Instruction, from which also the expense of the simple, but wholesome meals taken in common at noon and evening, is chiefly defrayed; the students, however, contribute a little from their own means. The subjects of instruction are:-religion, the German language, reading, writing, arithmetic, and singing. To these are added, the first elements of geometry, easy lessons in natural history, narratives from the national history, particularly that of Pomerania, and geographical descriptions. The school of Lastadie also strives to excite and cherish in its pupils a love of nature, and to that end cultivates a taste for gardening and planting. In treating all the above subjects, the pupils are trained to speak in pure and accurate language, for, after the knowledge of religion and of nature, there is nothing of which the children of peasants stand so much in need, as to learn to express what they know with simplicity, truth, and accuracy. Particular attention is paid to singing, and to horticulture, as means of ennobling and animating the public worship of God and the general course of a country life*, of providing the pupils with an agreeable recreation and a useful occupation, and further of removing that grossness of mind, and the obstinate prejudices, to which uneducated husbandmen are liable. No pupil is admitted into the establishment at Lastadie under eighteen, nor above twenty years of age. He must bring certificates from his pastor, from the authorities of his parish, and from the physician of the circle (Kreis) as to his previous conduct, and the state of his health. He must also have such preliminary knowledge as is acquired in a well-conducted country school. The period of study at the school of Lastadie is fixed at two years. The first year the pupils learn what they are afterwards to teach to others; besides which, they assist at the lessons which the masters give to the poor children of a school annexed to the normal school. They continue during the whole of the second year to practise teaching, and at the end of it they receive a set of rules, short and easy to understand, for the management of a school of poor country children. Practical moral training is combined as much as possible with instruction. It is the design of the founder that the whole establishment should be imbued with the true spirit of Christianity, so that masters and pupils may devote themselves with their whole hearts, and

* Every school in a village or small town has a garden attached to it, which is made available for the instruction of the scholars in horticulture, &c. according to the nature of the country. Other schools are provided with tools and instruments suited to the teaching of the mechanical arts or manufactures, in short with a workshop.

for the love of God, to the children of the poor. As to the placing the pupils in situations as teachers, it is considered desirable that they should work for some years as assistant masters, in order that they may gradually acquire the necessary experience and confidence, and become well acquainted with the children and the inhabitants of villages.

This sketch of the school of Lastadie is followed by another of the small normal school of Pyritz in Pomerania, the regulations of which go into greater detail, and are perhaps still more austere as to discipline :

The greater number of the small normal schools in Prussia,' observes M. Cousin, are founded and governed in the same spirit. All rest on the sacred basis of Christianity; but beneath their simple lowly exterior, we trace a taste for instruction, a feeling for nature, a love of music, which take away every vestige of coarseness, and give these modest institutions a character of liberality. Undoubtedly, all this is the offspring of the national manners, and of the genius of Germany; yet Christian charity might transplant a good deal of it into our France, and I should esteem myself happy if the regulations of the little schools of Lastadie and of Pyritz were to fall into the hands of some worthy ecclesiastic, some good curate, or village pastor, who would undertake such an apostolic mission as this.'-p. 182.

M. Cousin is deeply impressed with the necessity of Christian instruction forming an essential part of elementary popular education. He speaks feelingly and eloquently on this subject in the concluding remarks of his report:

'Before we can decide on what should constitute a true primary normal school, we must determine what ought to be the character of a simple elementary school, that is, a humble village school. The popular schools of a nation ought to be imbued with the religious spirit of that nation. Now without going into the question of diversities of doctrine, is Christianity the religion of the people of France, or is it not? It cannot be denied that it is. I ask, then, is it our object to respect the religion of the people, or to destroy it? If we mean to set about destroying it, then, I allow, we ought by no means to have it taught in the people's schools. But if the object we propose to ourselves is totally different, we must teach our children that religion which civilized our fathers, that religion whose liberal spirit prepared, and can alone sustain, all the great institutions of modern times. There ought to be a course of special religious instruction in our normal schools. Religion is, in my eyes, the best-perhaps the only-basis of popular education. I know something of Europe, and never have I seen good schools where the spirit of Christian charity was wanting. Primary instruction flourishes in three countries, Holland, Germany, and Scotland; in all the three it is essentially religious. It is said to be so in Ame

rica*. There are things in human society which can neither be ́ conceived nor accomplished without virtue-that is to say, when speaking of the mass, without religion. Let those who doubt this go into the schools of the poor-let them learn what patience, what resignation, are necessary to induce a man to persevere in so toilsome an employment. The schools for the middle classes may be an object of speculation; but the country schools, the miserable little schools in the south, in the west, in Britanny, in the mountains of Auvergne, and, without going so far, the lowest schools of our great cities, of Paris itself, will never hold out any adequate inducement to persons seeking a remunerating occupation. There will doubtless be some philosophers inspired with the ardent philanthropy of St. Vincent de Paul, without his religious enthusiasm, who would devote themselves to this austere vocation; but the question is not to have here and there a master. We have more than 40,000 schools to serve, and either you must lavish the treasures of the state and the revenues of the communes in order to give high salaries, and even pensions to that new order of artisans called schoolmasters, or you must not imagine that you can do without Christian charity, and that spirit of poverty, humility, courageous resignation, and modest dignity, which Christianity, rightly understood and wisely taught, can alone give to the teachers of the people. The more I think of all this, the more I look at the schools in this country (Prussia), the more I am convinced that we must make any efforts or any sacrifices to come to a good understanding with the clergy on the subject of popular education, and to constitute religion a special and carefully taught branch of instruction in our primary normal schools. This advice will grate on the ears of many persons, and I shall be thought extremely dévot at Paris; yet it is not from Rome, but from Berlin that I address you. The man who holds this language to you was formerly disliked, and even persecuted by the priesthood; but he is too little affected by the recollection, and too well acquainted with human nature, and with history, not to regard religion as an indestructible power, genuine Christianity as a means of civilization for the people, and a necessary support for those on whom society imposes irksome and humble duties, without the slightest prospect of fortune, without the least gratification of self-love.'-Report, pp. 289-92.

After combating the puerile objection to imitating foreigners, he adds this sentence, which, though not one of unmixed compliment, deserves not the less some attention from Englishmen :—

'We constantly imitate England in all that concerns outward life, the mechanical arts and physical refinements; why then should we

It would open too wide a field of discussion here to examine this brief reference to America. It is sufficient, in the first place, to remark that this is not by any means universally true of America; and in the second, that the primary instruction in many parts of that country requires a complete change,

blush to borrow something from kind, honest, pious, learned Germany, in what regards inward life and the nurture of the soul?'— p. 293.

M. Cousin proposes to place the Catholic curé, or the Protestant pastor, as the case may be, on every Communal Committee for the superintendence of education, and the highest dignitary of the church in each department on the Departmental Committee; he does not propose to make them presidents of the committees, but to admit them as members because they have a right to be there, and to represent the religion of the country. But in order to have the clergy as allies in the great work of popular instruction, that instruction must not be stripped of morality and religion, for then it would become the duty of the clergy to oppose it. Popular education ought to be religious, that is to say, Christian, for,' says M. Cousin, there is no such thing as religion in general; in Europe, and in our days, religion means Christianity. Let our popular schools then be Christian; let them be so entirely and earnestly.'-p. 126. In Germany, most schoolmasters are laymen, and they are bound to give religious and moral instruction in their several schools; but most of the directors of normal schools are either Catholic curés, or Protestant pastors, or persons who, after having gone through a regular course of theological study, devote themselves to public instruction. The ecclesiastical authorities are consulted in the choice of religious works for the use of the schools.

'In every primary school where children of different communions meet together,' says the Prussian law, ' private masters of their own creed shall be charged with their religious instruction, and the regular masters and inspectors must carefully avoid every kind of constraint or annoyance to the children on account of their particular creed. No children shall be obliged to attend the religious instruction or exercises in a persuasion different from that of their parents. But the dominant spirit, common to all modes of faith, ought to be piety, and a profound reverence for God.'-Report, pp. 52-3.

Our author attaches great importance to the establishment of middle schools, called by the Germans bürgerschulen, for the children of the middle classes, tradesmen, and others, in the towns: such schools should give a higher sort of elementary education sufficiently extensive and liberal for all who do not intend to enter the learned professions. Learned and scientific education is given first in the gymnasia, which correspond most nearly to the English grammar-schools, and then in the universities. But there is a numerous and very important class, or rather an aggregate of classes, who wish to give their children a better education than that afforded by

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the primary schools, and yet do not wish to send them to a gymnasium, or college as it is called in France, there to receive a classical education which would be of very little use to them in after life. For them an intermediate sort of schools between the primary one and the gymnasia or colleges is required. In Prussia, Austria, and other parts of Germany, the government has provided such schools. Of these schools the Prussian law says: the bürger schools, or stadtschulen, bring the pupil to that point at which peculiar aptitude for classical studies, properly so called, or for some particular profession, may manifest itself.' In these higher schools are taught the elements of Latin, of mathematics, of physical science, geography and history combined, drawing, and modern languages. If the funds of the school allow of raising it a step higher in the scale, so as to prepare those boys who are inclined for the learned professions, and to qualify them for entering the gymnasia immediately, such school then takes the title of 'higher bürger school,' or 'progymnasium.' In 1831, there were 481 burger schools for boys in all Prussia, attended by 56,889 pupils; and 342 for girls, attended by 46,598 pupils. In France, till lately, there was nothing of the sort, so that a tradesman, even in the lower ranks of the middle classes, who wished to give his sons a good education, had no resource but to send them to the collège. Most of these colleges, says Cousin, are a little superior to the German bürger schools in classical and scientific studies, but incomparably inferior to them in religious instruction, geography, history, modern languages, music, drawing, and national literature. The boys of the class just alluded to, who are sent to these colleges, knowing that they are not designed for any of the higher walks of life, go through their studies in a negligent manner; and when, at eighteen years of age, they go back to the habits and the business of their fathers, they soon lose every trace of the little classical learning they had acquired. On the other hand, many of them contract tastes, and form acquaintances at college, which render it hard and almost impossible for them to return to the humble walk of life in which they were born: thus is formed a race of men, restless, discontented with their position, with the world, and with themselves; enemies of a state of society in which they feel themselves out of their place; possessing some acquirements, some real or imagined talent, and an unbridled ambition, they are ready for any career of servility or of revolt. In short, a learned classical education ought to be open to those who are intended for the learned professions, and who have the means of supporting themselves; if any