Chapter XXXI: Appendix

AFTER Thomas Bewick retired from business in favour of his son, he continued, till his death, to employ himself closely, at home, in filling-up gaps in his History of British Birds; and, in conjunction with his son, he also commenced a History of British Fishes. The finished specimens of these, on the wood, are now for the first time published in this Memoir. A portion of a series of appropriate Vignettes, also executed by him for the work on Fishes, are now employed as embellishments in the preceding pages. About twenty of the set, together with six new birds, were printed in the last edition of the History of Birds. It may be proper to add, that the late Robert Elliot Bewick left about fifty highly-finished and accurately-coloured drawings of fishes from nature, together with a portion of the descriptive matter relating to the work.

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BRITISH FISHES.

BASSE.
(_Perca Labrax._—LINNÆUS.)
]

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FIFTEEN-SPINED STICKLEBACK.
(_Gasterosteus spinachia._—LINNÆUS.)
]

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BREAM.
(_Sparus Raii._—BLOCH.)
]

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JOHN DORY.
(_Zeus faber._—LINNÆUS.)
]

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BLACK GOBY.
(_Gobius niger._—LINNÆUS.)
]

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BALLAN WRASSE.
(_Ballan Wrasse._—PENNANT.)
]

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BARBEL.
(_Cyprinus barbus._—LINNÆUS.)
]

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GUDGEON.
(_Cyprinus gobio._—LINNÆUS.)
]

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TENCH.
(_Cyprinus Tinca._—BLOCH.)
]

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DACE OR DARE.
(_Cyprinus leuciscus._—BLOCH.)
]

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SAURY.
(_Esox Saurus._—PENNANT.)
]

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GAR FISH.
(_Esox Belone._—LINNÆUS.)
]

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SAMLET OR BRANDLING.
(_Salmo Fario._—LINNÆUS.)
]

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LUMP SUCKER.
(_Cyclopterus lumpus._—LINNÆUS.)
]

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DOG FISH.
(_Squalus Acanthias._—LINNÆUS.)
]

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THE MAIGRE.
(_SCIÆNA AQUILA._—CUVIER.)
]

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WEEVER.
(_Trachinus draco._—PENNANT.)
]

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THE ALARM.[42]

Footnote 42:

This fable was written and illustrated by T. Bewick, for his “Fables
of Æsop,” and is now published for the first time.

THE hollow grumblings of the devils on earth having reached the infernal regions, Satan ordered an enquiry immediately to be made into the cause of their outcry, and commanded a trio of his choicest associates forthwith to fly with the velocity of light to see, and to report to him, what was the matter. On their arrival on earth, they were met, during the night, when men were asleep, by a deputation selected from innumerable hosts of imps from every kingdom and state of the uncivilized as well as the civilized world. They soon were given to understand, that an outrageous mutiny, amounting to rebellion, had been going on for some time against their old king, Ignorance, who was accused of having become very remiss and negligent of his duty. For this they resolved to have him hurled from his high station, and to have another ruler appointed in his stead. It was alleged that, owing to his neglect, mankind had lately begun to use their intellectual faculties to such a degree, that it was feared, if they were suffered to go on, Satan would (though very unjustly) lay the blame on them for the loss of his subjects. Old Ignorance was immediately brought to judgment, and at the same time other candidates for his office offered their services to succeed him. The voting instantly took place, and was decided in the twinkling of an eye, when it was found that old Ignorance was re-elected by a great majority; for, on casting up the votes, they stood thus:—

PRINCIPALS. SATELLITES. IMPS.

{ Vanity.
}

Ignorance. { 300,000,000.
Superstition. }

{ Sensuality.
}

{ Arrogance.
}

Pride. { Envy. 100,000,000.
}

{ Obstinacy.
}

{ Blasphemy.
}

{ Revenge.
}

Malice. { Injustice. 100,000,000.
}

{ Cruelty.
}

─────────────────────────────────────────
Majority for 200,000,000
old Ignorance

The candidates who had lately contended with him in aspiring to supreme command, having been appointed his chief ministers, he was sworn to redouble his vigilence: in return for which it was finally decreed that he should, in future, have seven links added to his tail, and his head adorned with six horns, instead of two. His infernal honour being thus pledged, the work of mischief was instantly begun, by his commanding his ministers and their satellites to redouble their vigilence, by throwing the mists of ignorance over the minds of the rulers and teachers of mankind, and to fill their minds with superstition, bigotry, pride, and arrogant zeal. All the imps of minor consideration were also ordered to direct the unreasoning, lazy, envious, wicked, gross, vulgar herd of mankind, high and low, into the paths which lead to misery. Having thus concluded their mission, the innumerable host set off, like a whirlwind, amidst the glare of lightning and the roar of thunder, to take up their abode in the minds of men, where they had been nursed before; but millions of their number, who had been dismissed from the minds of good men, dropped behind, and, in their fall through endless space, by the violence of their motion, ignited, were whirled into balls of fire, and gravitated to the sun. The rest proceeded; their numbers eclipsed the moon, and the effluvia which exhaled from them in their flight caused plague, pestilence, and famine in the countries they passed over, and the concussion they made in the air is said to have shaken the ices from the poles.

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APPLICATION.

IF there be a plurality of devils, Ignorance must be their king; and through his influence only men are wicked; and, under him and his satellites, the wretchedness they have dealt out to mankind ever since their chequered reign began has disfigured the fair face of nature; and they have too often succeeded, in the struggles between virtue and vice, in obscuring the reasoning powers of man, and bringing him down to the level of the brute. For no sooner was it decreed by Omnipotence that his reasoning creatures should live in a state of civilized society, suitable to their natures and befitting so high a behest, than these enemies to this good order of things obtruded themselves upon it, and have too long and too often succeeded in baffling the efforts of good men in their aims at approaching towards perfection, and in thwarting the progress of mental improvement, and the consequent happiness of the human race. They have, with the glimmering light of their _ignis fatuus_, led their devotees in zig-zag, backward and forward paths, through misty bogs and quagmires, into the midnight glooms and chaotic darkness which envelope their wretched dens. The bloody pages of history have in part recorded some of the many miseries which have from time to time been inflicted upon their victims; but to enumerate only a portion would be an irksome as well as an endless task.

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PRINTS BY MEANS OF A SERIES OF WOOD BLOCKS.

THE Author, at page 249 of this Memoir, in stating what he believes may be done by the printing of large wood cuts from two or more blocks, so as to rival the landscapes of William Woollett on copper, intimates his intention of making the attempt, to show that it is not a visionary theory. With this view, he executed a large wood cut, the subject being an old horse “waiting for death.” A first proof was taken a few days before his death. An impression at the same time was transferred to a second block, the exact size of the first, and was intended to have been engraved to heighten and improve the effect of the print; and a third was prepared to be used if necessary. A few impressions of the first of the series were printed in London in 1832, and were accompanied by a descriptive history of the horse, written so far back as 1785. The print (in a finished state) was intended to have been dedicated to the “Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,” and was also meant to serve as one of a set of cheap embellishments for the walls of cottages. The history of the old horse “waiting for death” is subjoined.[43]

Footnote 43:

The vignette at page 53, vol. i, last edition of the “History of
British Birds,” will be found printed with two additional blocks as a
title page to the second edition of the “Quadrupeds,” quarto, without
letterpress, 1824.

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WAITING FOR DEATH.

In the morning of his days he was handsome, sleek as a raven, sprightly and spirited, and was then much caressed and happy. When he grew to perfection, in his performances, even on the turf, and afterwards in the chase, and in the field, he was equalled by few of his kind. At one time of his life he saved that of his master, whom he bore, in safety, across the rapid flood; but having, in climbing the opposite rocky shore, received a blemish, it was thought _prudent_ to dispose of him; after which he fell into the hands of different masters, but from none of them did he ever eat the bread of idleness; and, as he grew in years, his cup of misery was still augmented with bitterness.

It was once his hard lot to fall into the hands of _Skinflint_, a horse-keeper, an authorised wholesale and retail dealer in cruelty, who employed him alternately, but closely, as a hack, both in the chaise and for the saddle; for when the traces and trappings, used in the former, had peeled the skin from off his breast, shoulders, and sides, he was then, as his back was whole, thought fit for the latter; indeed, his exertions, in this _service of unfeeling avarice_ and _folly_, were great beyond belief. He was always, late and early, made ready for action; he was never allowed to rest, even on the Sabbath day, because he could trot well, had a good bottom, and was the best hack in town; and, it being a day of pleasure and pastime, he was much sought after by beings, _in appearance_, something like gentlemen; in whose hands his sufferings were greater than his nature could bear. Has not the compassionate eye beheld him whipped, spurred, and galloped beyond his strength, in order to accomplish double the length of the journey that he was engaged to perform, till, by the inward grief expressed in his countenance, he seemed to plead for mercy, one would have thought most powerfully, but, alas, in vain! In the whole load which he bore (as was often the case), not an ounce of humanity could be found; and, his rider being determined to have pennyworths for his money, the ribs of this silent slave, where not a hair had for long been suffered to grow, were still ripped up. He was pushed forward through a stony rivulet, then on hard road against the hill, and having lost a shoe, split his hoof, and being quite spent with hunger and fatigue, he fell, broke his nose and his knees, and was unable to proceed;—and becoming greased, spavined, ringboned, blind of an eye, and the skin, by repeated friction, being worn off all the large prominences of his body, he was judged to be only fit for the dogs:—however, one shilling and sixpence beyond the dog-horse price saved his life, and he became the property of a poor dealer and horse doctor.

It is amazing to think upon the vicissitudes of his life: he had often been burnished up, his teeth defaced by art, peppered under his tail; having been the property of a general, a gentleman, a farmer, a miller, a butcher, a higgler, and a maker of brooms. A hard winter coming on, a want of money, and a want of meat, obliged his poor owner to turn him out to shift for himself. His former fame and great value are now, to him, not worth a handful of oats. But his days and nights of misery are now drawing to an end; so that, after having faithfully dedicated the whole of his powers and his time to the service of unfeeling man, he is at last turned out, unsheltered and unprotected, to starve of hunger and of cold.

1785.

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JOHN BEWICK.

THAT rare old book, “A Collection of all the Ancient Poems, Songs, and Ballads, relative to Robin Hood,” published by Ritson, 1795, was embellished by John Bewick. Three of the cuts are introduced in the following pages. A comparison of them with the book itself, will show the great improvement which has taken place in the printing of wood cuts since that day. It may not, perhaps, be out of place to insert an extract from a letter, on the subject of these cuts, written by the antiquary to the artist, more than half a century ago.

“Gray’s Inn.

“J. Ritson is sorry he was gone out when Mr. Bewick called; but
hopes he will proceed with the other cuts, which shall be left
entirely to his own fancy, and in which he will undoubtedly
consult his own reputation.”…

Amongst the many books illustrated by John Bewick, now very scarce, a few may be enumerated:—“The Looking Glass for the Mind,” “Proverbs Exemplified,”[44] “The Progress of Man in Society,” “Blossoms of Morality.” The last-named was published by Mr. Newberry, to whom, for his charming little books, the rising generation of that day was under great obligation. In his preface, dated October 6th, 1796, Mr. N. says:—

Footnote 44:

The publisher, Dr. Trussler, quaintly observes, “It is a very proper
book to amuse and instruct youth, and the price, viz. 3_s._,
half-bound, will hurt no one.”

“Much time has elapsed since the commencement of this edition,
owing to a severe indisposition with which the artist was long
afflicted, and which unfortunately terminated in his death. And
sorry, very sorry, are we to be compelled to state, that this is
the last effort of his incomparable genius.”

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CORRESPONDENCE.

THE following letters are selected from a large correspondence, extending over many years, and, from the matter they contain, may not be thought uninteresting. The first is addressed to T. Bewick, on the occasion of his brother’s death, by Mr. Wm. Bulmer, a native of Newcastle, and who is mentioned at page 70 as the first typographer of his day. A portrait of this gentleman is given in Dr. Dibdin’s “Bibliomania” (?) in connection with the “Bodoni Hum.” Mr. Bulmer died at his villa, Clapham Rise, Surrey, at the close of the year 1828.

WILLIAM BULMER TO THOMAS BEWICK.

Cleveland Row, December 10, 1795.

DEAR BEWICK,

The death of your brother has hurt me much, I assure you. He was
a young man whose private virtues and professional talents I
equally admired; so much so, indeed, that as a grateful tribute
to his memory, I have this day clothed myself in mourning. His
death has affected me in a manner that has much depressed my
spirits. If my opinion or assistance in your intended record of
his worth, on the melancholy tombstone that is intended to mark
the place of his interment, can be of any use, I beg you will
command me. The blocks for Mr. Way’s work[45] have come safe to
hand, but he informs me that you have omitted to send the
head-piece to Tale Seventh, “The Mantle Made Amiss,” which I
must beg you will send along with the first parcel of blocks for
the Chase; and, in cutting the remainder of Mr. Way’s work, you
will cut head and tail-piece in the regular succession,
_agreeable to the numbers on the different sketches_, as any
omission on this head causes an interruption in the printing. As
to the blocks for “The Chase,” I have already told you my
situation. I must, therefore, entirely rely on your making a
_bold effort to finish them in the specified time_. The whole
number is only twelve blocks, besides the vignette for the
title. Many of the tail-pieces are small. I wish fine execution
in them, I confess, but yet there must be that happy mixture of
engraving in them that will at the same time produce a boldness
of effect. Mr. Way particularly requests that I will inform you
that the blocks last sent are perfectly to his wishes. Agreeably
to your desire, I have sent the death of your brother to the
London prints. And believe me,

Yours, very sincerely,

WILLIAM BULMER.

Footnote 45:

“Fabliaux, or Tales abridged from French Manuscripts of the 12th and
13th Centuries. By M. Le Grand. Translated into English verse, by G.
L. Way, Esq.” 1796.

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THOMAS BEWICK TO —.

Newcastle, 4th October, 1794.

DEAR SIR,[46]

I received yours of the 17th ult., and thank you for the opinion
you have given me of America. Before I get the Birds done, I
have no doubt of matters being brought to such a crisis as will
enable me to see clearly what course to steer. My fears are not
at what you think will happen in America: it is my own
much-loved country that I fear will be involved in the anarchy
you speak of; for I think there is not virtue enough left in the
country gentlemen to prevent it. I cannot hope for anything good
from the violent on either side; that can only be expected from
(I hope) the great majority of moderate men stepping manfully
forward to check the despotism of the one party and the
licentiousness of the other. A reform of abuses, in my opinion,
is wanted, and I wish that could be done with justice and
moderation; but it is because I do not hope or expect that will
take place in the way I wish it that makes me bend my mind
towards America....

Footnote 46:

It appears from the autograph letter here copied, that Thomas Bewick
at one time contemplated emigrating to America. The name of his
correspondent is not known.

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MRS. M—[47] TO THOMAS BEWICK.

April 4, 1805.

I cannot resist the pleasure of thanking Mr. Bewick for the
entertainment I have just experienced in looking over the second
volume of the “British Birds.” The vignettes are incomparable.
The one with the string of the kite over the poor man’s hat,—who
cannot extricate himself, having to conduct his horse through
the water,—and that of the man clinging to the arm of the tree,
and, still more, the four little boys riding triumphant on the
tombstones, without a moment’s reflection on the mementos of
death around them, are, I think, excellently done. The little
drawing Captain M— presented me with, from Mr. Bewick, will be
placed in a book with the others I had given me at Newcastle,
which I have the greatest value for, and shall be very happy, if
either business or pleasure brought Mr. Bewick to London, to
show them to him, in the highest preservation, and also to be
introduced to his ingenious son, to whom I beg my compliments;
and remain Mr. Bewick’s very great admirer and obliged

S. M—.

Footnote 47:

The lady here indicated was the wife of an officer. She was an amateur
artist, and was a frequent visitor when at Newcastle.

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THOMAS BEWICK TO MRS. M—.

Newcastle, May 20, 1805.

MADAM,

Your very kind and flattering letter of the 4th ult. has reached
me, and I am happy to find that the second volume of the Birds
meets with your approbation, and that some of my little whimsies
put into vignettes have afforded you any entertainment. Could I
have forseen that the sketches, which your partiality makes you
value, would ever have been thought worthy of your notice, I
certainly would have saved more of them for you, and not have
put so many of them into the fire. And now, if my time and
attention were not so fully taken up with conducting other parts
of my business, I could easily furnish such without end; but,
when the fancies pop into my head, I have not time even to
commit them to paper, and I am often obliged to sketch them at
once upon the wood. A second edition of both volumes of the
Birds is now at press; and, as I believe you wish me success, I
cannot help informing you, that, in my opinion, Mr. Walker, the
printer, is doing the work to look better than either of the
volumes now before the public. He has seen some defects in his
former mode of printing which he is remedying in this. I have
just seen Aikin’s “Annual Review,” in which he dwells at large,
in his criticism, upon the History of the Quadrupeds and the
Birds. There are many misstatements, and some mistakes of the
printer, but, otherwise, he has gone the utmost lengths in
praise of the whole; and, if his praise be just, it is highly
flattering to me. I never hoped to have any compliments paid to
me as an author. I furnished all the original remarks, &c., for
the Quadrupeds, and the first volume of the Birds; but, if I
could have got any person to write a book for me, I would never
have thought upon writing the second volume myself.
Necessity—not choice—set me to work in this way. It was the work
of the winter evenings, at my happy fireside, surrounded by my
wife and girls at work, and cheered at intervals by many a wild
tune on the Northumberland pipes, played by my now stout,
healthy boy.

I am, Madam,
With best wishes for your health and happiness,
Your much obliged servant,
THOMAS BEWICK.

P.S.—Should business take me to London, I will certainly take
the liberty to give you a call. My boy thinks himself much
obliged to you for your attention and great kindness to him. I
would fain indulge him with a visit to London, but I think he is
too young yet, and I have some fears that I shall feel awkward
at parting with him even for a short time.

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THOMAS BEWICK TO —[48]

Newcastle, 15th Nov., 1808.

DEAR SIR,

Your letter of the fourth inst., enclosing your promissory note
at six months, came safe to hand. Having calculated upon being
sooner paid, I was, I confess disappointed; but, however, on
thinking all matters over respecting your present expenses in,
as yet, an unproductive publication, and remembering your
continual good wishes towards me, I now see that I have to thank
you for the above remittance. You make me smile when you talk of
my “accumulated wealth.” I might, indeed, have been, by this
time, as rich as I ever wished to be, if my publications had
been.... but that not being the case, that day must be longer
put off. It may, indeed, happen all in good time, viz., when I
am unable in the line of my business to be longer useful to the
world. I may then, indeed, in the down hill of life, have it in
my power to attain to the summit of my wishes, in retiring to a
cottage, by a burn side, surrounded with woods and wilds, such
as I was dragged from when young to exhibit myself upon the
stage of the busy world. To such a place as this I hope to
retire; and, if I am enabled to show kindness to old friends,
and to be a good neighbour to those around me, and at the same
time to fill up my leisure time in contemplation, and in the
amusements of fishing and gardening, then I shall think that
Providence has been pleased to single me out to be one of the
happiest of men. I intend to go to press in the spring with a
new edition of the Birds, printed with the same kind of small
type as the Quadrupeds: the two volumes in one volume demy. I
wish much to have one of your books, but I cannot engage in the
sale of them, being sufficiently embarrassed with my own
publications.

T. B.

Footnote 48:

An eminent publisher by whom he had been employed to embellish
an extensive work.

Thomas Bewick
his mark
]

NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE:—

ROBERT WARD, PRINTER, FOOT OF DEAN STREET.

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● Transcriber’s Notes:
○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
○ Typographical errors were silently corrected.
○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent
only when a predominant form was found in this book.
○ Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores
(_italics_).

End of Project Gutenberg's A Memoir of Thomas Bewick, by Thomas Bewick