Telegram-herald., 1890-01-21

Adutic voyage. during M. career IN
Spain and Portugal OF the first two
nothing is left but hearsay, excepting
dates and names.
The first began MAY 90, 1897, or Nav
10, l4s7. or May 20. 1870. and was un-
dertaken for the king Of Spain.
The second vas started under the
same auspices on or aoout May l6, 1897.
from the port OF Cadlz.
In these ne probably discovered Cuba
and the larger isles Of the West Indies.
His third, and the one on which his
fame will ever rest, was undertaken for
the king Of Portugal and started from
Lisbon on MAY "a, 1901. Il consumed
sixteen months, during which time Yes
puccius gathered a vast amount Of in
formation, and, it mus. be added, misin-
formation.
Shortly after his return TO Portugal
he wrote the celebrated lc.ter, Of which
portions are given below, and which
has never before been published in En-
glish. The original Is lost AT the time
he wrote it he had it translated from
Italian, which he spoke, 10 Latin, the
time. Within a few weeks after its re-
ception BY Lorenzo dc Medici, it was
given 20 Jehan Lambert, the greatest
illuminatOr. enCrosser and printer Of his
age. for reproduction and preservation.
How many copies were made is un-
known. There are two or three in this
country. and less than dozen in Europe.
80 ~ ~ .r,f -
Edmund A. Bonaventure, a famous
bibiiophile OF New York city, from which
the illustrations are taken. The leaves
of the manuscript are Of the heaviest
parchment. and the colors are as brilliant
today as when first applied by the brush.
Another bat much poorer copy. recently
sold at Frankfort-on-the-M Main, brought
$500.
The book opens with an illuminated
title page IN gold. ultramarins and scar
let, Of which the following picture may
give a fair idea.
Then follow nine pages Of closely writ
ten matter. in which the queer Latin Of
the Sixteenth century Is made half unin-
telligible by seuseless contractions. ab-
breviations and arbitrary symbols. The
difficulty encountered In reading this old
black letter cannot Be appreciated by any
one unless hs tries 20 decipher the pages.
At the close OF the letter is what Is
called a tail piece. a symbolic design
which. while It NAV have conveyed a
clear idea % its maker. Is more than in
prchensi5le today. So far as the
story is concerned lee Alberico Nesp1c-
cigs speak f1r himself
In former DAYS it was ny fortune 70
write unto thee fully concerning my r.
turn from those regions which with the
fleet and hv the suggestion aud com
mand of his most serene ma Isstv the
kin- Of Portugal. We have sought ouf
and discovered. These regions n is al
lo-vabis 70 stvia the View World. Since
among our ancestors there was no knowl-
edEs concerning those things. the matter
vii prove most novel CD an who hear it.
For rhis thing differs from the opinion q
our snfiquaries. since the greater part
Of them declare that beyond the eq1iuoc-
nsl Inc equator and toward the south
there a NJ contiuert. hut a sea as lsrEe
~ thsf which ther have termed the A.
lanuc. sni If any nj tHem have admitted
thst a continent is there. they have Do
med for many reasons that tns land is
hati.able Bus my asst VOYAGE has
shown thaf this opinion cf theirs IS falss
and altogether contrary 90 truth sinc-
ln taoss rarts tovsris the south I have
fourd a continent inhabited vlrh more
numerous peou - ard animals han p
Tr-rre Az-s. ~ A-rica and moreover an
atrr~er- ere n'ilier ard more agreeable
tnao RI saT -rher region knows '7 as.
as r1u vil Der-rivs later or. whers -
describe th~ -bfsf pof-ts The matters
r-c~e ~-rtav - roti-- snc r1eraoTv
obich we're seer ~ heard hv us IN this
new world vi aprrar r-'ow
On ere fHh ar ~ tl's u,~nrh - Nav
Il, ere ~sar f5af ~ serartsd fr-u Is
son r. fhe -o~~sn5 ~ the sing wi-s
-f~,, shfns -r ~ srsa 0rs 7-vaEs r
49, -~s+ We --'s3 t--~7~ss tte -c-+1
.... -.u~er ~ vhich re7srr >-ss ss f,l
.-,r u-s- ar thrcush tse F-r-1nase
s. ,s tsrv --s-e Formerly -sife3 1ur
rv'e,i tl,s Grsaf Csrsrv Islsrris.
-. arr II PIE tEi-i c.i--ate sn6 'r t,e
r-s f-rztss ~ef TAerce
za rhs ooszn. 'rs ssl-t.s rl,- r aose
ssore 81 Area snS . par = E15lczlz.