DEDICATION and PREFACE.

original: "byfonder; alfoo oordeelde ik..." In particular; thus I judged, having learned thoroughly the mysteries of their way of life during the time of my nearly six-year slavery through frequent interaction with the Turks, that it would not be useless to restore this important piece, in order to share a more concise and true knowledge of those peoples with my worthy fellow countrymen.

And since I have learned everything through my own experience, I shall also put nothing on paper except that of which I am an eyewitness, so as to write nothing but the simple truth, free from all contradiction. And for that reason, I have also added to the back of my travelogue the Passports of the most prominent Counts and Governors of the Kingdom of Hungary, which serve sufficiently as truthful witnesses of my experiences. And so that this travelogue of mine might be useful and beneficial to the reader, especially those who must trade and interact with the Turks, I have added several Turkish words that are most commonly used in everyday interaction.

I wished to say this little bit beforehand, hoping and humbly begging, Your Noble, Honorable, Highly-learned and Gracious Sirs, that you will not take it amiss that I wished to dedicate this work of mine to You; for I judged that this could be the first trial piece with which I must show my gratitude for so many favors enjoyed from You. I shall further not fail to pray to God Almighty for You, that He may be pleased to bless You in soul and body, remaining with much Respect

NICOLAUS SCHMIDT.