New-York tribune., 1883-03-14
LITERARY NOTES.

The Lat. Dukc of Ossuna left a splendid col
,.o.;on of books MSS and documents which the
os,,.,. wish 4, purchase and retain as national
ossess,on Among its treasures are manuscripts VI
ono hundred plays of Lope di vega seNei"i u
Calderon and of MOreto and the only eAlanO VI
Ouerido. The catalogue will contain tn0 ooii'
spoudence of the Marquesses oil Sanullan" ".u "
yillena the latter famous as the louhuoi Va '"O
Spanish Academy; the diplomatic corIespon"'"'0
of Reubens the Missal of Cardinal Cisheros' an
autocrapb of Bartholomew of Las Casas' anu
copy of the diary of Columbus in the handwrltihB
- los Casas. Among four thousand manuscripts
a the authentic text of the Roman de la Rose, lor
,vhich Germany offers four thousand pounds. No
finer collection exists OF Spanish authors oi trans
latons from the classics, of Italian works OF tne
sixteenth and fifteenth centuries including a
Dante and Petrarch illustrated with exquisite
miniatures four hundred years old
The sacond volume in the Famous Women
se,ies will he Miss Robinson's Charlotte Bronte"
The Harpers have resolved to encourage young
American artists by the offer of an award oil S3oOO
for the best original drawing to illustrate Alfred
Domert's Christmas Hymn" The artists must
not be over twenty five years old and the success
fnl compettor will be expected TO use the money ior
the prosecution of art study in Que or more oil the
hest American schools including also solourh
abroad of at least six months tor the stuay OF 'he
old masters. The drawing will be puohshed III
Harpe,'s Magazine for December. 1853 MT It,
Swain Clifford Mr.. I. ID. Mllet and Mr.. Charles
Parsons will act as judges OF the competition he
drawings are to be sent to the Harpers DOT later
than August l. 1883. 1t is an admirable project on
the mart of the publishers and worthy OF unqualified
praise
Balzac NJ. Delpit explains in recent artlcIe' pun
ME IN
Maupigneuse was we'll known in real life, and never
complained Nathan was Leon Gozlan. CShaHs'
The poet. was Lamartine. Mile. des Touches was
George Sand. and NJ Delpit met one day at Aix-les-
Rains the original OF Nine dc Laugeas. Nine.
Royary was reality, and n personal 1rienG Oh
Flaubert-and so Oh. 1t is curious to note no" d.
Delpit who is not a naturalistic writer Is on thls
point in complete accordwith Zola but they hoth
claim to have inherited the mantle of BalZac. NJ
Delpit winds up by saying that there is no novel
worth ANYTHING which has not been produced On
these principles.
He who wishes to know now TO make 5000
yearly profit win twelve hens" must buy the Iittie
book which bears this title and has just been pup
llshed by Brentano. 1t is a mlnEte description OF
new process of Matching eggs ana raising chickens.
The eighth thousand of Mrs. oliphants 81 Little
Pilgrim is being sold in England
The little volume of autograph verse and drawings
entitled The Knight of the Blazing Cross" and
gwen by Flaxman and his wife in 1876 on The Ut
teenth anniversary of their wedding day. was lateiy
sold in London. 1t is a moral poem the IDEAS Oh
which are borrowed in about equal parts from
Spenser and Bunynn, while the style and metre tes-
tfy to Flaxmau's very imperfect literary training.
The great charm of the book consists. of course OF
its PEN n-and-ink drawings which are upwards OF
forty In number. The hero's adventures give scope
for illustrations which the artist has evidently
taken peculiar pleasure in designing. and which IL
lustrate his best qualities both OF strength ana
tenderness The last six represent IN their earliest
foru the straightforward redesgned ior engraV-
ing on larger scale--of tue Works OF Mercy"
With that exception the designs, like the text. OF
sThe Knight of the Blazing Cross" are qnite nm
published. The volume WAS bought 1or the FItz-
william Museum at Cambridge
Charles Scrbnei Sous have published small com
nact and condensed work by George on the
"Religions of the Ancient World" 1t is little more
than a sketch based upon the writer's oxford lee
tures but it is an interesting sketch and will lead
the reader to more extended study of the subject.
The Journal of the Military Serice Institution has
adopted for motto sentence from tine speech
made by General Sherman at the dinner given by
him in Washington recently: 81 cannot help
plead t. nv countrymon, at every opportunity, TO
cherish all that is manly ana noble in the military
profession, because peace is enervatng and no man
is wise enough TO foretell hen soldiers may lie in
demand again" The Journal for this quarter con
tans an article on The Organization and Material
of Field Artillery in the United States Army before
the Civil War;" by Major w. L. Haskin. OF the First
Artillery; the concluding paper of The series oil
sExtracts from the History OF the War between
Germany and France" which General Weitzel has
ffur he. lnGO Of
CAPTAIN Potter's story Of "Mina and his Three
Hundred and an article by General Fry on Ou1
Military System" There is less that is OF interest To
the unmilitary reader in this number OF The
journal than usual, but to officers and men OF the
Army and National Guard very article is of value.