he continued for many

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 41

years. On one occasion, when changing his beer
house, and taking up his quarters in another, he
had made no stipulation with his new landlord
as to the place where he was to sleep at night ;
and, judging from his ragged appearance, he was
thought unfit to be trusted as an inmate without
inquiry being made into his character. I was,
therefore, applied to by the landlord, whom I
satisfied by assuring him that, notwithstanding the
outward appearance of his singular-looking guest, he
might be trusted safely even with untold gold. I
further told him that the man who could sleep
upon the fallen leaves in a wood wanted no bed
in his house better than a wooden seat, which
would be as comfortable a bed as he would wish
for. Matters being now perfectly settled, he was
permitted, during his rambles, to make this house
his home. He had been but a short time in this
asylum until he got a pretty numerous acquaint-
ance amongst the tradesmen who frequented the
house, to whom his singularity, his droll and
witty stories, and his songs, afforded great enter-
tainment. Old age, however, overtook him at
last, and he was then obliged to seek parish re-
lief. On this occasion, a neighbouring laird per-
suaded him that his settlement was upon Eltring-
ham, and prevailed on him to swear to it. When
he called upon the farmers there for his pittance,
and they convinced him that he had sworn to
what was false, he was much shocked, and never
called upon them again for his pay. On being
asked why he had not done so, he said, " I would

G

42 MEMOIR OF THOMAS HE WICK.

sooner have my hand cut off, or be found dead
on the highway through want, than claim or
receive money to which I am not justly entitled."
After this he wandered away from Eltringham,
and took up his abode in the glass house at Bill
Quay, where he did any little jobs in his power,
and at the same time made himself very agree-
able and often very entertaining to the workmen ,
who long remembered "Johnny Chapman." From
this place he set off on a visit to a friend, at
some distance, when he was rather unwell, and
not very able to undertake the journey, and was
found dead on the road between Morpeth and
Newcastle.

Before taking leave of these hardy inhabitants
of the fells and wastes, whose cottages were sur-
rounded with whins and heather, I must observe
that they always appeared to me, notwithstand-
ing their apparent poverty, to enjoy health and
happiness in a degree surpassing that of most
other men. Their daily fare was coarse bread,
potatoes, oatmeal porridge, and milk, only varied
by their boiling the pot with animal food, cab-
bage, or other succulent vegetables, and broth,
on Sundays. When tired, at night, with labour,
having few cares to perplex them, they lay down
and slept soundly, and arose refreshed from their
hard beds early in the morning. I have always
felt much pleasure in revisiting them, and, over
a tankard of ale, in listening to their discourse.
It was chiefly upon local biography, in which
they sometimes traced the pedigree of their

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 43

neighbours a long way back. With the aged
men I felt much amused. From the avidity
with which they gathered news, they seemed to
live upon it. Several of them met every day at
the lodge,* or earth-built hovel, close by my
father's pit, for the purpose of being gratified in
this way. The carts and wains came in all direc-
tions, and many of them from a great distance, for
coals, the drivers of which imparted to them all
they knew of what was going on in their several
neighbourhoods. The information thus obtained
was then speedily given in detail at the smith's
shop at Mickley, whence it was spread over the
neighbouring country. One of these old men,
John Newton (the laird of the Neuk), almost every
morning, while I was young, met me and my
schoolfellows at or near the Haly Well (Holy Well)
as we were going to Mickley School, and he
seldom passed me without clapping my head, ac-
companied with some good wishes. Many years
after this, while I lived at the Forth, Newcastle,
I met a little boy, one morning coming to school
there, when I clapped his head, and hoped he
was a good boy. I had not long passed him, till
I was rather struck with the coincident recollec-
tion of his grandfather's grandfather (above named)
so long before having passed me in the same way.

* This lodge having always a good fire kept on in it, with
a bed of straw on each side, bounded by the trunks of two
old trees, to answer the double purpose of bed-stocks and seats,
often proved a comfortable asylum to the benighted, weary, shiver-
ing traveller wandering on the road.

44 MKMOIlt OF THOMAS HKWK'K.

To those I must add another description of men
scattered about the neighbourhood, with whose
histories and narratives I at that time felt greatly
interested. Their minute account of the battles
they had been engaged in, with the hardships they
had endured, and their hairbreadth escapes, told
with so much enthusiasm and exultation, impart-
ed the same kind of feeling to me. This was
long before I had reasoned myself into a detestation
of war, its cruelty, its horrors, and the superlative
wickedness of the authors of it. I had not pictured
to my mind the thousands and tens of thousands
of men in their prime being pitted against a like
number of others towards whom they coidd have
no enmity — to murder each other ! ! — for what ?
It is foreign to my purpose to enlarge upon this
subject : I must leave that to others ; and there
is an abundant scope to dilate upon, and to depic-
ture, the horrors of war in their true colours. The
old soldiers, above alluded to, were mostly the
descendants of the Borderers, whose propensity
for war might, perhaps, be innate. I think, how-
ever, that the breed is thinned, from the numbers
that have been killed off in our wars. One of
these — a near relative — would describe how ho
had had his knapsack, as well as his coat laps
and the cocks of his hat, shot through and
through, and yet had escaped unhurt. Others
of them would give similar descriptive accounts;
and, when a party of them met over their ale,
it is not easy to depicture the warmth with which
they greeted each other, and prided themselv< >

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 45

on the battles they had won. One of these, du-
ring a walk, in which I fell in with him, from
Newcastle to Ovingham, described the minute
particulars of the battle of Minden ; and how,
in the absence of Lord Sackville, they shook
hands the whole length of the line, vowing to
stand by each other without flinching. This tall,
stout man, John Cowie, though old, appeared to
be in all the vigour of youth. He lived at Oving-
ton. His associate, Ben Garlick, of Prudhoe, ap-
peared as if his constitution had been broken down.
They had served in a corps called Napier's Gre-
nadiers. Cowie appeared occasionally in his old
military coat, &c. After he died, this coat, which
had been shot at at Minden and elsewhere, was at
last hung up on a stake on the corn rigs as a
scare- crow.

The ferocious people from whom, as I have in-
timated, the above individuals were probably de-
scended, bore nearly the same names on both sides
of the Border ; their character seemed to have
been distinct from both their English and Scottish
neighbours ; and war and rapine had long been
their almost constant employment. Many of these —
the retainers of the chieftains of old, whose feet
were swift to shed blood — were called by names
descriptive of their characters and persons, and
which were mostly continued by their offspring.
These consisted of a great variety of names of
cunning or ferocious birds and beasts, as well as
some others, the meaning of which is now un-
known. There were among them the Hawk,

46 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

0

Glead, Falcon, Fox, Wolf, Bloodhound, Grey-
hound, Raven, Crow, Gorfoot, Crowfoot, &c., &c.

The farmers of the neighbourhood, at the early
period which I have been describing, always ap-
peared to me to be not of so intelligent a cast as
the poor labouring men. Their minds being more
exclusively occupied with the management of their
farms, they read but little. They were mostly of
a kind and hospitable disposition, and well-inten-
tioned, plain, plodding men, who went jogging on
in their several occupations as their fathers had
done before them.

The next advance in society were the Lairds,
who lived upon their own lands. I have always,
through life, been of opinion that there is no
business of any kind that can be compared to
that of a man who farms his own land. It ap-
pears to me that every earthly pleasure, with
health, is within his reach. But numbers of
these men were grossly ignorant, and in exact
proportion to that ignorance they were sure
to be offensively proud. This led them to at-
tempt appearing above their station, which hasten-
ed them on to their ruin ; but, indeed, this
disposition and this kind of conduct invariably
leads to such results. There were many of
these lairds on Tyneside ; as well as many who
held their lands on the tenure of "suit and ser-
vice," and were nearly on the same level as the
lairds. Some of the latter lost their lands (not
fairly I think) in a way they coidd not help ;
many of the former, by their misdirected pride and

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 47

folly, were driven into towns, to slide away into
nothingness, and to sink into oblivion, while their
"ha' houses" (halls), that ought to have remained
in their families from generation to generation,
have mouldered away. I have always felt ex-
tremely grieved to see the ancient mansions of
many of the country gentlemen, from somewhat
similar causes, meet with a similar fate. The
gentry should, in an especial manner, prove by
their conduct that they are guarded against show-
ing any symptom of foolish pride, at the same
time that they soar above every meanness, and
that their conduct is guided by truth, integrity,
and patriotism. If they wish the people to par-
take with them in these good qualities, they must
set them the example, without which no real re-
spect can ever be paid to them. Gentlemen ought
never to forget the respectable station they hold
in society, and that they are the natural guardians
of public morals, and may with propriety be con-
sidered as the head and the heart of the country,
while " a bold peasantry" are, in truth, the arms,
the sinews, and the strength of the same ; but
when these last are degraded, they soon become
dispirited and mean, and often dishonest and use-
less.

I think the late Duke of Northumberland must
have had an eye to raising the character of the
peasantry when he granted them small portions
of land at a reasonable^rate. If so, in my way
of judging, he was an honour to the peerage,
and set an example worthy of himself and worthy

48 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

of imitation. By going a step further, and plant-
ing healthy, strong, men and women on these
spots, his patriotism would have been crowned
with immortality ; for I cannot help thinking
that, if the same pains were taken in breeding
mankind that gentlemen have bestowed upon the
breeding of horses and dogs, human nature might,
as it were, be new modelled, hereditary diseases
banished, and such a race might people the coun-
try as we can form no conception of. Instead
of a nation of mongrels, there would in time ap-
pear a nation of "Admirable Chrichtons." If the
lands commonly attached to townships had been
continued as such, and let in small portions to
mechanics and labourers (as the late Duke did),
instead of dividing them by act of Parliament
among those who already had too much, the good
effects to the community at large would have been
soon felt; and, in addition to this, if savings banks
and benefit societies were encouraged by every pos-
sible means, there would be little occasion for
poor laws except as a provision for helpless child-
ren, and the lame and the blind. By such means
as these, perhaps, this national evil might be done
away. All men ought to provide for the neces-
sities of old age, and be made sensible of the
manly pleasure of being independent. It is de-
grading, 'and in most cases disgraceful, to those
who look to parish assistance after a life spent
in laziness and mismanagement.

I must not omit mentioning a circumstance
that happened to Eltringham while I was a boy.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 49

It was to have been called "Little Birmingham,"
but this was not accomplished. In 17 — , a person
of the name of Laidler, who was said to have
amassed a large fortune in London, came to the
North, and established the Iron Works at Busy
Cottage, near Newcastle ; and, on his taking a
view of Tyneside, he fixed upon Eltringham as
a place at which he could carry on works to a
much greater extent. He set about this business
in great haste. All kinds of workmen were gather-
ed together for the purpose of speedily accomplish-
ing what he had in view ; and, while some of
them were busy in making the mills and machinery,
others were digging a mill-race of about a quarter
of a mile in length But lo ! when this was done,
— not being permitted to encroach on the bed of
the river, — it was found they had not much
more than a foot of waterfall ; and, as the sides
of the mill-race were cut perpendicularly, about
two yards deep, through the dark fine soil, the
first great flood of the Tyne nearly levelled and
filled it up. The people in and about the place,
including my father, who had got licenses to sell
ale, &c., were obliged to decline, and the sign of my
father's house, — the Seven Stars, — which hung up
between the two ash trees, was taken down.
The projector made our house his home while the
works were going on, and the men were paid
their wages there. All was as suddenly sold off as
it was begun, and my father came to some loss
after all the trouble and turmoil he had been put to.

11

CHAPTER IV.

BEING now nearly fourteen years of age, and a
stout boy, it was thought time to set me off to
business ; and my father and mother had long
been planning and consulting, and were greatly
at a lass what it would be best to fix upon. Any
place where I could see pictures, or where I
thought I could have an opportunity of drawing
them, was such only as I could think of. A New-
castle bookseller, whose windows wrere filled with
prints, had applied to Mr. Gregson for a boy ;
and, when I was asked if I would like to go to
him, I readily expressed my hearty consent ; but,
upon my father making enquiry respecting him,
he was given to understand that he bore a very
bad character : so that business was at an end.
The same year — 1767 — during the summer, Wil-
liam Beilby and his brother Ralph took a ride
to Bywell, to see their intimate acquaintance, Mrs.
Simons, who was my godmother, and the widow
of the late vicar there. She gave them a most
flattering account of me ; so much so, that they,
along with her and her daughter, set off that
same afternoon to Cherryburn to visit us, and to
drink tea. AVhen the Newcastle visitors had given
an account of their enamellings, drawings, and

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 51

engravings, with which I felt much pleased, I
was asked which of them I should like to be bound
to ; and, liking the look and deportment of Ralph
the best, I gave the preference to him. Matters
bearing upon this business were slightly talked
over, and my grandmother having left me twenty
pounds for an apprentice fee, it was not long till
a good understanding between parties took place,
and I soon afterwards went to R. Beilby upon trial.
The first of October was the day fixed upon for
the binding. The eventful day arrived at last,
and a most grievous one it was to me. I liked
my master ; I liked the business ; but to part
from the country, and to leave all its beauties
behind me, with which I had been all my life
charmed in an extreme degree, — and in a way I
cannot describe, — I can only say my heart was
like to break ; and, as we passed away, I inward-
ly bade farewell to the whinny wilds, to Mickley
bank, to the Stob- cross hill, to the water banks,
the woods, and to particular trees, and even to
the large hollow old elm,* which had lain per-
haps for centuries past, on the haugh near the
ford we were about to pass, and which had shel-
tered the salmon fishers, while at work there, from
many a bitter blast. We called upon my much
esteemed schoolfellow, Christopher Gregson, at Ov-
ingham, where he and his father were waiting to
accompany us to Newcastle — all on the same er-

* This old tree- was swept away by the great flood of the 17th
November, 17 71'.

52 MKMOIK OF THOMAS BEWICK.

rand — (we were both bound on that day). While
we were condoling — comforting each other — I
know not what to call it — at the parsonage gates,
many of the old neighbours assembled at the
churchyard wall, to see us set off, and to express
their good wishes ; and, amongst the rest, was a
good, sensible old woman of the village, named
Betty Kell, who gave us her blessing, and each
a penny for good luck. This being done, our
horses were mounted, and we commenced our
journey. The parties kept at a little distance
from each other. I suppose our late preceptor
was lecturing his son, and my father was equally
buried in the same way with me. He had al-
ways set me the example and taken every oppor-
tunity of showing how much he detested mean-
ness, and of drawing forth every particle of pride
within me, for the purpose of directing it in the
right way. He continued a long while on subjects
of this kind, and on the importance and inesti-
mable value of honour and honesty ; and he urg-
ently pressed upon me to do my duty to my
master, in faithfully and obediently fulfilling all his
commands, to be beforehand in meeting his wishes,
and, in particular, to be always upon my guard
against listening to the insinuations and the wick-
ed advice of worthless persons, who I would find
ever ready to poison my ear against him. He
next turned his discourse on another topic — new
to me from him — of great importance — religion —
and pressed this also upon me in a way I did
not forget. He begged I would never omit,

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 53

morning and evening, addressing myself to my
Maker, and said that if I ceased to do so, then
he believed and feared every evil would follow.
I was greatly surprised to hear him dwell on
this subject ; for I think it was the first time.
He used, indeed, to go to church ; but I do not
recollect his ever commenting upon the sermons
he heard there, further than that, the good man's
discourse from the pulpit seemed to him to be
wasted upon the majority of his congregation,
and of his calling some of them " holy professors."
My mother, who was of a religious turn, had,
indeed, all her life endeavoured to make me so
too ; but, as I did not clearly understand her
well-intended lectures, they made little impres-
sion. My father's pithy illustrations, as before
hinted at, were much more forcibly and clearly
made out : I understood them well, and they
operated powerfully upon me.* I have often re-
flected since upon the very high importance, and
the necessity, of instilling this species of educa-
tion into the minds of youth ; for, were pains
taken to draw forth the pride naturally implanted

* I recollect one instance where I felt the force of this species
of education. I might enumerate some others, but this left its
mark upon me. Having fallen in with, and joined, two untutored
lads, in Prudhoe " lonning," they jumped over the hedge and filled
their pockets with potatoes. The farmer was watching, but they
escaped. Not having followed their example, I did not offer to
fly, but he seized me, and threatened what he would do. At this
I was extremely distressed, and had it not been that I consoled
myself with the certainty that my father and mother would be-
lieve me, on my asserting that I had not stolen any of his potatoes,
I believe I would have drowned myself.

O-* MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

in their minds for the wisest and best purposes,
if properly directed, it would exalt human nature,
and be of the utmost importance to individuals
and to society. It is the want of this education,
and the want of industry, that occasions and
spreads misery over the land. How can I doubt
that, if my father had been a thief, I would have
been one also, or, if a highwayman or robber, as
expert as himself. In my opinion, there are two
descriptions of persons who ought to forbear, or
be prevented, from marrying — viz., those of a
base, wicked, and dishonest character, and those
who have broken down their constitutions and
debased both mind and body by dissipation. The
latter entail misery upon their innocent offspring :
the children of the former, by the bad example
shown to them, become a curse to the community
in which they live.

When we arrived at Newcastle, the documents
were soon made ready to bind my companion and
myself. He was bound to Messrs. Doughty and
Wiggins, chemists and druggists ; but Mr. Beilby
(perhaps from his having heard some unfavourable
account of me) and my father not readily agreeing
upon the exact terms of my servitude, some fears
were entertained that the business between us
might be broken off. On this occasion my pre-
ceptor interfered very ardently, spoke warmly in
my praise, and dwelt forcibly, in particular (not-
withstanding my wild, boyish behaviour at school),
iipon my never being saucy or sulky, nor in the
least indulging in anything like revenge. Tn this

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 55

business, Mr. Gregson was ably seconded by his
relation and my kind friend, Mr. Joseph Lang-
staff, of Newcastle, who was also acquainted with
my new master ; and so the business of binding
was settled at last.

My new master, who, I believe, had laid down
plans for the regulation of his own conduct, began
with me upon a system of rigid discipline, from
which he never varied or relaxed, and it was not
long before I gave occasion to his putting it in
force. Having walked out on a Sunday after-
noon to see the environs of the town, the first
place that attracted my attention was " King
Jamie's Well." There I fell in with bad com-
pany, consisting of three low blackguard 'prentice
lads, from the Close. Having no wish to have any-
thing to say to them, I endeavoured to shun their
company ; but they, seeing me in a strange and
perhaps somewhat clownish dress, followed and in-
sulted me ; and this they persisted in till I could
bear it no longer, when, turning upon one of the
sauciest of them, I presently levelled him, and was
about serving the second in the same way, when
they all three fell upon me and showed no mercy,
so that, in the end, I went home to my master's
house with a scratched face and black eyes. This
was an abominable sight to the family, which
no excuse could palliate. After this, I was ob-
liged to attend my master to church twice a
day, every Sunday, and, at night, to read the
Bible, or some other good book, to old Mrs. Beilby
and her daughter, or others of the family; and

OD MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

this continued during the time of the term I
boarded in the house with them.

The father of Mr. Beilby followed the business
of a goldsmith and jeweller in Durham, where he
was greatly respected. He had taken care to give
all his family a good education. His eldest son,
Richard, had served his apprenticeship to a die-
sinker, or seal engraver, in Birmingham. His
second son, William, had learned enamelling and
painting in the same place. The former of these
had taught my master seal-cutting, and the latter
taught his brother Thomas and sister Mary enam-
elling and painting ; and, in this way, this most
respectable and industrious family lived together
and maintained themselves. But, prior to this
state of things, while the family were more de-
pendant upon the industry of their father, ho had
failed in business, left Durham, and begun busi-
ness in Gateshead, where he and his eldest son
Richard died.

I have been informed that the family had to
struggle with great difficulties about this period,
and that, by way of helping to get through them,
their mother taught a school in Gateshead. But
this state of things could not have lasted long ;
for the industry, ingenuity, and united energies
of the family must soon have enabled them to
soar above every obstacle. My master had wrought
as a jeweller with his father before he went to
his brother Richard to learn seal-cutting, which
was only for a very short time before his death.
He had also assisted his brother and sister in their

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 57

constant employment of enamel painting upon glass.
At this time a circumstance happened which
made an opening for my future master to get
forward in business unopposed by any one. An
engraver of the name of Jameson, who had the
whole stroke of the business in Newcastle, hav-
ing been detected in committing a forgery upon
the old. bank, he was tried for the crime. His life
was saved by the perjury of a Mrs. Grey ; but
Jameson left the town.

For some time after I entered the business, I
was employed in copying "Copeland's Ornaments;"
and this was the only kind of drawing upon which
I ever had a lesson given to me from any one.
I was never a pupil to any drawing master, and
had not even a lesson from William Beilby, or
his brother Thomas, who, along with their other
profession, were also drawing masters. In the later
years of my apprenticeship, my master kept me so
fully employed that I never had any opportunity
for such a purpose, at which I felt much grieved
and disappointed. The first jobs I was put to do
was blocking-out the wood about the lines on the
diagrams (which my master finished) for the
" Ladies Diary," on which he was employed by
Charles Hutton,* and etching sword blades for
William and Nicholas Oley, sword manufacturers,
&c., at Shotley Bridge. It was not long till the
diagrams were wholly put into my hands to finish.

* Afterwards the grea£ Dr. Hutton. He died 27th January,
1823, in the 86th year of his age.

I

58 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

After these, I was kept closely employed upoii a
variety of other jobs ; for such was the industry
of my master that he refused nothing, coarse or
fine. He undertook everything, which he did in
the best way he could. He fitted-up and tempered
his own tools, and adapted them to every purpose,
and taught me to do the same. This readiness
brought him in an overflow of work, and the
work-place was filled with the coarsest kind of
steel stamps, pipe moulds, bottle moulds, brass clock
faces, door plates, coffin plates, bookbinders letters
and stamps, steel, silver, and gold seals, mourning
rings, &c. He also undertook the engraving of
arms, crests and cyphers, on silver, and every kind
of job from the silversmiths ; also engraving bills
of exchange, bank notes, invoices, account heads,
and cards. These last he executed as well as did
most of the engravers of the time ; but what he
excelled in was ornamental silver engraving. In
this, as far as I am able to judge, he was one of
the best in the kingdom; and, I think, upon the
whole, he might be called an ingenious, self-taught
artist. The higher department of engraving, such
as landscape or historical plates, I dare say, was
hardly ever thought of by my master; at least not
till I was nearly out of my apprenticeship, when
he took it into his head to leave me in charge
of the business at home, and to go to London for
the purpose of taking lessons in etching and en-
graving large copper plates. There was, however,
little or no employment in this way in Newcastle,
and he had no opportunity of becoming clever at

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 59

it ; so he kept labouring on with such work as
before named, in which I aided him with all my
might. I think he was the best master in the
world for teaching boys, for he obliged them to
put their hands to every variety of work. Every
job, coarse or fine, either in cutting or engraving,
I did as well as I could, cheerfully; but the busi-
ness of polishing copper plates, and hardening and
polishing steel seals, was always irksome to me.
I had wrought at such as this a long time, and at
the coarser kind of engraving (such as I have no-
ticed before), till my hands had become as hard and
enlarged as those of a blacksmith. I, however, in
due time, had a greater share of better and nicer
work given me to execute; such as the outside and
inside mottos on rings, and sometimes arms and
crests on silver, and seals of various kinds, for which
I made all the new steel punches and letters. We
had a great deal of seal cutting, in which my
master was accounted clever, and in this I did
my utmost to surpass him.

While we were going on in this way, we were
occasionally applied to by printers to execute wood
cuts for them. In this branch my master was
very defective. What he did was wretched. He
did not like such jobs ; on which account they
were given to me ; and the opportunity this af-
forded of drawing the designs on the wood was
highly gratifying to me. It happened that one
of these, — a cut of the " George and Dragon" for
a bar bill, — attracted so much notice, and had so
many praises bestowed upon it, that this kind of

60 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

work greatly increased, and orders were received
for cuts for children's books; chiefly for Thomas
Saint, printer, Newcastle, and successor of John
White, who had rendered himself famous for his
numerous publications of histories and old ballads.
With the singing of the latter, tne streets of
Newcastle were long greatly enlivened ; and, on
market days, visitors, as well as the town's people,
were often highly gratified with it. What a cheer-
ful, lively time this appeared to me and many
others ! This state of things, however, changed
when public matters cast a surly gloom over the
character of the whole country ; and these sing-
ing days, instead of being regulated by the ma-
gistrates, were, in their wisdom, totally put an
end to.

My time now became greatly taken up with de-
signing and cutting a set of wood blocks for the
" Story-teller," " Gay's Fables," and " Select Fa-
bles," together with cuts of a similar kind, for
printers. Some of the Fable cuts were thought
so well of by my master that he, in my name,
sent impressions of a few of them to be laid be-
fore the Society for the Encouragement of Arts,
&c., and I obtained a premium. This I received
shortly after I was out of my apprenticeship, and
it was left to my choice whether I would have it
in a gold medal, or money, (seven guineas). I
preferred the latter ; and I never in my life felt
greater pleasure than in presenting it to my mo-
ther. On this occasion, amongst the several con-
gratulations of kind neighbours, those of Mr.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. bl

Gregson, my old master, stood pre-eminent. He
flew from Ovingham, where the news first arri-
ved, over to Eltringham, to congratulate my fa-
ther and mother ; and the feelings and overflow-
ings of his heart can be better imagined than
described.

CHAPTER V.

DURING the time I was an inmate in my mas-
ter's house, along with his mother, brothers, and
sister, I attended his brother's horse, and made
myself as useful to the family as I could. At
that time I had no acquaintances, — at least none
to be very intimate with. I needed none. I
wandered in the fields, and on the Town Moor,
alone, and amused myself with my own thoughts.
"When the time arrived that I was to cater
for myself upon four shillings and sixpence per
week, I went to lodge with my aunt Blackett,
who, being the widow of a freeman,* kept a cow
upon the Town Moor, and I was abundantly sup-
plied with milk, which was the chief thing I lived
upon.

At Mrs. Blackett's I became acquainted with Gil-
bert Gray, bookbinder ; and this singular and wor-
thy man was perhaps the most invaluable acquaint-
ance and friend I ever met with. His moral
lectures and advice to me formed a most im-
portant succedaneum to those imparted by my

* Thomas Blackett, silversmith. He was one of my godfathers, and
had been foreman to the late John Langlands, by whom he was
much noliced as a man of a most intrepid spirit. He was remark-
able for his honour, honesty, and punctuality.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 63

parents. His wise remarks, his detestation of vice,
his industry, and his temperance, crowned with a
most lively and cheerful disposition, altogether made
him appear to me as one of the best of characters.
In his workshop I often spent my winter evenings.
This was also the case with a number of young men,
who might be considered as his pupils ; many of
whom,. I have no doubt, he directed into the paths
of truth and integrity, and who revered his me-
mory through life. He rose early to work, lay
down when he felt weary, and rose again when
refreshed. His diet was of the simplest kind ;
and he eat when hungry, and drank when dry,
without paying regard to meal times. By steadily
pursuing this mode of life, he was enabled to ac-
cumulate sums of money — from ten to thirty
pounds. This enabled him. to get books, of an
entertaining and moral tendency, printed and cir-
culated at a cheap rate. His great object was,
by every possible means, to promote honourable
feelings in the minds of youth, and to prepare them
for becoming good members of society. I have
often discovered that he did not overlook ingenious
mechanics, whose misfortunes — perhaps mismanage-
ment— had led them to a lodging in Newgate. To
these he directed his compassionate eye, and for
the deserving (in his estimation), he paid their debt,
and set them at liberty. He felt hurt at seeing
the hands of an ingenious man tied up in prison,
where they were of no use either to himself or to
the community. This worthy man had been edu-
cated for a priest ; but he would say to me, " of

64 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

a 'trouth,' Thomas, I did not like their ways."
So he gave up the thoughts of being a priest, and
bent his way from Aberdeen to Edinburgh, where
he engaged himself to Allan Ramsay, the poet,
then a bookseller at the latter place, in whose service
he was both shopman and bookbinder. From Edin-
burgh he came to Newcastle. Gilbert had had a
liberal education bestowed upon him. He had
read a great deal, and had reflected upon what
he had read. This, with his retentive memory,
enabled him to be a pleasant and communica-
tive companion. I lived in habits of intimacy
with him to the end of his life; and, when he
died, I, with others of his friends, attended his
remains to the grave at the Ballast Hills.*

How long I remained with my aunt, I have now
forgotten. After I left her house, I went to lodge
with a person named Hatfield, whose wife was an
excellent cook and market woman, and who had
long lived in the family of "Willy Scott," the
father of the present Lord Chancellor of England.
My landlord afterwards got into a very unfortu-
nate way of doing business. Being a flax dresser,
his brethren prevailed upon him and his wife
to permit the tramps — or scamps — in that line to
take up their lodgings with them. Here I was
introduced, or at least had an opportunity of be-
coming acquainted with them, and a pretty set
they were. Their conduct was wicked in the ex-
treme. The proper effect, however, was produced

* He died on the 12th February, 17!»4, in the Hfith year of his age.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 65

upon me ; for I looked upon their behaviour with
the utmost disgust. After my landlord had for
some time been cheated and defrauded by this set,
he at length got done with them, and boarded
and lodged others of a better cast of character.

Long before the death of my friend Gilbert, I
had ceased to have the privilege of reading his
books, and what I could save out of my wages
only afforded me a scanty supply. I had, how-
ever, an opportunity, per favour of my master's
servant, (who admitted me early in the morning
into his parlour), of reading through, with great
attention, the then new publication of "Smollett's
History of England;" and, for a long time after-
wards, I clearly remembered everything of note
which it contained. With some of the characters
therein depicted, I was greatly pleased, but with
others I was shocked and disgusted. They ap-
peared to me like fiends obtruded upon the com-
munity, as a curse and a scourge ; and yet how
surprising it is that some of these can be spoken
of, by authors, with complacency. Another source
from whence to obtain a supply of books pre-
sently fell in my way, through the kindness of
William Gray, the son of Gilbert. He was a
bookbinder of some repute, and this led him into
employment of a superior cast to that of his fa-
ther, and his workshop was often filled with
works of the best authors. To these, while bind-
ing, I had ready access ; for which purpose I rose
early in the morning ; and to him my well-known
whistle in the street was the signal for his quickly

K

68 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BKWICK.

preparing to get to his work, and I remained
with him till my work hour came.

I feel it as a misfortune, that a bias, somehow
or other, took place in my mind at this time,
which led me deeply into the chaos of what is
called religious works ; and, for the purpose of
getting into a thorough knowledge of all matters
of this important kind, I spent much time, and
took great pains, to obtain information ; but, in-
stead of this, I got myself into a labyrinth — be-
wildered with dogmas, creeds, and opinions, most-
ly the fanatical reveries, or the bigoted inven-
tions, of interested or designing men, that seemed
to me to be without end ; and, after all my pains,
I left off in a more unsettled state of mind than
when I began. I may be mistaken ; but I think,
many a well-meaning man has spun out his life,
and spent his time, on subjects of this kind in
vain. Waggon loads of sermons have been pub-
lished— some of them, perhaps, good — in order to
prove matters (in my opinion) of no importance
either to religion or morality. If it be true
that every thing in perfection is simple, so it
must be with religion. There may be many moral
and religious duties for man to fulfil in his pas-
sage through life ; but the rules for doing so an-
so plain and easily understood that common sense
only is necessary for all that is required of us
in the performance of them. The beauty and
simplicity of the doctrines laid down by the in-
spired and benevolent Author of the Christian Re-
ligion, however they may have been distorted and

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 67

disfigured, are yet in themselves perfect. They
may, indeed, be compared to a mathematical point
— a point of perfection for all men to aim at, but
to which none can fully attain. The inspired
writings of the prophets of old are also full of
simplicity, as well as of indescribable beauty, and
may be read and considered with ever-increasing
delight. Poets and moralists, of more modern
times, have also laboured most clearly to point
out the paths which lead to religion, to virtue,
and to happiness. As far as I am able to
judge, all we can do is to commune with and
reverence and adore the Creator, and to yield
with humility and resignation to His will. With
the most serious intention of forming a right
judgment, all the conclusion I can come to is,
that there is only one God and one religion ;
and I know of no better way of what is called
serving God than that of being good to his
creatures, and of fulfilling the moral duties, as
that of being good sons, brothers, husbands, fa-
thers, and members of society.

At this time, I had few that I could call
intimate acquaintances. My almost only ones
were books, over which I spent my time, morn-
ings and evenings, late and early. This too in-
tense application to books, together with my se-
dentary employment, and being placed at a very
low work bench, took away my healthy appear-
ance, and I put 011 a more delicate look, and
became poorly in health. When my master
saw this, he sent for medical aid, and Natha-

68 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

iiiel Bailes,* surgeon, was consulted. But, before
he uttered a word as to my ailment, he took
me to his own house, and there he stripped and
examined me, and, looking me in the face, told
me " I was as strong as a horse." He then
made up some medicine to cause expectoration.
This was all soon done, but not so the lecture
he gave my master, whom he addressed in terms
which I thought both long and rude. "What!"
said he, " have you no more sense than to set
a growing, country lad to work, doubled up at a
low bench, which will inevitably destroy him ?"
and, in his passion, he cursed Mr. Beilby for his
ignorance or something worse. From this time
the Doctor took a liking to me, and often criti-
cised my work. He also took great pains to

* lie was commonly called Dr. Bailes. lie was a Newcastle
worthy, ami was accounted a man of great skill in his profes-
sion, a*- well as eminent for his learning and other attainments.
He was ingenious and enterprising, a tolerably good engraver, and
a good mechanic. He was called the "Eloquent Sword-bearer."
He headed the committee of the Burgesses, in 17 — , who tried and
beat the magistrates of Newcastle respecting their exclusive claim to
the Town Moor ; and he was active in everything relative to the
good of the town. He invented a harpoou for killing whales,
for which he got a patent. It was of a triangular shape, or
like three razors, back to back, and brought to a sharp point,
and it was strongly barbed at its termination, towards the socket. By
its use, lines and cords were saved. The price was three guineas,
which, being deemed too high, was probably the cause of
a confederacy of harpoon makers, sea-captains, and others (who
knew not how to appreciate its value) to set their faces against
using it. The Doctor, who did not like to be kept debating
with ignorance and prejudice, and was not actuated by pecuniary
motives, suffered the business to go to neglect. He died 16th
July, 1791, aged 74, and was buried in St. Nicholas' Church,
Newcastle.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 69

direct me how to live and to manage myself, un-
der so sedentary an employment ; and an inti-
macy commenced between us which lasted as long
as he lived. He urged upon me the necessity of
temperance and exercise. I then began to act
upon his advice, and to live as he directed, both
as to diet and exercise. I had read " Lewis
Cornaro," and other books, which treated of
temperance ; and I greatly valued the advice
given in the "Spectator," which strongly re-
commended all people to have their days of ab-
stinence. Through life I have experienced the
uncommon benefit derived from occasionally pur-
suing this plan, which always keeps the stomach
in proper tone. I regularly pursued my walks,
and, whilst thus exercising, my mind was com-
monly engaged in devising plans for my con-
duct in life.

For a long time, both in summer and winter,
I went to Elswick three times a day, at the
expense of a penny each time for bread and
milk. I had an hour allowed me for din-
ner ; and, as to my mornings and evenings,
I could take a much longer time. A very
small matter of animal food, when I missed
going to Elswick, was amply sufficient for me ;
for I think my constitution did not require to
be stimulated. By persevering in this system of
temperance and exercise, I was astonished to find
how much I improved in health, strength, and
agility. I thought nothing of leaving Newcastle
after I had done work — 7 o'clock — on a winter's

70 MEMOIR OF THOMAS UK WICK.

night, and of setting off to walk to Cherryburn.
In this I was stimulated by an ardent desire to
visit my parents as often as possible ; and the
desire continued to act upon me as long as they
lived.

In my solitary walks (as before noticed), the first
resolution made was that of living within my in-
come; and another of similar import, was that of
never getting anything upon trust ; but, indeed,
my limited income, at this time, led me carefully
to observe these rules, and I have never since
forgotten them. The train of reflections they
brought along with them has also dwelt upon
my mind. I coidd not help observing the in-
evitable ill consequences which a contrary course
(at first entered upon, perhaps, unthinkingly)
led thousands into, and the misery it entailed.
The more I have thought upon this subject,
the more clearly I have seen its importance.
Getting into debt is followed by leading people
to live beyond their incomes ; and this makes
all who do so, soon become demoralised and dis-
honest ; and, when the mind has been thus blunt-
ed and degraded, anxiety and trouble must be its
attendants, till vice and misery close the scene.

Amongst the acquaintances I made at the work-
shops of Gilbert and William Grey, was William
liulmcr, afterwards rendered famous as the pro-
prietor of the Shakespeare Printing Office, in
Cleveland Row, London, who was the first that
set the example, and soon led the way, to tine
printing in England. He used, while he was an

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 71

apprentice, to prove the cuts I had executed. In
this he was countenanced by his master, John
Thompson, who was himself extremely curious and
eager to see wood engraving succeed ; for at that
time the printing of wood cuts was very imper-
fectly known.

About this time I commenced a most intimate
acquaintance and friendship with Robert Pollard,
afterwards an engraver and printseller of emin-
ence in London. He was bound apprentice to
John Kirkup, a silversmith in Newcastle ; and,
from his being frequently sent to our workshop
with crests, cyphers, &c., to engrave, he took a
great liking to engraving, and was indefatigable
in his endeavours to become master of it. In
furtherance of this, we spent many of our even-
ings together at his father's house, which to me
was a kind of home. On his master declining
business, my young friend was engaged for a term
of years to learn engraving with Isaac Taylor,
of Holborn, London.

In my frequent visits to the workshops of Gil-
bert Grey, and to that of his son William, I first
fell in with Thomas Spence.* He was one of the
warmest philanthropists in the world. The happi-
ness of mankind seemed wi£h him to absorb every

* Afterwards famous in London as at the head of the " Spenceans."
He was sent to Dorchester goal for (I believe) some of his publica-
tions, promulgating his doctrines. He taught a school at the Broad
Garth, Newcastle ; afterwards writing and arithmetic in the great
school at Haydon Bridge ; and, lastly, he was master of St. Ann's
public school, Sandgate, Newcastle. At one time he was a mem-
ber of a most respectable Literary and Philosophical society iu

72 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

other consideration. He was of a cheerful disposi-
tion, warm in his attachment to his friends, and
in his patriotism to his country ; but he was vio-
lent against people whom he considered of an op-
posite character. "With such he kept no bounds.
For the purpose chiefly of making converts to
his opinion " that property in land is everyone's
right," he got a number of young men gathered
together, and formed into a debating society, which
was held in the evenings in his school-room, in
the Broad Garth, Newcastle. One night when
his favourite question was to be debated, he
reckoned upon me as one of his " backers." In
this, however, he was mistaken ; for, notwithstand-
ing my tacitly assenting in a certain degree to
his plan, — viz., as to the probability of its suc-
ceeding in some uninhabited country or island, —
I could not at all agree with him in thinking it
right to upset the present state of society, by tak-
ing from people what is their own, and then
launching out upon his speculations. I considered
that property ought to be held sacred, and, be-
sides, that the honestly obtaining of it was the
great stimulant to industry, which kept all
things in order, and society in full health and
vigour. The question ,having been given against
him without my having said a word in its defence,
he became swollen with indignation, which, after

Newcastle, one of the rules of which required that each member
should read in turn a written lecture on any subject he pleased.
Spence's was, of course, on that of " Property in land,'' &c. These
lectures were, by the rules of the society, prohibited from publica-
tion ; but Spence broke the rule and was expelled in consequence.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 73

the company was gone, he vented upon me. To
reason with him was useless. He began by calling
me — from my silence — "a Sir Walter Blackett ;"*
adding, "If I had been as stout as you are, I.
would have thrashed you, but there is another way
in which I can do the business, and have at you."
He then produced a pair of cudgels, and to work
we fell. He did not know that I was a proficient
in cudgel playing, and I soon found that he was
very defective. After I had blackened the insidcs
of his thighs and arms, he became quite outra-
geous and acted very unfairly, which obliged me
to give him a severe beating.

I cut the steel punches for Spence's types, and
my master struck them on the matrices for cast-
ing his newly-invented letters of the alphabet,
for his "Spelling and Pronouncing Dictionary."
He published, in London, many curious books in
his peculiar way of spelling. Most of them, I
believe, on his favourite subject of property
in land being everyone's right. However mis-
taken he might be in his notions on this subject,
I am clearly of opinion that his intentions were
both sincere and honest.

The next most eccentric individual, and at
the same time one of the most worthy characters,

* Sir Walter Blackett, bart., was five times mayor of Newcastle,
and represented the borough in seven Parliaments ; having been
fifty years a member. He died February 8th, 1777, aged 68. As
an orator he made no figure in the House, and having changed
his politics in his later years, he became rather unpopular. His
public and private charities were on a munificent scale ; for
which, indeed, he was greatly distinguished.

L

74 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

I early became acquainted with was George Gray,
son of Gilbert, and half-brother of "William Gray.
He was bound apprentice to a man of the name
•of Jones, a fruit painter. The latter, who, I be-
lieve, was accounted eminent in his profession,
lived beyond his income, and departed from New-
castle. George being thus left to himself, commenced
in the same way of business, and became eminent
as a fruit painter ; but, from his versatility of
disposition, he dipped into almost every art and
science, and excelled in many pursuits. He was
accounted one of the best botanists and chemists
in this part of the country. He was also a geo-
logist, and was fixed upon as a leader or director
to a party employed by Prince Poniatowsky, to
to take a survey of the various strata of Poland ;
but George, being slovenly in his dress and negli-
gent in his person, felt himself slighted, and left
those who put on a more respectable appearance
to profit by his superior knowledge, and to do the
best they could, and he returned home. Whether
it was before or after this time I have forgotten,
but he visited North America, and travelled in
quest of knowledge pretty far into the interior of
that country. On his return he resumed his old
employment, in a room never cleaned or swept,
and surrounded with models, crucibles, gallipots,
brushes, paints, palettes, bottles, jars, retorts, and
distills, in such a chaos of confusion as no words
can describe. From this sanctum sanctorum, he
corresponded with gentlemen of science in London
and other parts. Few men were better liked by

MEMOIR OF THOMAS HEWICK. 75

private friends — as well for his knowledge as for
his honesty, and the genuine simplicity of his
manners.*

In addition to the various jobs already noticed
as keeping my master and myself fully employed,
I had others which fell exclusively to my lot to
execute ; and, amongst these were the mathema-
tical works of Charles Hutton, who frequently
came into the room in which I worked, to inspect
what I was doing. He was always very civil, but
seemed to me to be of a grave or shy deportment.
He lived in habits of intimacy with my master,
and used to write designs for him to engrave from,
particularly for the heads of invoices or bills of
parcels ; and I remember that he wrote them with
an ink, or preparation, which was easily trans-
ferred to the copper. This was before his ap-
pointment in the royal military academy of Wool-
wich, in 1773, and long before he had the well-
merited title of L.L.D. added to his respected
name. Dr. Hutton was that kind of man, who
never forget old friends ; and, some years after,
when I was in partnership with my old master,
he recommended us to the notice of Dr. Horsley,f"~
who was commencing his publication of Sir Isaac
Newton's works, the execution of the whole of
the cuts for which devolved upon me. This trans-
action took place in 1778.

* He died on the 9th December, 1819, aged 61 years, and was
buried in St. John's Church-yard, Newcastle.
t Afterwards Bishop of St. Asaph.

70 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

I continued to take up my abode with Hatfield,
and, the spirits being bouyant, everything pleased
me. I cannot help noticing the happy time I
spent there. I was also entertained with the
curious characters who resorted to his house. These
were mostly bird-catchers and bird-dealers, to
whose narratives respecting their pursuits I lis-
tened with interest. My landlord was almost con-
stantly busied in rearing a numerous brood of ca-
naries, which he sold to a bird merchant, who
travelled with them to Edinburgh, Glasgow, &c.,
for sale.

I also, at various periods of the time I remained
under Ilatfield's roof, got into a knowledge of the
misguided ways which too many young fellows
pursued ; and I watched, and saw the wretched
consequences of the kind of life they led. I felt
grieved for them, and did all in my power to dis-
suade them from pursuing such a course of life.
For this advice they laughed at me, and called
me " the old man." It was not very long, how-
ever, till two of them sent for me to come and
sec them on their death beds. The die was cast,
and I cannot forget their thanks to me, and the
bitterness with which they reproached themselves
for not listening to what I had so sincerely recom-
mended. Such conduct as I have been alluding
to appears to me to be of the very blackest die.
It is amongst the most shocking of murders. It
is to be regretted that the seducer and the seduced
cannot be obliged to live together for life, and,
while they live, bo allowed to herd only with such

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 77

as themselves; for they ought to be banished from
the society of the modest and virtuous part of the
community. I think it a great omission in parents
and teachers not to make unguarded youth fully
apprized of the risks they run in towns of getting
acquainted with the lost and polluted women of
this stamp. Nothing can be so sure a guard
against this vice as that of making young men
see it in its true light — to be disgusted at it. Ma-
gistrates, no doubt, have it in their power, in some
degree, to lessen this great evil, by preventing
abandoned women from appearing in the streets
of a town ; but I have often felt for magistrates
on account of the great and gratuitous trouble
they take, and the difficulties they must have to
encounter, in their endeavours to keep the wicked
within due bounds.

My last fellow-lodgers, before I was out of my
apprenticeship, were John Hymers, who had been
a sergeant in the Life Guards, and had retired
upon his pension, and Whittaker Shadforth, a
watch-maker, and also a musician. The latter
was of a quite different character from those be-
fore noticed, but was wild, enthusiastic, and ro-
mantic. Among the many whims and fancies we
indulged in, one of them was to learn the manual
exercise. The sergeant, who had often laughed
at our follies, very readily agreed to undertake
this task, provided we would strictly obey the
rules he prescribed to us. This we agreed to.
He began with a kind of lecture on the necessity
of soldiers being obedient to their officers, and

78 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

standing like a brick wall without flinching ; add-
ing that he would not use his cane upon our backs,
but only to put us in mind to be very attentive.
This being settled, we were in the mornings to
appear before him in " bare buff," that is, with-
out our shirts and upper-clothing. This discipline
was pursued steadily for some time, notwithstand-
ing the switches he gave us on our bare backs
with his rod or cane, which we bore with the
utmost sang froid. I think the sergeant, notwith-
standing the entertainment we thus afforded him,
began to tire first ; for he at last lay in bed while
he was giving us our lessons, and at length gave
the business up.

From the length of time I had known and no-
ticed Miss Beilby, I had formed a strong attach-
ment to her, but could not make this known to
her or to any one else. I could have married her
before I was done with my apprenticeship with-
out any fears on my part, but I felt for her, and
pined and fretted at so many bars being in the way
of our union. One of the greatest was the sup-
posed contempt in which I was held by the rest of
the family, who, I thought, treated me with great
hauteur, though I had done everything in my
power to oblige them. I had, like a stable boy,
waited upon their horse ; and had cheerfully done
everything they wanted at my hands till one of
the brothers grossly affronted me in the business of
the stable. This I instantly resented, and refused
attendance there any more. Before I was out of
my time, Miss Beilby had a paralytic stroke,

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

79

which very greatly altered her look, and rendered
her for some time unhappy. Long after this
she went with her eldest brother into Fifeshire,
where she died.

CHAPTER VI.

TIIK first of October, 1774, arrived at last ; and,
for the first time in my life, I felt myself at
liberty. I worked a few weeks with my old
master, and then set off to spend the winter at
Cherryburn. There I had plenty of work to do,
chiefly from Thomas Angus, printer, Newcastle.
I continued there, employed by him and others,
till the summer of 1776. This was a time of
great enjoyment, for the channs of the country
were highly relished by me, and after so long
an almost absence from it, gave even that relish a
zest which I have not words to describe. I con-
tinued to execute wood cuts and other jobs, but
often rambled about among my old neighbours,
and became more and more attached to them,
as well as to the country.

In the storms of winter, I joined the Nimrods
as of old. In spring and summer, my favourite
sport of angling was pretty closely followed up.
About Christmas, as I had done before when a
boy, I went with my father to a distance to
collect the money due to him for coals. In
these rounds, I had the opportunity of witness-

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 81

ing the kindness and hospitality of the people.
The countenances of all, both high and low,
beamed with cheerfulness ; and this was height-
ened everywhere by the music of old tunes, from
the well-known, exhilarating, wild notes of the
Northumberland pipes, amidst the buzz occasioned
by " foulpleughs" (morrice or sword dancers) from
various parts of the country. This altogether
left an impression on my mind which the cares
of the world have never effaced from it. The gen-
try, the farmers, and even the working people,
of that day had their Christmas home-brewed ale,
made only from malt and hops. This was before
the pernicious use of chemical compounds was
known, or agricultural improvements had quickened
the eyes of landlords, banished many small far-
mers, soured their countenances, and altered for
the worse the characters of the larger ones that
remained.

Having all my life, at home, at school, and
during my apprenticeship, lived under perpetual
restraints, when I thus felt myself at liberty, I
became, as I suppose, like a bird which had es-
caped from its cage. Even angling, of which I
was so fond, and of which I thought I never
could tire, became rather dull when I found I
could take as much of it as I pleased. While I
was pursuing this sport on a hot day in June,
I gave it up ; and, laying down my rod awhile,
I then tied it up and walked home. Having re-
solved to see more of the country, I requested
my mother to put me up some shirts, &c., and

M

82 MKMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

I told her I was going to see my uncle (her
brother) in Cumberland. She soon complied with
my request, amidst expressions of fear for my
safety ; showing the natural feelings of a good
mother. After sewing three guineas in my breeches
waistband, I set off that afternoon, and walked
to Ilaydon Bridge. There I visited an old ac-
quaintance, Thomas Spence, then a teacher in Hay-
doii Bridge school, with whom I was a welcome
guest, and stopped two days. Leave of absence
from school having been given to him, I ram-
bled with him over the neighbourhood, and visit-
ed everything worth notice. When I departed,
he accompanied me on the road nearly to Halt-
whistle. After this, I met with little to attract
notice except Naworth Castle ; and, when I left
it, and was proceeding across the country, I lost
my way by following paths which led only to
holes that had been made by digging peats and
turf, and did not reach my uncle's house at Ain-
stable till late in the evening. I remained at
Ainstable about a week, during which time I ram-
bled about the neighbourhood, visited my friends
at Kirkoswald and elsewhere, and spent what time
I could spare in fishing for trout in the Croglin.

After I had seen Armanthwaite and Penrith, I
began to think of moving further abroad ; and my
cousin having occasion to go to Carlisle, I went
with him there, where we parted. I wandered
about the old city ; and, in the afternoon, looked
into the shop of a watchmaker, to whom I was
known as having been employed, by my master,

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 83

to engrave many clock faces for him, during my
apprenticeship. While I was in his shop, in came
a man — a kind of scamp — of the name of Graham,
who asked me what road I was going ? " To
Scotland," I replied. "So am I," said he; "and,
if you can keep foot with me, I will be glad of
your company." We had no sooner set off, than
I found he was a vapouring fop who was very
vain of his great prowess as a pedestrian. I could
soon see that he wanted to walk me off my foot ;
but, having been long practised in that way, he
found himself mistaken, and long before we reach-
ed Longtown, he had called in at several public
houses for refreshment, and invited me to do the
same. I, however, was not thirsty, and not being
used to drink, I sat on the seats at the doors
until he came out. He kept on in this way till
we reached Langholm, when he surveyed me with
an attentive eye, but said nothing.

At Langholm, my landlord, who was a Cumber-
land man and knew my relatives there, was very
kind to me ; and, among many other matters con-
cerning them, told me that my cousin who had
accompanied me to Carlisle had won nine belts
in his wrestling matches in that county. From
Langholm, I set off to Hawick and Selkirk, and
from the latter place, next morning, by Dalkeith,
to Edinburgh. I had been, in this short tramp,
particularly charmed with the border scenery ;
the roads, in places, twined about the bottoms of
the hills, which were beautifully green, like velvet,
spotted over with white sheep, which grazed on

84 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

their sides, watched by the peaceful shepherd and
his dog. I could not help depicturing in my
mind the change which had taken place, and com-
paring it with the times of old that had passed
away, and in inwardly rejoicing at the happy re-
verse. It is horrid to contemplate the ferocious
battles of that day, between men descended from
the same stock, and bearing the same names on
both sides of the border, only divided from each
other by a river, a rivulet, a burn, or a stripe of
groimd ; — that they should have been, at the nod
of their chieftains, called out to the wild foray by
the slogan horn, or the shrill notes of the bugle ;
that they should have been led to meet and slaugh-
ter each other, to manure the ground with their
blood, amidst the clash of arms and the thrilling
music of the pipes, which helped to excite them
on to close their eyes in death. These transac-
tions, which are handed down to their descend-
ants of the present generation in traditionary
tales, and kept in remembrance by the songs and
tunes of old times, serve now only as food for
reflection or amusement.

On entering Edinburgh, having been recommend-
ed to the George Inn, Bristoport, I halted there;
but, being quite unacquainted with the customs
of living in such places, I knew not what to do,
or how to conduct myself. I, however, called
for a pint of beer, — and I think it was the first
I ever called for in my life, — when, lo ! a good-
looking girl, bare-footed and bare- legged, entered
with a pewter pot, almost the size of a half leg

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 85

of a boot. This I thought I could not empty in a
week. As I found I could not remain in this
place, I sought for another, and luckily fell in
with an old Newcastle acquaintance ; and to her
I stated my case, went with her, and felt quite
at home in her house. After I had seen as much
of "Auld Reekie" as I could, and been lost in
admiration at the grandeur of its situation, and
of its old buildings, I next day called upon Hec-
tor Gavin, an engraver, in Parliament Close. This
kind man — a stranger to me — after a bit of chat
about the arts, &c., threw by his tools, and was
quite at my service. The warmth of his kind-
ness I never can forget. He took me all over
Edinburgh, and gave me a history and explana-
tion of everything he thought worthy of notice.
Having parted from him with his best and warm-
est wishes, I rose early on the next morning and
walked to Glasgow. After leaving my bundle at
an inn, to which I had been recommended, I took
a ramble through the city. There I fell in, by
chance, with an old acquaintance, and who I sup-
posed was dead long ago. He was not like me ;
he could drink plenty ; so that I was at no loss
what to do at this inn, as I had been in Edin-
burgh. He called upon me next morning with
a well-informed man, when they showed me every-
thing they thought worthy of notice in Glasgow,
which, though a large city, containing many
handsome buildings, I was not so charmed with
as I had been with Edinburgh.

From Glasgow, I set oif to Dumbarton ; and,

86 MKMOIR OK THOMAS BEWICK.

on my way, took as good a survey of the country,
and whatever was new to me, as I could. My
landlord at Dumbarton had seen a deal of the
world, either as a soldier or a gentleman's ser-
vant, and was very communicative ; and I think
I spent the next day with him, in walking
about and viewing everything that he could
think of that might please or entertain me.
After leaving him, I wished much to see the
printing at the cotton works, and the print
fields, as they were called, on ths river Leven,
near Dumbarton. To these, however, I could
not get admission ; so I kept passing onward,
up the Leven, till Smollett's monument, near
the side of it, arrested my attention. There I
stopped, for I had read Smollett's works, and
almost adored him as an author. On the pe-
destal of the monument, was a long Latin in-
scription, which I was endeavouring to translate,
but was puzzled to make out ; having never
looked into a Latin book since I had left school ;
and, for the first time, I felt mortified at not
having done so. While I was thus employed,
up came a "lish," clever young man, a High-
lander, smartly dressed in the garb of his coun-
try. He jumped down beside me, and we together
made out the translation. When this was done,
on learning from me that my sole object was
to see Scotland, he pressed me to accompany
him to some place or other, the name of which
I do not now remember. We, however, walked
a long way together on the western side of

MEMOIR, OF THOMAS BEWICK. 87

Loch Lomond, and I know I did not visit In-
verary, the seat of Argyle, but stopped with
my companion at a grazier's, or farmer's, house,
not a long way from it.

Having made up my mind not to visit any
town, or put up at any inn, I commenced my
"wild- goose chase," and bent my way, in many
a zig-zag direction, through the interior of part
of the Highlands, by the sides of its lakes and
its mountains. The beauty and serenity of the
former, and the grandeur or terrific aspect of
the latter, I gazed upon with wonder, and with
both was charmed to ecstacy. In moving for-
ward, I was often accompanied or directed to
some farmer's or grazier's house, by the herds
or drovers, whom I fell in writh ; and, in some
of these houses, I took up my abode, and often,
by the pressing solicitations of my host or host-
ess, was prevailed upon to remain with them a day
or two. These kind — these hospitable people — I
have never forgotten. Often the mistress of the
house in these remote places, never having seen
any person from England, examined my dress
from head to foot, and in English — which, it was
easy to discover, had been imperfectly taught her
— made many enquiries respecting the country
from whence I came ; while the herds, with their
bare knees, sat listening around, very seldom know-
ing what we were talking about These herds,
or some of the family, generally set or directed
me to the house of some other distant grazier;
and I met with the same kind and warm recep-

88 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

tion throughout my wanderings I had experienced
at first. It sometimes happened that, by my
having stopped too long on my way, in admira-
tion of the varied prospects I met with, that I
was benighted, and was obliged to take shelter
under some rocky projection, or to lay myself
down amongst the heather, till daylight. In my
traversings and wanderings, I called in at all the
houses on my way, whether situated in the beau-
tiful little valleys, in the glens, or on the sides of
heathery hills. In these places it was common
to see three houses, one added to another. The
first contained a young married couple with their
healthy-looking children ; the next, or middle
one, was occupied by the father and mother, and
perhaps the brothers and sisters, of this couple ;
and, further on, at the end, was the habitation of
the old people. These places had always garths
and gardens adjoining, with peat stacks and other
fuel at hand for the winter; and the whole was
enlivened with numbers of ducks, chickens, &c.
On my getting some refreshment of whey or
milk in such places as these, I always found

•/

it difficult to get payment made for anything,
as it seemed to give offence ; and, when I could
get any money slipped into the hands of the child-
ren, I was sure to be pursued, and obliged to
accept of a pocket full of bannocks and scones.

On one occasion, I was detained all day and
all night at a house of this kind, in listening to
the tunes of a young man of the family who
played well upon the Scottish pipes. I, in

MKMOIK OF THOMAS HE WICK. O'J

turn, whistled several Tyneside tunes to him; so
that we could hardly get separated. Before my de-
parture next day, I contrived by stealth to put
some money into the hands of the children. I
had not got far from the house till I was pur-
sued by a beautiful young woman, who accosted
me in " badish" English, which she must have
got off by heart just before she left the house,
the purport of which was to urge my acceptance
of the usual present. This I wished to refuse ;
but, with a face and neck blushed with scarlet,
she pressed it upon me with such sweetness —
while I thought at the same time that she in-
vited me to return — that (I could not help it)
I seized her, and smacked her lips. She then
sprang away from me, with her bare legs, like
a deer, and left me fixed to the spot, not know-
ing what to do. I was particularly struck with
her whole handsome appearance. It was a com-
pound of loveliness, health, and agility. Her hair,
I think, had been flaxen or light, but was tan-
ned to a pale brown by being exposed to the
sun. This was tied behind with a riband, and
dangled down her back ; and, as she bounded
along, it flowed in the air. I had not seen her
while I was in the house, and felt grieved be-
cause I could not hope ever to see her more.

After having wandered about in this way for
some time longer, during which I uniformly met
with the same kind treatment among these un-
polluted, unspoiled, honourable, and kind people,
I began to think of the long way I had to get

90 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

over on ray return towards home ; for, although
my money was not greatly diminished among the
Highlanders, yet I knew not how much I might
want in or near towns, in the more civilised dis-
tricts ; so I turned back in a south-easterly di-
rection through the country, where I met, in
my various wanderings, the same warm and
friendly reception. From that time to this, I
have ever felt pleased at the name of Highlander.
Were not these people proof against the temp-
tation of a bribe of thirty thousand pounds, held
out to them to betray the unfortunate Prince
Charles Stuart. Is it not to be regretted that
agricultural improvements have taught the land-
lords, or chieftains, to turn numerous farms into
one, and to banish thousands of these hardy de-
scendants of the ancient Britons, — these brave
race of men to whose forefathers they owed so
much, — to seek an asylum in foreign climes? In
exchange for men, they have filled the country
with sheep ! Property, in every country, should be
held sacred, but it should also have its bounds ;
and, in my opinion, it should be, in a certain de-
gree, held in trust, jointly, for the benefit of its
owners, and the good of society. To exercise a
right of property beyond this is despotism, the
offspring of misplaced aristocratic pride.

I have not noticed that I was sometimes, in
passing along, detained at fairs and "trysts."
These, with their merry-makings, were something
like the " hoppings" and "feasts" on Tyneside ;
and the girls had the same ruddy look as the

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 91

farmer's servants who are put to do field work
in Northumberland and Durham. With the Scotch
music and dancing, I was very much pleased.
They were certainly good dancers, and seemed
quite wild, or exhilarated to excess.

I left the Highlands with regret. The last
day's journey was a very long one, and a very
hungry one ; after which I entered Stirling in
the night. I told the landlord of the public house
there that I was almost famished, not having stop-
ped at any house on my very long journey to that
place; and I begged of him to hasten to get me
something to eat. He told me he had nothing
left but eggs, as his company had eaten up every-
thing that had been in the house. I did not get
my eggs till midnight; for a quarrel, or an affray,
happened in the house at the time I ought to
have had them. They were brought in to me at
last, and were boiled as hard as eggs could be.
With them, in my eagerness to eat, I was nearly
choked.

I remained about two or three days at Stirling,
chiefly on account of my face having been so blis-
tered by the heat of the sun that I thought it
best to halt till the effects of it could be removed.
My landlord was very kind. He had seen the
world; and, when he found that I was an engraver,
he expressed his surprise that I had not carried
my tools with me ; for, if I had done so, he said
he had no manner of doubt, with my knowledge
of heraldry, &c., that I could have found plenty
of employment among the gentry and the lairds,

92 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

in engraving their arms, crests, and other devices,
besides being handed from chieftain to chieftain, and
seeing the whole country in a very diiferent way
from that which I had, through wildernesses, so
wildly pursued. On my way to Edinburgh, by
Falkirk, I visited Carron Works, and passed under
the canal, where, for the first time, I saw vessels
afloat that had passed over my head. I was also
shown the ground where the Battle of Bannock-
burn was fought.

As soon as I could, I made my way, by Lin-
lithgow, to Edinburgh. I engaged a passage by
sea, in a ship belonging to Whitby, which had
to touch at Shields. I attended upon this vessel
every tide, late and early, for several days, not-
withstanding which I missed my time, and was
left behind. In this emergency, I got on board
a Leith sloop, bound for Newcastle, then moving
from the pier. We had no sooner got down the
Frith of Forth, to the open sea, than we met a
heavy swell, and presently encountered a violent
gale which soon tore our sails to shivers, drove
us far out of sight of land, and put our crew
in a great bustle and dilemma. In this small
vessel, the crew and passengers amounted to
twenty-six. For these latter there was no accom-
modation. The boat upon deck was full of the
sick, covered by an old sail, and the rest were
obliged to sit or lie down in any corner where
they coidd find room. The first night was a
sickly, suffocating one; and for three more nights
ii nd three days, there was little or no amendment

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 93

of our situation. On board this sloop there were
only two beds that were not stowed with goods ;
and, from my wanting rest so long before I left
Edinburgh, I crept into one of them as soon as
I could, but found it so low that I could not lie
on my side, or easily turn over. So I could get
no sleep ; and, to rosnd the matter, I had not
been long in this wretched bed till an infant was
put in beside me, its mother being dismally sick
in the boat upon deck ; and the child fell exclu-
sively into my charge. I nursed it as well as I
could during the whole voyage ; and, I think,
had I not done so, it must have died. After
resting a day or two at South Shields, I set off
to Newcastle, where I arrived (in the assize week,
I think), on the 12th of August, 1776. After
my long absence, I found I had a few shillings
left. On this occasion, my friends in Newcastle
quizzed me not a little for having, as they termed
it, begged my way through Scotland.

CHAPTER VII.

I REMAINED no longer in Newcastle than until
I earned as much money as would pay my
way to London. I then took my passage
on board a collier bound to the great city ; and,
after beating about in good weather and bad
weather for about three weeks, I arrived in
London on the first October, 1776.

The first Cockney I met was the scullerman,
who was engaged to land me and my luggage
near Temple Bar. I was amused at his slang
and his chatter all the way to London Bridge ;
and, on approaching it, he asked me if I was
" a-feared ;" but, not knowing what I was to be
afraid of, I returned the question, at which he
looked queer. We passed the gulf about which
he wanted to talk, and I again asked him if he
was " a-fcared."

It was not long before I found out my old
school-fellows, Christopher and Philip Grcgson, my
old companion, "William Gray, then a bookbinder in
Chancery Lane, and my friend, Robert Pollard.
The first had provided me with a lodging, and
the last — through the kindness and influence of

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 95

his master, Isaac Taylor — with plenty of work.
Before commencing work, I thought it best to
take a ramble through the city and its environs.
The first day I went alone, and saw nobody I
knew. On the second day, I fell in — by chance
— with Sergeant Hymers, in the Strand, who, on
seeing me, seemed quite surprised. He held up
both his hands — he looked — he laughed — shook
me by the hand, over and over again, and
seemed not to know how to be kind enough.
He then took me back with him till he got
dressed ; and, when this was done, he made a
very handsome appearance indeed. The rest of
the day he devoted wholly to my service. He
first took me to the blackguard places in Lon-
don. I suppose this was done with a view to
corroborate the truth of the stories he had told
me before, in Newcastle. After I had seen
enough of these places, he took me to others
better worth notice ; and, having rambled about
till I had seen a good deal of the exterior as
well as the interior of London — of which it
would be superfluous to give an account — I sat
down closely to work until I got through the
wood cuts which, through Isaac Taylor's kindness,
had been provided for me. I then called upon
Thomas Hodgson, printer, George Court, Clerk-
enwell, who had also provided work for me, to
meet my arrival in London, and who had im-
patiently waited for my assistance.* I was sub-

* Thomas Hodgson had served his apprenticeship as a printer
to John White, Newcastle (before named) ; and, having token a

96 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

sequently employed by Mr. Carnan, and by Mr.
Newberry, of St. Paul's Church Yard.

Having served my time as a kind of " Jack
of all trades," I felt desirous to work amongst
the Cockneys, to see if I could find anything
amongst them ; but in this I was disappointed ; for
I was never permitted to see any of them at
work. They, indeed, seemed desirous of seeing
what I was doing, and occasionally peeped in
upon me for that purpose. I thought such of
them as did so were a most saucy, ignorant,
and impudent set. Wherever I went, the igno-
rant part of the Cockneys called me " Scotchman."
At this I was not offended ; but, when they
added other impudent remarks, I could not
endure them ; and this often led me into quar-
rels of a kind I wished to avoid, and had] not
been ueed to engage in.

Tt is not worth while noticing these quarrels,
but only as they served to help out my dislike
to London. They were only trivial compared to
other matters. One of the first things that
struck me, and that constantly hurt my feel-
ings, was the sesing such a number of fine-

liking to wood engraving, he had employed most of his time in
embellishing tho endless number of old ballads and histories
printed at that office, with rude devices, as head-pieces to them.
He was a most assiduous, careful, and recluse man. What he
published in London, I cannot enumerate; but I understood he
employed some Germans, as well as myself, to cut blocks for him.
He also employed me to make designs for many of these cuts.
When he died, he left me a legacy of five pounds. This is the
only money that I have ever received that I have not wrought for.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 97

looking women engaged in the wretched busi-
ness of " street- walking." Of these I often en-
quired as to the cause of their becoming so
lost to themselves and to the world. Their
usual reply was that they had been basely se-
duced, and then basely betrayed. This I be-
lieved, and was grieved to think that they were
thus, perhaps, prevented from becoming the best
of mothers to an offspring of lovely and healthy
children. I often told them so ; and this ended
in their tears : and, if they were in poverty, I
contributed my mite to relieve them. What a
pity it is that this wretchedness is not prevented.
Base men treat women as if they were infe-
rior beings, made only to be used like brutes
and tyrannized over as slaves. I have always
beheld such conduct towards women with abhor-
rence ; for my conceptions of this wretched state
of things are of the most soul-harrowing descrip-
tion. It would be extreme weakness to main-
tain an opinion that all women are good, and
that the faults here noticed are always ascriba-
ble to the men only. This is not the case ;
for I am obliged to admit that there are good
and bad of each sex. I have often attempted
to make an estimate of their comparative num-
bers, in which I have felt some difficulties.
Sometimes my barometer of estimation has risen
to the height of ten to one in favour of the
fair sex ; at other times it has fluctuated, and
has fallen down some degrees lower in the scale ;
but, with me, it is now settled, and I cannot

o

98 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

go lower than four good women to one good
man. I have often wondered how any man
could look healthy, beautiful, sensible, and vir-
tuous women in the face without considering
them as the link between men and angels.
For my part, I have often felt myself so over-
powered with reverence in their presence that
I have been almost unable to speak, and they
must often have noticed my embarrassment. I
could mention the names of many, but it might
offend their delicacy. When a man can get
such a help-mate for life, his happiness must
be secured ; for such a one is of inestimable
value : "Her price is far above rubies."

I often spent my evenings at the " George,"
in Brook Street, kept by a person of the name
of Darby, whose wife, a Cumberland woman,
claimed a distant relationship to me. At this house,
I met with some very respectable and pleasant
tradesmen. While I was there one evening, a
stranger to me joined us. I think he was a
traveller. He had, however, been in Scotland,
and had a mighty itch to speak very disrespect-
fully of that country, and was vociferous in at-
tempting to entertain the company with his ac-
count of the filth and dirt he had met with in
it. This I could not bear : their kindness was
fresh in my memory ; and I felt resentment
rising in me. I, however, quashed that feeling,
and only told him that I believed I had tra-
velled on foot, perhaps, about three hundred miles
through Scotland, and had met with no such

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 99

people there, nor such dirtiness as he described.
There might, indeed, be some such in every
country for aught I knew ; but I was confident
such might be found without going much be-
yond the street we were in, and who, in addi-
tion to their filthiness, were also the most
wretched and abandoned of the human race.
Some of them, indeed, appeared to me to be
scarcely human. I concluded by observing that
I was afraid he had been keeping very bad com-
pany in Scotland. A laugh by this was raised
against him, and he felt him himself quashed by
his own folly.

I very frequently visited Westminster Abbey,
on some part of the Sunday ; and, on the fore-
noons of that day, I mostly went with my friend
Pollard to hear the Rev. — Harrison, at St. An-
drew's Church, Holborn. I sometimes, also, went
to hear eminent preachers at other places. I
was once invited by my friend William Watson,
of the Treasury, who had married the eldest Miss
Beilby, to go with him to hear the Rev. Dr.
Dodd preach at the Magdalen Chapel. Whether
this was at the time he was arrested for for-
gery I am not certain, but I know I did not see
him. I also went with Mr. Watson to hear the
Rev. — Maxwell, another eminent divine ; but,
indeed, I believe I did not miss hearing any of
the popular preachers in London.

For many years after I left London, I went
to hear the preachers of various persuasions, and
attempted to find out the general character of

100 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

their several congregations. Having been brought
up under the creeds and doctrines of the Church
of England, I may, perhaps, have some partiali-
ties about me respecting that church, but I have
ever considered that its clergy are the most learned
of any, and that, excepting some of the higher
orders of them, they, as well as their hearers, are
the most tolerant. I have always felt grieved
that a great number of them should consist of
very learned and good men with curacies or poor
livings that do not afford them a much better
income than the wages of common mechanics ;
and that, however great their abilities may be, it
is only by patronage that they can be advanced,
while enormous stipends are lavished upon others,
very often for the most useless, or, perhaps, the
most corrupt purposes. I think it would be much
better if the incomes of the clergy could be
equalized ; for, so long as matters are managed
otherwise, so long will it be considered as a sys-
tem of revenue of which religion is only the pre-
text.

But it is unnecessary here to dwell on these
opinions of mine. Every man should be welcome
to follow his own opinions on the all-important
subject of religion. If these are founded in truth,
there can be no fear of their being injured by
unreserved discussion. Whatever the creed may
be, there can be no objection to the religion of
a virtuous man ; and it is to be hoped that the
distinctions and bickerings amongst different de-
nominations of Christians will cease, and the causes

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 101

of them be thought of no more importance than
whether a man uses his quid of tobacco in the
right cheek or in the left.

After this digression, I must now turn my at-
tention again to London. My friend Mr. Watson
was very desirous to get me work with Mr. Pingo,
in the Mint ; and, from his being so well-known
and respected by the gentlemen in most of the
government offices, he thought this might be
easily accomplished. My mind was, however, bent
quite another way, and no more was done for
me in that business. The constant attention and
kindness of my London friends, whose company
I enjoyed, was unabated. They walked with me
everywhere, and the house of William Gray was
a home to me. I met other Newcastle friends,
everp Monday night, at the " Hole-in-the-Wall,"
Fleet Street, where I went to see the Newcastle
newspapers. Some of these occasionally wanted
assistance, and got my last sixpence. At this
time I earned a deal of money ; and, from my
habits of temperance, I spent little for my own
living, and thus discovered what a small- sum
was sufficient to make me independent, and I
never lost sight of the inestimable value of being
so. I, however, never had a surplus of cash long
in my possession ; for one or another had occa-
sion for it, and I could not bear to see distress
without relieving it.

Notwithstanding my being so situated amongst
my friends, and being so much gratified in see-
ing such a variety of excellent performances in

102 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

every art and science, — painting, statuary, engrav-
ing, carving, &c., — yet I did not like London.
It appeared to me to be a world of itself, where
everything in the extreme might at once be
seen : extreme riches, extreme poverty, extreme
grandeur, and extreme wretchedness — all of which
were such as I had not contemplated before.
Perhaps I might, indeed, take too full a view
of London on its gloomy side. I could not help
it. I tired of it, and determined to return
home. The country of my old friends — the man-
ners of the people of that day — the scenery of
Tynesidc — seemed altogether to form a paradise
for me, and I longed to see it again. "While I
was thus turning these matters over in my mind,
my warm friend and patron, Isaac Taylor, waited
upon me : and, on my telling him I was going
to Newcastle, he enquired how long it would be
before I returned. "Never," was my reply; at
which he seemed both surprised and displeased.
He then warmly remonstrated with me upon this
impropriety of my conduct, told me of the pros-
pects- before me, and, amongst many other mat-
ters, that of his having engaged me to draw
in the Duke of Richmond's Gallery ; and he
strenuously urged me to change my mind. I
told him that no temptation of gain, of honour,
or of anything else, however great, could ever
have any weight with me ; and that I would
even enlist for a soldier, or go and herd sheep
at five shillings per week, as long as I lived,
rather than be tied to live in London. I told

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 103

him how sensible I was of his uncommon kind-
ness to me, and thanked him for it. My kind
friend left me in the pet, and I never saw him
more. He afterwards, when an old man, visited
Newcastle, but left it again without my knowing
it till after he was gone. At this I felt much
grieved and disappointed. I do not remember
how long he lived after this ; but a memoir of
him was published in the " Analytical Magazine"
at the time, together with a letter I had writ-
ten to him sometime before his death, which he
never answered. He was, in his day, accounted
the best engraver of embellishments for books,
most of which he designed himself. The fron-
tispiece to the first edition of " Cunningham's
Poems" was one of his early productions ; and at
that time my friend Pollard and myself thought
it was the best thing that ever was done.*

The same kind persuasions were urged upon me
by Mr. Hodgson, to remain in London, as had
been used by Mr. Taylor, which ended in a simi-
lar way. The former, however, went further, and
told me that, if I were determined upon leaving
London, and would continue to work for him in
Newcastle, he would furnish me with plenty of
it ; and that he would begin by giving me as
much as would keep me employed for two years.
This was particularly pleasing to me, because I
could not bear the thoughts of beginning busi-

* John Cunningham, the pastoral poet, died September, 1773,
aged 43 years, and was buried in St. John's Church Yard, New-
castle.

104

MKMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

ness in Newcastle in opposition to my old mas-
ter, for whom I had the greatest respect.

Having spent the evening till a late hour with
my friends at the " George," in Brook Street,
and in the morning taken leave of my landlord
and landlady, Mr. and Mrs. Kendal, and their
family, in AVharton's Court, Holborn, I then
posted off to the Pool, and got on board a col-
lier ; and, after a very short passage, arrived in
sight of St. Nicholas' Church steeple, about the
22nd June, 1777.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE first thing after my arrival in Newcastle
was to see my old master, and the next to en-
gage my old lodgings at Hatfields, and to fit
up a work bench there. I then set to work
upon my wood cuts. This, however, was inter-
rupted by other jobs ; and the first of the kind
was that of engraving a copper plate of the
"Theban Harp," for the Rev. James Murray, for
some of his publications.* Some of the silver-
smiths also began to press their jobs upon me.
I had not, however, been long at work for my-
self till proposals were made to me to join in
partnership with my late master ; and this was
brought about by a mutual friend (?) This pro-
posal— which was to set me down at once in a

* The Rev. James Murray, a Church of Scotland minister, with
whom I had been long acquainted. He was accounted one of
the best Hebrew scholars of his day. His " Sermons to Asses"
attracted much notice, and so did many of his other works. He
was a keen, satirical writer, and, amongst his friends, he was of
a lively, witty, and pleasant temper, and greatly valued by a nu-
merous acquaintance for his humanity and good sense. He died
in January, 1782, aged 50 years, and was buried in St. Andrew's
Church Yard, Newcastle.

106 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

well-established business — I did not relish so
warmly as our mutual friend expected. I had
formed a plan of working alone, without appren-
tices, or being interrupted by any one ; and I
am not certain, at this day, whether I would
not have been happier in doing so than in the
way I was led to pursue. I had often, in my
lonely walks, debated this business over in my
mind ; but, whether it would have been for the
better or the worse, I can now only conjecture.
I tried the one plan, and not the other : per-
haps each might' have had advantages and dis-
advantages. I should not have experienced the
envy and ingratitude of some of my pupils, nei-
ther should I, on the contrary, have felt the
pride and the pleasure I derived from so many
of them having received medals or premiums
from the Society for the Encouragement of Arts,
and taken the lead, as engravers on wood, in
the Metropolis. Notwithstanding this pride and
this pleasure, I am inclined to think I should
have had — balancing the good against the bad —
more pleasure in working alone for myself.

During my absence in London, Mr. Beilby
had taken an apprentice with a premium; and,
to make us equal, I took my brother John as
mine. With him I was extremely happy. He
was constantly cheerful, lively, and very active,
and my friends were his friends. Mr. Beilby
was as well pleased with him as I could possi-
bly be ; for, besides his affable temper, he took
every kind of work in hand so pleasantly, and

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 107

so very soon learned to execute it well, that he
could not miss giving satisfaction. This he con-
tinued to do as long as he was with us ; but
other parts of his conduct, when he arrived at
manhood, was not so well, and gave me great
uneasiness ; for he got acquainted with compa-
nions whom I thought badly of, and my remon-
strances respecting them proved in vain. He
would not, as he called it, be dictated to by
me ; but this I persisted in till it made us
often quarrel, which was distressing to me, for
my regard for him was too deeply rooted ever
to think of suffering him to tread in the paths
which led to ruin, without endeavouring to pre-
vent it. To the latest day of his life, he re-
pented of having turned a deaf ear to my ad-
vice ; and as bitterly and sincerely did he ac-
knowledge the slighted obligations he owed me.
He rued; and that is as painful a word as any
in the English language.

As soon as I thought my brother might be
able to work his way in the world, — he having
been, I think, about five years with me, — I gave
him his liberty, and he set off to London, where,
being freed from his former associates, his con-
duct was all that could be desired, and he was
highly respected and esteemed. He was as in-
dustrious in London as he had been with us,
and had plenty of work to do. He was almost
entirely employed by the publishers and book-
sellers in designing and cutting an endless
variety of blocks for them. He was extremely

108 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWH K.

quick at his work, and did it at a very low
rate. His too close confinement, however, im-
paired his health. He revisited Cherryburn,
where he did not remain long till he thought
himself quite recovered, and he then returned to
London, where he continued a few years longer,
and where the same kind of confinement affected
his health as before. A similar visit to his na-
tive air was found necessary ; his health was
again restored to him ; and again he returned
to London. He, however, found that he could
not pursue the same kind of close confinement,
on which account he engaged to teach drawing
at the Hornsey Academy, then kept by Mr.
Nathaniel Norton, which obliged him to keep a
pony to ride backwards and forwards ; thus di-
viding his time between his work-office in Lon-
don and the school for some years, when his
health began again to decline, and he finally
left London early in the summer of 1795, and
returned once more to the banks of the Tyne.
Here he intended to follow the wood engraving
for his London friends, and particularly for Wm.
Bulmer, for whom he was engaged to execute a
number of blocks for the "Fabliaux" or "Tales
of Le Grand," and for " Somerville's Chace."
Many of the former he had, I believe, finished
in London, and had sketched others on the
blocks, which he finished at Cherryburn. He
had also sketched the designs on the blocks for
the " Chace ;" and to these I put the finishing
hand, after his decease, which happened on the

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 109

5th of December, 1795, aged 35 years. The
last thing I could do for him was putting up
a stone to his memory at the west end of
Ovingham Church, where I hope, when my
" glass is run out," to be laid down beside him.

While my brother was my apprentice, he fre-
quently accompanied me on my weekly visits
to Cherryburn. He was then a clever, springy
youth, and our bounding along together was often
compared to the scamperings of a pair of wild
colts. These journeys commenced while I was an
apprentice. I then mostly went and returned on
the same day ; but, when I became my own
master, for many years — in summer's heat and
winter's freezing cold — I did not miss a single
week. When I was an apprentice, I had a few
holydays at Easter and Whitsuntide allowed me,
according to promise ; and these were wholly
employed in angling ; but, after the time came
when I might do as I pleased, I mostly stop-
ped, when the weather suited, in spring and
summer, and spent the Mondays in various
streams, at this my favourite — and, indeed, only
— diversion. In this I was accompanied by my
cheerful associate, " Jack Roe," with his flies
and his tackle ; and, when we had got a suffi-
cient number, I returned to Newcastle with
my creel well filled with fish, which I divided
amongst my friends. With an account of these
hungry, stream-wading ramblings, and the days
spent in angling, and with a description of the
beautiful scenery of water-sides, and the renovating

110 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

charms which these altogether inspired, a volume
might be filled, in imitation of the patriarch of
anglers, Izaac Walton : as might also one of a de-
scriptive or sentimental journal of these my weekly
visits to my parents. These visits continued regu-
larly from 1777 till 1785, in which year my mother,
my eldest sister, and my father, all died.

It will readily be believed that, if I had not
felt uncommon pleasure in these journeys, I "would
not have persisted in them ; nor in facing the
snow storms, the floods, and the dark nights of so
many winters. This, to some, appeared like in-
sanity, but my stimulant, as well as my reward,
was in seeing my father and mother in their hap-
py home. I always reflected that this would have
an end, and that the time would come when I
should have no feelings of warm regard called up
on their account. Besides these gratifications, I felt
others in observing the weekly changes of the long-
lengthened and varied year, which, by being so
measured out, appeared like living double one's
time. The " Seasons," by the inimitable Thomson,
had charmed me greatly ; but, viewing nature thus
experimentally, pleased me much more. To be
placed in the midst of a wood in the night, in
whirlwinds of snow, while the tempest howled above
my head, was sublimity itself, and drew forth as-
pirations to Omnipotence such as had not warmed
my imagination so highly before ;• but, indeed,
without being supported by ecstacies of this kind,
the spirits, beset as they were, would have flagged,
and I should have sunk down.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. Ill

As soon as the days began to lengthen, and the
sprouting herbage had covered the ground, I often
stopped with delight by the sides of woods, to ad-
mire the dangling woodbine and roses, and the
grasses powdered or spangled with pearly drops of
dew ; and also, week after week, the continued suc-
cession of plants and wild flowers. The primrose,
the wild hyacinth, the harebell, the daisy, the cow-
slip, &c., — these, altogether, I thought no painter
ever could imitate. I had not, at that time, ever
heard the name of the great and good Linnaeus,
and knew plants only by their common English
names. While admiring these beautifully-enamel-
led spots on my way, I was also charmed with the
equally beautiful little songsters, which were con-
stantly pouring out their various notes to proclaim
the spring. While this exhilarating season glided
on by imperceptible degrees, unfolding its blossoms
till they faded into summer, and as the days length-
ened, my hours of rising became more and more
early. I have often thought, that not one half of
mankind knew anything of the beauty, the serenity,
and the stillness of the summer mornings in the
country, nor have ever witnessed the rising sun's
shining forth upon the new day.

I had often listened with great pleasure and
attention to my father's description of the morn-
ing, with his remarks upon the various wild quad-
rupeds and the strange birds he had seen or
heard in these still hours throughout the year ; for
he left his bed very early in summer, and seldom
later than four or five o'clock in the winter. The

112 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BKWICK.

autumn I viewed as the most interesting season,
and, in its appearance, the most beautiful. It
is then that the yellow harvest of the fields, and
the produce of the orchards, are gathered in, as
the reward of the labours of the year ; while the
picturesque beauties and varying foliage of the fad-
ing woods, with their falling leaves, and the assem-
bling in flocks of the small birds, put me in mind
of the gloomy months with which the year is closed.
This is the short account of many years of
uninterrupted health, bouyaiit spirits, and of great
happiness to me. I had begun betimes, and by
degrees, to habituate myself to temperance and
exercise, which hardened the constitution to such
a pitch that neither wet nor cold had any bad
effect upon me. On setting out upon my weekly
pedestrian "flights" up the Tyne, I never looked
out to see whether it was a good day or a bad
one; the worst that ever fell from the skies
never deterred me from undertaking my journey.
On setting out, I always waded through the first
pool I met with, and had sometimes the river to
wade at the far end. I never changed my
clothes, however they might be soaked with wet,
or stiffened by the frost, on my returning home
at night, till I went to bed. I had inured my-
self to this hardship, by always sleeping with
my windows open, by which a thorough air, as
well as the snow, blew through my room. In
this way, I lay down, rolled in a blanket, upon
a mattrass as hard as I could make it. Not-
withstanding this mode of treating myself, I

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 113

never had any ailment, even in the shape of a
cold, while I continued to live in this way ;
nor did I experience any difference until, when
I married, I was obliged to alter my plans, and
to live and behave like other folks. If persons
brought up and habituated to the tender indul-
gences common in the world, and not trained
by degrees to bear the mode of life I have
been describing, were to try it, unprepared, the
experiment would be at their peril. My travel-
ling expenses for the day, were commonly only
a penny or twopence for crossing the water.
On the hottest day, I was never made violently
to perspire, but only felt a dampness on my
brow. I carried no useless weight of fat about
me, and the muscular parts were as hard as it
was possible to be on any human being. On
being asked by a gentleman — an acquaintance whom
I met at Ovingham — what I got to drink on such
hot days, on my road, my reply was — "Nothing."
He had not been used to such doings himself ;
and was surprised, and could hardly believe me.
He earnestly persuaded me to try the experiment
of the amazing good a glass of brandy and water
would do me in hot weather. This I took no
notice of for some time : at length, however, on
a thundery, hot day, on being scorched with heat,
and 111 danger of being struck with lightning,
which darted from a sky almost as black as ink,
I stepped into a public house, and, for the first
time in my life, called for a glass of brandy
and water. I was then about 28 years old.

114

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

This would not be worth noticing, but only on
account of its being a beginning to me, and
which I did not, when occasion pressed me,
leave off for some years afterwards.

This life of rapturous enjoyment has its acids,
and at length comes to an end ; and so did my
walks, and my reflections, or contemplations,
which passed through the mind while engaged
in them. These, at the time, were mostly com-
municated to a moralising, sensible, and religious
friend, who waited my return on the Sunday
evenings, when, over our supper, he, in return,
detailed to me the import of the sermons he
had heard through the day.

CHAPTER IX.

IN Christmas week, 1784, while I was amusing
myself with sliding on the ice at Ovingham,
which was as smooth almost as a looking glass,
between Eltringham and that place, — I know
not what came over my mind, but something
ominous haunted it, of a gloomy change impend-
ing over the family. At this I was surprised,
for I had never before felt any such sensation,
and presently scouted it as some whim of the
imagination. The day was to be one of cheer-
fulness ; for Mr. and Mrs. Storey — distant rela-
tions of my father's, and for whom my parents
had the greatest regard — had been, with other
friends, invited to dine with us at Cherryburn.
At dinner all was kindness and cheerfulness, and
my father was, as usual, full of his jokes, and
telling some of his facetious stories and anecdotes.
For two, or perhaps three Sundays after this, I
was prevented from getting over the water, by
the ice and other floods, and returned from Ov-
ingham without seeing or hearing how all were
at home. The Sunday after, upon my making
my usual call at the gardener's in Ovingham, —

116 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

where, when at school, we always left our dinner
poke, and dined, — he informed me, with looks of
grief, that my mother was very unwell. I posted
off, in haste, across the river, to see her. Upon
my asking her, earnestly, how she was, she took
me apart, and told me it was nearly all over
with her ; and she described to me how she had
got her death. She had been called up, on a
severe frosty night, to see a young woman in
the hamlet below, who was taken ill; and, think-
ing the bog she had to pass through, might be
frozen hard enough to bear her, she " slumped"
deep into it, and, before she had waded through
it, she got very wet and a " perishrcent" of cold;
and, in that state, she went to give her advice as
to what was best to be done with her patient. I
employed my friend, Dr. Bailes, to visit her ; and
I ran up from Newcastle two or three times a
week with his medicines for her ; but all would
not do : she died on the 20th February, 1785,
aged 58 years. She was possessed of great innate
powers of mind, which had been cultivated by a
good education, as well as by her own endeavours.
For these, and for her benevolent, humane, disposi-
tion, and good sense, she was greatly respected,
and, indeed, revered by the whole neighbourhood.
My eldest sister, who was down from London on
a visit to her home, at the time of my mother's
illness and death, by her over-exertion and anxiety,
brought on an illness ; and, for the convenience of
medical aid, and better nursing, I brought her to
my hitherto little happy cot, at the Forth, where

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 117

she died on the 24th June, 1785, aged 30 years.
These were gloomy days to me ! Some short time
before my sister died, upon her requesting me, and
my promising her, that I would see her buried
at Ovingham, she proposed to sing me a song.
I thought this very strange, and felt both sorrow
and surprise at it ; but she smiled at me, and
began her song of "All Things have but a Time."
I had heard the old song before, and thought
pretty well of it ; but her's was a later and a
very much better Aversion of it.

During this time I observed a great change in
the looks and deportment of my father. He had,
what is called. " never held up his head" since
the death of my mother ; and, upon my anxiously
pressing him to tell me what ailed him, he said
he had felt as if he were shot through from the
breast to the shoulders with a great pain that
hindered him from breathing freely. Upon my
mentioning medical assistance, he rejected it, and
told me, if I sent him any drugs, I might de-
pend upon it he would throw them all behind the
fire. He wandered about all summer alone, with
a kind of serious look, and took no pleasure in
anything, till near the 15th November, which, I
understand, was his birthday, and on which he
completed his 70th year, and on that day he died.
He was buried beside my mother and sister at
Ovingham. After this, I left off my walks to
Cherryburn ; the main attractions to it were gone ;
and it became a place the thoughts of which now
raked up sorrowful reflections in .my mind. Fome

118 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

particulars respecting my father, and illustrative of
his character, may, perhaps, be thought not unin-
teresting. I shall give a few of such as I re-
collect them. In his person, he was a stout, square-
made, strong, and active man, and through life
was a pattern of health. I was told by some of
my aunts, who were older than he, that he was
never ill from a disease in his life ; and I have
heard him say "he wondered how folks felt when
they were ill." lie was of a cheerful temper, and
he possesed an uncommon vein of humour and a
fund of anecdote. He was much noticed by the
gentlemen and others of the neighbourhood for
these qualities, as well as for his integrity. He
had, however, some traits that might be deemed
singular, and not in order. He never would pro-
secute any one for theft ; he hated going to law,
but he took it at his own hand, and now and
then gave thieves a severe beating, and sometimes
otherwise punished them in a singular and whim-
sical way. I have known him, on a winter night,
rise suddenly up from his seat, and, with a stick
in his hand, set off to the colliery, in order to catch
the depredators whom he might detect stealing his
coals. I remember one instance of his thus catch-
ing a young fellow, a farmer, with his loaded cart,
and of his giving him a severe beating, or, what
was called, a " hideing," and of his making him
leave his booty and go home empty. The thieves
themselves were sure to keep the business secret,
and he himself never spoke of it beyond his own
fireside. In these robberies, which he saw with

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 119

his own eyes, lie conceived he did not need the
help of either witnesses, judge, or jury, nor the
occasion to employ any attorney to empty his
pockets. I have sometimes heard him make re-
marks upon people whom he knew to be hypo-
crites, and on their loud praying and holding up
their hands at church. After having noticed that
one of these, one Sunday, had acted thus, and re-
mained to take the Sacrament, some person called,
in the afternoon, with the news that this very
man had, on his way home, caught a poor man's
galloway, which had entered through a gap in the
hedge into his field, and had driven it before him
into the pinfold. This was sufficient ; this was the
spark which kindled up and increased to a blaze,
which my father could not muster temper enough
to keep down. Next morning, he set off to the
smith's shop, and sent for this choleric, purse-proud
man, to whom, in rude terms, he opened out upon
his hypocrisy, and at length obliged him to re-
lease the galloway from its hungry imprisonment.
He recommended him to make his peace with the
poor but honest and respected man, and to go no
more to church, nor to take the Sacrament, till a
change had taken place in his mind. He also told
him that he ought that very night, before he slept,
to sit down on his bare knees, and implore for-
giveness of the God he had offended.

The last transaction I shall mention, on this sub-
ject,— and which bore a more serious complexion
than the foregoing, — happened when I was an ap-
prentice. A pitman, George Parkin, who had

120 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

long wrought in the colliery, was highly valued
by my father for his industry, sobriety, and ho-
nesty. He would not do anything unfairly himself
in working the coal in the boards, nor suffer
others to do so. For this conduct he became
deservedly a great favourite, — so much so that
one of the old lodges had been comfortably fitted
up for him and his family to live in rent free ;
and a garth, besides, was taken off the common for
his use. For these he often expressed himself so
highly pleased that he used to say, he was hap-
pier than a prince. My father, for many years,
had made it a point to let the men down to
their work himself ; so that he might see with
his own eyes that all was safe. All passed on
pleasantly in this way for a long while, till one
morning, when thus employed letting the men
down, George, who was always the first at his
work, having fixed himself on the chain, with
his son on his arm, to be both let down to-
gether, had given the signal, " Wise-away," and
at the same time holding up his "low rope,"
he observed the pit rope which was to bear their
weight had been cut near the chain. On this he
shouted "Stop," and started back upon the "sed-
dle boards," just in time to prevent himself and
the boy from being precipitated to the bottom of
the pit. The poor man was almost overpowered
with the shock, when my father, keeping the
"dreg" upon the "start," caught hold of him
and the boy, and conducted' both into the lodge.
< >n examining the rope, my father found it had

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 121

been cut through to the last strand. He then
stopped the working of the pit for that day. George,
in great distress of mind, set off to Newcastle to
inform me of what had happened. I was grieved
to hear his tale ; and this was heightened by his
declaring that all his pleasures were at an end ;
for he never could go back to his work, nor to
his happy home again.

For some time, my father seemed lost in pon-
dering over this mysterious affair. He, however,
at length began to be fixed in his suspicions,
and, as was usual on such occasions, his indigna-
tion, step by step, rose to the greatest height.
In this state of mind, he set off unusually soon
in the morning, to let the men down to their
work ; knowing that the object of his suspicions,
— a wicked, ignorant, young fellow — would be the
first, and alone. He began by accusing him of the
horrid deed, and instantly to beat and overpower
him ; threatening him that he would drag him to
the pit, and throw him down the shaft, if he did
not confess. The threat succeeded ; he was afraid
of his life, and confessed. My father instantly
dismissed him from his employment. When the
rest of the men came to their work, they saw,
by the blood, and the retaliating blows on my
father's face, that something unusual had occurred.
He then told them the particulars, at which they
greatly rejoiced. In this state of things, the accus-
ing culprit, while he bore the marks of violence
upon him, set crippling off to lodge his com-
plaint to the justices, and my father was summoned

R

122 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

to appear before them. When met together, the
justices (Captains Smith and Bainbridge,* of the
Riding), heard the charge of assault, which, from
the first appearance of the complainant before
them, they had no reason to doubt. They both
expressed their surprise to find such a charge against
my father, with whom they had been in habits of
neighbourly intimacy, and who was the last man
on earth they could suspect as capable of commit-
ting such an outrage. After laying down the law
in such cases, they wished to hear what he had to
say for himself. He readily acknowledged what
he had done, and his reasons for doing so. They
seemed much shocked at the horrid narrative ;
and, after conferring together in private a short
time, the business was resumed. " Pray," said
one of them to the culprit, " were not you the
man who robbed Bywell Lock, and" — looking him
sternly in the face — " was not this master of yours
the very friend by whose unceasing endeavours and
influence you were saved from transportation ? Be-
gone ! leave the country, and never let us see you
more." The man left the country for many years,
and, on his return, I was both pleased and sur-
prised to find he was much reformed. In addi-

* Now Major Bainbridge, who baa been many years in the com-
mission of the peace, in which he is much respected as a magistrate
and a man. Without knowing what side he took in politics, I
have always considered him as a local patriot, keen of promoting
everything for the benefit of Tyneside. While I am writing this
(23rd June, 1823) he is living, and in his 87th year. Captain
Smith I did not know. Major Bainbridge died 6th December,
1826, in his 91st year.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

tion to this long account, I must add, that my
father could not be troubled to harbour ill-will
in his mind, and that, if he were passionate, he
was equally compassionate.

CHAPTER X.

FOR many years, including a part of those of
my apprenticeship, my master and self were fully
employed upon such work as I have named before,
from silversmiths, watchmakers, and hardwaremen ;
but a new customer (Isaac Hymen, a Jew), came
in the way with his seal-cutting orders, which
amounted to more, in that way, than all the rest
put together. This man, besides his box of watches,
trinkets, &c., had gathered together a large collec-
tion of impressions of well-cut seals ; and, being
a man of good address, and a good singer, had
introduced himself into coffee-rooms frequented by
gentlemen and respectable tradesmen, where he
exhibited his impressions as the work of his own
hands ; and, by this management — for he knew
nothing whatever of engraving — he got orders.
Somehow or other, it was propagated throughout
the town that his seals surpassed by far anything
we ever did, or could do; and, although we had
done the whole of his orders, this was believed,
and there seemed to be only one opinion as to his
very superior excellence. I remember once rising
early in the morning, and working till late at

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 125

night, and, on that day, cutting five steel seals
with cyphers and initials, for which our common
wholesale charge was 3s. 6d., and to our private
customers, 5s. For these he charged 12s. 6d.
each to his friends. He observed to me, on my
remarking to him on his extravagant charges,
" that it was foolish in us to do as we did ;" and,
for himself, he said, " you know, I must live."
My wages for the short time I worked for my
master, after I was out of my apprenticeship, was
a guinea per week, but Isaac offered me two guineas
if I would travel with him. The travelling part
I should have liked well enough, but not to travel
with a Jew. He went on in this way, with his
orders, till we had no other customer in that de-
partment ; and my master then, as well as when
I became his partner, often expressed himself highly
chagrined that some of his old private friends went
past him, and even joined others in lessening our
work. Our friend Isaac continued long uninter-
ruptedly thus to carry all before him, till some
of our old customers became irritated at him, and
particularly a watchmaker, who took great pains
to open out and expose the business. Isaac then
left Newcastle, and report said he was found dead
on the road between Sunderland and Durham. I
have often seen, in London, — and perhaps the same
may be observed in every large town, — "The pale
artist ply his sickly trade," to keep in affluence
such managing, money-making, pretended artists
as Isaac Hymen ; and this must continue to be
the case so long as gentlemen will not go them-

126 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

selves to the fountain head, and be at the pains
to encourage merit.

Our main supporter in the silver engraving, was
John Langlands, who was of a cheerful, hospitable,
and charitable disposition, full of stories and anec-
dotes, and who greatly esteemed men of ability,
integrity, and industry. These he never forgot
when age or infirmities brought them down. He
then shook hands with them as he had done before,
but his own mostly concealed his token of respect
— a half guinea. I spent many a cheerful evening
in Mr. L.'s house, in company with others who
also partook of his hospitable board. The most
remarkable of these was Matthew Prior, who had
the character of being one of the best mechanics
in the kingdom. He was assay master, a musical
instrument maker, and a turner, in which last he
particularly excelled. The many remarkable pieces
of dexterous workmanship he had done in that way
drew upon him the notice of many gentlemen in
the two northern counties, with whom also, as an
angler, a sportsman, and a jovial companion, he
was a welcome guest. It happened, on some pre-
tence or other, that an attempt was made to take
away the assay business from Newcastle, which
occasioned Prior to be sent for, to be examined by
(I believe) a committee of the House of Commons,
as to his ability in conducting that business. The
ease, the clearness, as well as the straight-forward
way in which he answered all questions excited
some surprise, as well as approbation. When
questioned as to the accuracy of his scale-beam,

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 127

he said a hair clipped from the back of his hand
would turn his scales either way. For a wager,
he turned two billiard balls of such equal weights
that the difference was as nothing. He was of a
most independent cast of character, and open and
frank in his conversation. It had been reported
that Prior had said of a proud, high-minded gen-
tleman that " he durst do what neither the gentle-
man nor any of his family dared do." Prior had
never said any such thing ; but this gentleman
took him to task about it, and, with great indig-
nation, accused him of saying so. At this, Prior,
in his turn, felt offended, and told him, though
he had never said so, he would now say so to his
face. This produced a wager between them ; and
Matthew told him he would double the bet if he
pleased. "JSTow," said the gentleman, in high ill-
humour, "what is it you dare do?" "Do!" said
Prior, " I dare spend the last shilling I have in
the world !" *

During a great part of the time I have been
noticing, the American War was going on. The
"press" broke out just after I landed in London,
and, to escape the gang, one of our crew came
and took refuge with me. This poor fellow, a
decent man, had in his youth been on board a
ship of war ; and, as far as concerned himself, he
said he did not mind going again ; but the thoughts
of being dragged from his family threw him into
very great distress. Political writings and debat-

* Matthew Prior died June 15, 1800, aged 65, and was buried
in St. Nicholas' Church, Newcastle.

128 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

ings sometimes ran very high between those who
were advocates for a system of corruption, and
profited by the taxes, and those who were advo-
cates for the liberties of mankind; but it always
appeared to me that a very great majority of the
people were decidedly against the war. These
writings and debating*, which the war occasioned,
certainly served greatly to alter the notions and
the opinions of the people respecting the purity
of the British government, and its representative
system; and this attempt at doing it away alto-
gether in America seemed a prelude to the same
system of misrule, when, by slower degrees, a fu-
ture opportunity offered for doing it away at home.
In these political debatings, the question was often
asked, "Whether the government was made for
the people, or the people for the government?"
Great numbers, who hoped for the best, still
clung to the government under which they had
been brought up, and had been taught to revere
as excellency itself. While others were contending
whether a kingly government or a republic was
best, it was generally admitted that a deal might
be said pro and con ; for many examples might
be adduced of mal-administration under both forms.
Some of these disputants would repeat what Pope
had said —

" For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight,
" His can't be wrong whose life is in the right;
" For forms of government, it is contest
" That which is best administered is best."

In England the people may boast that their

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 129

forefathers had a king, in Alfred the Great, the
wisest, the bravest, and the best the world ever
knew ; by whose excellent conduct was laid the
foundation of the liberties of his country, and
from, the influence of which there can be no doubt
that the English language will be spoken over the
whole Globe. Were kings to endeavour to follow
his example, and ever to keep in mind that they
and their ministers ought to consider themselves
as a royal society for the promotion of arts and
sciences, and of everything that can enlighten the
minds and ameliorate the condition of mankind,
they would do right. Kings would then reign in
the hearts of the great overwhelming mass of the
people, and no confederacy or conspiracy of nobles
or others could ever upset their rule. But, while
they continue to suffer themselves to be surrounded
by flatterers, sycophants, and selfish knaves, no good
need be expected ; for they are thus brought up, like
petted children, and have not the same chance of
becoming wise as other men. Thus situated, they
are to be pitied. One would think that the respect-
able part of the old nobility, or other opulent men
of great abilities, might be found with patriotism
enough to perform the offices of the ministry gratis,
scorning high salaries, and only looking to honour-
able distinction. This would of itself put an end to
corruption. Justices of the peace take the very
great trouble of acting their parts gratuitously ;
churchwardens and overseers do the same ; and why
do not the great and rich men of the land follow
the praiseworthy example ?

130 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

In reverting back to take another look at the
American war, one may reckon to a certainty of its
having been made the subject of debatings, and of
furnishing matter for the thinking part of mankind,
over the whole of the civilised world. George the
Third and his advisers did not, perhaps, think of
this, nor its consequences ; neither did they ever con-
template the mighty events they were thus bring-
ing about in rearing and establishing the wisest and
greatest republic and nation the world ever saw.
When its immense territory is filled with an enlight-
ened population, and its government, like a rock,
founded on the liberties and the rights of man, it is
beyond human comprehension to foresee the strides
the nation will make towards perfection. It is
likely they will cast a compassionate eye on the
rest of the world, grovelling under arbitrary power,
banish it from the face of the earth, and kill des-
pots with a frown. One would fain hope, however,
that kings and their advisers will coolly reflect upon
the improving intellect of mankind, and take mea-
sures to govern in a way more befitting the state
of the people over whom they axe called upon to
rule.

During the long continuance of this war, and the
debatings as before noticed, I became acquainted
with a number of young men of a literary turn,
who had a library of books. I did not join their
society, but I sometimes dined with them at their
annual, cheerful dinner. I was never fond of public
dinners or dining parties ; and I think I would not
have partaken with them had I not been tempted

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 131

to do so by way of hearing their songs, with which
I felt much charmed, but particularly with the
Scotch songs, with which one of the members (Wal-
ter Cannaway) used so highly to delight the com-
pany on these occasions. He, according to my
notions, was the best singer I ever heard. I
have always been more charmed with the human
voice, when well attuned, than with any instrumen-
tal music whatever ; and his voice was extremely
good. Many others, perhaps, might have as good a
voice, and as correct an ear for music as he, and
would have been equally as charming had they
not been spoiled by the fashion they had got into
to please the surfeited tastes of coxcombical con-
noisseurs and a vitiated, aping public. I have ever
been much disgusted to hear and see these spoiled
performers, quavering and spinning out their un-
natural falsetto voices until almost spent. It showed
well how long-winded these kind of performers
were, but I never could sit to hear any of them ;
as it appeared to me to be anything but music,
or music run mad.

On my first going to business, I had an oppor-
tunity of sometimes hearing musical concerts. My
master belonged to a musical society; and, when I
had any message to take to him, I was commonly
invited to remain. The two sons of Charles Avi-
son, the musical composer, belonged to this society,
and Mr. Beilby and family were on terms of inti-
macy with them. I also occasionally heard the
band at the theatre, but I cannot say I felt much
pleasure in listening to them, and I well remem-

132 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

her on one occasion of setting them aside. The
late Mr. Dibden, who often called upon me, had
some performance to exhibit at our theatre, and
had quarrelled with the theatrical band on account
of their exorbitant demands ; and, in this dilemma,
he expressed himself much disappointed, and knew
not what to do. I told him I thought, if he would
leave the matter to me, I could set all right ; and
I instantly applied to old Wm. Lamshaw, the Duke
of Northumberland's piper, to play at the theatre.
I being well-acquainted with the old man, he rea-
dily assented. I then told my friend Dibden what
I had done, and satisfied him as to the prefer-
ence the audience would give to the piper. In
this I was not mistaken ; for all went well off,
and everyone expressed both pleasure and surprise
at the change.

Some time before the American war broke out,
there had been a lack of musical performers in
our streets, and in this interval, I used to en-
gage John Peacock, our inimitable performer, to
play on the Northumberland or small pipes ; and
with his old tunes, his lilts, his pauses, and his
variations, I was always excessively pleased. At
one time I was afraid that these old tunes, and
this ancient instrument, might, from neglect of
encouragement, get out of use, and I did every-
thing in my power to prevent this, and to revive
it, by urging Peacock to teach pupils to become
masters of this kind of music ; and I flatter my-
self that my efforts were not lost. I was afraid

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 133

that the Northumberland family were beginning
to feel indifferent, or to overlook these their an-
cient minstrels, who had for ages past been much
esteemed, and kept in attendance by their fore-
fathers. It was, however, with great pleasure I
found that they had appointed William Cant,* a
pupil of old William Lamshaw, to be piper to the
Northumberland Regiment of Militia ; and he kept
up with great spirit and effect this department of
their music while he remained in the regiment.
Nor was the regiment behind in the other de-
partments of music ; for it was allowed by judges
that their fifers and drummers were inferior to
none in the kingdom. One man, in particular —
John Bowman — it was asserted, was the best per-
former on the fife that was "known in the world."
Certain it is that every year for twenty-two years,
he challenged the fifers of every regiment stationed
in Newcastle, to a trial of skill on that instru-
ment ; but none of them could compete with him.

* On his death, I sent the following notice to Mr. Walker's news-
paper:—"July 15th, 1821, died, Mr. William Cant, of the Blue
Bell Inn, Newcastle, aged 70 years. He was an excellent per-
former on the violin and the Northumberland pipes ; and, like his
great predecessors on the latter instrument — Turnbull, Gilley, Old
Lamshaw, and Peacock — he kept up the ancient tunes with all
their charming lilts and pauses, unspoiled by the modern improvers
of music, with their ' Idiot notes impertinently long.' He played
' bis native wood-notes wild,' such as pleased the ears ef the yeo-
manry of old at Otterburn, Hedgley Moor, and Flodden Field.
For—

1 Whene'er his pipe did silence break

You'd thought the instrument would speak.' ''

134

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

He could draw out tones from it the most soft
and graceful, as well as the most stunning and
loud, such as the ear could not endure in a room,
and which were only fit to be heard in the open

air.

CHAPTER XI.

I HAVE noticed several of my friends and ac-
quaintances whose characters stood high in my
estimation. I have now another to introduce, the
play-fellow of my youth, Thomas Lawson, as re-
markable as any of them. He left Tyneside, his
and my home, and came to Newcastle about 1777
or '78, to launch out into the world of exertion
and turmoil ; and, from his abilities and integrity,
he seemed well befitted to make a great figure in
it, and, had he been spared, he would, in my
opinion, have shone out like another Benjamin
Franklin. He was for a short time one of my
schoolfellows at Ovingham ; but, from his father
having been beggared by the failure of a coal-
owner for whom he had been employed many years,
my young friend was obliged to leave school, and
to seek out some employment for himself. In
the interim, he took up his abode in my father's
house as a home. The first employment that my
companion got was that of a plough- driver. He
next became a farmer's servant, and afterwards
a manager of a farm and brewery. In all these
departments, he was distinguished for his -industry,

136 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

good sense, good management, and great integrity.
It happened, however, that he, being handsome
in his person and manly in his deportment, his
employer began to suspect that the young lady
of the house was showing a marked partiality to-
wards him ; and this having occasioned some frowns
and hints which his spirit could not brook, he
gave up his place and set off to Newcastle, where
he bound himself to a printer, as a pressman; for
which he was to be paid 8s. per week. With
this wage, he contrived to maintain himself, and
to pay out of it for a night-school education. His
progress was truly astonishing in figures, lan-
guages, the use of the globes, &c.; but his memory
was so tenacious that he retained whatever he
learned, and he could repeat the longest harangue,
(as far as I was able to judge) verbatim. I once
had an opportunity of witnessing this, in his re-
peating the whole of a charity sermon, preached
by the eloquent the Rev. Dr. Scott, of Simonburn.
While he was employed in the drudgsry of the
printing press, he, at the same time, made himself
master of the business of a compositor. Shortly
after, he left this employment, and married a young
woman of respectable parentage. It happened that
the printing of a Bible in numbers had been esta-
blished ; but the publisher, either from mismanage-
ment, or something amiss, was on the verge of
a failure. In this state of affairs, Lawson turned
his attention to the business, and applied to his
wife's friends for assistance, but they could, at that
time, only spare him about thirty pounds ; and with

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 137

this sum in hand, he made a proposal for purchasing
the types, and everything belonging to the printing
office. It is singular enough that the printer refer-
red to, having left Newcastle, lived and had his
printing office in the governor's house at Tynemouth,
whither I went with my friend when the bargain
was to be closed between them. He now commenced
business on his own account, but how long he had
to struggle through difficulties, before he got well
established, I have forgotten. It is remarkable that
he met with unsolicited aid from many friends ; for
every one who knew him became interested in his
welfare. He lived till he surmounted every obstacle
to his prosperity ; but, in doing this, his too great
application and exertion ruined his health. He
pined away and died, in a house close by mine at
the Forth, on the 7th March, 1783, aged 31 years.
I, with many other of his friends, accompanied his
remains to Ovingham, where he was haried. This
was the first time in my life that I felt poignant
grief.

My old schoolfellow and friend, Philip Gregson,
of the Custom House, London, being on a visit to
his relatives and friends in the north, in 1780,
I, being fond of rambling, proposed setting him on
his return home, as far as York, if he would walk
with me to that city, to which he agreed ; and., after
spending a day or two with him there, we parted.
On my return, I took the road by Boroughbridge
to Eipon, where I stayed a short time till I had
viewed the country round it, and particularly Stud-
ley Park and its beautiful scenery. I then returned

138 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

to Darlington, and changed my route to the west-
ward, by Barnard Castle, Bowes, over Stainmore to
Brough, Appleby, and Penrith ; and from thence to
my uncle's at Ainstable. On leaving him and his
family, I walked home that day to Cherryburn, and
so on the next to Newcastle.

I have not interlarded this journey with any of
my remarks on the road — on the grandeur of York
Minster — the large upright stones called " The
Devil's Arrows," near Boroughbridge — the exten-
sive prospects from Cross Fell, &c.; and therefore
the whole of this may be regarded as merely one
of my " tramps," and a description of these places
by others may be referred to.

In another of my perambulations, I prevailed on
an acquaintance to accompany me to Berwick. We
set off, on an Easter Sunday morning, in 1784, by
the seaside, and our first halt was at Chevington,
beyond Widdrington. I had not broken my fast,
and was quite ready to make a hearty meal upon
some dry barley cake and cheese, whilst my thirsty
companion, with equal pleasure, enjoyed himself
with hearty draughts of ale. We reached1 Lesbury
in the afternoon, and, when my fellow-traveller sat
down, he observed, that I might go on if I pleased,
but he would not move a foot further that night.
Next day, after sauntering about a little in the vil-
lages on our road, we reached Elwick, the hospita-
ble mansion of my friend Thomas Younghusband,
Esq., where we stopped that night. Mr. Young-
husband happened to have a few of his friends to
spend the evening with him. We got on to make

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 139

merry and to sing songs ; and, when it came to
my companion's turn, the party were so agreeably
surprised and pleased at his performance that we
did not separate till the morning. My companion
and I set off to Berwick, and, after seeing the
town, we returned to Elwick by Holy Island. In
the performance of this day's journey we had to
encounter some difficulties which might have been
attended with fatal consequences. We had been
cautioned against attempting, after a certain hour,
to walk across the extensive flat left bare by the
ebb tide. We were beyond the time named, but
resolved to proceed, and had to run the greatest
part of the way ; and it was well we did so ; for,
before we reached the Island, we found the tide
was rapidly advancing between us and the shore,
and we had to wade deeply before we reached it.
On looking back, over the flat space we had just
left, we were surprised to view it as a sea. My
companion, being rather corpulent, was in a sad
state of perspiration with over exertion, and I think
I was not much better, from the anxiety I felt for
him, while I was constantly urging him to mend
his speed. We now hastened to a public-house,
dripping with wet, where my companion took a
few glasses of gin, and prevailed on me to take
one along with him ; and this is the first glass of that
liquor I ever recollect taking. Our next business
was to get a boat to set us across the arm of the
sea, between the island and the nearest shore, to-
wards Elwick. It was then nearly dark ; and,
before the boatmen got us rowed across, it was

140 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

quite so. Where they landed us we knew not,
but we had to wade to the dry beach. In shaping
our course to Elwick, we lost ourselves in the fields,
and it was late before we arrived there. We were
in as dirty a state as wet and mire could make us.
Mrs. Younghusband, however, lost no time in fit-
ting us up with dry clothes, and in making us
as comfortable as she could. My companion having
some business of his own to attend to, I remained
a day or two at Elwick, and made a few visits with
Mr. Younghusband in the neighbourhood. Mr.
Y. had to attend a meeting of freeholders, on some
election business, at the town hall, Aliiwick, and
I accompanied him thither. Never having before
heard any speeches, I was much entertained with
those now made. This being about the time that
Mr. Pitt came into the administration, and being
the son of the great Chatham, most people hoped
and expected he would follow the bright, the pa-
triotic example that had been set him ; but one
gentleman appeared to differ in opinion from the
majority, and, in what I conceived to be an elo-
quent speech, foretold that he would turn out, in
character, to be quite a different kind of man.

About the year 1790, I became a member of
" Swarley's Club," held in the evenings, at the
Black Boy Inn. This was the most rational society
or meeting I ever knew. The few rules which
bound us together were only Nerbal. The first
was that every member should conduct himself with
decorum, and as a gentleman. If any one trans-
gressed on this point, he was immediately fined,

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 141

and if he did not pay, he was sent to Coventry, or
dismissed. On entering the room, every member
paid fourpence, which was to be spent in refresh-
ment. Any member might introduce his friend
at the same expense. There were no fines for non-
attendance and no regular debatings allowed on
any subject but such as might occasionally arise
out of the passing conversation, and the company
separated at ten o'clock. Conversations amongst
the friends thus associated, — consisting of merchants,
or respectable tradesmen, — were carried on without
restraint, and only interrupted for the moment
while the president claimed attention to any par-
ticular news of the day that might be worth notice.
Such a place of meeting proved convenient and
pleasant to many a stranger who visited the town,
and the expense was as nothing. It may seem
strange that, out of a fourpenny club like this,
there was commonly an overplus left, to give away
at Christmas and Easter to some charitable purpose.
I went to this club when I had time to spare in
an evening, and seldom missed a week to an end.
This happy society was at length broken up, at
the time when war on behalf of despotism, was
raging, and the spy system was set afloat. Some
spies, and others of the same stamp, contrived to
get themselves introduced, and to broach political
questions, for the purpose of exciting debates, and
feeling the pulst-of the members, who before this
had very seldom touched upon subjects of that kind.
Besides being kept busy with the routine business
of our work-office, I was often engaged in execut-

142 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

ing wood cuts for publishers and printers, at va-
rious times from about the year 1788 to 1790.
The first of any importance was the wood cuts
of Roman altars, and the arms of -the Bishops of
Durham, for " Hutchinson's History of Durham,"
in which my friend, the late George Allan, Esq.,
of the Grange, Darlington, took a conspicuous
part. A set of cuts was done for " Goldsmith's
Deserted Village," for Mr. Walker, printer, of
Hereford. Mr. Nicholson, printer of Ludlow
and Poughnill, the publisher of " Elegant Selec-
tions from Various Authors," employed me to em-
bellish some of these with wood cuts. My old
friend, William Bulrner, of the Shakespeare Print-
ing Office, London, also employed me to execute
the cuts for " ParnelFs Hermit" and " Goldsmith's
Deserted Village." Many other cuts were done,
from time to time, for printers in various parts
of the kingdom. These formed an almost endless
variety. I engraved a series of copper plates, at
a low rate, for Sir Harry Liddell's and Captain
Consett's " Tour to Lapland," in 1786. My partner
and self were busily engaged in engraving, about
the year 1796, the plan of the proposed canal
from Newcastle to Carlisle, as projected by Mr.
Chapman, engineer, and plans of estates and views
of the mansion houses of a few gentlemen who
opposed the canal, on the north side of the
Tyne. After a great deal of scheming and
maneuvering, under the management of an at-
torney of great ability, the whole of this great,
this important national as well as local undertak-

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 143

ing was baffled and set aside. Most men of dis-
cernment were of opinion that the coalowners
" below bridge" were the cause of it. The canal,
as projected by Mr. Dodd, in 1795, would have
certainly opened out a territory of coal that might
have affected their interest. It would appear, at
least, . that they dreaded it ; and in this, as in
almost every other case, private interest was found
to overpower public good.

CHAPTER XII.

HAVING, from the time that I was a school-
boy, been displeased with most of the figures in
children's books, and particularly with those of the
" Three Hundred Animals," the figures in which,
even at that time, I thought I could depicture
much better ; and having afterwards very often
turned the matter over in my mind, of making
improvements in that publication — I at last came
to the determination of making the attempt. The
extreme interest I had always felt in the hope of
administering to the pleasure and amusement of
youth, and judging from the feelings I had ex-
perienced myself that they would be affected in
the same way as I had been, whetted me up
and stimulated me to proceed. In this, my only
reward besides was the great pleasure I felt in
imitating nature. That I should ever do anything
to attract the notice of the world, in the man-
ner that has been done, was the farthest thing
in my thoughts, and so far as I was concerned
myself at that time, I minded little about any
self-interested considerations. These intentions I
communicated to my partner ; and, though he did

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 145

not doubt of my being able to succeed, yet, being
a cautious and thinking man, he wished to be more
satisfied as to the probability of such a publication
paying for the labour. On this occasion, being
little acquainted with the nature of such under-
takings, we consulted Mr. Solomon Hodgson, book-
seller and editor of the " Newcastle Chronicle," as
to the probability of its success, &c., when he warmly
encouraged us to proceed.

Such animals as I knew, I drew from memory on
the wood ; others which I did not know were copied
from "Dr. Smellie's Abridgement of Buffon," and
other naturalists, and also from the animals which
were from time to time exhibited in itinerant col-
lections. Of these last, I made sketches first from
memory, and then corrected and finished the draw-
ings upon the wood from a second examination of
the different animals. I began this business of
cutting the blocks with the figure of the drome-
dary, on the 15th November, 1785, the day on
which my father died. I then proceeded in copy-
ing such figures as above named as I did not hope to
see alive. While I was busied in drawing and cut-
ting the figures of animals, and also in designing
and engraving the vignettes, Mr. Beilby, being of a
bookish or reading turn, proposed, in his evenings
at home, to write or compile the descriptions. With
this I had little more to do than furnishing him,
in many conversations and by written memoranda,
with what I knew of animals, and blotting out,
in his manuscript, what was not truth. In this way
we proceeded till the book was published in 1790.

u

146 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

The greater part of these wood cuts were drawn
and engraved at night, after the day's work of the
shop was over. In these evenings, I frequently
had the company of my friend the Hev. Richard
Oliphant,* who took great pleasure in seeing me
work, and who occasionally read to me the ser-
mons he had composed for the next Sunday. I
was also often attended, from a similar curiosity, by
my friend, the Rev. Thomas Hornby,! lecturer at
St. John's Church. He would not, like my friend
Oliphant, adjourn to a public house, and join in a
tankard of ale, but he had it sent for to my work-
place. We frequently disagreed in our opinions as
to religious matters, he being, as I thought, an in-
tolerant, high churchman ; but, notwithstanding this,
he was a warm well-wisher and kind friend, and
was besides of so charitable a disposition that his
purse was ever open to relieve distress, and he
would occasionally commission me to dispose of a
guinea anonymously to persons in want.

As soon as the " History of Quadrupeds " ap-
peared, I was surprised to find how rapidly it sold.
Several other editions quickly followed, and a glut of
praises was bestowed upon the book. These praises
however, excited envy, and were visibly followed
by the balance of an opposite feeling from many
people at home ; for they raked together, and blew
up, the embers of envy into a transient blaze ;
but the motives by which I was actuated stood out

* Afterwards curate of Longhorsley.

t The Rev. Thomas Hornby, son of Alderman Hornby, died in the
prime of life, on the 28th August, 1798, and was buried at Gosforth.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 147

of the reach of its sparks, and they returned into
the heap whence they came, and fell into dust. I
was much more afraid to meet the praises which
were gathering around than I was of the sneers
which they excited ; and a piece of poetry appear-
ing in the newspaper, I was obliged, for some time,
to shun " Swarley's Club," of which the writer,
George Byles,* was a member, to avoid the warm
and sincere compliments that awaited me there.

I had long made up my mind not to marry whilst
my father and mother lived, in order that my un-
divided attention might be bestowed upon them.
My mother had, indeed, recommended a young per-
son in the neighbourhood to me as a wife. She
did not know the young lady intimately, but she
knew she was modest in her deportment, handsome
in her person, and had a good fortune ; and, in com-
pliance with this recommendation, I got acquainted
with her, but was careful not to proceed further,
and soon discovered that, though her character was
innocence itself, she was mentally one of the weakest
of her sex. The smirking lasses of Tyneside had
long thrown out their jibes against me, as being a
woman-hater, but in this they were greatly mis-
taken. I had, certainly, been very guarded in my
conduct towards them, as I held it extremely wrong
and cruel to sport with the feelings of any one. In
this, which was one of my resolves, sincerity and

* George Byles came from one of the southern couuties, and com-
menced as a teacher in Newcastle. He was gentlemanly in bis
manners and conversation, and of a most lively and animated cast
of character.

148 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

truth were my guides. As I ever considered a matri-
monial connection as a business of the utmost im-
portance, and which was to last till death made the
separation, while looking about for a partner for
life, my anxious attention was directed to the sub-
ject. I had long considered it to be the duty of
every man, on changing his life, to get a healthy
woman for his wife, for the sake of his children,
and a sensible one, as a companion, for his own
happiness and comfort, — that love is the natural
guide in this business, and much misery is its
attendant when that is wanting. This being the
fixed state of my mind, I permitted no mercenary
considerations to interfere. Impressed with these
sentiments, I had long, my dear Jane, looked upon
your mother as a suitable helpmate for me. I had
seen her in prosperity and in adversity ; and in the
latter state she appeared to me to the greatest ad-
vantage. In this she soared above her sex, and
my determination was fixed. In due time we were
married, and from that day to this no cloud, as far
as concerned ourselves, has passed over us, to obscure
a life-time of uninterrupted happiness.

MY DEAR ISABELLA DIED,

AFTER A LONG AND PAINFUL ILLNESS,

ON THE IST OF FEBRUARY, 1826,

AGED 72 ;

TllK HKST OF WlVKSAM) VKRY BEST
OK MoTHKRS.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 149

During the time I was busied with the figures
of the " History of Quadrupeds," many jobs inter-
fered to cause delay; one of which was the wood
cut of the Chillingham wild bull, for the late Mar-
maduke Tunstal, Esq., of Wycliffe. This very wor-
thy gentleman and good naturalist honoured me
with his approbation of what I had done, and was
one of our correspondents. He, or my friend George
Allan, Esq., employed me to undertake the job ;
and, on Easter Sunday, 1789, I set off, accompanied
by an acquaintance, on foot to Chillingham on this
business. After tarrying a little with friends at
Morpeth and Alnwick, we took Huln Abbey on our
way across the country to the place of our destina-
tion. Besides seeing the various kinds of pheasants,
&c., at the last-named place, little occurred to attract
attention, except our being surrounded, or beset, in
passing over a moor, by burning heather, and after-
wards passing over the surface of immense old win-
ter wreaths of frozen snow. Arrived at Chilling-
ham, we took up our abode with my kind old friend
John Bailey, and spent a cheerful evening with him
after our fatigue. Next day, Mr. B. accompanied
me to the park, for the purpose of seeing the wild
cattle. This, however, did not answer my purpose ;
for I could make no drawing of the bull, while he,
along with the rest of the herd, was wheeling about,
and then fronting us, in the manner described in the
"History of Quadrupeds." I was therefore obliged
to endeavour to see one which had been conquered
by his rival, and driven to seek shelter alone, in the
quarry holes or in the woods ; and, in order to get a

150 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

good look at one of this description, I was under
the necessity of creeping on my hands and knees,
to leeward, and out of his sight ; and I thus got my
sketch or memorandum, from which I made my
drawing on the wood. I was sorry my figure was
made from one before he was furnished with his
curled or shaggy neck and mane.

On our return home, my companion and I took
up our abode for two days and nights, at Eslington,
in the apartments of our kind and hearty friend,
John Bell, then steward to Sir Harry Liddell, Bart,
and afterwards a merchant at Alnmouth. Having
made a drawing from the large Newfoundland dog
kept there, and rambled about visiting some of Mr.
Bell's friends, we then bent our way homewards,
highly gratified with the journey, crowned as it was
with hospitality and kindness which could not be
surpassed.

In the year 1790, I was employed much in the
same way as I had been in other years about that
period ; but this was besides marked by an event
which enwarped and dwelt on my mind. No doubt
all thinking men in their passage through life
must have experienced feelings of a similar kind.
My old and revered preceptor, the Rev. Christopher
Gregson, died this year. No sooner did the news of
his extreme illness reach me, than I set off, in my
usual way, and with all speed, to Ovingham. I
instantly rushed into his room, and there I found
his niece in close attendance upon him. With her,
being intimately acquainted, I used no ceremony,
but pulled the curtain aside, and then beheld my

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 151

friend, in his last moments. He gave me his last
look, but could not speak. Multitudinous reflec-
tions of things that were passed away, hurried on
my mind, and these overpowered me. I knew not
what to say, except " Farewell for ever, farewell !"
Few men have passed away on Tyneside so much
respected as Mr. Gregson. When he was appointed
to the curacy of Ovingham, I understand his income
was not more than thirty pounds per annum. Thus
set down, he began by taking pupils to board and
educate, chiefly as Latin scholars ; and Mrs. Greg-
son, after my mother left him, did everything in her
power to make the seminary respectable. He after-
wards, however, commenced teaching on a more
extended scale, by taking in scholars of all kinds,
from their A, B, C's, to the classics. In this, his
task must have been of the most arduous description,
which he got through without any usher or assistant.
His assiduity must have attracted the notice of the
late Thomas Charles Bigge, Esq., of Benton, the lay
rector, for he added some land to the glebe, by way
of bettering his condition. Little as this farm was,
as to its magnitude, it enabled him, by his good
management and unceasing industry, to show him-
self a good farmer, and he was not a little vain on
being complimented on this score. As a clergyman,
he was not one of the fittest for that very important
office ; but this was chiefly owing to his defective
voice, which was so low and raucous, that his hearers
could not so well protit by his sensible discourses.
In another way — I mean as a village lawyer — he
stood pre-eminent. His pen was ever ready at the

152 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

service of his parishioners, and whatever dispute
arose amongst them there was never any objection
to leave the matter to the decision of Mr. Gregson ;
and, I have often heard it asserted that there was
not one lawsuit in the parish while he was minister
there. He set out in life on this poor curacy, upon
a system of great economy, and perhaps, like other
frugal people, it grew upon him till he was accused
of " nearness ;" but, be this as it may, he accumu-
lated, after a life of great good management, a sum
of about nine hundred pounds. If his pen was ever
ready to serve his parishioners, so, on certain occa-
sions was his purse ; for he eyed with great atten-
tion the situation of such of his neighbours as were
industrious ; and, when he found these were strug-
gling under untoward circumstances, or unforseen
losses, without being solicited, he lent them money
to ward off the evil, and to serve their need.

CHAPTER XIII.

WHILE the sale of edition after edition of the
" Quadrupeds " was going on with great success,
I turned my thoughts to the " History of British
Birds." I felt greatly charmed with, and had long
paid great attention to, the subject ; and I had
busied myself very much in reading various works.
As far as I can now recollect, the first books I had
become acquainted with were " Brookes and Miller's
Natural History," and " Dr. Smellie's Abridgement
of BufFon." These were now thrown, as it were,
into the back-ground ; having been succeeded by
Pennant's works. I might name others I had
perused, chiefly lent to me by my kind friend
Greorge Allan, Esq. These consisted of " Albin's
History of Birds," Belon's very old book, Willough-
by and Ray, &c. Mr. John Rotherham* gave me
" Gesner's Natural History." With some of these
I was in raptures. Willoughby and Ray struck
me as having led the way to truth, and to British
Ornithology. The late Michael Brian, Esq., of Lon-
don, lent me the splendid volumes, " Planche En-

* Mr. John Rotherham, son of the late Dr. Rotherham, of Newcastle,
who had been a pupil of the good and great Linnreus.

X

154 MKMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

luminee," of Buifon, and George Silvertop, Esq.,
of Minstracres, "Edward's Natural History." I
was much pleased with " White's History of Sel-
borne." Pennant, however, opened out the largest
field of information, and on his works I bestowed
the most attention. Latham seems to have wound
up the whole, and I have often lamented that it
was not — by being embellished with correct figures
— made a great national work, like the Count do
Buffon's. The last of our Ornithologists, and one
of the most indefatigable, was the late Col. George
Montgu,* author of the " Ornithological Diction-
ary/

As soon as it was spread abroad that I was en-
gaged with the history of birds and their figures,
I was in consequence led into a seemingly endless
correspondence with friends and amateurs ; so much
so, that I often felt myself unable duly to acknow-
ledge the obligations I owed them, and many a
letter I have written after being wearied out with
the labours of the day.

At the beginning of this undertaking I made
up my mind to copy nothing from the works of
others, but to stick to nature as closely as I could ;
and for this purpose, being invited by Mr. Con-
stable, the then owner of Wycliffe, I visited the
extensive museum there, collected by the late Mar-
maduke Tunstal, Esq., to make drawings of the birds.
I set off from Newcastle on the 16th July, 1791,

* George Montagu, Esq., died in July, 1815. I have heard that
he was killed by the overturning of a carriage in which he was tra-
velling.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 155

and remained at the above beautiful place nearly
two months, drawing from the stuffed specimens.
I lodged in the house of John Goundry, the per-
son who preserved the birds for Mr. Tunstal ; and
boarded at his father's, George Goundry, the old
miller there. Whilst I remained at Wycliffe, I
frequently dined with the Rev. Thomas Zouch,* the
rector of the parish. He watched my going out of
church on the Sundays, where I attended, accom-
panied by old Goundry, to invite me to dine with
him. On these occasions he often made the cha-
racter of his late neighbour, Mr. Tunstal, and of
George Goundry, the subject of his conversation,
and dwelt with great pleasure on the excellence of
both. Mr. Tunstal was a Roman Catholic, and had
a chapel in his own house ; Mr. Zouch was a Church
of England minister ; and George Goundry was a
Deist ; and yet these three uncommonly good men,
as neighbours, lived in constant charity and good-
will towards each other. One might dwell long
with pleasure on such singularly good characters. I
wish the world was better stocked with them.

I have often reflected with pain on the asperity
with which one description of Christians has com-
monly treated others who differed from them in
opinion on religious matters ; or, rather, as to their
different modes of faith ; and I have thought that
the time would conie when that cruel, bloody, and

* The Rev. Thomas Zouch, D.D., F.L.S., prebendary of Durham,
and rector of Scrayingham, Yorkshire. This venerable divine was
born in 1737, at Sandal, and died there on the 17th Dec., 1813. He
had been offered the bishopric of Carlisle, but refused it.

156 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

disgusting portion of history would not be believed,
which has recorded the fact that one denomination
of Christians actually burned others alive, who dif-
fered from them in opinion on matters which ought
to have been considered beneath contempt. But,
judging from the past, it is certain that, when men
give up their reason, and substitute faith, or any-
thing else, in lieu thereof, there is nothing however
absurd that may not be believed, and no punish-
ments, however cruel, that may not be resorted
to, to enforce that belief. Men thus degraded may
fairly be called inan-tiyer$, being fitted for any cruel,
Avieked purpose ; and, under equally wicked govern-
ments, they have been guided and commanded to
deluge the earth with blood. It is strange to think
that this should have been the case, when it is con-
sidered that the whole of the authorities are derived
from one and the same pure source ; bewildered,
indeed, by the twisted imaginations of ignorance,
bigotry, and superstition.

The inspired and benevolent Author of Christianity
taught neither intolerance nor persecution. The doc-
trines He laid down are plain, pure, and simple.
They hold out mercy to the contrite, aid to the hum-
ble, and eternal happiness to the good. For my
own part, it is long since I left off bewildering my-
self with dogmas and creeds, and I feel pity for
those that do so. I am quite clear and willing to
believe and to allow, that, whatever modes of faith
honest and well-meaning people think best to
adopt, they may in sincerity of heart, and to the
best of their judgments, be doing what is called

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 157

serving God. They surely ought not to interfere
with the creeds of others, who are equally as sincere
as themselves in the means they pursue for the same
end. However various these modes of faith may
be, there is one rule that ought to guide the whole,
and it appears to me to be simple and easy to com-
prehend,— and that one is, that all men, to the ut-
most of their power, should endeavour through life
to steer clear of everything that may degrade their
own souls ; that the mysterious, incorporated com-
pound may not, when summoned to leave this world,
have to appear before Omnipotence polluted and de-
based. The man who attends to this will fear no-
thing, but that of erring and doing wrong. He
will fear the face of no man. The little, strutting
authorities of despotism he will despise, and the
virtuous magistrate will ever be his friend. He
will break no good laws that have been made for
the guidance of man in society ; and, as to his re-
ligion, that is an affair between himself and his
Maker only. With the Author of his Being he
will, with unentangled mind, commune freely, at
all times, when his spirit moves him to do so ; and
110 man ever did, or ever will, feel himself happy
that does not pursue this course through life.

Ever since I habituated myself to think, I have
always seen, as clearly as I could see anything, that,
it is the intention of the Deity that mankind
should live in a state of civilised society, and that
no period of human existence can be comfortable
without the pleasures and endearments of social
intercourse. Every object in nature that can be

158 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

contemplated shews this ; and the full and ex-
act fitness of all its component parts clearly
prove that man, from his social nature, is destined
to live in this state. He has been endowed with
reason, as his guide, for the purpose of regulat-
ing and conducting the whole ; but, when that
guide is neglected, and he suffers his selfish pro-
pensities and bad passions to mislead, him from
the path of rectitude, from that moment, every-
thing, so far as this reaches, goes wrong. For
reasons of this kind, it is necessary that equitable
and just laws should be made and enforced, to re-
strain vice from breaking down the barriers that
are erected to protect virtue and patriotism. To
break through these laws is sin. But, in the pre-
sent wretched state of society, it may be difficult
to bring about such a reformation of manners as
would ensure the accomplishment of so desirable
an end ; for it appears to me that the character
of mankind ought to be new modelled before this
can effectually be done.

Having long busied myself in wading through
systems of natural history, — the orders, genera,
species and varieties, — the whim has often struck
me to lay down an imaginary one of classing man-
kind. The ycnm homo may be made to consist
of three species and their varieties. The first (in-
cluding in one, the wise and the good) is honest
men ; the second is knaves ; and the third fools.
Tlirse and their gradations and varieties, gliding
into each other, form the present jumbled mass
of society — the community of which we all form

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 159

a part. As any of these may happen to predominate
in the government of society, so, in exact propor-
tion, will the good, bad, and indifferent effects of
their management be felt by the whole people. I
think it will be admitted that, out of the first
species ought to be chosen the persons, — every man
according to his mental powers and the education
he may have received to call forth these powers,
— to fill every public office from the constable up-
wards. Out of the two latter species, when con-
joined, are formed the great mass of the wicked,
gross, vulgar herd (high and low) of mankind.
Amongst these, knaves of great ability ought to
be particularly guarded against. They are a kind
of splendid devils who have from time immemorial
spread abroad much misery in the world; but, not-
withstanding their abilities, they would not have
got forward in their public wickedness, nor have
formed their majorities, had they not enlisted, as tools,
their ready-made auxiliaries — the fools ; and, if we
take only a slight glance at individual misery, it
will be seen that most of it is inflicted by one man
iipon another : —

" Man's inhumanity to Man
Makes countless thousands mourn."

Could this be remedied, what a beautiful world
would this appear to thousands, instead of their
being obliged to view it through the medium of
an almost perpetual cheerless gloom.

I have often amused myself in considering the
character of the canine species, and of comparing

160 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

it, and its varieties, with those of the untutored part
of mankind ; and it is curious and interesting to
observe the similarity between them. To his master
the dog is an uncommonly submissive, obedient,
and faithful servant, and seems to look upon him
as if he were a god ; his sagacity and his courage
are equally conspicuous; and, in defence of his mas-
ter, he will suffer death. But to his own species
he is ill-behaved, selfish, cruel, and unjust ; he only
associates with his fellows for the purpose of pack-
ing together to destroy other animals, which cannot
be effected otherwise. He will sometimes, indeed,
let a supplicating dog, into which he has inspired
terror, sneak off ; and I have often watched to
see the wary, circumspect plan that a strange dog
adopts on his being obliged to pass through a vil-
lage, or through amongst those of his equally ill-
behaved brethren, the butchers' dogs in a town.
It is curious to see the stranger, upon these occa-
sions, view his danger, and then affect lameness,
and go " hirpling" through amongst them unmo-
lested. I knew their instinct was surprising, but
some of their reasoning powers I had not tried ;
and, for this purpose, when a boy, I cut two thin
slices of meat and plastered the insides with mus-
tard, and then threw it to one of my father's dogs.
This, he being very apt at " kepping" caught in
his mouth, and, as quickly as he could, got quit
of it again ; and, from that time, he would rather
run the risk of losing it than " kep" any more.
To prove how far selfishness and malignity would
operate upon him, I placed two basins filled with

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BE\VICK. 161

very hot, fat broth, at a distance from each other,
when he ran from one to the other to prevent a
spaniel bitch from partaking of either of them.
His attention was so taken up with thus watching
her, that at length his patience was exhausted,
by going so often from one basin to the other,
that, with the utmost vengeance, he seized her,
and tore away his mouthful of skin from her side.

On my return from Wycliffe, being thoroughly
drenched with an incessant rain, I called upon an
old and much -esteemed schoolfellow, at Bishop Auck-
land, and spent a day or two with him, in busy con-
verse about our former transactions at school, &c.
Perhaps few have passed through life without expe-
riencing the pleasure that a retrospect of the times
gone by thus afford to old cronies, in talking over
the recollections of youthful frolics, and even of
the discipline which followed in consequence of
them.

As soon as I arrived in Newcastle, I immedi-
ately began to engrave from the drawings of the
birds I had made at Wycliffe ; but I had not
been long thus engaged till I found the very great
difference between preserved specimens and those
from Nature ; no regard having been paid, at that
time, to fix the former in their proper attitudes,
nor to place the different series of the feathers
so as to fall properly upon each other. It has
always given me a great deal of trouble to get
at the markings of the dishevelled plumage ; and,
when done with every pains, I never felt satis-
fied with them. I was on this account driven to

162 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

wait for birds newly shot, or brought to me alive,
and in the intervals employed my time in designing
and engraving tail- pieces, or vignettes. My sport-
ing friends, however, supplied me with birds as
fast as they could; but none more so than my
kind friend the late Major H. F. Gibson, of the
4th Dragoons. Lieut.-Col. Dalton, Major Shore,
Captain (now General) Dalbiac, and other officers
of the same regiment, also shewed great attention
to the growing work. Besides these, many birds
were sent to me by friends from various parts of
the Kingdom, but the obligations I owe are mostly
acknowledged in their proper places in the work.
After working many a late hour upon the cuts, the
iirst volume of the book was at length finished at
press in September, 1797. Mr. Beilby undertook
the writing or compilation of this the first volume,
in which I assisted him a great deal more than
I had done with the Quadrupeds. After this, Mr.
Beilby gave up the engraving business, and dedi-
cated his whole time to the watch-crystal and
clock manufactory, in which he had been long
engaged before our separation.

The printing of other editions of the first volume
of the Birds still met with a ready sale ; but some
disputes happening respecting the printing of the
Quadrupeds, Mr. Beilby, who now sought repose,
and could not be turmoilcd with disputes of any
kind, sold me his share of that publication. Some-
time before the second volume of the Birds was
put to pres*, he also sold me his share of the first
volume. I had no sooner agreed to give the price

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 163

demanded than many recollections of the past
crowded upon my mind, and, looking at the unfa-
vourable side, I could not help thinking of the
extra labour and time I had spent in the comple-
tion of these works, wherein he had born compara-
tively a small part — not even an equivalent in
time and labour in the other department of our
business; and in this instance I could not help
thinking that he had suffered greediness to take
possession cf his mind ; but, having promised to
pay the sum, I made no further observations to
any one. On the other side of this account, I
called to my remembrance the many obligations
I owed him, for the wise admonitions he had given,
and the example he had set me, while I was only
a wild and giddy youth. These I never could for-
get, and they implanted so rooted a respect for
him that I had grudged nothing I could do to
promote his happiness. I had noticed, for some
time past, that he had been led under a guid-
ance and influence that made an alteration in his
conduct for the worse ; and he appeared to me
not to be the Ralph Beilby* he had been. I
used to think him careful and sometimes penu-
rious, and this disposition might indeed have crept
and increased upon him ; but, whatever natural
failings might be in his composition, these had
heretofore been checked and regulated by the rules
of morality and religion. It seemed to me that
it must have been a maxim with him to do justice

* Ralph Beilby, engraver, Newcastle, died 4th Jan. 1817, aged 73,
and was buried at St. Andrew's.

104 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

to all, but not to confer favours upon any one ;
and yet he often joined me in conferring such,
in various ways, upon our apprentices and others
of our workpeople, for which we commonly had
dirt thrown in our faces.

It does not require any great stretch of obser-
vation to discover that gratitude is a rare virtue,
and that, whatever favours are conferred upon an
ungrateful man, he will conclude that these would
not have been bestowed upon him had he not de-
served them. In these our gifts, I was to blame
in thus conferring favours that it would have been
as well to let alone. In other charities he was
not backward in contributing his mite, but in these
matters he was led by wisdom. In the former
case, mine, by giving vent to my feelings, were
led by folly ; but, indeed, these follies were trivial
compared with others relative to money matters,
in which I had been led away by my feelings, in
lending money to some, and in being bound for
the payment of it for others, which, if I had been
more of his disposition, would not have happened;
and I now clearly see and feel that, had it not
been for these imprudences, I should, at this day,
have found myself in better and very different
circumstances than those I am in. My partner,
indeed, often watched, and sometimes prevented
me, from engaging in such ruinous concerns, and
would remark to me that it was impossible to serve
any man who would not serve himself.

As soon as Mr. Beilby left me, I was obliged,
from necessity, not choice, to commence author.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 165

As soon as each bird was finished on the wood,
I set about describing it from my specimen, and
at the same time consulted every authority I could
meet with, to know what had been said ; and this
together with what I knew, from my own know-
ledge, were then compared ; and, in this way, I
finished as truly as I could the second volume
of the History of Birds. I also examined the first
volume, with a view to correct its errors, and to
add many new figures and descriptions of them
to it. Although all this could not be done but
by close, and, indeed, severe confinement and ap-
plication, yet I was supported by the extreme plea-
sure I felt in depicturing and describing these
beautiful and interesting aerial wanderers of the
British Isles. I also hoped that my labours might
perhaps have the effect of inveigling my youthful
countrymen to be smitten with the charms which
this branch, — and, indeed, every other department
of Natural History, — imparts, and with the end-
less pleasures afforded to all who wish to " trace
Nature up to Nature's God."

While I was thus proceeding, I was encouraged
and flattered by amateurs, who took a deep interest
in my growing work, and seemed to partake of
the ardour in which I had long indulged. From
them birds were sent to me from far and near ;
but, to give a list of the names of these friends,
and to detail the kindness I experienced first and
last, might indeed be giving vent to my feelings,
of gratitude, but it would far exceed the bounds
prescribed to this Memoir.

CHAPTER XIV.

WHILST I was engaged with figures of the Water-
Birds, and the Vignettes, and writing the History,
I was greatly retarded by being obliged often
to lay that work aside, to do various other jobs
in the wood engraving, and also the work of the
shop, for my customers in the town, particularly
writing engraving, which, I may say, I was
obliged to learn and to pursue after Mr. Beilby
left me. The most interesting part of this kind
of work was plates for bank-notes ; but, as one
of the most important of these was a five pound
note for the Carlisle Bank, which attracted much
notice, it may be right to give some account of
it. It happened, one evening, that, whilst I was
in company with George Losh, Esq., who was in
some way connected with that bank, he asked me
if I could engrave a bank note that could not
be easily forged. In reply, I told him I thought
I could. "Then," said he, "do it immediately;"
and I lost no time in beginning upon it. I had,
at that time, never seen a ruling machine, nor
the beautiful engine-turning lately brought into
use by Perkins, Fairman, and Heath, which were

MEMOIR OF THOMAS UEWICK. 167

at that time, I believe, utterly unknown. I how-
ever, proceeded with my plate, and my object was
to make the device look like a wood cut ; and
in this, though a first attempt, I succeeded ; and
the number of impressions wanted were sent to
Carlisle.

Soon after this, I was told by Sir T. F ,

Bart., that his brother, who held some office un-
der government, and was much with the King —
George III., whose curiosity was insatiable as to
everything relative to the arts — had got one of

these bank notes. Sir T. F 's brother showed

it to the King, who greatly admired and ap-
proved of it. About two years after this, in the
year 1801, Samuel Thornton, Esq., of the Bank
of England, wrote to me respecting this note, and
wished to know how it was executed, and whether
it was done on wood or copper, &c. I was strongly
advised, by a friend, not to give the gentlemen
of that bank any information whatever about my
plate; "for," said he, "as soon as they know the
nature of what they are enquiring after, you
will hear no more from them." I did not take
his advice ; and, after a deal of trouble in writ-
ing to them, and stating amongst many other mat-
ters, that, "though my plate would do well for
country banks, it would not do for the great number
wanted for the Bank of England," the business
ended in nothing. It may perhaps be well, while
I am on the subject of bank-notes, to pass over
a number of years, and come down to the year
1818, when a commission was appointed to iiivesti-

1(58 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

gate the business of forgery, and to endeavour to
prevent it in future. Some time previous to this,
I was employed by my friend, John Bailey, Esq.,
of Chillingham, to engrave plates to prevent a
repetition of the pen-and-ink forgeries which had
been committed upon the Berwick Bank, which it
was found had been better imitations than could
be made from copper plates. In this I succeeded ;
and also, by a simple process, on the plates I en-
graved for the Northumberland Bank. Immedi-
ately on the heel of this, and as soon as the
commissioners above-mentioned had commenced their
enquiries, it seemed as if the services and abili-
ties of all the artists in the kingdom were held
in requisition, to give in their specimens and their
schemes for this purpose ; and, willing to contri-
bute, all in my power to accomplish so desirable
an end, I, amongst many others, gave in my plan.
The leading object with me was permanency, or,
in other words, to aim at executing a device that
would never need either alteration or repairs ; and
the other part of my plan was, that the device
should be of such a nature, that all men of com-
mon discernment could easily recognize the note
as a legitimate one. In my letters to Sir Joseph
Banks, I did not mention anything about using
types, or how highly I approved of their use,
because I knew that others had done so before,
and to point out in which way I conceived they
would be of importance would now be useless ;
since the commissioners, or the Bank, have re-
jected every scheme (so far as I know) that has

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 169

been laid before them. This to me has always ap-
peared strange ; as, in my opinion, there have ,been
several proposals laid before them very efficient for
the purpose of preventing forgeries, if not for set-
ting that nefarious work at rest.

The beautiful specimens first produced by Fair-
man, . Perkins, and Heath, from their steel plates
or blocks, were, in my opinion, inimitable, and
quite sufficient to answer the end intended ; and
those afterwards brought forward, under the aus-
pices of Sir William Congreve, are nearly of the
same character and import. If an engine turner
cannot set his lathe, so as to trace or copy the deli-
cate and truly exact curves, lines, &c., which are
shown in both, it is not likely that any forgery would
ever be attempted upon either of them. If they had
been less complex, I should have liked them better;
but, as they are, the best engravers on either cop-
per, steel, or wood, will not attempt an imitation.
They may, indeed, gaze at them — but that is all.

It was always surprising to me that none of
the ingenious schemes, — so long under the consi-
deration of the commissioners, — were adopted; but,
when I read, in a newspaper, that Mr. Pierce had
stood up in the House of Commons, and in answer
to a question put to him there, had said, in reply,
" that the commissioners were of opinion that no-
thing better than the old bank note could be devised to
prevent forgery ! " — then, indeed, I could scarcely
believe my own eyes, — my astonishment was com-
plete, and my opinion of the whole business of this
" mountain in labour" was fixed.

170 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

During the time that the business of the com-
missioners seemed to me to be hanging in suspense,
I wrote a letter to Sir Joseph Banks, in which I
endeavoured to press upon his attention, and that
of his colleagues, as a means of preventing forgery,
the necessity of having the blank paper for coun-
try bank notes printed with a new device in lieu
of the little duty stamp then used, and which had
simply in view the collection of the government
duty. Sometime after this, a long account of the
inventions of Sir William Congreve, Bart., were
published in the " Repository of Arts," for March,
1822, setting forth how much country banks, and
the whole country was obliged to him, as the in-
ventor of, or the person who first suggested, a
scheme so essentially important as this for prevent-
ing forgery. As soon as I read this, I answered
it in the "Monthly Magazine," of May, 1822, in
which I quoted my letters to the commissioners,
with the dates bearing upon this very subject,
and claimed for myself the merit of having first
suggested the scheme. At the same time, I only
requested Sir William Congreve would, on the
word of a gentleman, say whether or not the
srheme was his or mine. Of this neither Sir
William nor any of the commissioners took any
notice, excepting, indeed, something purporting to
he an anwccr to what I had said, by a person in
the employ of Sir William, as an artist, which,
though it begun very impudently, did not answer
my letter at all. This I could not help treating
with contempt. To enter into a paper war with

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

171

such a person, I thought would be great folly.
Sir "William appears to be going on prosper-
ously, by furnishing bankers with his stamped
note papers, and printing them in the way above
described.

Sir William Congreve, as a commissioner, had
the advantage of seeing the various devices, and
of knowing the opinions of the various artists
upon these devices, which enabled him to cull and
select such as appeared to him best calculated to
prevent forgery ; and, I think, as he was no art-
ist himself, he should not have taken the credit
either of inventor or executor of any of these
devices, nor have turned the profit arising from
them, to his own private account.

CHAPTER XV.

DURING a severe illness with which I was visited
in 1812, — the particulars of which I need not de-
tail to you, my dear Jane, as the part you and
your mother and sisters took, in nursing me night
and day, must be fresh in all your memories, and
which I only here mention on account of its as-
sociation,— I determined, if I recovered, to go on
with a publication of "JEsop's Fables." While I
lay helpless, from weakness, and pined to a skele-
ton, without any hopes of recovery being enter-
tained either by myself or any one else, I became,
as it were, all mind and memory. I had pre-
sented to my recollection almost everything that
had passed through life, both what I had done
and what I had left undone. After much debat-
ing in my own mind where I should be buried,
I fixed upon Ovingham ; and, when this was
settled, I became quite resigned to the will of
Omnipotence, and felt happy. I could not, how-
ever, help regretting that I had not published
a book similar to " Croxall's JEsop's Fables," as
I had always intended to do. I was extremely

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 173

fond of that book ; and, as it had afforded me
much pleasure, I thought, with better executed
designs, it would impart the same kind of delight
to others that I had experienced from attentively
reading it. I was also of opinion, that it had
(while admiring the cuts) led hundreds of young
men into the paths of wisdom and rectitude, and
in that way had materially assisted the pulpit.

As soon as I was so far recovered as to be
able to sit at the window at home, I began to
draw designs upon the wood of the fables and
vignettes ; and to me this was a most delightful
task. In impatiently pushing forward to get to
press with the publication, I availed myself of the
help of my pupils — my son, William Harvey, and
"William Temple — who were eager to do their ut-
most to forward me in the engraving business,
and in my struggles to get the book ushered into
the world. Notwithstanding the pleasurable busi-
ness of bringing out this publication, I felt it
an arduous undertaking. The execution of the
fine work of the cuts, . during day-light, was very
trying to the eyes, and the compiling or writing
the book by candle-light, in my evenings at home,
together injured the optic nerve, and that put all
the rest of the nerves " out of tune ;" so that I
was obliged, for a short time, to leave off such
intense application until I somewhat recovered the
proper tone of memory and of sight. Indeed I
found in this book more difficulties to conquer than
I had experienced with either the " Quadrupeds"
or the " Birds." The work was finished at press

174 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

on the first of October, 1818. It was not so well
printed as I expected and wished.

During the eventful period of the French Revo-
lution, and the wide-spreading war which followed
in consequence of it, and in which our government
became deeply engaged, extending from 1793 to
1814 — a time of blood and slaughter — I frequently,
by way of unbending the mind after the labours
of the day, spent my evenings in company with
a set of staunch advocates for the liberties of man-
kind, who discussed the passing events mostly with
the cool, sensible, and deliberate attention which
the importance of the subject required. In par-
taking in these debatings, I now find I spent rather
too much time. I fear it was useless ; for it requires
little discernment to see that, where a man's in-
terest is at stake, he is very unwilling to hear
any argument that militates against it ; and peo-
ple who are well paid are always very loyal. To
argue on any subject, unless a principle, or
what mathematicians would call a datum, is first
laid down to go upon, is only gabble. It begins
and must end in nonsense ; and I suspect that
many of the long, wearisome speeches and debat-
ings, carried on for such a number of years in the
Houses of Lords and Commons, as well as many
of the innumerable weekly or daily essays, and some
of the pamphlets which the revolution and the
war gave rise to, were devoid of a right prin-
ciple— a principle of rectitude to guide them. The
causes of this Revolution, and the horrible war
which ended it, will form a most interesting sub-

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

175

ject for the head and the pen of some future his-
torian of a bold and enlightened mind — truly to
depicture it in all its bearings, perhaps long after
the animosity of party feelings and the parties
themselves have passed away.

From the best consideration I have been able
to give to the question, I cannot help viewing it
in this way. In the year 1789, the French Revolu-
tion broke out, first of all from the income of the
government not being sufficient to defray its ex-
penditure, or in other words, from its finances
having become deranged for want of money, and
which the people, having been taxed to the utmost
and brought down to poverty, could no longer sup-
ply. The aristocracy and the priesthood (the pri-
vileged orders, as they were called) contributed little
or nothing to support the state ; and, instead of
being the natural guardians or depositories of the
honour and virtue of the nation, they were chiefly
known as its oppressors. By exaction, cruelty, and
tyranny, the people had long been borne down to
the lowest pitch of degradation. They were con-
sidered, not as rational human beings, equal in
mind and intellect to their oppressors, but as beings
made for the purpose only of continually laboiiring
to support them in all their real and imaginary
wants. This is nearly the case in all countries where
the aristocracy are kept up and blinded by pride
and guided by ignorance. In this they are sup-
ported by what may be called their satellites — a kind
of bastard breed, who, in aping the worst part of
the character of those exalted above them, show

176 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

themselves off as the opulent, aspiring, purse-proud
gentry of a country.

"If aught on earth th' immortal powers deride,
"Tie surely this, — the littleness of pride."

This kind of treatment, so long shown to the
people of France, could be endured no longer.
They, indeed, seemed heartily disposed to settle a
rational and just representative government quietly
themselves ; but this did not suit the views of
the surrounding despots, to whom the very word
liberty was offensive, and it was determined, at
once, that this attempt of the people to resume
their rights should instantly be overwhelmed. For
this purpose, immense armed and well-discip-
lined mercenaries were gathered together, and
almost surrounded the country. Thus situated,
and remembering the traditionary tales handed
down to them of the cruelties and oppressions under
which their forefathers had groaned, the French
people could not bear their condition any longer.
They were driven to madness, and instantly re-
taliated upon their oppressors, who, they conceived,
meant that they and their children's children should
continue to be doomed for ages to come. In this
state of the public mind, the French people rose
simultaneously, as one man, and with unconquerable
energy and bravery, like a whirlwind, swept the
advocates and the armies of despotism from off the
face of the earth. Thus roused, this confederacy
of Legitimates, finding or fearing that they might
be baffled in their attempts, looked to England for
support ; and grieved, indeed, were the advocates

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. , 177

of rational liberty to find that these enemies to
freedom had not looked in vain ; for the govern-
ment of this free country and free people — long
veering, indeed, from the line of rectitude — had
readily found pretexts for entering into a war in
support of despotism ; and war was begun, in the
year 1793, against the republican government of
France.

It had long been the settled opinion of many
profound politicians, that corruption had spread,
and was spreading, its baneful influence among
the members of the government of this kingdom ;
and that the majority cared nothing about main-
taining the constitution in its purity, which to
them was become like an old song. In this state
of things, with Mr. Pitt at their head, and the
resources of the British Isles in their hands, it
was calculated upon as a certainty that his weight,
added to the already powerful confederacy, would
soon put a stop to the march of intellect, and,
if found necessary, put an extinguisher upon the
rights of man.

It is horrible to contemplate the immense destruc-
tion of human beings, and the waste of treasure,
which followed and supported this superlatively
wicked war. Under the mask of patriotism, Mr. Pitt
had begun his career, but he soon changed sides, and,
blinded perhaps by ambition, became the powerful
advocate of an opposite and perverted order of things.
Thus situated, nothing could to a certainty serve his
purpose so well as corruption ; and the House of
Commons had long been growing into a state be-

2 A

178 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

fitting his purpose ; for its members had, in a
great degree, ceased to be the representatives of
the people, and he had now only to begin an in-
vigorated, new, or more extended system of place
and patronage to have the majority at his nod ;
and, in aid of this, to add an extension of the
peerage. This demi- oligarchy, cemented together by
feelings of rapacious interests, in his hands was the
best organised system of extorting money that ever
had appeared in the world. They met together
to tax — tax — tax ; and, under various pretexts, to
rob the people "according to law," and to divide
the spoil amongst themselves and their friends.
Arbitrary laws were enacted, gagging bills were
passed, and a system of espionage spread over the
kingdom to keep the people down, many of whom
seemed to have forgotten the . exertions of their
forefathers, whose blood had been spilt to purchase
a better order of things. I felt particularly hurt
at the apathy of country gentlemen in these
(politically considered) worst of times. Their facul-
ties seemed benumbed ; but, indeed, most of them
fell into the vortex of corruption themselves. They
appeared to me to have lost their former inde-
pendent character, and to be now looking out to
that evil source as a provision for the younger
branches of their own families, unmindful of all
other ill consequences, which this selfishness blindly
supported and maintained. The minions of power
were countenanced and protected, by which they
became insolent and impudent, and walked in
stately array, hand in hand, in safety. Although

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. • 179

the friends of liberty and the constitution were
both numerous and intrepid, yet, for want of what
they termed respectable heads, they were widely
spread and divided, and their efforts proved in vain.
There was also an intermediate or neutral race,
consisting of those who had not laid down any
principle to guide them. They were mostly such
as advocated the cause of corruption ; and, in listen-
ing to them, I was disgusted at their senseless
arguments. They were proof against reasoning, and
thoroughly convinced me that " a wise man changes
his opinion, but a fool never does." They, however,
kept on the safe side ; they were loyal; and the
gist of their arguments, with which they ended all
their disputes, were summed up in this — " If you
do not like your country, leave it. What do you
want ? are not ice very well off ?" Their reflect-
ing powers reached no further, and they could not
see by what slow degrees the arm of despotism had
so often circumspectly stretched its iron hand over
the liberties of the people, and then crushed them.

While bickerings and debatings were going on
amongst politicians at home, the Continent was
deluged with the blood of many destructive battles.
The sea was also crimsoned in the same way ; and
it was on this element that the tide of affairs was
tirst turned in favour of Britain, who now, by the
valour of her seamen, reigned complete " mistress
of the deep," and the commerce of the world seem-
ed to be poured into her lap. Estates rose in
value to an extraordinary height, and the price
of grain, &c., still more so. The shipping interest

180 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

wallowed in riches ; the gentry whirled about in
aristocratic pomposity; they forgot what their de-
meanour and good, kind, behaviour used to be
to those in inferior stations of life ; and seemed
now far too often to look upon them like dirt. The
character of the richer class of farmers was also
changed. They acted the gentleman very awk-
wardly, and many of them could not, in these
times, drink anything but wine, and even that
was called "humble port." When these upstart
gentlemen left the market, they were ready to ride
over all they met or overtook on the way; but
this was as nothing compared to the pride and
folly which took possession of their empty or fume-
charged heads, when they got dressed in scarlet.
They were then fitted for any purpose, and were
called "yeomanry cavalry." Pride and folly then
became personified. When peace came, it brought
with it a sudden fall in the price of corn ; but the
taxes continuing the same to them, and rents still
keeping high, they, with few exceptions, suddenly
experienced a woful change. I cannot say, after
seeing so much of their folly, that I was sorry for
them ; for they mostly deserved this reverse of
fortune. Not so with the industrious labourer.
His privations were great, and he was undeservedly
doomed to suffer for want of employment, and often
to waste away and die of hunger and want.

During the greater portion of the war, the land-
owners may be said to have paid little or nothing
to support it ; for the extra rents paid almost all
their taxes ; but at length the evils brought on by

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. ' 181

so long a war fell also heavily upon numbers of
them, who, on account of tithes and taxes with
which the land was loaded, could hardly get any
rent at all.

It will seem a wonder to future ages how the
British people could so long have supported the
squandered expenditure of the government ; still
they were not like the long- worn-down subjects
of continental despots; for what the latter can get
from their subjects is like clippings from the back
and sides of swine, while the ingenuity, the in-
dustry, and the energy of the British people fur-
nish the well-grown fleeces of sheep. Pity it is
that they should have been so often wickedly shorn
to the bare skin.

This state of temporary prosperity, to which I
have alluded, incited to agricultural improvements ;
and societies for the promotion, and premiums for
the encouragement, of various desiderata blazed
forth over a great part of the kingdom. Cattle,
sheep, horses, and swine, all of which were called
"live stock," occupied a great deal of attention,
and in the improvement of the various breeds agri-
culturalists succeeded to a certain, and in some
cases, perhaps, to a great extent. And yet I can-
not help thinking that they often suffered their
whimsies to overshoot the mark, and in many in-
stances to lead them on to the ridiculous.

After all, — these enquiries having opened the
eyes of the landlords to their own interests, — it is
not unlikely that the man of industry, the plain,
plodding farmer will, without receiving any reward,

182 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

have to pay for these improvements. My kind,
my intimate friend, John Bailey, Esq., of Chilling-
ham, in conjunction with another friend of mine,
George Culley, Esq., of Fowberry, were the active,
judicious, and sensible authors of many of the ag-
ricultural reports, in which they did not lose sight
of the farmer. They wished to inculcate the prin-
ciple of " to live and let live" between landlord
and tenant.

It will readily be supposed, that, where such
exertions were made, and pains taken to breed
the best kinds of all the domestic animals, jea-
lousy and envy would be excited, and contentions
arise as to which were the best ; but for me to
dilate upon this would only lead me out of the
way. I shall, however, notice an instance, as it
happened to occur between my two friends, Mr.
Smith, of Woodhall, and Mr. Bailey. The latter,
in connection with his report on Cheviot sheep,
had given a bad figure of a ram of that breed.
This was construed into a design to lessen the cha-
racter of Mr. Smith's Cheviot sheep, on which,
in April, 1798, the latter sent for me to draw and
engrave a figure of one of his rams, by way of
contrasting it with the figure Mr. Bailey had given.
The colour Mr. Smith gave to the business was,
not to find fault with Mr. Bailey's figure, but to
show hew much he (Mr. Smith) had improved the
breed since Mr. Bailey had written his report.

Whilst I was at Woodhall, I was struck with
the sagacity of a dog belonging to Mr. Smith.
The character for sagacity of the Shepherd's Dog

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 183

was well-known to me, but this instance of it was
exemplified before my own eyes. Mr. Smith wished
to have a particular ram brought out from amongst
the flock, for the purpose of my seeing it. Be-
fore we set out, he observed to the shepherd, that
he thought the old dog (he was grey-headed and
almost blind) would do well enough for what he
wanted with him. Before we reached the down,
where the flock was feeding, I observed that
Mr. Smith was talking to the dog before he or-
dered him off on his errand ; and, while we were
conversing on some indifferent subject, the dog
brought a ram before us. Mr. Smith found a
deal of fault with the dog, saying, Did I not or-
der you so and so ? and he scolded him for bring-
ing a wrong sheep, and then, after fresh direc-
tions, set him off again to bring the one he wished
me to see. We then returned home, and shortly
after our arrival there, 'the dog brought the very
ram wanted, along with a few other sheep, into
the fold, where I took a drawing of him.

Shortly after my return from "Woodhall, I was
sent for to Darlington, and thence to Barmpton,
to make drawings of cattle and sheep, to be en-
graved for a Durham report. After I had made
my drawings from the fat sheep, I soon saw that
they were not approved, but that they were to
be made like certain paintings shown to me. I
observed to my employer that the paintings bore
no resemblance to the animals whose figures I had
made my drawings from ; and that I would not
alter mine to suit the paintings that were shown

184 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

to me ; but, if it were wished that I should
make engravings from these paintings, I had not
the slightest objection to do so, and I would also
endeavour to make fac similes of them. This pro-
posal would not do ; and my journey, as far as
concerned these fat cattle makers, ended in nothing.
I objected to put lumps of fat here and there
where I could not see it, at least not in so ex-
aggerated a way as on the painting before me ;
so "I got my labour for my trouble." Many of
the animals were, during this rage- for fat cattle,
fed up to as great a weight and bulk as it was
possible for feeding to make them ; but this was
not enough ; they were to be figured monstrously
fat before the owners of them could be pleased.
Painters were found who were quite subservient
to this guidance, and nothing else would satisfy.
Many of these paintings will mark the times, and,
by the exaggerated productions of the artists, servo
to be laughed at when the folly and the self-
interested motives which gave birth to them are
done away.

CHAPTER XVI.

FROM this time till the peace was concluded, the
political debatings, before noticed, continued, and were
almost the constant subject of all companies. I have
often sat and listened with wonder to the jargon of
the protected fools, and heard them argue, if so it may
be called, in defence of all the measures then pur-
sued ; and I have seen with surprise the impudence
of those who lived upon the taxes. Knaves and
their abettors appeared to predominate in the land ;
and they carried their subserviency to such a length
that I think, if Mr. Pitt had proposed to make a law
to transport all men who had pug noses, and to hang-
all men above 60 years of age, these persons (those
excepted who came within the meaning of the act)
would have advocated it as a brilliant thought and a
wise measure.

If we examine the history of these times, and
look back to those of old, we shall find that the in-
roads of ignorance have ever been the same. The
time was when the magistrates of Newcastle sent
to Scotland for a man who was reputed clever in
discovering witches. lie came, and easily convicted
many a fine woman, as well as those who we/ 3

186 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

wrinkled by age and wisdom, and they were by his
means tried and put to death.*

I think, if there be a plurality of devils, ignorance
must be their king. The wretchedness which ignor-
ance has, from time to time, spread over the world
is truly appaling. This is a king that should be
deposed without loss of time ; and that portion of
mankind who are under the guidance of his imps
should have nothing to do with the affairs of society,
and should be carefully looked to and kept out of
every kind of command. Even the poor, innocent,
unreasoning animals should, in mercy, not bo allowed
to be goaded, and to suffer under their ignorance,
in the shape of folly and cruelty.

To attempt giving anything like a detail of the
history of this eventful war would, in this place,
be useless : that must be left to the historian. It
appears to me that Mr. Pitt was urged into it
chiefly by ambition, and that disappointment broke
his heart. General Bonaparte, from his unparalleled
victories, became in his turn blinded by ambition,
which ended in his being conquered and banished
to St. Helena for life. He had divided and con-
quered almost all his continental enemies, one after
another, and then mostly reinstated them in their
dominions. But this generosity would not do.
Despotism, urged on and supported by this country,
was rooted too deeply in the governments of Europe

* " He was for such like villainie condemned in Scotland, and upon
the gallows he confessed he had been the death of two hundred and
twenty women, in England and Scotland, for the gain of twenty shil-
lings a-peece, and beseeched forgiveness and was executed." — Engkutfi
Grievance, by R<ilj>h Gardnrr, ItjCjj.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. ' 187

to think of making any change to better the condi-
tion of the people. It would appear that that is a busi-
ness they cannot think of ; and the old maxim, that
the many are made only to support the few, seems con-
tinually uppermost in their resolves. If Bonaparte
had been as good a man as he was a great one, he
had it in his power to settle all this, and to have
established the happiness of both the governors and
the governed, over all the civilised world, for ages
to come. Although he had the example of the in-
comparable Washington before him, he did not copy
it. He ceased to be first consul, managed to assume
the title of emperor, married an Austrian arch-
duchess, and became one of the Legitimates. This
added to the stock of his ambition, and from that
time he began to decline. Fortune at length seemed
to frown upon him, and the frost and snow of Russia
cut off and destroyed his immensely large and well-
appointed army. He was baffled in his strenuous
efforts to repair his loss, and his defeat at Waterloo
sealed his ruin.

One would think that the gaining of worlds would
not compensate for the misery and the horrid waste
of human life which are the certain attendants of
war; and one would wonder what kind of minds
direct the actions of the authors of it. Were they
to reflect, it may be fairly concluded that they
could not bear their own thoughts, and that, after
taking a full survey of the wretchedness they had
occasioned, they would go immediately and hang
themselves. They are perhaps not fitted for re-
flection, or only for that kind of it which can

188 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

look at nothing but ambition or private gain.
It would be well for the abettors and advocates
of war to try to weigh the profit and loss (set-
ting aside the inhumanity) attendant upon it.
This we should do at home ; and, instead of
celebrating the birthday of the " Heaven-born
minister," ask his admirers how he deserves
such a title, and compare it with his actions.
Might not the lives of, say, a million of men
have been saved ? Was it necessary that they
should have been sacrificed in such a way ?
Could he have avoided it ? With his consummate
abilities, I humbly think he could. Woidd not
these men have been sufficient in number to colo-
nize and to civilize immense unoccupied territories ?
The money wasted would have accomplished al-
most anything. The men and the money \vould
have canaled Britain and Ireland from end to
end, and intersected them from side to side ; and
also made piers, where wanted, at the mouths of
the rivers of the two islands ; and, besides, would
have converted both countries into gardens. To
point out more improvements would be a waste of
words. With such means in hand, they might
have been almost endless. Then, per contra : —
What has been done in exchange for the millions of
lives and the millions of money thus spent ? They
have restored legitimacy; they have restored "Louis
the Desired," and " Ferdinand the Beloved," and
the Inquisition ! Monarchs are still to be called
" God's vicegerents here on earth ! When by their
actions they shew themselves deserving of such titles,

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK: 189

mankind will not disturb them in these their dreams ;
but, till then, they will continue to smile at the con-
ceit, as well as the glitter they keep up to dazzle
the sight of their purblind " loving subjects." All
wars, except defensive ones, are detestable ; and,
if governments admitted morality into their in-
stitutions, and were guided by its precepts, war
would, in all probability, grow into disuse, and
cease. But hitherto that treasure of inestimable
value, I think, has been discarded from their
councils, and I cannot discover much difference
between them and the lesser banditti of old ; for
each has been guided by the strong disposition
to rob, (as soon as they thought themselves able
successfully to do so), and to show that "might
is right." From the feuds of the nobility down
to " Rob-in-hood, Will Scarlet, and Little John ;"
and from the ferocious combats of the Percy and
Douglas, on the Borders — of Johnny Armstrong and
his eight score men, down to " Yeddy (Adam) Bell,"
" Clem of the Clough," and " William of Clouds-
ley" — and the Mosstroopers, — the same wicked prin-
ciple has guided them and their ferocious retainers
to murder each other and to soak the earth with
blood.

CHAPTER XVII.

WITHOUT presuming to scan the intentions of Om-
nipotence, in His gifts to the human race, — or to
probe into the nature of His endless works of wis-
dom,— or to grope into matters intended to be out of
our reach, and beyond our comprehension, — yet the
reasoning power He has given us, we cannot doubt,
was meant to guide us in our researches to the ex-
tent for which it is capacitated, and to which its
uses are fitted to be applied. In viewing man as
connected with this world, and with his station in
society, I think it will appear clearly that the vari-
ous degrees of his intellectual and reasoning powers
are the gift of Providence ; and, however high this
boon may be, the possessor of it ought to be thank-
ful, but never vain. It is this innate power drawn
forth and acted upon by observation and industry,
that enables the philosopher, the poet, the painter,
and the musician, to arrive at excellence ; and the
same remark is more or less applicable to men bent
upon any pursuit in the whole round of the arts and
sciences. Without using the means to cultivate their
powers, they will remain inert, and be of no use
either to the individual or to society ; and men with

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. ' 191

innate qualifications, and men without them, are
brought down to a level of uselessness. It is greatly
owing to the want of effort that originates the ine-
qualities of rank and fortune of which the commu-
nity is composed. The intelligent and industrious
man, guided by honour, will ever be aiming to rise
in the scale of eminence ; while, on the contrary, the
lazy, the ignorant, or the wicked man, influenced by
pride, dissipation and negligence, is whirled into
the vortex of disgrace, and is attended by poverty
and misery ; and, if he cannot redeem his character,
becomes abandoned. He is then in his last stage ;
his days will be full of sorrow ; and, if it be true
that "none are wretched but the wicked," he will
have his fill of it.

But to remedy these evils attendant upon ignor-
ance, as far as possible, and to give every man a fair
chance, his reasoning powers ought to be drawn
forth by a rational and virtuous education, and it
is a first and imperative duty upon the community
either to provide for, or to see that it is given to,
every one as far as his capacity will permit ; for to
the neglect or omission of this kind of instruction
may be traced almost all the wickedness and misrule
which disfigure the social compact and spread
misery over the world. To check the reasoning
power is a public crime, which, like individual
crime, follows the perpetrators like a shadow. To
argue against the exercise of this gift is to attempt
to thwart the intentions of Omnipotence. It is
blasphemy. It never will pollute the tongues of
good and wise men, and could only, like dregs, be

192 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

reserved to defile those of tyrants and fools. Men
who are not actuated by the principle of "doing as
they would be done by" — governed by a twisted
imagination — would have their fellow men kept in
ignorance, — to pass away their lives like unreason-
ing animals, lest they might not have sufficient
homage paid to themselves, or that they should
forget their duty as servants, and cease to work for,
or to wait upon, their employers. A sensible servant
will never omit doing his duty, but an ignorant one
will; and the reciprocal duties between master and
servant ought to be clearly defined. The former
ought not to act the tyrant ; the latter should be
obedient ; and equal and just laws should guide and
govern them.

All men of sound understanding, and who are
capable of reflection, will clearly see that there
is not, and cannot be, any such thing as equality.
There must, and ever will be, high and low, rich
and poor; and this inequality of rank and for-
tune, in civilized states, is necessary for the com-
fort and happiness of all. A cement is thus
formed, which binds together in union the strength,
the beauty, and the symmetry of the whole. In
the freest state, man must not expect to have
the unrestrained liberty of the savage, but must
give up a part of his own freedom for the good
of the whole; for liberty consists in this, that
every man may do whatever he pleases, pro vi del
he does nothing to injure his neighbour, or tlic
community of which he is a member ; and his
morality ought to be guided by the golden rulf,

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 19-3

of " doing unto all men as he would they should
do unto him." Were men made sensible of the
rectitude of this order of things ; were they to con-
sider that, in whatever station in society fortune
may have placed them, it is the will of Providence
that it should be so, this reflection would greatly
contribute to their peace of mind and contentment ;
for no man should think himself degraded by fol-
lowing an honest calling.

" Honour and shame from no condition rise ;
Act well your part : there all the honour lie?."

Patriotism ought to direct every man to do ho-
nour to himself and to his country ; and it is in
this that great national power principally consists.
It is also by the good conduct, and consequent cha-
racter, of the great mass of the people that a
nation is exalted. The crown — the richest diamond
of our life — is the love of our country ; and the
man who neglects this, and ceases to reverence
and adore his Maker, is good for nothing. "The
country, surrounded by the briny deep, where all
our ancestors lie buried — in which from youth up-
wards we have felt the benefit of equal laws, first
acted upon and handed down to us by the Great
Alfred, and maintained from time to time amidst
all the attempts of despotism to overturn them,
—by men famed for matchless wisdom and vir-
tue,— a country so renowned as England, so fa-
mous for all that most strongly attracts the ad-
miration of men, — a country whose genius and
power have, for ages, been such as to make her

2c

194 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

views and intentions an object of solicitude with
every nation, and with every enlightened individual
in the world, — a country famed for her laws, famed
in arts and arms, famed for the struggles which,
age after age, her sons have held with tyranny
in every form it has assumed, — and, beyond all
these, famed for having given birth to, and reared
to manhood, those men of matchless wisdom and
virtue whose memories will be held up to admira-
tion, and whose example will be followed in ages
to come — who have rendered the very name of
Englishmen respected in every civilized country
in the world " —(may this be eternal !) — should
this country ever sink into despotism, its repu-
tation will sink also, and with it the high
name of its once enlightened sons ; for this re-
nown and this exalted station cannot be stable
unless a pure representation of the people is kept
up : without that, justice will be perverted, and
corruption will creep in and in time over-
turn the best and wisest plans. Government
will become omnipotent, instead of being the um-
pire and standing by, like a strong man, to see
that justice is done. Lord Bacon says : — " The
ultimate object which legislators ought to have in
view, and to which all their enactments and sanctions
ought to be subservient, is, that the citizens may
live happy. For this purpose it is necessary that
they should receive a religious and pious educa-
tion ; that they should be trained to good morals ;
that they should be secured from foreign ene-
mies by proper military arrangements ; that they

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 195

should be guarded by an effectual police against
seditions and private injuries ; that they should
be loyal to government, and obedient to magis-
trates ; and, finally, that they should abound in
wealth, and other national resources."

Well constituted governments, if occasionally re-
vised, and as often as necessary scrupulously amend-
ed, may be rendered as permanent as time. If
wisely and virtuously administered, they would be
indestructible, and incalculably contribute, by their
vigour and uninterrupted duration, to the mental
and moral aggrandisement of man. It is a truth
confirmed by universal history, that the happiness
or misery of a people almost entirely depend upon
the principles of their government, and the con-
duct of their rulers. Where just and honourable
intentions exist, there is nothing to dread ; but,
when only the semblance of these are put on, to
cloak wicked and sinister ends, delusion and arti-
fice of every kind must be resorted to for their
accomplishment. Thence follows the degradation
of man, and the consequent decay of states and
nations. But it is not for want of knowing better
that governments get out of the path of rectitude ;
it is by the individuals who compose its parts becom-
ing dishonest. To the sage advice of such men as
Bacon and Locke they turn a deaf ear ; they are
lost in considerations about their own private, selfish
concerns, or are blinded by a false ambition, regard-
less of promoting the public good, or the happiness
of mankind ; and, until they are checked in this
career, by an enlightened people, it is in vain to

196 MKMOlll OF THOMAS BEWICK.

look for any amendment in them. But the great
bulk of the people must be enlightened and amend-
ed, before liberty, peace, and happiness, can be
spread over the world.

The first step preparatory to this desirable order
of things, must be that the people should learn to
respect themselves, as reasoning beings, which is
the noblest privilege bestowed upon them by the
Creator. To slight this gift is to act ungratefully
to the Giver ; for it is only by the free exercise of
their understandings that men can see the face of
truth, or can have the full use of all the means of
advancing in knowledge, or are capable of religion,
science, virtue, and rational happiness, or can be
enabled to look backward with comfort or forward
with hope. It is a sure sign that all is not right,
or as it should be, in governments, when they fear
even the fullest investigation of any, and of every,
subject. Truth and honesty fear no discussion, and
good governments will freely encourage, instead of
checking, them. There ought to be no libels, but
falsehoods. Can any man say, in the face of the
world, that truth ought not to prevail ? It is owing
to inquisitorial checks and restraints, that two of
the most important concerns to mankind, Religion
and Politics, — on which their happiness, and every-
thing of importance to them, so much depends, — is
by the community, as a whole, so imperfectly un-
derstood, and so blindly acted upon at this day.
It is only by seeing the conduct of public men in
a dear light, that a just judgment can be formed
of them and their measures, and of their fitness or

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 197

unfitness to conduct the important concerns entrusted
to their control. It may, indeed, be feared that, if
tried in the balance, they will be found very light.
Wise and honest councils must be resorted to and
adopted before Religion, Morality, and Politics, Arts
and Sciences, and a better knowledge of this world
of wonders, can be developed and appreciated. Till
then no amendment need be expected : religion will
not be freed from superstition and bigotry, nor poli-
tical institutions purged from venality and corrup-
tion, and conducted by honesty and good sense.
Those who have fixed themselves, like a disease,
upon the body politic should have warning to de-
part.

In glancing back upon the transactions of the
world, as they have recently passed in review be-
fore us, how can it afford any matter of wonder
that the advocates of liberty should have entertained
fears for its safety, and have wished, as a check,
the re-establishment of the British constitution in its
purity. There was, indeed, little hope of this being
acted upon, when foreign despots were leagued to
enslave their peoples ; and our own government,
supported by a demi- oligarchy, was so deeply con-
nected with them. Loan after loan was wrung from
the British people under various pretexts, but in
reality to support despotism under the disguise of
legitimacy. Granted, that an honest House of
Commons might have supported legitimacy, thev
should have openly expressed disapprobation at the
lest liberties of nations of enslaved people. Pro-
tests of this kind, however, did not fit with the

198 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

notions of the representatives of boroughmongers,
who composed the majority of the honourable House,
and who had long been used to treat the people
and their petitions with unblushing neglect or
contempt.

In this state of things, politics ran high ; an
unpleasant ferment soured the minds of a great
majority of the people ; and it cannot be won-
dered that they were, with difficulty, kept within
bounds. Those who had been used to batten on
the wages of corruption became excessively alarmed,
and, under the pretence of preserving the consti-
tution, resorted to a system of espionage, and of
gaols and bastiles, and left no stone unturned to
throw odium upon their opponents, the advocates
of liberty, who were branded with the nicknames
of Jacobins, Levellers, Radicals, &c., &c. The pen
of literature was prostituted to overshade the ac-
tions of good men, and to gloss-over the enormi-
ties of the base. The energies of many members of
both Houses of Parliament were unavailing against
this compact confederacy of undeserving placemen
and pensioners, who were bound together by fel-
low feelings of self-interest, in which all ideas of
public trust were lost in private considerations.
They had sinned themselves out of all shame.
This phalanx have kept their ground, and will do
so till, it is to be feared, violence from an on-
raged people breaks them up, or, perhaps, till
the growing opinions against such a crooked order
of conducting the affairs of this great nation be-
comes quite apparent to an immense majority, wh<»<-

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

' 199

frowns may have the power of bringing the agents
of government to pause upon the brink of the
precipice on which they stand, and to provide in
time, by wise and honest measures, to avert the
coming storm. It is appalling to think of matters
of this import being brought to extremities,
especially when the whole might so easily be set-
tled without any convulsion at all. The king (whose
interests are the same as the people's), if freed from
the advice of evil counsellors, and from the un-
fitting trammels by which they have him bound,
might insist upon having the constitution restored
to its purity. This would at once settle the business,
and would cause him to be adored by his whole
people, and his name to be revered, by the en-
lightened in every civilised country, to the latest
posterity.

CHAPTER XVIII.

I NEVER could agree in opinion with the philan-
thropic, and well-intentioned, and honest, Major
Cartwright,* in his unqualified scheme of universal
suffrage ; because I conceive that the ignorant and
the wicked ought to be debarred from voting for any-
thing ; they should neither be honoured with privi-
leges nor employed in any office of public trust ;
a virtual representation is all-sufficient for them.
Could matters be so managed that none but sensible,
honest men should be allowed to vote, either for
members of Parliament, or for any other public func-
tionary, the country would, in a short time, put on
a very improved appearance. It is quite natural to
suppose that, were elections entrusted to this descrip-
tion of men, they would elect none but those of simi-
lar character to their own. But, should it be found
impracticable thus to order public affairs, then the
next best plan, — and which might easily be accom-
plished,— would be to confer the additional elective
franchise upon householders of probity and honour,
— that is, upon those who, in their own spheres, by

* Major Cartwright, died 23rd Sep., 1821, aged 84, — an honour to
his country and to human nature — an upright aad inflexible patriot.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 201

industry and intelligence, maintain themselves re-
spectably ; for it must be admitted that the poor are
frequently as wise as the rich, and as remarkable
for integrity.

If an overwhelming mass of selfism did not para-
lyze every improvement, how easily and how soon
all this might be done. By making elections simple,
candidates would be spared the expense of a canvass,
and drunkenness and the base, wicked effects conse-
quent thereon might be avoided. This business
through the whole kingdom might be done in a few
days, by summoning the electors (as soon as the can-
didates were nominated) to attend at the several
polling places, to vote by ballot or otherwise as
might be determined. The public should only be
addressed through the medium of the newspapers.
What a real honour would it be to be thus elected !
What a saving of expense ! What can any gentle-
man, after spending thousands in the present mode,
say for himself? Does he expect to be repaid, some-
how or other, by the nation ? or, has he lavished
away such sums for the " honour of the thing," and
thus robbed his own family by wasteful expenditure ?

While sentiments of patriotism were entertained
in our country, — clouded, indeed, by fears of an op-
posite tendency, as noticed before, — the attention of
all was drawn aside to view the confederacy of des-
pots directed to shackle the understandings of man-
kind, and to keep them in slavery and degradation,
Would any man in his senses, in the present en-
lightened state of the civilized world, have thought
this possible ? And yet, as a finish, they have called

2D

202 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

it the " Holy Alliance." My most fervent prayer is,
that no king of the British Isles will ever keep such
company ; but that our sovereigns will ever stand
firm, uncontaminated by the infectious effluvia of ar-
bitrary power, upon this proud ground — this soil
fitly tilled, but only wanting some weeding to render
it perfectly ready to produce a rich crop of liberty.

Most men were beginning to hope that emperors
and kings had discovered that, if the people were
not enlightened, it was high time for them to use
their kingly influence to make them so ; and that it
is far safer and better, as well as more honourable, to
preside over an intelligent people, than to govern
men brought down to the level of unreasoning brutes.
The wretchedly bigoted, and consequently oppressed,
people of Spain will, no doubt, see things in their
true light at some future day, and free their fine
country from misrule. The times in which Galileo
lived have passed away, but we still see the same
kind of despotism and superstition ready as ever
to burn such men alive, and to strew their ashes
in the wind. The affairs of mankind, managed
in this way, will be likely at no distant period
to put such kings and their priests out of fashion.
Superstition makes despots and tyrants of all the
sovereigns whom it influences : they become the
confirmed enemies of knowledge. The die is then
cast. Superstition never did, nor ever will, listen
to reason ; for credulity is the offspring of ignor-
ance, and superstition is the child of credulity;
and this breed is nursed and kept up by despotism,
as its mainstay and darling. The sun of reason may

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 203

be clouded for a time. As long as falsehood in the
garb of truth continues to lead the great mass of
mankind, so long will they struggle in vain to attain
the paths which lead to perfection and happiness.

" We should always repute it as our business in
the world — the end and purpose of our being — our
duty to our kind — the natural use of the powers
we enjoy — and the suitable testimony of gratitude
to our Maker, to contribute something to the general
good — to the common fund of happiness to our
species."* Benevolent and patriotic sentiments of
this kind ought always to be kept up, and the mite
of the humblest individual ought to be received
and acknowledged : the reveries of such ought not
to pass without being coolly examined by men of
experience. I well remember my name having
been set down as that of a person who would, with-
out hesitation, become a member of a society in
Newcastle, " for the suppression of vice." To this I
decidedly objected, and told my well-meaning neigh-
bour, f who named the matter to me, that I thought
the magistrates were quite competent to manage
that business ; but that I would have no hesita-
tion in joining their society if they would change
their plan, and make it "a society for promoting
and rewarding virtue." I have often thought since
that, if such a society as the latter — to be called

* Dr. F. Hutchinson.

t Mr. Benjamin Brunton. He was a popular man, and was often
chairman at patriotic and charitable meting s, and had been one of
the committee who sued the magistrate of Newcastle on the Town
Moor business before mentioned.

204 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

" The Society of Honour" — were established in
every parish, it might, if well managed, do great
good. The society ought not to annoy any one,
by being over officious, nor to meddle otherwise
than by quietly, and yet publicly, rewarding, or
expressing the good opinion they entertain of the
conduct of the person honoured.

Another society of a very different character to
the last-named is at this time winked at in this
land of liberty. I mean the present great and
mighty Inquisition, held under the denomination
of " the Constitutional Association." These men —
the secret admirers of " The Holy Alliance" — may
more properly be called the suppressors and dread-
ers of truth. Acting, indeed, under the mask of
advocating the cause of religion and liberty, but
in reality in lurking enmity to the latter, and to
all free enquiry and investigation, they have arro-
gated to themselves the power of punishing a man
for his unbiased opinions, even on subjects which
do not militate against good morals, or against the
happiness of society ; thus taking the power out
of the hands of the national authorities, as if they
were unfit and insufficient to do their duty. A
House of Commons ought to see this with indig-
nation, and this self-erected Inquisition, instead of
ruining parties by their prosecutions, should be
invited to answer truth with truth, as well as they
can ; leaving the world to judge how it stands be-
tween them and their opponents.

When men break through laws, made with care
for the good government of the community, they

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 205

ought, as at present, to forfeit their liberty, and in
some cases their lives. It is a pity that those who
have betrayed the innocent, and robbed the father-
less children and widows, cannot be sent to live
with savages, and to have their backs tatooed with
hieroglyphics, expressive of their crimes.

It has often been a matter of surprise, in the
circle of my friends, that criminals are not trans-
ported to the "West Indies, there to undergo a
purgation till they have redeemed their characters,
in which case they should be allowed to return
home. It has also appeared to us that the law
is defective, in not, somehow or other, protecting
such men after being released from prison. Some
association should be formed — some friends to them
and to humanity might be invited forth to pass
their word, for a time, for their good behaviour,
to prevent their being thus cast friendless upon an
unforgiving and censorious world ; for it matters
not how fervently a man may wish to redeem his
character, no one will employ him, and he is thereby
driven to the necessity of flying to some villainous
scheme to enable him to live.

It is painful to speak about punishments to be
inflicted upon one's unfortunate fellow men : it is
equally so to contemplate their self- degradation.
But, when it is considered what a voluminous mass
of laws we have, neither understood nor explained,
we cannot wonder that they are broken ; they
are so multifarious and complex, that, as to the
illiterate description of persons they are meant
to keep in order, they are almost useless. An

206 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

abridgement of the laws of England would per-
haps fill fifty folio volumes. These laws, at the
time they were made, might be good and proper,
but most of them are now inapplicable and obsolete.
To amend them seems impossible, and an act to
amend or explain an act, by adding confusion to
confusion, is truly farcical. It is a pity that the
whole of them cannot be abolished at once, and
short and clear new ones substituted in their stead.
As they stand at present, few men can understand
them, and to men of plain, good sense, or of ordi-
nary capacities, they appear altogether a great mass
of unintelligible matter, or a complete " riddle-me-
ree." This may, indeed, be intended or winked at ;
for it gives employment to a great number of men
of the law, of all kinds of character, from the basest
up to others who are ornaments to their country.
Indeed, were it not for the latter description, the
rest would not be endurable. They are more to be
dreaded than highwaymen and housebreakers, and
as such are viewed by the thinking part of the
community ; but the former find employment from
clients of their own character, who trust to them
for their ability in twisting, evading, and explaining
the law away.

In passing through life, it has fortunately been
my lot to have been intimate with both military
and naval gentlemen, as well as with those of the
learned professions ; and, though several of each class
have stood high in the estimation of the world, for
their gentlemanly manners and unsullied worth —
to which I may be allowed to add my testimony,

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

207

as well as to acknowledge the debt of gratitude I
owe some of them for their kindness and attention
— yet, on taking a comparative survey of the whole,
I cannot help giving a preference to medical men ;
for, besides their learning and attainments in com-
mon with other professions, they appear to me,
generally, to be further removed from prejudice,
more enlightened, and more liberal in their senti-
ments than the other labourers in the vineyards of
science and literature.

CHAPTER XIX.

IT is of the utmost importance to individuals
and to society that attention should be watchfully
bestowed upon children, both with respect to their
health and their morals. Their future welfare in
life depends upon this, and the important charge
falls greatly upon the mother. Her first lesson
— their talent being only imitation — should be that
of obedience, mildly enforced ; for, reason being the
faculty of comparing ideas already presented to the
mind, it cannot exist in a child, to whom few or no
ideas have been presented. Then follow lessons
of truth, sincerity, industry, honesty. It ought to
be impressed upon their minds that, though they are
young, yet the longest life is only like a dream ; and,
short as it is, it is rendered shorter by all the time
lost in wickedness, contention, and strife. They
ought to be taught that all they can do, while they
sojourn in this world, is to live honourably, and
to take every care that the soul shall return to
the Being who gave it as pure, unpolluted, and spot-
less as possible ; and that there can be no happiness
in this life, unless they hold converse with God.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 209

With respect to the health of children, I fear the
present management is not right. The mistaken in-
dulgence of parents, in pampering and spoiling the
appetites of children, lays the foundation of a perma-
nent train of diseases, which an endless supply of
medicines and nostrums will never restore to its
pristine vigour. Skilful medical aid may, indeed, be
of use, but nothing is so sure as a recurrence to a
plain diet, temperance, and exercise. The next ob-
stacle to remedy, I fear, will not be easily removed ;
for it is built upon the prejudices of mothers them-
selves, dictated by notions of fashion and gentility
which have taken a deep root. When folly has given
the fashion, she is a persevering dame, and " folly
ever dotes upon her darling." Instead of impressing
upon the minds of girls the importance of knowing
household affairs, and other useful knowledge, and
cultivating cheerfulness and affability along with the
courtesies of life, they must undergo a training to
befit them for appearing in frivolous company. To
insure this, the mother, or some boarding school mis-
tress, insists that these delicate young creatures be
tightened up in a shape-destroying dress, and sit and
move in graceful stiffness. They must not spring
about or make use of their limbs, lest it might be
called romping, and might give them so vulgar, so ro-
bust, and so red-cheeked a look that they would not
appear like ladies. The consequence of this is, that
they become like hot-house plants ; — the air must
not blow upon them ; — and, in this state, they must
attend routs and balls, and midnight assemblies,

210 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

which send numbers of them to an untimely grave.*
If they survive these trials, still they leave behind a
want of health and vigour, which hangs upon them
through life, and they become the nerveless outcasts
of nature. They are then unfit to become the mo-
thers of Englishmen ; they twine out a life of ennui,
and their generation dies out. I have all my life
been grieved to find this description too often real-
ized. It is paying too dear for female accomplish-
ments. It is surely desirable that a change should
take place, by which fashionable follies may be nar-
rowed in their boundaries, and a better line drawn
out ; prescribed by propriety, affability, modesty,
and good sense, on which the courtesies of life, and
the invaluable embellishments of civilisation, and
everything graceful and charming in society, is
founded. I wish the ladies of the British Isles may
set the example, and take the lead in this, so that
ignorant rudeness and vulgarity may be banished
from the face of the earth.

If I could influence the fair sex, there is one thing
to which I would draw their attention ; and that is
Horticulture ; and, connected with this, I would re-
commend them, as far as convenient, to become
Florists, as this delightful and healthy employment,
— which has been long enough in the rude hands
of men — would entice them into the open air, stimu-
late them to exertion, and draw them away from

* If these assemblies must be kept up — by the gentry who can afford
it — they ought to be held in the day time, that those who attend them
may get their natural rest at night

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 211

their sedentary mode of life, mewed up in close
rooms, where they are confined like nuns. This
would contribute greatly to their amusement, and
exhilarate their spirits. Every sensible man should
encourage the fair sex to follow this pursuit. What
would this world be without their help, to alleviate
its burdens ? It would appear a barren waste. It
would no longer be a wide-spread garden of Eden,
nor an earthly paradise within the reach of our en-
joyments. May the fruits and flowers of it, reared
and presented by their fair hands, ever operate as
a charm in ensuring the attentions and unabating
regard of all men ! And of all good men it will.
In thus dictating to them, no embarrassment can
follow ; and, if they ever know of the liberty I thus
have taken, it will probably be when all embarrass-
ments are, with me, at an end. And I can only
further leave behind me a wish that health may
eternally blush their cheeks, and virtue their minds.
Next in consideration to the ladies, — who they
must in courtesy follow, — are the freeholders of this
favoured land. Such of these as, by their attain-
ments, arrive at the degree of gentlemen, are, or
ought to be, the pride and glory of every civilised
country in the world. Placed in opulence and
independence, they are, and must be looked up to
as, the patrons of every virtue in the people, who,
in their station of life, may need such help to en-
courage them. May gentlemen never lose sight
of this important duty, and ever be able to stem
the torrent of gambling and dissipation ; so that
their ancient mansions may remain in their names

212 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

for ever, as pledges of their worth, and as orna-
ments to the country. Without their countenance,
arts and sciences, and artisans, would languish, in-
dustry would he paralized, and barbarism again rear
its benumbed hands and stupid head. It is to be
hoped that the business of their wine vaults, their
horses, and their dogs, may cease to be the main busi-
ness of their lives, and only be looked to as matters
of amusement wherewith to unbend their minds.
And, as no man can, while he is in possession of
his faculties, rest in happiness unless he is exer-
cising them, and some hobby-horse must engage
his attention, it therefore becomes a question for
their consideration in what way they can best em-
ploy themselves. I would earnestly recommend
that gentlemen should endeavour to improve their
lands, and lay the foundation of fertilising them :
and instead of spending — perhaps squandering —
their money in follies abroad, as far as possible,
spend it at home. The late good and wise first
Lord Ravensworth used to say, there was nothing
grateful but the earth. " You cannot," said he, " do
too much for it ; it will continue to pay tenfold
the pains and labour bestowed upon it." Estates
eo managed would then exhibit the appearance of
clean-weeded nurseries. As an act of justice due
to the industrious farmer, he ought, on entering
upon his lease, to have his farm valued, and, when
his lease is out, valued again ; and, whatever im-
provements he may have made, ought to be paid
for on his leaving. I am well aware that these
remarks may not be relished by those whose pride,

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 213

dictated by the wish to domineer, will not give in
to this fair proposal, for fear of the independent
spirit it might rear ; but it must be allowed that
the landlord could come to no loss by it, and
that the community would be greatly benefited by
the adoption of such a plan. Those gentlemen
who have moor lands, however exposed and bleak
they may be, may yet do something to make
them more productive, by enclosing them with dry
stone dykes, beset and bound with ivy, and inter-
sected with whin hedges ;* and this shelter would
form a bield for sheep and cattle, and besides would
produce grass both in quantity and quality such
as never grew there before.

The chief offices which gentlemen and freeholders
are called upon to fulfil are, member of Parliament,
magistrate, and juryman. The first is the most
important ; but, indeed, in that as well as the others,
the requisite ingredients are honesty and intelli-
gence. If we look at the wretched tools which
boroughmongers obtrude upon the nation, we may
anxiously look to the importance of electing gentle-
men who will unceasingly and boldly oppose such
men ever being allowed to sit as representatives.
But these have already gone far on the road towards
paralysing the British constitution, and establishing
on its ruins an oligarchy, which is the worst and
most odious of all governments.

In the troublesome and gratuitous office of ma-
gistrate, great sagacity and penetration are re-
)

* The very clippings of which (as noticed before) would be health-
ful fodder for both sheep and cattle.

214 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

quisite to enable the holders, in their political
capacity, to discriminate between stretching too far
the, perhaps, ill-defined, and often arbitrary laws,
beyond the due bounds prescribed by justice and
mercy. They ought to detest being made the tools
of despotic acts of corruption, and being like Turkish
Bashaws spread over the provinces. In their civil
capacities, matters come more nearly home to them ;
and in this they have much need of cool deliber-
ation, as well as extreme vigilence, for without these
there would be no such thing as living in peace
while such numbers of the dregs of the people remain
in ignorance and depravity. These latter do not
know the meaning of either religion or morality,
and it is only the strong arm of the law that can
keep people of this description in order. Their evi-
dence ought always to be suspected. Oaths have
little weight : they are so used to them. One of our
poets says, —

" Of all the nauseous complicated crimes

" Which both infest and stigmatise the time*,

" There's none which can with impious oaths compare,

" Where vice and folly have an equal share.1'

But, bad as these reprobate oaths are, there are others
which I think are still worse ; and these are the
numerous oaths used, and indeed imposed, on so
many and on such improper occasions, where Omni-
potence is impiously appealed to in all the little dirty
transactions between man and man. It would be
well to remember that an honest man's word is as
good as his oath, — and so is a rogue's too. Surely
some remedy might be fallen upon to check these

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 215

swearing vices ; especially perjury, bearing false wit-
ness, as well as when a man is proved to have broken
his word and his honour.

There is another vice, of an odious complexion,
advancing with rapid strides to enormity, which
cries aloud to be checked. Bad men, with hardened
effrontery, only laugh at their breaking down every
barrier to modesty and virtue, and thus disrobing
innocence, and rendering deformed that which ought
to be the brightest feature of civilisation. The crime
to which I allude needs only to be examined to con-
vince any one of its cruelty to the fair sex, and its
extensively demoralising influence on society. Let
any man ask himself how he would feel were his
daughter or his sister to be betrayed. This question
ought to be fairly canvassed. Although it will be
allowed that men, devoid of honour and modesty,
who have let loose their unbridled, bad passions, will
not be easily stopped in their career, yet, notwith-
standing, this evil may be, by the strong arm of the
law, greatly banished from the land, and innate mo-
desty planted in its stead.

All men and women in health, and of good cha-
racter, ought to be countenanced in marrying ; and
it is for them to consider whether they can properly
rear and educate a family ; and, should there be an
over- abundant population, then colonisation might
be resorted to at the public expense ; and this globe
will be found large enough to hold additional mil-
lions upon millions of people. There are few con-
tracts between human beings which should be more
delicate than that of marriage. It is an engage-

210 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

ment of the utmost importance to individuals and
to society, and which of all others ought to be the
most unbiassed; for it cannot be attended with
honour, nor blessed with happiness, if it has not
its origin in mutual affection. The rules to be
observed in thus selecting and fixing the choice
are few, simple, and easily understood. Both males
and females, if of unsound constitution, ought to
forbear matrimony. It is the duty of every man
to endeavour to get a healthy woman for the sake
of his children, and an amiable one for his own
domestic comfort. The fair sex should observe the
like rules. If a woman marries a man who has
broken down his constitution by his own dissipation,
or has imbibed a tainted one from his parents, she
must not be surprised at becoming a nurse to him
and his nerveless, puny, offspring. One cannot
help wondering at the uncommon pains a gentle-
man will take in buying a horse, to see that the
animal is perfectly sound, and without blemish, and
that he should not take the same pains in choosing a
wife, which is of infinitely more importance to him.
He, perhaps to repair his shattered fortune, will marry
any woman if she has plenty of money. She may,
indeed, be the innocent heir to the full-charged
hereditary diseases of a pair of voluptuous citizens,
just as that may happen to be. No gentleman need
to look far from his home, to be enabled to meet
with an helpmate, possessing every requisite to
make him happy ; but, if he cannot meet with such
a one, or cannot please himself in his own neigh-
bourhood, he had better travel in search of one

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 217

from Land's End to John o' Groat's House, than
not get a proper partner as the mother of his
children.

I have often thought that the children of gentle-
men— boys particularly — are too soon put to school
under improper restraints, and harassed with edu-
cation before their minds are fit for it. Were they
sent to the edge of some moor, to scamper about
amongst whins and heather, under the care of some
good old man — some mentor — who would teach them
a little every day, without embarrassing them —
they would there, in this kind of preparatory school,
lay in a foundation of health, as well as education.
If they were thus allowed to run wild by the sides
of burns — to fish, to wade, and to splash in — they
would soon find their minds intently employed in
sports and pleasures of their own choosing. It
would be found that youth so brought up, besides
thus working out any little hereditary ailments,
would never forget the charms of the country, which
would impart to them a flow of spirits through life
such as very few, or none, brought up in a town ever
know, and, besides this, lay in a strong frame work
on which to build a nervous constitution, befitting
the habitation of an energetic mind and a great soul.
Let any one look at the contrast between men thus
brought up, and the generality of early-matured
Lilliputian plants, and he will soon see, with very
few exceptions, the difference, both in body and
mind, between them.

CHAPTER XX.

THE game laws have for ages past been a miser-
able source of contention between those rendered
unqualified by severe and even cruel game laws,
and parties who had influence to get these laws
enacted for their own exclusive privilege of kill-
ing the game. To convince the intelligent poor
man that the fowls of the air were created only
for the rich is impossible, and will for ever remain
so. If it be pleaded that, because the game are
fed on the lands of the latter, they have the ex-
clusive right to them, this would appear to be carry-
ing the notions of the sacredness of property too far ;
for even this ought to have its bounds ; but were this
conceded, as property is enjoyed by a rental, and
as the farmers feed the game, they would appear
to belong to them more properly than to any one
else. I own I feel great repugnance in saying
anything that might have a tendency to curtail the
healthy enjoyments of the country gentleman, in his
field sports, which his fortune and his leisure enable
him so appropriately to pursue ; at the same time it is
greatly to be regretted that anything — any over-
stretched distinctions — should ever happen to make

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 219

a breach between the poor and the rich. It is,
however, to be wished that the unqualified man
may find his attention engaged, and his mind ex-
cited in some other way (or by his business) than
that of becoming a poacher. The strange propen-
sity, however unaccountable, in almost all men TO
KILL, and the pleasurable excitement to do so, is
equally strong in the poacher as in the gentleman
sportsman. This excitement, or an extreme desire
to exhilarate the spirits, and to give them energy,
as well as pleasure, pervades more or less, the minds
of all mankind, and shows itself in every species of
gambling, from cock-fighting, dog and man fight-
ing, hunting, horse-racing, and even up to the
acme of excitement — or excitement run mad — that
of horrid war. I wish something more rational and
better could be contrived to whet the mind and to
rouse its energies ; for certain it is that " the heart
that never tastes pleasure shuts up, grows stiff, and
incapable of enjoyment." The minds of men ought
therefore, to be unbent at certain times, — especially
in some constitutions, — to prevent their becoming
nerveless and hypochondriacal, the worst of all dis-
eases, in which the mind sees everything with an ob-
liquity of intellect, and creates numberless cruel and
imaginary evils which continually surround and em-
barras it. Only let a man who cannot employ him-
self with some hobby or other know that he is
provided for, and has nothing to do, and it will
soon be seen how ennui, with benumbing steps, will
thrust itself upon him, and what a stupid and un-
happy being he is.

220 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

If I have reasoned correctly in the foregoing
observations, it is, then, desirable that sports and
pastimes should be resorted to that might, in many
cases, turn out to public good. For this purpose,
I have often thought that small sums might be
subscribed and collected to be given as a prize to
the best shot at a mark. The utility and national
purpose of this scheme may at some time be felt ;
for, so long as surrounding despots can gather to-
gether immense mercenary armies, they ought to
be effectually guarded against, and they certainly
might be as effectually checked by hundreds of thou-
sands of riflemen, (including the militia), thus trained
for the defence of the kingdom, at a comparatively
small expense. They might have their bullets made
of baked clay, which would probably be as efficient
as those made of lead, and cost almost nothing.

The last subject I shall notice, as being kept up
by unequal and unjust laws, is the fisheries, through-
out the kingdom. The laws made respecting them
originated in the times of feudal tyranny, when
"might was right," and everything was carried
with a high hand. It was then easy for an over-
bearing aristocracy, by their influence, to get
grants and charters made entirely on their own be-
half. The rights of the community were set at
nought, or were treated with contempt. But those
days are passed away ; the march of intellect is
spreading over the world ; and all public matters
are now viewed with feelings of a very different
kind than when such laws were made, and which
ought to have been repealed long since ; but they

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. ' 221

are still in force, and will continue so as long as
the potent feelings of overstretched self-interest
are allowed to guide those who have the power to
keep the grasp of this their antiquated hold : for
such can hear no reason against their private in-
terest, however unanswerable it may be. No rea-
sonable plea can ever be set up, to show that the
fish of rivers ought to be the private property of
any one. Can it be pretended that because a river
or a rivulet, passes through an estate, whether the
owner of it will or not, that the fish which breed
in it, or \vhich live in it, ought to be his? They
are not like the game, which are all fed by the far-
mer, for fish cost nobody anything ; therefore, in
common justice, they ought to belong to the public,
and ought to be preserved for the public good, in
every county through which the rivers pass, and
be let at a rental from the clerk of the peace, and
the money arising therefrom applied to making
bridges and roads, or for county or other rates.
Stewards ought to be appointed to receive the rents,
and a committee of auditors elected annually, by
ballot, as a check upon the management of the whole.
If the fisheries were not thus rented, the public
would derive little benefit from such an immense
supply of food ; for without they were thus disposed
of each county would soon be over- run with such
numbers of poachers as would become intolerable.
All this, however, ought to be well considered ;
for, notwithstanding the selfish principle which dic-
tated the original grants of the fisheries, — long since
obtained, — the present possessors are not to blame,

222 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

and suddenly to deprive any man of what he has
been accustomed to receive may be deemed a harsh
measure, and in some cases a cruel one ; therefore
some equitable sum should be paid to the owners at
once, as a remuneration in lieu of all future claims ;
as fish ought not to be considered as an inheritance
to descend to the heirs of any one.

From about the year 1700 to '67, when a boy, I
was frequently sent by my parents to purchase a
salmon from the fishers of the " strike" at Eltring-
ham ford. At that time, I never paid more, and
often less, than three halfpence per pound (mostly
a heavy, guessed weight, about which they were
not exact). Before, or perhaps about this time, there
had always been an article inserted in every inden-
ture in Newcastle, that the apprentice was not to be
obliged to eat salmon above twice a week, and the
like bargain was made upon hiring ordinary ser-
vants. It need not be added that the salmo tribe
then teemed in abundance in the Tyne, and there
can be little doubt that the same immense numbers
would return to it again were proper measures pur-
sued to facilitate their passage from the sea to breed.
All animals, excepting fish, only increase, but they
multiply, and that in so extraordinary a degree as
to set all calculation at defiance. It is well known
that they ascend every river, rivulet, and burn, in
search of proper places to deposit their spawn ; and
this is the case both with those kinds which quit the
sea, and those which never leave the fresh water.
In their thus instinctively searching for proper
spawning places, they make their way up to such

MEMOIK OF THOMAS BEWICK.

shallows as one would think it impossible for any
animal wanting legs and feet ever to crawl up to ;
therefore every improper weir or dam that obstructs
their free passage ought to be thrown down, as they
are one great cause of the salmon quitting the pro-
per spawning places in the river, to return to spawn
in the sea as well as they can ; where, it is fair to
conclude, their fry, or their roe, are swallowed up
by other fish, as soon as they, or it, are spread
abroad along the shores.

It will readily be perceived, that the fishers' weirs
are made chiefly with a view of preventing their
neighbour fishers from coming in for their due share ;
but, were the fisheries let, as before named, the dif-
ferent fishing places would then be planned out by
the stewards, as well as remedying other faults with
an impartial hand. There are, besides weirs and
dams, other causes which occasion the falling off of
the breed of salmon, by greatly preventing them
from entering and making their way up rivers for
the purpose of spawning. They have a great aver-
sion to passing through impure water, and even
snow-water stops them ; for they will lie still, and
wait until it runs off. The filth of manufactories is
also very injurious, as well as the refuse which is
washed off the uncleaned streets of large towns by
heavy rains. "Were this filth in all cases led away
and laid on the land, it would be of great value to
the farmer, and persons should be appointed to do
that duty, not in a slovenly or lazy manner, but with
punctuality and despatch. In this the health and
comfort of the inhabitants of towns ought to be con-

224 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

sidered as of great importance to them, as well as
that of keeping the river as pure as possible on ac-
count of the fish.

Should the evils attendant upon weirs and dams,
and other matters, be rectified, then the next neces-
sary step to be taken should be the appointment of
river conservators and vigilant guards to protect the
kipper, or spawning fish, from being killed while
they are in this sickly and imbecile state. They
are then so easily caught, that, notwithstanding they
are very unwholesome as food, very great numbers
are taken in the night, which are eaten by poor
people, who do not know how pernicious they are.
But, should all these measures be found not fully to
answer public expectation, the time now allowed for
fishing might be shortened, and in some years, if
ever found necessary, the fishing might be laid in
for a season.

The next important question for consideration, is
respecting what can be done to prevent the destruc-
tion of salmon on their first entering a river, and
while they are in full perfection, by their most power-
ful and most conspicuously destructive enemy, the
porpoise.

I have seen a shoal of porpoises, off Tynemouth,
swimming abreast of each other, and thus occupying
a space of apparently more than a hundred yards
from the shore, seawards, and crossing the mouth of
the river, so that no salmon could enter it. They
went backward and forward for more than a mile,
along shore, and with such surprising rapidity that,
in their course, they caused a foam to arise, like the

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 225

breakers of the sea in a storm. Might not a couple
of steam packets, with strong nets, sweep on shore
hundreds of these at a time ? Perhaps by giving
premiums for catching them they might be greatly
thinned, and their tough skins be tanned, or other-
wise prepared, so as to be applied to some use. Oil
might be obtained partly to pay for the trouble of
taking this kind of fish ; and, lastly, they might be
used as an article of food. They were eaten formerly
even by the gentry : and why not make the attempt
to apply them to that purpose again ? Perhaps, by
pickling or drying them, and by other aids of cook-
ery, they might prove good and wholesome ; for
every animal in season is so, which, when out of sea-
son, is quite the reverse.

If the parent fishes of the salmo tribe were pro-
tected, the fry would soon be seen to swarm in in-
credible numbers, and perhaps a pair of them would
spawn more than all the anglers from the source to
the mouth of any river could fairly catch in one sea-
son. Having from a boy been an angler, it is with
feelings painfully rankling in my mind that I live in
dread (from hints already given) of this recreation
being abridged or stopped. Angling has from time
immemorial been followed, and ought to be indulged
in unchecked by arbitrary laws, as the birthright of
everyone, but particularly of the sedentary and the
studious. It is cruel to think of debarring the fair
angler, by any checks whatever ; the salmon fishers
may, indeed, begrudge to see such fill his creel with
a few scores of the fry ; because what is taken might
in a short time return to them as full-grown salmon

226

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BKWICK.

(for all fish, as well as birds, return to the same
places where they were bred) ; but, . for reasons
before-named, this selfishness should not be attended
to for a moment, and the fisheries ought to be taken
subject to this kind of toll or imaginary grievance.

I have always felt extremely disgusted at what is
called preserved waters (except fish ponds) ; that is,
where the fish in these waters are claimed exclusively
as private property. The disposition which sets up
claims of this kind is the same as would — if it could
— sell the sea, and the use of the sun and the rain.
Here the angler is debarred by the surly, selfish
owner of the adjoining land, the pleasure of enjoy-
ing the most healthful and comparatively the most
innocent of all diversions. It unbends the minds of
the sedentary and the studious, whether it may be
those employed at their desks, or " the pale artist
plying his sickly trade," and enables such to return
to their avocations, or their studies, with reno-
vated energy, to labour for their own or for the
public good. But as any thing, however good in
itself, may be abused, therefore some regulations
should be laid down as a guide to the fair angler in
this his legitimate right, and some check imposed
upon the poacher, who might be inclined to stop at
nothing, however unfair. I think Waltonian socie-
ties would be all-sufficient to manage these matters, if
composed of men of good character and good sense.
There ought to be one of these societies established in
the principal town in each district, and to have its
honorary members branched out into the more dis-
tant p;ir(s. Perhaps a fine imposed, or even the

MEMOIR OF THOMAS HEWICK. ' 227

frowns of the society, might be sufficient to deter
poachers. The object ought to be, to regulate the
times for angling, and to discountenance, or send to
Coventry, such as spend almost the whole of their
time in " beating the streams." They ought also to
keep a watchful eye over such as care not how or in
what manner they take fish, so as they may only get
plenty of them. The " Honourable Society of Wal-
tonians" ought to use every means in their power to
protect the " glittering inhabitants of the waters"
from being unfairly taken or destroyed. Fought
nets ought to be prohibited, as well as all catching
of the salmon fry in mill races, by putting thorn
bushes into them, to stop their passing through, and
then letting off the water. In this way, a cart load
of these have often been known to be taken at once.
Another method, still more destructive than this, is
far too often put in practice ; that is, what is called
liming the burns. This ought to be utterly put a
stop to by severe punishments. A clown, from ignor-
ance,— but, perhaps, from something worse, — puts a
'few clots of unslaked, or quick, lime into a pcol, or
hole, in a burn, for the sake of killing a few trouts
that he sees in it ; and thus poisons the water run-
ning down to the rivulet, or the river, destroying
every living creature to such a distance as may seem
incredible. The attentive angler must sometimes have
observed the almost invisible, incipient, living spawn
in thousands, appearing only like floating mud, sun-
ning themselves on a shallow sand-bank, which, as
soon as the water thus poisoned reaches them, they
drop down like mud indeed, and are no more seen.

228 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

How vividly do recollections of the enjoyment
angling has afforded me return to the mind, now
when those days have passed away, never more to
return. Like the pleasing volume of the patriarch
of anglers — Izaac Walton — volumes might yet be
written to point out and to depicture the beautiful
scenery of woods and water sides, in the midst of
which the pleasures attendant upon this exhilarating
and health-restoring, hungry, exercise is pursued.
How many narratives of the exploits of the days thus
spent might be raked up to dwell upon, when they
are all over, like a pleasing dream !

Well do I remember mounting the stile which
gave the first peep of the curling or rapid stream,
over the intervening, dewy, daisy-covered holme —
boundered by the early sloe, and the haw thorn -
blossomed hedge — and hung in succession with fes-
toons of the wild rose, the tangling woodbine, and
the bramble, with their bewitching foliage — and
the fairy ground — and the enchanting music of the
lark, the blackbird, the throstle, and the blackcap,
rendered soothing and plaintive by the cooings of
the ringdove, which altogether charmed, but per-
haps retarded, the march to the brink of the scene
of action, with its willows, its alders, or its sallows —
where early I commenced the days' patient campaign.
The pleasing excitements of the angler still follow
him, whether he is engaged in his pursuits amidst
scenery such as I have attempted to describe, or on the
heathery moor, or by burns guttered out by moun-
tain torrents, and boundered by rocks or grey moss-
covered stones, which form the rapids and the pools

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 229

in which is concealed his beautiful yellow and spot-
ted prey. Here, when tired and alone, I used to open
my wallet and dine on cold meat and coarse rye
bread, with an appetite that made me smile at the
trouble people put themselves to in preparing the
sumptuous feast ; the only music in attendance was
perhaps the murmuring burn, the whistling cry of
the curlew, the solitary water ouzel, or the whirring
wing of the moor game. I would, however, re-
commend to anglers not to go alone ; a trio of
them is better, and mutual assistance is often ne-
cessary.

It is foreign to my purpose to give any history,
in this place, of the various kinds of fishes which
anglers pursue ; of this there is no need, for, I think,
more treatises on this subject than on any other
have been printed, to direct the angler to perfection
in his art. But I cannot help noticing, as matter of
regret, that more pains have not been taken to mul-
tiply fish, and to increase the breed of eels, as every
permanent pool might so easily be fully stocked with
them ; and the latter are, when properly cooked,
the most delicious of all fish kind. Walton has been
particular in describing his mode of cooking them ;
but, unless he killed them beforehand, his method
is a very cruel one.

In thus dwelling on subjects which stimulate man
eagerly to pursue the work of destruction, and to ex-
tend his power over those animals of which he con-
siders himself as the lord and master, and that they
are destined to contribute to his pleasures or to his
support, yet he ought not totally to forget that what

230

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

is sport to him is death to them, and that the less of
cruelty the better.

I think, had I not begun so early to be an angler,
and before feelings of tenderness had entered the
mind, my eagerness for angling might have been, on
this score, somewhat abated ; but I argued myself
into a belief that fish had little sense, and scarcely
any feeling, and they certainly have very much less
of either than any of the land animals ; but we see
through all nature that one kind of animal seems
destined to prey upon another, and fishes are the
most voracious of all.

CHAPTER XXI.

NOT having seen Edinburgh since August, 1776,
I longed to see it again, and set out on this journey
on the llth August, 1823, and went through by
coach on that day. I always thought highly of
Edinburgh and its bold and commanding situation ;
but the new town, or city of palaces, as it is
sometimes called, had been added to it since I had
seen it. But all these splendid buildings are of tri-
vial import compared with the mass of intellect and
science which h id taken root and had been nurtered
and grown up to such a height as to rival, and per-
haps to outstrip, every other city in the world. My
stay was only a fortnight ; and this was a busy time,
both as to its being taken up with the kindness and
hospitality met with everywhere as well as in visit-
ing its various scientific and other establishments.
It being at a vacation season, when most of the
learned professors were out of town, I saw only
Professors Jameson and Wallace, and was often at
the table of the former, which was surrounded by
men of learning and science who visited him from
all parts of the world. The attentions of Professor
Wallace were most friendlv. He shewed me the use

232 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

of the Eidograph, au instrument which he had in-
vented for the purpose of either reducing or enlarg-
ing a drawing or design most accurately to any size
that might be required. I visited Patrick Neil,
Esq., and was much pleased with seeing the tamed
birds and other curiosities which embellished his
little paradise. His uncommon kindness will ever
remain impressed upon my memory. I also often
called upon my friend, Mr. Archibald Constable,
accounted the first bookseller in Scotland ; and, al-
though he was unwell at the time, I partook of his
kind attentions. I visited the splendid exhibition
of paintings of the late Sir Henry Raeburn, Bart.,
the rooms of Mr. William Allan, historical painter,
Mr. Stewart, engraver, and those of several others
who were absent. With other artists, who were
known to ine, I spent some time in several calls.
These calls were upon my old friend, Mr. Nasmyth,
landscape painter ; my townsman, Mr. Wm. Nichol-
son; Mr. James Kirkwood, now up in years, but who
had in his prime led the way to excellence in en-
graving. I also paid my respects to the son and
successor of my kind friend of former days, the late
Mr. Hector Gavin ; and the same to the sons and
successors of the late Mr. D. Lizars. All these had
attained to that degree of excellence which did
honour to Edinburgh, now the seat of learning, and
rendered brilliant by the gems of art, and by the
science with which it is adorned. I have almost
forgotten to name my being introduced to Messrs.
Ballantyne and Robertson, lithographic printers/
Whilst I was in their office, the latter pressed me

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 233

to make a sketch on the stone for him. I was then
preparing to leave Edinburgh, and the only time
left me was so short that I was obliged to draw this
sketch before breakfast the next morning, and the
proofs were taken from it on the same day. In
doing this, though very slight, I could see what that
manner of making prints was capable of. I left
Edinburgh on the 23rd August, 1823, and I think
I shall see Scotland no more.

After my journeys (long ago) to Cherryburn
were ended, I used, as formerly, seldom to miss going
in the mornings to Elswick Lane, to drink whey, or
buttermilk, and commonly fell in with a party who
went there for the same purpose ; and this kind of
social intercourse continued for many years. I also,
at that time, on the Sunday afternoons, went to visit
and contemplate in the church-yards, and there give
vent to my mind, in feelings of regret, and in re-
peating a kind of soliloquy over the graves of those
with whom I had been intimate.

" And then I lov'd to haunt lone burial places,
Pacing the church-yard path with noiseless tread,

To pore on new-made graves for ghastly traces, —
Brown crumbling bones of the forgotten dead."

I recounted in my memory the numbers of my friends
thus put by to be forgotten, amongst the millions of
others who had been for longer or shorter periods
also in this world, and who have passed away into
Eternity. Even the "frail memorial" — erected to
"perpetuate the memory" of those who had been
esteemed — seemed to be of little avail, and their me-
mentos, as well as those decked out with ornamented

234 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

flatteries, would, in time, all go to decay, and be no
longer remembered than until all who once knew
them were also dead ; and the numbers of both the
one and the other appeared to me to be so immense
that to estimate them seemed impossible, and like
attempting to count the grains of sand on the sea
beach. It is thus that the grave swallows all up
without distinction. The true estimate of their vari-
ous merits can only be known to the Creator of all.
It appears clear to those whose souls habitually
adore and commune with Him, while they remain in
this state of probation, that He will, in His infinite
goodness, wisdom, truth, justice, and mercy — place
everyone, on quitting this mortal abode, in the un-
knowable worlds befitting their reception.

Besides the temporary mementos dedicated to pri-
vate worth, others of a different character may have
their use. Monuments might therefore be erected
to those who have, by their virtues and patriotism,
promoted the happiness of mankind. It is a debt of
gratitude due to the Author of our being for the loan
of departed worth, and may stimulate others " to do
so likewise." The posthumous praise or blame of
the world is to them of no avail ; they are done with
all things on this side of Time, and are out of the
reach of both the one and the other.

While I was pursuing my ramblings in the High-
lands, and beheld with admiration the great project-
ing rocks so often to be seen holding up their bare
heads to the winds, it struck me that it was a great
pity they could not be converted to some use : and
the best I could think of was, that the illustrious

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 235

names of Wallace and Bruce — as well as those of
their other worthies — should be inscribed upon them,
to hold up their heads with these names to the sun
for ever. I have often thought since, that the bare
rocks in other parts of our islands might with good
effect be filled up in the same way. The first name
to be fixed upon ought to be that of Alfred the \
Great, followed by many others — statesmen, patriots,
philosophers, poets, &c. — who have shone out like
polished diamonds, and who have embellished and
illumined this country, and civilized the world.
Their venerated names, with their maxims, or quota-
tions from their works, would fill up many of these
rocks, which are waiting for them, and might make
all who beheld them inclined to profit by, or to imi-
tate, their virtues. How many incomparably good,
wise, and beautiful texts from the Bible might also
with great propriety be added to fill up every vacant
spot. I often lamented that I had not the means to
enable me to be at the expense of getting such quo-
tations inscribed in this way. Often, while angling
on a hot, sunny day, which slackened my sport, I
have sat down by the water side, and thought over
some of the beautiful lines of our poets, fit to be ap-
plied in this way ; and remember my having thought
of those lines of Cunningham, which I would, if I
could have afforded it, have committed to the care of
a rock. He says : —

" How smooth that rapid river glides

Progressive to the deep !
The poppies pendent o'er its sides

Have lull'd the waves to sleep.

236 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

" Pleasure's intoxicated sons !

Ye indolent ! ye gay !
Reflect, — for as the river runs

Time wings his trackless way."

How easy would it be for gentlemen to get the names
of the illustrious dead thus inscribed upon rocks ; or,
where that could not be done, to erect pillars, or
small obelisks, over copious springs (like the holy
wells of old), to contain such inscriptions as those I
have hinted at, and thus leave these their marks be-
hind them ; and which would long continue to put
the passing stranger in mind of some religious,
moral, or patriotic sentiment ; and, while he was re-
freshing himself by quenching his thirst, he might
be put in mind that —

" Man wants but little here below,
Nor wants that little long."

CHAPTER XXII.

HAVING already noticed my beginnings, or first
efforts, in engraving on wood ; and as at that time
this department of the arts was at the very lowest
ebb in this country, and, I believe, also in every
other country in Europe, it may perhaps be of some
use, or at least may excite some curiosity, to know
the part I took in renewing, or bringing into use,
this to me new art, as far as I was able, with the
slender means in my hands, and the many difficulties
I had to contend with and surmount, before anything
like an approach towards perfection could be arrived
at. I ought first distinctly to state that, at that time,
it never entered into my head that it was a branch of
art that would stand pre-eminent for utility, or that
it could ever in the least compete with engraving on
copper. I ought also to observe that no vain notions
of my arriving at any eminence ever passed through
my mind, and that the sole stimulant with me was
the pleasure I derived from imitating natural objects
(and I had no other patterns to go by), and the
opportunity it afforded me of making and drawing
my designs on the wood, as the only way I had in
my power of giving vent to a strong propensity to

238 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

gratify my feelings in this way. In process of time,
however, as I began to improve, and seeing the
practical use printers were making of wood cuts,
the utility and importance of them began to be un-
folded to my view ; aud the more I have since
thought upon the subject, the more I am confirmed
in the opinions I have entertained, that the use of
wood cuts will know no end, or, so long as the im-
portance of printing is duly appreciated and the
liberty of the press held sacred.

The first difficulty I felt, as I proceeded, was in
getting the cuts I had executed printed so as to look
anything like my drawings on the blocks of wood,
nor corresponding to the labour I had bestowed upon
the cutting of the designs. At that time pressmen
were utterly ignorant as to any proper effect that
was to be produced ; or even, if one of them pos-
sessed any notions of excellence beyond the common
run of workmen, his materials for working were so
defective that he could not execute even what he
himself wished to accomplish. The common pelt
balls then in use, so daubed the cut, and blurred and
overlapped its edges, that the impression looked dis-
gusting. To remedy this defect, I was obliged care-
fully to shave down the edges round about ; and this
answered the end I had in view. The next difficulty
was worse to surmount, and required a long time to
get over it ; and that was, to lower down the surface
on all the parts I wished to appear pale, so as to give
the appearance of the required distance ; and this
process will always continue to call forth and to ex-
ercise the judgment of every wood engraver, even

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. '239

after he knows what effect his careful pressman may
be enabled to produce, from this his manner of cut-
ting. On this all artists must form their own ideas.
I think no exact description can be laid down as a
rule for others to go by : they will by practice have
to find out this themselves. While I was patiently
labouring and contending with difficulties which I
could not overcome, I was shown some impressions
from wood cuts done long ago, with cross-hatching,
such as I thought I should never be able to execute.
These were from wood cuts by Albert Durer, and
perhaps some others of his day, in the collection of
the Rev. John Brand, the Newcastle Historian ; and
from these I concluded that Albert Durer must have
had some very easy way of loading his blocks with
such an useless profusion of cross-hatching, or he
would not have done them so, unless, indeed, he had
found out some easy means of etching the wood (or
perhaps metal plates), quite unknown to me ; but, if
otherwise, I then, in changing my opinion, could
think of no other way than that he must have cut
his blocks on the plank or side way of the wood,
on which it would be more easy to pick out the inter-
stices between the squares, or the lozenge- shaped
lines, than as I (at that time) thought it possible to
do on the end way of the wood. One of these plank
blocks, said to have been drawn by Albert Durer,
was shown to me by my kind friend George Allan,
Esq., of the Grange, Darlington. The drawing,
which was done with great accuracy, seemed to me
to have been done by a crow-quill, with a kind of
varnish ink, the strokes of which, from their regu-

240 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

larity, looked as if they had been printed from a
well-executed copper plate, and transferred to the
block. After labouring for some time, endeavouring
to produce the like effect on my blocks, on the end
way of the wood, not indeed to my satisfaction, I felt
mortified in not succeeding to my wish ; and I then
began to think the impressions must have been
printed from two blocks. This, indeed, I soon found
to be quite easy to do, as well as being beautifully
correct ; and any artist may see this in a few
minutes, by cutting parallel lines on a piece of wood,
and from it taking, by his hand, an impression on a
piece of paper, and then again inking the same cut,
and printing it in the same way, either directly in a
cross or in an oblique direction, upon the first im-
pression. This can also easily be done, from two
cuts, at a printing press, and is much easier to do,
and better than the labour necessarily bestoAved upon
one cross-hatched block. When I had accomplished
this, and satisfied myself that the process was both
simple and perfect, as to obtaining the object I so
much wanted, my curiosity on this score ceased, and
I then concluded that in this way the cross-hatching
might be set aside as a thing of no use at all. The
artists indeed of the present day have brought it to
such a pitch of perfection that I do not know that
it can be carried any further ; and in this they have
also been so marvellously aided by the improved
methods now used in printing their cuts, that one
would be led to conclude that this department has
also attained to perfection ; and, had this not been
the case, the masterly execution of wood cuts, either

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. ' 241

by crossed lines, or otherwise, would have continued
to be beheld with disgust or contempt. I have long
been of opinion that the cross-hatching of wood cuts,
for book work, is a waste of time ; as every desired
effect can be much easier obtained by plain parallel
lines. The other way is not the legitimate ob-
ject of wood engraving. Instead of imitating
the manner of copper etchings, at a great cost
of labour and time, on the wood, such drawings
might have been as soon etched on the copper at
once ; and, where a large impression of any publica-
tion was not required, the copper plate would have
cost less, and lasted long enough for the purpose
intended. I never could discover any additional
beauty or colour that the crossed strokes gave to the
impression, beyond the effect produced by plain pa-
rallel lines. This is very apparent when to a cer-
tainty the plain surface of the wood will print as
black as ink and balls can make it, without any
further labour at all ; and it may easily be seen that
the thinnest strokes cut upon the plain surface will
throw some light on the subject or design : and, if
these strokes are made wider and deeper, it will re-
ceive more light ; and if these strokes, again, are
made still wider, or of equal thickness to the black
lines, the colour these produce will be a grey ; and
the more the white strokes are thickened, the nearer
will they, in their varied shadings, approach to white,
and, if quite taken away, then a perfect white is ob-
tained. The methods I have pursued appear to me
to be the simple and easy perfection of wood engrav-

2i

242 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

ing for book printing, and, no doubt, will appear
better or worse according to the ability of the artist
who executes them. The first time I ever heard any-
thing about colour being produced by plain engraving
was in the compliments paid me by Dr. Thos. Stout,
for my engraving on his large silver box. The de-
vice, or design, I have now forgotten, but never what
he said on the occasion; and from that time I at-
tempted colour upon the wood ; and, though I felt
much difficulty in my attempts at producing it, yet
the principle is there, and will shine out under the
skill and management of any eminent engraver on
wood who is gifted with a painter's eye ; and his
work will be complete if seconded by a pressman of
ability, who may happen to have a talent and fellow-
feeling for the art.

I have before noticed my lowering down the sur-
face of the wood, in order to produce the effect of
distance, and the same thing holds good with every
figure where different shades of colour is desired.
Leaving the surface of the block without being pared
down at all, and relying only on the lines being left
thicker or smaller for producing the requisite depth
of shade, this surface thus left acts as a support to
the more delicate lines, which have been engraved
on the lowered part of the cut. After all the parts
are thus lowered, a further paring down of the edges
of the various figures which the cut contains may be
necessary to prevent their appearing as if surrounded
by a white line. The delicate lines thus lowered, go
as to print pale or distant parts, and thus protected

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 243

by the stronger lines left on the surface — a wood cut,
with care, will print an incredible number : how
many it may be difficult exactly to say ; but it once
happened that I had the opportunity given me of
guessing pretty nearly at this, from the calculation
of the late Mr. S. Hodgson, when he called upon me
with a gentleman (a stranger to me) who seemed
extremely curious to know everything respecting
engraving on wood. One of his queries was made
with a view of ascertaining how many impressions a
wood cut would print. Not having anything in
mind at the moment, to enable me to satisfy him, I
began to consider, and it then struck me that a little
delicate cut — a view of Newcastle — was done for Mr.
H. many years before, as a fac for his newspaper.
I then turned to the date in my ledger, when he
calculated exactly, and found it had printed above
900,000. This cut was continued in the newspaper
several years afterwards. It was protected in the
manner before noticed by a strong black line, or
border, surrounding it, within which the surface was
lowered previous to cutting the view. This cut is
still kept ; and, except being somewhat damaged by
being tossed about amongst other castaway cuts,
might, by being a little repaired, yet print many
thousands. This is mentioned with a view to show
the great length of time that cuts done in this way
will last, if they are carefully adjusted to the height
of the type, and kept out of the hands of ignorant,
rude pressmen.

I am of opinion that cuts done in the manner

244

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

called surface-cutting cannot stand anything like so
large an impression as when they are lowered thus ;
for the delicate lines, when left on the surface, must
soon break down from the heavy pressure to which
they are exposed.

UK

CHAPTER XXIII.

IT is foreign to my purpose to criticize the works
of brother artists of the present day. I behold
their excellent productions with pleasure ; in them
there is no falling oif: they surpass those of the
artists of the olden times. I cannot, however, help
lamenting that, in all the vicissitudes which the art
of wood engraving has undergone, some species of it
is lost and done away : I mean the large blocks with
the prints from them, so common to be seen when I
was a boy in every cottage and farm house through-
out the country. These blocks, I suppose, from their
size, must have been cut on the plank way on beach,
or some other kind of close-grained wood ; and from
the immense number of impressions from them, so
cheaply and extensively spread over the whole
country, must have given employment to a great
number of artists, in this inferior department of
wood cutting ; and must also have formed to them
an important article of traffic. These prints, which
were sold at a very lo\f price, were commonly illus-
trative of some memorable exploits, or were, perhaps,
the portraits of eminent men, who had distinguished
themselves in the service of their country, or in their

246 MEMOIR OF THOMAS HE WICK.

patriotic exertions to serve mankind. Besides these,
there were a great variety of other designs, often with
songs added to them of a moral, a patriotic, or a
rural tendency, which served to enliven the circle in
which they were admired. To enumerate the great
variety of these pictures would be a task. A constant
one in every house, was "King Charles' Twelve Good
Rules." Amongst others were representations of
remarkable victories at sea, and battles on land, often
accompanied with portraits of those who commanded,
and others who had borne a conspicuous part in these
contests with the enemy. The house at Ovingham,
where our dinner poke was taken care of when at
school, was hung round with views or representations
of the battles of Zondorf, and several others ; also
the portraits of Tom Brown, the valiant grenadier,
of Admiral Haddock, Admiral Benbow, and other
portraits of admirals. There was also a representa-
tion of the " Victory" man-of-war, of 100 guns,
commanded by Admiral Sir John Balchen, and fully
manned \vith 1,100 picked seamen and volunteers, all
of whom, with this uncommonly fine ship, were lost
— sunk to the bottom of the sea. This was accom-
panied by a poetical lament of the catastrophe, part
of which was —

" Ali ! hapless Victory, what avails
Tliy towering masts, tby spreading sails."

Some of the portraits, I recollect, now and then
to be met with, were very well done in this way, on
wood. In Mr. Gregson's kitchen, one of this charac-
ter hung against the wall many years. It was a

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 247

remarkably good likeness of Captain Coram. In
cottages everywhere were to be seen the " Sailor's
Farewell" and his "Happy Return," "Youthful
Sports," and the " Feats of Manhood," " The ;Bold
Archers Shooting at a Mark," " The Four Seasons,"
&c. Some subjects were of a funny — others of a
grave character. I think the last portraits I re-
member were of some of the rebel lords and "Duke
"Willy." These kind of wood cut pictures are long
since quite gone out of fashion, which I feel very
sorry for, and most heartily wish they could be re-
vived. It is desirable, indeed, that the subjects
should be well chosen ; for it must be of great im-
portance that such should be the case; as, whatever
can serve to instil morality and patriotism into the
minds of the whole people must tend greatly to pro-
mote their own happiness and the good of the com-
munity. All men, however poor they may be, ought
to feel that this is their country, as well as it is that
of the first nobleman of the land ; and, if so, they
will be equally as interested in its happiness and
prosperity.

There is another way, not yet indeed entered upon,
of similar import to the foregoing, in which prints
might with good effect be made of subjects fit to
embellish almost every house throughout our country :
and that is from wood blocks printed in colours, like
paper-hangings. Having seen some such done by
paper-stainers, so as almost to equal good paintings,
leads me to wish that this method could be pursued —
for the same ends as those already noticed. The
most remarkable productions of art of this kind from

248 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

blocks done to print in colours, like beautiful little
paintings, were sent to me by Gubitz, of Berlin ;
they might indeed be said to be perfection. Several
impressions from duplicate or triplicate blocks,
printed in this way, of a very large size, were also
given to me, as well as a drawing of the press from
which they were printed, many years ago, by Jean
Baptiste Jackson, who had been patronized by the
king of France ; but, whether these prints had been
done with the design of embellishing the walls of
houses in that country, I know not. They had been
taken from paintings of eminent old masters, and
were mostly Scripture pieces. They were well
drawn, and perhaps correctly copied from the origi-
nals, yet in my opinion none of them looked well.
Jackson left Newcastle quite enfeebled with age, and,
it was said, ended his days in an asylum, under the
protecting care of Sir Gilbert Elliot, bart., at some
place on the border near the Teviot, or on Tweed-
side.

Whether the speculations here noticed may be
thought worthy of being acted upon, I know not,
but it is not to any of the above noticed ways of
wood cutting that my attention is directed : it is,
in my ardent desire to see the stroke engraving on
wood carried to the utmost perfection, that I hope
the world will be gratified; and I trust the time
is not distant when its superior excellence will be
seen, particularly in landscape scenery, so as to sur-
pass copper-plate engravings. The effect to be pro-
duced by wood engraving has not, in that way, yet
been tried, nor its powers made apparent. This is,

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 249

I think, to be attained by two, or even more, blocks
being employed, on one print, so that a greater and
more natural effect — as to colour and softness — may
be produced. I am well aware that some difficulty
may arise, as to bringing off a clear impression of
fine strokes from so large a surface, but in this age
of mechanical improvement and invention, I think
this apparent difficulty will readily be got over.
Perhaps printing from a roller, instead of an even
down pull, may easily accomplish this business. I
have often thought, had William Wbollett been a
wood engraver, he would have shown its exellence
long ago : his prints from copper have not been
equalled ; but, from the nature of the wood, and the
effect it produces, he would have advanced a step
further, and on it have outdone his excellence on
copper. If I live, health and sight continued, I will
make the attempt to show that all this is not a
visionary theory. Should I not live to get this Me-
moir printed under my own inspection, — or whether
it will ever be printed at all, I know not, — but at
any rate the manuscript itself will show, were that
necessary, how ardently I have ever wished well to
arts and artists ; and though, in my endeavours to
show this, I have often been thwarted and disap-
pointed, yet I never lost sight of my object, nor be-
came disheartened in my struggles to fight through,
and surmount numberless difficulties and bars thrown
in my way.

I have already noticed my brother John, as my
first pupil, and therefore have little further to say
respecting him, only, that Nature seemed to have

2K

250

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

befitted him for becoming a first-rate artist ; but, at
the time he was with me, the thoughts of arriving at
excellence did not enter into our heads, and he left
the world at the time when wood engraving was
only beginning to be looked upon as a matter of any
interest. And, now when the time is fast approach-
ing for my winding up all my labours, I may be
allowed to name my own son and partner, whose
time has been taken up with attending to all the
branches of our business : and who, I trust, will not
let wood engraving go down ; and, though he has
not shown any partiality towards it, yet the talent is
there, and I hope he will call it forth.

CHAPTER XXIV.

How far I may venture further to obtrude my
opinions, or advice, on the notice of artists, particu-
larly engravers on wood, I know not, but they may
readily imagine that I cannot help feeling a deep in-
terest, and an ardent desire, that the art may long
nourish, and that those who follow it may feel happy
in the pursuit. Perhaps what I have already said
may not be uninteresting to some of them, and, if I
knew how I could go further, in any way that might
urge or stimulate them to feel enthusiasm for this
art, it should not be wanting ; for the wish, though
tottering on the down-hill of life, is extended beyond
the gra\e.

The sedentary artist ought, if possible, to have his
dwelling in the country, where he can follow his
business undisturbed, surrounded by pleasing rural
scenery, and the fresh air. He ought not to sit at
work too long at a time, but to unbend his mind
with some variety of employment ; for which pur-
pose it is desirable that artists, with their little cots,
shall also have each a garden attached, in which
they may find both exercise and amusement, and
only occasionally visit the city or the smoky town ;

252 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

and that chiefly for the purpose of meetings with
their brother artists, in which they may make an in-
terchange of their sentiments, and commune with
each other as to whatever regards the arts. "Were
I allowed to become their M.D., my prescription
should cost them nothing, and be easily taken — it
being only attentively to observe two or three rules,
the first of which is, that they will contrive to be
very hungry once a day, never to overload the
stomach, nor indulge to satiety in eating anything.
By persisting in this, they will find their reward in
great good health, and a vigorous, unclouded mind :
by a little observation they may clearly see that a
great portion of mankind " live to eat" — not eat to
live.* To say more to men of sense and artists, —
which a desire to contribute everything in my power
towards their peace of mind and happiness prompts
me to do, — I may be allowed to add, that those of
them who have attained to eminence will find them-
selves pursued by envy ; for " There is no species of
hatred greater than that which a man of mediocrity
bears to a man of genius ; his reach of thought, his
successful combinations, and his sudden felicities are
never forgiven by those whom nature has fashioned
in a less perfect mould/'

It is the duty of parents and guardians to endea-
vour, with the utmost care, to discover the capacities
and fitness of youth for any business before they en-

* All youths, but especially those who follow sedentary employments,
ought to exercise with dumb-bells half-an-hour or so before going to
bed, and at other times when convenient. Were this more practised,
we should hear of few dying of consumption.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 253

gage in it ; for, without they are innately gifted with
the power of becoming artists, the want of that power
will cause the pursuit to be felt by them as up-hill
work, and be productive of unhappiness to them
through life. But the fondness of parents for their
offspring is mostly such as to blind them in forming
a judgment, and disappointment is sure to follow.
It would be well for such parents to read Gay's fable
of " The Owl, the Swan, the Cock, the Spider, the
Ass, and the Farmer." It may indeed be conceded
that there are some rare exceptions to this general
rule ; for a man may be so formed in body and mind
— with such symmetry and health in the one, and
such energy in the other — that he may advance a
great way towards perfection in anything he ardently
pursues. But an " Admirable Chrichton," or a Sir
Joshua Reynolds, does not often appear. Men so
gifted by nature, whether as artists, or in any other
way where intellectual powers are to be drawn forth,
ought never to despair of rising to eminence, or to
imagine that they can never equal such men as have
excelled all others in their day. It ought to be kept
in mind that the same superintending Providence
which gifted those men with talents to excite wonder
and to improve society from time to time, in all ages,
still rules the world and the affairs of mankind, and
will continue to do so for ever, as often as the services
of such men are wanted ; and this consideration
ought to act as a stimulant to their successors, to en-
deavour to surpass in excellence the brilliant lumi-
naries who have only gone before them to pave the
way and to enlighten their paths. All artists — and

254 MKM01K OF THOMAS HEWiCK.

indeed all men — ought to divide their time by regu-
larly appropriating one portion of it to one purpose,
and another part of it to the varied business that
may be set apart for another. In this way a deal of
work may be got through ; and the artist, after
leaving off his too intense application, would see, as
it were, what he had been doing with ncir eyes, and
would thus be enabled to criticize the almost endless
variety of lights, shades, and effects, which await his
pencil to produce.

Had I been a painter, I never would have copied
the works of " old masters," or others, however
highly they might be esteemed. I would have gone
to nature for all my patterns ; for she exhibits an
endless variety not possible to be surpassed, and
scarcely ever to be truly imitated. I would, indeed,
have endeavoured to discover how those artists of
old made or compounded their excellent colours, as
well as the disposition of their lights and shades, by
which they were enabled to accomplish so much and
so well.

The work of the painter may be said to be as end-
less as the objects which nature continually presents
to his view ; and it is his judgment that must direct
him in the choice of such as may be interesting. In
this he will see what others have done before him,
and the shoals and quicksands that have retarded
their progress, as well as the rocks they have at last
entirely split upon. On his taking a proper survey
of all this, he will see the " labour in vain" that has
boon bestowed upon useless designs, which have
found, and will continue to find, their way to a gar-

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 255

ret, while those of an opposite character will, from
their excellence, be preserved with perhaps increas-
ing value for ages to come. In performing all this,
great industry will be required, and it ought ever to
be kept in mind, that, as in morals, nothing is worth
listening to but truth, so in arts nothing is worth
looking at but such productions as have been faith-
fully copied from nature. Poetry, indeed, may
launch out or take further liberties to charm the in-
tellect of its votaries. It is only such youths as
Providence has gifted with strong intellectual, innate
powers that are perfectly fit to embark in the fine
arts, and the power and propensity is often found
early to bud out and show itself. This is seen in the
young musician, who, without having even learned
his A B C's, breaks out, with a random kind of un-
restrained freedom, to whistle and sing. How often
have I been amused at the first essays of the plough-
boy, and how charmed to find him so soon attempt to
equal his whistling and singing master, at the plough
stilts, and who, with avidity unceasing, never stop-
psd till he thought he excelled him. The future
painter is shown by his strong propensity to sketch
whatever objects in nature attract his attention, and
excite him to imitate them. The poet, indeed, has
more difficulties to contend with at first than the
others, because he must know language, or be fur-
nished with words wherewith to enable him to ex-
press himself even in his first essays in doggrel
metre and sing-song rhymes. In all the varied ways
by which men of talent are befitted to enlighten,
to charm, and to embellish society, as they advance

256 MEMOIR OF THOMAS HEWICK.

through life, — if they entertain the true feeling that
every production they behold is created, not by
chance, but by design, — they will find an increasing
and endless pleasure in the exhaustless stores which
nature has provided to attract the attention and pro-
mote the happiness of her votaries during the time
of their sojourning here.

The painter need not roam very far from his home,
in any part of our beautiful isles, to meet with plenty
of charming scenes from which to copy nature —
either on an extended or a limited scale — and in
which he may give full scope to his genius and to his
pencil, either in animate or inanimate subjects. His
search will be crowned with success in the roman-
tic ravine — the placid holme — the hollow dell — or
amongst the pendant foliage of the richly orna-
mented dean ; or by the sides of burns which roar
or dash along, or run murmuring from pool to pool
through their pebbly beds : all this bordered perhaps
by a back-ground of ivy-covered, hollow oaks (thus
clothed as if to hide their age), — of elms, willows,
and birch, which seem kindly to offer shelter to an
under-growth of hazel, whins, broom, juniper, and
heather, with the wild rose, the woodbine, and the
bramble, and beset with 'clumps of fern and foxglove;
while the edges of the mossy braes are covered with
a profusion of wild flowers, " born to blush unseen,"
which peep out amongst the creeping groundlings —
the bleaberry, the wild strawberry, the harebell, and
the violet ; but I feel a want of words to enable the
pen to give an adequate description of the beauty and
simplicity of these neglected spots, which nature has

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 257

planted as if to invite the admiration of such as
have hearts and eyes to appreciate and enjoy these
her exquisite treats, while she may perhaps smile at
the formal, pruning efforts of the gardener, as well
as doubt whether the pencil of the artist will ever
accomplish a correct imitation. But, be all this as
it may, she has spread out her beauties to feast the
eyes, and to invite the admiration of all mankind,
and to whet them up to an ardent love of all her
works. How often have I, in my angling excursions,
loitered upon such sunny braes, lost in extacy, and
wishing I could impart to others the pleasures I felt
on such occasions : but they must see with their own
eyes to feel as I felt, and to form an opinion how far
the scenes depictured by poets fall short of the re-
ality. The naturalist's poet — Thompson — has done
much : so have others. Allan Ramsay's

"Habbies Howe,
Where a' the sweets of spring and summer grow,"

may have exhibited such as I have noticed, but the
man endued with a fit turn of mind, and inclined to
search out such " beauty-spots," will not need the aid
of poets to help him on in his enthusiastic ardour.

2L

CHAPTER XXV.

WHEN very young I read the Bible through and
through, but I, at that time, minded it no more than
other histories with which my scanty library was
furnished. I could not then judge of it, nor pro-
perly estimate the sublime precepts it contains. I
felt, indeed, much pleased and excited by the nu-
merous battles therein described. Sober reflection,
however, respecting them quite altered the bout of
my inclination that way, and I began and continued
to consider the political history of the Israelites as
very wicked ; for they are so described as under the
direction of Moses, who, it is said, always obtained
the command or sanction of the Lord to set the
people at work in the business of war, at which they
appear to have been very ready and very expert. It
is, however, evident that in the nation of the Israel-
ites there were men of great intellectual powers, and
inspired with an ardent desire to trace the Author of
Nature through Ills works, as well as having a fore-
sight of their future destiny. It being clear to
them that it was the intention of Omnipotence that
men should live in a state of civilized society, under
this impression they set to work, as well as they

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 259

could with an uncivilized people, to bring about
such a desirable order of things, but in which they
must have felt great difficulties ; the first of which
was to abolish Paganism, and to establish the pure
religion of worshipping one God only ; thus, " Thou
shalt have none other gods but me," was the first
commandment, and which was most strenuously urged
upon the Israelites in every way, and in every trans-
action of their lives, while they were kept together
as a nation. Science, and a knowledge of nature, ori
which science is founded, could not in those early
times be expected to be known, either by Moses or
their other governors and teachers, who could not
explain such important matters to the people other-
wise than they did. The wonders of this world and
the magnitude of the universe were not then con-
templated upon ; neither was it perhaps necessary to
attempt any explanation of them in those dark ages :
and, besides, it appears it was not a leading object :
civilization seems to have been the first and perhaps
the only important business they had at that time in
view. They therefore, in their endeavours to ac-
complish this, and to govern and keep the people in
awe, attempted to personify the Deity, and to pre-
scribe the boundary of time and space, as the theatre
on which He acted, that they, the people, might thus
understand something of the meaning of the com-
mands so strenuously laid upon them ; not a little of
which was delivered to them in allegory and fable.
Moses began by telling them of the beginning of the
world, and the length of time it took to make it, and
the manner in which God created Adam and Eve as

260 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

the parents of the whole human race ; of Paradise,
or the Garden of Eden ; of the disobedience of our
first parents in eating forbidden fruit, and that this
transgression entailed misery, sin, and death upon
the whole human race. This " Original Sin," how-
ever strange it may appear to thinking men, has
been kept up in tcrrorctn, with uncommon pains, for
hundreds of years past, and is continued with una-
bating fervency to the present time. That mankind
should suffer under this condemnation, for the fault
of these our first parents, seems impiously to set
aside the justice of an All- wise and Benevolent God.
As to the time it took to create this world, and the
whirling, floating, universe of which it is compara-
tively a speck or mote — that is beyond human com-
prehension ; and Time, Eternity — a Beginning and
an End — are still much more beyond the reach of
thought ; for the powers of the mind would soon
become bewildered and lost in attempting to form
any conception, by figures, of what is meant by in-
numerable millions of centuries : and here on this
subject we must rest ! This sublime — this amazing
— this mighty work of suns and worlds innumerable
is too much for the vision of a finite, purblind, proud,
little atom of the Creation, strutting or crawling
about in the shape of man. It is sufficient for the
soul of man in this life to reverence and adore the
Omnipresent, and, except through his works, the
unknowable God, whose wisdom, and power, and
goodness, has no bounds, and who has been pleased to
enable his reasoning creatures so far to see that
t \iiything is made by design, and nothing by

ifc

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 261

chance ; and, from the display of His infinite power,
that everything in the universe is systematic ; all is
connection, adhesion, affinity : hence we may infer
some principle of order, some moving power, some
mighty agent — but all this still ends in the name of
Deity, and dwells awfully retired beyond the reach
of mortal eye.

What Moses has said about the deluge, and the
destruction it occasioned to every living creature, we
are led to conclude must have been handed down to
him in ancient Eastern traditions, and it requires no
over-stretched credulity to believe that a deluge hap-
pened which destroyed every living creature on that
part of the earth over which its devastations were
spread ; for it cannot be doubted that this globe has
undergone many such deluges, convulsions, and
changes, equally difficult to account for ; and geolo-
gists at this day feel convinced of this, from the
changes which they see matter has undergone, but of
which they are still left greatly to conjecture as to
the cause. They cannot, however, doubt the power
of a comet (if it be the will of the Mighty Director)
to melt the ices from the poles, and to throw the sea
out of its place, or to reduce this globe instantly to
a cinder — a vitrifaction — to ashes, or to dust ; and
that, in its near approach to this our world, it may
have occasioned the various changes and phenomena
which have happened, and may happen again. The
marine productions found imbedded in the earth so
many fathoms below its surface, supplies another
source of wonder, and seems either to confirm the
foregoing hypothesis, or to lead men to conclude

262 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

that a great portion of the earth has once been
covered by the sea ; and it may, perhaps, not be
carrying conjecture too far to suppose that nations
have been overflowed and sunk to its bottom, while
others have arisen out of it ; and that, in the appa-
rently slow changes which are continually operating
upon all matter, new nations may yet arise, and be
now in progress to take their turn on this globe.*
Every mountain and hill is becoming less and less,
and is by little and little apparently slowly sliding
away into the ocean ; and the same waste may be
seen in the many tons of earthy mud which every
flooded river carries off, and deposits in the sea.
The lakes are also continually operated upon, by the
wasting or wearing away of the outlets that form
the barriers by which their waters were and are at
present stayed, and it is not unlikely that every
valley was once a lake, till they were operated upon
like those still left, preparatory to their change to
dry land.

But the early history of mankind, nor the changes,
the wonders, nor the mighty events which have hap-
pened to this globe, cannot be known ; and we may
reasonably suppose men must have long remained in
darkness and ignorance till rescued from such a
state first by hieroglyphics and then by letters.
What they were before these enabled them to inter-
change their thoughts, preparatory to a social inter-

* In my brother's colliery at Mickley Bank, about 30 fathoms below
the surface, perfect muscles have been found imbedded in ironstone.
In appearance they differed not from those newly taken from the
muscle scarp. The shells effervesced with acid, but the iuaides were
ironstone, the same as that with which they were surrounded.

4

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 263

course, is involved in darkness, on which conjecture
may invent and exhaust itself in vain. Nation after
nation, in unknown ages past, may have glided away,
or have been by the accumulation of their own
wickedness, more suddenly hurled into oblivion, be-
fore the reasoning powers were drawn forth or men
bestowed the least thought upon the duties they had
to perform, or the business they had to fulfil, as the
will of the Creator while they sojourned here. But
the providence of God is over all His creatures, and
it pleased Him that the reasoning powers should not
remain longer dormant, and the provision made for
the change, in the natural order of things, was
placed in the latent intellectual powers gifted to
man, and drawn forth from his inspired mind, which
thus put in action, as it may be presumed, was the
first effort of cause and effect that produced the
Bible, which, as far as we know, seems to have been
the first instrument of knowledge that shed its rays
over and revealed to mankind the accountable station
they were destined to hold on this globe. Before
the religious and moral precepts of the venerable old
Book made their way over a more civilized world,
and taught rational beings to worship one God, the
Father of All, and to consider each other as brethren,
it does not appear that the great mass of mankind
had bestowed a thought upon the astonishing
miracles of creation by which they were surrounded,
and which were presented to their understanding
and sight in so visible and tangible a shape that it
required no faith to believe in them, nor any thing
to raise doubts in their minds as to their reality.

2H4 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

The brilliantly studded canopy of suns and worlds
above their heads, and, as a part of these, the equally
wonderful globe of this earth and sea, which is
allotted to them, they could not, with their clouded
intellects and want of science see nor appreciate, till
the mind by research became illumined by degrees,
in the varied blaze of light spread abroad — which
will in some degree enable men to see the perfection
of the Omnipotent Author of the whole. Viewing
the Bible as to it moral and religious contents, in
this way, the good old Book ought to be held in
veneration and esteem, as containing the most une-
quivocal marks of the most exalted piety and the
the purest benevolence. Give it therefore, my dear
children, a place in your regards, to which it is en-
titled ; and, amidst the necessary cares of life, never
lose sight of your destination for another. An infi-
nitely more important state awaits us beyond the
grave. It may be presumed that this original and
sacred document will continue to arrest the attention
of reasoning beings as long as men continue to
reason, and be an eternal stimulant — together with
other stimulants so abundantly presented by the
wonders of the universe — to lead the soul to rest
its hopes on the source from whence it derived its
existence.

CHAPTER XXVI.

I HAVE before ventured my opinion on the political
history of the Israelites and their wars, and I wish I
could not believe in them ; but I fear that portion of
their history is too true. The example thus set has
been followed since by other nations, to wage the
horrid wars in which they have embarked on the
most trivial pretences, whenever their rulers found it
convenient to give vent to their bad passions, wan-
tonly to engage in them. There are many other
matters related in the Bible which operate as stum-
bling-blocks to those who otherwise revere it for the
clear truths set forth in its texts. These consist in
one part contradicting, or apparently contradicting,
another part, and, in some cases, of making assertions
which appear to be derogatory to the Majesty of
Omnipotence. There may, indeed, be fwo causes as-
signed as reasons for these. The first is, in reading
many portions of the Scriptures literally which must
have been intended to be understood allegorically.
It surely could never be meant to be literally under-
stood that the sun and moon stood still by the
command of Joshua, till he was " avenged of his
enemies," and that the regular order of nature and

2 M

266 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

the universe was set aside to please Joshua in his
man-killing pursuits. That this was the way by
which Omnipotence willed the destruction of whole
nations of people, does not seem to accord with the
reverence with which man ought to view his Maker,
when, had it been His will that such nations should
no longer inhabit the earth, the whole of such a
people thus devoted might have been annihilated by
a puff of pestilential wind, if Omnipotence had pleased
to do so. Although it does not become us to scan
what was, or what was not, His will, as we can
only judge of all such matters according to our crude
and Aveak conceptions.

The next cause for suspecting the accuracy of
several parts of the Sacred Book arises from the
supposition that these may not have been correctly
translated.* All these seemingly contradictory pas-
sages, not being clearly understood, have been a
most fertile source of employment for self-interested
and bigoted men, who have attempted giving their
explanations and contradictory comments and anno-
tations upon them, and twisted them into meanings,
often to bewilder the common-sense of mankind, to
suit certain selfish purposes subservient to their own
ends. It would, I think, have been much better to
have left people to judge upon these texts as well as
they could themselves, rather than trust to such ex-

* The Rev. James Murray (before mentioned) showed me a chapter
of the Book of Job which he had translated. It was in poetry as
near the original as he was able to make it The sense and meaning
was clear and easily to be understood, but not so that of the chapUr
from which he took it.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 267

planations, or to pin their faith on the sleeve of such
men. I fear they have done more harm than good.

But all these and such like doubts seem trivial and
light in the balance when weighed against the solid,
sublime truths and valuable instructions contained in
the ancient, venerable book. The mind of man thus
prepared by the sacred texts laid open to him by the
Bible, as well as by the help of other systems of
morality, which all lend their help to lead him in
the paths of rectitude — in this state he sees himself
surrounded by the wonders of creation, and furnished
with passions given him for the wisest purposes, to
spur him on to exertions without which the affairs of
this beautiful world would soon be at a stand- still, and
he would then soon revert to unintellectual apathy or
savage barbarity, and would cease to adore God, and
seek His providential care and protection. But,
when the passions are not fully kept under by the
reasoning guide, man feels himself to be a strange
compound — a heterogeneous mixture of pure metal
and base alloy, and placed in the infancy of an end-
less, and therefore an infinitely important and myste-
rious, but conscious existence. " Wonderfully and
fearfully made," he views with amazement "this
pleasing, anxious being" — this spirit confined in
mortality with Heaven's own pilot placed within as
its guide, and a soul, fed like the flame of a lamp, to
enlighten his path to eternity. Thus prepared by
the hand of Omnipotence, his reasoning powers com-
mence their operations ; his mind is then his king-
dom, and his will his law as to his deeds in this life,
but for which he must render an account before the

268 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

justice of his Maker, in another state of existence —
in another world ; otherwise he has lived in vain in
this. If he avails himself of the reasoning power, —
the choicest gift of his Maker, and by which He has
revealed himself to man, — then will he feel some-
thing of a foretaste of the future happiness he is
preparing for himself in eternity. But if he will
perversely cease to commune with his own soul, or
reject its admonitions, and turn away from them, he
thus puts himself under another guide, and must
then become debased, degraded, and associated with
sin ; for he then suffers his bad passions and gross
appetites to overpower his reason, and thus creates
for himself an evil spirit, or a devil and a hell in
his own breast, that consumes or annihilates his good
spiritual guide, and disfigures the image of God
within him, before it returns to whence it came.
Thus to appear before his Maker must be a hell of
itself of fearful import — not to be endured — and the
greatest possible punishment the debased and pol-
luted soul can undeigo; and it may be well for us
all to keep in remembrance that a year of pleasure
can be outbalanced by a day of pain. To judge
simply of all this, it may be concluded that those
who, from pure motives, have shed abroad the great-
est quantum of happiness to mankind, and to all
God's creatures, while they sojourned here, will, ac-
cording to our notions of justice (beside the pleasure
derived from self- approbation in this life), be re-
warded, and entitled to such-like but more exalted
happiness to all eternity.

Whatever weight these opinions of mine may

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 269

have upon others, I know not ; they are given with
the best intentions, and they concern all men. They
are on a subject which, in its own nature, forms a
more sublime and important object of enquiry than
any to which our intellectual powers can be applied.
It is on them that religion, the life of the soul, is
built. Religion is both natural and necessary to
man. Those who reject this primary sentiment of
veneration for the Supreme Being, only show their
inferiority to other men : like those born blind, they
cannot perfectly understand the nature of vision,
and thence conclude there is no such thing as light
in existence.

Religion is of a pure and spotless nature ; it is
uniform, consistent, and of the same complexion and
character in all nations. Languages and customs
may greatly differ, but the language of the pure de-
votion of the heart to its Maker is the same over the
face of the whole earth. Religion, therefore, de-
mands our utmost reverence ; and, as such, that
which was taught by Jesus of Nazareth. I revere
the sublime, and yet simple, plain doctrines and
truly charitable principles which Christ laid down,
and enforced by his own example. His life was a
continued scene of active benevolence : no fatigue
was too hard to be borne, no inconvenience too great
to be submitted to, provided he could instruct the
ignorant, reclaim the vicious, relieve the destitute,
and comfort the mournful. Such was the religion of
Jesus Christ, " who went about doing good !" He
spoke only of one God, and of Him with the utmost
reverence, as his Heavenly Father and the Father of

270 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

all mankind. Christianity, in its purity, is the moat
liberal and best religion in the world. Its inspired
Author preached up the cheerful doctrine of man's
reviving again after death, and of the certainty of
his afterwards living to eternity, and did his utmost
to persuade all mankind to live godly lives, that
their souls might thereby be prepared to return to
God, the Author and the Giver of all Good, as un-
blemished as possible ; and thus, so far as his influ-
ence reached, and his commands were acted upon, he
may truly be said to be the Saviour of Mankind.
But, there arc questions connected with this subject
which none but the Almighty Gcd can solve. It
was by the divine will, and by the providcnca of
God, that he appeared on earth. Gifted with in-
spired powers, his immaculate mind thus made him
the instrument befitting the mission he held, to
teach mankind, then lost and grovelling in wicked-
ness and corruption, the important lessons of religion
and morality, and to reclaim such of the lost flock,
high and low, as had grown up and established them-
selves in iniquity.

CHAPTER XXVII.

I NEVER read Hume on miracles ; I did not need
to do so ; but I have always thought that the man
must be very difficult to please who could not be
thoroughly satisfied with the one — the unutterably
great one — the miracle of the universe : made up,
indeed, of millions of other miracles of its compo-
nent parts, which will for ever excite the astonishment
of reasoning creatures, and draw forth their adora-
tion to the Great Author of the whole, as long as it
shall please Him to gift them with the power to do so.

Those who think for themselves, and can believe
in one God, and reverence, adore, and worship Him,
must ever feel disgusted to dwell on the endless
modes of faith with which mankind have been pes-
tered and stultified for ages past, and also feel
grieved to think upon the evils — the persecutions —
the wars — and the miseries, these have from time to
time inflicted upon the half- civilized world. Brother
has been set in enmity against brother, neighbour
against neighbour, and nation against nation, fully
charged with vengeance to destroy each other, and
by which rivers of blood have been spilt. Jesus
Christ, I believe, never said one word that could be
construed into any such meaning, or to countenance

272 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

any such doings ; neither did any man possessed of
the spirit of the Christian religion and its attendant
humanity ever view all this otherwise than with
horror.

It would be a tedious and an irksome task to give
even a list of all the religions, as they are called,
from the days of Paganism, down to the present
time. Truth long struggled with error, before sys-
tem after system passed away. Notwithstanding the
exertions of power to keep them up, they exist now
only in story. But do the laws of nature ever alter ?
Do the sun, moon, and stars shine in any other way
than they did to the votaries of Jupiter ? Do the
human passions operate in any other manner than
they did thousands of years ago ? No, indeed ! Let
us, then, rejoice that true religion is independent of
human caprice; it is founded upon the immutable
principles of truth, reason, and common sense, and
therefore must be durable as nature itself. It is not
vague and mutable : it is acquired by experience,
not merely the creature of chance, habit, and preju-
dice : it is capable of demonstration like the princi-
ples of mathematics, and its necessity is evinced by
the very nature of man in society. There is a
rational and an irrational belief, and how can we
distinguish the one from the other without reference
to the reason of the thing ? If reason be abandoned,
then sense and nonsense are just the same : religion
becomes a chaos, and faith has no merit. I there-
fore believe that no faith can be acceptable to God
which is not grounded on reason ; nothing but truth
brings us lasting and solid advantage.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS 15EWICK. 273

But it would appear that the teachers of mankind,
in this important concern, have too seldom been ac-
tuated by these pure principles, and the " caring for
men's souls" has been made only a secondary con-
sideration. Their leading objects have been the
establishment of a system of revenue and aggran-
disement ; and, to ensure the accomplishment of these
ends, they began with children, well knowing that,
when creeds and catechisms were once instilled into
the infant mind, they would grow with their growth,
and would acquire a firm-rooted footing ; for, when
early impressions and prejudices are once fixed in the
the mind by ignorance, they can seldom or ever be
eradicated. In this state, these victims to deception
might have been made Pagans in India, Mahome-
tans in Turkey, or disciples of Confucius in China :
or, have been moulded into any of the various sects
of misled Christians which have, like wens and car-
buncles, often disfigured the comely face of religion,
and the pure and plain doctrines of Christianity.

The next important step taken by these teachers,
was to get this their religion, of whatever kind it
might be, interwoven deeply into all the various
governments of the different countries under their
influence ; but, preparatory to their religion becom-
ing firmly established, the heads of it, who were
called " saints" and " fathers of the Church," were
gathered together to judge and determine upon the
creeds and doctrines which were to be obeyed. Some
of them might, indeed, be actuated by good and
others of them by impure motives, but it always ap-
peared to me like their own " act of parliament"- to

2N

274 MEMOIIl OF THOMAS BEWICK.

oblige people to offer to Omnipotence that kind of
worship only which they had been pleased to dictate,
and which by many is considered as arrogant pre-
sumption. But, when these doctrines were thus in-
terwoven into all the different governments, they
then became "part and parcel of the law of the
land;" and, thus fenced, barricaded, and fortified,
few ever dared to say that anything these laws pro-
mulgated was wrong ; and, if any man whose mind
happened to rise superior to superstition, ventured to
publish his opinions of any of them, to show that
they were absurd, then racks, tortures, inquisitions,
and death, or fine and imprisonment, with attendant
ruin, stared him in the face in this world and threat-
enings of eternal misery in the next. It is thus
that the free exercise of the understanding, and the
full use of all the means of advancing in religion,
virtue, and knowledge, is checked and debarred ; for,
unless the free use of writing and publishing the
well-digested opinions and plans of the lovers of
mankind is allowed to go on without risk, all public
improvement, which is or ought to be the chief end
of every government to promote, is for want of this
liberty, taken away. But in this business, govern-
ment itself being entangled and bound by oaths to
support present establishments, may perhaps be
afraid to meddle or countenance any writing tend-
ing to a reform, or that may have the appearance of
militating against this order of things.

But to dwell on this, the gloomy side of the pic-
ture, without noticing the other side, may be unfair ;
for the frainers of unaccountable creeds set mankind

MEMOIK OF THOMAS BEWICK. 275

a- thinking generally upon these and many other
matters, which perhaps they would not otherwise
have done ; and, besides this, it is on all hands
allowed that the monks and friars of old, amidst all
their superstitions, preserved in their monasteries
many records and much valuable knowledge, which,
without their care, would have been lost to the
world. Add to these, their charities to the destitute
and their constant best endeavours to teach the
grossly ignorant, and to reclaim the equally grossly
wicked, part of the community, and in examining
impartially into the change effected by the Reforma-
tion,— it amounts only to a lessening or setting aside
a portion of the bigotry and superstition by which
the old doctrines were enforced. Although one may
lament that a more rational view of religion, and its
very important concerns, had not been fully contem-
plated upon, yet even under its guidance, and with
all its defects before the mighty change of the Re-
formation was effected, it would appear that the
moral conduct of the common people was generally
good, and they were in some respects happier and
better off than they have ever been since. The
Romish clergy, or priests, in those times, though
they took the tithes (according to an old Jewish
custom), yet these were more usefully and justly di-
vided than they are in the present time ; for they in
their day took only a third part of these to them-
selves, and the other two-thirds were expended in
building and repairing their churches and supporting
all the poor. There was then no church cesses, nor
poor laws, nor the sickening, harassing, and con-

276 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

tiuual gathering of the enormous sums of the poor-
rate.

The established clergy are also bound, in a similar
way, by old laws and oaths which have been imposed
upon them, to swear to their belief in a certain
string of creeds before they are allowed to enter
upon the clerical office ; and all this, backed and en-
couraged by the lures of enormous stipends or livings
attached to their church, which is furthermore made
sure of by these livings being, as it were, held out as
a provision for the unprovided part of the younger
branches of the families of all the poor gentry of the
land. Thus situated, any alteration or improvement
may be looked for in vain, while self-interest and
pride continue so powerfully to guide the actions of
mankind.

Time, indeed, may bring about wonders, and the
example and influence of North America can perhaps
alone be looked up to to lead the way as the regene-
rator of the Old World. There they have none of
the old protecting laws, nor the old prejudices of
Europe, Asia, and South America, to contend against,
and must see the errors these have fallen into, and
may move forward upon clear ground. " The Rites
and Ceremonies of all Nations" will serve them as a
kind of text, and also as a beacon and a guide-post,
to show them the way they ought to pursue, so as to
steer clear of the absurdities — to say no worse of
them — by which mankind have been so long led,
hoodwinked, into so many egregious follies.

It must, furthermore, be observed and conceded
on behalf of the present religious establishment of

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 277

this enlightened and comparatively happy land, not-
withstanding the spots and blemishes which bar the
approach to rationality and perfection, that the regu-
lar clergy, with few exceptions, and taken as a whole
— from their learning, their acquirements, and their
piety — are real and valuable ornaments to our
country, without whose help and the example they
set, it is to be feared the people would soon retro-
grade into barbarism, or, into what is nearly as bad
— fanaticism. To keep down or prevent this latter
growing evil from rising to a height will require the
utmost exertions of the regular clergy, as well as the
united wisdom and prudence of the legislature to
discountenance it. To attempt using force would
only serve to unite its votaries and increase their
numbers ; for as long as ignorance is stalking
abroad, multitudes will be found in every country
who see things with an obliquity of intellect, and
are thus ready prepared to adopt anything new,
however stupid ; and the reveries of Johanna South-
cote, and the ravings of Ranters, do not appear to
them sufficiently absurd.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

I HAVE, with all the consideration I have been able
coolly to bestow upon the subject, become clearly of
opinion, that the highest character a man can hope
to attain to in this life is that of being a religious
philosopher; and he cannot be the latter without
religion being deeply impressed upon his mind ; and,
without the aid of religion and philosophy conjointly,
he need not hope to feel all the happiness in this
world attendant upon his approach towards perfec-
tion. The happiness derived from ignorance is like
that of unreasoning animals ; and, in carrying this
a little further, or to the extreme, it is, compara-
tively, like the happiness enjoyed by a gate-post.

It is from amongst men of this enlightened cha-
racter only that all and every clergyman ought to be
selected, without permitting the least interference of
private patronage ; for that has been, and will con-
tinue to be, an evil of the most benumbing magni-
tude, which will — if not stopped — upset the best laid
plans, and render such nugatory, or null and void.
Could such a stride as this towards purity ever be
accomplished, then every village ought to have its
church, and would thus become a religious, a moral,

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 279

and a patriotic little community, in which its pre-
ceptors ought to teach youth the usual routine of
their education five days in the week, and those of
all ages on the Sunday. This clergy ought not to
be sworn to any belief, nor trammeled with any
creeds, but only to promise, with the help of God, to
instil into the minds of their hearers the purest re-
ligious adoration of the Omnipotent, and the best
maxims of morality. In this the Scriptures would
supply them with its pure and sublime precepts, and,
above all, the still more sublime and amazing works
contained in the great Book of the Creation is amply
spread out before them, and made up of the living,
the visible, words of God, so plainly to be seen, read,
and felt, that howsoever miraculous and astonishing
they are, it would require no stretch of faith to be-
lieve in them all. From these, such a clergy, one
after another in succession for ages, might take their
texts, ever new, and preach from them to all eter-
nity ; for, as to the number of subjects to preach
from and explain, they would be found to be endless
even on this globe we dwell upon, without soaring to
those in the regions of immensity ; and, if its won-
ders were productive of disease, enlightened men
would die of wondering !

Were a clergy of this description established, there
could be no fears entertained of their teaching any-
thing wrong ; they would, on the contrary, from
their knowledge and virtue, be the pillars of the
state and the mainstays and ornaments of civiliza-
tion. Every church ought to have its library of
good books, and its philosophical apparatus, to i|lus-

280 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

trate or explain the various phenomena of nature,
and the amazing magnitude and distances of the
" Heavenly bodies ;" or, rather, the incalculable
number of suns and worlds floating about with the
velocity of light, in immeasurable, endless space. It
is from these contemplations that something like the
truest conception of the Adorable Author of the
whole can be formed ; and it would soon be found
that men of common capacities, and without having
even been taught to read and write, would be at no
loss to understand the clear lectures delivered on this
latter subject. I think it would be folly, or worse
than folly, to entertain any suspicion that poor men,
thus enlightened, would forget the station in which
they are placed, and cease to work honestly to main-
tain themselves, or to become bad members of society.
On the contrary, it is reasonable to conclude that
such a universal spread of knowledge as would follow
this system of education, and this kind of religious
worship, would stamp the character of a whole people
as intelligent, good, subjects ; and it appears to me
certain that, until such a mode of enlightened Chris-
tianity is adopted and acted upon, mankind will con-
tinue to be torn asunder, as they have too long been,
and that, if it could quickly be spread over the
partly civilized world, there would never more be
any religious bickerings or animosities on that score,
and that then, but not till then, all mankind would
become as brethren.

I am well aware that the pride and the fears of
what are called the dignified clergy, might operate
powerfully against the purity and simplicity of such

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 281

a change. If so, they will then thus clearly and de-
cisively show that it is a system of revenue only, and
not religion, that they can be fearful of upsetting ;
but, if none of these are deprived of their present
livings (or an equivalent to their value), which they
hold only during their lives, what have they to be
afraid of ? To sell their present enormous revenues,
and fund the amount, and then divide the interest
equally amongst the newly- established clergy, would
be only fair and just ; and they, above all other men,
ought to be perfectly independent, — amply provided
for, without being obliged to collect any other revenue,
— and made as happy as men can be in this world ;
and, whatever might be deemed sufficient, a certain
sum taken from this income ought also to be funded
as a provision to support them in their declining-
years. Such a body of men as this clergy could not
fail of being revered and held in the greatest respect
and estimation by all good and wise men ; and what
more any good and wise man can wish for in this
world, I am at a loss to know.

It is from government, with the aid of our own
enlightened and liberal-minded clergy, and other
such-like men, that this important business, in my
opinion, ought to be openly and boldly taken up.
They ought to have the honour to show the way, and
not leave any other nation to take the lead of them
in such a mighty and momentous concern, in which
the happiness of the whole human race would be-
come most deeply interested ; and, from the change
in men's minds which is now taking place, and
widely spreading, this change, by its own weight,

2o

282 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

will most assuredly happen, perhaps at no very dis-
tant day.

"Were our own government inclined to make this
improvement in religion and politics, they would as-
suredly see the happiest results from it: it would
soon be found that there would then be no need to
keep Ireland in subjection, like a conquered country,
by an expensive military force. The Irish, naturally
acute, lively, generous, and brave, would soon feel
themselves, under our excellent constitution, as happy
and loyal a people as any in the world, and as much
attached to their country, which, for its healthy cli-
mate and fertile soil, may match with any other
on this globe. One would hope that the native
gentry would at length see the very reprehensible
injustice of becoming absentees. Landowners in all
countries, as well as in Ireland, ought as far as possi-
ble to spend their rents where they receive them.
Where they do not do so, any country is certain to
become poor.* Ireland ought instantly to be put
upon a par, in every respect, with their fellow subjects
of the British Isles. To withhold Catholic eman-
cipation from Ireland appears to me to be invidious
and unjust ; and, if emancipated, it would be found
at no very distant period that they would, under the
foregoing tuition, individually become enlightened,

* In my ardent wish for the perfect happiness and union of the sister
Isles, I have suffered my sanguine imaginatiom to wish and hope
that some great convulsion of nature might some day happen to throw
up^the bed of the sea between them, so as to unite them both in one ;
and present a south-western rocky front to the ocean. I see no harm
in indulging in such reveries : they may, indeed, be visionary, but
thpy are innocent ones.

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 283

think for themselves, adopt a rational religious be-
lief, and throw off the bigotry and superstition taught
them with such sedulous care from their infancy, and
by which they have so long been led blindfold. If
they could be brought to think, and to muster up so
much of the reasoning power as to do all this, they
would soon emancipate themselves. But even on
this business it must be observed that the Protestant
Establishment does not interfere with the Catholic
modes of faith ; they may preach up and believe in
what they please. In this they are not only fully to-
lerated, but are also protected in their worship, so that,
on this score they can have nothing to complain of.
But beyond this the Protestant ascendancy, having
all the rich church livings secured to themselves, are
fearful that the Catholics, ever watchful, and never
ceasing in their struggles to be at the head of all
church affairs — they, the Protestants, have become
extremely jealous lest the emancipation now so
eagerly wished for may, if granted, be a prelude to
further future strides, and that the latent objects the
Catholics have in view is to partake in these rich
livings, or to get them wholly to themselves. To
dwell longer on these matters seems to me useless ;
for, so long as rich livings are set apart as a provision
for those whose creeds continue in fashion, all the
various numerous sects who dissent will always be
barking at them, until the purity and simplicity of
worshipping one God only can be established, and
which to a certainty will one day happen. Till then,
all arguments on this subject may seem to be in vain.
Having given my opinion on religious matters

284 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK.

freely and sincerely, and with the best intentions, in
which I do not wish to dictate, but only wish man-
kind to think for themselves on such a momentous
and important affair as that of their present and
their future eternal happiness, I leave them to their
own reflections, and shall only furthermore attempt
to show some of the salutary effects which I suppose
would follow from mine. I first picture to myself
that I see such a body of learned, rationally religious,
moral, and patriotic men as this clergy spread over
our already matchless country : and that the effects
of their tuition and example, founded on honour and
virtue, would very soon be seen and felt amongst -all
ranks of society, and would further exalt the charac-
ter of our countrymen over the whole globe, as pat-
terns for imitation to the rest of mankind. It is only
by an education like this, that any country can hope
that its institutions can remain unbroken up, and
endure as a nation for ever ; but so it will be, if the
government is founded on wisdom and virtue, and
backed by a whole people of the same character. To
rear up and establish such a renovated order of
things as I have with diffidence recommended, and
coolly and deliberately' to do away with old errors,
will not, perhaps, be soon or easily done ; for tnere
are so many interests to consult, and so many men
of the character to doubt and despair of accomplish-
ing anything, however good, that, if they have in-
fluence over weak minds to help them out in this
disposition to despondency, it will have the direct
tendency to realize such doubts, and to throw a cold
damp over the best and wisest plans. But we ought

MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 285

never to despair of accomplishing anything where
our objects in view are good ones. To minds thus
gifted, and such as this clergy it is hoped would
possess, there could be little need to dictate. Their
own good sense, aided by the gentry of the land,
would constantly enable them to see when anything
was going wrong in each little community, and
speedily to rectify it. Such a number of little col-
leges spread over the land would excellently prepare
such youths as might be intended to finish their edu-
cation in colleges of a higher* character, so as to fit
them to fulfil the various offices of the state, in any
of its several departments, as well as the many other
employments they might be destined to pursue ; and
in this the teachers would have it greatly in their
power to discover the talents or innate powers of
mind of their pupils, as well as the bent of their
inclinations, so as to be enabled to advise or direct
inexperienced youths as to what might best suit their
se\eral capacities ; and to point out to them the
proper course of education that might lead to the
calling or occupation in which they might make the
most respectable figure when they were launched
into the world. This duty of every teacher is an
important one, and would require the keenest obser-
vation to make the true discovery ; for, after all, we
may be assured of this, that it is impossible to set
bounds to the improvement of the human mind,
and it is also equally so to limit the capabilities of
the human frame when duly cultivated

November 1st, 1828.

MKMOIR OF THOMAS HKW1CK..

FINAL.

IN offering these my sentiments and opinions, derived
from the observations I have made in my passage
through life, I have never intended to give offence to
good men. AVith these sentiments some may be
pleased and others displeased, but, conscious of the
rectitude of my intentions, I do not covet the praises
of the one nor fear the censures of the other. It is
at another tribunal that I, as well as all other men,
are to account for their conduct.

THOMAS BEWICK
GENTLY SIGHED AWAY HIS LAST BREATH

AT HALF-PAST ONE

ON THE MORNING OF THE

STH NOVEMBER, 1828.

APPENDIX.

AFTER Thomas Bewick retired from business in
favour of his son, he continued, till his death, to
employ himself closely, at home, in filling-up gaps
in his History of British Birds ; and, in conjunction
with his son, he also commenced a History of British
Fishes. The finished specimens of these, on the
wood, are now for the first time published in this
Memoir. A portion of a series of appropriate Vig-
nettes, also executed by him for the work on Fishes,
are now employed as embellishments in the preced-
ing pages. About twenty of the set, together with
six new birds, were printed in the last edition of the
History of Birds. It may be proper to add, that the
late Robert Elliot Bewick left about fifty highly-
finished and accurately-coloured drawings of fishes
from nature, together with a portion of the descrip-
tive matter relating to the work.

APPENDIX.

291

BRITISH FISHES

BASSE.

(Terca Labrax. — LINNAEUS.)

APPENDIX.

293

FIFTEEN-SPINED STICKLEBACK.

( Gasterosteus spinachia — LINN.EUS.)

APPENDIX.

295

BREAM.

(Spams Rail. — BLOCK.)

APPENDIX.

297

JOHN DORY.

(Zeusfdber. — LIN

2Q

APPENDIX.

290

BLACK GOBY.

(Gobhis nifjer. — LINN/KUS.)

APPENDIX.

301

BALLAN WRASSE.

(Rattan Wrasse.. — PENNANT.)

APPENDIX.

303

BARBEL.

(Cyprinus barbus. — LIMN.KUS.)

APPENDIX.

305

GUDGEON.

(Cyprlmis yobio. — LIXN.ECS.)

APPENDIX.

307

TENCH.

(Cyprinus Tinc.-i. — B LOC H .)

APPENDIX.

309

DACE OR DARE.

(Cyprinus leuclscus — BLOCK.)

APPENDIX.

311

SAURY.

(Ksox Saurus.— PENNANT.)

APPENDIX.

813

GAR FISH.

Below. — -LiNN-KL

APPENDIX.

315

SAMLET OR BRANDLING.

(Sal/no Fario. — LIMN.EIT.S.)

APPENDIX.

317

LUMP SUCKER.

1 hmput. — LINN.EUS.)

APPENDIX.

319

DOG FISH.

Squalus Acantkias. — LINN.EUS.

APPENDIX.

321

WEEVER.

( Trachinus draco. — FKXX ANT.)

APPENDIX.

323

APPENDIX.

325

THE ALARM.*

THE hollow grumblings of the devils on earth
having reached the infernal regions, Satan ordered
an enquiry immediately to be made into the cause of
their outcry, and commanded a trio of his choicest
associates forthwith to fly with the velocity of light
to see, and to report to him, what was the matter.
On their arriA*al on earth, they were met, during the
night, when men were asleep, by a deputation se-
lected from innumerable hosts of imps from every
kingdom and state of the uncivilized as well as the
civilized world. They soon were given to under-

* This fable was written and illustrated by T. Bewick, for his
" Fables of ^Esop," and is now published for the first time.

326

APPENDIX.

stand, that an outrageous mutiny, amounting to
rebellion, had been going on for some time against
their old king, Ignorance, who was accused of having
become very remiss and negligent of his duty. For
this they resolved to have him hurled from his
high station, and to have another ruler appointed in
his stead. It was alleged that, owing to his neglect,
mankind had lately begun to use their intellectual
faculties to such a degree, that it was feared, if they
were suffered to go on, Satan would (though very
unjustly) lay the blame on them for the loss of his
subjects. Old Ignorance was immediately brought
to judgment, and at the same time other candidates
for his office offered their services to succeed him.
The voting instantly took place, and was decided in
the twinkling of an eye, when it was found that old
Ignorance was .re-elected by a great majority ; for,
on casting up the votes, they stood thus : —

IMUXCIl'ALS.

Ignorance.

Pride.

Malice.

SATELLITES.

Vanity.
Superstition.
Sensuality.

Arrogance.

Envy.
Obstinacy.
Blasphemy.

Revenge.
Injustice,
Cruelty.

3'JO,000,dOO.

100,000,000.

100,000,000,

Majority for old Ignorance 200,000,000

APPENDIX.

327

The candidates who had lately contended with him
in aspiring to supreme command, having been ap-
pointed his chief ministers, he was sworn to redouble
his vigilence : in return for which it was finally
decreed that he should, in future, have seven links
added to his tail, and his head adorned with six
horns, instead of two. His infernal honour being
thus pledged, the work of mischief was instantly
begun, by his commanding his ministers and their
satellites to redouble their vigilence, by throwing the
mists of ignorance over the minds of the rulers and
teachers of mankind, and to fill their minds with
superstition, bigotry, pride, and arrogant zeal. All
the imps of minor consideration were also ordered to
direct the unreasoning, lazy, envious, wicked, gross,
vulgar herd of mankind, high and low, into the
paths which lead to misery. Having thus concluded
their mission, the innumerable host set off, like a
whirlwind, amidst the glare of lightning and the
roar of thunder, to take up their abode in the minds
of men, where they had been nursed before ; but
millions of their number, who had been dismissed
from the minds of good men, dropped behind, and,
in their fall through endless space, by the violence of
their motion, ignited, were whirled into balls of
fire, and gravitated to the sun. The rest pro-
ceeded ; their numbers eclipsed the moon, and the
effluvia which exhaled from them in their flight
caused plague, pestilence, and famine in the countries
they passed over, and the concussion they made in
the air is said to have shaken the ices from the
poles.

328 APPENDIX.

APPLICATION.

If there be a plurality of devils, Ignorance must
be their king ; and through his influence only men
are wicked ; and, under him and his satellites, the
wretchedness they have dealt out to mankind ever
since their chequered reign began has disfigured the
fair face of nature ; and they have too often suc-
ceeded, in the struggles between virtue and vice, in
obscuring the reasoning powers of man, and bringing
him down to the level of the brute. For no sooner
was it decreed by Omnipotence that his reasoning
creatures should live in a state of civilized society,
suitable to their natures and befitting so high a be-
hest, than these enemies to this good order of things
obtruded themselves upon it, and have too long and
too often succeeded in baffling the efforts of good men
in their aims at approaching towards perfection, and
in thwarting the progress of mental improvement,
and the consequent happiness of the human race.
They have, with the glimmering light of their ignis
fatuus, led their devotees in zig-zag, backward and
forward paths, through misty bogs and quagmires,
into the midnight glooms and chaotic darkness which
envelope their wretched dens. The bloody pages of
history have in part recorded some of the many
miseries which have from time to time been inflicted
upon their victims ; but to enumerate only a portion
would be an irksome as well as an endless task.

APPENDIX. 329

PRINTS BY MEANS OF A SERIES OF
WOOD BLOCKS.

THE Author, at page 249 of this Memoir, in stat-
ing what he believes may be done by the printing
of large wood cuts from two or more blocks, so as to
rival the landscapes of "William Woollett on copper,
intimates his intention of making the attempt, to
show that it is not a visionary theory. "With this
view, he executed a large wood cut, the subject
being an old horse "waiting for death." A first
proof was taken a few days before his death. An
impression at the same time was transferred to a
second block, the exact size of the first, and was
intended to have been engraved to heighten and
improve the effect of the print ; and a third was
prepared to be used if necessary. A few impressions
of the first of the series were printed in London in
1832, and were accompanied by a descriptive history
of the horse, written so far back as 1785. The print
(in a finished state) was intended to have been dedi-
cated to the " Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals," and was also meant to serve as one of
a set of cheap embellishments for the walls of cot-
tages. The history of the old horse "waiting for
death" is subjoined.*

* The vignette at page 53, vol. i, last edition of the " History of
British Birds," will be found printed with two additional blocks as a
title page to the second edition of the " Quadrupeds," cjuarto, without
letterpress, 1824.

2 u

330 APPENDIX.

WAITING FOR DEATH.

IN the morning of his days he was handsome,
sleek as a raven, sprightly and spirited, and was then
much caressed and happy. When he grew to per-
fection, in his performances; even on the turf, and
afterwards in the chase, and in the field, he was
equalled by few of his kind. At one time of his
life he saved that of his master, whom he bore, in
safety, across the rapid flood ; but having, in climb-
ing the opposite rocky shore, received a blemish,
it was thought prudent to dispose of him ; after which
he fell into the hands of different masters, but from
none of them did he ever eat the bread of idleness ;
and, as he grew in years, his cup of misery was
still augmented with bitterness.

It was once his hard lot to fall into the hands of
Skinflint, a horse-keeper, an authorised wholesale
and retail dealer in cruelty, who employed him alter-
nately, but closely, as a hack, both in the chaise and
for the saddle ; for when the traces and trappings,
used in the former, had peeled the skin from off his
breast, shoulders, and sides, he was then, as his back
was whole, thought fit for the latter ; indeed, his
exertions, in this service of unfeeling avarice and folly,
were great beyond belief. He was always, late and
early, made ready for action ; he was never allowed
to rest, even on the Sabbath day, because he could
trot well, hud a good bottom, and was the best hack

APPENDIX. 331

in town ; and, it being a day of pleasure and pastime,
he was much sought after by beings, in appearance,
something like gentlemen ; in whose hands his suf-
ferings were greater than his nature could bear.
Has not the compassionate eye beheld him whipped,
spurred, and galloped beyond his strength, in order
to accomplish double the length of the journey that
he was engaged to perform, till, by the inward grief
expressed in his countenance, he seemed to plead for
mercy, one would have thought most powerfully,
but, alas, in vain ! In the whole load which he bore
(as was often the case), not an ounce of humanity
could be found ; and, his rider being determined
to have pennyworths for his money, the ribs of this
silent slave, where not a hair had for long been
suffered to grow, were still ripped up. He was
pushed forward through a stony rivulet, then on
hard road against the hill, and having lost a shoe,
split his hoof, and being quite spent with hunger and
fatigue, he fell, broke his nose and his knees, and
was unable to proceed ; — and becoming greased, spa-
vined, ringboned, blind of an eye, and the skin, by
repeated friction, being worn off all the large promi-
nences of his body, he was judged to be only fit for
the dogs : — however, one shilling and sixpence
beyond the dog-horse price saved his life, and he
became the property of a poor dealer and horse
doctor.

It is amazing to think upon the vicissitudes of his
life : he had often been burnished up, his teeth de-
faced by art, peppered under his tail ; having been
the property of a general, a gentleman, a farmer, a

332

APPENDIX.

miller, a butcher, a higgler, and a maker of brooms.
A hard winter coming on, a want of money, and a
•want of meat, obliged his poor owner to turn him
out to shift for himself. His former fame and great
value are now, to him, not worth a handful of oats.
But his days and nights of misery are now drawing
to an end ; so that, after having faithfully dedicated
the whole of his powers and his time to the service
of unfeeling man, he is at last turned out, unsheltered
and unprotected, to starve of hunger and of cold.
1785.

APPENDIX. 333

JOHN BEWICK.

THAT rare old book, "A Collection of all the
Ancient Poems, Songs, and Ballads, relative to
Robin Hood," published by Ritson, 1795, was em-
bellished by John Bewick. Three of the cuts are
introduced in the following pages. A comparison of
them with the book itself, will show the great im-
provement which has taken place in the printing of
wood cuts since that day. It may not, perhaps, be
out of place to insert an extract from a letter, on the
subject of these cuts, written by the antiquary to the
artist, more than half a century ago.

" Gray's Inn.

" J. Ritson is sorry he was gone out when Mr.
Bewick called ; but hopes he will proceed with the
other cuts, which shall be left entirely to his own
fancy, and in which he will undoubtedly consult his
own reputation."

Amongst the many books illustrated by John Bew-
ick, now very scarce, a few may be enumerated : —
" The Looking Glass for the Mind," Proverbs Exem-
plified,"* The Progress of Man in Society," "Blossoms

* Tbe publisher, Dr. Trussler, quaintly observes, " It is a very proper
book to amuse and instruct youth, and the price, viz. 3s., Lalf-Lound,
will hurt no one."

334

APPENDIX.

of Morality." The last-named was published by Mr.
Newberry, to whom, for his charming little books, the
rising generation of that day was under great obli-
gation. In his preface, dated October 6th, 1796, Mr.
N. says : —

" Much time has elapsed since the commencement
of this edition, owing to a severe indisposition with
which the artist was long afflicted, and which un-
fortunately terminated in his death. And sorry,
very sorry, are we to be compelled to state, that this
is the last effort of his incomparable genius."

APPENDIX.

335

APPENDIX. 337

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE following letters are selected from a large
correspondence, extending over many years, and,
from the matter they contain, may not be thought
uninteresting. The first is addressed to T. Bewick,
on the occasion of his brother's death, by Mr. Wm.
Buhner, a native of Newcastle, and who is mentioned
at page 70 as the first typographer of his day. A
portrait of this gentleman is given in Dr. Dibdin's
"Bibliomania" (?) in connection with the "Bodoni
Hum." Mr. Bulmer died at his villa, Clapham
Rise, Surrey, at the close of the year 1828.

WILLIAM BULMER TO THOMAS BEWICK.

Cleveland Row, December 10, 1795.

DEAR BEWICK,

The death of your brother has hurt me
much, I assure you. He was a young "man whose
private virtues and professional talents I equally ad-
mired ; so much so, indeed, that as a grateful tribute
to his memory, I have this day clothed myself in
mourning. His death has affected me in a manner
that has much depressed jny spirits. If my opinion

2 x

338 APPENDIX.

or assistance in your intended record of his worth,
on the melancholy tombstone that is intended to
mark the place of his interment, can be of any use,
I beg you will command me. The blocks for Mr.
Way's work* have come safe to hand, but he informs
me that you have omitted to send the head-piece to
Tale Seventh, " The Mantle Made Amiss," which I
must beg you will send along with the first parcel of
blocks for the Chase ; and, in cutting the remainder
of Mr. Way's work, you will cut head and tail-piece
in the regular succession, agreeable to the numbers
on the different sketches, as any omission on this head
causes an interruption in the printing. As to the
blocks for " The Chase," I have already told you my
situation. I must, therefore, entirely rely on your
making a bold effort to finish them in the specified time.
The whole number is only twelve blocks, besides the
vignette for the title. Many of the tail-pieces are
small. I wish fine execution in them, I confess,
but yet there must be that happy mixture of engrav-
ing in them that will at the same time produce a
boldness of effect. Mr. Way particularly requests
that I will inform you that the blocks last sent are
perfectly to his wishes. Agreeably to your desire, I
have sent the death of your brother to the London
prints. And believe me,

Yours, very sincerely,

WILLIAM BULMER.

* "Fabliaux, or Tales abridged from French Manuscripts of the 12th
and 13th Centuries. By M. Le Grand. Translated into English
verse, by G. L. Way, Esq." 1796.

APPENDIX.

339

THOMAS BEWICK TO

Newcastle, 4th October, 1794.

DEAR SIR,*

I received yours of the 17th ult., and
thank you for the opinion you have given me of
America. Before I get the Birds done, I have no
doubt of matters being brought to such a crisis as
will enable me to see clearly what course to steer.
My fears are not at what you think will happen in
America : it is my own much-loved country that I
fear will be involved in the anarchy you speak of;
for I think there is not virtue enough left in the
country gentlemen to prevent it. I cannot hope for
anything good from the violent on either side ; that
can only be expected from (I hope) the great majority
of moderate men stepping manfully forward to check
the despotism of the one party and the licentiousness
of the other. A reform of abuses, in my opinion, is
wanted, and I wish that could be done with justice
and moderation ; but it is because I do not hope or
expect that will take place in the way I wish it that
makes me bend my mind towards America. . . .

* It appears from the autograph letter here copied, that Thomas
Bewick at one time contemplated emigrating to America. The name
of his correspondent is not known.

840

MRS. M • TO THOMAS BEWICK.

April 4, 1805.

I cannot resist the pleasure of thanking
Mr. Bewick for the entertainment I have just ex-
perienced in looking over the second volume of the
" British Birds." The vignettes are incomparable.
The one "with the string of the kite over the poor
man's hat, — who cannot extricate himself, having to
conduct his horse through the water, — and that of the
man clinging to the arm of the tree, and, still more,
the four little boys riding triumphant on the tomb-
stones, without a moment's reflection on the memen-
tos of death around them, are, I think, excellently
done. The little drawing Captain M pre-
sented me with, from Mr. Bewick, will be placed in
a book with the others I had given me at Newcastle,
which I have the greatest value for, and shall be
very happy, if either business or pleasure brought
Mr. Bewick to London, to show them to him, in the
highest preservation, and also to be introduced to
his ingenious son, to whom I beg my compliments ;
and remain Mr. Bewick's very great admirer and
obliged

S. M-

* The lady here indicated was the wife of an officer. She was an
.imateur artist, and was a frequent visitor when at Newcastle.

APPENDIX.

THOMAS BEWICK TO MRS. M-

Newcastle, May 20, 1805.

MADAM,

Your very kind and flattering letter of
the 4th ult. has reached me, and I am happy to find
that the second volume of the Birds meets with your
approbation, and that some of my little whimsies put
into vignettes have afforded you any entertainment.
Could I have forseen that the sketches, which your
partiality makes you value, would ever have been
thought worthy of your notice, I certainly would
have saved more of them for you, and not have put
so many of them into the fire. And now, if my
time and attention were not so fully taken up with
conducting other parts of my business, I could easily
furnish such without end ; but, when the fancies pop
into my head, I have not time even to commit them
to paper, and I am often obliged to sketch them at
once upon the wood. A second edition of both
volumes of the Birds is now at press ; and, as I be-
lieve you wish me success, I cannot help informing
you, that, in my opinion, Mr. Walker, the printer, is
doing the work to look better than either of the
volumes now before the public. He has seen some
defects in his former mode of printing which he is
remedying in this. I have just seen Aikin's " An-
nual Review," in which he dwells at large, in his

342 Al'l'KNMHX.

criticism, upon the History of the Quadrupeds an;l
the Birds. There are many misstatements, and
some mistakes of the printer, but, otherwise, he has
gone the utmost lengths in praise of the whole ; and,
if his praise be just, it is highly flattering to me. I
never hoped to have any compliments paid to me as
an author. I furnished all the original remarks, &c.,
for the Quadrupeds, and the first volume of the
Birds ; but, if I could have got any person to write
a book for me, I would never have thought upon
writing the second volume myself. Necessity — not
choice — set me to work in this way. It was the
work of the winter evenings, at my happy fireside,
surrounded by my wife and girls at work, and
cheered at intervals by many a wild tune on the
Northumberland pipes, played by my now stout,
healthy boy. <

I am, Madam,

With best wishes for your health and happiness,
Ydur much obliged servant,

THOMAS BEWICK.

P.S. — Should business take me to London, I will
certainly take the liberty to give you a call. My
boy thinks himself much obliged to you for your at-
tention and great kindness to him. I would fain
indulge him with a visit to London, but I think he
is too young yet, and I have some fears that I shall
feel awkward at parting with him even for a short
time.

UM'KNDIX. 343

THOMAS BEWICK TO

Newcastle, 15th Nov., 1808.

DEAR SIR,

Your letter of the fourth inst., enclosing
your promissory note at six months, came safe to
hand. Having calculated upon being sooner paid,
I was, I confess disappointed ; but, however, on
thinking all matters over respecting your present
expenses in, as yet, an unproductive publication, and
remembering your continual good wishes towards
me, I now see that I have to thank you for the above
remittance. You make me smile when you talk of
my " accumulated wealth." I might, indeed, have
been, by this time, as rich as I ever wished to be, if

my publications had been

but that not being the case, that day must be longer
put off. It may, indeed, happen all in good time,
viz., when I am unable in the line of my business to
be longer useful to the world. I may then, indeed,
in the down hill of life, have it in my power to at-
tain to the summit of my wishes, in retiring to a
cottage, by a burn side, surrounded with woods and
wilds, such as I was dragged from when young to
exhibit myself upon the stage of the busy world.
To such a place as this I hope to retire ; and, if I

* An eminent publisher by whom he had been employed to embellish
an extensive work.

344

am enabled to show kindness to old friends, and to be
a good neighbour to those around me, and at the
same time to fill up my leisure time in contemplation,
and in the amusements of fishing and gardening,
then I shall think that Providence has been pleased
to single me out to be one of the happiest of men.
I intend to go to press in the spring with a new
edition of the Birds, printed with the same kind of
small type as the Quadrupeds : the two volumes in
one volume demy. I wish much to have one of your
books, but I cannot engage in the sale of them, being
sufficiently embarrassed with my own publications.

T. B.

NK\V<-ASTI,K-OX-TYNE :

ItnRERT WARI», PRINTER, FOOT OF DEAN STREET.

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