New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-01-12
SELECTIONS FROM THE MAIL.
TIE SPANISH LETTER or COLUMBUS.
BERNARD oUAR;TCm GIVES HIS REASONS FOR
MiINTAINING THE PRIORITY OF HIS
FnLiO COPY.

bEhN MID QCARtTCH GIVES HIS RbNncNo fO4s
MiINTAINING THE PRIORITY OF HIS
FOLIO COPY.
TO the Editor Of The Tribune.
SIF The letter Of Mr. BriytOn I've, IN your Issue OF
December ~ contains 30 many imputations both
direct and oblique against me that trust YOU will
give me space FOR public reply. In the fist place.
let me say that the following paragraphs express
deliberate conviction which has grown upon me IN the
course Of long comparison Of the folio columbus
letter in possession with the facsime' oil the TWO
small quartOs for which claim Of priority might be
avouchcd IL warranted by the absence of any tokens
to the contrary.
The folio WI, printed in spain. Two instances of
mode Of pcllng found outside Of spain establish
the extreme probability Of this assertion, namely
Sc real and "rro,7 (Which in the two quarto' are
real and rosr II printed within the Kingdom
Of Aragon and by some whose customary speech
wa, Catalan or Nalcncan: is shown by such words
as VENT grand flsc. mugcrs' which in the qait1'
are venid, granacs, fu-tis, mugeres.7
The Ambrosan quarto was reprinted from the
olio after correction of some errors and some 'a'ala
sms by an editor whose speech was eastman, OF
Who was accustomed to the 'astilhn language 'nc
Of the abbreviated worls in the folio l. " haWh)P"c
chat is to say annquc although. 1t was ampIhcd
by the ypeman 0f the quarto into aver que WHICH II
nonsense This was, Of course. not the work oil lhe
editor. bat Of foreign printer. who imagined that
haunl was equivalent to his own "haveH'' or
"avcre7 Another curiou, blunder Of the folio Is the
word "Colunya." which appears in the same form III
the quartOS. II !, nonsense when must nave OF y
mated with Columbus himself. writing In haste. In
storm tossed vessel the letter addressed to sanangel
ana dated Scbuary L. II J., found In the Latin text
~ "Coona.7 and In the spanish Ms al HluaIi'a' a.
"Ccluntnia7 when Columbus wrote ialcr copy
February i. and addressed 1t 10 sanchez he law
his blunder and corrected 1t. Thus tn Las C''aN
copy I'm the Ilitoiia dc Ia, ludlioD ana
the Naruagcn NJ. both give the true reading 'ollhc
IN Cataur' The point to observe here j. 'hi' 'He
CataDnan or Naeuciau rv-Which must be attributed
10 the typeman ot the folio, not to ColuHhu>-""'
reproduced IN the Aubr0-lan qnartp, simply because
the editor did not know VIVA; u make Of the >uang"
word "Cnuuya." lie did correct the bHlndcr Of Nec
dla,7 A. the beginning into the proper number thirty
three. Int there VA, difficulty In that matter since
the correct figure appear, In the postscript b'th lh
folio ana quaro Il any one look, at the fr-t plate
II the "tartas dc mdii,.7 he VIII see NO" easily
thIri, three. the wu.Hc of Columbus, VINO was 40
cahcgaphcr mi-ht h1v' been read - "N@Ht b"'
a compo,itnr who had thrt, three before him iu
type ,5uld NOT have Numbered into making II ~vc.utn"
Iu several piac., ir the folio We ind the word
"y,icuo" Ou,trad of "IayicruoJ IL was certainly
not rtcn bN CuuWhGr 80. ana can phN " a'-lE''H
TO "a Citaloniap typ'mauH unconscious error. GA"
word "iuvlctro~ iu spanish, "mveino- n itahn' J.
-lvcu- Iu Caialau There are many Instances 10 the
AM lt~ti tihtitD NNl 10 SNOW NrllN't''' '''''
spelling, ard rrrur> iu the folio, many other Instances
which show that pocliurtc, 10 the folio we're aIo"rt
10 stand. Tic Catilau.,m, Of the folio 40" "'l-i'H
pcrtcr. jobs u - comvp~it1r, they are oi-d''"DN
reduced u number. bat not altogether wiped away
ln Tire uirto Nevertheless, II is ca-i 10 see mat "h'
u the two book, Is compression 81 the "tH'F ''
fault they have 100 common mark thcm dcirl a~
forming. with Oh" ~.mau"a' W., e dl-'i't -l"iP H
them..yc,. The blund.t sudnd,' u'r " Aa dido'I
-p,Gcudo-,la- for "p.d cudo>,ltJ D, "qu.'"n sea,
-au~n -,a' TOR gucr -r,.' "qu,c: sta dd~ilhta
for Ill tnta~ and Other, II similar and "h-h are
a. h~ 90 lo'n the folio and The quai'' are Stmh,ah
enough ui tar connection. As ilt the place ll WINCH
the Nmbrp-an qUditI va printed. ! na, assert t'ai
4 va, uo, go spain. Initial / 3, VERY i'Pd'nlN lu
tl4t ,di'lYu uph' d 10, "J' WAdt'' ''m"""
enough ot 81 Ipa.u bat the >psl.,'d, bad a.o'id'
h-io.- 1850. rCHicl 900 tl'lt tom. col NP' '.Nt'
r.-.., fr.,ir ti,f 4 i.c ,oa~i Confusion .td 3D..
vailed vh"1-,'ir case va MY an l,,H ",'; 1at "a
~ va, never u-rd mi lci,t at th" i"-"y; 90
wort. ius "L- A.an che ~'ti' i9','u'l.
.c, -rrbe,, :, ~ .-,,o.,,.c ID jH- foiol.
tlr few ~ -c,c.al p,,ulniiu-, which Seem - h.nt
To- au italian pc-- ufrh'lH Maple d" having
Iir quart, vl..h tclya-, e." Nr i,o- ~
ohlar'ci g., peculiar. mt ptacr uo' I" discus l
a close Inc hrlao r.mp',--."n 81 t'' Amla'..inn
I,,e'.. we're 'rtr'.i,,i a., veu a-'a c,rou-, nrlr
humble. IF .rid t'.al It.'' .-'"@ { nav 80 I'D"
crml.-itp' puutD- r..' foreign hnt hndrd i.l'
ir 'ipr le'o.r ai- c}' Consequently rc I,,- 9"'ii'
j, ,p.ir.lo- d, th" Quu'rh folio aHd Oh" \m.'l a'
year. AID va. ,..u. -!' produced 90 IA.t. ,....,
hope tl,t tto g. .r.li"- o'-"-' atom, D. \ ,r '|ind
himself uly com. o. .-Afd tI"u do irt-'H1'Ir ana
just rruna.c a." na'anI lt.',i'o oI '.'n
AZ iir lt .'r DO. DID, .H,' ,u.
, d.r,i .t,.,..,.l, OF r,i. Wilton statement oi
Nr uara,,. ,en, app,u - ion-A"r in"' me
oua,i;c! ,opy~ b, -ro' -runc og"- y .ul; at t.'
"A s