[...] As a partaker in this discovery, I have been a constant observer and admirer of them from the moment of their excavation until they were nearly out of the hands of Mr. Thorwaldson at Rome; they had been conveyed to that city by their present proprietor, the Prince Royal of Bavaria, and in uniting the broken fragments, and restoring the few parts of them that were deficient, that eminent artist has shewn the greatest care and sagacity.
It may be proper to add, that during the progress of our discovery, I noted with as much accuracy as the case would admit, every circumstance illustrative of their original position, with relation to the architecture of the temple; and I considered each stone and fragment, as the earth was removed from them, in reference to, and in search of, some clue for the restoration of the group. Since that period, I have frequently occupied myself with a subject to me of the highest interest; and availing myself at Rome of Mr. Thorwaldson’s operations for my last studies of them, I at length succeeded in placing them conformably in all respects to the notes which I had taken on the spot, and consistent with the dimensions of the architecture. It then highly satisfactory to me, that the mode in which I recomposed the groups met with the general approbation those who could compare my drawings with the originals at Rome. [...]