ISOj.] 



Mr. Bewick's Reply to Mrs, Hodgfon. 



303 



neither Robert Johnibni nor any peifon 

 but nriy(t-lf, made the drawings, or traced 

 or cut thtni on the wood. 



In anfwer to Mrs. Hodgfon, I miy be 

 allowed to a{k, if I wa^ merely einployeil 

 as the " wood-cutter ?" Who gave me 

 the order and furiiifhed the dcfigrns ? I 

 challenge the publication of the " docu- 

 ments" (lie mentions. They can only 

 prove that her laie hulbmd paid one-third 

 parr of the price of the engravings, and a 

 fimilar c mpendtiorj for compiling the 

 book. Her prope'ty therein li;is never 

 been denied by me, and therefore it was 

 vnr.ecirflaiy lor her to at'ack my charafter 

 unier the pretext of an " Aldrefs to the 

 Eiit'rof the Annuil Review," f^.r whole 

 miiiakes I am not aniWerable, and w lo/'e 

 rei'iew of the Hiiloiy of Britifli Birds 

 was in fail more iniurions to nie than tu 

 any other perlim, alhough his milrepie- 

 tentations came in the g»rb ot pnncgyric, 

 and unqueltioaably his dcfign was 

 friendly. 



If I be allowed to give a (hort hiftory of 

 the publication in queltion, it will noc only 

 re.'ute the mifieprefenuucns alluded to, 

 but, thr 'Ugh the wide circulation of your 

 Migazine, ferve as an anfwer tea multi- 

 tude of inq'iiries, which, in the couife 

 of the voltnninous correfpondence caufed 

 by the Hiftory of Birds, have been nude 

 to me by gentlemen to whom I am under 

 thegrea'elf obligations for their affitance 

 towards its coirpletion. 



Fiom mv tirlt reading, when a boy at 

 fchool, A iixocnny Hiifory ot Birds aiid 

 Bea i."^, and i then wretched compoiiton 

 called the Hiiloryof Three Hiinttie:! Ani 

 nisls, to (he time I became acq'iainted 

 with works on natur^ti hiftory w.-it'en tor 

 the perufal of men, I nrver w.-s wjihoiit 

 the <iefign < f attempting romeihiig ot this 

 kind mvic f ; hut my principal objcd 

 vvas (and it ill is) direfle.i to trie mental 

 picilure and improvement of youth ; to 

 engage thrii- atienti.,n, to dirett thrir fteps 

 aright, and to lead th;m on tiil they he- 

 ccme enam- iirtd of this ir.nt.ccnt and de- 

 lightful pjrf'iit. Some time after my 

 pjrtritrfli.r^ with Mr. Beiiby commenced 

 I communicated mv wi.'hcs to tiim, who 

 a!ter mnny converfationi came mto my 

 plan of piibliftiing a Hiifory of Qiadiu- 

 peds, and I then immediately began to 

 draw tre aiiimals, todefignthe vignertes, 

 and to cut them on wood, an^l tlii.'i, lo avoid 

 inicnuption, frequently till very latejn the 

 night ; my partner at the fame tiiMC un- 

 dertaking CO coinpilc and d^aw up the de- 



fcnptions and hi.tory at his leifure hours 

 and i;vfningsat home. With the accounts 

 of the foreign animals'I did not much in- 

 terfere ; the fources whrrce.I had drawn 

 the little kmwiedge I poifelfed were open 

 to my coadjutor, and he ufed them ; but 

 to ihofe of the animalsofour own coun- 

 try, as my partner before this time had 

 p:iid little atteniin to natural hiftory, I 

 lent a helping hand. This help was given 

 in daily converfations, and in occaiional 

 ni'tes and memorandums, which were 

 ul'ed in their proper pUces. As the cuts 

 wc-re engrave-l, we e^nployed tie .ate'Mr. 

 Tiionias Angus, of tnis town, prit.ter, 

 to take otf a ceitain number o! impref- 

 fions of eich, many of which are ftill in 

 my polielfion. At Mr. Angus's death 

 the charge for thTs bulinefs w^s not made 

 iti his books, and at the requtll (if his 

 widow and ■ urfelvesthe late Mr. Sniomoa 

 Ho.^gfon fixed the price ; and yet the 

 " widow and executrix" of .Mr. Hido-- 

 fon aflTcrts in your Magazine, thit I was 

 " iiurely employed as the engraver or 

 woodcutter" (I fupjiole) by her nufband ! 

 Had iliis been the cafe, is it probable that 

 Mr. Hodgfon would have had the cuts 

 prin;ed i:i any other office than his o*n ? 

 The faa is the reveife of Mrs. Hodgfon's 

 ftatcm^nt ; and although I have never, 

 either " infidioufly ' or otheivvii'e, uled 

 auy means to cufe the reviewers or otiiers 

 to h;.ld me op as the " firit and fole mover 

 of the concern," I am now drigged forth 

 by her to declare tint / am the m.in. 



But to return to my itory : — While we 

 were in the prcgrefs o our work, prudence 

 fugi^efted that ii tninjht be nec-.ll'ary to in- 

 quire bow our hibours were to be ufliered 

 to the world, and, as we were :;nacquainted 

 with the printing an 1 pubiifliingof books, 

 what mode was the niuli: likely to infure 

 fuccefs. Upan this linject Mr. Hodgfon 

 was confulieH, and itilly acquainted with 

 our plan. He entered int . the imdertak- 

 iiig with uncommon ardour, and urged 

 us ftienuoufly not to retain our firft 

 hiiinble notions oi " miking it like a 

 fchool- bo 'k," but prefTed us to let it 

 " alfomea m re relVeflableforni." From 

 tliis warmth cf our frie id we had no hefi- 

 tation in offering him a ihare in thework, 

 and a copartHcrfliip deid vvas entered into 

 between usfoithat puipoleon the loth of 

 A}>ril, 1790. Wfu; Mr. Hodgfon did in 

 coi reeling the piefs beyond A'hat falls to the 

 duty of every printer, I know not ; but I 

 am certain that he was e.xtremely defirous 

 that it Ihouid have juitice done it. in this 

 HxiewviHg 



