and to commence which he leaves the gymnasium. These certificates are delivered in an assemblage of the students of the gymnasium with suitable remarks. The certificate of maturity is necessary to enable a youth to be matriculated in either of the faculties of theology, law, medicine, and philology, in one of the national universities, to be admitted to examination for an academic degree, to be appointed to office in state or church, or to obtain one of the royal bursaries at the universities. Special exception in regard to matriculation may be made by authority of the minister of public instruction. Students who have not passed a satisfactory examination, and whose parents demand it, are entitled to a certificate, stating the branches in which they are deficient; they may enter the university with this, and are registered accordingly. This registry enables them, if they subsequently obtain a certificate of maturity, and the special permission of the minister of public instruction, to have their matriculation dated from the time of inscription. Pupils who have passed through the third class of a gymnasium are entitled to claim one year of voluntary military service, provided they report themselves at a specified time during their twentieth year.

There are two kinds of schools devoted to the preparation of teachers for the gymnasia, called respectively philological and pedagogical seminaries, (philologische seminare, pädagogische seminare.) One of the first kind is attached to the universities of Berlin, Bonn, Breslaw, Halle, Königsberg, and Greifswalde, and one of the second is placed at Berlin, Stettin, Breslaw, Halle, Königsberg, and Münster. Besides these, there is a seminary for teachers of natural philosophy and the natural sciences, at Bonn.

FREDERICK WILLIAM GYMNASIUM OF BERLIN.

This institution dates from 1797, and was at first an appendage to the " real school" of Mr. Hecker. It is now a royal institution, and is independent of the real school, except so far that it has the same director, and that the preparatory classes are in the real school, in which, or in other equivalent schools, the pupils are taught until ten years of age. The qualifications for admission are those contained in the general account of the gymnasia. This gymnasium had, in 1837, four hundred and thirty-seven pupils, divided into six classes, and instructed by fourteen teachers and six assistants. The second and third classes are subdivided into two parts, called upper and lower, pursuing different courses, and both divisions of the third class are again subdivided into two others, for the convenience of instruction. The course in each class occupies a year, except in the first, which is of two years. Pupils who enter in the lowest class, and go regularly through the studies, will thus remain nine years in the gymnasium. The numbers of the several classes in 1837 were, in the first, fifty-four; in the upper second, thirtytwo; lower second, forty-seven; upper third division, first, or A, thirty-six; second division, or B, thirty-six; lower third, division first, or A, thirty-eight; division second, or B, thirty-two; fourth class, fifty-five; fifth, fifty-seven; and sixth, fifty. Each division averages, therefore, nearly forty-four pupils, who are at one time under the charge of one teacher. One hundred and eight were admitted during the year, and the same number left the gymnasium; of these, twenty-one received the certificate of maturity to pass to the university, viz., ten who intend to study law, three medicine, five theology, one theology and philology, one philosophy, and one political economy, finance, &c., (cameralistic.) Of these all but five were two years in the first class; out of this number two were two years and a half in the first class, and three more had been in the gymnasium less than two years, having entered it in the first class. The average age at leaving the gymnasium was nearly nineteen years, and the greatest and least, respectively, twenty-two and between sixteen and seventeen years. It appears, thus, that on the average, the pupils actually enter at ten, and remain nine years, as required by rule.

The subjects of instruction are Latin, Greek, German, French, religious instruc

tion, mathematics, (including arithmetic, algebra, and geometry,) natural philosophy and natural history, history, geography, writing, drawing, vocal music, and Hebrew for theologians.

The numbers attached to the names of the different classes, in the following programme, show the number of hours of study per week in the regular branches in which the division of classes takes place. In like manner, the numbers attached to the several subjects of study show how many hours are occupied per week in each of the subjects by the several classes.

SIXTH CLASS, THIRTY HOURS.

Latin. Inflections of nouns, &c. Comparisons. Conjugation of the indicative moods of regular and of some irregular verbs. Translation from Blume's elementary book. Exercises from Blume. Extemporalia. Ten hours.

German. Etymology and syntax. Exercises in writing upon subjects previously narrated. Exercises in orthography, reading, and declaiming. Four hours.

French. Etymology, to include the auxiliary verbs, in Herrmann's grammar. Oral and written exercises. Reading and translation. Exercises on the rules from the grammar.

Three hours.

Religion. Bible history of the Old Testament. Committing to memory selected verses. Two hours.

Geography. Delineation of the outlines of Europe, Africa, Asia, and America, from deter. minate points given. Divisions of the countries, with their principal cities, rivers, and mountaius. Two hours.

Arithmetic. The four ground rules, with denominate whole numbers. Their applications. Four hours.

Writing. Elements of round and running hand. Dictation. Writing from copy slips. Three hours.

Drawing. Exercises in drawing lines. Two hours.

FIFTH CLASS, TWENTY-NINE HOURS.

Latin. Etymology. Use of the prepositions. The accusative before an infinitive, practiced orally and in writing, and extempore, and in exercises. Translation from Blume's reader. Ten hours.

German. Parsing, reading, and declamation. Exercises on narrations. Four hours. French. Etymology, by oral and written exercises. Easier stories from Herrmann's reader. Three hours.

Religion. Explanation of the gospels, according to St. Matthew and St. Luke. Committing to memory the principal facts. Two hours.

Geography. Review of the last year's course.

chief towns, in connection. Two hours.

Rivers and mountains of Europe, and

Arithmetic. Review of the preceding Fractions Four hours.
Writing. Running hand from copy slips. Two hours.

Drawing. Drawing from bodies, terminated by planes and straight lines. Two hours.

FOURTH CLASS, TWENTY-EIGHT HOURS.

Latin. Review of etymology. The principal rules enforced by oral and written exercises and extemporalia. Translation from Jacob's reader and Corn. Nepos. Ten hours. German Compositions on subjects previously read. Declamation. Reading from Kalisch's reader. Parsing. Three hours.

French. Review of etymology. Irregular verbs. Reciprocal verbs. Anecdotes and narrations from Herrmann's grammar, and committing the principal to memory. Two hours. Religion. Gospel, according to St. Matthew, explained. Verses and psalms committed to memory. Two hours.

Geography. Political geography of Germany, and of the rest of Europe. Review of the geography of the other parts of the world. Three hours.

Arithmetic. Review of fractions. Simple and compound proportion.

Simple interest. Three hours.

Geometry. Knowledge of forms, treated inductively. One hour.

Writing. Running hand, from copy slips. Two hours.

Drawing. From bodies bounded by curved lines. Two hours.

LOWER THIRD CLASS, THIRTY HOURS.

Partnership.

Latin. Syntax. Rules of cases from Zumpt. Exercises and extemporalia. Inflections formerly learned reviewed. Cornelius Nepos Eight hours.

Greek. Etymology, from Buttmann's grammar to regular verbs, included. Translation from Greek into German from Jacob's, from German into Greek from Hess's exercises. Six hours.

German. Compositions in narration and description. Declamation. Two hours. French. Repetition of inflections, and exercises by extemporalia and in writing. Translation of the fables from Herrmaun's reading book, 2d course. Two hours.

Religion. Morals, and Christian faith. Two hours.

Geography Physical geography Europe and the other parts of the world. Two hours. History General view of ancient and modern history. Two hours.

Mathematics. Legendre's geometry, book 1. Decimals. Algebra. Square and cube root. Four hours.

Drawing. Introduction to landscape drawing. Two hours.

UPPER THIRD CLASS, THIRTY HOURS.

Oral exer.

Latin. Division I. Syntax, from Zumpt. Review of the preceding course. cises in construction of sentences. Written exercises and extemporalia. Cæsar Bell. Gall

books 1, 2, and 7, in part. Ovid's Metamorphoses, extracts from books 7 and 8. Prosody, rules from Zumpt. Ten hours.

Greek. Division 1 Etymology, from Buttmann's grammar. Oral and written exercises and extemporalia. Jacob's reader. Six hours.

German Examination of exercises on historical subjects. Poetical selections for declamation. Two hours.

French. Exercises in translation. Written exercises. Extemporalia. Two hours. Religion. Principal passages from the gospels gone over. General view of the Old Testament writings. Two hours.

Wars to the destruction of the

History and Geography. Roman history, from the Punic western empire. History of the middle ages, three hours. Review of the five general divis ions of the world, one hour. Four hours.

Mathematics. Geometry. Legendre, books 1 and 2, and part of 3. Algebra, with exercises from Meyer Hirsch. Four hours.

3

LOWER SECOND CLASS, THIRTY-ONE HOURS.

Latin. Extracts from Livy and Cæsar de Bell. Civ. Review of Bell. Gall., books 2 and Syntax. Exercises and extemporalia. Committing to memory exercises from Livy and Cæsar. Ovid's Metamorphoses, books 11 to 14. Eight hours.

Greek. Homer's Odys., 11, 12, 13, and 14. Exercises on the dialects. Xenophon's Anab. 1. 2, and part of 3. Excerpts from the grammar reviewed. Exercises and extemporalia. Syntax. Six hours.

Hebrew. Grammar, ending with irregular verbs. Easier parts of historical books of Scripture translated. Vocabulary learned by rote. Exercises on regular and irregular verbs out of the recitation room. Two hours.

German. Correction of written exercises and essays. Exercises on delivery. Two hours French. Voltaire's Charles XII. Exercises and extemporalia. Two hours.

Religion. Explanation of the principal parts of the Epistles of St. Paul, with historical sketches, and a view of the life of early Christian communities. Two hours.

History. Roman history, from the Punic Wars. History of the middle ages concluded. General view of history. Three hours.

Mathematics. Geometry to proportions and simple figures. Elements of algebra. Loga. rithms. Four hours.

Natural History. Mineralogy. Botany, especially of native plants. Two hours.

UPPER SECOND CLASS, THIRTY-TWO HOURS.

Latin. Cicero's Orations, pro. Rosc. Amer., de Amic., de Senectute. Livy, books 22 to 25, inclusive. Virgil's Æneid, books 1 and 2. Some eclogues and excerpts from Georgics. Exercises and extemporalia. Nine hours.

Greek. Homer's Iliad, books 4 to 11, inclusive. Arrian Alex. expedition, books 1 and 2. Buttmann's grammar, with exercises and extemporalia. Six hours.

Hebrew. Books of Judges and of Ruth, with exercises of syntax. Easy exercises, and committing vocabulary to memory out of the class room. Two hours.

German. Essays. Delivery. Two hours.

French. Excerpts from Herrmann and Brüchner's manual of the more recent French literature. Two hours.

Religion. Christian faith and morals. Two hours.

History. Review of ancient history and geography, using the Latin language. Three hours. Mathematics. Arithmetical geometry and plaue trigonometry. Algebraic exercises. Polygons. Stereometry. Simple and quadratic equations. Four hours.

Physics. General physics. Electricity and magnetism. Two hours.

FIRST CLASS, THIRTY-ONE HOURS.

Latin. Horace's Odes, books 3 and 4. Cicero against Verres. Tacitus, Annals, books 11 and 12, and extracts from 3 to 6. Cicero, Tusc. quest. Extempore translations from German into Latin. Exercises. Declamation. Eight hours.

Greck. Homer's Iliad, book 16, Odyssey, books 9 to 16, inclusive. Hippias Major, Charmides, and Gorsias of Plato, (excerpts) Sophocles' Edip, tyr. and Antigone. Grammatical exercises. Buttmann's grammar. Six hours.

Hebrew. Second book of Kings. Genesis. Psalms, 61 to 100. Grammatical criticisms of historical excerpts, or of psalms, as an exercise at home. Two hours.

German. Criticism of compositions. General grammar, and history of the German gram

mar and literature. One hour.

French. Selections from Scribe and Delavigne. Exercises and extemporalia. Two hours. Religion. History of the Christian church, to the times of Gregory VII. Two hours. History. Modern history, and review. Three hours.

Mathematics. Plane trigonometry and application of algebra to geometry. Algebra. Mensuration and conic sections. Binomial theorem. Exponential and trigon. functions. Four hours.

Physics. Physical geography. Mechanics. Two hours
Philosophy. Propædeutics. Logic. One hour.

There are five classes for vocal music, the fifth receiving two hours of instruction in musi cal notation and singing by ear. The fourth, time and cliffs, &c. Exercises in the natural scale, and harmony. Songs and chorals with one part. The third, two hours, formation of the scale of sharps, running the gamut with difficult intervals, combined with the practical exercises of the last class. The second, two hours, repetition of tones; sharps, and flats. Formation of the scale of flats. Exercises of songs and chorals, in two parts. The first class is an application of what has been learned, as well as a continuation of the science and art, and all the pupils do not, of course, take part in this stage of the instruction. The course is of four hours per week, two for soprano and alto, one for tenor and bass, and one for the union of the four parts. The proficiency is indicated by the fact, that the pupils perform very creditably such compositions as Haydn's Creation" and Handel's "Messiah.""

The extemporalia spoken of in the courses of language, consist of written translations made on the spot by the pupils into a foreign language, of sentences spoken in the vernacular by the teacher. These sentences are, of course, adapted to the progress of the pupil, and are prepared beforehand by the teacher who renders them, especially in the early parts of the course, the application of the rules of grammar on which the pupil is engaged, or of peculiarities of idiom to which his attention is called.

In the classical course, the oral and written exercises are varied in their relative proportions to each other. The translation from Latin or Greek into German, and vice versa, the grammatical exercises, Latin compositions or essays, the extemporalia before explained, the practice in versification, &c., are varied in amount in the different classes, according to the views of the instructor.

One characteristic difference between the classical instruction in the higher classes and in those of similar schools in England and our country, is that, in general, it supposes the grammatical minutie to have been fully impressed in the lower classes, and discusses philological questions, varieties of reading and collateral subjects of antiquities, history, biography, and geography. The students receive much oral instruction, which they are required to record. The same is the practice to even a greater extent in the other departments of instruction, and the students thus acquire a facility in taking notes which they turn to good account in the university lectures, and which strikes a stranger with surprise on first witnessing it.

Most of the pupils in this class of schools begin their classical course at nine or ten years of age, and yet, judging by the progress shown in the programme of the first class, and by the scholars which the universities of northern Germany turn out, and which are, in fact, formed in the gymnasia, the proficiency is all that can be desired. It is what a youth of nineteen issuing from one of our colleges would be proud of, and clearly proves that the classics are not begun too late.

The mother tongue and French are both taught in these institutions, in combination with the classical studies. These languages are not merely entered upon the programme, but are actually more or less thoroughly taught, according to the time which is allotted and the skill of the teacher. The course of German would seem calculated to make both writers and speakers, and, probably, if the demand for the latter were equal to that of the former, this would prove true in the latter case, as it does in the former.

The religious characteristic of these schools is a striking one, and important in its effects. The Bible is taught rather than a particular creed, though from the fact that the pupils are nearly all of one creed, this forbearance is not essential, and is not always exercised. The separation of religious from other instruction can but have a most injurious tendency, and their connection, as in these schools, on the contrary, a happy influence. Religious knowledge is classed with the sciences in the formal division of the subjects of study.

The courses of physics of the Frederick William gymnasium are exceedingly well calculated to fullfil their object, to give general ideas of natural phenomena, without going into what may be considered technical minutiæ; in the latter school physics is connected with an excellent course of physical geography. It seems to me doubtful whether, in the natural history course, more than a general outline of the subject, is necessary, with the prosecution, practically, of such branches as the locality of the institution may render applicable for improving the habits of observation and discrimination. The scientific details of the different branches belong rather to special purposes of study than to general education. The experience of these institutions may, however, be appealed to as proving the entire compatibility of such instruction with an otherwise sound system, and the entire possibility of accomplishing it without neglecting other more important branches. Drawing and vocal music, which form parts of the regular courses of all these institutions, have not yet found their way into the systems of other nations on the same footing with the regular studies. As a part of physical training, they are important, and as offering a relief from severer pursuits, further recommend themselves in this connection.

The Frederick William Gymnasium is regarded by Dr. Bache, as a fair specimen of this class of schools in Prussia; in the organization and instruction of which a good degree of liberty is tolerated by the government, to enable them the better to meet the peculiar circumstances of each province, and the peculiar views of each director.

The Royal Real School, and City Trade School of Berlin, furnish a course of instruction of the same general value for mental discipline, but better calculated for that class of pupils who are destined in life, not for what are designated as the learned profession, but for tradesmen and mechanics. There is less of verbal knowledge but more of mathematics and their application to the arts; and the whole is so arranged as to facilitate the acquisition of those mental habits which are favorable to the highest practical success.

ROYAL REAL SCHOOL OF BERLIN.

The Royal Real School of Berlin was founded as early as 1747, by Counsellor Hecker. At the period in which this school was founded, Latin and Greek were the exclusive objects of study in the learned schools, and the avowed purpose of this establishment was that "not mere words should be taught to the pupils, but realities, explanations being made to them from nature, from models and plans, and of subjects calculated to be useful in after-life." Hence the school was called a "real school," and preserves this name, indicative of the great educational reform which it was intended to promote, and the success of which has been, though slow, most certain.

The successor of Hecker, in 1769, divided this flourishing school into three departments, the pedagogium, or learned school, the school of arts, and the German school: the whole establishment still retaining the title of real school. The first named department was subsequently separated from the others, constituting the Frederick William gymnasium; the school of arts, and the German, or elementary school, remain combined under the title of the royal real school. The same director, however, still presides over the gymnasium and the real school.

The question has been much agitated, whether the modern languages should be considered in these schools as the substitutes for the ancient in intellectual education, or whether mathematics and its kindred branches should be regarded in this light. Whether the original principle of the "realities" on which the schools were founded, was to be adhered to, or the still older of verbal knowledge, only with a change of languages, to be substituted for it. In this school the languages will be found at present to occupy a large share of attention, while in the similar institution, a description of which follows this, the sciences have the preponderance.

In the royal real school the branches of instruction are-religion, Latin, French, English, German, physics, natural history, chemistry, history, geography, drawing, writing, and vocal music. The Latin is retained as practically useful in some branches of trade, as in pharmacy, as aiding in the nomenclature of natural history, and as preventing a separation in the classes of this school and that of the gymnasium, which would debar the pupils from passing from the former to the latter in the upper classes. It must be admitted that, for all purposes but the last, it occupies an unnecessary degree of attention, especially in the middle classes.

The following table shows the distribution of time among the courses. There are seven classes in numerical order, but ten, in fact, the third, fourth, and fifth being divided into two; the lower fourth is again, on account of its numbers, subdivided into two parallel sections. Of these, the seventh, sixth, and fifth are elementary classes, the pupils entering the seventh at between five and seven years of age. In the annexed table the number of hours of recitation per week of each class in the several subjects is stated, and the vertical column separating the elementary classes from the others, contains the sum of the hours devoted to cach branch in the higher classes, excluding the lower section of the fourth class, which has not a distinct course from that of the other division.