rstanding of the last word becomes (p. 129) "_Sappiate
di vero_ sanza mentire."

"_Mes de sel_ font-il monoie"--"They make money of salt," becomes (p.
168) "_ma fannole_ da loro," _sel_ being taken for a pronoun, whilst
in
another place _sel_ is transferred bodily without translation.

"_Chevoil_," "hair" of the old French, appears in the Tuscan (p. 20)
as _cavagli_, "horses."--"_La Grant Provence_ Jereraus," the great
general province, appears (p. 68) as a province whose proper name is
_Ienaraus_. In describing Kublai's expedition against Mien or Burma,
Polo has a story of his calling on the Jugglers at his court to
undertake the job, promising them a Captain and other help,
"_Cheveitain et aide_." This has fairly puzzled the Tuscan, who
converts these (p. 186) into two Tartar tribes, "_quegli d'_ Aide
_e quegli di_ Caveita."

So also we have _lievre_ for hare transferred without change; _lait_,
milk, appearing as _laido_ instead of _latte_; _tres_, rendered as
"three"; _bue_, "mud," Italianised as _buoi_, "oxen," and so forth.
Finally, in various places when Polo is explaining Oriental terms we
find in the Tuscan MS. "_cioe a dire in_ Francesco."

The blunders mentioned are intelligible enough as in a version _from
the French_; but in the description of the Indian pearl-fishery we
have a startling one not so easy to account for. The French says, "the
divers gather the sea-oysters (_hostrige de Mer_), and in these the
pearls are found." This appears in the Tuscan in the extraordinary
form that the divers catch those fishes called _Herrings_ (Aringhe),
and in those Herrings are found the Pearls!

[5] As examples of these Italianisms: "_Et ont del_ olio _de la lanpe dou_
sepolchro _de Crist_"; "_L'Angel ven en vision pour mesajes de Deu a
un_ Veschevo _qe mout estoient home de_ sante vite"; "_E certes il
estoit bien_ beizongno"; "_ne trop caut ne trop_ fredo"; "_la_ crense"
(_credenza_); "remort" for noise (_rumore_) "inverno"; "jorno";
"dementique" (_dimenticato_); "enferme" for sickly; "leign" (_legno_);
"devisce" (_dovizia_); "ammalaide" (_ammalato_), etc. etc.

Professor Bianconi points out that there are also traces of _Venetian_
dialect, as _Pare_ for _pere_; _Mojer_ for wife; _Zabater_, cobbler;
_cazaor_, huntsman, etc.

I have not been able to learn to what extent book