Among the curios of artistic and literary cast, your bright-minded reader, if on the alert to spy anything deserving of notice, will find here and there in Retana's pages enshrined many a bit of out-of-the-way information. The following half dozen or so of oddities will probably be acknowledged, not unworthy of mention among these Philippina: They are La Razon: A Plea Against Certain Vexatious Encroachments of the Crown on Mexican and Manila Trade, by José Nuño de Villavicencio (Sampaloc, 1737), which bears on its cover the most tasty design by Philippine burin--a plate illustrative of the contents of the Plea, engraved by Francisco Suárez, a Tagal artist. El Cosmopolita--The Cosmopolitan--(Manila, 1895-1896), the first periodical (p. 458), with phototypes, published in the islands. The first Almanac and Guide-Book for strangers and travelers, with a Map of the Archipelago, was issued at Manila for the year 1834. The newspaper--El Ilocano--a bi-weekly, published in Spanish and Ilocano at Manila (p. 464), from 1889 to 1896 (?) was the first periodical written in Indian dialect. Again, another periodical--El Hogar (p. 464), The Fireside--a weekly, of 16 pages, started at Manila in 1892, under the direction of Madam Amparo Gómez de la Serna, was the first paper devoted to science, letters, beaux-arts, and useful information published almost exclusively in the interests of women, while the Revista de Filipinas (p. 132), a bi-weekly, that, starting at Manila in 1875, lived only two years, is the worthiest of Philippine periodicals, noticeable chiefly for the deeply scientific cast of its papers. The Romancero Filipino, a work of fancy (Manila, 1892), by Manuel Romero Aquino, is styled (p. 554) by Retana the neatest and best piece of work by Philippine pen. While The American Soldier, a four-page daily newspaper, whereof the opening number is dated Manila, September 10, 1898, is the first periodical, maybe print of any sort, in the English language, published in the islands. With the foregoing extravaganzas of literature we note that the series of Philippine periodicals, which in Retana's own collection number (he says) one hundred and twelve, in their entirety do not surpass one hundred and sixty. Of his own he gives the titles (Biblioteca, xxiii-xxviii) from Del Superior Gobierno, the first newspaper issued in the islands, with the imprint of Manila, August 8, 1811, down to the latest--Thé Kon Leche (Tea and Milk)--a four-page weekly satirical periodical, with illustrations (in two colors), published at Manila in 1898.