Letters Written During A Journey In Spain And A Short Residence In Portugal, Vol I. PREFACE. In the following letters I have related what I have seen, of the anecdotes with which they abound, there are none of which I myself doubt the authenticity.. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.