PREFACE
TO THE
SECOND EDITION.
That a work like the present should appear in a Second Edition,
implies such a reception from the Public as demands the most sincere
gratitude on my part. I am anxious, therefore, to make the only
return I have in my power, by adding, as I conceive, some value
to the work itself; not, indeed, from any material corrections,
but by stamping the facts and descriptions which it contains, with
the character of complete authenticity. The readers of _Doblado’s
Letters_ may be sure that in them they have the real Memoirs of
the person whose name is subscribed to this address. Even the
disguise of that name was so contrived, as to be a mark of identity.
_Leucadio_ being derived from a Greek root which means _white_, the
word _Doblado_ was added, in allusion to the repetition of my family
name, translated into Spanish, which my countrymen have forced upon
us, to avoid the difficulty of an orthography and sound, perfectly at
variance with their language. In short, Doblado and his inseparable
friend, the Spanish clergyman, are but one and the same person; whose
origin, education, feelings, and early turn of thinking, have been
made an introduction to the personal observations on his country,
which, with a deep sense of their kindness, he again lays before the
British Public.