the place which, according to the ancient poets, the souls of the blessed inhabited. By Homer it was placed in the vicinity of Oceanus, and on the extreme confines of the earth. Here Nature produced her most delicious fruits without assistance from the hand of man. No winter storm ever obscured the brilliancy of the atmosphere; but cooling zephyrs refreshed the air, and wafted on their wings the most delightful perfumes. Such was the abode destined by Jupiter for his son-in-law Menelaus. It is curious to observe the various changes of position in respect to these Elysian Fields, as a more intimate acquaintance with the geography of different countries successively dispelled the erroneous impressions made by the foolish statements of travellers. The Greeks in the earlier ages placed them in the district of Thesprotia, where they also found the Acheron, Cocytus, and Avernus; and it was to this elysium that Homer tells us Mercury conducted the souls of the suitors of Penelope, after they had been killed by Ulysses. But they afterwards transported the Elysian Fields and Avernus to the vicinity of Baia in Campania.

Largior hic campos aether et lumine vestit Parpureo; soleaque summ, sun sidera norunt.

And it was not till later times that they thought of fixing these imaginary abodes at the extremity of Iberia, where they found the Lethe, "that slow and silent stream, the river of oblivion," which is now called Guadalete, as well as another of the same name in Lusitania.