t　extent　under　the　disadvantage　of　representing　animals　with　which　he　was　familiar　only　through　the　medium　of　stuffed　specimens　or　incorrect　drawings。　　In　the　〃British　Birds；〃　on　the　contrary；　his　facilities　for　study　from　the　life　were　greater；　and　his　success　was　consequently　more　complete。　　Indeed；　it　may　be　safely　affirmed　that　of　all　the　engravers　of　the　present　century；　none　have　excelled　Bewick　for　beauty　of　black　and　white；　for　skilful　rendering　of　plumage　and　foliage；　and　for　fidelity　of　detail　and　accessory。　　The　〃Woodcock〃　（here　given）；　the　〃Partridge；〃　the　〃Owl；〃　the　〃Yellow…　Hammer；〃　the　〃Yellow…Bunting；〃　the　〃Willow…Wren；〃　are　popular　examples　of　these　qualities。　　But　there　are　a　hundred　others　nearly　as　good。
  Among　sundry　conventional　decorations　after　the　old　German　fashion　in　the　first　edition　of　the　〃Quadrupeds；〃　there　are　a　fair　number　of　those　famous　tail…pieces　which；　to　a　good　many　people；　constitute　Bewick's　chief　claim　to　immortality。　　That　it　is　not　easy　to　imitate　them　is　plain　from　the　failure　of　Branston's　attempts；　and　from　the　inferior　character　of　those　by　John　Thompson　in　Yarrell's　〃Fishes。〃　The　genius　of　Bewick　was；　in　fact；　entirely　individual　and　particular。　　He　had　the　humour　of　a　Hogarth　in　little；　as　well　as　some　of　his　special　characteristics；notably　his　faculty　of　telling　a　story　by　suggestive　detail。　　An　instance　may　be　taken　at　random　from　vol。　I。　of　the　〃Birds。〃　　A　man；　whose　wig　and　hat　have　fallen　off；　lies　asleep　with　open　mouth　under　some　bushes。　　He　is　manifestly　drunk；　and　the　date　〃4　June；〃　on　a　neighbouring　stone；　gives　us　the　reason　and　occasion　of　his　catastrophe。　　He　has　been　too　loyally　celebrating　the　birthday　of　his　majesty　King　George　III。　Another　of　Bewick's　gifts　is　his　wonderful　skill　in　foreshadowing　a　tragedy。　　Take　as　an　example；　this　truly　appalling　incident　from　the　〃Quadrupeds。〃　　The　tottering　child；　whose　nurse　is　seen　in　the　background；　has　strayed　into　the　meadow；　and　is　pulling　at　the　tail　of　a　vicious…looking　colt；　with　back…turned　eye　and　lifted　heel。　Down　the　garden…steps　the　mother　hurries　headlong；　but　she　can　hardly　be　in　time。　　And　of　all　thissufficient；　one　would　say；　for　a　fairly…sized　canvasthe　artist　has　managed　to　give　a　vivid　impression　in　a　block　of　three　inches　by　two！　　Then；　again；　like　Hogarth　once　more；　he　rejoices　in　multiplications　of　dilemma。　　What；　for　instance；　can　be　more　comically　pathetic　than　the　head…piece　to　the　〃Contents〃　in　vol。　I。　of　the　〃Birds〃？　　The　old　horse　has　been　seized　with　an　invincible　fit　of　stubbornness。　　The　day　is　both　windy　and　rainy。　　The　rider　has　broken　his　stick　and　lost　his　hat；　but　he　is　too　much　encumbered　with　his　cackling　and　excited　stock　to　dare　to　dismount。　　Nothing　can　help　him　but　a　Deus　ex　machina；of　whom　there　is　no　sign。
  Besides　his　humour；　Bewick　has　a　delightfully　rustic　side；　of　which　Hogarth　gives　but　little　indication。　　From　the　starved　ewe　in　the　snow　nibbling　forlornly　at　a　worn…out　broom；　to　the　cow　which　has　broken　through　the　rail　to　reach　the　running　water；　there　are　numberless　designs　which　reveal　that　faithful　lover　of　the　field　and　hillside；　who；　as　he　said；　〃would　rather　be　herding　sheep　on　Mickle　bank　top〃　than　remain　in　London　to　be　made　premier　of　England。　　He　loved　the　country　and　the　country…life；　and　he　drew　them　as　one　who　loved　them。　　It　is　this　rural　quality　which　helps　to　give　such　a　lasting　freshness　to　his　quaint　and　picturesque　fancies；　and　it　is　this　which　will　continue　to　preserve　their　popularity；　even　if　they　should　cease　to　be　valued　for　their　wealth　of　whimsical　invention。
  In　referring　to　these　masterpieces　of　Bewick's；　it　must　not　be　forgotten　that　he　had　the　aid　of　some　clever　assistants。　　His　younger　brother　John　was　not　without　talent；　as　is　clear　from　his　work　for　Somervile's　〃Chace；〃　1796；　and　that　highly　edifying　book；　the　〃Blossoms　of　Morality。〃　　Many　of　the　tail…pieces　to　the　〃Water　Birds〃　were　designed　by　Robert　Johnson；　who　also　did　most　of　the　illustrations　to　Bewick's　〃Fables〃　of　1818；　which　were　engraved　by　Temple　and　Harvey；　two　other　pupils。　　Another　pupil　was　Charlton　Nesbit；　an　excellent　engraver；　who　was　employed　upon　the　〃Birds；〃　and　did　good　work　in　Ackermann's　〃Religious　Emblems〃　of　1808；　and　the　second　series　of　Northcote's　〃Fables。〃　　But　by　far　the　largest　portion　of　the　tail…pieces　in　the　second　volume　of　the　〃Birds〃　was　engraved　by　Luke　Clennell；　a　very　skilful　but　unfortunate　artist；　who　ultimately　became　insane。　　To　him　we　owe　the　woodcuts；　after　Stothard's　charming　sketches；　to　the　Rogers　volume　of　1810；　an　edition　preceding　those　already　mentioned　as　illustrated　with　steel…　plates；　and　containing　some　of　the　artist's　happiest　pictures　of　children　and　amorini。　　Many　of　these　little　groups　would　make　admirable　designs　for　gems；　if　indeed　they　are　not　already　derived　from　them；　since　one　at　least　is　an　obvious　copy　of　a　well…known　sardonyx（〃The　Marriage　of　Cupid　and　Psyche。〃）　　This　volume；　generally　known　by　the　name　of　the　〃Firebrand〃　edition；　is　highly　prized　by　collectors；　and；　as　intelligent　renderings　of　pen　and　ink；　there　is　little　better　than　these　engravings　of　Clennell's。　｛12｝　Finally；　among　others　of　Bewick's　pupils；　must　be　mentioned　William　Harvey；　who　survived　to　1866。　　It　has　been　already　stated　that　he　engraved　part　of　the　illustrations　to　Bewick's　〃Fables；〃　but　his　best　known　block　is　the　large　one　of　Haydon's　〃Death　of　Dentatus。〃　Soon　after　this　he　relinquished　wood…engraving　in　favour　of　design；　and　for　a　long　period　was　one　of　the　most　fertile　and　popular　of　book…illustrators。　　His　style；　however；　is　unpleasantly　mannered；　and　it　is　sufficient　to　make　mention　of　his　masterpiece；　the　〃Arabian　Nights〃　of　Lane；　the　illustrations　to　which；　produced　under　the　supervision　of　the　translator；　are　said　to　be　so　accurate　as　to　give　the　appropriate　turbans　for　every　hour　of　the　day。　　They　show　considerable　freedom　of　invention　and　a　large　fund　of　Orientalism。
  Harvey　came　to　London　in　1817；　Clennell　had　preceded　him　by　some　years；　and　Nesbit　lived　there　for　a　considerable　time。　　What　distinguishes　these　pupils　of　Bewick　especially　is；　that　they　were　artists　as　well　as　engravers；　capable　of　producing　the　designs　they　engraved。　　The　〃London　School〃　of　engravers；　on　the　contrary；　were　mostly　engravers；　who　depended　upon　others　for　their　designs。　　The　foremost　of　these　was　Robert　Branston；　a　skilful　renderer　of　human　figures　and　indoor　scenes。　　He　worked　in　rivalry　with　Bewick　and　Nesbit；　but　he　excelled　neither；　while　he　fell　far　behind　the　former。　　John　Thompson；　one　of　the　very　best　of　modern　English　engravers　on　wood；　was　Branston's　pupil。　　His　range　was　of　the　widest；　and　he　succeeded　as　well　in　engraving　fishes　and　birds　for　Yarrell　and　Walton's　〃Angler；〃　as　in　illustrations　to　Moliere　and　〃Hudibras。〃　　He　was；　besides；　a　clever　draughtsman；　though　he　worked　chiefly　from　the　designs　of　Thurston　and　others。　　One　of　the　most　successful　of　his　illustrated　books　is　the　〃Vicar　of　Wakefield；〃　after　Mulready；　whose　simplicity　and　homely　feeling　were　well　suited　to　Goldsmith's　style。　　Another　excellent　engraver　of　this　date　is　Samuel　Williams。　　There　is　an　edition　of　Thomson's　〃Seasons；〃　with　cuts　both　drawn　and　engraved　by　him；　which　is　well　worthy　of　attention；　and　（like　Thompson　and　Branston）　he　was　very　skilful　in　reproducing　the　designs　of　Cruikshank。　　Some　of　his　best　work　in　this　way　is　to　be　found　in　Clarke's　〃Three　Courses　and　a　Dessert；〃　published　by　Vizetelly　in　1830。
  From　this　time　forth；　however；　one　hears　less　of　the　engraver　and　more　of　the　artist。　　The　establishment　of　the　〃Penny　Magazine〃　in　1832；　and　the　multifarious　publications　of　Charles　Knight；　gave　an　extraordinary　impetus　to　wood…engraving。　　Ten　years　later　came　〃Punch；〃　and　the　〃Illustrated　London　News；〃　which　further　increased　its　popularity。　　Artists　of　eminence　began　to　draw　on　or　for　the　block；　as　they　had　drawn；　and　were　still　drawing；　for　the　〃Annuals。〃　In　1842…6　was　issued　the　great　〃Abbotsford〃　edition　of　the　〃Waverley　Novels；〃　which；　besides　120　plates；　contained　nearly　2000　wood…　engravings；　and　with　the　〃Book　of　British　Ballads；〃　1843；　edited　by　Mr。　S。　C。　Hall；　arose　that　long　series　of　illustrated　Christmas　books；　which　gradually　supplanted　the　〃Annuals；〃　and　made　familiar　the　names　of　Gilbert；　Birket　Foster；　Harrison　Weir；　John　Absolon；　and　a　crowd　of　others。　　The　poems　of　Longfellow；　Montgomery；　Burns；　〃Barry　Cornwall；〃　Poe；　Miss　Ingelow；　were　all　successively　〃illustrated。〃　　Besides　these；　there　were　numerous　selections；　such　as　Willmott's　〃Poets　of　the　Nineteenth　Century；〃　Wills's　〃Poets'　Wit　and　Humour；〃　and　so　forth。　　But　the　field　here　grows　too　wide　to　be　dealt　with　in　detail；　and　it　is　impossible　to　do　more　than　mention　a　few　of　the　books　most　prominent　for　merit　or　originality。　　Amongst　these　there　is　the　〃Shakespeare〃　of　Sir　John　Gilbert。　　Regarded　as　an　interpretative　edition　of　the　great　dramatist；　this　is　little　more　than　a　brilliant　tour　de　force；　but　it　is　nevertheless　infinitely　superior　to　the　earlier　efforts　of　Kenny　Meadows　in　1843；　and　also　to　the　fancy　designs　of　Harvey　in　Knight's　〃Pictorial　Shakespeare。〃　　The　〃Illustrated　Tennyson〃　of　1858　is　also　a　remarkable　production。　　The　Laureate；　almost　more　than　any　other；　require