Page:The Story of Mexico.djvu/470

 Edited for Boys and Girls, with Explanatory Notes and Comments, by, author of "Boy Travellers in the East," "The Young Nimrod," etc. Quarto, with over two hundred illustrations. Uniform with the "Boy Plutarch" and "Heroditus," pp. 530

It was from Marco Polo that Europe first learned of the existence of Japan, and from him, too, it derived its first knowledge of the Land of Darkness in the Far North, and of the Arctic Ocean beyond. His description ranges from Siberia to Ceylon, and from the Adriatic Sea to the Pacific Ocean. The story of his travels was received with incredulity, and he died while Europe was gravely doubting its truth. It has remained for later generations to establish the correctness of his narrative and accord him the praise he so richly deserves.