My Travels in the East and West

Today I present to my fellow countrymen the summary of my travels in the East and West of the earth, which took up thirteen consecutive years of my time, and required from me a steadfast effort that lasted for about four and a half months of each summer of that year. The average cost of what it cost me was three hundred pounds each year, I mean more than four thousand pounds, despite the frugality, deprivation and keenness to save, I did my best. During all of that, I traveled more than two hundred thousand kilometers, that is, the distance of circumnavigating the globe five times. I recorded all my observations in detail in ten books, which had the commendable effect on the sons of the present generation that I was aiming for and keeping in mind, and now I sleep with peace of mind; I see many of my children who have been influenced by what I have written, and they have taken the risk of moving and traveling to see the world as it really is and to broaden their horizons of thought. And now this era has become a great help to them in that, as means of transportation have become numerous, their fares have become cheap, and their speed has increased, in a way that was not available to people like me yesterday.