5Q 



THOMA S BE WICK. 



an almost absence from it gave even that relish a zest which I have not 

 words to describe." 



At this time it is also recorded that Bewick proceeded enthusiastically to 

 examine into the habits of the various animals he met with in the neighbour- 

 hood. His favourite employment, angling, still continued to be his peculiar 

 delight. During his apprenticeship it was only at intervals that he was able 

 to pursue the "gentle craft," and his hours were then all too short. Now 

 freed from the fetters of a master and at liberty to attend to business when 

 it suited him, he plunged into its staid pleasures. Besides working at 

 engraving, when he was able to tear himself from the fascination of the 

 fishing-rod, he also did a little business for his father in collecting accounts, 

 calling on the farmers and other customers when their bills for coals became 

 due ; and, at the same time, when Christmas approached, taking part in the 

 revelry of Yule-tide rejoicings. 



This continued until the summer of 1776, when Bewick began to think 

 that his much-desired liberty had become rather dull ; and he relates how, 

 sitting one day engaged in his favourite pursuit, it occurred to him that he 

 should like to visit his mother's brother in Cumberland, and he at once 

 determined to start on a pedestrian excursion. His mother was naturally 

 anxious and surprised at the sudden resolve, but after a little explanation, 

 and seeing how determined her son was to go, she gave an unwilling 

 consent. She prepared his knapsack, and, sewing three guineas in his 

 waistband, bade him an affectionate farewell. The idea was the thought of 

 a moment, and no time was lost in carrying out the project. In the after- 

 noon Bewick had been sitting idly fishing, with no definite work in hand nor 

 object in view; the wish for change suddenly came, and by the evening 

 he was on his way on a long walking tour, from which he did not return 

 for fully two months.* 



It is not necessary to follow Bewick in this excursion, which he details in 



* Compare with Notes on a Visit to Thomas Bewick in 1825 in Appendix. 



