ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 18 



T. S. Good. 



To proceed, then. Anyone who has tried his hand 

 at sketching from nature will probably admit that this 

 good town of Berwick-on-Tweed — in which I have the 

 honour of addressing you — contains much that is tempting 

 to the artist. Picturesque in itself when viewed as a 

 whole, it comprises, within the circuit of its walls, 

 architectural perspectives and old-world nooks and corners 

 which would have appealed, I think, to a Van der Heyden 

 or a Pieter de Hooghe. Well, Berwick has had her 

 painter — though he was not primarily a painter of 

 architecture or of interiors — and I take it upon me to-day 

 to impute it as a reproach to this ancient and historic 

 town that, so far, she has done so little to honour him. 

 For I believe it is beyond dispute that he is the most 

 gifted of her sons born in modern times — a man of 

 whom any town whatever might well be proud. And 

 yet (if I may trust the results of my own enquiries, 

 which have not been cursory or perfunctory) though it is 

 less than thirty years since he died, he is here already 

 almost forgotten. Sir Henry Taylor's famous line, 



" The world knows nothing of its greatest men," 



is generally regarded as a brilliant paradox. But here, 

 in Berwick, I fear it is no more than the mere literal 

 statement of a fact. But surely we shall yet make 

 some amends to our illustrious dead ! 



Thomas Sword Good was born in this town in 1789, 

 and brought up as a house-painter. But he soon raised 

 himself to the rank of a regular exhibitor in the Royal 

 Academy of London. That, you may say, does not of itself 

 imply any remarkable talent or proficiency in art. I am 

 entirely of your opinion ; but let me hasten to add that 

 Good also received the eager recognition of the best among 

 his contemporaries. Sir David Wilkie recognized him 



