MARCO POLO.
"What do you make out of Marco Polo's book?" said the Doctor to the boys, after they had devoted a sufficient time to its perusal.
"We find it very interesting," Frank replied. "The style is quaint, and the information it contains is curious. Evidently it is a true story, and the man must have actually gone over the ground he describes, or it would never be so accurate."
"It is some time since I read it," responded Doctor Bronson, "and perhaps you had best tell me about it. By so doing you will refresh my memory, and at the same time fix the information in your own minds."
Thus encouraged, the boys proceeded to tell the story of Marco Polo to Doctor Bronson, just as though he had never heard it. The Doctor was a patient listener, and both Frank and Fred showed, by the completeness of their account, that they had thoroughly read the book.
"To begin with," said Frank, "Marco Polo was a Venetian adventurer. His father was named Nicolo Polo, and he—Marco—had an uncle named Maffeo. Marco was born in the year 1254, and six years later his father and uncle started on a journey to Constantinople and the southern part of Russia. They were merchants, and their business carried them into Central Asia, and then to Cathay, where they spent some time with the khan, or emperor, of that country."
"And what is Cathay?" said Dr. Bronson, with a smile.
"Cathay is the ancient name for China," Fred answered, "and even to-day it is sometimes called so. Do you remember how Tennyson, in one of his poems, says,
"'Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay;'
"and I am sure you once told me that the Russian name of China is 'Kitie,' with the accent on the last syllable. That is pretty near the sound of Cathay, and undoubtedly came from it."