The documents show a few other incidents which may be briefly noted. In 1326 we have the record of a charge against one Zanino Grioni for insulting Donna Moreta in the Campo of San Vitale; a misdemeanour punished by the Council of Forty with 2 months' imprisonment.

In March, 1328, Marco Polo, called Marcolino, of St. John Chrysostom (see p. 64), represents before the Domini Advocatores of the Republic that certain imprestita that had belonged to the late Maffeo Polo the Elder, had been alienated and transferred in May, 1318, by the late Marco Polo of St. John Chrysostom and since his death by his heirs, without regard to the rights of the said Marcolino, to whom the said Messer Maffeo had bequeathed 1000 lire by his will executed on 6th February, 1308 (i.e. 1309). The Advocatores find that the transfer was to that extent unjust and improper, and they order that to the same extent it should be revoked and annulled. Two months later the Lady Donata makes rather an unpleasant figure before the Council of Forty. It would seem that on the claim of Messer Bertuccio Quirino a mandate of sequestration had been issued by the Court of Requests affecting certain articles in the Ca' Polo; including 2 bags of money which had been tied and sealed, but left in custody of the Lady Donata. The sum so sealed was about 80 lire of grossi (300/. in silver value), but when opened only 45 lire and 22 grossi (about 170/) were found therein, and the Lady was accused of abstracting the balance non bono modo. Probably she acted, as ladies sometimes do, on a strong sense of her own rights, and a weak sense of the claims of law. But the Council pronounced against her, ordering restitution, and a fine of 200 lire over and above "ut ceteris transeat in exemplum."

"

It will have been seen that there is nothing in the amounts mentioned in Marco's will to bear out the large reports as to his wealth, though at the same time there is no positive ground for a deduction to the contrary. †

The mention in two of the documents of Agnes Loredano

*The lire of the fine are not specified; but probably ai grossi, which would be = 37. 10s.; not, we hope, dei grossi !

Yet, if the family were so wealthy as tradition represents, it is strange that Marco's brother Maffeo, after receiving a share of his father's property, should have possessed barely 10,000 lire, probably equivalent to 5000 ducats at most (see p. 63, supra).

"MARCVS POLVS VENETVS TOTIVS ORBIS ET INDIE PEREGRATOR PRIMVS."

pied by permission from a Painting bearing the above Inscription in the Gallery of MONSIGNORE BADIA at Rome.

as the sister of the Lady Donata suggests that the latter may have belonged to the Loredano family, but as it does not appear whether Agnes was maid or wife this remains uncertain.

Respecting the further history of the family there is nothing certain, nor can we give unhesitating faith to Ramusio's statement that the last male descendant of the Polos of S. Giovanni Grisostomo was Marco, who died Castellano of Verona in 1417 (according to others, 1418, or 1425),† and that the family property then passed to Maria (or Anna, as she is styled in a MS. statement furnished to me from Venice), who was married in 1401 to Benedetto Cornaro, and again in 1414 to Azzo Trevisan. Her descendant in the fourth generation by the latter was Marc Antonio Trevisano,‡ who was chosen Doge in 1553.

The genealogy recorded by Marco Barbaro, as drawn up from documents by Ramusio, makes the Castellano of Verona a grandson of our Marco by a son Maffeo, whom we may safely pronounce not to have existed, and makes Maria the daughter of Maffeo, Marco's brother-that is to say, makes a lady marry in 1414 and have children, whose father was born in 1271 at the very latest! The genealogy is given in several other ways, but as I have satisfied myself that they all (except perhaps this of Barbaro's, which we see to be otherwise erroneous) confound together the two distinct families of Polo of S. Geremia and Polo of S. Giov. Grisostomo, I reserve my faith, and abstain from presenting them. Assuming that the Marco or Marcolino Polo, spoken of in the preceding page, was a near relation (as is probable, though perhaps an illegitimate one), he is the only male descendant of old Andrea of

An Agnes Loredano, Abbess of S. Maria delle Vergini, died in 1397 (Cicogna, V. 91 and 629). The interval of 61 years makes it somewhat improbable that it should be the same.

In the Museo Civico (No. 2271 of the Cicogna collection) there is a commission addressed by the Doge Michiel Steno in 1408, "Nobili Viro Marcho Paulo," nominating him Podestà of Arostica (a Castello of the Vicentino). This is probably the same Marco.

=

The descent runs: (1) Azzo Maria Polo; (2) Febo, Captain at Padua ; (3) Zaccaria, Senator ; (4) Domenico, Procurator of St. Mark's; (5) Marc' Antonio, Doge (Capellari, Campidoglio Veneto, MS. St. Mark's Lib.).

Marc' Antonio nolebat ducari and after election desired to renounce. His friends persuaded him to retain office, but he lived scarcely a year after (Cicogna, IV. 566).

San Felice whom we can indicate as having survived Marco himself; and from a study of the links in the professed genealogies I think it not unlikely that both Marco the Castellano of Verona and Maria Trevisan belonged to the branch of S. Geremia.*

IX. MARCO POLO'S BOOK; AND THE LANGUAGE IN WHICH IT WAS FIRST WRITTEN.

statement of

what the

Book con

tains.

50. The Book itself consists essentially of Two Parts. First, of a Prologue, as it is termed, the only part which is General actual personal narrative, and which relates, in a very interesting but far too brief manner, the circumstances which led the two elder Polos to the Kaan's Court, and those of their second journey with Mark, and of their return to Persia through the Indian Seas. Secondly, of a long series of chapters of very unequal length, descriptive of notable sights and products, of curious manners, and remarkable events, relating to the different nations and states of Asia, but, above all, to the Emperor Kublai, his court, wars, and administration. A series of chapters near the close treats in a verbose and monotonous manner of sundry wars that took place between the various branches of the House of Chinghiz in the latter half of the 13th century. This last series is either omitted or greatly curtailed in all the copies and versions

* In Appendix B will be found tabulated all the facts that seem to be positively ascertained as to the Polo genealogies.

In the Venetian archives occurs a procuration executed by the Doge in favour of the Nobilis Vir SER MARCO PAULO that he may present himself before the King of Sicily; under date, Venice 9th November, 1342. And some years later we have in the Sicilian Archives an order by King Lewis of Sicily, directed to the Maestri Procuratori of Messina, which grants to MARCO POLO of Venice, on account of services rendered to the king's court, the privilege of free import and export at the port of Messina, without payment of customs of goods to the amount annually of 20 ounces. Dated in Catania 13th January, 1346 (1347 ?).

For the former notice I am indebted to the courtesy of Signor B. Cecchetti of the Venetian Archives, who cites it as "transcribed in the Commemor. IV. p. 5 ;" for the latter to that of the Abate Carini of the Reale Archivio at Palermo; it is in Archivio della Regia Cancellaria 1343-1357, f. 58.

It is possible that this Marco, who from the latter notice seems to have been engaged in mercantile affairs, may have been the Marcolino above mentioned, but it is perhaps on the whole more probable that this nobilis vir is the Marco spoken of in the note at p. 72.