y; and it is probable too that De Bury obtained from the
poet a few treasures to enrich his own stores; for the generosity of
Petrarch was so excessive, that he could scarcely withhold what he knew
was so dearly coveted. His benevolence on one occasion deprived him and
posterity of an inestimable volume; he lent some manuscripts of the
classics to his old master, who, needing pecuniary aid, pawned them, and
Cicero's books, _De Gloria_, were in this manner irrecoverably lost.[178]
Petrarch acted like a true lover of learning; for when the shadows of old
age approached, he presented his library, full of rare and ancient
manuscripts, many of them enriched by his own notes, to the Venetian
Senate, and thus laid the foundation of the library of Saint-Marc; he
always employed a number of transcribers, who invariably accompanied him
on his journeys, and he kept horses to carry his books.[179] His love of
reading was intense. "Whether," he writes in one of his epistles, "I am
being shaved, or having my hair cut, whether I am riding on horseback or
taking my meals, I either read myself or get some one to read to me; on
the table where I dine, and by the side of my bed, I have all the
materials for writing."[180] With the friendship of such a student, how
charming must have been the visit of the English ambassador, and how much
valuable and interesting information must he have gleaned by his
intercourse with Petrarch and his books. At Rome Richard de Bury obtained
many choice volumes and rare old manuscripts of the classics; for at Rome
indeed, at that time, books had become an important article of commerce,
and many foreign collectors besides the English bibliomaniac resorted
there for these treasures: to such an extend was this carried on, that
the jealousy of Petrarch was aroused, who, in addressing the Romans,
exclaims: "Are you not ashamed that the wrecks of your ancient grandeur,
spared by the inundation of the barbarians, are daily sold by your
miscalculating avarice to foreigners? And that Rome is no where less
known and less loved than at Rome?"[181]

The immense ecclesiastical and civil revenues which Aungraville enjoyed,
enabled him whilst in Italy to maintain a most costly and sumptuous
establishment: in his last visit alone he is said to have expended 5,000
marks, and he never appeared in public without a numerous retinue of
twenty clerks and thirty-six esquires; an appearance which better became
the dignity of his ci