The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.1 / Page 16 (Color Image)

0016	The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.1

viii

PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION

our " mutual friend," in which Yule had taken the

greatest interest, was dedicated by me to his memory. I knew that Yule contemplated a third edition of his

Marco Polo, and all will regret that time was not

allowed to him to complete this labour of love, to see

itp ublished. If the duty of bringing out the new

edition of Marco Polo has fallen on one who considers

himself but an unworthy successor of the first illustrious

commentator, it is fair to add that the work could not

have been entrusted to a more respectful disciple.

Many of our tastes were similar ; we had the same

desire to seek the truth, the same earnest wish to

be exact, perhaps the same sense of humour, and,

what is necessary when writing on Marco Polo,

certainly the same love for Venice and its history.

Not only am I, with the late CHARLES SCHEFER, the

founder and the editor of the Recueil de Voyages et de

Documents pour servir á l'Histoire de la Géograylzie

depuis le XIII e jatsqu'( la fin du X VI e siècle, but I

am also the successor, at thé Ecole des langues

Orientales Vivantes, of G. PAUTHIER, whose book on

the Venetian Traveller° is still valuable, so the mantle

of the last two editors fell upon my shoulders.

I therefore, gladly and thankfully, accepted Miss

AMY FRANCES YULE'S kind proposal to undertake the

editorship of the third edition of the Book of Ser Marco

Polo, and I wish to express here my gratitude to her

for the great honour she has thus done me.*

Unfortunately for his successor, Sir Henry

Yule, evidently trusting to his own rood memory,

left but few notes. These are contained in an inter-

leaved copy obligingly placed at my disposal osal b Miss

p by

Yule, but I luckily found assistance from various other

* Miss Yule has written the Memoir of her father and the new Dedication.

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