MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 265 



France ; but, whether these prints had been done 

 with the design of embellishing the walls of houses 

 in that country, I know not. They had been taken 

 from paintings of eminent old masters, and were 

 mostly Scripture pieces. They were well drawn, 

 and perhaps correctly copied from the originals, 

 yet in my opinion none of them looked well. 

 Jackson left Newcastle quite enfeebled with age, 

 and, it was said, ended his days in an asylum, 

 under the protecting care of Sir Gilbert Elliot, 

 bart., at some place on the border near the Teviot, 

 or on Tweedside. 



Whether the speculations here noticed may be 

 thought worthy of being acted upon, I know not, 

 but it is not to any of the above noticed ways of 

 wood cutting that my attention is directed: it is, 

 in my ardent desire to see the stroke engraving on 

 wood carried to the utmost perfection, that I hope 

 the world will be gratified; and I trust the time 

 is not distant when its superior excellence will be 

 seen, particularly in landscape scenery, so as to 

 surpass copper-plate engravings. The effect to be 

 produced by wood engraving has not, in that way, 

 yet been tried, nor its powers made apparent. 

 This is, I think, to be attained by two, or even 

 more, blocks being employed, on one print, so that 

 a greater and more natural effect as to colour and 

 softness may be produced. I am well aware that 

 some difficulty may arise, as to bringing off a clear 

 impression of fine strokes from so large a surface, 

 but in this age of mechanical improvement and 

 invention, I think this apparent difficulty will 

 readily be got over. Perhaps printing from a 

 roller, instead of an even down pull, may easily 



accomplish this business. I have often thought, 



2 I 



