* The paragraph that appears in the original is the following: ‘One of the greatest poets of our times, Don Ramon de Campoamor, whose glory can only be compared to that of the painter Horace Vernet…’ I have chosen to moderate such a strange and hyperbolic judgement that could adversely affect the reader’s view of Don Joan’s personality, a man of culture and talent, and yet also a man of his time. (Editor’s note).