returning to england in 1779 he found that the taste for classic poetry, ever the source of his inspiration, no longer existed, and he spent two years in saint petersburg, being employed by the empress catherine the great, who purchased his "cupid tormenting a butterfly". on his return he modelled his colossal "achilles mourning the loss of briseis", a work full of force and passion; and then he was elected, in 1784, an associate of the royal academy and in the following year a full member.