ran up stairs, and dressed myself for dinner, which we sat down to at about four. After dinner, came up to my room and slept very profoundly, until summoned to coffee, which we drank in the verandah. At about eight o'clock, the sun had left the sky; but his warm mantle lay over the western clouds, and hung upon the rocks and woody mountain sides. A gentle breeze was stirring the trees round where we sat; and through the thick branches of a chestnut tree, as they waved to and fro, the silver disk of the full moon looked placidly down upon us. We set out strolling through the woods: leisurely as foot could fall, we took our way through the twilight paths; and when we reached the Roman Catholic chapel our host is building by the river side, the silent thoughtful mountains were wrapped in deep shadows, and the broad waters shone like a sheet of silver in the moonlight. We sat down on the cannon lying on the pebbly shore, and Mr. ---- ran off to order the boat, which presently came stealing round over the shining waters. We got in, ---- rowing, and they put me at the helm: but, owing to Mr. ----'s misdirections, who seemed extremely amused at my awkwardness, and took delight in bothering poor ----, by making me steer all awry, we made but little progress, and that rather crab-wise; backing, and sideling, and turning, as though the poor boat had been a politician. * * * * * Full of my own contemplations, I kept steering round and round, and so we wandered, as purposeless as the night air over the smooth waters, and beneath the shadows of the solemn hills, till near eleven o'clock, when we made for shore, and slowly turned home. We sat for a length of time under the verandah: the gentlemen were discussing the planetary system, as accepted in the civilised world; and Mr. ---- maintained, with sufficient plausibility, that we knew nothing at all about it, in spite of Newton: for that, though his theories were borne out by all observation, it did not follow, therefore, that another theory equally probable might not exist; that because he had found out one way of accounting for the construction and motion of the heavenly bodies, there was no other possible way in which they were constructed and impelled; because one means is sufficient, he argued, it does not thence follow, that 'tis the only sufficient means. Mr. ---- maintained that there was, at least, strong presumption in favour of Newton's systems; because they are borne out by our observation of results, and also because hitherto no other better method of accounting for what we perceive has been discovered. And so they went on, the end of all being, to my mind, as usual, utter unsatisfactoriness; and, as the mosquitoes were stinging me, I left them to their discussions, and came to bed. _Monday, July 1st._