The death of this illustrious man, which occurred some time after the
present work was begun, has left a void in his country not easy to be
filled; for he was zealously devoted to letters, and few have done more to
extend the knowledge of her colonial history. Far from an exclusive
solicitude for his own literary projects, he was ever ready to extend his
sympathy and assistance to those of others. His reputation as a scholar
was enhanced by the higher qualities which he possessed as a man,--by
his benevolence, his simplicity of manners, and unsullied moral worth.
My own obligations to him are large; for from the publication of my first
historical work, down to the last week of his life, I have constantly
received proofs from him of his hearty and most efficient interest in the
prosecution of my historical labors; and I now the more willingly pay
this well-merited tribute to his deserts, that it must be exempt from all
suspicion of flattery.
In the list of those to whom I have been indebted for materials, I must,
also, include the name of M. Ternaux-Compans, so well known by his
faithful and elegant French versions of the Munoz manuscripts; and that
of my friend Don Pascual de Gayangos, who, under the modest dress of
translation, has furnished a most acute and learned commentary on
Spanish Arabian history,--securing for himself the foremost rank in that
difficult department of letters, which has been illumined by the labors of
a Masdeu, a Casiri, and a Conde.
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