certain Greek oboli, which bear the Venetian Lion on one side, and a Britannia with her Ægis on the other, and which are no bad epitome of the modern history of the island, making, as they do, a curious addition to the series of brass and silver records of the same kind which tell what Korfou

was in former ages. A Triton striking with his trident; a prow of a ship, a galley in full sail, the gardens of Alcinous, and a Bacchus crowned with ivy; these are some of the monetary memorials of the former power, commerce, and productions of Corcyra.

On the east of the same street is the Spianata, or esplanade, one side of which is bounded by the palace of the Lord High Commissioner, a handsome building of Maltese stone; on the east is the citadel and the two conical hills, or crests, the airy Phæacian castles of Virgil, from which the Island is said to derive its name; though the word Gurfo, by which it is designated in Boccaccio, as well as the modern Greek term Korfo, would lead us to seek its origin in a Romaic corruption of the ancient word for Kolpo, Gulf, or Bay, which might well be applied to the harbour beneath the summits above-mentioned. The esplanade is enli

vened by reviews of three or four thousand English troops, and, toward evening, is the resort of the Greek Priests of the neighbouring university. There is something very picturesque in the appearance of these persons, with their black caps, resembling the modius seen on the heads of the ancient statues of

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Serapis and Osiris, their long beards and pale complexions, and their black flowing cloak-a relic, no doubt, of the old ecclesiastical garment of which Tertullian wrote-as they sit upon the benches, or pace beneath the acacias and lime-trees of the place.

There is a work on Korfou, written by one of its patricians, which gives some interesting details with respect to the island and its inhabitants: the author asserts that, among other superstitions, the common people have a strong objection to go on the left side of a mill-stream, or near the house of a dead miser, to be married on a Wednesday, or in the month of February. Some of these antipathies are, probably, as old as the time of Hesiod, who prescribes certain days for marriage and other ceremonies. The wind which sighs through the leaves of a forest in a dark winter's night, is said by them to be made up of the souls of bad men. At LEUCIMNA, the modern Capo Bianco, where the Corcyræans erected a trophy after their naval struggle with the Corinthians, at the southern extremity of the island, is an eminence which is the favourite resort of the Nereids, who are supposed to have great influence over the health and fortunes of their neighbours, and which is called from them Nereido Kastro.

T is worth while to observe how these mythological playthings are thrown away on more trying and solemn occasions. At the deathbed, when the nearest relative has closed the eyes of the deceased, and when the windows of his chamber have been thrown open to give his soul a free passage to heaven; when the Morologists, or professional mourners, have ceased

their doleful exclamations, the simple words are uttered by those present, "He is now before his Maker, who judges, and may He pardon him!" The corpse is then washed, dressed in its best attire, wrapped in the winding-sheet, and laid out for twenty-four hours. The last embrace is concluded with a chant of the solemn and melodious hymn attributed to Damascene:-" Seeing me speechless and breathless, oh! weep over me, all my brothers, friends, kindred, and acquaintance; for yesterday I was talking to you. Give me the last embrace, for I shall not walk or speak with you again. I go away to the Judge, with whom there is no respect of persons; I go where servants and masters stand together; kings and soldiers, rich and poor, in equal

dignity, for every one will be either glorified or condemned according to his own works."

It is not easy to draw a map of the Homeric Phæacia which shall coincide in its details with the localities of Korfou. Nor will the topographer find it a simple task to discover the natural objects connected in the Odyssey with the city of Alcinous. Where are the two fountains which flowed near it?where is the stream of the River-God whom Ulysses conciliates with his prayers? Is it to be found at the beautiful village of Potamo, or not far from Cape Sideri, to suit the hypothesis, the most prevalent one among the Phæacian antiquaries of the present day, which lands Ulysses in the northwest extremity of the island, because he is brought to it by a northerly wind, and which places the city of Alcinous at Aphiona in that district?

It is to be regretted that proofs are wanting to show the identity of the Phæacian town with that of the Liburnians who were dispossessed by the Corinthian colony, which settled in the island; for we have conclusive