Of the _picaresque_ stories, _Lazarillo de Tormes_, though imperfect and without a proper conclusion, must still be regarded as the first in merit as it was the first in time. It has been the model for all its numerous successors, just as the _Amadis of Gaul_ of the previous fashion had been the model for the romances of chivalry. For gaiety of humour, the easy and natural tone of life and simplicity of colouring, it has been held in great favour ever since its appearance; by no one relished more than by the author of _Don Quixote_. The next in date was _Guzman de Alfarache_, by Mateo Aleman, a native of Seville, of which the first part was published in 1599. This, though almost as popular as its predecessor, and even more frequently reprinted and translated, has been much over-praised. It is, in truth, a somewhat arid and tedious performance, written in a poor style. The hero is less interesting than his class, for he is not only a rogue but a hypocrite, who pretends to deceive himself as much as he deceives others, and aspires to be good and pious, which makes him less picturesque and more immoral than if he were a _picaro_ proper and true. Next to follow in that line was the _Picara Justina_, published in 1605, the work of a Dominican whose real name was Andrés Perez. For the better prevention of scandal, Father Perez, being likewise the author of divers devotional books, assumed the name of Lopez de Ubeda. Justina has nothing to recommend her, not even her viciousness. She is false, affected, and silly, and worthy to end, as she does, by becoming the wife of Guzman de Alfarache. The book is perhaps the worst of its class, in art as in ethics, being made additionally nauseous by the moral warnings and tags of virtuous sentiment with which the chapters conclude. Perhaps anterior to both _Guzman de Alfarache_ and _Picara Justina_, though not published till 1613, were Cervantes' two sketches of _picaresque_ life, _Rinconete y Cortadillo_ and _Los Perros de Mahudes_, the scene of which is laid in the Triana, the suburb of Seville, then, as now, the favourite home and head-quarters of the _picaresque_ gentry. There is internal evidence to show that both these stories, which are clearly drawn from real life and actual experience, were written before the death of Philip II., in 1598. Cervantes resided at Seville with his family between 1588 and 1598, and there is little doubt that the picture he draws of Seville low life is of this period. _Rinconete y Cortadillo_, in all the qualities of the higher art, must be placed at the head of this species of literature. Although only a sketch, it is brimful of humour, wit, and life, drawn with the same delicate and masterly hand which has given us _Don Quixote_. What is admirable in the picture is the skill with which a repulsive subject is treated, so that, while preserving all its truth, it is redeemed from grossness. There is not a word which is offensive to taste; yet the thieves, the bullies, the _bona robas_, and the other delightful but most improper people, move and breathe and talk as _full of life as if they lived indeed_. In others of his books, Cervantes has shown his wide and profound knowledge--doubtless born of actual experience--of this lower order of humanity, as in his _Rufian Dichoso_, the _Fortunate Bully_, and in some of his plays and interludes.