Winter. From a vignette in the " History of British Birds," Vol. I. 



CHAPTER II. 



FIRST GLEAMS OF ART. 



T T has been well said that "we need no testimony of the preternatural 

 sort " to make us believe Bewick must have been very early in the habit 

 of noticing natural beauties as well as the village surroundings in which he 

 was placed. We have no difficulty also in believing that he took much 

 delight in endeavouring, to the best of his ability, to make representations 

 of their forms. Though it is evident no forcing or training could have 

 developed Bewick's genius, and it was as natural for him to turn to artistic 

 pursuits "as the sparks fly upward," yet we love to learn the little details 

 of how he first came to depict the familiar objects in his works. He was 

 emphatically a student of nature ; he loved its sincerity and simplicity. 

 Before he had seen any works of artists he began to show a strong indication 

 of his taste, and nature and the little details of cottage life provided him 

 with everything he longed for. It was at first only occasionally that the 

 indications of his affection for such things were seen, although they were 

 as characteristic of the fully developed artist as of the embryo delineator of 



