Business of every other kind devolved on Galeazzo.

Matteo, as the eldest, presided over all; but, conscious of his incapacity, he took little share in the deliberations of his brothers.

Nothing important was done without consulting Petrarch; and this flattering confidence rendered Milan as agreeable to him as any residence could be, consistently with his love of change.
The deaths of the Doge of Venice and of the Lord of Milan were soon followed by another, which, if it had happened some years earlier, would have strongly affected Petrarch.

This was the tragic end of Rienzo.

Our poet's opinion of this extraordinary man had been changed by his later conduct, and he now took but a comparatively feeble interest in him.
Under the pontificate of Clement VI., the ex-Tribune, after his fall, had been consigned to a prison at Avignon.