CHAP, v.] Her Nephew on the Continent. 173 



admiration excited by the mention of his name that cannot 

 fail to be gratifying to me, as his son. In fact, I find myself 

 received wherever I go by all men of science, for his sake, 

 with open arms, and I find introductions perfectly unneces- 

 sary. At Turin I sent up my card to Prof. Plana, of the 

 Observatory, one of the most eminent mathematicians of the 

 age, who received me like a brother, and made my stay at 

 Turin, which I prolonged a week for the sake of his society, 

 very pleasant. He married a niece of Lagrange (not of 

 Lalande), and both he and his wife were full of enquiries 

 about my " celebrated sister," (for everybody seems to think 

 me your brother, instead of nephew), and made me tell 

 them a thousand particulars about you. The same recep- 

 tion, but, if possible, still more friendly, and the same 

 curiosity (and, I may add, the same mistake) I met with at 

 Modena, from Professor Amici, an artist and a man of 

 science of the first eminence. He is the only man who has, 

 since my father, bestowed great pains on the construction of 

 specula, and I do assure you that his ten-foot telescopes 

 with twelve-inch mirrors are of very extraordinary perfection. 

 Among other of your enquiring friends I should not omit 

 the Abbe Piazzi, whom I found ill in bed at Palermo, and 

 who is a fine respectable old man, though I am afraid not 

 much longer for this world. He remembered you person- 

 ally, having himself visited Slough. 



Naples, Aug. 20/t, 1824. I take the first moment of 

 leisure to proceed with this. I made the ascent of Etna 

 without particular difficulty, though with excessive fatigue. 

 The ascent from Catania is through the village of Nicolosi, 

 about ten miles from Catania, almost every step of which 

 is covered with the tremendous stream of lava which, in 

 1G69, burst from the flanks of the mountain, near Nicolosi, 

 and overwhelmed the city. Here I found a M. Gemellaro, 

 who was so good as to make corresponding observations of 



