The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1901-01-05

1t was not necessary to provide ourselves
with Greek script, since in Greecs svery-
body was money changer, ana we soon
found this to be trus. These young Shy.
locks first offered twenty eight draohmas
for twenty francs, then twenty-nine, then
thirty while the proper exchange was
thirty-swo drachmas and upward. They
also charge fancy prices for taking you
on shore, ann cheat You on the carriages
promising to take you to some point of
intsrsst for certain sum and then tel
ling you thers Is not time to go there be-
fore the steamer sails. Bur after all, you
find Corfu rather delightful and the pso-
pie decidsdly harmless and very affable
when they have learned that they can
no longer exploit you. The island Ii
called kerkyra In Greek, though the city
appears TO be Corfn. The people in the
vicinity seem better-to-do than in many
regions Of Greece proper, and the chill
rem are very pretty and not at all the Inn
Fortunate bezgars seen in Southern Italy.
After exploring the streets and sd burbs
ana visiting the fortresses with their
magnificent outlook you return quite re-
freshed to the stea er.
AS you stand on the deck on sailing
out through the narrow strait your last
look is at tina double peaked rock on
which is built the Fortszza Vecchla, and
opposite at the beautiful Fortezza Nuova,
thess being this most charming features
of the city. In the background the Alba
MAN mountains stand out msgniticently:
on the Corfu side you are struck with
the great lsngth of the Islands and the
fine display of its mountain groups,
while opposite you approach close TO
Epirus ana keep in sight of Corfu for
many hours.
Then the strait expands and you pass
the mouth of the kalamis, the northern
boundary OF Greece and aftsr an hour or
| two the Island Of Paxos and Anti Paxos,
which with the Leukas are part of the
Province OF Corfu, ARE sighted and we enter
the Ionian Ssa. After several hours the
steamer passes the mouth of the AmbraS
clan Gulf near the point where Actium
closes in, the site OF the famous battle
Held where Octavius's victory over An
tony laid the foundation of the Great
Monarchy of Augustus and ths world re-
nownsd Empire. Here Epirus begins to
recede and the larger OF the Ionian Is
lands one after the other are passed, Leu
/ kas and CsphaIonla, and unfortunately
later In the night, Ithaca. Although
this island was almost depopulAted In
the Middle Ages on account of devas-
tation OF pirates and the Turkish WARS,
its renaissance revived many of the
conditions which reese nbIe the
Ithaca of antiquity, at the time
when Penelope with her swiftly gliding
shuttle warded off the entreaties of her
snitors, and CONNIE morated for all future
ages the faithfulness of woman, by I'M
ravelling In the Still hours of the night
the fabric she had woven by day, which
was the web OF her destiny. Now as then
the bold Ithacan seamen traverse the seas
and after many days return from foreign
countries, rich in wealth and varied ex-
periencs. Then they sit down BY their
hospi table iiresides, and with their faith.
full Penelopes, sing the brave dssds OF
| Ulysses as they pass to their gusts the
same aromatic wine which Homer handed
down in his verses.
You are awakened the following day In
the small hours of the morning at Patras
for Ia spite of all the haIts which the
steamer makes it is only thirty-six hours
from Greece, and on fast tourist steam
er 1t need not be more than twelve or iif-
teen; for did not uaesar pass over from
Brindisi TO the mainland OF Greece in q