The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 557, July 14, 1832

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Various. The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 557, July 14, 1832

BIRTHPLACE OF BEWICK, THE ENGRAVER

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

FUNERAL GARLANDS

THE DRUIDS AND THEIR TIMES

THE SKETCH-BOOK

RECOLLECTIONS OF A WANDERER

STUPENDOUS BRIDGE IN SPAIN

FINE ARTS

STATUE OF MR. CANNING

THE PUBLIC JOURNALS

RHYMING RUMINATIONS ON OLD LONDON BRIDGE

TRUE STORIES OF MAGIC IN THE EAST

NEW BOOKS

ECONOMY OF MACHINERY AND MANUFACTURES

STATISTICAL SKETCHES OF UPPER CANADA

THE GATHERER

LACONICS

Отрывок из книги

The above cottage stands in the village of Cherryburn, near Ovingham, on the banks of the Tyne, about twelve miles west of Newcastle.

In this humble dwelling, hitherto of "unlettered fame," was born, August 12, 1753, THOMAS BEWICK, the celebrated artist and engraver on wood; or more strictly speaking, the reviver of this branch of art. His whole life was one of untiring industry and ardent attachment to the object of his study—the only sure passport to success—which it is truly delightful to contemplate: from the first dawnings of his early genius to the enthusiasm that led him to examine proofs of wood-engravings on the morning of his death. His life is exemplary, inasmuch as it illustrates the homely maxim, that every man is the architect of his own fortune. Apart from this consideration, the memory of Bewick should be cherished by all our readers; since he re-invented the ingenious means by which we are enabled to embellish unsparingly each of our weekly sheets. 1

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Mr. Dovaston visited Bewick, at Buxton, in 1827. Here he relates

"There were three windows in the front room, the ledges and shutters whereof he had pencilled all over with funny characters, as he saw them pass to and fro, visiting the well. These people were the source of great amusement: the probable histories of whom, and how they came by their ailings, he would humorously narrate, and sketch their figures and features in one instant of time. I have seen him draw a striking likeness on his thumb-nail in one moment; wipe it off with his tongue, and instantly draw another. We dined occasionally at the public table; and one day, over the wine, a dispute arose between two gentlemen about a bird; but was soon terminated by the one affirming he had compared it with the figure and description of Bewick, to which the other replied that Bewick was next to Nature. Here the old gentleman seized me by the thigh with his very hand-vice of a grasp; and I contrived to keep up the shuttlecock of conversation playfully to his highest satisfaction, though they who praised him so ardently, little imagined whose ears imbibed all their honest incense."

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