,
father, he is deserving all honour; and I know not another
instance of such long-continued, sincere, and graceful
friendships, through all varieties of fortune, from the
Cardinal of Cabassole, to the poor fisherman at Vaucluse, as
his life offers; including literary friendships, which, after
so many years, passed without one discordant feeling of
rivalry or jealousy, ended so generously and beautifully, with
his bequest to poor Boccaccio of "five hundred florins of the
gold of Florence, to buy him a winter habit for his evening
studies," and this noble testimony of his ability in
addition--"I am ashamed to leave so small a sum to so great a
man."

Petrarch, in my opinion, was one of the most amiable men that
ever lived;--I know nothing about Laura, or her ten children;
I agree with those who believe the whole was a dream or an
allegory; and, I half suspect that Shakspeare thought so too,
and following a fashion, addressed his own sonnets to some
like persons; at any rate, no one knows about either much more
than I do;--certainly Petrarch's _real_ love had more real
consequences. Petrarch was a sincere Christian, without
intolerance--a sound patriot, without austerity; who neither
wasted his feelings in the idle generalities of philosophy,
nor restricted them to the narrow limits of a party or
faction;--he was just, generous, affectionate, and gentle. All
his sonnets together do not shed a lustre on him equal to the
sincere, single-hearted, mild, yet uncompromising spirit that
breathes throughout the letters of advice and remonstrance,
which, not idly or obstrusively, but under the sanction and
authority of his great name, and the affectionate regard
professed for him, he addressed to all whom he believed
influential either for good or ill; from Popes and Emperors,
to the well meaning insane tribune of Rome.

We went after this to see his tomb, which is honourable
without being ostentatious: a plain stone sarcophagus, resting
on four pillars, and surmounted by a bust; suited to the quiet
of his life, his home, and his resting-place. I passed
altogether a day that will shine a bright star in memory; and
we wandered about there, unwilling to leave it, until long
after the ave-maria bell had tolled, and were obliged in
consequence to get a guide, and return by