And as the writer lingered over this conclusion, his thoughts wandered back in reverie to those many venerable libraries in which he had formerly made search for mediæval copies of the Traveller’s story; and it seemed to him as if he sate in a recess of one of these with a manuscript before him which had never till then been examined with any care, and which he found with delight to contain passages that appear in no version of the Book hitherto known. It was written in clear Gothic text, and in the Old French tongue of the early 14th century. Was it possible that he had lighted on the long-lost original of Ramusio’s Version? No; it proved to be different. Instead of the tedious story of the northern wars, which occupies much of our Fourth Book, there were passages occurring in the later history of Ser Marco, some years after his release from the Genoese captivity. They appeared to contain strange anachronisms certainly; but we have often had occasion to remark on puzzles in the chronology of Marco’s story![7] And in some respects they tended to justify our intimated suspicion that he was a man of deeper feelings and wider sympathies than the book of Rusticiano had allowed to appear.[8] Perhaps this time the Traveller had found an amanuensis whose faculties had not been stiffened by fifteen years of Malapaga?[9] One of the most important passages ran thus:— “_Bien est voirs que, après ce que |Messires Marc Pol| avoit pris fame et si estoit demouré plusours ans de sa vie a |Venysse|, il avint que mourut |Messires Mafés| qui oncles |Monseignour Marc| estoit: (et mourut ausi ses granz chiens mastins qu’avoit amenei dou Catai,[10] et qui avoit non |Bayan| pour l’amour au bon chievetain |Bayan Cent-iex|); adonc n’avoit oncques puis |Messires Marc| nullui, fors son esclave |Piere le Tartar|, avecques lequel pouvoit penre soulas à s’entretenir de ses voiages et des choses dou Levant. Car la gent de |Venysse| si avoit de grant piesce moult anuy pris des loncs contes |Monseignour Marc|; et quand ledit |Messires Marc| issoit de l’uys sa meson ou Sain Grisostome, souloient li petit marmot es voies dariere-li courir en cryant |Messer Marco Miliòn! cont’a nu un busiòn!| que veult dire en François ‘Messires Marcs des millions di-nous un de vos gros mensonges.’ En oultre, la Dame |Donate| fame anuyouse estoit, et de trop estroit esprit, et plainne de convoitise.[11] Ansi avint que |Messires Marc| desiroit es voiages rantrer durement._