Notices of New Books. " 8151 



strous absurdities which bird-stuffeis exhibited as the perfection of 

 their art; and had examined all the published figures of birds, and all 

 the histories of birds, to which he could gain access. Notwith- 

 standing this industrious search into the labours of others, Bewick 

 " determined to copy nothing, but to stick to nature as closely as he 

 could." His engravings being at last finished, it became necessary to 

 supply the letter-press ; and on this subject we could have rejoiced 

 to have found more particular information, seeing how much and how 

 bitterly its authorship has been discussed. The first volume of the 

 ' History of British Birds,' as well as the whole of the ' History of 

 Quadrupeds,' were written by Mr. Bewick's partner, Mr, Ralph 

 Beilby, assisted by the greater knowledge of fact possessed by Bewick 

 himself: the record of this is brief, but incontrovertible. "After 

 working many a late hour upon the cuts, the first volume of the book 

 was at length finished at press in September, 1797. Mr. Beilby un- 

 dertook the writing or compilation of this, the first volume, in which 

 I assisted him a great deal more than I had done with the ' Quadru- 

 peds.' After this Mr. Beilby gave up the engraviug business." — 

 P. 162. These works, therefore, produced by the two partners in 

 business, the literary department by Beilby, the illustrations by 

 Bewick, were of course partnership property ; they became Bewick's 

 sole property by purchase only. " Some disputes happening respect- 

 ing the printing of the ' Quadrupeds,' Mr. Beilby, who now sought 

 repose, and could not be turmoiled with disputes of any kind, sold 

 me his share of that publication. Some time before the second 

 volume of the ' Birds ' was put to press, he also sold me his share of 

 the first volume." This loss of his partner induced Bewick to 

 attempt what had never before occurred to him, — to furnish the letter- 

 press to his own illustrations. " As soon as Mr. Beilby left me," he 

 writes, " I was obliged, from necessity, not choice, to commence 

 author. As soon as each bird was finished on the wood, I set about 

 describing it from my specimen, and at the same time consulted 

 every authority I could meet with, to know what had been said ; and 

 these, together with what I knew from my own knowledge, were then 

 compared : and in this way I finished, as truly as I could, the second 

 volume of the ' History of British Birds.' " That Thomas Bewick 

 was really nothing of an author will be admitted by all those who 

 have studied the works which bear his name : his calling was that of 

 an artist, and in his particular department of art he was altogether 

 without a rival : as a draughtsman and engraver of wood blocks no 

 one has ever equalled him. The texture of plumage has never been 



