160 TKAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



me at 3.30 ; but though I looked out eagerly to catch 

 a first sight of the wished-for shore, nothing was to 

 be seen as yet but sea and sky. At five I awoke 

 once more, and this time saw two small islands lying 

 to our right outposts of Hellas ! No more sleep 

 for me. Dressing hastily, I rushed on deck, and 

 found we were passing on the left under a rugged 

 range of mountains, snow-capped, and running down 

 sheer into the sea. These I soon found to be the 

 Acroceraunian mountains rampart of Epirus. The 

 sun was shining brightly behind them, and the gleam 

 made it rather hard to make out the details; but 

 one could see that they were rugged and barren. 

 In front lay Corfu, its peaks quite buried in masses 

 of white cloud. The sea was a rich greenish blue, 

 broken up by a fresh breeze into innumerable white 

 horses. As the sun rose higher, the peaks of the 

 mainland were lighted up, and deep shadows thrown 

 down the hillsides. Soon a low neck of land, with 

 higher ridges in clouds behind, began to appear 

 faintly before xis, seeming to bar further progress. 

 This was the north-eastern extremity of Corfu. The 

 north-west end of the island was now quite distinct ; 

 and one could see that while the main ridge was 

 bare, the lower slopes were covered with olives. By 

 seven the scene was quite changed. We were in the 

 quiet water smooth as glass, and a brilliant pale 

 green between Corfu and the mainland. The sun 

 was quite up, and the clouds had risen from the 



