_With Literary and Historical Illustrations by_ THOS. ROSCOE, Esq.
It is not strange that the writings of Cervantes, with the exception
of Don Quixote, should have so long remained unknown, since it was
generally asserted that “the Spaniards had but one good book, that
one which had made all the others ridiculous.” The _chef-d’œuvre_ is
translated into every language of Europe, while the same author’s
plays and novels are sealed against all but Spanish scholars; and his
chivalrous life, previous to this publication, buried in oblivion to
which the anarchy of Spain had consigned it. Cervantes flourished in
the reign of Philip II., and was contemporary with Lope de Vega.