had heard
the story of Laura, and recollected many particulars of it; but still he
had not been at the pains to have the spot cleared, and the tomb exposed
to view. To any one who was acquainted with the story of Petrarch, or
who had perused his impassioned effusions, the dilapidation of this
church, and the barbarous concealment of Laura's tomb, were most
mortifying circumstances. But, neither the memory of Laura, nor of the
brave Crillon, whose tomb is also here, had any effect in averting the
progress of the revolutionary barbarians. The tomb of Crillon is now
only to be distinguished by the vestiges of some warlike embellishments
in the wall opposite which it was situated. There is a large space now
empty in the midst of these ornaments, from which a large marble slab
had lately been taken out. On this slab, the owner of the garden said,
an inscription, commemorating the virtues of Crillon, had been engraved.
A small stone, with his arms very beautifully engraved, was shewn us in
the garden. I could not leave the garden without stealing a branch from
the cypress which shaded Laura's tomb.

Through this garden runs the rivulet of Vaucluse. Its course is through
the town of Avignon; where we remained for three hours, and then
continued our journey; but the day was far advanced, and by the evening
we only arrived at a wretched, little inn called Bonpas. We were here
told that we could have no lodging. Luckily for us the moon was up, and
very clear; we therefore pushed on for Orgon, which, although said in
the post-book to be two posts and a half from Bonpas, we reached in
about an hour and a half. On our arrival we were fortunate enough to
find lodging; and had scarcely seated ourselves in our parlour, when the
people told us, that last night the mail had been robbed, and both the
postillion and conducteur killed on the spot,----Distance 42 miles--to
Orgon.

* * *

_Sunday_, the 26th,--We left Orgon, as usual, at six o'clock, and
travelled before breakfast to Font Royal, a distance of 11 miles. Here
the unfortunate _conducteur_ of the mail was lying desperately wounded;
the surgeon, however, expected him to live. The postmaster here was not
well satisfied with the conduct of the soldiers or gens-d'armes who
attended the mail. The robbers were only four in number, and the
attendants, viz. the postillion, conducteur and gens-d'armes, he
thought, ought to have been a match for them. The robbers were
frightened off whi