Note 126 — Chapter XVIII · CHINESE WATERWAYS.

Marco Polo spent seventeen years at the court of Kublai, the great Khan of the Tartars. The first edition of his travels appeared in 1496, and the work has been translated into several languages. He gave a better description of China than had previously been written, and although much of what he wrote was at the time doubted, his narratives have been largely verified by subsequent travellers. Colonel Yule has published an admirable edition of Polo’s travels for English readers.