Worried about safety of JH's voyage to Sicily. Mr. Tasker forced Mr. Davenport finally to pay back rent. Should telescope be painted to protect it from rain? Planning trip to Margate. Asks JH to buy watch for MPH in Geneva. Declined Mr. Beckwith's request for MPH to be godmother to new daughter. [Letter continued 28 June:] James South and wife will visit MPH tomorrow.

Departure delayed by week-long feast of St. Rosalie, patron of Sicily. No vessels moving. Reviews Sicilian scenery, weather, and culture. Compares Mount Etna and Vesuvius. Describes travel across center of island with companions Count Bessa Negrini of Mantua and C. G. B. Daubeny of Oxford. [Letter continued 14 July:] Oppressive heat in Palermo. [Letter continued 18 July:] Arrival in Naples.

Fears the specimen he sent last year of 'Stachys ambigua', gathered near Quorndon, Leicestershire, never reached Smith; offers to send it again. Pleased to see the "long promised" "English flora" is appearing, and that Smith "does not follow the example of this generation of expensive works by putting too high a price on the book".