3Q 



THOMAS BEWICK. 



print, the chief point in the design being the figure of the cat just going 

 to spring on the "wanton sparrow" of the fable.* 



" A prowling cat the miscreant spies, 

 And wide expands her amber eyes : 

 Near and more near Grimalkin draws, 

 She wags her tail, protends her paws ; 

 Then springing on her thoughtless prey, 

 She bore the vicious bird away. 



Thus in her cruelty and pride 

 The wicked wanton sparrow dy'd." 



The Bee, the Ant, and the Sparrow. The change which Bewick Wrought 



" Select Fables," 1776. ...... . c 



m juvenile literature is one of his 

 noteworthy triumphs. To improve the style of infants' books may seem a 

 trifling matter, but there can be no question that a child brought up among 

 the elegant toy-books of the present day must have an aesthetic feeling 

 that never could have been hoped to be implanted by the pitiable pamphlets 

 of Bewick's earliest days. The revolution Bewick's art brought about in 

 these little works is felt to the present time. He led the way with the 

 amusing and, to young folks, entertaining alphabets of illustrated letters ; 

 he followed by introducing rational and pleasing designs for fables and 

 story-books, until they slowly but surely took the place of the paltry 

 illustrations he found. As their influence became more and more widely 

 spread, they paved the way for the high-class books of to-day. Colour he 

 only very occasionally tried on his engravings, but he first demonstrated the 

 fact that children are most satisfied with what is lastingly good, even in 

 black and white ; and while the influence of the hopelessly bad cuts became 



* " The Looking Glass for the Mind," by John Bewick, has a block with a similar design. In the reproduc- 

 tion it will be observed that two lines run through the design. These were drawn the whole length of the page in 

 the volume in the author's possession, from which the cut is taken. The fable, as noted, was not inserted in the 

 1784 edition. Is it possible that this volume, which is very rare, is the one employed by Saint when compiling the 

 later publications, the cut being marked through to show that the page was cancelled ? 



