2007年10月21日 星期日

There was an Old Man of Corfu,

They had been talking
about wedding dresses, and wedding ceremonies; and Captain
Lennox, and what he had told Edith about her future life at
Corfu, where his regiment was stationed; and the difficulty of
keeping a piano in good tune (a difficulty which Edith seemed to
consider as one of the most formidable that could befall her in
her married life), and what gowns she should want in the visits
to Scotland, which would immediately succeed her marriage;

They had been talking about wedding dresses, and wedding ceremonies; and Captain
Lennox, and what he had told Edith about her future life at Corfu, where his regiment was stationed; and the difficulty of
keeping a piano in good tune (a difficulty which Edith seemed to consider as one of the most formidable that could befall her in
her married life), and what gowns she should want in the visits to Scotland, which would immediately succeed her marriage;


Corfu
One of the Ionian Islands, northwestern Greece. With adjacent small islands, it forms the Corfu department (pop., 1995 est.: 108,000) of Greece; the town of Corfu (pop., 1995 est.: 36,000) is the departmental capital. Corfu occupies 229 sq mi (593 sq km). It was settled by the Corinthians c. 734 BC. Off its coast the first naval battle in Greek history was fought, between Corfu and Corinth c. 664 BC. About 435 BC it sought the aid of Athens against Corinth, precipitating the Peloponnesian War. A Roman possession in 229 BC, it later passed to the Byzantines, then to the Normans. It was ruled by Venice from 1386 to 1797 and was under British administration from 1815 until it was ceded to Greece in 1864. Germans and Italians occupied it during World War II. It is now a popular tourist destination and produces olive oil, figs, oranges, lemons, and wine.






Edward Lear Chronology 1812-88

1848
Meets Thomas Baring, later Lord Northbrook, February. The state of Italy becomes more unsettled, and Lear leaves Rome, April. Travels via Malta to Corfu and the Ionian Islands, April-May. Visits Athens, Marathon, Thermophylae, and Thebes, where he is taken ill, June-July. Arrives in Costantinople, August. Travels across Greece and into Albania, September-December. Returns to Malta, and meets Fraanklin Lushington, December.




There was an Old Man of Corfu,
Who never knew what he should do;
So he rushed up and down,
Till the sun made him brown,
That bewildered Old Man of Corfu.

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