234 Mary Somerville. 



at a great depth. There are very large red-fleshed 

 trout in the lake, and a small very delicious fish 

 called agoni, caught in multitudes by fine silk 

 nets, to which bells are attached on floats, that 

 keep up a constant tinkling to let the fishermen 

 know where to find their nets when floated away 

 by the wind. 



[We now crossed the Alps, by the St. Gothard, to Basle 

 and Baden Baden, where we passed the summer, intend- 

 ing to return to England in autumn, but as soon as the 

 rains began my father had so serious a return of his ill- 

 ness that my mother was much alarmed. When he was 

 well enough . to travel, we once more crossed the Alps, 

 and reached Florence, where we remained for the winter. 

 My mother resumed her work there. 



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 col- 

 lect materials for my long neglected Physical Geo- 

 graphy, 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 



