884 Mary Somerville. 



FEOM MRS. SOMEEVILLE TO W. GEEIG, ESQ. 



SPEZIA, 27th Sept., 1865. 

 MY DEAREST WORONZOW, 



I fear Agnes and you must have thought your 

 old mother had gone mad when you read M.'s letter. 

 In my sober senses, however, though sufficiently excited 

 to give me strength for the time, I went over every part 

 of the Resistance,* and examined everything in detail 

 except the stokehole 1 I was not even hoisted on board, 

 but mounted the companion-ladder bravety. It was a 

 glorious sight, the perfection of structure in every part 

 astonished me. A ship like that is the triumph of human 

 talent and of British talent, for all confess our supe- 

 rioty in this respect to every other nation, and I am 

 happy to see that no jealousy has arisen from the meet- 

 ing of the French and English fleets. I was proud that 

 our "young admiral" t had the command of so fine a 

 vessel .... I also spent a most agreeable day on board 

 the Victoria, three-decker, and saw every part of the three 

 decks, which are very different from what they were in 

 my father's time ; everything on a much larger scale, more 

 elegant and convenient. But the greatest change is in the 

 men; I never saw a finer set, so gentlemanly-looking 

 and well-behaved; almost all can read and write, and 

 they have an excellent library and reading-room in all 

 the ships. No sooner was the fleet gone than the 

 Italian Society of Natural History held their annual 



* The Resistance, ironclad, commanded by Captain Chamberlayne, 

 then absent on sick leave. 



f Captain Henry Fairfax, my mother's nephew, then Commander on 

 board the Resistance, senior officer in the absence of the captain. 



