Sunday, 24 January 1858
Clearer, but all the Corfu Hills ― thick with white snow: S. Deca, & Salvador covered. Rose late. ― Wrote to C. [Ingleby] & W.N. ― Shakespeare called. At 3½ ― went out ― solo ― & round by the “Parga” road. What a wonderful white ridge of mountains!! ― & Salvador, all dark purple & bright white ― with a long cloud ― so ―
All along the marsh road, how cold and beautiful! ― Chimariotes plodding along to their adopted olive-homes. ― Then the turn up towards Ποταμὸς ― & thro’ light trunked olives ― all filmy ― the pool below, & the far snow range beyond ― seen through all the leafy dells & airy tree tops. Then Ποταμὸς, with its lean & straw-hatted gray-trousered men, & its velvet pelissed yellow-hooded respectable-looking women. ― And so, very very cold ― Εΐς τὴν πόλιν.1 ―
Dined solo ― & afterwards wrote a bit of Athos journal, O! wonder! Giorgio discussive about black slave who was brought to General Conyers & also about Ἄγιον Ὄρος.2 ―
[Transcribed by Marco Graziosi from Houghton Library, Harvard University, MS Eng. 797.3. Previously published in part in Lear 1988, 123.]
That paragraph beginning “All along the marsh road…” is as good as anything in his travel books and better that most of his elaborate, worked over lines. About Lushington’s disrespect for his water-colors–beautiful but not worth buying– isn’t it part of the period distaste for “unfinished” work? Lear shared this attitude, and always “worked up” his beginnings laboriously.