He is sorry to hear she has been so anxious, he thinks it is her natural sympathy for Buchanan's anxiety.
Clara and [
Francis] are well, the boy has a terrible temper, much as report said of him when he was small. They soon leave for Rome. He enjoyed the "beautiful and simple art" of Assisi. He returns to the subject of art and nature, refers to the "exaggeration" of
Giulio Romano, the "vapidity" of
Parmigianino and the "milk and water" of
Overbeck and the German School.
Ruminates on the current state of world politics with the decline of France, the final downfall of Bourbon Spain, the rise of America and the gradual secularisation and democratisation of Britain.
He states that they will christen their son "George France"