A KIDE ACKOSS THE PELOPONNESE. 161 



heights of Corfu, though still clustered round the 

 inner peaks of Epirus. 



At about nine o'clock we came to anchor in front 

 of the picturesque town of Corfu, with its row of 

 white houses built along the shore, and the citadel, 

 crowning a double-peaked height, in the midst. 



Crowds of boats came round, us, one of which 

 conveyed us ashore amid a great bustle. There, to 

 our delight, we saw actual Greek names and de- 

 scriptions over the shop-doors, and heard though 

 as yet without understanding the same tongue in 

 the mouths of the people. The town, as we passed 

 through to the hotel, was full of men in picturesque, 

 albeit dirty, Albanian costume rough sheepskin 

 cloaks, white linen kilts or fttstanellce, leggings, and 

 for the most part broad-brimmed straw hats who 

 had come across from the mainland to attend a 

 festival on the day before. 



The town bears evident traces of its frequent 

 change of masters. A great gateway surmounted 

 by the Lion of St Mark, and a fortress bearing 

 the same emblem here and there on its massive 

 walls, tell of Venetian occupation; while English 

 influence is visible in many ways most noticeably, 

 perhaps, in the curiously-mixed jargon of the shop- 

 keepers and loafers in the streets. 



We drove out in the afternoon through the groves 

 of oranges and lemons and olives, in which, as in 

 vegetation of all kinds, this favoured spot abounds, 



VOL. II. L 



