Life, Genius, and Personal Habits of Bewick-. 3 
not, ungentle reader, think thyself wise, look foolish, and cry 
baa ! 
His table I found, as usual, familiarly frequented by gentle- 
men of learning, wit, and peril abundance of whasé con- 
versation I could readily record, were it not extraneous to 
my limited purpose. Mr. Billington, however, I cannot omit, 
as he forms one of the hourly instances that verify the jibes 
rality of him I am slightly delineating. This gentleman, the 
author of a very useful and well-written book on planting, was 
persecuted by some state vermin, because he would not con- 
nive at their depredations on the country, and turned cut of 
his office, with a heavy family. He was instantly encouraged by 
the generous Bewick to persist in his integrity; for ¢ truth,” 
he said, ** would ultimately come down like a sledge hammer.” 
It did so, indeed; their roguery was detected, and the poor 
gentleman, after fighting eight hard years with pen and penury, 
not only triumphed over he opponents, but was selected for 
promotion to a higher and more lucrative situation. ‘This, he 
has often since told me, he should never have had patience 
or courage to have achieved, but for his hourly thoughts of 
honest Bewick’ s * sledge hance 
I found that the good people of Newcastle had erected a 
magnificent edifice of great elegance, for the purposes cf 
philosophy, collections, and a library, in which they intended 
the first piece of statuary to be a figure of their honoured 
townsman, then under sculpture by Baily, at a subscription of 
only 1. each, so as to admit the greater number. To this list 
I was permitted to add my name, W ith those of several of my 
Salopian friends, who have since repaid me with cordial satis- 
faction. Frequently, as I walked with him along the streets, 
it was gratifying to witness how much and how generally his 
character and talents were respected ; particularly when many 
who bowed to him differed totally from him in opinions, on a 
subject that ought to conciliate, but far too often sets little 
minds at inveterate hostility with great ones. An amiable 
touch of character showed itself in fhe many ragged children 
who followed him for halfpence, and would not Wetec him till 
he had i impar ted the customary largess. He turned to them 
several times, Soe he was talking = me, say ing, “*Get awa’, 
bairns, get awa’; I hae none for ye the day.” As they still 
kept dogging ins, and pulling at his coat, he turned into a 
shop, and throwing down a tester, said, in his broad dialect 
(which he neither affected to conceal, nor pretended to affect), 
** Gie me sax penn’orth o’ bawbees;” and throwing the copper 
among the children, said kindly, and with a merry flourish of 
his cudgel, “ There, chields, fit yoursels wi’ ballats, and eae 
B 2 
