xx EDITOR'S PREFACE. 



of love. The "Quadrupeds," the "Birds," and 

 the "Fables of ^Esop," which it comprises, are 

 his best work, since, with the exception of the 

 "Chillingham Bull," "Waiting for Death," the 

 cuts to the "Poems of Goldsmith and Parnell," 

 and the " Chace," (recently reprinted in Mr. 

 Robert Robinson's pleasant and gossipping 

 "Thomas Bewick, His Life and Times,") and 

 those to Gay and the Select Fables, little else 

 that he did is worthy of serious study. It is 

 therefore to be hoped that the present volumes, 

 including, as they do, in addition to his master- 

 pieces, his very remarkable and characteristic 

 autobiography, will prove acceptable to all who 

 are interested in the revival of wood engraving 

 in this country. 



This preface would be incomplete without a 

 few words of cordial thanks to my friend, Mr. 

 J. W. Barnes, F.S.A., of Durham, one of Miss 

 Isabella Bewick's executors, to whose steadfast 

 kindness, and intimate knowledge of Bewick and 

 his work, I have been deeply indebted during 

 the preparation of this "Memoir" for the press. 



AUSTIN DOBSON. 



PORTH-Y-FELIN, BALING, W. 

 September, 1887. 



