23 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BKWICK. 



selves of their labours, some salutary moral lesson, 

 as to their humane treatment ; or to expose, by per- 

 haps the most cutting possible satire, the cruelty of 

 those who ill-treat them, But a great proportion ol 

 them express, in a way of dry humour peculiar to 

 himself, the artist's particular notions of men and 

 things, the passing events of the day, &c. &c. ; and 

 exhibit often such ludicrous, and, in a few instances, 

 such serious and even awful, combinations of ideas, 

 as could not perhaps have been developed so for- 

 cibly in any other way. 



From the moment of the publication of this vo- 

 lume, the fame of Thomas Bewick was established 

 on a foundation not to be shaken. It has passed 

 through seven large editions, with continually grow- 

 ing improvements. 



It was observed before, that Mr Bewick's younger 

 brother, John, was apprenticed to Mr Beilby and 

 himself. He naturally followed the line of engrav- 

 ing so successfully struck out by his brother. At 

 the close of his apprenticeship, he removed to Lon- 

 don, where he soon became very eminent as a wood- 

 engraver ; indeed, in some respects, he might be 

 said to excel the elder Bewick. Tbis naturally in- 

 duced Mr William Bulmer, the spirited proprietor 

 of the " Shakspeare Press," himself a Newcastle 



