Campbell then spent the rest of 1952 translating Eça de Queirós' novel "Cousin Basilio" into English from the original Portuguese. Campbell's Portuguese was still imperfect and he had to consult the dictionary almost constantly. Translating the novel so obsessed Campbell that he spoke of nothing else and the characters seemed as real to him as his own family. According to Peter Alexander, Campbell's family, "were all very relieved when he finished the work and these ghostly companions haunted them no more."