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THOMAS BEWICK. 



Besides the signature, place, and date, there are the letters P., V., B., T. B. 

 (the last in monogram) under four figures crossing a bridge in the background, 

 a number of dogs scampering before them. The T. B. is easily recognisable 

 as Bewick's big burly figure, and the one who takes his arm is John Bell, the 

 steward to Sir Harry Liddell, of Sweden and Lapland fame. The large 

 Rough Water Dog is characteristically depicted beside a coast scene, where 

 the dog swims behind a little boat. The next, the Large Water Spaniel, 

 stated in the text to have been drawn from " one of the finest of its kind," is 

 a beautifully wrought block, the hair more carefully engraved than the 

 previous one. The Small Water Spaniel and the Springer are also thought- 

 ful drawings, and the landscape backgrounds are executed with much 

 appropriateness. The Comforter, the last of the Dog series, is perhaps the 

 least pleasing, the insipidity of the surroundings killing the beauty of the 

 portrait. In the text there follow after this some reflections on the manners 

 of dogs and men, and in connection therewith it is interesting to observe that 

 in the Memoir, at pages 159 and 160, Bewick expresses sentiments on dog 

 life of a noteworthy character, which read as a pleasant sequel to Beilby's 

 writing in the Quadrupeds. 



The "harmless and inoffensive " Hare is an engraving which, while con- 

 taining many admirable qualities, shows the animal on too large a scale to 

 give a true idea of its size. The arrangement of placing the head against 

 a half-dark background is skilful, as it allows the whiskers to be marked 

 without difficulty to the engraver. The Rabbit is more successful, the action 

 good, the drawing certain, and the colour of the fur cleverly manipulated : it 

 may be noted that the whiskers are partly black against white, and white 

 against black. The Domestic Rabbit excels both the previous blocks. The 

 figure is full of life, and though a large portion of the body is left pure white, 

 the rotundity of the form is perfectly maintained — a feat in engraving which 

 is much easier to write about than to equal or excel. 



The Guinea Pig is not altogether satisfactory, and the Spotted Cavy was 



