MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 47 
good gentleman, after breakfast, soon betook himself 
to his labours, and began to skew me, as he laugh- 
ingly said, how easy it was to cut wood; but I soon 
saw that cutting wood in his style and manner was 
no joke, although to him it seemed indeed easy. 
His delicate and beautiful tools were all made by 
himself, and I may with truth say that his shop was 
the only artist’s * shop’ that I ever found perfectly 
clean and tidy. In the course of the day Bewick 
called upon me again, and put down his name on 
my list of subscribers in behalf of the Literary and 
Philosophical Society of Newcastle. In this, how- 
ever, his enthusiasm had misled him, for the learned 
body for which he took upon himself to act, did not 
think proper to ratify the compact. 
“ Another invitation having come to me from 
Gatehead, I found my good friend seated in his usual 
place. His countenance seemed to me to beam with 
pleasure as he shook my hand. 1 I could not bear 
the idea,’ said he, ‘ of your going off, without telling 
you, in written words, what I think of your Birds of 
America. Here it is in black and white, and make 
of it what use you may, if it be of use at all.’ I 
put the unsealed letter in my pocket, and we chatted 
on subjects connected with natural history. Now 
and then he would start and exclaim, ‘ Oh, that l 
