Letter from Dimitri Ivanovich Dolgorouki (Dolgorukov), Madrid, to Washington Irving, 1829 January 23 : autograph manuscript signed.

He saw the Duke of Veraguas and obtained from him the assurance that he would be delighted to give Irving facsimiles of letters of Christopher Columbus and of the signatures of Ferdinand and Isabella that Irving would like for the new edition of his book on Columbus. Since most of the precious documents in the Duke's archives have already been published in the works of [Martín Fernández de] Navarrete, Irving must choose the document that he finds most interesting in itself or relative to his book. As for the portrait of Columbus, Dolgorouki has learned from Navarrete, from de Veraguas and from other Spaniards that the one considered to be the most likely authentic is the one he has enclosed in this letter. It was copied from a book printed in the 17th century that also contains portraits of all the great men living in Columbus's time. Navarrete read to Dolgorouki excerpts that he wrote himself from all the contemporary authors who described Columbus and attempted to prove that all the descriptions coincide perfectly with the engraving Dolgorouki is talking about. The lithograph Dolgorouki has sent with this letter is not very well executed. However, as soon as he has Irving's authorization, he will have an artist make a very good copy of the original. And he himself will supervise its execution. Dolgorouki says that his efforts on the subject of Cervantes have been less successful, for he has found Navarrete to be a highly educated man of letters but one who is as possessive of his education as he is educated. Navarrete has assured him that there is no possibility of procuring new or unpublished documents about Cervantes, and that all the research about him has been already published by him [Navarrete]. However, he gave Dolgorouki his own copy and asked him to give it to Irving. None of the houses where Cervantes lived in Madrid contains any trace of its original state, not even the one where he died. The work by Navarrete that Dolgorouki is sending Irving contains a very good facsimile of Cervantes and the only one that anyone has up to now procured of his handwriting. He apologizes for not being able to meet Irving's requests entirely successfully, but the things he has sent have been taken from the best source that Dolgorouki knows. Navarrete's third volume has not yet appeared. However, it has been printed and is lacking only a preface that Navarrete has not yet had time to write. He will send the work to Irving as soon as it comes out. The History Academy of Madrid is very pleased with Irving's reply to them, and Mr. Navarrete, who proposed Irving, said that it is only right that Irving be part of a group that includes Robertson and Boullerweek[?].