Birds by the Wayside 171 



currants, something like two hundred million pounds of them 

 annually. 



The steamer on which we embarked at Patras in the evening 

 was far north among the Ionian Islands, when morning came. 

 If we passed near storied Ithaca it was in the dead of night, 

 when nothing could be seen of it. The charms of Corfu un- 

 folded gradually as we passed between island and mainland, 

 until we rode as if on an enchanted sea. If the scenery of 

 yesterday had been thrillingly beautiful, that of today was 

 most ravishingly so. To the splendor of color on land and 

 sea were added the touches given it by the red sails of fishing 

 boats. We had a half day on shore at Corfu and drove to the 

 Achilleion, a palace of the German Emperor, who at that time 

 was in residence there, in consequence of which we could not 

 enrich him to the extent of forty cents per capita for the 

 privilege of entering the palace, but we were allowed to walk 

 through the grounds, which were beautified by; a profusion of 

 blooming plants and shrubs. The view was exquisite in form 

 and colory but a birdless one. Except the singing of a single 

 bird none other was heard. The ride of seven and a half 

 miles to the palace was through rural scenes : between culti- 

 vated fields and olive groves, which were enlivened by Very 

 few birds. 



For several hours the mountainous coast of Albania lay on 

 our right. Bleak and desolate it looked, with scarcely a sign 

 of inhabitancy. Just what sort of a turmoil was in progress 

 there at that time we could not guess, but we did know that 

 a certain royal weed, William of Wied by name, was trying 

 to take root in that inhospitable soil, and we were glad that 

 it was proving very inhospitable. The northern end of Corfu 

 had been rounded and its shores had faded into distant blue, 

 when night fell. One brief week had been spent in Greece, 

 not much of it had been seen, yet enough to make impressive 

 one fact : that the exceeding smallness of her territory was not 

 at all commensurate with "the glory that was Greece." 



