Mr. Atkinson' s Sketch of the late T. Bewick. 153 



exclusively in view, as the print of the Old Horse, mentioned before ; and 

 this feeling produced a kindness and consideration towards every crea- 

 ture about him. 



Among the rest a shepherd's dog had grown much attached to him, 

 and was his constant companion. It was in his younger days, when his 

 sociality of disposition led him more into company than at a later period 

 he was inclined to indulge in. On these occasions Cheviot usually 

 waited for his master at the door, but sometimes on a very cold inclement 

 night he took him into the house with him. Once, when he had been ad- 

 mitted in this way, some one remarked, " Are you not afraid of his 

 bringing fleas into the house ; had you not better put him out?" Be- 

 wick answered, in his serio-comic way, " I should have no objection at 

 all, but (poor fellow) he has not brought his great coat." 



Of course the wanton destruction of life met with his greatest disap- 

 probation, and, on one occasion, produced a pretty strong remonstrance 

 to some young men engaged in shooting swallows. It contained nothing 

 remarkable, but the truism with which he concluded it ; *' That they 

 were destroying creatures of infinitely more use than themselves." This 

 carried conviction and produced the desired effect. 



He could not bear to see a woman or a horse ill treated : I remem- 

 ber seeing him very much excited, after witnessing a blow given by a 

 brutal fellow to a woman. " I sprung forward, Mr. Atkinson, to knock 

 him down, but I remembered that I was only a useless old man, and 

 might get myself abused without doing any good : so I told him what 

 I thought, and shamed him out of meddling with her." 



On the subject of death he was often painfully familiar ; his father 

 and grandfather had both died about the age of 70, and he had a kind 

 of presentiment that the same period would be fatal also to him ; he 

 survived it however, and used to remark " that he had now got a new 

 lease of life, and might go on for years, though as we are only tenants 

 at will, he might receive warning any day. He was not afraid to die, 

 though he did not wish for its approach, and when I arrived at his age 

 I should feel the same indifference." The reflections produced by his 

 study of nature, had been to him the most pleasant, and convincing of 



