MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 271 



productions of that kind. Indeed, in this way he 

 became superexcellent ; and, as I conceived, he 

 could hardly be equalled in his water colour draw- 

 ing of views and landscapes by any artist.* For 

 some time I continued to sketch in his figures, 

 but at length he needed none of my help in this 

 way. I remember of his once coming to me, and 

 begging I would draw or sketch in a tree for him. 

 "No, Robert/' said I, "but I will direct you to a 

 place where you will see such a tree as you never 

 saw painted by any artist in your life," and that 

 was a tree then growing in Adonis's Grove. He 

 went and endeavoured to do justice to his pattern, 

 and I do not know that any one could have made 

 a better likeness. As soon as the time arrived that 

 he became entitled to have wages from us, this 

 tempted his father and mother to leave the country 

 and to reside in Newcastle, and to have him to board 

 with them. How he was managed as to his diet 

 with them I know not, but it soon appeared to have 

 been a wrong treatment in this respect, for he soon 

 lost his health and was from that time seldom out 

 of the hands of the doctor, and at one period of 

 his apprenticship he was about a year absent from 

 our employment either in the country or in being 



[_* Some of these drawings were afterwards the cause of a lawsuit. 

 The Earl of Bute, calling at Bewick and Beilby's shop, when passing 

 through Newcastle, was shown some of Johnson's sketches, and bought 

 them. Beilby and Bewick appropriated the money, on the ground 

 that their apprentice's work was their property. The matter ulti- 

 mately came into court, and was decided against the partners, who, 

 by two receipts among the Bewick MSS., dated 26th November and 

 24th December respectively, had to pay g IDS. yd. costs, and 11 

 5s. 6d. damages. If, as Miss Bewick states in one of her memoranda, 

 Johnson was apprenticed to her father in 1786, this suit, which was 

 commenced in May, 1796, must have taken place after his period of 

 apprenticeship had terminated, and it was only decided in October, 

 the month in which he died. (See note infra, p. 272).] 



