Impressions of Spain

The present volume is not put forward as an exhaustive or profound study of Spain and the Spaniards, but as a simple record of impressions of people the author has met and places he visited during a series of many journeyings in different parts of that greatly interesting and much-misunderstood country. These impressions were meant, in the beginning, to form a small collection of sketches and appreciations; and, although the number has increased beyond the limits of the author's original intentions, the design and scope of the book have not been revised or amplified. The result of this desultory system of working is a string of disconnected chapters—the first fruits of fugitive notebook jottings collected over several years—rather than a concentrated and comprehensive survey of the subject as a whole.