Mademoiselle
St. Sillery was much distressed that she had no dress so tasty as those
of the ladies. We could not at last persuade her to accompany us. This
young lady, with all her charms, and she possessed as many as ever fell
to the lot of woman, had certainly her share of vanity--an assertion,
however, which I should not have the presumption to make, if she had not
herself most frequently acknowledged it.

Every thing connected with household economy is extremely cheap at
Avignon; a circumstance which must be imputed as much to the moderation
of the inhabitants as to the plenty of the country. An Avignonese family
seems to have no idea of a dinner in common with an Englishman or an
American. A couple of over-roasted fowls will be meat enough for a party
of a dozen. The most common dish is, I believe, a fowl stewed down into
soup, with rice, highly seasoned. It is certainly very savoury, only
that according to French cookery, too much is made of the fowl.

The Avignonese, whilst under the papal jurisdiction, bore a general
reputation for the utmost profligacy both of principles and conduct.
This character has now passed away, and, with the exception of what is
termed gallantry, the Avignonese seem a gay, moral, and harmless people.
The poetry of Petrarch is perhaps too much read, and it is impossible
to read him without inspiring a warmth of feeling and imagination, which
is not very friendly to a correct virtue. Plato would certainly have
banished him from his republic, and the Avignonese would do well to keep
him out of their schools and houses. They will catch his ardour, who
want his moral sense and religious principles.

We took our leave of Avignon, much delighted with the town and its
inhabitants, and, as I have before said, I saw many figures which
recalled most forcibly to my imagination the Laura of Petrarch. It may
be perhaps said, that every one has an image of his own fancy, which he
assigns to Laura, and that from the general description of the poet, it
is impossible to collect any thing of the personal lineaments of his
mistress. This is very true; but it is equally so, that the ladies of
Avignon appear to have certain characteristic features, and that many of
them possess that soft, sweet, and supreme beauty, which inspired
Petrarch to sing in strains, which still sound melodious in the ears of
his posterity.

Avignon is the capital of the department of Vaucluse, the department
being so named rathe