For the past twenty years I have been in the habit of visiting Paris,
not for the purpose of becoming acquainted with the city--to see it once
is enough; nor do I go in order to meet French authors, as, for the most
part, they consider themselves so immeasurably above Spaniards that
there is no way in which a self-respecting person can approach them. I
go to meet the members of the Spanish colony, which includes some types
which are most interesting.
I have gathered a large number of stories and anecdotes in this way,
some of which I have incorporated in my books.