638 
proaching fo desertion and melancholy, 
prevails. It is, notwithstanding, sfill the 
residence . of many. noble and distin- 
guished families, and on Sundays the 
Couise still exhibits a spectacle of popu- 
lation and gaiety, the more striking from 
the contrast which it presents oa other 
days. I believe the whole of the inhabi- 
tants, from the highest to the lowest, are 
then to be seen on the walk, between the 
hours of three and five. The lower orders 
appeared to confine themselves to one 
side of the street, which was completely 
thronged, while thé fashionables of both 
sexes walked on the other; and a con- 
siderable crowd surrounded a conjurer, 
who was shewing off his tricks in the 
middle of the street. Several parties, 
taking possession of the stone seats on 
the wall, occupied themselves in eating 
and drinking. The course of Aix is the 
finest that I have seen in France; the 
houses on each side are regular and hand- 
some, and the well-cravelled walks, and 
beautiful trees, which border them, have 
a noble effect worthy, of the better days 
of this city. This street is further em- 
bellished by three fountains, and several 
others decorate various parts of the town, 
among which the obelisk fountain has 
the best effect, 
AVIGNON, 
April 17,—Our first object, during 
our stay at Avignon, was to visit the cele- 
brated Vaucluse. We set off at an early 
hour in a calash, having been forewarned 
that the roads were too bad for our own 
carriage, The aspect of the country was 
very agreeable, and our road coasted the 
Durance, that flows in a very broad chan- 
nel, in which there was an abundance of 
water; we passed a convent and the vil- 
lage of Caumont, Near here are alluvial 
hills. the excavations of which are, by a 
slight assistance from masonry, turned 
into houses. They grow in these parts 
great quantities of a herb called Gasasse 
by the common people, the root of which 
is used for dying, in which article of 
trade the Avignonais are particularly 
skilful, This herb must grow from a 
year and a half to three years, before it 
is fit for use 
After we turned off from the post-road, 
we came into a slough, through which 
we were obliged to wade. We were 
beaten from side to side with great vio- 
lence, and I expected every minute to be 
upset. Our journey was indeed quite a 
pilgrimage; and the difficulties we ex- 
perienced moderated the enthusiasm with 
which I approached the sacred ground of 
Vaucluse. At length, to our great joy, 
Colston’s Tour through France, Sititzerland, and Italy. 
we arrived at thé poor little inn of this 
village; andas it was now between 
twelve and one o’elock, and wé had 
taken nothing but a clip of coffee at 
seven, our classic impatience to view the 
spot was obliged to give way to the ple- 
beian necessity of aes o 
The house in which Petrarch resided, 
was a mere cottage, which he used often 
to compare with the abodes of thé primi- 
tive Romans. Our guide pointed out to 
us a ruined cottage, as having been dig- 
nified as his abode, but I believe there is 
no authority, but vague report for its 
identity. Petrarch first saw Laura at the 
church of I'lsle, a pretty and large village 
about two miles from Vaucluse, on the 
borders of the Sorgue, on which the in- 
habitants have constructed numerous 
mills. As we ascended the Sorgue to its 
source, we could not sufficiently express 
our astonishment at the size and apparent 
depth of the river, so near the spot where 
it first rises from the earth; and ‘at the 
volume of water, which poured along, 
covering the rocks over which it forces 
its passage with froth and foam. As we 
ascended to the basin, the river presents 
one mass of foam, buf, on reaching it 
the angry Naiads cease to storm, and the 
water expands itself in a basin of about 
sixty feet in circumference; with a sut- 
face smooth and tranquil as a_ mirror. 
The barren rock which frowns above it, 
is about six hundred feet high; the whole 
scene is wild, desolate and sublime. {[ 
was far from feeling (as some of our 
friends had expressed themselves), disap- 
pointed; my expectations, on the con- 
trary, were more than gratified; but I 
was surprised, as I had been sufficiently 
ignorant of the character of this cele- 
brated spot, to expect a scene of pic- 
turesque beauty, instead of barren gran- 
deur. We were, indeed, fortunate in 
seeing the fountain when the water was 
high, which contributes much to render 
the effect imposing ; at other times, the 
water (the real fountain head of which is 
in the ground, underneath the projecting 
rock, the hollow of which forms a ca- 
vern) is seen gliding along into its basin, 
instead of rushing out with a full flow 
from its unseen source. There are many 
other sources, which gush forth impetu- 
ously from the rocky banks of the river, 
a little lower down. In the centre of the 
basin is a pyramid, erected fourteen years 
ago, by the Academy of Avignon. ; 
Petrarch may be said to have inherited 
no name, Petraeco was only an altera- 
tion of his father’s christian name Pietro, 
a circumstance not uncommon among the 
plebeians 
