Memoir of William Roscoe, Esq. 219 



are large fragments also of a work on the Etchings of tlie Ita- 

 lian Painters, which contain much useful information ; and a 

 lecture *' on the use of Prints^'' another on the " Practical Part 

 of Painting^'' and two " on the Origin and Progress ofTastey 

 There is also a poem on the origin of engraving, written in 1788, 

 of which there are two copies in MS. 



I have already mentioned, that the lectures on the Origin and 

 Progress of Taste were extended into a treatise, which is not 

 finished. This is also the case with some dissertations on the 

 state of letters and the arts anterior to the Greeks, and their 

 progress among that people. The whole seem to have been 

 parts of a great work on the fine arts, which he left imperfect. 



Among his papers are some MS. essays on moral and politi- 

 cal subjects ; and a considerable one " On the principle of Ve- 

 getation and the Food ofPlunts."" 



His correspondence with various eminent characters is very 

 extensive, and comprizes a period of upwards of fifty years, 

 during a succession of most interesting events. A selection of 

 these letters will form an appendix to the Life of Mr Roscoe, 

 now in preparation. 



The letters consist of, — 



1. Correspondence on political subjects, with the Duke of 

 Gloucester, the late and the present Lord Lansdowne, Mr 

 Whitbread, Sir Samuel Romilly, Mr Creevy, Mr Coke, Lord 

 Holland, the present Lord Chancellor, and President Jefferson. 



2. On penal jurisprudence and prison discipline, with Mr Ba- 

 sil Montague, M. de La Fayette, M. Van Praet, Mr Powell 

 Buxton ; with Dr Mease, Mr Roberts Vaux, Mr Stephen Al- 

 len, Mr Bradford, and other American gentlemen. 



3. On literary subjects, with Lord Carlisle, Lord Orford, Dr 

 Parr, Dr Symmons, Dr Aikin, Mr Samuel Rogers, Mr Thomas 

 Campbell, Mr Montgomery, Miss Lucy Aiken, Mr Dawson 

 Turner, Mr William Clarke, Professor William Smyth, Profes- 

 sor Wilson, Mr Barnard Barton, Mr Capel LofTl, Dr Chan- 

 ning. 



4. On matters relating to the fine arts, with Sir Joshua Rey- 

 nolds, Sir Thomas Lawrence, Mr Strutt, Mr FuseD, Mr John 

 Gibson, &c. 



5. On botany and agriculture, with Sir Joseph Banks, Sir 



