The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-04-11
NEW LIeHr CIV VKRRAxxAN0.
yr... As osssrssassaI JssEasL

YVsm ~ cseSraDassal Jo1FnaL
he name Oe the Fioroatlno navigator
Giovanni dA vsrraxEanO has lately been
brought before the public IN connection
With the Hudson cslebratioa a. kSw Iork
iron the fact 'TOr such q has ssasrally
been conceded to be. in spite % sttempss
TO discredit verraRsanOis narrativol that
Hudson had been foreatallsd In has dis
es-s=S &c TIE Hudson RiysE Sy Inc earlier
voyagsr who sailed IN lAst IN the service
Of the King of France A. the time Of the
, oelsbratiOn the FlOgentine vas duly hon
0cSd by the Italian colO1y in New York BY
the inauguration Of q monument In that
city. white simultaneously In Rome DIS
covsry Of much Importance for the knoSl-
edge % his voyage vas made In the brias-
ing 10 light Of prev iously unknown version
of the explorers report. which besides con
| nrminR in q most satisfactory way the au-
theatictty Of ths voyage adds some Nalu-
able dstAlln to the accounts previously
available. A full discussion Of this inter
esttng md. With a verbal reprint OF the
document and racsimilss Of portions OF
q. was eoatribu,sd by signor A. Bacchiani
TO the BolisstRO % the Italian 0eoeraphteal
Society fOT Hovembsr Last.
! Hitherto a. 10 well known. our knowledge
| Of the voyage has dspended almost enitreiy
ON . manuscript version Of VerraRsanOs
letter 20 the Preach King preserved In the
NatiOnal Library a. FLORENCE and on printed
version Of the same report Included by
Ramusio in his Collection Of Voyages. :
The nsw manuscript. though cotucidiug
In the main With the Floreacs version.
! proves 20 be Of far more value by reason
| No; Only % i;s greater aG,hsaste.sy but OF
| the considerable number OF additional
1 notes Incor poratsd In the original draft.
By . closely reasoned argument siGnor
Bacchisni shows the great probability
Lao Gaa.at
! by inheritance into the hands Of Count
GiuIio de Cellere. was once the property
\ Of verraZzano's contemporary. the cele-
bFated Paulus JoViu.. and also that portion
az least 10 In the actual handwriting Of the
navigator himself. while the body Of the
letter l. in the formal hand Of an amanu-
ensis. the corrections and additions are
In q more running hand, the same in which
the address Of the despatch was written.
This runs. a coma ride Tedaldi o q Thomaso
sartini mercante in Leone Mandaretelo
q BonacOrso Ruscellay Now Lyon VAS
a. the time q great business centre much
freauented by Italian merchants. Who had
dealings with all the principal cities Of
western and Sout hern Europe The mer-
chants named would thus afford the most
natural and easy means Of forwarding
the despatch 10 Italy. Rucellai. the cor
respondent in Rome to whom II vas 40 he
delivered. was . well known banker SbOes
partner was none other than Bernardo
de verrazzano. no doubt Q relative of the
navigator bet ween whose family and his
own int innate relat ions are known on other
grounds TO have existed Everything there
] fore points 90 the absolutely contempors-
neous character Of the manuscript. and the
! Internal evidences Of authenticity are no
! less striking
10 has been mainly owing o the American
! writer Murphy that doubts ~ TO the Kenu-
ineness OF vsrraKzAno's voyage have been
entertained. and " vas from the imper-
! fectlons and inaccuracies of the previously
known versions that he derived his chief
arguments II - thus important 20 and
/ that most OF the difficulties disappear
I when the much more accurate version
! now brought to light - Examined. The
/ iilit~rate scribe Who copied the Florence
I version has not only PLAYED havoc With
. the sense and W,ih the spelling oft he names
! but mas IN cn- Ease al least sXactlv reversed
I the meaning Of the navigator Among
The examples ~ utter peTversiOn Of the
sense perhaps the most striking - that
B IN which he words -iio t"Trestrs.- occur
ring IN the manuscript have been
changed 10 the Meaningless phrase 10
equestre which has naturally been a hope
less puzzle hitherto Another important
correct ION tend ~ 10 place vsrTaKEAno's
cOsnoRrAp hicAl not iOns IN . new ana more
favorable lgft refers - passage near
the -nd 81 the report m ~hch the cont
mental character Of The lands discovered
p - discussed 80 far from sD-aklnR Of
America a. .cOnEiung~ndo aIla Asa -
Africa the SHpiorer positively asserted
. The Independence of Amertcs from either
% thOs. rOutiu~nts h,a words really hons
, mon gtgugendo ala Asia Ne all africa %
Ne vas thus among he hr-i to rerognlke
. fully the tr,.s character Of the New World
though hardly a. SiGnOr Bacchiant sug-
ge-t- to h. possible quite Ne first to do so
The marginal and other additions IN me
hand supposed 20 b- NerrAzzano are
, importaR, a. containing definite reference
to ne naming % places some OF Which
subsequently, appeared m maps like tha'
. Of MaggioiO. 1877 recognized a. based
. on me voyage NJ iS2,. though no men'icn
/ Of the names 10 he found IN ne FIor-
en,e version lhe mOst important note
: - perhaps that rsiaitnR IN the supposed
. isihmua separating The Atlantic FROM the
. indian ocean which - the mos char
AciAri@r'r feature ~ the gsFTazzanean
group Of maps u completely dtsproves
I II that we're needed he theory Of Murphy
! that Inc narrative NJ The VOYAGE had been
invented on he bass Of Diego Ribsro :
/ map which gives no Indication Of such 40
isrhmus In many Other WAYS tho new
manuscript rehs bilrAte. the crsdfr Of me
! navigator and It's discovery IL testimony
to The value 81 celebrations like that 81 las
I 10 historical questions are not Unfreaaeativ
the means Of bringing important documents
, 10 liGhi