The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-04-29

IN tue HItn last lnStancnt tncreOl JUST issued the
events Of the war from the morning OF the 18th OF
August to the eve OF the battle OF Gravelotte
are treated. most OF the space being given to
the battle Of Mars-le-Tour. The result arrived at
Is that In this battle. which the French claim as o
victory the Germans failed to open the way closed
to them By the French; that at night each party
held Its battle feld but that on the following
morning the French having retired, the victory
was essentially German. chart OF tho battle
grounds accompanies the Attn ISSUE few
days ago came across an exceedingly Interest
ing description OF the labors which are carried on
BY the Berlin War Minsterium In connection with
this great historical work, which Is being published
under the eye OF Count Moltke. Eleven rooms OF
the Ministerium are devoted to the war library
and the writer's Of the work. The library Is the
largest OF its kind in Germany. The war archives
preserved in one OF the vaults are exceedingly rich
and contain msterial relating to all tile CAM
paigns as far back as the time of Eiecta Sgis-
mund. The archives contain 5000 folio volumes
OF documents, arranged In epcchs Of Prussian mill
tary history, and these again according TO armies,
corps and regiments. The great divisions relate
to the Seven Yearss War, the War Of Liberation,
the Danish, the Austrian and the Franco German
wars.
The 1901 campaign Is represented by 600
volumes OF Official documents, besides other
points, which preserved in the various general
connandos Of the army The great general STAFF
work Is compiled from these 1900 folio volumes Of
documents preserved In the War MMisterum.
Each folio volume contains $50, 400 $50 separate
documents, and 1t Is assumed that more than
$780, 900 documents have to be review ed before the
great work can be completed, besides more than
100 volumes from the pens of French, English.
Russian and German writer's, and, further, semi.
oncal reports ana masses OF charts and plans.
The process Bazaine resulted in protocol OF
four large printed volumes for the Prussian
military archives From twelve to four
teen officers are continually employed
in the arrangement of material aud
Count Moltkc himself guides ana ovcrlooks every
chapter. The work Is distributed according to the
great events OF the war. Metz the campaigns in
the north and west OF France, Sedan, Paris, Wer-
der's and Manteufels campaigns, the battles OF
the iortfesses are worked up In distinct rooms each
officer having his assistants. The rooms are nOta-
BILE for their lack OF luxurious adornmen,s. They
are literary workshops, and the labor proceeds in
the deepest silence. slowly, thoroughly silently,
instalment after ins'alment is prepared by the
busy men OF tho sword. Two years has elapsed
since the issue of the first part OF the work, and
we are only reading about the eve OF Grave'otte.
II Will take further years to bring us to the con-
may, perhaps, bring us to the Treaty OF Frankfort
and the return OF the victors to the Fatherland.
DoELLINGER ON KING JOHN OF sAxoyY.
DR.. DUltnger Is still aiive and apparently his
mind Is as strong as ever On the 2eth OF March
he delivered beautiful memorial address on King
John OF saxony, before the Bavarian Academy Of
Sciences, OF which he Is President. He speaks in
terms OF the highest eul0gy OF King Johns liter
AIRY labors to whose personal influence he believes
Is due the fact OF Leipsic having grown to be the
nrst OF German universities in standing and in
the number OF its students. Most interesting Is
Or. Dolinger's survey OF the crowned authors OF
the Tast ana the COMPARISON OF them with the
Saxon monarch. "Princely authors, and still
more prlnccly savants, are rare phenomenon.
Surveying all civilized peoples OF all centuries we
ind very few who have thought 1t worth the
trouble to add to the princey rank OF
the royal crown the laurel wreath OF au-
thorship.r Few have combined intellectual ruler
ship with the temporal. "Frederic the Great o
Prussia possessed them IN an eminent degree; nor
were they foreign to King Ludwig I. OF Bavaria
and The Third Napoleon. But King John OF Saxony
is pre-eminent example Of happy combination
of both qualities" DR.. D6ilinser does not over
lock the fact that King john like other rulers who
were famous as authors, had in youth no prospects
OF succeeding to The throne, and therefore re-
Aurelius, King Afrec Henry WILL, the Greek EN-
peror Kantaknzenos, the Polish King stanislaus
Leczlnski. Some OF these were drawn into
literature by tho force OF circumstances as 1t
were. Henry VIII. and James !. placed the In
fuencc OF their works in the scale or the Refor-
nation. Tho latter monarch, says D3llinger, was
the only one, perhaps, In which his prize as
scholar was stronger and more touchy than his
royal consciousness.
FREDERIC THE GREAT, ETC.
DR.. DUlllnger is not surprised to ind many of The
royal authors simply apologetcal. King Ludwig
I. OF Bavaria wrote his "WalhalIa Guess'' because
he wished to justify before The nation his selection
OF busts for his "Wahallan structure The
memoirs OF the Empress Catherine and some his
torical writings OF Frederic ii. bear the same
stamp Napoleon HIS Life OF Caesar" is palrabiy
Q historical apology for the coup d'6tat OF the
2d OF December and cGsar.sm. What Il con-
trast are these TO the writings OF tie Emperor
Marcus Anrelius, who lived LOO years
before OF royal authors whose works proceed
from the consciousness that the monarch's
duty Is also to elevate the people in intellectual
life, DR.. DUllinger adduces two stars of medieval
history king Alfred OF England and Alfonso X
OF Castle. Alfred endcavored by his trans.
latons OF Latu WORKS to rouse the Anglo.
Saxons to study after they had refrigerated and
w!ldened through the lcng wars. But Alfonso, who
as q ruler was weak aud unfortunate, may be
called an unexamped phenomenon In the depart
mcnt Of intellectual lIfe for he was poet HISTORIAN
mathematician, astronomer, lowgivcr, master oY
style and tho iormaior OF Castlan prose; hld
astronomical tables and his law books assert theft
MP ortance and value 10 this day. His reign ana
person marx the commencement Of Castillah
literature. The most fruitful Of the royal authofs
was Frederic the Great OF Prussia, whose worHs
are published in some thirty volumes. Dui'ingdr
compares him with Alfonso thus :-"But IN his az
toundina productivity, and in startling contrast 70
the castilian, Frederic scarcely mentions Or
thinks Of mis- own people in his writings; 10
dia not even write In his own language. lie writes
because he cannot remain idie and to bury his
household discomforts, and pour SO co,viger hA-
menee as nc once said himself" Above al tnesA
royal authors in scholarly requirements, in vein