1304. The northern nations call his name Petrarch, but the Italians Petrarca ; the family name was Petraccolo. The father of the poet was obliged to leave Tuscany soon after the birth of his son Francisco, and he finally settled at Carpentras, a little town in the immediate vicinity of Avignon, where the exiled Pope, Clement the Fifth, had fixed the Papal seat. Petrarch may be reckoned among the many great geniuses that poetry and the belles lettres wiled from the study of the law. During his father's life he was forced, to his infinite discontent, to pursue his legal studies; for, his father, in an inquisitorial visit to the chamber of Francisco, having caught him reading Latin poetry instead of law, beat his son, and made an auto de fe of Virgil and Horace, -a great outrage, when it is remembered that all books in the fourteenth century were manuscripts, dear to buy, and scarcely to be obtained for money. This event must have occurred at an early period of Petrarch's life, as his father and mother both died long before he and his brother were of age; for, owing to the neglect and peculations of his guardians, he and his brother had no resource when they attained their majority, except in devoting themselves to the church. At this time both brothers were remarkably handsome, and their hearts were extremely susceptible to the power of female beauty, and, as our poet owns in one of his letters, he and his brother thought of nothing more than adorning their persons, and making themselves amiable in the eyes of the ladies. By his account, both must have been, in their youth, a pair of arrant coxcombs, as it is owned by them that the better part of the day was spent in curling and perfuming their hair, and in studying which was the most becoming dress. At this time Francisco first began to write Italian poetry. He had before written in Latin, but as few women could understand that learned language, he began to compose in his native tongue, that his talents might receive the highest meed in his estimation-the approbation and admiration of the fair. Such were the tastes and pursuits of Petrarch and his brother when poverty forced them to enter the church. Francisco did not make so great a sacrifice as his brother, who became a Carthusian at Bologna. Our poet entered the civil department of the church, and though an ecclesiastic, not having professed the priesthood, he might at any time have left his preferments and married. He was first a canon, and subsequently an archdeacon. Thus the fine head of hair of which he was so proud was saved from the tonsure. The poet often speaks with great affection of those curls in his Latin letters, and laments that they turned grey before he was thirty, which misfortune he attributes to the sorrows of his hopeless love. He bewails it as a peculiar mortification to his vanity; and yet it is some consolation to the ladies to find out that their wouldbe lords and masters are at least as vain as themselves, not only in the time present but the past. Hitherto the biography of Laura seems forgotten, but it is indeed so inseparably interwoven with that of her lover, that it would be unintelligible if not accompanied by some account of him. Laura was a noble southern, of French extraction, daughter of Audibert de Noves and Ermessende his wife. She was born at Avignon in the year 1307. At the age of eighteen she was married to a French noble, Hugues de Sade, of Avignon, whose family was then one of the most honourable and ancient in the district, and it still maintains its rank and influence in that part of France, or at least did so a few years previous to the Revolution of 1789, when the Abbe de Sade, the descendant of Laura de Noves, embodied all the traditions of his family and country, together with the researches of antiquaries, and wrote the memoirs of Petrarch, which we are at present following. Petrarch has left the most minute records of the hour and moment when his heart-by his own acknowledgment one of the most wandering and coquettish hat ever beat in man-was fixed immovably in a sudden love, which would have been most sinful, as its object was a married woman, if Laura had not been a paragon of virtue and chastity as well as of beauty-it was therefore hopeless, and perforce wholly intellectual. He laments it as "Quella rea e perversa passione che solo tutto mi occupava e mi regnava nel cuore," that guilty and obstinate passion which reigns supreme in, and wholly engrosses my heart. Petrarch has made three separate memoranda of the hour when he first beheld Laura. In one of his Latin letters he says, that he was preaching on Good Friday, April 6th, 1327, in the church of St. Clara, of Avignon, at early matins, when Laura entered it, and their eyes for the first time encountered each other's. She was dressed in a green robe, brocaded or embroidered all over with violet flowers; she wore a necklace composed of pearls and garnets; and her fine light hair, braided in tresses, was partly wound round her head, and flowed partly over her shoulders. She was tall and slender, of a graceful and majestic presence; and her large blue eyes sent forth an expression of enchanting softness and modesty. In one of his sonnets this fair lady is thus described by the poet : In what celestial realm did nature find When in that angel face she first designed Petrarch's attachment was of the extra- expression, that makes it a singularly difficult thing accurately to exhibit its true power in another language; at least it requires a most intimate knowledge of Italian, and gifted talent in the translator's own. This extraordinary sonnet is that entitled, S'amor non è, che dunque è quel chio sento? It is thus faithfully rendered into English by Miss Agnes Strickland: not love? What mean these sighs, if 'tis my pleasure still To bear this woe,--If not-ah, what avails it to lament? Ah, living death! Oh most delightful ill! How can you be in me without my own consent? And if to bear this outrage I agree, My fragile bark midst adverse gales I find, So tost in doubt and fear my troubled mind, And freeze in summer's heat, and burn in winter's snow! at church, or seated on a stone bench at her door, surrounded by her family and friends, such being the primitive custom in the fourteenth century, for a noble matron to spend her summers' evenings in the courtly city of Avignon. Petrarch could write of the lady he loved oftener than he could see her, although he constantly lived in her vicinity. He never had an interview without celebrating it by a sonnet or canzonia. He seldom saw her except on the public parade, [This interesting Biography, which runs to a considerable length, will be concluded in the ensuing number for February.] LORD BYRON'S REASON FOR LIVING IN ITALY.-What was the reason?-The romantic beauty of the scenery, the exquisite nature of the climate, the superiority of art, or classic associations? No, nothing of the sort. What was it, then? Simply, that Italy is free from cant," which," added his Lordship, "is the primum mobile of England." This is but too true; and yet we English flatter ourselves that Italy is the soil of superstition, bigotry, and fauaticism, and that England is the only European country free from such abominations. NOW DESIGNED FOR A CEMETERY.* BY MRS. HOFLAND. 'Tis Winter, and the rust'ling leaves around Till the dread night when thy fair mansion fell Thy day of faded loveliness-ere long To be renewed, though by the cold chaste hand Though never more on thy green lawns shall stray Here may the best affections of the heart, Flow freely and tho' waked bySorrow's hand, GREAT WESTERN CEMETERY.-This estate is situate at Notting Hill, just beyond Kensington Gardens, and is nearly equi-distant from the extremity of Piccadilly and the end of Oxford-street, and from either only two miles, through Kensington or Bayswater; thus embracing within its reach an extremely populous and most respectable neighbourhood. Through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, it is within the limits of a moderate walk. It is on the lower part of Notting Hill, and comprises IN THE WHOLE FIFTY-TWO ACRES, an extent in one ownership, in the immediate vicinity of the Metropolis, which may surprise even those persons who are intimately acquainted with the outskirts of London. One portion of this estate is called " Norland Farm," and is let to a farmer at a considerable rental. Another, comprising twelve acres and a half, is walled in. These were the grounds of Norland House, occupied, until destroyed by fire t, some years ago, by H. Drummond, Esq., the banker, when much valuable property in plate and jewels was lost by the occupant. All around are lofty trees, many of which are of great beauty and size; and there are also divers woody plantations, gravel walks, and shrubs, in various parts of the grounds. At the further extremity of this general enclosure, on the right hand and on the left, is a raised ground, formed some sixty years ago by the earth thrown out of the sunken foss which bounds the western extremity. It is a curious thing to see the manner in which the now ancient trees have grown, forming groves on either side of these elevations, which might at some future day offer spots of more than ordinary interest, whilst, at all events, they could serve for the present as watch-towers to prevent unlawful entrance or depredation. The estate is a peninsula, for the county creek bounds the north, south, and west sides; and the east, facing the road, is secured in great part by a lofty wall. So that in the way of security, with the Anatomy Bill, very little expense is required. And on the north side this estate is also bounded by a private road and lofty wall, at the end of which there is one of the several gateentrances. On the south, or opposite side, there is, as it were, a wilderness of brushwood, and a long footpath, hedged in, and an extensive border or range of ancient plane-trees, whilst the centre of the ground exhibits a lawn most beautiful to look upon, without any trees. Norland Well, within the grounds, is concealed by a thicket, and surrounded by five trees of very large girth. About the year 1756 its waters were in great celebrity, and the whole neighbourhood was supplied from its spring. For this purpose, VOL. IV.-No. 1. E Here, too, the faith that wakes undying hope Like promise to man's soul-that peerless thing Thro' all her range of empire-fair, sublime, Ah! who may people this sequestered spot? For each lone wanderer: the young, methinks, With freedom, wealth, and love-nay, more than these, Who gave such gifts to man. within the kitchen-garden, not far distant, an extensive reservoir was made, presenting an immense area of brick-work, of considerable value. It is of very surprising extent, and the boundaries are covered with stone coping. The whole is surrounded with chain-work. In the transparent waters of this receptacle are flourishing the finest water lilies and other aquaceous plants. The kitchen-garden, within which is the above, except where it is enclosed by a row of towering trees, is surrounded by a very high wall covered with fruit trees, also of considerable extent. The whole of the extensive outbuildings are still standing, in excellent condition; and, indeed, in their present state, an uninformed passenger would imagine that the tower on the top belonged to some chapel or place of worship. There is a long line of wall next the Great Western or Uxbridge Road, with two double gates, of great height and good proportions, of ornamental iron work. This place is, in every respect, most admirably adapted for a Cemetery. The extensive opening which will remain at the rear of Lord Holland's Park will be a great advantage to the appearance of Holland House, and, indeed, to the neighbourhood, instead of the land falling into the hands, first, of brick-makers, and ultimately of builders. There are now about nine cemeteries established for country towns, upon the plan first promulgated in the year 1824, by Mr. Carden-the founder of the General Cemetery Company in London; and as the establishment of extra-urban cemeteries has been so strongly recommended by his Majesty's Government, and is so much in accordance with the present state of public feeling, anxious even to prevent interments from taking place in the Metropolis, the Great Western Cemetery Company, the name by which Mr. Carden's new scheme is designated, is particularly fortunate, in furtherance of such a national and important object, in having so very eligible a site as "Norlands." Of the nine cemeteries mentioned, it may be interesting to state the progress made in the new general cemetery at Liverpool, which was begun in 1825 :— Where shall the poet, where the painter rest, Farewell! but not for long; I will return On all things dear and awful. Soon must I Literature. REVIEW. An Encyclopedia of Gardening. By J. C. LOUDON, F.L.G.H. & Z.S., Conductor of the "Gardener's Magazine," and "Magazine of Natural History." Published in Dec. Part I. Longman & Co. Mr. Loudon is well known to the world as a man of no ordinary talent, which he has made conducive to general utility by valuable works on horticulture, botany, and natural history. These are not mere theoretical treatises: they are the original observations of his own experience, united with that of a numerous circle of practical men, voluntarily enlisted by his urbanity in the cause of useful knowledge. His reputation is not confined to his own country: we often meet with translations from his works in foreign journals of literature; for his sagacity in discovery, and his persevering industry and perspicuity in the manner of making known the results of his labours, have justly gained him an European celebrity. The "Encyclopædia of Gardening" will fully sustain this high estimate of the author's literary character. The present number treats of the history of gardening from the earliest times to the seventeenth century. Great research has been used, and valuable information is afforded to the public, and the letter-press is illustrated by numerous wood engravings. Mr. Loudon, in the course of his detail, proves from history, how universal garden cemeteries were in every nation in the world sufficiently civilised for their manners and customs to become subjects of history; and he fully proves that this wholesome mode of interment continued till a noxious and ignorant superstition crowded the bodies of the dead into the vaults of places of worship, on the same principle that an ill-educated infant is afraid of ceeds to show that even in the head-quarsleeping alone. Mr. Loudon then proters of superstition, the spirit of public utility has forced the Italians to revert to the ancient patriarchal custom of the Jews, exemplified even in the burial of the Saviour in a garden cemetery. From the same motives of public utility that induced Mr. Loudon to gather together his valuable information, we proceed to give the following specimens of his extensive labours : "The cemeterics of the Jews may be considered as a species of garden. We find from the children of Heth a "field, and all that Abraham, when Sarah died, purchased the trees which were within its limits, or on its borders," as a place of burial. It ap If we remember aright, it was calculated by the projector, that a great number of remains deposited in vaults in the metropolis would be removed to such a new Cemetery. EDIT. |