Note 1 — Book I. (continued 2)

"The term translated 'prince' perhaps needs some explanation. A Russian prince may be a bootblack or a ferryman. The word kniaz denotes a descendant of any of the hundreds of petty rulers, who before the time of the unification of Russia held the land. They all claim descent from the semi-mythical Rurik; and as every son of a kniaz bears the title, it may be easily imagined how numerous they are. The term 'prince,' therefore, is really a too high-sounding title to represent it."—Nathan Haskell Dole.