o, in the
handwriting of Columbus upon the fly-leaves of his copy of the
_Historia rerum ubique gestarum_ of AEneas Sylvius Piccolomini
(Pope Pius II.), published at Venice in 1477, in folio, and now
preserved in the Colombina at Seville. This Latin text is given
by Harrisse, in his _Fernand Colomb_, pp. 178-180, and also
(with more strict regard to the abbreviations of the original)
in his _Bibliotheca Americana Vetustissima--Additions_, Paris,
1872, pp. xvi.-xviii. Very likely Columbus had occasion to let
the original MS. go out of his hands, and so preserved a copy
of it upon the fly-leaves of one of his books. These same
fly-leaves contain extracts from Josephus and Saint Augustine.
The reader will rightly infer from my translation that the
astronomer's Latin was somewhat rugged and lacking in literary
grace. Apparently he was anxious to jot down quickly what he
had to say, and get back to his work.]

[Footnote 434: A sketch of this most memorable of maps is given
opposite. Columbus carried it with him upon his first voyage,
and shaped his course in accordance with it. Las Casas
afterwards had it in his possession (_Hist. de las Indias_,
tom. i. pp. 96, 279). It has since been lost, that is to say,
it may still be in existence, but nobody knows where. But it
has been so well described that the work of restoring its
general outlines is not difficult and has several times been
done. The sketch here given is taken from Winsor (_Narr. and
Crit. Hist._, ii. 103), who takes it from _Das Ausland_, 1867,
p. 5. Another restoration may be found in St. Martin's _Atlas_,
pl. ix. This map was the source of the western part of Martin
Behaim's globe, as given below, p. 422.]

[Footnote 435: All the description that follows is taken by
Toscanelli from the book of Marco Polo.]

[Footnote 436: On modern maps usually called Chang-chow, about
100 miles S. W. from Fou-chow.]

[Footnote 437: I have given an account of this mission, above,
p. 281.]

[Footnote 438: Eugenius IV., pope from 1431 to 1447.]

[Sidenote: Conclusion of Toscanelli's first letter to Columbus.]

"From[439] the city of Lisbon due west there are 26 spa