em letters in which he expressed his desire that
Europeans learned in the arts and sciences should be sent for the
instruction of his people. Then they were reluctantly dismissed, with
gifts of gold and spices, and after many perilous adventures finally
reached their home in Venice. They had been gone almost ten years, and
when Nicolo Polo first saw his son, on his return to Venice, Marco was
a youth at school, well advanced in his studies.

Two years later, when Marco was about twelve, the three Polos set out
on their return to Cathay, accompanied by two friars, who were
"endowed with ample powers and privileges, the authority to ordain
priests and bishops, and to grant absolution in all cases, as fully as
if the pope were personally present." They took with them rich
presents for the khan, including a bottle of precious oil from the
holy sepulchre in Jerusalem, which was supposed to possess miraculous
virtues. The journey was commenced in or about the year 1271, but,
owing to innumerable and vexatious delays on the way, the Polos did
not reach the court of the grand khan until the spring of 1275. They
were more than three years in making the journey, but in spite of
difficulties and dangers these remarkable men persisted until the
object of their travels was accomplished. The friars had become
alarmed at the prospect of peril to themselves, and early in the
undertaking beat a retreat to Acre, so the three Venetians alone
arrived at Chambalu, and delivered to the grand khan the letters and
presents from the pope. They were received with extreme cordiality by
the khan, who was especially pleased with young Marco, and accepted
the presents with delight, the holy oil from Jerusalem being
reverently cherished.

Marco was introduced to the khan by Nicolo, as "your majesty's servant
and my son"; but had he been a son of the ruler himself he could not
have received greater honors than were bestowed upon him by the
emperor. Having a natural aptitude for acquiring languages, he soon
could read and write four different dialects, and being possessed of
great intelligence and shrewdness withal, he was sent by the khan on
important missions to various parts of his kingdom. He acquitted
himself so well on these embassies, some of which required his absence
from the capital for many months, and he brought back such interesting
accounts of the people he met and their customs, that he was
constantly employed.

In this manner he acq