The Project Gutenberg EBook of Messer Marco Polo, by Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne

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Title: Messer Marco Polo

Author: Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne

Posting Date: October 26, 2008 [EBook #2058]
Release Date: February, 2000

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MESSER MARCO POLO ***

Produced by Daniel A. Wentzell. HTML version by Al Haines.

Messer Marco Polo

by

BRIAN OSWALD DONN-BYRNE

BRIAN OSWALD DONN-BYRNE

(1889-1928)

A NOTE ON THE AUTHOR OF MESSER MARCO POLO

So Celtic in feeling and atmosphere are the stories of Donn Byrne that
many of his devotees have come to believe that he never lived anywhere
but in Ireland. Actually, Donn Byrne was born in New York City.
Shortly after his birth, however, his parents took him back to the land
of his forefathers. There he was educated and came to know the people
of whom he wrote so magically. At Dublin University his love for the
Irish language and for a good fight won him many prizes, first as a
writer in Gaelic and second as the University's lightweight boxing
champion. After continuing his studies at the Sorbonne and the
University of Leipzig, he returned to the United States, where, in
1911, he married and established a home in Brooklyn Heights. He earned
his living, while trying to write short stories, as an editor of
dictionaries. Soon his tales began to attract attention and he added to
his collection of boxing prizes many others won in short-story
contests. When MESSER MARCO POLO appeared in 1921 his reputation in
the literary world was firmly established. Thereafter, whatever he
wrote was hailed enthusiastically by his ever-growing public, until
1928, when his tragic death in an automobile accident cut short the
career of one of America's best-loved story-tellers.

JTABLE 4 23 1

MESSER MARCO POLO

The message came to me, at the second check of the hunt, that a
countryman and a clansman needed me. The ground was heavy, the day
raw, and it was a drag, too fast for fun and too tame for sport. So I
blessed the countryman and the clansman, and turned my back on the
field.

But when they told me his name, I a