text:  The writer of Gil Blas was a Castilian--this may be inferred from his panegyric on Castilian wit which he declares equal to that of Athens; he must have been a dramatic writer from his repeated criticisms on the drama and the keenness with which he sifts the merit of contemporary dramatic authors; he must have been a great master of narrative and thoroughly acquainted with the habits and institutions of his age and country; he must have possessed the art of enlivening his story with caustic allusions and with repartees; he must have been perfectly conversant with the intrigues of courtiers and have acquired from his own experience or the relation of others an intimate knowledge of the private life of Olivarez and the details of Philip IV