28th October.  Corfu is the largest of the Ionian Islands, which formerly belonged to Greece, and lie at the entrance to the Adriatic sea.  Corfu, the ancient Corcyra, has been subject to England since 1815.

The town of Corfu is situated in a more beautiful and fertile country than Patras, and is far larger.  It contains 18,000 inhabitants.  Adjoining the town are two romantic peaks of rock, with strong fortified works, upon which stand the telegraph and the lighthouse.  Both are surrounded by artificial ditches, with draw-bridges leading across.  The immediate environs of the town, as well as the whole island, are rich in delightful groves of olive and orange trees.

The town contains handsome houses and streets, with the exception of the bye-streets, which are remarkably crooked and not very clean.  At the entrance of the town stands a large covered stone hall, in which on one side are the stalls of the butchers; on the other, those of the fishermen.  In the open space in front are exposed the choicest vegetables and most beautiful fruits.  The theatre presents a very pretty appearance; it would seem, from the sculptures upon it, to have been used for a church.  The principal square is large and handsome; it is intersected by several avenues, and one side faces the sea.  The palace of the English governor stands here; a fine building in the Grecian-Italian style.

The famous and much-visited church of St. Spiridion is but small; it contains many oil-paintings, some are good specimens of the old Italian School.  In a small dark chapel at the furthest end of the church lies, in a silver sarcophagus, the body of St. Spiridion, who is held in great veneration by the Ionians.  The chapel is always full of devotees who tenderly kiss the sarcophagus.

On the 29th of October we saw the low mountain-country of Dalmatia, and on the 30th I entered Trieste, whence I hastened on to Vienna the day following.  I was obliged to pass several days in the greatest anxiety before the town, as it had been taken by storm on the last day of October and was not opened until the 4th of November.  It was not until I had seen that all my relations were safe that I was able to return thanks with a grateful heart to the good Providence which, in all my dangers and troubles, had so remarkably protected and preserved me in health and strength.  With equal gratitude I remembered those people who had treated me with such kindness, had so disinterestedly received me, and through whose help I had been enabled to overcome the frequent great hardships and difficulties I encountered.

From my readers I hope for a charitable judgment upon my book, which in simple language describes what I have experienced, seen and felt, and makes no higher pretension than that of being sincere and trustworthy.

NOTES.