What would one not give for a stenographic report of the conversations held that afternoon in the convent garden of Arcetri, as father and daughters leisurely strolled through the peaceful enclosure, all quite oblivious of the fleeting hours? How interesting would be a faithful record of the confidences exchanged at the frugal meal in the evening in the humble parlor of S. Matteo! We would willingly exchange many of the famous _Dialoghi di Galileo Galilei_ for a verbatim report of what passed between Sister Celeste and the father whom she so idolized.[243] Judging from her letters, she had many questions to ask him about his studies, his experiments, his discoveries, his books, as well as about more personal and domestic matters. Although there is no documentary proof of the fact, yet there is every reason to believe that Galileo had taken personal charge of the education of this, his favorite daughter. She shared his taste for science and inherited not a little of his genius. Such being the case, we may well believe that a faithful account of their conversations of that day would be not only of surpassing interest, but would also throw a flood of light on many questions now ill understood. They would certainly tend to fill up the numerous lacunae caused by the disappearance of the letters of Galileo, which he wrote in answer to those of his ever-cherished daughter.[244] They would also show more clearly than any facts now available what an unbounded influence the gentle nun had over the greatest intellect of his time, and would, more clearly than anything in her correspondence, exhibit Sister Celeste as the efficient co-worker and the abiding inspirer of the father of modern physics and astronomy. But, although we have no record of this soul-communion between father and daughter on the occasion in question; although we are deprived of the invaluable letters which he wrote in reply to hers, we are, nevertheless, from the evidence at hand, justified in regarding this unique pair as being ever one in heart, aspirations and ideals, and comparable in their mutual influence on each other with any of those famous men and women who, through achievement on the one side and inspiration and collaboration on the other, have ever been recognized as the greatest benefactors of their race. One of Galileo's countrymen, G. B. Clemente de Nelli, was right when he declared that, had it not been for the assistance and consolation which he received from Sister Celeste, Galileo would have succumbed to the blows that were showered upon him during the most trying part of his career. An indication of this is given in one of the letters written by Sister Celeste in the last year of her life.