It has long been my desire to write a Life of Cervantes. When this book was first begun, there existed in English, so far as I know, only the pastiche of Roscoe and the trifling monograph by Mrs. Oliphant; the former merely a rough translation, patched and boggled, from Navarrete; the latter too slight and sketchy for any but very young readers. While correcting the last chapter of the present volume, I have seen - vidi tantum - the more recent work of Mr. Henry Watt, at a period, however, too late to be of any service to me. I have, therefore, contented myself with glancing hurriedly through his pages: and, differing as I do from some of his opinions, I venture to hope that there may be room for the two volumes side by side.