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 Contents

Preface xv

Acknowledgements xvii

About the Author xix

1 An Introduction to Derivative Products 1

1.1 Forwards and futures 2
1.2 Swaps 3
1.3 Options 4
1.4 Derivative pricing 7
1.4.1 Relative Value 8
1.5 The spot–forward relationship 8
1.5.1 Deriving forward prices: market in contango 8
1.5.2 Deriving forward prices: market in backwardation 10
1.6 The spot–forward–swap relationship 11
1.7 The spot–forward–option relationship 16
1.8 Put–call parity: a key relationship 18
1.9 Sources of value in a hedge 18
1.10 Measures of option risk management 19
1.10.1 Delta 19
1.10.2 Gamma 21
1.10.3 Theta 22
1.10.4 Vega 23

2 Risk Management 27
2.1 Categories of risk 27
2.1.1 Defining risk 28
2.1.2 Credit risk 29
2.2 Commodity market participants: the time dimension 29
viii Contents

2.2.1 Short-dated maturities 29

2.2.2 Medium-dated maturities 30
2.2.3 Longer-dated exposures 30
2.3 Hedging corporate risk exposures 30
2.4 A framework for analysing corporate risk 31
2.4.1 Strategic considerations 31
2.4.2 Tactical considerations 31
2.5 Bank risk management 32
2.6 Hedging customer exposures 32
2.6.1 Forward risk management 33
2.6.2 Swap risk management 33
2.6.3 Option risk management 33
2.6.4 Correlation risk management 33
2.7 View-driven exposures 34
2.7.1 Spot-trading strategies 34
2.7.2 Forward trading strategies 35
2.7.3 Single period physically settled “swaps” 35
2.7.4 Single or multi-period financially settled swaps 35
2.7.5 Option-based trades: trading volatility 36

3 Gold 41
3.1 The market for gold 41
3.1.1 Physical Supply Chain 41
3.1.2 Financial Institutions 42
3.1.3 The London gold market 42
3.1.4 The price of gold 44
3.1.5 Fixing the price of gold 44
3.2 Gold price drivers 45
3.2.1 The supply of gold 45
3.2.2 Demand for gold 48
3.2.3 The Chinese effect 51
3.3 The gold leasing market 51
3.4 Applications of derivatives 54
3.4.1 Producer strategies 55
3.4.2 Central Bank strategies 60

4 Base Metals 69
4.1 Base metal production 69
4.2 Aluminium 70
4.3 Copper 73
4.4 London metal exchange 75
4.4.1 Exchange-traded metal futures 76
4.4.2 Exchange-traded metal options 76
4.4.3 Contract specification 77
4.4.4 Trading 77
Contents ix

4.4.5 Clearing 78
4.4.6 Delivery 80
4.5 Price drivers 81
4.6 Structure of market prices 83
4.6.1 Description of the forward curve 83
4.6.2 Are forward prices predictors of future spot prices? 85
4.7 Applications of derivatives 86
4.7.1 Hedges for aluminium consumers in the automotive sector 86
4.8 Forward purchase 87
4.8.1 Borrowing and lending in the base metal market 88
4.9 Vanilla option strategies 89
4.9.1 Synthetic long put 89
4.9.2 Selling options to enhance the forward purchase price 90
4.9.3 “Three way” 92
4.9.4 Min–max 93
4.9.5 Ratio min–max 94
4.9.6 Enhanced risk reversal 95
4.10 Structured option solutions 95
4.10.1 Knock-out forwards 95
4.10.2 Forward plus 96
4.10.3 Bonus forward 96
4.10.4 Basket options 97

5 Crude Oil 101

5.1 The value of crude oil 101
5.1.1 Basic chemistry of oil 101
5.1.2 Density 102
5.1.3 Sulphur content 102
5.1.4 Flow properties 102
5.1.5 Other chemical properties 103
5.1.6 Examples of crude oil 103
5.2 An overview of the physical supply chain 103
5.3 Refining crude oil 104
5.3.1 Applications of refined products 105
5.4 The demand and supply for crude oil 106
5.4.1 Proved oil reserves 106
5.4.2 R/P ratio 106
5.4.3 Production of crude oil 108
5.4.4 Consumption of crude oil 108
5.4.5 Demand for refined products 109
5.4.6 Oil refining capacity 109
5.4.7 Crude oil imports and exports 111
5.4.8 Security of supply 112
5.5 Price drivers 114
5.5.1 Macroeconomic issues 114
5.5.2 Supply chain considerations 117
x Contents

5.5.3 Geopolitics 120

5.5.4 Analysing the forward curves 121
5.6 The price of crude oil 121
5.6.1 Defining price 121
5.6.2 The evolution of crude oil prices 122
5.6.3 Delivered price 122
5.6.4 Marker crudes 123
5.6.5 Pricing sources 124
5.6.6 Pricing methods 124
5.6.7 The term structure of oil prices 125
5.7 Trading crude oil and refined products 126
5.7.1 Overview 126
5.7.2 North Sea oil 128
5.7.3 US crude oil markets 135
5.8 Managing price risk along the supply chain 137
5.8.1 Producer hedges 137
5.8.2 Refiner hedges 142
5.8.3 Consumer hedges 144

6 Natural Gas 149

6.1 How natural gas is formed 149
6.2 Measuring natural gas 150
6.3 The physical supply chain 150
6.3.1 Production 150
6.3.2 Shippers 150
6.3.3 Transmission 151
6.3.4 Interconnectors 152
6.3.5 Storage 152
6.3.6 Supply 153
6.3.7 Customers 153
6.3.8 Financial institutions 153
6.4 Deregulation and re-regulation 154
6.4.1 The US experience 154
6.4.2 The UK experience 155
6.4.3 Continental European deregulation 155
6.5 The demand and supply for gas 156
6.5.1 Relative importance of natural gas 156
6.5.2 Consumption of natural gas 157
6.5.3 Reserves of natural gas 158
6.5.4 Production of natural gas 158
6.5.5 Reserve to production ratio 159
6.5.6 Exporting natural gas 160
6.5.7 Liquefied natural gas 160
6.6 Gas price drivers 161
6.6.1 Definitions of price 161
6.6.2 Supply side price drivers 162
6.6.3 Demand side price drivers 164
Contents xi

6.6.4 The price of oil 164

6.7 Trading physical natural gas 166
6.7.1 Motivations for trading natural gas 166
6.7.2 Trading locations 167
6.7.3 Delivery points 167
6.8 Natural gas derivatives 168
6.8.1 Trading natural gas in the UK 168
6.8.2 On-the-day commodity market 168
6.8.3 Exchange-traded futures contracts 169
6.8.4 Applications of exchange-traded futures 171
6.8.5 Over-the-counter natural gas transactions 173
6.8.6 Financial/Cash-settled transactions 176

7 Electricity 181
7.1 What is electricity? 181
7.1.1 Conversion of energy sources to electricity 182
7.1.2 Primary sources of energy 183
7.1.3 Commercial production of electricity 184
7.1.4 Measuring electricity 184
7.2 The physical supply chain 185
7.3 Price drivers of electricity 186
7.3.1 Regulation 188
7.3.2 Demand for electricity 190
7.3.3 Supply of electricity 191
7.3.4 Factors influencing spot and forward prices 193
7.3.5 Spark and dark spreads 193
7.4 Trading electricity 196
7.4.1 Overview 196
7.4.2 Markets for trading 196
7.4.3 Motivations for trading 196
7.4.4 Traded volumes: spot markets 197
7.4.5 Traded volumes: forward markets 197
7.5 Nord pool 197
7.5.1 The spot market: Elspot 198
7.5.2 Post spot: the balancing market 199
7.5.3 The financial market 199
7.5.4 Real-time operations 199
7.6 United states of america 200
7.6.1 Independent System Operators 200
7.6.2 Wholesale markets in the USA 201
7.7 United kingdom 203
7.7.1 Neta 203
7.7.2 UK trading conventions 204
7.7.3 Load shapes 205
7.7.4 Examples of traded products 206
7.7.5 Contract volumes 206
7.7.6 Contract prices and valuations 207
xii Contents

7.8 Electricity derivatives 207

7.8.1 Electricity forwards 207
7.8.2 Electricity Swaps 209

8 Plastics 213
8.1 The chemistry of plastic 213
8.2 The production of plastic 214
8.3 Monomer production 215
8.3.1 Crude oil 215
8.3.2 Natural gas 215
8.4 Polymerisation 215
8.5 Applications of plastics 216
8.6 Summary of the plastics supply chain 217
8.7 Plastic price drivers 217
8.8 Applications of derivatives 218
8.9 Roles of the futures exchange 219
8.9.1 Pricing commercial contracts 219
8.9.2 Hedging instruments 220
8.9.3 Source of supply/disposal of inventory 222
8.10 Option strategies 222

9 Coal 225
9.1 The basics of coal 225
9.2 The demand for and supply of coal 226
9.3 Physical supply chain 231
9.3.1 Production 231
9.3.2 Main participants 232
9.4 The price of coal 232
9.5 Factors affecting the price of coal 233
9.6 Coal derivatives 235
9.6.1 Exchange-traded futures 236
9.6.2 Over-the-counter solutions 237

10 Emissions Trading 241

10.1 The science of global warming 241
10.1.1 Greenhouse gases 241
10.1.2 The carbon cycle 242
10.1.3 Feedback loops 243
10.2 The consequences of global warming 243
10.2.1 The Stern Report 244
10.2.2 Fourth assessment report of the IPCC 244
10.3 The argument against climate change 245
10.4 History of human action against climate change 246
10.4.1 Formation of the IPCC 246
10.4.2 The Earth Summit 246
10.4.3 The Kyoto Protocol 247
Contents xiii

10.4.4 From Kyoto to Marrakech and beyond 249

10.5 Price drivers for emissions markets 249
10.6 The EU emissions trading scheme 252
10.6.1 Background 252
10.6.2 How the scheme works 253
10.6.3 Registries and logs 253
10.6.4 National Allocation Plans (NAPs) 254
10.7 Emission derivatives 254

11 Agricultural Commodities and Biofuels 261

11.1 Agricultural markets 261
11.1.1 Physical supply chain 261
11.1.2 Sugar 262
11.1.3 Wheat 262
11.1.4 Corn 262
11.2 Ethanol 263
11.2.1 What is ethanol? 263
11.2.2 History of ethanol 263
11.3 Price drivers 264
11.3.1 Weather 264
11.3.2 Substitution 265
11.3.3 Investor activity 265
11.3.4 Current levels of inventory 265
11.3.5 Protectionism 265
11.3.6 Health 265
11.3.7 Industrialising countries 266
11.3.8 Elasticity of supply 266
11.3.9 Genetic modification 266
11.4 Exchange-traded agricultural and ethanol derivatives 266
11.5 Over-the-counter agricultural derivatives 267

12 Commodities Within an Investment Portfolio 269

12.1 Investor profile 269
12.2 Benefits of commodities within a portfolio 270
12.2.1 Return enhancement and diversification 270
12.2.2 Asset allocation 270
12.2.3 Inflation hedge 271
12.2.4 Hedge against the US dollar 271
12.3 Methods of investing in commodities 271
12.3.1 Advantages and disadvantages 271
12.4 Commodity indices 272
12.4.1 Explaining the roll yield 273
12.5 Total return swaps 274
12.6 Structured investments 277
12.6.1 Gold-linked notes 277
12.6.2 Capital guaranteed structures 277
xiv Contents

12.6.3 Combination structures 278

12.6.4 Non-combination structures 281
12.6.5 Collateralised Commodity Obligations 282
12.7 Analysing investment structures 285

Glossary 287

Notes 299

Bibliography 303

Index 305
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 Preface

Since the start of this century, the commodity markets have been the subject of much
interest with reports in the media usually detailing that some commodity has reached a new
all time price high. My motivation for writing the book, however, did not stem from this
but rather the difficulty I had in finding people who could provide classroom training on the
different products. Although many companies were able to provide training that described
the physical market for each commodity, virtually no one provided training on over-the-
counter (OTC) structures, which arguably comprise the greatest volumes in the market. As
they say, if you want a job done properly. . . . While doing research for the courses I felt that
much of the available documentation either had a very narrow focus, perhaps concentrating
on just one product, or were general texts on trading commodity futures with little insight
into the underlying markets. As a result, I have tried to write a book that documents in one
place the main commodity markets and their associated derivatives.
Within each chapter, I have tried to keep the structure fairly uniform. Typically, there will
be a short section explaining what the commodity is in non-technical terms. For those with
a background in any one specific commodity, this may appear somewhat simplistic but is
included to ensure that the financial reader has sufficient background to place the subsequent
discussion within some context. Typical patterns of demand and supply are considered as
well as the main factors that will influence the price of the commodity. The latter part of
each chapter focuses on the physical market of the particular commodity before detailing
the main exchange traded and OTC products.
One of the issues I was faced with when writing each chapter was to determine the
products that should be covered in each chapter. As I was concerned that I might end up
repeating ideas that had been covered in earlier chapters, I have tried to document structures
that are unique to each market in each particular chapter, while the more generic structures
have been spread throughout the text.
The other issue was to determine which products to include within the scope of the book.
No doubt some readers will disagree with my choice of topics in the book, but I can assure
you that this was still being discussed with the team at Wiley as the deadline for the final
manuscript approached!
Chapter 1 outlines the main derivative building blocks and how they are priced. Readers
familiar with these concepts could skip this chapter and go straight to any individual chapter
without losing too much of the flow. However, it does include a section on the pricing of
commodities within the context of the convenience yield. Chapter 2 sets the scene for a
discussion on the concept of risk management. Two different perspectives are taken, that of
xvi Preface

a corporate with a desire to hedge some form of exposure and an investment bank that will
take on the risk associated by offering any solution. Chapter 3 looks at the market for gold
while Chapter 4 develops the theme to cover base metals. Some readers may complain that
there is no coverage of other “precious” metals such as silver, platinum and palladium, but
I felt that including sections on these metals would amount to overkill and that gold was
sufficiently interesting in itself to warrant an extended discussion. The next three chapters
cover the core energy markets, the first of which is crude oil. Chapter 6 covers natural
gas markets while Chapter 7 discussed electricity. Chapter 8 describes the relatively new
market for plastic, while Chapter 9 details one of the oldest markets, that of coal. Chapter 10
looks at another new market, the trading of carbon emissions. Chapter 11 covers agricultural
products where the focus is on the relationship between some of the “soft” commodities and
ethanol. The book concludes by considering the use of commodities within an investment
portfolio.
 Acknowledgements

As ever, it would be arrogant of me to assume that this was entirely my own work. The
book is dedicated to the late Paul Roth, who was taken from us far too early in life. In the
decade that I knew him, I was able to benefit considerably from his insight into the world
of derivatives. It never ceased to amaze me how, after days of pondering on a problem, I
could only half explain to him something that I only half understood, and he could explain
it back to me perfectly in simple and clear terms.
Thanks also to the team at Wiley (Sam Whittaker, Emily Pears, Viv Wickham) who have
helped a publishing “newbie” like me and tolerated the fact that I missed nearly every
deadline they set.
General thanks go to my father, Reg Schofield, who offered to edit large chunks of the
manuscript and tidy up “the English what I wrote”. Rachel Gillingham deserves a special
mention for helping me to express the underlying chemistry of a number of commodities
within the book. Her input added considerable value to the overall manuscript.
At Barclays Capital I would like to thank Arfan Aziz, Natasha Cornish, Lutfey Siddiqui,
Benoit de Vitry and Troy Bowler. They all have endured endless requests for help and have
given generously of their time without complaint. In relation to specific chapters, thanks go
to Matt Schwab and John Spaull (gold); Angus McHeath, Frank Ford and Ingrid Sternby
(base metals); David Paul and Nick Smith (plastics); Thomas Wiktorowski-Schweitz, Orrin
Middleton, Suzanne Taylor and Jonathon Taylor (crude oil); Simon Hastings, Rob Bailey
and David Gillbe (electricity); Paul Dawson and Rishil Patel (emissions); Rachel Frear and
Marco Sarcino (coal); and Maria Igweh (agriculture). Thanks also to Steve Hochfeld who
made some valuable comments on the agricultural chapter. All of these “advisers”contributed
fantastic insights into the different markets and often reviewed drafts of the manuscript,
which enhanced it no end.
A very special thanks must go to Nicki, who never once complained about the project
and has always been very interested and supportive of all that I do.
If I have missed anyone, then please accept my apologies, but rest assured I am grateful.
Although I received a lot of help in compiling the materials, any mistakes that remain in
the text are entirely my responsibility.
xviii Acknowledgements

I am always interested in any comments or suggestions on the text and can be contacted
at either neil.schofi[email protected] or www. commodity-derivatives.net

Neil C. Schofield

PS: Hi to Alan Gamblin and Roger Jarvis, who dared me to include their names. The tea
and toast are on you!
 About the Author

Neil C. Schofield is currently the head of Financial Markets Training at Barclays Capital,
where he has global responsibility for all aspects of the bank’s product-related training. As
part of the job, he regularly delivers training on a wide range of subjects in commodities,
fixed income, equity, foreign exchange and credit.
Prior to joining Barclays, he was a director at Chisholm Roth, a financial training com-
pany, where he delivered seminars to a blue-chip client base around the world. He has also
worked in a training capacity for Chase Manhattan bank from 1988 to 1997. The author
was appointed as a visiting fellow at ICMA Centre, Reading University, England in April
2007.
 1
An Introduction to Derivative Products

SYNOPSIS The purpose of this chapter is to outline the main features of derivatives and
provide a description of the main ways in which they are priced and valued.
This chapter is divided into two distinct sections that cover:

• The key features of the derivative “building block” products

• The principles of how each of the products is priced and valued.

The coverage is not particularly mathematical in style, although numerical examples are included
where it helps to illustrate the key principles.
In the first section the fundamental concepts of the main derivative products are considered.
The products covered include:

• Futures
• Forwards
• Swaps
• Options (mostly “vanilla” with some “exotic” coverage)

In the second section the focus is on the pricing of derivatives. The approach considers that all
of the building block markets are linked through mathematical relationships and describes how
the price of one product can be derived from another.
One of the unique elements of pricing commodity derivatives is the existence of the conve-
nience yield, which is explained in conjunction with the concepts of contango and backwarda-
tion.
Two extra themes are developed in the pricing section that are relevant to other parts of the
book. The first is a discussion on put–call parity, which will help the reader to understand how
some structures are created. This idea is then developed to outline the potential sources of value
in risk management solutions.
The chapter concludes with a description of the main measures of option risk manage-
ment – the Greeks.

When analysing derivatives it is convenient to classify them into three main building blocks:

• Forwards and futures

• Swaps
• Options.

However, within the option category it is possible to make a distinction between two sub-
categories, the so-called “plain vanilla” structures (that is, options that conform to a basic
accepted profile) and those that are considered “exotic”, such as binaries and barriers.
For ease of illustration we will use gold in the following examples.
2 Commodity Derivatives

1.1 FORWARDS AND FUTURES

A forward contract will fix the price today for delivery of an asset in the future. Gold sold
for spot value will involve the exchange of cash for the metal in two days’ time. However,
if the transaction required the delivery in say 1 month’s time it would be classified as a
forward transaction. Forward contracts are negotiated bilaterally between the buyer and the
seller and are often characterised as being “over the counter”.
The forward transaction represents a contractual commitment; so if gold is bought forward
at, say, USD 430.00 an ounce but the price of gold in the spot market is only USD 420.00
at the point of delivery, I cannot walk away from the forward contract and try to buy it in
the underlying market. However, it is not impossible to terminate the contract early. This
could be achieved by agreeing a “break” amount, which would reflect the current economic
value of the contract.
A futures contract is traded on an organised exchange with the New York Mercantile
Exchange being one example. Economically a future achieves the same result as a forward
by offering price certainty for a period in the future. However, the key difference between
the contracts is in how they are traded. The contracts are uniform in their trading size, which
is set by the exchange. For example, the main features of the contract specification for the
gold future are listed in Table 1.1.
There are some fundamental differences between commodity and financial products traded
on an exchange basis. One of the key differences is that futures require collateral to be
deposited when a trade is executed (known as initial margin). Although different exchanges
will work in different ways, the remittance of profits and losses may take place on an
ongoing basis (variation margin) rather than at the maturity of the contract. An example of
this is detailed in the chapter on base metals.

Table 1.1 Gold futures contract specification

Trading unit 100 troy ounces

Price quotation US dollars and cents per troy ounce
Trading hours Open outcry from 8.20am until 1.30pm New York time
(electronic trading is also available)
Trading months Trading is conducted for delivery during the current calendar
month; the next two calendar months; any February, April, August
and October falling within a 23-month period; and any June and
December falling within a 60-month period beginning with the
current month.
Minimum price fluctuation USD 0.10 (10c) per troy ounce (USD 10.00 per contract).
Last trading day Trading terminates at the close of business on the third to last
business day of the maturing delivery month.
Delivery period The first delivery day is the first business day of the delivery
month, the last delivery day is the last business day of the delivery
month.
Margin requirements Margins are required for open futures positions.
Source: NYMEX.
An Introduction to Derivative Products 3

Settlement of financial futures is often for a single date specified by the exchange, such
as the third Wednesday in March, June, September or December. For commodity futures
settlement could be for any day within the ensuing three months (see “trading days” section
in the above specification). By offering delivery on any day for the current and two succes-
sive months, this commodity future possess a feature of the forward market – the flexibility
to settle for a variety of dates. Another difference is the concept of grade and quality spec-
ification. If one is delivering a currency, the underlying asset is homogeneous – a dollar is
always a dollar. However, because metals have different shapes, grades and quality, there
must be an element of standardisation to ensure that the buyer knows what he or she is
receiving. Some of the criteria that NYMEX apply include:

• The seller must deliver 100 troy ounces (±5%) of refined gold.
• The gold must be of a fineness of no less than 0.995%.
• It must be cast either in one bar or in three 1-kilogram bars.
• The gold must bear a serial number and identifying stamp of a refiner approved and listed
by the Exchange.

1.2 SWAPS
In a swap transaction two parties agree to exchange cashflows, the sizes of which are based
on different price indices. Typically, this is represented as an agreed fixed rate against a
variable or floating rate. Swaps are traded on an agreed notional amount, which is not
exchanged but establishes the magnitude of the fixed and floating cashflows. Swap con-
tracts are typically of longer-term maturity (i.e. greater than one year) but the exact terms
of the contract will be open to negotiation. For example, in many base metal markets a
swap transaction is often nothing more than a single period forward, which allows for the
transaction to be cash settled, involving the payment of the agreed forward price against the
spot price at expiry.
The exact form may vary between markets, with the following merely a sample of how
they may be applied in a variety of different commodity markets.

• Gold : Pay fixed lease rate vs receive variable lease rate.

• Base metals: Pay fixed aluminium price vs receive average price of near dated aluminium
future.
• Oil : Pay fixed West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price vs receive average price of near
dated WTI future.

Swaps will usually start as spot and so become effective two days after they are traded.
However, it is also possible for the swap to become effective at some time in the future – a
forward starting swap. The frequency with which the cashflows are settled is open to nego-
tiation but they could vary in tenor between 1 month and 12 months. Where the payments
coincide there is a net settlement between the two parties. One of the features of commodity
swaps that is not shared by financial swaps is the use of an average rate for the floating leg.
This is because many of the underlying exposures that commodity swaps are designed to
hedge will be based on some form of average price.
The motivation for entering into a swap will differ between counterparties. For a corporate
entity one of their main concerns is risk transference. Consider a company that has to
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different content
 CHAPTER XXI.

Not having seen Edinburgh since August, 1776, I longed to see it

again, and set out on this journey on the 11th August, 1823, and
went through by coach on that day. I always thought highly of
Edinburgh and its bold and commanding situation; but the new
town, or city of palaces, as it is sometimes called, had been added
to it since I had seen it. But all these splendid buildings are of trivial
import compared with the mass of intellect and science which had
taken root and had been nurtured and grown up to such a height as
to rival, and perhaps to outstrip, every other city in the world. My
stay was only a fortnight; and this was a busy time, both as to its
being taken up with the kindness and hospitality met with
everywhere as well as in visiting its various scientific and other
establishments. It being at a vacation season, when most of the
learned professors were out of town, I saw only Professors Jameson
and Wallace, and was often at the table of the former, which was
surrounded by men of learning and science who visited him from all
parts of the world. The attentions of Professor Wallace were most
friendly. He shewed me the use of the Eidograph, an instrument
which he had invented for the purpose of either reducing or
enlarging a drawing or design most accurately to any size that might
be required. I visited Patrick Neil, Esq., and was much pleased with
seeing the tamed birds and other curiosities which embellished his
little paradise. His uncommon kindness will ever remain impressed
upon my memory. I also often called upon my friend, Mr. Archibald
Constable, accounted the first bookseller in Scotland; and, although
he was unwell at the time, I partook of his kind attentions. I visited
the splendid exhibition of paintings of the late Sir Henry Raeburn,
Bart., the rooms of Mr. William Allan, historical painter, Mr. Stewart,
engraver, and those of several others who were absent. With other
artists, who were known to me, I spent some time in several calls.
These calls were upon my old friend, Mr. Nasmyth, landscape
painter; my townsman, Mr. Wm. Nicholson; Mr. James Kirkwood,
now up in years, but who had in his prime led the way to excellence
in engraving. I also paid my respects to the son and successor of my
kind friend of former days, the late Mr. Hector Gavin; and the same
to the sons and successors of the late Mr. D. Lizars. All these had
attained to that degree of excellence which did honour to Edinburgh,
now the seat of learning, and rendered brilliant by the gems of art,
and by the science with which it is adorned. I have almost forgotten
to name my being introduced to Messrs. Ballantyne and Robertson,
lithographic printers. Whilst I was in their office, the latter pressed
me to make a sketch on the stone for him. I was then preparing to
leave Edinburgh, and the only time left me was so short that I was
obliged to draw this sketch before breakfast the next morning, and
the proofs were taken from it on the same day. In doing this, though
very slight, I could see what that manner of making prints was
capable of. I left Edinburgh on the 23rd August, 1823, and I think I
shall see Scotland no more.
After my journeys (long ago) to Cherryburn were ended, I used,
as formerly, seldom to miss going in the mornings to Elswick Lane,
to drink whey, or buttermilk, and commonly fell in with a party who
went there for the same purpose; and this kind of social intercourse
continued for many years. I also, at that time, on the Sunday
afternoons, went to visit and contemplate in the church-yards, and
there give vent to my mind, in feelings of regret, and in repeating a
kind of soliloquy over the graves of those with whom I had been
intimate.
“And then I lov’d to haunt lone burial places,
Pacing the church-yard path with noiseless tread,
To pore on new-made graves for ghastly traces,—
Brown crumbling bones of the forgotten dead.”
I recounted in my memory the numbers of my friends thus put by to
be forgotten, amongst the millions of others who had been for
longer or shorter periods also in this world, and who have passed
away into Eternity. Even the “frail memorial”—erected to “perpetuate
the memory” of those who had been esteemed—seemed to be of
little avail, and their mementos, as well as those decked out with
ornamented flatteries, would, in time, all go to decay, and be no
longer remembered than until all who once knew them were also
dead; and the numbers of both the one and the other appeared to
me to be so immense that to estimate them seemed impossible, and
like attempting to count the grains of sand on the sea beach. It is
thus that the grave swallows all up without distinction. The true
estimate of their various merits can only be known to the Creator of
all. It appears clear to those whose souls habitually adore and
commune with Him, while they remain in this state of probation, that
He will, in His infinite goodness, wisdom, truth, justice, and mercy—
place everyone, on quitting this mortal abode, in the unknowable
worlds befitting their reception.
Besides the temporary mementos dedicated to private worth,
others of a different character may have their use. Monuments might
therefore be erected to those who have, by their virtues and
patriotism, promoted the happiness of mankind. It is a debt of
gratitude due to the Author of our being for the loan of departed
worth, and may stimulate others “to do so likewise.” The
posthumous praise or blame of the world is to them of no avail; they
are done with all things on this side of Time, and are out of the
reach of both the one and the other.
While I was pursuing my ramblings in the Highlands, and beheld
with admiration the great projecting rocks so often to be seen
holding up their bare heads to the winds, it struck me that it was a
great pity they could not be converted to some use: and the best I
could think of was, that the illustrious names of Wallace and Bruce—
as well as those of their other worthies—should be inscribed upon
them, to hold up their heads with these names to the sun for ever. I
have often thought since, that the bare rocks in other parts of our
islands might with good effect be filled up in the same way. The first
name to be fixed upon ought to be that of Alfred the Great, followed
by many others—statesmen, patriots, philosophers, poets, &c.—who
have shone out like polished diamonds, and who have embellished
and illumined this country, and civilized the world. Their venerated
names, with their maxims, or quotations from their works, would fill
up many of these rocks, which are waiting for them, and might
make all who beheld them inclined to profit by, or to imitate, their
virtues. How many incomparably good, wise, and beautiful texts
from the Bible might also with great propriety be added to fill up
every vacant spot. I often lamented that I had not the means to
enable me to be at the expense of getting such quotations inscribed
in this way. Often, while angling on a hot, sunny day, which
slackened my sport, I have sat down by the water side, and thought
over some of the beautiful lines of our poets, fit to be applied in this
way; and remember my having thought of those lines of
Cunningham, which I would, if I could have afforded it, have
committed to the care of a rock. He says:—
“How smooth that rapid river glides
Progressive to the deep!
The poppies pendent o’er its sides
Have lull’d the waves to sleep.

“Pleasure’s intoxicated sons!

Ye indolent! ye gay!
Reflect,—for as the river runs
Time wings his trackless way.”

How easy would it be for gentlemen to get the names of the

illustrious dead thus inscribed upon rocks; or, where that could not
be done, to erect pillars, or small obelisks, over copious springs (like
the holy wells of old), to contain such inscriptions as those I have
hinted at, and thus leave these their marks behind them; and which
would long continue to put the passing stranger in mind of some
religious, moral, or patriotic sentiment; and, while he was refreshing
himself by quenching his thirst, he might be put in mind that—
“Man wants but little here below,
Nor wants that little long.”
 CHAPTER XXII.

Having already noticed my beginnings, or first efforts, in engraving

on wood; and as at that time this department of the arts was at the
very lowest ebb in this country, and, I believe, also in every other
country in Europe, it may perhaps be of some use, or at least may
excite some curiosity, to know the part I took in renewing, or
bringing into use, this to me new art, as far as I was able, with the
slender means in my hands, and the many difficulties I had to
contend with and surmount, before anything like an approach
towards perfection could be arrived at. I ought first distinctly to state
that, at that time, it never entered into my head that it was a branch
of art that would stand pre-eminent for utility, or that it could ever in
the least compete with engraving on copper. I ought also to observe
that no vain notions of my arriving at any eminence ever passed
through my mind, and that the sole stimulant with me was the
pleasure I derived from imitating natural objects (and I had no other
patterns to go by), and the opportunity it afforded me of making and
drawing my designs on the wood, as the only way I had in my power
of giving vent to a strong propensity to gratify my feelings in this
way. In process of time, however, as I began to improve, and seeing
the practical use printers were making of wood cuts, the utility and
importance of them began to be unfolded to my view; and the more
I have since thought upon the subject, the more I am confirmed in
the opinions I have entertained, that the use of wood cuts will know
no end, or, so long as the importance of printing is duly appreciated
and the liberty of the press held sacred.
The first difficulty I felt, as I proceeded, was in getting the cuts I
had executed printed so as to look anything like my drawings on the
blocks of wood, nor corresponding to the labour I had bestowed
upon the cutting of the designs. At that time pressmen were utterly
ignorant as to any proper effect that was to be produced; or even, if
one of them possessed any notions of excellence beyond the
common run of workmen, his materials for working were so
defective that he could not execute even what he himself wished to
accomplish. The common pelt balls then in use, so daubed the cut,
and blurred and overlapped its edges, that the impression looked
disgusting. To remedy this defect, I was obliged carefully to shave
down the edges round about; and this answered the end I had in
view. The next difficulty was worse to surmount, and required a long
time to get over it; and that was, to lower down the surface on all
the parts I wished to appear pale, so as to give the appearance of
the required distance; and this process will always continue to call
forth and to exercise the judgment of every wood engraver, even
after he knows what effect his careful pressman maybe enabled to
produce, from this his manner of cutting. On this all artists must
form their own ideas. I think no exact description can be laid down
as a rule for others to go by: they will by practice have to find out
this themselves. While I was patiently labouring and contending with
difficulties which I could not overcome, I was shown some
impressions from wood cuts done long ago, with cross-hatching,
such as I thought I should never be able to execute. These were
from wood cuts by Albert Durer, and perhaps some others of his day,
in the collection of the Rev. John Brand, the Newcastle Historian;
and from these I concluded that Albert Durer must have had some
very easy way of loading his blocks with such an useless profusion of
cross-hatching, or he would not have done them so, unless, indeed,
he had found out some easy means of etching the wood (or perhaps
metal plates), quite unknown to me; but, if otherwise, I then, in
changing my opinion, could think of no other way than that he must
have cut his blocks on the plank or side way of the wood, on which
it would be more easy to pick out the interstices between the
squares, or the lozenge-shaped lines, than as I (at that time)
thought it possible to do on the end way of the wood. One of these
plank blocks, said to have been drawn by Albert Durer, was shown to
me by my kind friend George Allan, Esq., of the Grange, Darlington.
The drawing, which was done with great accuracy, seemed to me to
have been done by a crow-quill, with a kind of varnish ink, the
strokes of which, from their regularity, looked as if they had been
printed from a well-executed copper plate, and transferred to the
block. After labouring for some time, endeavouring to produce the
like effect on my blocks, on the end way of the wood, not indeed to
my satisfaction, I felt mortified in not succeeding to my wish; and I
then began to think the impressions must have been printed from
two blocks. This, indeed, I soon found to be quite easy to do, as well
as being beautifully correct; and any artist may see this in a few
minutes, by cutting parallel lines on a piece of wood, and from it
taking, by his hand, an impression on a piece of paper, and then
again inking the same cut, and printing it in the same way, either
directly in a cross or in an oblique direction, upon the first
impression. This can also easily be done, from two cuts, at a printing
press, and is much easier to do, and better than the labour
necessarily bestowed upon one cross-hatched block. When I had
accomplished this, and satisfied myself that the process was both
simple and perfect, as to obtaining the object I so much wanted, my
curiosity on this score ceased, and I then concluded that in this way
the cross-hatching might be set aside as a thing of no use at all. The
artists indeed of the present day have brought it to such a pitch of
perfection that I do not know that it can be carried any further; and
in this they have also been so marvellously aided by the improved
methods now used in printing their cuts, that one would be led to
conclude that this department has also attained to perfection; and,
had this not been the case, the masterly execution of wood cuts,
either by crossed lines, or otherwise, would have continued to be
beheld with disgust or contempt. I have long been of opinion that
the cross-hatching of wood cuts, for book work, is a waste of time;
as every desired effect can be much easier obtained by plain parallel
lines. The other way is not the legitimate object of wood engraving.
Instead of imitating the manner of copper etchings, at a great cost
of labour and time, on the wood, such drawings might have been as
soon etched on the copper at once; and, where a large impression
of any publication was not required, the copper plate would have
cost less, and lasted long enough for the purpose intended. I never
could discover any additional beauty or colour that the crossed
strokes gave to the impression, beyond the effect produced by plain
parallel lines. This is very apparent when to a certainty the plain
surface of the wood will print as black as ink and balls can make it,
without any further labour at all; and it may easily be seen that the
thinnest strokes cut upon the plain surface will throw some light on
the subject or design: and, if these strokes are made wider and
deeper, it will receive more light; and if these strokes, again, are
made still wider, or of equal thickness to the black lines, the colour
these produce will be a grey; and the more the white strokes are
thickened, the nearer will they, in their varied shadings, approach to
white, and, if quite taken away, then a perfect white is obtained. The
methods I have pursued appear to me to be the simple and easy
perfection of wood engraving for book printing, and, no doubt, will
appear better or worse according to the ability of the artist who
executes them. The first time I ever heard anything about colour
being produced by plain engraving was in the compliments paid me
by Dr. Thos. Stout, for my engraving on his large silver box. The
device, or design, I have now forgotten, but never what he said on
the occasion; and from that time I attempted colour upon the wood;
and, though I felt much difficulty in my attempts at producing it, yet
the principle is there, and will shine out under the skill and
management of any eminent engraver on wood who is gifted with a
painter’s eye; and his work will be complete if seconded by a
pressman of ability, who may happen to have a talent and fellow-
feeling for the art.
I have before noticed my lowering down the surface of the wood,
in order to produce the effect of distance, and the same thing holds
good with every figure where different shades of colour is desired.
Leaving the surface of the block without being pared down at all,
and relying only on the lines being left thicker or smaller for
producing the requisite depth of shade, this surface thus left acts as
a support to the more delicate lines, which have been engraved on
the lowered part of the cut. After all the parts are thus lowered, a
further paring down of the edges of the various figures which the
cut contains may be necessary to prevent their appearing as if
surrounded by a white line. The delicate lines thus lowered, go as to
print pale or distant parts, and thus protected by the stronger lines
left on the surface—a wood cut, with care, will print an incredible
number: how many it may be difficult exactly to say; but it once
happened that I had the opportunity given me of guessing pretty
nearly at this, from the calculation of the late Mr. S. Hodgson, when
he called upon me with a gentleman (a stranger to me) who seemed
extremely curious to know everything respecting engraving on wood.
One of his queries was made with a view of ascertaining how many
impressions a wood cut would print. Not having anything in mind at
the moment, to enable me to satisfy him, I began to consider, and it
then struck me that a little delicate cut—a view of Newcastle—was
done for Mr. H. many years before, as a fac for his newspaper. I then
turned to the date in my ledger, when he calculated exactly, and
found it had printed above 900,000. This cut was continued in the
newspaper several years afterwards. It was protected in the manner
before noticed by a strong black line, or border, surrounding it,
within which the surface was lowered previous to cutting the view.
This cut is still kept; and, except being somewhat damaged by being
tossed about amongst other castaway cuts, might, by being a little
repaired, yet print many thousands. This is mentioned with a view to
show the great length of time that cuts done in this way will last, if
they are carefully adjusted to the height of the type, and kept out of
the hands of ignorant, rude pressmen.
I am of opinion that cuts done in the manner called surface-
cutting cannot stand anything like so large an impression as when
they are lowered thus; for the delicate lines, when left on the
surface, must soon break down from the heavy pressure to which
they are exposed.
 CHAPTER XXIII.

It is foreign to my purpose to criticize the works of brother artists

of the present day. I behold their excellent productions with
pleasure; in them there is no falling off: they surpass those of the
artists of the olden times. I cannot, however, help lamenting that, in
all the vicissitudes which the art of wood engraving has undergone,
some species of it is lost and done away: I mean the large blocks
with the prints from them, so common to be seen when I was a boy
in every cottage and farm house throughout the country. These
blocks, I suppose, from their size, must have been cut on the plank
way on beach, or some other kind of close-grained wood; and from
the immense number of impressions from them, so cheaply and
extensively spread over the whole country, must have given
employment to a great number of artists, in this inferior department
of wood cutting; and must also have formed to them an important
article of traffic. These prints, which were sold at a very low price,
were commonly illustrative of some memorable exploits, or were,
perhaps, the portraits of eminent men, who had distinguished
themselves in the service of their country, or in their patriotic
exertions to serve mankind. Besides these, there were a great
variety of other designs, often with songs added to them of a moral,
a patriotic, or a rural tendency, which served to enliven the circle in
which they were admired. To enumerate the great variety of these
pictures would be a task. A constant one in every house, was “King
Charles’ Twelve Good Rules.” Amongst others were representations
of remarkable victories at sea, and battles on land, often
accompanied with portraits of those who commanded, and others
who had borne a conspicuous part in these contests with the enemy.
The house at Ovingham, where our dinner poke was taken care of
when at school, was hung round with views or representations of
the battles of Zondorf, and several others; also the portraits of Tom
Brown, the valiant grenadier, of Admiral Haddock, Admiral Benbow,
and other portraits of admirals. There was also a representation of
the “Victory” man-of-war, of 100 guns, commanded by Admiral Sir
John Balchen, and fully manned with 1,100 picked seamen and
volunteers, all of whom, with this uncommonly fine ship, were lost—
sunk to the bottom of the sea. This was accompanied by a poetical
lament of the catastrophe, part of which was—
“Ah! hapless Victory, what avails
Thy towering masts, thy spreading sails.”

Some of the portraits, I recollect, now and then to be met with,

were very well done in this way, on wood. In Mr. Gregson’s kitchen,
one of this character hung against the wall many years. It was a
remarkably good likeness of Captain Coram. In cottages everywhere
were to be seen the “Sailor’s Farewell” and his “Happy Return,”
“Youthful Sports,” and the “Feats of Manhood,” “The Bold Archers
Shooting at a Mark,” “The Four Seasons,” &c. Some subjects were of
a funny—others of a grave character. I think the last portraits I
remember were of some of the rebel lords and “Duke Willy.” These
kind of wood cut pictures are long since quite gone out of fashion,
which I feel very sorry for, and most heartily wish they could be
revived. It is desirable, indeed, that the subjects should be well
chosen; for it must be of great importance that such should be the
case; as, whatever can serve to instil morality and patriotism into the
minds of the whole people must tend greatly to promote their own
happiness and the good of the community. All men, however poor
they may be, ought to feel that this is their country, as well as it is
that of the first nobleman of the land; and, if so, they will be equally
as interested in its happiness and prosperity.
There is another way, not yet indeed entered upon, of similar
import to the foregoing, in which prints might with good effect be
made of subjects fit to embellish almost every house throughout our
country: and that is from wood blocks printed in colours, like paper-
hangings. Having seen some such done by paper-stainers, so as
almost to equal good paintings, leads me to wish that this method
could be pursued—for the same ends as those already noticed. The
most remarkable productions of art of this kind from blocks done to
print in colours, like beautiful little paintings, were sent to me by
Gubitz, of Berlin; they might indeed be said to be perfection. Several
impressions from duplicate or triplicate blocks, printed in this way, of
a very large size, were also given to me, as well as a drawing of the
press from which they were printed, many years ago, by Jean
Baptiste Jackson, who had been patronized by the king of France;
but, whether these prints had been done with the design of
embellishing the walls of houses in that country, I know not. They
had been taken from paintings of eminent old masters, and were
mostly Scripture pieces. They were well drawn, and perhaps
correctly copied from the originals, yet in my opinion none of them
looked well. Jackson left Newcastle quite enfeebled with age, and, it
was said, ended his days in an asylum, under the protecting care of
Sir Gilbert Elliot, bart., at some place on the border near the Teviot,
or on Tweedside.
Whether the speculations here noticed may be thought worthy of
being acted upon, I know not, but it is not to any of the above
noticed ways of wood cutting that my attention is directed: it is, in
my ardent desire to see the stroke engraving on wood carried to the
utmost perfection, that I hope the world will be gratified; and I trust
the time is not distant when its superior excellence will be seen,
particularly in landscape scenery, so as to surpass bank notes
engravings. The effect to be produced by wood engraving has not, in
that way, yet been tried, nor its powers made apparent. This is, I
think, to be attained by two, or even more, blocks being employed,
on one print, so that a greater and more natural effect—as to colour
and softness—may be produced. I am well aware that some
difficulty may arise, as to bringing off a clear impression of fine
strokes from so large a surface, but in this age of mechanical
improvement and invention, I think this apparent difficulty will
readily be got over. Perhaps printing from a roller, instead of an even
down pull, may easily accomplish this business. I have often
thought, had William Woollett been a wood engraver, he would have
shown its excellence long ago: his prints from copper have not been
equalled; but, from the nature of the wood, and the effect it
produces, he would have advanced a step further, and on it have
outdone his excellence on copper. If I live, health and sight
continued, I will make the attempt to show that all this is not a
visionary theory. Should I not live to get this Memoir printed under
my own inspection,—or whether it will ever be printed at all, I know
not,—but at any rate the manuscript itself will show, were that
necessary, how ardently I have ever wished well to arts and artists;
and though, in my endeavours to show this, I have often been
thwarted and disappointed, yet I never lost sight of my object, nor
became disheartened in my struggles to fight through, and surmount
numberless difficulties and bars thrown in my way.
I have already noticed my brother John, as my first pupil, and
therefore have little further to say respecting him, only, that Nature
seemed to have befitted him for becoming a first-rate artist; but, at
the time he was with me, the thoughts of arriving at excellence did
not enter into our heads, and he left the world at the time when
wood engraving was only beginning to be looked upon as a matter
of any interest. And, now when the time is fast approaching for my
winding up all my labours, I may be allowed to name my own son
and partner, whose time has been taken up with attending to all the
branches of our business: and who, I trust, will not let wood
engraving go down; and, though he has not shown any partiality
towards it, yet the talent is there, and I hope he will call it forth.
 CHAPTER XXIV.

How far I may venture further to obtrude my opinions, or advice,

on the notice of artists, particularly engravers on wood, I know not,
but they may readily imagine that I cannot help feeling a deep
interest, and an ardent desire, that the art may long flourish, and
that those who follow it may feel happy in the pursuit. Perhaps what
I have already said may not be uninteresting to some of them, and,
if I knew how I could go further, in any way that might urge or
stimulate them to feel enthusiasm for this art, it should not be
wanting; for the wish, though tottering on the down-hill of life, is
extended beyond the grave.
The sedentary artist ought, if possible, to have his dwelling in the
country, where he can follow his business undisturbed, surrounded
by pleasing rural scenery, and the fresh air. He ought not to sit at
work too long at a time, but to unbend his mind with some variety of
employment; for which purpose it is desirable that artists, with their
little cots, shall also have each a garden attached, in which they may
find both exercise and amusement, and only occasionally visit the
city or the smoky town; and that chiefly for the purpose of meetings
with their brother artists, in which they may make an interchange of
their sentiments, and commune with each other as to whatever
regards the arts. Were I allowed to become their M.D., my
prescription should cost them nothing, and be easily taken—it being
only attentively to observe two or three rules, the first of which is,
that they will contrive to be very hungry once a day, never to
overload the stomach, nor indulge to satiety in eating anything. By
persisting in this, they will find their reward in great good health,
and a vigorous, unclouded mind: by a little observation they may
clearly see that a great portion of mankind “live to eat”—not eat to
live.[38] To say more to men of sense and artists,—which a desire to
contribute everything in my power towards their peace of mind and
happiness prompts me to do,—I may be allowed to add, that those
of them who have attained to eminence will find themselves pursued
by envy; for “There is no species of hatred greater than that which a
man of mediocrity bears to a man of genius; his reach of thought,
his successful combinations, and his sudden felicities are never
forgiven by those whom nature has fashioned in a less perfect
mould.”
It is the duty of parents and guardians to endeavour, with the
utmost care, to discover the capacities and fitness of youth for any
business before they engage in it; for, without they are innately
gifted with the power of becoming artists, the want of that power
will cause the pursuit to be felt by them as up-hill work, and be
productive of unhappiness to them through life. But the fondness of
parents for their offspring is mostly such as to blind them in forming
a judgment, and disappointment is sure to follow. It would be well
for such parents to read Gay’s fable of “The Owl, the Swan, the
Cock, the Spider, the Ass, and the Farmer.” It may indeed be
conceded that there are some rare exceptions to this general rule;
for a man may be so formed in body and mind—with such symmetry
and health in the one, and such energy in the other—that he may
advance a great way towards perfection in anything he ardently
pursues. But an “Admirable Chrichton,” or a Sir Joshua Reynolds,
does not often appear. Men so gifted by nature, whether as artists,
or in any other way where intellectual powers are to be drawn forth,
ought never to despair of rising to eminence, or to imagine that they
can never equal such men as have excelled all others in their day. It
ought to be kept in mind that the same superintending Providence
which gifted those men with talents to excite wonder and to improve
society from time to time, in all ages, still rules the world and the
affairs of mankind, and will continue to do so for ever, as often as
the services of such men are wanted; and this consideration ought
to act as a stimulant to their successors, to endeavour to surpass in
excellence the brilliant luminaries who have only gone before them
to pave the way and to enlighten their paths. All artists—and indeed
till men—ought to divide their time by regularly appropriating one
portion of it to one purpose, and another part of it to the varied
business that may be set apart for another. In this way a deal of
work may be got through; and the artist, after leaving off his too
intense application, would see, as it were, what he had been doing
with new eyes, and would thus be enabled to criticize the almost
endless variety of lights, shades, and effects, which await his pencil
to produce.
Had I been a painter, I never would have copied the works of “old
masters,” or others, however highly they might be esteemed. I
would have gone to nature for all my patterns; for she exhibits an
endless variety not possible to be surpassed, and scarcely ever to be
truly imitated. I would, indeed, have endeavoured to discover how
those artists of old made or compounded their excellent colours, as
well as the disposition of their lights and shades, by which they were
enabled to accomplish so much and so well.
The work of the painter may be said to be as endless as the
objects which nature continually presents to his view; and it is his
judgment that must direct him in the choice of such as may be
interesting. In this he will see what others have done before him,
and the shoals and quicksands that have retarded their progress, as
well as the rocks they have at last entirely split upon. On his taking a
proper survey of all this, he will see the “labour in vain” that has
been bestowed upon useless designs, which have found, and will
continue to find, their way to a garret, while those of an opposite
character will, from their excellence, be preserved with perhaps
increasing value for ages to come. In performing all this, great
industry will be required, and it ought ever to be kept in mind, that,
as in morals, nothing is worth listening to but truth, so in arts
nothing is worth looking at but such productions as have been
faithfully copied from nature. Poetry, indeed, may launch out or take
further liberties to charm the intellect of its votaries. It is only such
youths as Providence has gifted with strong intellectual, innate
powers that are perfectly fit to embark in the fine arts, and the
power and propensity is often found early to bud out and show itself.
This is seen in the young musician, who, without having even
learned his A B C’s, breaks out, with a random kind of unrestrained
freedom, to whistle and sing. How often have I been amused at the
first essays of the ploughboy, and how charmed to find him so soon
attempt to equal his whistling and singing master, at the plough
stilts, and who, with avidity unceasing, never stopped till he thought
he excelled him. The future painter is shown by his strong
propensity to sketch whatever objects in nature attract his attention,
and excite him to imitate them. The poet, indeed, has more
difficulties to contend with at first than the others, because he must
know language, or be furnished with words wherewith to enable him
to express himself even in his first essays in doggrel metre and sing-
song rhymes. In all the varied ways by which men of talent are
befitted to enlighten, to charm, and to embellish society, as they
advance through life,—if they entertain the true feeling that every
production they behold is created, not by chance, but by design,—
they will find an increasing and endless pleasure in the exhaustless
stores which nature has provided to attract the attention and
promote the happiness of her votaries during the time of their
sojourning here.
The painter need not roam very far from his home, in any part of
our beautiful isles, to meet with plenty of charming scenes from
which to copy nature—either on an extended or a limited scale—and
in which he may give full scope to his genius and to his pencil, either
in animate or inanimate subjects. His search will be crowned with
success in the romantic ravine—the placid holme—the hollow dell—
or amongst the pendant foliage of the richly ornamented dean; or by
the sides of burns which roar or dash along, or run murmuring from
pool to pool through their pebbly beds: all this bordered perhaps by
a back-ground of ivy-covered, hollow oaks (thus clothed as if to hide
their age),—of elms, willows, and birch, which seem kindly to offer
shelter to an under-growth of hazel, whins, broom, juniper, and
heather, with the wild rose, the woodbine, and the bramble, and
beset with clumps of fern and foxglove; while the edges of the
mossy braes are covered with a profusion of wild flowers, “born to
blush unseen,” which peep out amongst the creeping groundlings—
the bleaberry, the wild strawberry, the harebell, and the violet; but I
feel a want of words to enable the pen to give an adequate
description of the beauty and simplicity of these neglected spots,
which nature has planted as if to invite the admiration of such as
have hearts and eyes to appreciate and enjoy these her exquisite
treats, while she may perhaps smile at the formal, pruning efforts of
the gardener, as well as doubt whether the pencil of the artist will
ever accomplish a correct imitation. But, be all this as it may, she
has spread out her beauties to feast the eyes, and to invite the
admiration of all mankind, and to whet them up to an ardent love of
all her works. How often have I, in my angling excursions, loitered
upon such sunny braes, lost in extacy, and wishing I could impart to
others the pleasures I felt on such occasions: but they must see with
their own eyes to feel as I felt, and to form an opinion how far the
scenes depictured by poets fall short of the reality. The naturalist’s
poet—Thompson—has done much: so have others. Allan Ramsay’s
“Habbies Howe,
Where a’ the sweets of spring and summer grow,”

may have exhibited such as I have noticed, but the man endued
with a fit turn of mind, and inclined to search out such “beauty-
spots,” will not need the aid of poets to help him on in his
enthusiastic ardour.
 CHAPTER XXV.

When very young I read the Bible through and through, but I, at
that time, minded it no more than other histories with which my
scanty library was furnished. I could not then judge of it, nor
properly estimate the sublime precepts it contains. I felt, indeed,
much pleased and excited by the numerous battles therein
described. Sober reflection, however, respecting them quite altered
the bent of my inclination that way, and I began and continued to
consider the political history of the Israelites as very wicked; for they
are so described as under the direction of Moses, who, it is said,
always obtained the command or sanction of the Lord to set the
people at work in the business of war, at which they appear to have
been very ready and very expert. It is, however, evident that in the
nation of the Israelites there were men of great intellectual powers,
and inspired with an ardent desire to trace the Author of Nature
through His works, as well as having a foresight of their future
destiny. It being clear to them that it was the intention of
Omnipotence that men should live in a state of civilized society,
under this impression they set to work, as well as they could with an
uncivilized people, to bring about such a desirable order of things,
but in which they must have felt great difficulties; the first of which
was to abolish Paganism, and to establish the pure religion of
worshipping one God only; thus, “Thou shalt have none other gods
but me,” was the first commandment, and which was most
strenuously urged upon the Israelites in every way, and in every
transaction of their lives, while they were kept together as a nation.
Science, and a knowledge of nature, on which science is founded,
could not in those early times be expected to be known, either by
Moses or their other governers and teachers, who could not explain
such important matters to the people otherwise than they did. The
wonders of this world and the magnitude of the universe were not
then contemplated upon; neither was it perhaps necessary to
attempt any explanation of them in those dark ages: and, besides, it
appears it was not a leading object: civilization seems to have been
the first and perhaps the only important business they had at that
time in view. They therefore, in their endeavours to accomplish this,
and to govern and keep the people in awe, attempted to personify
the Deity, and to prescribe the boundary of time and space, as the
theatre on which He acted, that they, the people, might thus
understand something of the meaning of the commands so
strenuously laid upon them; not a little of which was delivered to
them in allegory and fable. Moses began by telling them of the
beginning of the world, and the length of time it took to make it,
and the manner in which God created Adam and Eve as the parents
of the whole human race; of Paradise, or the Garden of Eden; of the
disobedience of our first parents in eating forbidden fruit, and that
this transgression entailed misery, sin, and death upon the whole
human race. This “Original Sin,” however strange it may appear to
thinking men, has been kept up in terrorem, with uncommon pains,
for hundreds of years past, and is continued with unabating fervency
to the present time. That mankind should suffer under this
condemnation, for the fault of these our first parents, seems
impiously to set aside the justice of an All-wise and Benevolent God.
As to the time it took to create this world, and the whirling,
floating, universe of which it is comparatively a speck or mote—that
is beyond human comprehension; and Time, Eternity—a Beginning
and an End—are still much more beyond the reach of thought; for
the powers of the mind would soon become bewildered and lost in
attempting to form any conception, by figures, of what is meant by
innumerable millions of centuries: and here on this subject we must
rest! This sublime—this amazing—this mighty work of suns and
worlds innumerable is too much for the vision of a finite, purblind,
proud, little atom of the Creation, strutting or crawling about in the
shape of man. It is sufficient for the soul of man in this life to
reverence and adore the Omnipresent, and, except through his
works, the unknowable God, whose wisdom, and power, and
goodness, has no bounds, and who has been pleased to enable his
reasoning creatures so far to see that everything is made by design,
and nothing by chance; and, from the display of His infinite power,
that everything in the universe is systematic; all is connection,
adhesion, affinity: hence we may infer some principle of order, some
moving power, some mighty agent—but all this still ends in the name
of Deity, and dwells awfully retired beyond the reach of mortal eye.
What Moses has said about the deluge, and the destruction it
occasioned to every living creature, we are led to conclude must
have been handed down to him in ancient Eastern traditions, and it
requires no over-stretched credulity to believe that a deluge
happened which destroyed every living creature on that part of the
earth over which its devastations were spread; for it cannot be
doubted that this globe has undergone many such deluges,
convulsions, and changes, equally difficult to account for; and
geologists at this day feel convinced of this, from the changes which
they see matter has undergone, but of which they are still left
greatly to conjecture as to the cause. They cannot, however, doubt
the power of a comet (if it be the will of the Mighty Director) to melt
the ices from the poles, and to throw the sea out of its place, or to
reduce this globe instantly to a cinder—a vitrifaction—to ashes, or to
dust; and that, in its near approach to this our world, it may have
occasioned the various changes and phenomena which have
happened, and may happen again. The marine productions found
imbedded in the earth so many fathoms below its surface, supplies
another source of wonder, and seems either to confirm the foregoing
hypothesis, or to lead men to conclude that a great portion of the
earth has once been covered by the sea; and it may, perhaps, not be
carrying conjecture too far to suppose that nations have been
overflowed and sunk to its bottom, while others have arisen out of
it; and that, in the apparently slow changes which are continually
operating upon all matter, new nations may yet arise, and be now in
progress to take their turn on this globe.[39] Every mountain and hill
is becoming less and less, and is by little and little apparently slowly
sliding away into the ocean; and the same waste may be seen in the
many tons of earthy mud which every flooded river carries off, and
deposits in the sea. The lakes are also continually operated upon, by
the wasting or wearing away of the outlets that form the barriers by
which their waters were and are at present stayed, and it is not
unlikely that every valley was once a lake, till they were operated
upon like those still left, preparatory to their change to dry land.
But the early history of mankind, nor the changes, the wonders,
nor the mighty events which have happened to this globe, cannot be
known; and we may reasonably suppose men must have long
remained in darkness and ignorance till rescued from such a state
first by hieroglyphics and then by letters. What they were before
these enabled them to interchange their thoughts, preparatory to a
social intercourse, is involved in darkness, on which conjecture may
invent and exhaust itself in vain. Nation after nation, in unknown
ages past, may have glided away, or have been by the accumulation
of their own wickedness, more suddenly hurled into oblivion, before
the reasoning powers were drawn forth or men bestowed the least
thought upon the duties they had to perform, or the business they
had to fulfil, as the will of the Creator while they sojourned here. But
the providence of God is over all His creatures, and it pleased Him
that the reasoning powers should not remain longer dormant, and
the provision made for the change, in the natural order of things,
was placed in the latent intellectual powers gifted to man, and
drawn forth from his inspired mind, which thus put in action, as it
may be presumed, was the first effort of cause and effect that
produced the Bible, which, as far as we know, seems to have been
the first instrument of knowledge that shed its rays over and
revealed to mankind the accountable station they were destined to
hold on this globe. Before the religious and moral precepts of the
venerable old Book made their way over a more civilized world, and
taught rational beings to worship one God, the Father of All, and to
consider each other as brethren, it does not appear that the great
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