文档介绍：Messer Marco Polo
Messer Marco Polo
By Donn-Byrne
(1889-1928)
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Messer Marco Polo
A NOTE ON THE AUTHOR OF
MESSER MARCO POLO
So Celtic in feeling and atmosphere are the stories of Donn Byrne that
many of his devotees e to believe that he never lived anywhere
but in Ireland. Actually, Donn Byrne was born in New York City. Shortly
after his birth, however, his parents took him back to the land of his
forefathers. There he was educated and came to know the people of
whom he wrote so magically. At Dublin University his love for the Irish
language and for a good fight won him many prizes, first as a writer in
Gaelic and second as the University's lightweight boxing champion.
After continuing his studies at the Sorbonne and the University of Leipzig,
he returned to the United States, where, in 1911, he married and
established a home in Brooklyn Heights. He earned his living, while
trying to write short stories, as an editor of dictionaries. Soon his tales
began to attract attention and he added to his collection of boxing prizes
many others won in short-story contests. When MESSER MARCO
POLO appeared in 1921 his reputation in the literary world was firmly
established. Thereafter, whatever he wrote was hailed enthusiastically by
his ever-growing public, until 1928, when his tragic death in an
automobile accident cut short the career of one of America's best-loved
story-tellers.
MESSER MARCO POLO
The message came to me, at the second check of the hunt, that a
countryman and a clansman needed me. The ground was heavy, the day
raw, and it was a drag, too fast for fun and too tame for sport. So I blessed
the countryman and the clansman, and turned my back on the field.
But when they told me his name, I all but fell from the saddle.
"But that man's dead!"
But he wasn't dead. He was in New York. He was traveling from
the craigs of Ulster to his grandson, who had an orange-grove on the
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Messer Marco Polo
Indian River, in Florida.