THE first place in Greece on which a traveller from the West usually sets foot is Corfu, one of the Ionian Islands, which were given up by Great Britain in 1864 to gratify the patriotic aspirations of the Greeks. The sacrifice was not without its compensations, as it relieved Britain from an annual outlay of £100,000, which had been the cost of administration.
The principal Ionian Islands are five in number, namely, Corfu (Corcyra), Santa Mauro (Leucas), Ithaca, Cephalonia (Cephallenia), and Zanté (Zacynthus). They represent a territory of more than 1000 square miles, with a population of about a quarter of a million, who are mainly dependent on shipping and on the trade in oil, wine, and currants.
A romantic interest attaches to the promontory of Leucas, which terminates in what is still known as Sappho’s Leap, in allusion to an old tradition which tells how the famous poetess, who shares with Alcæus the chief honours in Æolian lyric poetry, here put an end to her life to escape from the pangs of unrequited affection. In Zacynthus we have an illustration of the historical accuracy of Herodotus in the existence of some curious springs on the south-west, from which the water comes out mingled with pitch.
From an antiquarian point of view, however, still greater interest attaches to Corcyra, Ithaca, and Cephallenia, as they have Homeric associations which carry us back to a still earlier period.
Corfu or Corcyra, although not the largest, is the most populous of the whole group. It is a beautiful island, with a beautiful situation, looking out on the blue waters of the Southern Adriatic, with the snowy mountains of Epirus in the distance. It has two commodious harbours, in which the shipping of many nations may be seen. The streets of the city are narrow and old-fashioned, but it has an interesting old fortress with a handsome esplanade. Near the harbour is the former residence of the British High Commissioner (an office once held by Mr. Gladstone), with beautiful public gardens in front of it. The environs of the city are charming, with orange-groves here and there glowing in the brilliant sunshine, amid a profusion of roses, geraniums, and other blooms almost growing wild, with miles on miles of olive-trees in the background.
From the earliest times the island was a place of importance to the shipping world, as the ancients, in sailing, liked to keep near to land, and generally put in to shore at night, unless they wished to take advantage of some favourable breeze which did not
