224 
Mr. William Jones to J. E. Smith, Milan. 
Dear Sir, London, April 9, 1787. 
I thank you for your favour from Rome, and 
particularly for your apology for not writing sooner ; 
because it justified my jealousy, when you wrote 
to Mr. Marsham, that you had either forgot me, or 
was Offended that I did not embrace your scheme 
with the same ardour yourself and some others pos- 
sessed for it. I own, not one tittle of the plan ex- 
pressed in your favour can be objected to by such 
as are qualified for it; but am certain ’tis your par- 
tiality only can rank me in that number, for I feel 
in myself too much ignorance when with the in- 
genious and scientific, to conceive myself entitled 
to it. This, and an indolence of mind that fre- 
quently accompanies me, seem to throw obstruc- 
tions where otherwise my ambition might tempt 
me. ‘To cultivate your esteem, I shall be always 
proud of communicating the little I know, and I 
am afraid so little, though all, that I shall hardly 
merit it; nevertheless, 1 may venture to assure you 
it shall not be charged to my account, if our friend- 
ship ceases sooner than our lives. 
Rome, more than any city upon earth, would 
please me to visit; I conceive it an inexhaustible 
source of delight to a curious mind. “Iwas the 
sentiment of an ingenious traveller, that of all the 
places he had seen or should see, it was by far the 
most delightful ;—that a voyage to Italy might pro- 
perly enough be compared to the common stages 
and journeys of life. At our first setting out through 
