Through the kindness of the Grand Duke, I was allowed to have books at home from his private library in the Pitti Palace, a favour only granted to the four Directors. This gave me courage to collect materials for my long neglected Physical Geography, still in embryo. As I took an interest in every branch of science I became acquainted with Professor Amici, whose microscopes were unrivalled at that time, and as he had made many remarkable microscopic discoveries in natural history, he took us to the Museum to see them magnified and modelled in wax. I had the honour of being elected a member of the Academy of Natural Science at Florence. There were many agreeable people at Florence that winter and a good deal of gaiety. The Marchese Antinori presented Somerville and me to the Grand Duke, who had expressed a wish to know me. He received us very graciously, and conversed with us for more than an hour on general subjects. He afterwards wrote me a polite letter, accompanied by a work on the drainage of the Maremma, and gave directions about our being invited to a scientific meeting which was to be held at Pisa. We were presented to the Grand Duchess, who was very civil. We spent the summer at Siena, and had a cheerful airy apartment with a fine view of the hills of Santa Fiora, and with very pretty arabesques in fresco on the walls of all the rooms, some so very artistic that I made sketches of them. In these old cities many of the palaces and houses are decorated with that artistic taste which formerly prevailed to such an extent in Italy, and, which has now yielded, here as elsewhere, to commonplace modern furniture. * * * * * [While we were at Siena, my mother received the following letter from Lord Brougham, who was a frequent correspondent of hers, but whose letters are generally too exclusively mathematical for the general reader. My mother had described the curious horse-races which are held at Siena every three years, and other mediaeval customs still prevalent.] FROM LORD BROUGHAM TO MRS. SOMERVILLE. COLE HILL, KENT, _Sept. 28th, 1840_. MY DEAR MRS. SOMERVILLE,