128 .MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 



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 department ; 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 uninterruptedly 

 thus to carry all before him, till some of our old 

 customers became irritated at him, and par- 

 ticularly 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, pre- 

 tended artists as Isaac Hymen ; and this must 

 continue to be the case so long as gentlemen will 

 not go themselves to the fountain head, and be at 

 the pains to encourage merit. 



Our main supporters in the silver engraving, 

 were John Langlands and his partner John Robert- 

 son. Before they entered into partnership, Mr. 

 Robertson was well known and much respected 

 in almost every principal town in Britain, and (I 

 believe) in Ireland, as a travelling silversmith and 



