110 



THE AMEHICAN NATURALIST [Vol. LIII 



and from it much of the data following have be^n ob- 

 tained. Only one copy of the Libretto is known in the 

 world, and it is preserved in the San Marco Library at 

 Venice. Thacher traced the original manuscript copy 

 of the Libretto to the ownership of a man named Sneyd, 

 living at Newcastle-on-Tyne, but was refused even the 

 sight of it much less a chance to make photographs. 

 However the authorities of the San Marco Library were 

 men of different caliber, and Thacher reproduces in his 

 book the whole Libretto page by page. And I in turn 

 reproduce here as text-figure 4 a part of Thacher 's re- 

 production of the page giving the Eeversus story. It is 

 from chapter XV. 



Trouarono dapoi p'.u auati al" 

 cuni pcPcadori i certe fue barche de uno Icgno cauo come zopoli ch pe 

 fcauio.In qfto m5 haucuao lin pefcc duns forma a noi incognita tb ha 

 el corpo d aguilla;&: miror;6^ fupra ala teRa ha ccrca pellc tenenffima 

 che par una borfa gddc.Etcjfto lo ticono ligato co una trerola ala fpo 

 da dcUbercha p che el no po pntir ui(ta de actc:6^ coc uedeo alchun pe 

 fee grade o bifij fcudelcra Ii lafTiio la treroIaA' qllo fiibiro corre como 

 una faeca al pefcc o ala bifciarburadoli adoffo qlla pelle ch tien fopra la 

 icfla CO laqi tic ra'to forre rhfc^par no pofrono:6^ non li laflTa fi no! tiri 

 for de laqidql fut iro fentiro laire lafla la prcda.6^ li pefcadori pf^o apiV 

 gUrc.Ec { pntia de li nfi pfero iiii.gran caladre.leq e donorono all nfi p 

 cibodilicarifTimo. 



to the new world ever printed, and as such is of great 

 interest to scientific men for more reasons than those 

 merely pertaining to this article ; hence it may be of in- 

 terest for us to consider for a few minutes its history, 



Prtci' Martyr, born in Italy, was a courtier and literary 

 mail i.r hiuh standing in the entourage of Ferdinand and 

 Isabella. Tliaclicr says: "Peter Martyr d'Anghera may 

 bo said to lia\r composed the matter in this little book, 

 writing- it in Latin from a series of letters addressed by 



