XVII 



Wedgwood and Flaxman 225 



"The bas-relief of the Discovery of Achilles which 

 Mr. D. has just finished (of which he has enclosed 

 a sketch in his letter, and which only waits your 

 instructions to be sent to England) is, in my opinion, 

 a sufficient evidence of his attention and improvement. 

 We fixed on this subject for its beauty and expression, 

 and notwithstanding the original is much mutilated by 

 time, Mr. D.'s copy is full of the sentiment of the 

 fine antique, and some parts particularly are so well 

 executed that it would be difficult to exceed them. 



" As I shall quit Eome in so short a time, I must 

 beg your attention to the following particulars. There 

 is a clause in the agreement between you and Mr. 

 Deveare which stipulates that his weekly salary shall 

 be raised the second year of his engagement, and that 

 it shall be again raised the third year, on condition that 

 you shall be satisfied with his studies and productions. 

 I wish it were possible for you to see his last work 

 immediately, which would enable you to decide with 

 more certainty ; but as this cannot be, you must rely 

 partly on the truth of my representation, and for the 

 rest judge from what you have seen. It is very 

 certain that the expense of Mr. D.'s journey was a 

 considerable sum, entirely owing to you, and it is also 

 certain that your expense in each of the works he has 

 done has been very great ; but it is equally certain that 

 no man can be more industrious or zealous to improve, 

 that he had a new profession to study, and I believe, of 

 the bas-reliefs he has sent to England, the last will 



Q 



