His court to
undertake the job, promising them a Captain and other help,
"Cheveitain et aide." This has fairly puzzled the Tuscan, who
converts these (p. 186) into two Tartar tribes, "quegli d' Aide
e quegli di Caveita."
So also we have lievre for hare transferred without change; lait,
milk, appearing as laido instead of latte; tres, rendered as
"three"; bue, "mud," Italianised as buoi, "oxen," and so forth.
Finally, in various places when Polo is explaining Oriental terms we
find in the Tuscan MS. "cioe a dire in Francesco."
The blunders mentioned are intelligible enough as in a version from
the French; but in the description of the Indian pearl-fishery we
have a startling one not so easy to account for. The French says, "the
divers gather the sea-oysters (hostrige de Mer), and in these the
pearls are found." This appears in the Tuscan in the extraordinary
form that the divers catch those fishes called Herrings (Aringhe),
and in those Herrings are found the Pearls!
[5] As examples of these Italianisms: "Et ont del olio de la lanpe dou
sepolchro de Crist"; "L'Angel ven en vision pour mesajes de Deu a
un Veschevo qe mout estoient home de sante vite"; "E certes il
estoit bien beizongno"; "ne trop caut ne trop fredo"; "la crense"
(credenza); "remort" for noise (rumore) "inverno"; "jorno";
"dementique" (dimenticato); "enferme" for sickly; "leign" (legno);
"devisce" (dovizia); "ammalaide" (ammalato), etc.
