MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 171 



had no share with us in this work. Mr. Beilby 

 undertook the writing or compilation of this (the 

 first) volume, in which I assisted him a great deal 

 more than I had done with the " Quadrupeds." I 

 was however surprised to find that in an Introduc- 

 tion written by him he took occasion to bestow the 

 most unqualified praises on me for the assistance 

 I had given him, by which I found he was this 

 time determined upon being an author. I only 

 observed that I thought the " Quadrupeds," with 

 the title of "Beilby and Bewick" as the Editors 

 had done very well, and I could see no reason for 

 making any change. I found Mr. Beilby had 

 imparted his ideas of becoming author to the 

 Revd. Thomas Hornby, while the latter was at 

 supper with him, as indeed he often was, when 

 Mr. Hornby took occasion to express his opinion 

 of this business, and to advise him not to think 

 upon doing any such thing, observing that he 

 would have written a History of Birds for me, and 

 that some of the Doctors I was so intimate with, 

 would with pleasure have done the same, perhaps 

 better than he could have done it, but that in 

 neither case could they have hoped to sell a single 

 edition without my cuts. After Mr. Hornby had 

 slept and turned the business over in his mind, he 

 called upon me, and with a kind of indignant 

 feeling advised me not to permit any such thing. 

 Other friends also did the same, and used the same 

 kind of reasoning. In this unsettled state of 

 affairs, Mr. and Mrs. Beilby set off in the pet, 

 upon a visit to Mr. Wilkinson's at Sleekburn, 

 where they remained about a fortnight. On Mr. 

 Beilby's return I asked him if he still persisted in 

 being named as the author of the book, to which 



