The Voyage of the Verrazzano | Page 7

As
we are restricted to these two copies as the sole authority for the letter,
and are, therefore, governed in any conclusion on this subject by what
they teach, it must be determined that the letter in Ramusio is a version
of that contained in the Carli manuscript. This suggestion is not new. It
was made by Mr. Greene in his monograph on Verrazzano, without his
following it to the conclusion to which it inevitably leads. If the version
in Ramusio be a recomposition of the Carli copy, an important step is
gained towards determining the origin of the Verrazzano letter, as in

that case the inquiry is brought down to the consideration of the
authenticity of the Carli letter, of which it forms a part. But before
proceeding to that question, the reasons assigned by Mr. Greene, and
some incidental facts stated by him in connection with them, should be
given. He says:
"The Strozzi Library is no longer in existence; but the manuscripts of
that collection passed into the hands of the Tuscan government, and
were divided between the Magliabechian and Laurentian libraries of
Florence. The historical documents were deposited in the former.
Among them was the cosmographical narration of Verrazzano
mentioned by Tiraboschi, and which Mr. Bancroft expresses a desire to
see copied for the Historical Society of New York. It is contained in a
volume of Miscellanies, marked "Class XIII. Cod.89. Verraz;" and
forms the concluding portion of the letter to Francis the First, which is
copied at length in the same volume. It is written in the common
running hand of the sixteenth century (carrattere corsivo), tolerably
distinct, but badly pointed. The whole volume, which is composed of
miscellaneous pieces, chiefly relating to contemporary history, is
evidently the WORK OF THE SAME HAND.
"Upon collating this manuscript with that part of the letter which was
published by Ramusio, we were struck with the differences in language
which run through every paragraph of the two texts. In substance there
is no important difference [Footnote: In this statement Mr. Greene was
mistaken, as will be manifested in a comparison of the two texts
hereafter given, in which the difference of language will also appear.]
except in one instance, where by an evident blunder of the transcriber,
bianchissimo is put for branzino. There is something so peculiar in the
style of this letter, as it reads, in the manuscript of the Magliabechian,
that it is impossible to account for its variations from Ramusio, except
by supposing that this editor worked the whole piece over anew,
correcting the errors of language upon his own authority. [Footnote: Mr.
Greene adds in a note to this passage: "He did so also with the
translation of Marco Polo. See Apostolo Zeno, Annot. alla Bib. Ital. del
Fontanini, tom. II, p. 300; ed. di Parma. 1804." There is another
instance mentioned by Amoretti in the preface to his translation of
Pigafetta's journal of Magellan's voyage, and that was with Fabre's
translation of the copy of the journal given by Pigafetta to the mother

of Francis I. Premier voyage autour du monde. xxxii. (Jansen, Paris l'an
ix.)] These errors indeed are numerous, and the whole exhibits a
strange mixture of Latinisms [Footnote: An instance of these Latinisms
is the signature "Janus Verrazzanus," affixed to the letter.] and absolute
barbarisms with pure Tuscan words and phrases. The general cast of it,
however, is simple and not unpleasing. The obscurity of many of the
sentences is, in a great measure, owing to false pointing.
"The cosmographical description forms the last three pages of the letter.
It was doubtless intentionally omitted by Ramusio, though it would be
difficult to say why. Some of the readings are apparently corrupt; nor,
ignorant as we are of nautical science, was it in our power to correct
them. There are also some slight mistakes, which must be attributed to
the transcriber.
"A letter which follows that of Verrazzano, gives, as it seems to us, a
sufficient explanation of the origin of this manuscript. It was written by
a young Florentine, named Fernando Carli, and is addressed from
Lyons to his father in Florence. It mentions the arrival of Verrazzano at
Dieppe, and contains several circumstances about him, which throw a
new though still a feeble light upon parts of his history, hitherto wholly
unknown. It is by the discovery of this letter, that we have been enabled
to form a sketch of him, somewhat more complete than any which has
ever yet been given.
"The history of both manuscripts is probably as follows: Carli wrote to
his father, thinking, as he himself tells it, that the news of Verrazzano's
return would give great satisfaction to many of their friends in Florence.
He added at the same time, and this also we learn from