_Badashan, Pashai,
Kerman_, instead of _Badascian, Pasciai, Querman_, and so on.

And when a little trouble has been taken to ascertain the true form and
force of Polo's spelling of Oriental names and technical expressions, it
will be found that they are in the main as accurate as Italian lips and
orthography will admit, and not justly liable either to those disparaging
epithets[4] or to those exegetical distortions which have been too often
applied to them. Thus, for example, _Cocacin, Ghel_ or _Ghelan, Tonocain,
Cobinan, Ondanique, Barguerlac, Argon, Sensin, Quescican, Toscaol,
Bularguci, Zardandan, Anin, Caugigu, Coloman, Gauenispola, Mutfili,
Avarian, Choiach_, are not, it will be seen, the ignorant blunderings
which the interpretations affixed by some commentators would imply them to
be, but are, on the contrary, all but perfectly accurate utterances of the
names and words intended.

The _-tcheou_ (of French writers), _-choo_, _-chow_, or _-chau_[5] of
English writers, which so frequently forms the terminal part in the names
of Chinese cities, is almost invariably rendered by Polo as _-giu_. This
has frequently in the MSS., and constantly in the printed editions, been
converted into _-gui_, and thence into _-guy_. This is on the whole the
most constant canon of Polo's geographical orthography, and holds in
_Caagiu_ (Ho-chau), _Singiu_ (Sining-chau), _Cui-giu_ (Kwei-chau),
_Sin-giu_ (T'sining-chau), _Pi-giu_ (Pei-chau), _Coigangiu_
(Hwaingan-chau), _Si-giu_ (Si-chau), _Ti-giu_ (Tai-chau), _Tin-giu_
(Tung-chau), _Yan-giu_ (Yang-chau), _Sin-giu_ (Chin-chau), _Cai-giu_
(Kwa-chau), _Chinghi-giu_ (Chang-chau), _Su-giu_ (Su-chau), _Vu-giu_
(Wu-chau), and perhaps a few more. In one or two instances only (as
_Sinda-ciu_, _Caiciu_) he has _-ciu_ instead of _-giu_.

The chapter-headings I have generally taken from Pauthier's Text, but they
are no essential part of the original work, and they have been slightly
modified or enlarged where it seemed desirable.

* * * * *

"Behold! I see the Haven nigh at Hand,
To which I meane my wearie Course to bend;
Vere the maine Shete, and beare up with the Land,
The which afore is fayrly to be kend,
And seemeth safe from Storms that may offend.
* * * * *
There eke my Feeble Barke a while may stay,
Till mery Wynd and Weather call her thence away."
--THE FAERIE QUEENE, I. xii. 1.

[Illustra