considered to be, any extraneous evidence, must either partake of
the same character, or have originated in some misconception or
error. What exists upon the subject consists principally of two
pieces, which have only recently been regarded of any importance for
this purpose, and in connection with which the others may be
considered.

One of them is an anonymous paper entitled in full, "Discourse of a
great sea-captain, a Frenchman of the town of Dieppe, as to the
voyages made to the new land of the West Indies, called New France,
from the 40 Degrees to the 47 Degrees under the Arctic pole, and
concerning the land of Brazil, Guinea, the island of St. Lawrence
and that of Sumatra," the other is a map of the world, bearing the
name of Hieronimo de Verrazzano.

The discourse of the French captain does not, any more than the
letter of Verrazzano, exist in the original; nor has any copy of it
ever been produced, except in a printed translation by Ramusio in
the same volume, as that in which his version of that letter
appears, and immediately following it. Ramusio states that it was
written in 1539, as may he inferred from the letter itself in its
present form, and that he had translated it from the French,
grieving much that he did not know the name of the author, because
not giving it he seemed to do wrong to the memory of so valiant and
noble a gentleman. It is evident, however, upon comparing the
description, which it gives, of a voyage made from Dieppe to
Sumatra, with the original journal, first brought to light and
published a few years ago, of such a voyage made by Jean Parmentier
in 1529, that this discourse was written by some one of the persons
engaged in that expedition.[Footnote: Voyages et decouvertes des