and, in consequence, hurried from one to the other, collecting all the knowledge they could in the short space they had determined to remain. Their first trip was to Paxo, a little island in the vicinity, but thinly inhabited, with nothing particular to please the eye, or interest the imagination. But the next they visited, St. Maura, the ancient Leucadia, with the rich luxuriance of all its productions, offered a scene of profusion seldom to be witnessed; while its proximity to the continent appeared such, that one might have fancied they could stretch out their hand and touch Achäia. Going on, they caine to Cephalonia, a rich and fertile island; and here Charles found remembrances crowd upon him in confusing variety. On one side lay Ithaca, and of course with it came the ideas of Ulysses and Penelope, the suitors, and Homer; and by a second train, Telemachus, and Mentor, and Fenelon. On the other side appeared the Achäian shores, enough of themselves to contribute

contribute a thousand thoughts of the past, the present, and the future; and be. fore him lay the Gulf of Lepanto, conjuring up Selim and Hali, the heroic, but unfortunate don John of Austria, with the equally brave, unfortunate, and talented Cervantes.

Not being able to proceed as far as Cythera, or Cerigo, as it is called now, (lady Anne, for reasons best known to herself, objecting strongly to visiting the isle of love,) Charles and Mary were obliged to make Cephalonia their climax, and without visiting Zante, returned to Corfu, where they were luckily able to hire a vessel to convey them to Trieste; but there were three days yet before it could set off. Nor was lady Anne sorry for the delay, as, at her age, the rapidity of travelling, which suited her young companions very well, was more than she could bear. In their excursions at Naples, when lady Anne had not been able to accompany them, Charles had often succeeded in obtaining

VOL. III.

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taining Mary for his companion alone, though this had generally, sooner or later, called down a lecture concerning impropriety, &c. In the present instance, Mr. Melville proposed to fill up the time till their departure with his favourite parties on the water; and lady Anne, who did not choose to own herself overcome by the fatigues they had not felt at all, seemed to have laid aside the precise strictness of her ideas, and did not see any reason why Mary should not accompany her cousin, though, for her own part, she was not fond of the water.

Charles, of course, was not likely to see any impropriety either; and Mary, whose confidence in him was unlimited, started no objection; and the next day was accordingly fixed upon for a sail along the shores of Greece.

The day came bright and sunny, with just enough wind to carry their boat gaily over the small waves that danced playfully around, as if sporting in the morning

light.

light. Their course was directed towards the coast of Epirus; and running along by the various indentations of the shore, they had an opportunity of enjoying a thousand picturesque objects, which presented themselves in their passage.

For more than three hours the loveli ness of the day, the beauty of the scenery, and long dreamy conversations about their future happiness, so far beguiled the time to Charles and Mary, that it seemed scarcely to have passed, till Corfu, lessening in the dim distance, shewed them the progress they had made, and told them it was time to return. Setting out at seven in the morning, (in that climate far the most lovely time of day,) they had not seen lady Anne, who the night before had been evidently unwell, and in consequence Mary was the more anxious that they should steer their way back; but the wind was not complacent enough to meet her wishes exactly, and they were obliged to pursue their voyage towards home more slowly

F 2

slowly than they had left it; and at the same time, a heavy cloud that began to spring up made their Greek boatmen often turn their looks towards the sky. At length it appeared plain that a thunder storm was going to overtake them. heaven, which had before been of the clearest blue, was now changed to one dark threatening expanse of lurid heavy cloud.

The

The boatmen, who knew well what the storms of that climate are, immediately began to steer for the coast of Epirus, which was not above a mile off; and Mary was not a little glad of the prospect of any shelter from the fury of the storm, which now began to rage in a manner to which the atmosphere of England is never subject. The sky seemed actually rent by the lightning, and the thunder followed so rapidly, that scarcely an interval was to be discerned between the flash and the report; while sudden gusts of wind, which seldom accompany a thunder storm, frequently