have, in what we call the Geographic Text, as nearly as may be an
exact transcript of the Traveller’s words as originally taken down in
the prison of Genoa. We have again in the MSS. of the second type an
edition pruned and refined, probably under instructions from Marco
Polo, but not with any critical exactness. And lastly, I believe,
that we have, imbedded in the Ramusian edition, the supplementary
recollections of the Traveller, noted down at a later period of his
life, but perplexed by repeated translation, compilation, and editorial
mishandling.
And the most important remaining problem in regard to the text of
Polo’s work is the discovery of the supplemental manuscript from which
Ramusio derived those passages which are found only in his edition. It
is possible that it may still exist, but no trace of it in anything
like completeness has yet been found; though when my task was all but
done I discovered a small part of the Ramusian peculiarities in a MS.
at Venice.[19]