xii EDITOR'S PREFACE. 



at all events in the connection for which the 

 MSS. had been consigned to my hands. I 

 consequently decided to restrict myself to adding 

 a few authentic letters to those which Miss 

 Bewick had printed in 1862, and to use the 

 rest, as opportunity offered, in verifying and 

 extending the notes. 



There were, however, three documents, of which, 

 in my task of editing, two were of secondary, and 

 one of primary interest. The first was a bound 

 copy of the proofs of the "Memoir" as printed; 

 the second was the transcript of that "Memoir" 

 which Miss Bewick had prepared for the press; 

 the third, and unquestionably the most important, 

 was the " Memoir " itself in Bewick's autograph, 

 labelled by Miss Bewick "Manuscript Copy of 

 Thomas Bewick's Memoir, uncorrected." It is a 

 quarto book of some two hundred and sixty pages 

 of old ribbed paper, closely written up to within 

 a few leaves from the end. From notes inserted 

 at different places it appeared that Bewick had 

 begun it at Tynemouth in November, 1822, and 

 continued it at that place until December 10.* In 

 May 1823, during a fit of the gout, which confined 

 him to the house, he had taken it up again, and 

 worked at it until June 24, by which time page 



* See letter to Mr. Gray at p. 389. 



